Changelog

In the spirit of continuous improvement, every year we make changes to the survey and the report to better reflect the evolving world of Service Design. Here is what is new.

2026 Edition

This year marks a major technical and thematic leap forward.

🆕 New Themes & Questions

• The Rise of AI: For the first time, we asked specifically about the adoption and impact of Artificial Intelligence in your daily work.
• Career Paths: We introduced detailed questions to map where Service Designers come from and where they aspire to go next.
• Focus of Work: To cut through the ambiguity of job titles, we asked you to define the actual focus of your role (e.g., Research vs. Strategy vs. Implementation).

⚡ Feature Updates

• Survey Questions Archive: We've published the full history of survey questions from 2021 to 2026, allowing you to trace exactly how our data collection has evolved over time.
• Dynamic Currency Switching: You can now view salary data in your local currency. Use the dropdown at the top of any salary chapter to instantly convert figures from USD to EUR, GBP, CAD, and 160+ other currencies using real-time exchange rates.
• Smart Sorting: We added a "Sort by" widget to major charts, allowing you to toggle between "Natural" order (e.g., Junior -> Senior) and "Score" order (Highest -> Lowest) to quickly identify trends.
• Privacy Firewall: We implemented a stricter privacy protocol. Data segments with fewer than 5 respondents are automatically masked to protect individual identities, while still contributing to global aggregates.
• Total Compensation Accuracy: We refined our "Median Total Compensation" logic to strictly exclude respondents who did not provide a valid annual base salary (e.g., freelancers reporting only daily rates). This ensures that total compensation figures always represent a complete salary package.

📊 New Chapters

• Promotions & Layoffs: A dedicated deep dive into career stability and advancement.
• Salary Raises: Detailed analysis of who is getting a raise and by how much.
• Impact & Influence: A new In-House chapter visualizing how design teams perceive their influence across different organizational structures.

🛠 Technical Overhaul

• Observable Framework: We migrated the entire report to the Observable Framework. This shift moves us from static pages to a fully interactive, data-driven application. Charts now load faster, filter instantly, and allow for deeper exploration.
• Interactive Filtering: You can now slice data by Country, Seniority, and Industry across almost every chart in the report.

2025 Edition

• New Lenses: Added "Leading a Team," "Salary Raises," and "Confidence" as key analytical dimensions.
• Multi-Industry Selection: Allowed Agency and Freelance professionals to select multiple industries, reflecting the reality of client work.

2024 Edition

• Multi-Year Trends: Introduced the ability to visualize and compare data across multiple years to spot long-term shifts.
• Local Currency: Participants could submit their salaries in their local currencies (automatically converted to USD), improving data accuracy.
• New Lenses: Added "Minority Status," "Reporting Department," and "Design Maturity" to the analysis.

Have a suggestion for next year?

We are already planning the 2027 edition. Share your ideas here.