According to Thomas Friedman, The World is Flat. By now, we’ve gotten used to globalization and the commoditizing of all things related to production — it can all be accessed by anyone from anywhere. The creative industry is not safe from this, as we’ve seen from the huge shift toward cheap photography, cheap printing, and cheap design.

Yet, despite all of that, we are still able to survive. Talented photographers are still in high demand. Bands still commission posters printed by hand. And thankfully, there are people out there who value their business enough to let us brand them.

I am thankful for the one thing we have that can’t be outsourced or dumbed down: imagination. (Mr. Friedman is also thankful for this — read his Op-Ed piece about how the U.S. still has a chance to own the 21st century.) He writes:

“What your citizens imagine now matters more than ever because they can act on their own imaginations farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before — as individuals. In such a world, societies that can nurture people with the ability to imagine and spin off new ideas will thrive. The Apple iPod may be made in China, but it was dreamed up in America, and that’s where most of the profits go. America — with its open, free, no-limits, immigrant-friendly society — is still the world’s greatest dream machine.”

Imagination is what separates the best from the rest. A good imagination is difficult to replicate, and inspiring when executed well. (Heck, imagination can even reverse the effects of outsourcing and bring production back to the U.S., as American Apparel has proven.)

I am thankful for all the folks we’ve worked with, those who have believed that design is more than pushing buttons and turning knobs. Those who put their stock in our ability to imagine.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Random. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.