Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Unskilled people in charge of designing presentations, or why bother formatting it?
wienerdog
06-12-2007, 08:24 PM
Anyone want to take a crack at explaining to me why a designer would go to the trouble of designing a template in PowerPoint for everyone at their company to follow, only to have those creating the presentations just ignore all the formatting standards and make them look like ass anyway?
When your sales team (and just about everyone else at your company) can't figure out how to format a simple bullet point in PowerPoint, you can imagine what those presentations look like. And, of course, there's no time for the designer to clean them up properly.
I guess functionality is not even a priority when you're presenting to potential clients. Aesthetics, consistency and quality would be nice too. I wonder what people are thinking when they jam loads of text onto a PowerPoint slide and jam them FULL of pastel colors. I'm sure there's a limit to how small a font can be to even be readable when projecting in front of a room of people.
No one's reading all that text.
Nothing is more frustrating than realizing how marginal your impact truly is.
morea
06-12-2007, 08:26 PM
Anyone want to take a crack at explaining to me why a designer would go to the trouble of designing a template in PowerPoint for everyone at their company to follow, only to have those creating the presentations just ignore all the formatting standards and make them look like ass anyway?
How's this: because that is what they are being paid to do, and if the client chooses not to follow the guidelines it's not the designer's problem.
hewligan
06-12-2007, 08:27 PM
The thing to remember is, having seen how badly they do when we're trying to help them, imagine how much worse it could get if we didn't.
Amen and amen, to both comments.
Ovaltine
06-12-2007, 08:30 PM
wienerdog, I feel your pain.
jimking
06-12-2007, 08:30 PM
I think it was Broader who said refering to people who are less than adequate using software " if they think they can do it, even if it's wrong, they'll do it." And they will do it in so many ways.
Jackimalyn
06-12-2007, 08:31 PM
you're preachin to the choir
morea
06-12-2007, 08:35 PM
don't agonize over it. If you're the designer, do the job, take the money, and let it go.
Craig B
06-12-2007, 08:36 PM
ditto, ditto, ditto. What they said.
jimking
06-12-2007, 08:36 PM
Just make sure you fix it before you go home. :rolleyes:
Yes, about 15-20 minutes before quitting time, so they don't have time to change it.
wienerdog
06-12-2007, 08:44 PM
don't agonize over it. If you're the designer, do the job, take the money, and let it go.
Well, when you directly work for the company, and they are presenting this as their branded material, and your the person who designs it, it reflects badly on the company and the brand you try so hard to manage.
If it makes a bad impression, it hurts the company's chances of getting more clients, and hurts my wallet with our profit sharing when the company doesn't get clients.
So apparently it's fine for others at the company to do things half-assed by the seat of their pants and not take time to quality check things, as long as certain people don't see it (like the CEO). Wonderful.
morea
06-12-2007, 08:48 PM
If it makes a bad impression, it hurts the company's chances of getting more clients, and hurts my wallet with our profit sharing when the company doesn't get clients.
If that's the worst you have to worry about, count your blessings. Seriously.
If it bothers you that much, find a new job. Have you any idea how many trained designers out there are desperate for work and would gladly deal with an 'inconvenience' like this in exchange for a steady paycheck?
If you look hard enough at ANY situation you can find something to complain about. Or you can make the conscious choice to make the best of it.
Either way, it's your choice.
CkretAjint
06-12-2007, 08:53 PM
So apparently it's fine for others at the company to do things half-assed by the seat of their pants and not take time to quality check things, as long as certain people don't see it (like the CEO). Wonderful.
Wow... I said this EXACT line the other day outloud at work and got called into my bosses, bosses, bosses office (the VP of Corporate Marketing) to explain my 'harsh words about others around me'... Best watch yourself! It's been 3 days and I haven't said a word to anyone around me. They must think I am mute now.... haha.
hewligan
06-12-2007, 08:57 PM
When you're in design school, they talk about design as a problem solving discipline - where your job is to produce the best optimal solution within the given constraints. In school, the constraints are about the supplied brief, text and images.
In the real world the constraints are more like the fact that you're the only one in sight who knows that there's more to typography than choosing between Arial and Comic Sans.
Either way, you design within the constraints.
If you have to produce a template for others to use, then you have to accept they will probably make a mess of it. Presumably they do know about whatever their job may be, but they're not designers. Just try to plan so that the mess they can make with the template is minimised.
That's the constraint.
wienerdog
06-12-2007, 09:01 PM
If that's the worst you have to worry about, count your blessings. Seriously.
If it bothers you that much, find a new job. Have you any idea how many trained designers out there are desperate for work and would gladly deal with an 'inconvenience' like this in exchange for a steady paycheck?
If you look hard enough at ANY situation you can find something to complain about. Or you can make the conscious choice to make the best of it.
Either way, it's your choice.
While I understand that the steady paycheck is a wonderful thing (I've been let go twice from horrible companies, so I know the pains of seeking ANY employment), trust me morea, the nonsense I deal, regardless of pay, you wouldn't want it.
This is just the minor thing that I thought others could relate to here. The other stuff, I wouldn't know where to start.
Oh, I know, here's one: (Keep in mind I'm not a self-absorbed jerk and have rescheduled vacation time to put the company's busy work schedule ahead of my needs twice this year.)
I scheduled off on Friday (for a dr. appointment to deal with a recently potentially dangerous eye issue) and early last week, provided a paper request form, put it in my Outlook calendar (which everyone can see), and sent an appointment that automatically adds it to my boss's calendar.
Today he mentions he has a presentation he's working on for early next week and will need my help Weds, Thurs, Fri. I remind him I'm out Fri, and he's shocked, saying he doesn't have it written down. HOW MANY FORMS OF NOTIFICATION DO I NEED TO PROVIDE?! I guess a neon sign is the next step.
Another day in the life.
morea
06-12-2007, 09:06 PM
Repeat after me:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
If you don't like it, make a change. Of course, it's easier to just piss and moan about it...
wienerdog
06-12-2007, 09:14 PM
If you don't like it, make a change. Of course, it's easier to just piss and moan about it...
It's not like I'm not trying. But I'll be sure to piss and moan in the meantime. :)
Repeat after me:
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
Okay...
God... Grant me the serenity to accept the thigns I cannot change... the courage to change the things that I can... ...and the wisdom to hide the bodies.
Craig B
06-12-2007, 09:21 PM
I see both sides.
My job can be hellish at times as well. A lot of what you described wienerdog could have been my job. Some days suck, some days don't and some days suck more than I could imagine.
The bottom line with the PowerPoint issue is you did your job an you can't control halfwits that use the template.
And I see that there are quite a few people needing work right now, and would at least be happy with a paycheck. Your line about "the nonsense you deal with, regardless of pay, people wouldn't want it" does come across as a little odd, because people do want a job, and if you think other people wouldn't want it, then why do you want to stay there?
If it's really that screwed up, maybe you might want to look for another job. Then again, the security of that job might be good. If so, tough it out.
Sometimes, it is good to vent, and I can appreciate that. Morea may have been a little harsh but man, if I posted all the craziness that bugs me up here day to day, I'd probably "break the internet".
The powerpoint thing ... been there done that. Let it go. The scheduling time off, I wouldn't let that go. You did your part, let him know it, don't back down.
wienerdog
06-12-2007, 09:30 PM
I see both sides.
My job can be hellish at times as well. A lot of what you described wienerdog could have been my job. Some days suck, some days don't and some days suck more than I could imagine.
The bottom line with the PowerPoint issue is you did your job an you can't control halfwits that use the template.
And I see that there are quite a few people needing work right now, and would at least be happy with a paycheck. Your line about "the nonsense you deal with, regardless of pay, people wouldn't want it" does come across as a little odd, because people do want a job, and if you think other people wouldn't want it, then why do you want to stay there?
If it's really that screwed up, maybe you might want to look for another job. Then again, the security of that job might be good. If so, tough it out.
Sometimes, it is good to vent, and I can appreciate that. Morea may have been a little harsh but man, if I posted all the craziness that bugs me up here day to day, I'd probably "break the internet".
The powerpoint thing ... been there done that. Let it go. The scheduling time off, I wouldn't let that go. You did your part, let him know it, don't back down.
Sorry if I came off as whiny, today. Lots of cascading BS and frustrations coming to a head. The vacation one really burned me, and needed to vent about something.
hewligan
06-12-2007, 09:34 PM
I can relate.
I work in-house, and I often get to watch stuff I worked on get messed up by others. But those others weren't hired to know about design.
Some days it gets to me, others not - but that's really more about me than them or the job.
Still, better to vent here than the office, eh? ;)
Craig B
06-12-2007, 10:25 PM
Once gain, take your day off. You scheduled it, you did it the right way. Screw them.
That's my 2 cents.
PrintDriver
06-12-2007, 10:32 PM
We have triplicate vacay forms (Office, Operations, and Employee copies). We get a copy as soon as it's approved. No one can argue with a signed vacay form.
wienerdog
06-13-2007, 12:28 PM
We have triplicate vacay forms (Office, Operations, and Employee copies). We get a copy as soon as it's approved. No one can argue with a signed vacay form.
Yeah, for some people, I guess 3 forms of verification aren't enough.
panzer
06-13-2007, 12:40 PM
seems people going over the top in angst today
and dont mean jeff
morea
06-13-2007, 01:27 PM
The office where I worked never would have accepted an outlook reminder as scheduling a day off; we had special forms that had to be submitted in advance, plus we were required to notify our immediate supervisor in person. It's really not a terrible inconvenience to do so, and some people get SO much email at work that it's easy to overlook a single message, especially on a hectic day. It seems to me like common courtesy to give your supervisor a quick 'heads up' in person.
Harsh? I'm just trying to put things into perspective for you here.
There will be annoyances in *every* job that you will ever have. There will be bad days no matter where you are working. (Like Drew Carey said, "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar." :D) BUT you will be happier if you make an effort to appreciate the good things that you have - like the steady paycheck, the vacation days, health insurance or other benefits, and *definitely* profit sharing, which is something that you won't get everywhere.
You have the power to choose what you focus on - the positive or the negative - and that goes a long way in determining whether you wake up miserable that you have to go to work, or whether you choose to make the best of it and find ways to be happy regardless of stupid things that are out of your control.
Try to gage stress with the "6 months" test; will this REALLY matter in 6 months? If it will it is probably something that is worth getting worked up about... but if it won't, don't let it eat you up inside.
Is there something you can do about it? If so, do it! Is the problem that people aren't following the usage guidelines? Maybe the usage guides should explain *why* things should be done a certain way. If they DO explain that already, maybe the problem is that the guidelines are not being "enforced" - so maybe you could explain to the supervisors in a brief note or a short meeting WHY it is important that they be followed, to get them to encourage the people in their departments to stick to them. Venting might feel good in the short term, but it is not going to solve the underlying problem. If you can do something to eliminate the problem at its root, how much better off will you be?
It may also help you to look at your coworkers differently. Are they REALLY completely "unskilled" or do they just have different skills than you do?
Try not to confuse inconveniences with "real" problems - you will be better off for it.
If I want a day off where I work, I need to ask for a form from my boss and specify which days I'm asking for. That then goes to the plant supervisor for approval, then it is sent to accounting for final approval.
It is then returned to me, and I have proof that the day was approved.