Coinciding with Visual Arts Trends' professional discount offer, Graphic Artists Guild president Jonathan Combs has a "Spotlight Column" in the latest quarterly Visual Arts Trends PDF report.

In the column, "What’s wrong with this picture?" Jonathan talks about the current state of the illustration industry, focusing on pricing, deadlines, problems posed by stock houses, and where the future may lie now that illustrators are "aware, awakened, and ready to fight back."

Another Trends column, written by William Westwood, past president of the Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) and a fellow Guild member, talks about the copyright case, Teri McDermott et al. v Advanstar Communications, in which Westwood is one of the lead plaintiffs. This precedent-setting case is supported by the Guild and alleges 20 years of copyright violations by Advanstar. Its outcome will have an impact all self-employed creatives.

Guild Members: Receive 25% Visual Arts Trends Discount

Visual Arts Trends, the quarterly "state of the industry" report for the creative professional, is available by subscription only. Guild members are eligible for a 25% discount—$22.99, a $7.00 savings—on the regular annual subscription price which includes four reports made available for download as PDF files.

Log on to Visual Arts Trends' Pricing and Ordering Information Page and download the Order Form, or click here to start the download immediately.

Once you print out the PDF, in the lower left hand side of the form, complete the section entitled "Note: discounts for members of industry organizations." You must provide your Guild membership number in this section in order to receive the discount.

Focusing on graphic design, advertising art direction, photography, and illustration, Visual Arts Trends reports offer a brief, business-oriented, definitive, and timely overview of industry developments that affect aesthetics, pricing, salaries, working conditions, and client relations.

The reports review and analyze professional trends by business category and by specialization, profile "hot" client industries, and include spotlight columns featuring trends of particular importance. The current issue, Visual Arts Trends 3S, is 90 pages packed with information crucial to a creative’s professional success.

The VisualArtsTrends.com web site is a valuable resource designed to provide creatives with an online source of trend-related information. In addition to offering a generous preview of the currently available report, the site’s extensive editorial area includes excerpts from past issues and a collection of site-exclusive articles on topics ranging from color to typography and legal and ethical issues facing commercial artists. Additional services include a free biweekly email supplement, Visual Arts Trends eS, each issue of which reviews and analyzes current industry trends from a problem/solution stand point and updates readers on international trend-related news.

The site also provides several opportunities to win and/or automatically receive a free one-year subscription to the quarterly trends reports.