Obstacles Of A Graphic Designer
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Firstly, I would like to mention that I am still a student. Not some full time professional graphic designer. All the views may not be accurate on a larger aspect, but they may still be worth contemplating.
Like many designers out there, I have been though tough times.
Critics
Remember the times when you work so hard on an assignment, a project,
thinking that you have done your best and everything you could?
You want it to impress others,
and even your friends think that it is really good,
but you face harsh critics from your teacher.
"You got to work on it a lot. You current standard is below-average."
"I don't think this works."
"You are just a student. I have many years proper experience to judge."
"It sucks."
"Others are much better than you."
"I can only give you a C-grade at most."
As a designer, these are the comments I get when I post things on forums and show my artwork to others.
"This image does not look good."
"Nice try, but it looks bad."
"The.. blah blah blah needs to be improved upon. It really looks crappy like this."
"Your photoshop skills are not good. You should have done this this this..." (i don't use photoshop)
I know its always good to listen to constructive criticism. But... not from people who are not with the same artistic taste as you. A rock music critic must not judge a classic violin piece.
So, whenever I see an artwork which I don't really like, I would put my self in the artist's shoes and see things his/her way. This in turn gives me a whole new perspective that enlightens my mind... the perspective of the other artist. I will be thinking things like...
"What is it that he wants to achieve in this artwork, that I do not like?"
"Did he put a lot of effort into it?"
"What are the emotions of the artist that spurs him through these process of creating the artwork?"
Sterotyping
Every one goes through education for two purposes. One is to learn.
But in our superficial society, such "learning" principles are antiques of the past.
It is the certificates.
Have you ever seen a job application that suits you? You know it is your niche, its your line of work. But it only accepts degree holders.
But, to get a degree, you have to do things that are not related to your job. Junior colleges are one of such things in my country. We learn general things like maths, economics, etc. But what many of the people there wish to do in the future aren't really taught in those subjects.
It can be though of as learning how to analyze the economy if you want to get a job as a computer programmer.
(Well, even if there is some meaning to it, these subjects are founded by people who are flawed in the subjects themselves? If economics is perfect as a taught subject, there wouldn't be a wall street crash.)
Also, as posted in my previous post on stereotyping in graphic design, many big companies out there seek people who are good in certain programs, and not others, even both programs does the same. Examples include autocad and 3dmax, paint shop pro and photoshop, flash and illustrator.
Pay Gets Smaller
Sometimes, digital artists are not the respected ones in the country. They are thought of as lower class jobs. Programmers are poorly paid compared to the early days of computers. Website designers and other designers are poorly paid. (I've heard this from some forum friends in this field) Some people say its the massive horde of cheap labor coming from China and India.
Well, I can't do much about this. But nevertheless, let us not give up our passions despite the lack of potential for a "real job".
Anyway, since I'm still a student, there seems to be no need for me to get stressed up about it. Still, it really feels terrible when you discover that your money making interest isn't really that money making after all!
Labels: Rants
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