The Shifting Paradigm of Visual Communication Design Profession

The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and the progression of technology have changed how humans respond to their daily lives, habits, needs, and living standards. Technology has presented new approaches to simplify human life; everything that was analog has turned digital with the help of automation and artificial intelligence through developed hardware and software. The change also happens in the creative industry, where new media emerge, such as computer-aided design, and the need for different design approaches and strategies is needed to become more relatable to the current target market. The researchers utilized focus group discussions as a data collection method in this research to gain a better understanding of the changes. The Indonesian Visual Communication Designer Professionals Association (AIDIA) is the representative of the designers’ perspective, The Association of Indonesian Visual Communication Design Study Programs (ASPRODKVI) is the representative of the design education perspective, Lia Sidik and Associate and Apple Developer Academy (ADA) as the representatives of industries involved in technology development are some of the stakeholders invited to take part in the FGD. The researchers use thematic analysis of the data acquired from the FGD to establish the paradigm shifts in visual communication design as a component of the creative industry and to determine the necessary actions that educational institutions must take to prepare their graduates for the new era of the creative industry.