Adobe recently surveyed some creatives about the future of creative work. Full report here.
What’s your opinion on this?
no difficult clients on the list rofl
I largely agree with what’s written into the second of those graphics about barriers to entry into the field.
However, for me personally, I would completely reverse the order of what’s shown in the first graphic. For me, by far, the biggest problems are the clients, colleagues, work environment and administrative hassles that I deal with.
Downtime? I put that aside years ago and no longer concern myself with it. If I want time off, I take time off.
Too many projects? Nah, bring 'em on.
Budget? I never run into budget problems. That’s not to say money isn’t an issue, but budgets are just one of the design constraints designers need to consider. Not only are budgets not a hindrance to creativity, limited budgets demand more creativity.
As someone trying to break back in, been stuck in non functional design for too long, I feel the struggles of low paying entry jobs, lack of connections which I’m unsure of how to foster, do I hit people up and say how do you like me? I’m bad at elevator pitches and lastly not enough relevant job opportunities.
The last could very well be due to so many different places to post them that what’s on CL isn’t on indeed isn’t on ziprecruiter. Some agencies don’t even advertise, they want artists who browse company sites to see their openings and apply like that. Cinco in Portland has three openings I found out the other day but saw nothing on CL the day before when I was browsing. I think it hurts also when people use different terms like graphic artist, graphic designer, designer, artist, creative, assistant, etc.
I’ve been in this field for, I hate to admit it, almost 40 years now. In all that time there have been dozens of freelance clients and, probably, eight or nine full-time jobs. I’d say that over 80–90 percent of that work — whether freelance or full-time — came about because I knew someone who knew someone who needed what I had to offer.
I’m not saying that it’s a waste of time to apply for jobs found on ZipRecruiter or to advertise or make self-promotional websites and that sort of thing, but from my experience, that’s not where most work originates. Most seems to arise out of extended networks of people who know each other and trust each others’ opinions.
I’m not really referring to the LinkedIn kinds of casual connections or someone you bumped into at a conference. Instead, I’m referring to, for example, that co-worker from 15 years ago who calls up to mention the new position at her new company and how she thinks you’d be a perfect fit. Apply for that kind of job, and it’s yours to lose. However, if you’re just another one of the other perfectly qualified but anonymous applicants with a good portfolio, it’s a much longer shot.
The problem I’m hitting now is that most of my extended set of connections that slowly grew over the years is now rapidly shrinking due to people retiring. It sort of sucks.
My eyes are still recovering from the splash page colors.
The content of the article is beyond me. I have no interest in ai; 3D printing ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, yet; and blockchain etc., yup. Nope. I gotta admit to skipping most of it after the first couple entries.
I’d be curious to know the actual demographics of the survey sample. Mostly age groups within those curious questions.
Good luck to those that make it.
I am so… so sorry.
I’m surprised that Adobe CC didn’t make it on the list as one of the biggest barriers.
lol
so true
