Digital service design for artists: Exploring the challenges and needs of creative entrepreneurs

Abstract

Financial struggles have long been a persistent issue for the creative community. Many studies show that artists earn significantly less than other highly educated professionals, which is a trend seen both globally and in Finland. Despite a growing number of artists turning to creative entrepreneurship to monetize their intellectual assets, building financially stable careers remains a challenge.

This BA thesis explores the challenges and needs of creative entrepreneurs, focusing on those who produce and sell physical artworks through online platforms, a group that has been less studied in previous research. The main research question is: What are the specific challenges and needs faced by creative entrepreneurs, particularly visual artists, in establishing financially sustainable careers? A sub-question is: How can service design address their challenges and needs to better support creative entrepreneurs? To answer these questions, the study employs a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. It aims to fill a gap in understanding the challenges and needs of creative entrepreneurs and how digital services can better support them.

The theoretical framework centres on the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship. The literature review examines theoretical frameworks and existing research on creative entrepreneurship, financial challenges in the art economy, and the potential of service design, through peer-reviewed articles, reports and books.

The findings of this study reveal that artists continue to face low and unstable incomes, leading many to diversify their income streams. Key challenges include struggles in marketing and finding the right customers, balancing art with business, and copyright infringement concerns. Needs for agencies or business partners, peer learning and mentorship, practical business knowledge and societal support were also highlighted. These findings align with and extend prior research by emphasizing the evolving digital landscape's impact on creative entrepreneurship. Digital service design offers a holistic approach to potentially address these challenges and needs by understanding its complexity and creating tailored solutions for creative entrepreneurs.

The outcomes of this thesis have the potential to inspire both designers and service providers, including private companies and public sector organizations, to create more effective solutions tailored to the needs of the creative community. However, limitations in the study, such as the small, localized sample of interviewees and lack of iterative processes, affect the representativeness of the findings. Future research should include a broader, more diverse participant pool and progress toward ideation and prototyping phases to fully explore solutions for creative entrepreneurs.