Need everyones opinions for two articles!

Hi, I'm writing an article for CASE, a creative magazine written and made by students. I've thought about asking two questions to all you creatives out there, which I would like to add into my article as reference (if you don't mind your comments being quote inside the article).

I'm asking two questions really, they're both mainly aimed towards the designers.
The first question I ask is what do you think, depending on your location in the world of foreign design, photography, illustration, architecture, art etc?

Foreign deisgn is a different trend to our own, it's almost like another movement.But for example; do you like the way Japanese illustration, such as manga like Jinyoung Shin's, or print like Katsushika Hokusai's (e.g.) is developing? The majority of work from the Far East is very similar as apposed to British design. Do you agree with this? Do you think any international designs are working as a defining example of prominante design? Is it going somewhere different? Changing style or trend?

My second question is about the moderisation of graphic design and how the style of progression towards finished pieces has changed with the advent of Macintosh computers and sophistication of technology. I've noticed that when a client gives a designer a brief. Designers usually go straight onto the computer and whip out a final piece for the client without doing any development work towards it.

For example, I was browsing through an Issue of Computer Arts and I came across an article interviewing designer; Justin Manner, and I quote from the extract:

Quote:
'Talking technique, Manner reveals that he started digitally with no tradtitional background. Photoshop and 3D Apps were both his sketchbook and his digital canvas. "My work is 100% digitally constructed".'
Is it really the correct method to follow through? Or should trial and error through sketchbooks always be the superior way to flush in ideas?

Post any views on both questions you believe is true in your opinion. Any comments would be great, the more posts, the better my article should be.