The creative industry in the UK has been thriving for quite a few years now, but it received a significant boost over the past year. Along with the sudden outbreak of the global pandemic, the world’s digitalization was also rapidly accelerated. This gave digital artists the appropriate avenue to really make their craft known across different sectors and businesses.
Even prior to the current health crisis, a preliminary report made by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport had already presented that the creative industry contributed somewhere around £115.9 billion to the UK’s economy in 2019. This accounted for a 43.6% rise in the entire industry since 2010 and comprised just under 6% of the country’s whole economy.
A Work of Art
Nowadays, the demand for professional artists and effective creative design agencies has drastically skyrocketed. Quite recently, it’s been found that more than two million people work within the creative industry, which simply adds to the fact that there is already a massive and established labour market for their particular line of work.
However, this also means that there is currently a lot of competition for artists—whether amateur or professional—when it comes to securing a proper job in creatives. While the sector is extremely active and vibrant at the moment, it’s also important to take note of how an individual can stand out among all the other artists out there. In this regard, here are a few elements they could focus on to make them more distinguished among the UK’s creative industry.
In the Green
Aside from the sudden outbreak of the global pandemic, the past year also highlighted the importance of addressing the worsening climate crisis. In 2020, people saw just how much natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity prompting them to become more conscious about their environmental footprints. Now, they hope to see these ideas reflected in the art that they consume.
Along the same line of thinking, any artist should necessarily strive to incorporate thoughts of sustainability into their practice from the materials they’re using to the actual outputs that they generate. For instance, green and positive packaging has been among the most significant transitions that various industries have shifted into over the past year.
Additionally, providing art that allows people to genuinely reconnect with nature has also been a notable trend when it comes to sustainability in design. Artists should attempt to produce works that are able to give off more humanistic and organic tones. This helps people truly relate to the art that they interact with.
Come Alive
The current health crisis has persisted for more than a year now. Within that time, people have definitely experienced massive amounts of stress and anxiety. Fortunately, the end of the pandemic starting to come into view. More particularly as the national vaccination rollout programme moves forward successfully and government restrictions continue to ease.
In this light, people will also be looking to see more optimistic art and designs from the creative industry. This will generally help to lift them up and give them hope for what’s to come. Artists would do well to be more positive and playful in their works to achieve this. For instance, this can come in the form of integrating more colourful and vibrant style patterns.
While most art will often reflect the realities of a particular situation, others can also serve as an escape for people simply looking to lighten their mental and emotional burdens. This has become crucial, especially within the context of the pandemic. Artists will also play a huge role in supporting everyone’s recovery.
Brought Together
Another brilliant thing that art is able to promote is bringing people together. Over the past year, everyone was reminded of just how important it is to feel like being a part of a certain community. In line with art becoming more humanistic, professional artists are also expecting most works to be centred around creating this sense of community.
Whether their looking at it from the perspective of a local community to the much grander global community, art will definitely be used to bring people closer. This has also become more significant after everyone spent over a year in isolation, disconnected from their usual daily interactions. Plus, this trend will also most likely pick up from the subject matters of the climate crisis and mental health.
Moreover, inclusivity will also prove to be at the core of this growing movement. Even more so as certain arguments—political or otherwise—continue to create separations between people. One way to achieve this is by incorporating the concepts of teamwork, where art features are evidently working together towards a common goal.
The World is a Canvas
Again, art simply highlights people’s current circumstances and provides them with an avenue to address these realities. Ultimately, these are just some design themes that have become increasingly relevant throughout the UK’s creative industry. Artists should necessarily attempt to include these ideas into their works, giving them a significant role in aiding the world to reel in from the current health crisis.
