The design field and the creative industries: a critical analysis of production processes using digital tools

Authors

  • Camille Vignal Frota Mestre UFRJ
  • Fabiana Oliveira Heinrich UFRJ

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22398/2525-2828.113270-82

Abstract

In this study, the field of design is approached as a sector within the creative industries, with a focus on examining how the phenomenon of digitalization influences this context through work--related tools. Initially, the study addresses the process of digitalization in industrial production between the 20th and 21st centuries, based on analyses found in the specialized critical literature. Subsequently, the emergence and development of the creative industries are presented through the perspectives of leading experts in the field. Finally, the research explores the impacts of digitalization on the creative economy, identifying and articulating its relationship with the productive dimension of the field of design through a case study of the digital tools company Adobe Inc. The analysis — which encompasses an investigation of the production, circulation, and reception of its digital products — seeks to identify the agents and mechanisms through which this com-pany exerts influence over design practices.

Author Biographies

Camille Vignal Frota, Mestre UFRJ

Camille Vignal Frota holds a Master's degree in Design from the Postgraduate Program in Visual Design at EBA-UFRJ (2024). She has a degree in Industrial Design from the State University of Rio de Janeiro, ESDI-UERJ (2020). She was a training analyst at a major Brazilian company in the fashion sector, participating in graphic and educational projects related to the brand over the course of two years. She has experience in the area of Industrial Design, with an emphasis on Visual Design, working mainly on the following themes: Social Criticism, Image Analysis, Design History, Digital Work and Creativity.

Fabiana Oliveira Heinrich, UFRJ

Fabiana Oliveira Heinrich is a professor and researcher at the Design Graduate Program of the School of Fine Arts at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (EBA-UFRJ) - Brazil, which she currently coordinates. She also coordinates LabCrit: Laboratory of Critical Productions in Design, where she develops and directs research on the critical relations between the design field and capitalism. She holds a PhD and a Master's degree in Design from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) - Brazil, and a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) - Brazil. During her PhD, she was a visiting fellow at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design - USA, as well as attended the summer seminar of the Institute for Critical Social Inquiry at The New School - USA. She has experience working for both national and international companies, as well as freelancing. She is interested in the areas of Social Criticism, Image, Design Methodologies, Digital Technologies, Design Theory and Digital Work.

References

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ADOBE. Creative cloud para empresas. Brasil: Adobe, 2024a. Disponível em: https://www.adobe. com/br/creativecloud/business.html?promoid=KH8NV9ZS&mv=other#compareplans. Acesso em: 4 mar. 2024.

ADOBE. Creative cloud para estudantes e professores. Brasil: Adobe, 2024b. Disponível em: https://www.adobe.com/br/creativecloud/buy/students.html?promoid=KCJMVFQT&mv=other. Acesso em: 4 mar. 2024.

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FROTA, Camille. Campo do design e indústrias criativas: crítica à hegemonia da Adobe Inc. na contemporaneidade. Dissertação (Mestrado em Design) – Escola de Belas Artes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2024.

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JULIER, Guy. Economies of design. Londres: SAGE, 2017.

MATIAS, Iraldo. Projeto e revolução: do fetichismo à gestão, uma crítica à teoria do design. Florianópolis: Em Debate, 2014.

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WARNOCK, John; GESCHKE, Charles. Founding and Growing Adobe Systems, Inc. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, v. 41, n. 3, p. 24-34, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/MAHC.2019.2923397

YAHOO! FINANCE. Adobe Inc. (ADBE). Disponível em: https://tinyurl.com/2zdtr52a. Acesso em: 1º mar. 2024.

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Published

2026-09-11

How to Cite

VIGNAL FROTA, Camille; OLIVEIRA HEINRICH, Fabiana. The design field and the creative industries: a critical analysis of production processes using digital tools. Journal Dialogue with Creative Economy, Rio de Janeiro, v. 11, n. 32, p. 70–82, 2026. DOI: 10.22398/2525-2828.113270-82. Disponível em: https://dialogo.espm.br/revistadcec-rj/article/view/2072. Acesso em: 12 sep. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 32 (2026): Dossiê do III Congresso Ibero-americano Interdisciplinar de Economia Criativa + Artigos livres

Section

Dossiê

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Copyright (c) 2026 Camille Vignal Frota, Fabiana Oliveira Heinrich

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