Do you share ALL of your secrets...or just some?

[The Lurker]

More honest talk:

this is gonna look worse than it really is but hopefully not.

how many of you hoard your secrets. so many of you share techniques and insight and things, but is what you share selective?

do you play it like you're sharing all you know, while keeping a few goodies for yourself? i'm sure the answer is a partial yes, but to what extent?

freelancers: when suggesting how to find work to others, do you kinda keep your clients hidden? or do you share that as well?

i live in the city, so there's obviously more work. but if you live in a smaller town...these guys are almost like direct competition it seems.

i'm in class and i always have fellow students askin "oh, how did you do that?" or "hey, don't you do freelance? how do i do this?".

my favorite player was Magic, not Michael. I'm an assist guy. I like the no-look pass more than the dunk. But in this case, i'm like "ummmmmmmmm....". I tell and even teach them all i've learned and continue to learn to this point, but is there point where i should hold off a little?

the irony of this post is pretty blatant...as I ask others for help. karma says "do it or i'll end you." being a nice guy says "stop asking dumb questions." but i find myself with these newfound moral dillemas that's i'm not quite sure how to handle. What would Deepak Chopra do?

you know how you give a homeless person a dollar, but not your whole wallet? where do i draw the line at school? and when?

it's not like i know a lot. and you guys share so much. but then i think, "is it because they live in San Diego, nowhere in direct competition with a person from Nova Scotia?" would you tell your nextdoor neighbor exactly where you find work?

so should i share all i have anyways? i always find myself over disclosing information, whether it be on a job application, meeting humans, making 1200 word essay/posts. I'm cursed with telling the truth.

but to the pros...do you find yourself being stingy with the goods sometimes? if somebody asks "how did you do that?", do you tell them every step specifically, or do you just offer direction and resources for them to do it themselves?

and same with finding work freelancers. are you direct? or kind of vague and aloof, but no so much that you look like a jerk.



k. again...no right or wrong. no black and white. any advice or words typed out will be appreciated.

i really wish we could type explitives on this board. i feel like bart simpson in church. when his hair would lay flat in the back seat.

[PrintDriver]

You have to be selective.
Someone I respect gave me the advice, "Never give away what you do for a living." In most respects that is true.

Instead of step-by-stepping, you could tell your classmates, "I did this using this but it would be best if you figured it out from there on your own." Unless you find yourself in a TA position, then you have to explain it step by step. Basic stuff is far more likely to be explained than high concept. You probably have a pretty good idea which of your classmates are trying to take the easy road and which are trying to actually learn. You decide. I knew kids who would wait outside the comp labs until the very end of a project and ask to buy code so they wouldn't have to do the work... Would you sell em yours?

As for clients and and to a large extent, vendors - nope. Mine.

The businesses of GD and Print are competitive. You will find that the info on 'how to find new clients' is very general here. Many ideas on how to drum up business are freely given but it's up to you to find the combination of marketing tools that works for you. No one is going to hand you clients. And they don't usually just fall into your lap. They aren't standing in a line someplace waiting for the next designer to drive along like a taxi cab and pick them up and we're not telling you. There are far too many Designers or Wannabees out there already, and not enough clients. Good luck.

[panzer]

i know so little but me and the other guy i work with share all our ideas and stuff we have sussed out probably because we know this job is a white elephant

but i would agree with printdriver

[Thomas51471]

I pretty much tell any and all I know if someone asks. Of course I weigh what it worth my time and what isn't. If someone is guinely wanting to know something to learn I tell them, if I can tell they want me to tell them just because they are lazy then they can figure it out on their own.

In a school environment, students should freely share with each other. That is one of the points of going to school. If all the students were going to sit around and not interact and teach each other then they could do that on their own with the net and some books.

I am a big believer in teaching what you know to help others achieve. Because it will come full circle back to you eventually when you need to learn something new too.

[Crimson]

If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, If you teach him how to fish he eats for life. Unfortunately, I hate seafood. I think it is a balance of both.

If they start trying to underbid you to your clients then they are evil people. But if you are giving them good service they won't switch.

For the most part- I play well with others and share. think back to kindergarten and keep it simple. don't overthink it

[morea]

I echo Thomas' sentiments completely.

[EC]

I didn't "share" or "help" in school. I was really competitive, and I'm very independent and self-motivated -- so I didn't need other people to help me get top marks. If somebody asked me to study with them, sure -- but share my notes? UH uh. lol

However, in the professional world -- I can't get too far in a vacuum. Everything I know, I owe to my mentors and colleagues. I spend as much time as I can giving back because it truly does come full circle.

Do I give away "the farm"? To be honest with you, it depends on who asks.

[AlexNJ210]

Can i live on your farm EC???? I bet you'd be cute in a farmers hat and overalls....
j/k ;-) lol

I too believe its an intelligent give and take. Dont be like a vending maching for information. Use your judgement, but most of the time its better to give a person part of the information, or give them a direction and let them figure it out on their own.

[Satchel]

I try to help out when I can, unfortunatly I'm still relativily new to this so I dont have as many answers as I would like...

[PersonasBinar]

techniques I'll share til the cows come home..... how to get better clients, I'll be more than willing to learn...lol

[D-Frag]

i echo morea's comments about thomas' comments about the original comment

[morea]

lol @ D-Frag! :p

[PersonasBinar]

Word!!!!

[balou]

i echo morea's comments about thomas' comments about the original comment

ditto.

[Logo-Mechanix]

I echo my own comments...comments...comments.

[JaCkinbOx]

We all look out for #1, and frankly, we should. I do help out where I can, but usually only in response to specific questions. I don't wish to impart everything I know to one person at once, nor would I ever. There are secrets about my design theories that I will not release; they're too much a part of my individual style and it's too valuable to me to simply give away. But I don't mind pointing people in the right directions for the basics... even some potential clients would benefit from understanding a bit that's involved in the basics.

[G-Man79]

Word up to all the dittos.

Rule of Life #3,178: You get what you give.

Ultimately, you can know all sorts of great techniques but the ability to use any technique appropriately and putting your own stamp on them is truly what separates good designers from the wannabes.

[Broacher]

>>If you give a man a fish he eats for a day, If you teach him how to fish he eats for life.<<

Or, as Dave Barry once said, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll sit in a boat all day and drink beer."

Some people appreciate advice, and fewers others even demand it-- and it seems, even fewer are actually willing to pay for it. Especially in graphic design. I can't think of any other technical profession today that contributes and distributes as much free advice as designers. Look at all the forums, the tutorials, the countless daily favours performed in offices everyone at the expense of the 'graphics expert' trying to 'help' those looking for solutons. Can you imagine if we saw this same level of generosity in doctors, engineers, lawyers, plumbers--any other profession?

Why is that? Compulsive generosity? Altruism? Or just plain desperation to gain more professional respect?

Does anybody think it actually does?

[Rocketpig]

my favorite player was Magic, not Michael. I'm an assist guy. I like the no-look pass more than the dunk.

My favorite player is Ron Artest.

Ask me another question and I'll punch you in the ****ing face.

:D

[kerrysmagicshirt]

I'm still quite new to the working world and have a lot to learn about both getting clients, techniques and using the software. I first came to this forum looking for answers but was quite determind not to be all take take take - so where i can i give away my tips and tricks no worries - all in the name of making the worl;d a more astetically pleasing place to be.

At uni I would show people what i had done (because it was nearly always better then them) and sometimes if i liked them i'd tell them how i did it - but usually they wouldn't get it anyway. If they specificaly asked how do you do this - then i would tell them.

But as has previously been stated and dittod it depends on each situation - you only give what is needed/asked for.

[reuber1]

My favorite player is Ron Artest.

Ask me another question and I'll punch you in the ****ing face.

:DNice. My favorite player is Karl Malone. Ask me a question and I'll respond no quicker than ten seconds. Kidding, Jordan kicks ass.

I think different situations warrant different responses. Usually I can tell if a person is needing advice, and if I offer it they will be better off for it, and I know when to back off and let them learn on their own, and I know when someone is being lazy. Also, on the topic of school, I wish the students at my last college were more open to their ideas...there were so many egos, a lot of people were completely anti-social and were extremely defensive if you just quickly glanced at what they were doing.

[Eggles1]

>>...the countless daily favours performed in offices everyone at the expense of the 'graphics expert' trying to 'help' those looking for solutons. Can you imagine if we saw this same level of generosity in doctors, engineers, lawyers, plumbers--any other profession?

Why is that? Compulsive generosity? Altruism? Or just plain desperation to gain more professional respect?

All of the above.

>>Does anybody think it actually does?

In my workplace, where I am the sole inhouse designer, I seem to be the only one who has a scanner - or at least knows HOW to scan and what to do with the results. I am also the one who knows how to tweak photos sent as attachments or in Word docs so they can be recognisable. I'm the one who knows the format in which to send company logos when requested by outside clients. I'm the one who can format important letters and powerpoint backgrounds so they look professional. I'm the one who can convert part of a layout to a format suitable for insertion into a Word document. I'm the one the IT guy asks for a RGB breakdown of a particular colour in a file. I could go on and on, but my job is not just doing what I was hired to do - design and produce print-ready brochures, course guides, advertisments, posters etc. I seem to do lot of other stuff and that's partly because I have the software to do it, and partly because I am so approachable and willing to share my expertise.

And no, I don't think it has gained me any more professional respect, since no-one else in the whole workplace understands what it takes to do what i do. It's just clicking a few buttons isn't it?

[keith1]

Besides all the techinical stuff.. You can't share experience. There may be tricks of the trade but I'm not afraid of anyone stealing my techniques. Learning a trick that I do in Photoshop isn't gonna make anyone be able to read my mind and steal my creative ideas. In this business to be successful it's not about software tricks or techniques, it's about CREATIVITY and ORIGINALITY. Everyone is different and has they're own experiences (as an artist specifically) and how they use them to convey a certain "original" design.