Confessions of a jobbing graphic designer.
How to survive the industry and avoid the pitfalls of being a creative.
Part 1 of an endless rant.
Its been a long time since I left university (I think flying machines had just started to come in and everything was in black and white. I Love Lucy was a popular TV show at the time) so, I have gained a considerable amount of experience in all forms of the design industry since I walked out of the safe walls of my lecture studio those many moons ago. I can remember it well; the optimism and excitement of actually becoming a paid designer - you know the image: Drinking coffee, art directing photo shoots and driving a ferrari like Magnum P.I. Being able to put all of those years of hard work into practice and make a difference to a clients brand, whether it be a simple logo or a complete marketing overview was a very attractive proposition.
The world was indeed my oyster and even though I questioned my talent on a minute by minute basis (still do, if I am honest) I was ready for the hard work, the long nights, the crazy days and the coffee. Man, I was ready for that coffee. And did that coffee come? Yeah, by the gallon load and so did the work. Initially, starting out as a lecturer in design (I left as I was only 2 years older than the people I was teaching and how could I teach them about being a graphic designer when I actually hadn’t done it for real, myself?), I then progressed to working in a design and print company. This was an excellent introduction into the industry and I learnt more about my job in 2 months than I did at 7 years in college - I will never forget the look of my director when my first completed annual report concept was printed with a typo. Infact, you never forget your first print cock up - it haunts you like a black dog in the night, and makes you almost OCD about any future job that goes to print. I still to this day get nervous whenever I send that file off to the printers. If a website typo crops up, you just log into the CMS and amend it. On paper, its forever. And costly.
That company gave me the full experience: The creativity (their client base was eclectic to say the least - one end servicing the annual report market, the other being the art market and whatever other jobs that sprung up inbetween), the almost politician like stance that you have to develop when art directing photo shoot’s, the ”please like my design!” pitch client face to face meetings, the running up and down stairs like a mad rabbit between creative and production and the ‘put a brave face on it’ crushing blow when they print your PMS 200 three shades lighter that it now looks like a blomange pinky colour and therefore your austere financial brochure now looks like a kid’s banana milkshake packaging. Man, those were the days and I thank them everyday for the opportunity that they gave me…
So, whether you are mac artworking a piece of direct mail or creating a complete rebrand for a company - it really is a rollercoaster ride of successful highs and disappointing lows. For every ‘back of the net’ advertising campaign that hits the mark, there is always one that doesn’t. Its just the way you deal with it that matters. I know, us prissy creative types are known for throwing our toys out of the pram and we go into this industry to create perfection; to make the client go ”ooh” and ”aaah” at our considerable talents - but the truth is, you do this stuff for a client and they are the only people that matter. Its their company and their business that you have to sell and its your creativity and experience that will help make the difference. You become a veteran over time and even though your passion for what you do never diminishes, your perception of reality alters so whenever that PMS colour is two shades off, you don’t get that mini heart attack you used to get. I think it’s called maturing…
You get to learn what works and what doesn’t in print, on the web and what is right for your clients budget. Making sure they get bang for their buck and also allowing a little bit back for you - so, you can still put a little bit of yourself into every design that you do.
This really is an amazing job. I cannot tell you how much I love it. Sure, I could have changed my name to ”Jack Strapon” and had a career in pornography (well not now, as I don’t have the requisite six pack figure, more of a keg really), but I would never have missed the challenges that it gives me on a daily basis. The heartaches, the stresses and the joy when the client calls me up and says ”Wow! Thank you - you’ve hit the nail on the head”. Now, that is really special.
Even though I never did get that Ferrari.
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