Why oh why do we stand for it!!!!

[DanH]

To me graphic design is an art with the same creativity as fine art, yet we get bosses who hinder that. I came into the industry knowing that there were companies and more to te point employers who didn't have a clue about the creative process but I didn't know there were so many. Why do they work in this industry???

If they are good at business they should work as a investment banker. I hate the fact that they can be really padantic. I might as well sit there a physically try to come up with a design that i know i will think is a load of bull but am certain that my boss will like. Is this going to be my life?????

Just a little vent from a hard day.

[defjoe]

Vent away.. .I would say this subject has been at least 65% of the topics in this area.

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

[D-Zine]

Hahahahha yeah absolutely!

http://coastalcarousel.com/GDF/metatag3.jpg

Who says doodling isn't constructive?!

[bunwhisper]

DanH said...
TIs this going to be my life?????


Yes.

One thing to save your sanity - dont think of design as art. Its not. Not when its done for investment bankers, accountants or insurance companies. Its just stuff. Its paper.

Feeling that you are being an artist and being true to good design principles will do nothing but give you an ulcer. If you work for a high-end agency, maybe you can be artsy but if you don't... just think of it as 'product'. Like making parts for a car. We are just hands for most of these people. They care nothing for 'design integrity'.

Oh I sound bitter. But its true.

Which is why I am changing careers! /emoticons/violent.gif

[3howards]

i don't consider graphic design fine art .... mainly because it is a profession that provides commercial services. saying that it's fine art would bring it into the realm of the michelangelo's and da vinci's. we are definitely not that. i do agree that it is an art, commercial art to be more precise. we create work that we are asked to create for marketing and communication purposes.

bunwhisper, if you're that bitter, you probably should change careers. i personally enjoy what i do. as stressful as things get though, i never let it get to me, because it's a job. a job that requires tough skin too. if you don't have it, you won't last. not to sound mean or anything, i'm just being honest. good luck.

[bunwhisper]

Oh I know you aren't being mean. Like I said in another post, they dont tell you this stuff in school. I've *tried* to be thick-skinned but I am a sensitive person (which I happen to think most artists are--its why we are able to see things a bit differently) and it is very, very hard not to take the constant criticism of your work personally. After fifteen years of it, I've decided its never going to change--that I will just never be that kind of person. I am a good designer but not a stoic. I actually do love design, but I dont love constantly wrecking my design for some clueless hack who is just trying to do what is cheap/like everyone else/easy.

My sensitivity is actually an asset in my new career as a therpist /emoticons/smile.gif

[3howards]

that's cool. i think you can be thick-skin and remain sensitive. i like to think i am that way. i can handle criticism because i don't see it as a direct attack on me personally but my design. sometimes the criticisms were well founded and have lead me to become a better designer. without honest criticism, one can never improve or achieve success at a higher level. you also have to be able to sift through the criticisms to find something that was of value or truth.

as i said before, good luck in your new career. your sensitivity will definitely be an asset. just remember to stay true to yourself and your work.

[PrintDriver]

You know, it's kinda funny. And kinda sad.
I read these posts about graphic design in the corporate/ad/commercial arts world and I think of the designers I work with. All large format people.

For most of the stuff we do that is exhibit based, the designers are a happy crew. A little stressed because there are still deadlines, but it seems they have far more creative latitude than working at trying to sell stuff. They are educating the people who view the exhibits and the idea is to catch the eye in a creative way and keep the exhibit from being dull as dirt. Usually the exhibits are geared toward kids and the idea is to engage their little minds in a way they don't realize they are learning something too.

Then there are the trade show crew, and here it depends on what they are trying to get across in the trade show booths. More stressed out, a little less creative latitude but it's still there. We build custom, high end booths though and some of those are VERY creative. The designers can do more than a simple Pop-up can allow for.

The TV/stage show people have the highest level of stress but again pretty free to think on their feet. These are the guys (not a lot of gals) who can draw a concept on a napkin for us to build overnight for a shoot the next day or have the skills to do full set drawings and renderings when we have more time.

They listen to the client and respect their ideas. They also do an excellent job of convincing the client exactly why what they are designing is the best thing in the world. It can be quite amazing to watch sometimes.
I can't think of one that would trade in their job.

It's so amazingly different than the graphic designer who has to work as part of a larger corporate entity. Artists in a corporate environment seem very 'upset' with their lot. What we don't hear from here too much is someone who is actually happy in their corporate roll. Guess they would have no reason to post.

Post Edited (PrintDriver) : 5/30/2004 1:03:56 AM GMT

[bunwhisper]

PrintDriver said...
Artists in a corporate environment seem very 'upset' with their lot. What we don't hear from here too much is someone who is actually happy in their corporate roll. Guess they would have no reason to post.

Its great to hear there are people out there who love this field. I am glad they do--and I agree, corporate design is a bad place to be. Its a total creative vacuum in most cases. Nobody understands what you do, and you spend your entire career convincing people why you should not design in word on the pc. Your most basic technical needs already get you seen as difficult--'oh, those artists, they just have to have those Macs and make it hard for IT.'

I got into corporate design because in the midwestern city I started out in, it was the only design job that paid anything. It sure wasn't because I love the finance world. I don't--I despise it and everything it stands for. I want to do something meaningful, not just sell variable annuities so rich people can grow richer. And once you are pigeon-holed in a certain niche, its difficult to break out--I dont think i would feel this way if I was working in entertainment, but who knows? I live in LA now and the possibilities are much greater, but by the time I got here I was established as a solid corporate designer.

I became a designer because I love to draw--and guess what I never, ever do at work? There is no time for illustration--all anyone wants is boring stock photos of happy white people holding hands on the beach where they moved with their new wealth. When you work in such a conservative field, nobody is interested in fine design or cutting edge--everything is played safe. It gets very old as a designer. And the final insult is that marketing is the first department to be laid off--you are a 'necessary evil' despite excellent reviews. The bean-counters just see you as a cost, no matter how good you are. This leads you to constantly feel that one wrong move by anyone in your department and all of you are gone. Its happened to me three times.

I guess those are the deeper reasons why I am dissatisfied. Yes, I am grateful to have a job. I actually like my current boss and coworkers very much but I am just over this. I have more to contribute to the world than another nice looking finanacial product kit--at least I hope so! /emoticons/smile.gif

[3howards]

where in the midwest are you bunwhisper? i'm in missouri.

i have a friend who felt like his job was pointless and had no purpose. so he quit and went to fire fighting academy. he graduated and just got his emt license. he's much happier now.

[bunwhisper]

I was in Cleveland. Not exactly known for being a hotbed of graphic design, despite some excellent design schools being inthe area (Kent, CIA). I transferred to LA several years ago and love it here! Can't beat the weather!

[3howards]

sweet, i'm an originally from so cal. hope to get back there some day.