The results of a survey asking 60 plus Creative Technologists what they are working on, how they are working and how well others understand what they are working on.

1. 2020State of
Creative Technology Report
4th Annual Survey
By Sam Joseph, Freelance Brand Strategist

2. Experience Design might be the future of Creative Technology - or, at least,
the future name of it.
AR, AI/Machine Learning and Instillations are what Creative Technologists
want to work on - and, fortunately, what they predict they’ll be working on
in the future.
From kickoffs to presentations, Creative Technology has become an
integral part of client-facing processes.
For those working with Creative Technology, the likelihood to switch jobs
has decreased while the understanding of the field is up - perhaps there’s a
relationship there?
Exec Summary
22020 CT Survey l

3. Process

4. ClientKickoffs
100
Strategy
Concepting
Prototyping
Client
Presentations
Scoping/Production
Development
50
Then vs Now
What parts of the creative process are you involved in?
42020 CT Survey l
2017
2020

5. ClientKickoffs
100
Strategy
Concepting
Prototyping
Client
Presentations
Scoping/Production
Development
50
Current vs Ideal
What parts of the creative process are you involved in vs which parts should you be
involved in?
52020 CT Survey l
Current
Ideal

6. “More companies are getting used to having Creative
Technologists around and learning their value, as
opposed to a small team of tech folks off in the corner.
The ‘first wave’ creative techs themselves are also
becoming more senior and more experienced, and
often learning that they have a lot to contribute to
these broader discussions.”
Blair Neal, Chief Creative Technologist
Fake Love, NYC
62020 CT Survey l

7. Work

8. Then vs Now
What do you work on the most?
VR
60
Hardware
AI/ML
AR
UIDesign
BackEndDev
UXDesign
Installations
FrontEndDev
ExpDesign
40
20
82020 CT Survey l
2017
2020

9. VR
60
UIDesign
BackEndDev
FrontEndDev
UXDesign
Hardware
AR
AI/ML
Installations
Exp.Design
40
20
Current vs Ideal
What do you work on the most vs what would you ideally work on?
92020 CT Survey l
Current
Ideal

10. FrontEndDev
60
UIDesign
VirtualReality
Hardware
UXDesign
AI/ML
Installations
FrontEndDev
AR
Exp.Design
40
20
Ideal vs Projected
What would you ideally work on vs what do you project you'll work on in 3-5 years?
102020 CT Survey l
Ideal
Projected

11. “Nowadays in the web industry UI/UX knows the tech
limit of the web, in the film industry the Directors
know how to shoot what has never been done before,
but in the event and retail industry there is no culture
of cutting edge experience - so the CTs were the only
one able to offer that for the physical world.
And that's probably why the Creative Technologist title
is less and less visible, and former CTs now present
themselves as Experience Designers or Experience
Directors.”
Stephane Allary, Spatial Experience Designer
Publicis.Sapient, Paris
112020 CT Survey l

12. Job

13. Notatalllikely
100
1
2
3
Extremely
likely
50
Then vs Now
How likely are you to switch jobs?
+11%
-14%
132020 CT Survey l
2017
2020

14. Notat
all
40
1
2
3
Completely
getit
20
Then vs Now
How well do your co-workers understand what a Creative Technologist does?
+29%
142020 CT Survey l
2017
2020

15. “I think the understanding can be attributed to
industry professionals having more and more past
success in working with creative technology, as
well as many new academic programs around
creative technology opening up.
NYU ITP has been around for a while, but I've also
noticed Miami Ad School and other advertising
specific programs opening up specializations for
Creative Tech, which I think is great.”
Kathleen Bryan, Creative Technologist
Organic, NYC
152020 CT Survey l

16. Opinion

17. Loving
What's your favorite example of creative technology that you've recently seen?
Apollo In Real Time (link)
Netflix Hangouts (link)
Sony’s Atom View (link)
Machine Hallucination (link)
Ultrasound Tactical
Interfaces (link)
The Oddly Satisfying Spa (link)
BK’s Burn That Ad (link)
Apple’s ARt Gallery (link)
James Beard VR
Tasting Menu (link)
172020 CT Survey l

18. Learning
If you ran an agency/company, how would you make learning about technology easier?
“Internal build
demonstrations to
teach designers what
they are designing for.”
“Dedicated R&D.”
“Make mockups and
prototyping more
accessible by providing
better tools for
minimum viable demo.”
“Provide hackathons /
coding days / maker labs.”
“Mentorship.”
“Bring vendors in more
frequently who actually
build the tech... connect the
conceptual people directly
with the makers.”
“Show how similar
products use little
tech and heavy tech.”
“Assign space to play
more.”
“I would cut down on
profit margins to
make sure this all is
possible.”
182020 CT Survey l

19. Improving
How can creative technology improve the quality of political advertising?
“Make lies easier to spot
(fake news, Deepfakes,
photos with no source).”
“Make ‘source code’
accessible.”
“Through well regulated
use of AI/ML fact
checking and context
adding.”
“I don't think it can nor
should.”
“By staying out of it.”
“It's a roots problem, not
branches. The media
companies should be
responsible for the content
they distribute.”
“Creating snack-able
games that subtly
raise political ideas.”
“Provide ways to feel the
impact of information.”
“By breaking the filter
bubble and echo
chambers built by
them.”
192020 CT Survey l

20. THANKS
About the Author: Sam Joseph is a freelance
strategist who has developed brand, creative
and digital strategies at various ad agencies. He
also formerly ran a Creative Technology
Consultancy called TBD Labs. He’s based in NYC
and is always down to chat about projects,
parenting or players on his fantasy team.
samjoseph77@gmail.com