Mega Shifts in the Business Pivot in Visual Communication Design Subsector during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 has brought about a number of changes in people’s lifestyles and business pivots, specifically in the Visual Communication Design (VCD) subsector of the creative industry. This study aimed to determine those changes. The first step is to identify the new business pivot; next, look for future business opportunities so that the businesses can sustain and grow. The study uses a phenomenological method that specializes in visible phenomena and realities to examine their explanations. The method explores data to find the meaning of the primary and essential things of the phenomenon, reality or events experienced by the object of the research. The results of this study indicated four new lifestyles in the new normal era: (1) Staying at home; (2) Staying at the bottom of the pyramid; (3) Going virtual; and (4) Being an emphatic society. As such, the new lifestyle influences the changes in the VCD-business pivot. Designers can change the business pivot to survive during the pandemic, including designing masks, personal protective equipment/hazmat suit, making posters and comic strips including quotes motivating people to face the pandemic, etc. Keywords: business pivot, visual communication, COVID-19 pandemic