Designer Ivory Tower Attitudes.

[Hockeygoon]

Guys,

Why can't I work for a company that seems to have a well rounded group of designers and creatives who don't have their heads up their a$$ who think they are the 'IT' in regards to all things related to what they do.

I've been reading this forum for awhile gathering wisdom as much as possible and everyone here seems to be pretty level headed and alright.

Maybe I need to switch environments from Advertising into someting else. Maybe it's because you all hate IT departments.

I've been supporting Pc's and Mac's for 11+ years and know the in's and outs of alot of technical issues. But wooooh hold on. Attempt to assist someone with things that you've seen before many times and they instantly get this attitude that how could an IT guy know about fonts, or layouts, or bleeds, or friggin anything. Give me a chance I'll show you how to run a freakin Heidelberg. Benefits of growing up around a family run print shop with a few macs to boot.

This is something I've been wondering for years... what gives... why the attitude...

Getting quite tired of it and am ready to just start playing the dumb IT guy who knows nothing about nothing and leave them all to their frustrations of dumping pdf's from quark 6.1 into acrobat and wondering why it crashes when they try to reduce it's size.

Crap, yesterday I had a bigwig 10 year plus experience king of the hill designer tell me the dual 2 ghz G5 we put on his desk two days ago runs slower than his system from 10 years ago. yaaaaa ooook buddy. Go back to your Quadra. And Quark 4 was stable right! /emoticons/icon_lol.gif

So please.. do tell me... What is everyone's problem!!!!

Here's a guy willing to bridge the gap between two ego bent industries and all I get is lame comments and never constructive comments about how to improve things.

[PrintDriver]

Hi Hockeygoon. Welcome to the forum. You'll fit right in here.

I hear ya. In my case I know more than a little bit about macs but our IT guy won't ask questions when he comes down to fix network issues. He'd rather sit there for an hour looking for the control panel he needs rather than ask. If he just gave me the numbers I'd fix the stupid thing.

And our owners have no clue what I do as a liason between our designers and our outsourced large format vendors. They don't get that it's because we can open a client's file, set it up in the format the printer needs for his rip so we don't have to wait for one of their techs to become available and send it out to their FTP that we get things done on some impossible schedules. Heaven forbid they get US an FTP server or upgrade my department (we aren't on X completely yet) or get me a box that will at least open some of these designer files in under 20 minutes...

Can't help thinking, like you, there has to be a company out that respects the tech as well as the designer and understands that technology is here to stay even if the higher ups don't want to deal with it personally.

In designers' defense, I think they have to be cocksure of themselves to put up with the crap they put up with daily. Eventually, with some of them, it gets to their head that they really are the greatest thing on earth. Not all though.

Q4.11 was stable. At least for me.
And some things can go wrong with a G5 that will slow it down to a crawl. Usually user inflicted.
But, oh well. Let him suffer for a while! LOL!

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[ylaenna]

[mini-rant]
Yes, I'm sure a lot of 'computer problems' are actually due to user error, having poor file organization and way too many cutesy freeware programs installed. Stupid pancakeing custom email background with flutterying butterflies and huge bitmaps of puppies in the signature. GAH!
[/mini-rant]

Anyway, welcome to the GDF, Hockeygoon. :)

THINGS GO WELL AH MAHT BE SHOWIN HER MAH OH FACE...

[Magnus]

Yeah, it's quite the 'noah's ark' of boats we're all in. HockeyGoon, I say, let all the pompous asses be asses! Their over confidence and blatent attitudes of greatness will prove to be their biggest downfall. People like that go through life with one eye open, and it's usually the red one between their butt cheeks. Let them be that way, I know i'm better than they are, I'm just humble enough not to act like it.

"...you should show only one design because that is what your paied to do....your not paied to let the client himself pick out which designs he likes best..."

- Zartan the Wise

[defjoe]

you phucking IT guys... you don't know sh!t...wanna be designers.

;)

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

[D-Zine]

Welcome Hockey!

What about when you ARE the Art Director and you ARE the IT guy (or girl in my case)?! I'm not cocky at all about knowing both and in no way do I think that I know it all....but fk I am sooooo phukin tired of ppl callin my name bc their computer is 'doin something wierd'!!! Educate yourself and figure it out instead of calling MY FKN NAME EVERY 5 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!

I have always worked for small companies, so with me, in every case, I was expected to know how to fix EVERYTHING that went wrong. Hell, I took a job as an AD for a place here in Savannah that had 2 magazines and a newspaper...the AD before me just up and left...they didn't know where anything was and just expected me to figure it all out bc I was the designer. As if we ALL think alike! We all have our diff set up and way we do things. So..I guess for me, since then, I just don't want to have to wait on someone to come in and fix my stuff. When somethings screwed up. I want it fixed. I want it fixed now. I can't wait....so...I learned to do it myself. Now of course bc of that, its expected of me at my job to fix EVERYTHING....computers, copier, fax, printers...phones, adding machines....anything. WTF am I? Superwoman?? Oh that's right...I AM :o)

Anyways....wow what a rant I went on! Sorry guys - crapty mood!!! BUT...I dunno why there are so many cocky ppl in each field. If ppl worked together they could learn ALOT more *sigh*

Boobie Island or Bust!

[BuckarooB]

Can't We All Just Get Along... Oh and welcome...Hockeygoon.

Hmmm, IT & GD... GD & IT... It just might work!!!

I'll get back to you on this - ranters! /emoticons/icon_twisted.gif

http://www.whispercreek.us/ImageServe/blastoffSig.jpg

[PrintDriver]

Ah ha ha, Def.
No, I don't wanna be a designer.
Too much pressure!
LOL!

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[uncle carbunkle]

y'know...it puts a lot of mental, physical and emotional strain on a person...having such good taste and design skills...you should cut the snotty bastids some slack...it's the price you pay - having retarded social skills - for being so outrageously fabulous and talented...

see? and people STILL don't understand...ah, to be gifted and misunderstood...




*yack*

>> rudie can't fail <<

[Drawing a Blank]

Hey Hockeygoon welcome to the forum. I'm a little confused though about somthing. Under your name it says designer yet you call yourself an IT guy. Which is it? Both?


Anyway I'm in the opposite boat from you at this company the IT people have the control. I started working here 2 years ago and the guy who had the job before me had been here for 18 years. My position is called a Product Design Specialist, but I'm the only graphics person working here so I just call myself the graphics department. The guy who was here before me was an engineer not a designer and he left 2 months before I was hired. He left no clue as to how his files were set up so I had to figure out (I feel your pain D-Zine). Anyway the IT department hates MAC's so much that they had rid the company of them 12 years ago. Which meant that we would get artwork from some of our clients and instead of just opening the files and preping them for printers this guy would send them to an outside firm to get them ready for printing. It also meant he had few artwork files that could actually be opened if somthing had to be changed. Since I started here we have gotten 1 MAC that resides on my desk and the IT guys refuse to hook it up to the network so I have to burn discs on the MAC, put it in the PC and transfer them to the FTP site. WTF!! Your right designers can be cockey, but why are so many IT people afraid of MACs??


"Oooh Benson; you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence."

[D-Zine]

Why can't they just let you hook it up to the network for them then? hehe! I bt they would LURVE that...haha!! I hooked the PCs and the Macs up to our new server yesterday..saawwhhheeettttt!!

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Drawing a Blank]

Thers only1 network connectionrecepticlein my office. Nothing some CAT 5 wire couldn't fix. Maybe my wire running skills will come in handy again.

"Oooh Benson; you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence."

[Hockeygoon]

Thanks all,

DOH!.. it does say Designer under my title. Nope I'm just an IT guy. I shall look in my profile to change that.

Ya, I usually let the pompus boobs go about their business and it usually doesn't bother me. But when you have one obvious ali in the IT department why beat them up because not everything is going your way. I'm actually 3rd liine Network support but because of my Mac background still get into the trenches once in awhile when I see the youngins struggling with the Macs.

Not all IT departments are scared of Macs but yup... alot of IT guys don't really know much about them.. I guess when I see alot of non Mac literate IT guys banging away on a mac trying to find stuff it's not all that bad you see even though they don't ask where stuff is it's because the way most of us IT guys learn is hands on... phuck it up and fix it... best way to learn...

The reason so many IT departments won't allow you to network your Macs in heavy pc environments was because of the old OS9 would always piss appletalk onto the network which is not really the most efficient method of network communication... in the industry we call it chatty.

But with OS X being so much more TCP/IP friendly you shouldn't have any problems convincing them to let you on. If they still say no it's because they are thinking towards the old technology and don't really know how to configure the system to protect the network. Another reason may be since so many studio's are 3rd partied into client sites that it may be just a security issue where the client IT will not allow the macs on the network because your essentially an external company even though you are within their walls.

DZine you are correct.. so many cocky people..

I do have to admit though.. working in an Advertising is a hell of alot better then working in the city for some finance company or bank... i've not had to wear a suit to work since I told my old employer to stuff it...

[Drawing a Blank]

Yeah, I'm running on OSX so it shouldn't be a problem it's just the people. They are hiring a new guy for the IT department though and he has a MAC background so my days of isolation might be over.


One can only hope.


"Oooh Benson; you are so mercifully free from the ravages of intelligence."

[Hockeygoon]

grrrrr... ok .... The new member IT guy doesn't see where to change his Desinger assigned status... can I even change it.

You guys trying to take the piss out of the new guy..

hehehehehehe

oh well I'll concentrate on my avatar for now.

Yes Greglearn, if he's got some Mac background butter that boy up and get him on your side. Just pray he's not one of those Mac freaks or the IT department internally will start to shun him and take what he says or requests with alot of skepticism.

Having always been a cross platform IT guy I know the benefits of both sides and don't preach to just one. I hope you get a good middle of the road guy who doesn't get involved in Mac is better then PC discussions because he could actually hinder your chances instead of helping them if he's one of these Mac Nazi's... I'm sure you know what I mean.

[PrintDriver]

Control Panel>Edit options>Custom User Title. Type away man.

PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing