FEATURE

The New Face of Stock

19th Annual Stock
Visual Survey

Once upon a time, in a land conceptually far, far away from our own (that would be the pre-digital early 1980's), stock photography suffered from three burdens. It was limited in choice, superficial in content and predictable in subject matter. It was cumbersome, in that search and delivery were analog and often involved delving into big, black file cabinets stored in some basement, somewhere. And it was stigmatized in a world where people had time for a long lunch and a budget for an assignment photographer.

Even then, though, a few intrepid souls saw a great utility and an even greater aspirational potential for stock images, and GDUSA began to take the pulse of the field with our annual stock visual survey. It is instructive that the stock world reflected in this year's survey results stands in stark contrast to the early-80s reality in all three areas.

First, content. Today's survey reveals that designers recognize the benefits of stock quality, content, aesthetics and inspiration as often as they do matters of ease, convenience and affordability. Choice, diversity, edginess, reality are enthusiastically acknowledged and sincerely praised, and sometimes expectations are even exceeded. The homogenized product has disappeared for a while, and now that lingering perception has largely been banished. Stock content has been improving for a long time and, as a work in progress, it has come far in its journey. The "new face of stock" is diverse and gritty, young and old, white and black, male and female, formal and informal, rich and poor, native and immigrant, and all points in between.

Second, ease. In addition to the new respect for content and quality, readers tell us that stock is soaring in popularity because its value propositions — choice, convenience, accessibility, affordability — dovetail perfectly with the tight budgets, short turnarounds, demanding clients, digital workflow and internet economy that characterize the second half of this design decade. We live and work in a period of tumultuous change, sometimes wonderful and sometimes harsh. Stock works because it fits — indeed, it is a perfect metaphor for the challenges of — the new professional environment. Perfect, no. But rather than cumbersome, it is easy.

Third, legitimacy. The stigma and taboo are gone. Not to say that the ideal of a personalized, customized shoot has disappeared from art direction and graphic design. But, our readers are telling us, stock visual usage has achieved a "more than mainstream" acceptance. Neither creatives nor clients think twice about the validity of using stock visuals. Indeed, in most cases, stock is the go-to option, the automatic thought, the preferred selection — perhaps not the ideal, but certainly the real. For the new generation of designers, this point hardly needs to be mentioned. But in the sweep of history, for someone who lived in the aforementioned land far, far away, it is an astonishing transformation.

Before we get to the data and the commentary generated by this year's survey respondents, one last bit of context needs to be provided. From the graphic designer's perspective, these are the best of times for using stock imagery. But some of the very factors that are advantageous for stock users may negatively impact stock providers, who, to meet demands and expectations, find themselves in an ever more competitive and capital-intensive marketplace. This explains some of the high-profile consolidations that we have reported on over the past few years, and some of the strains placed on independent, specialty and niche agencies and family businesses. This is a point worth remembering, and we will circle back to it in a future issue. But today's report is designer-centric, and for designers the news is almost all good: faster, cheaper, better.