» Would Life Be Easier if You Weren’t A Designer?

I read a great article today by Jeremy Adam David on his blog entitled “What I Hate About Becoming a Designer” and it really had me thinking. Would my life or the life of other designers have been easier if I had selected another profession? In college I debated for some time whether I should go through with being a designer. I even decided to take a sales internship at one point because I though it would be easier and the pay was better. Jeremy points out some things in his article that designers often joke about, such as not being able to enjoy a movie because you hated the opening credits, but is what he playfully references the truth?

Reasons I Almost Avoided Becoming a Designer

At one point I had an entrepreneurship professor ask me why I would ever want to be a designer. His rationale was that at any moment in my career I could be replaced by a kid that knew Photoshop or inDesign better than me for half the price. His statement at the time really got to me and almost led to me pursuing a career in sales. It took me some time to see the flaw in his argument and realize that he had no idea about what being a designer really meant, even though he employed a number of them himself. This event and the following concerns had me really pondering if a career in design was right for me.

Being a designer takes a ton of work. Unlike other professions where you can hide behind a desk for a while if you choose, a designers’ worth is directly tied to his/her output. If you start slipping everyone in the office is able to see it, so staying current and fresh must be constantly maintained.

It is hard to break into the industry. Getting a job as a designer is not the easiest thing to do, competition is rampant and some people will use this to take advantage. It not only takes a solid book, but you also need to learn quickly and figure out how to market yourself in order to succeed.

Starting salaries aren’t the greatest. Depending on where you start as a designer, the salary isn’t one of the highest when compared to other professions. I am originally from Cleveland, where the medium starting salary of a designer was definitely under $30,000 at the time.

Feedback is hard to judge. In the beginning I was trying to get feedback from everyone I could in regards to what I should do but every opinion was so different I didn’t know what to make of them all. The subjective nature of the field made even deciding what format of portfolio to use an almost impossible question to answer.

Change is the only thing that remains constant. Technology would most certainly change which would mean more learning, and not to mention keeping up with and anticipating design trends.

My Personal Revelation

Ultimately I realized that I enjoy the often hectic and ever changing nature of being a professional designer. I often become bored quickly, and doing the exact same thing day in and out would not be ideal for me. I also came to the realization that learning is something I enjoy to do, as weird as it may seem. That is actually part of the reason why I began this blog, to help maintain my creativity, stay ahead of the curve, and develop as a designer.

What is it that made you decide to become (or want to become) a designer, even despite these hard truths? Is there a defining moment or reason that you knew that design was the right profession for you?

07/28

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27 Responses to “Would Life Be Easier if You Weren’t A Designer?”

Andrew
July 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm

Interesting read. I actually feel like I would be missing a lot of life’s subtleties if I wasn’t a designer. There are certain things that you can only notice and appreciate if you’ve got that eye for design.
Mark
July 29th, 2008 at 5:01 am

I totally feel this article. When I decided to get into web design people said to me that I had missed the boat and that most people already had websites. That almost put me off in the same way as your professor almost did. (Sales!! - ekk). obviously these people couldn’t have been more wrong.

I do think that life might be easier if every small visual detail of everything didn’t trouble me - but then I guess that that is half the fun of it.
Lynsey
July 29th, 2008 at 7:15 am

This post is really interesting. It’s so true that you can’t slack as a designer and it’s tough having to be creative all the time. People sometimes expect you just to have ideas on the tip of you tounge all the time! I love my job as a web designer though!
Danny
July 29th, 2008 at 8:38 am

Nice article. I can see what you mean about certain points you made

After leaving college for University, I did a course in Multimedia, but found my self avoiding the design field when I went on the job hunt. I looked at the prices for starting salaries and compared to a similar level of job but in the development side of the WWW. It just never came close. Average starting salary for a designer around my area was in the region of £13,000 compared to that of a developer at £21,000! At the time this really mattered to me as I had planned on moving into a house with my then, fiancée.

It was only when I looked at the design jobs that I realised just how competitive it is, and for such little money too!

As a Bachelor of Science (not Art) I had very little design work to show from my course…making it twice as hard to compete. I gave up hope and settled into my new life as a front-end developer.

Things are starting to change now though…I have been working in development for almost a year but more recently have found the desire to pursue my ‘design dream’ and get my skills up to scratch. It’s been so tough trying to fit in learning the tools needed to do so, and especially time consuming (yet very enjoyable) in doing research and learning that it will take to get my self up to speed with current trends and techniques.

I have definitely seen a change in my approach to life in general as a ‘designer’ and it has been very draining spotting all the design flaws out there but something that has opened my eyes and something that I know I will look back on with fondness when I’m sat rocking in a retirement home…………..sketching out a concept!
nick
July 29th, 2008 at 8:44 am

Really interesting discussion. First off, I’m happy I chose to be a designer because my other option was starving artist, and I really like to eat.

But, one of the main reasons I got into advertising and design was the opportunity to learn a little bit about a lot of different companies/industries. When doing research for new clients I feel like I’m constantly learning something new.
Jeremy Davis
July 29th, 2008 at 9:31 am

Thanks for the mention.

The main reason I wanted to become a designer at first was purely selfish. I was in college getting a Comp Sci degree and a group web app project came up. Everyone in my class could code the thing, but no one could design the front end. So I decided to do the design work and began to feel that design was more appreciated than development. I didn’t get any comments about the efficiency of my queries was or the elegance of my algorithms. But I got roaring praise from my gradient background.

After than, design just became a passion and I’ve been learning ever since.

Today, the reasons I design is because I feel like I can make a difference or influence others. I feel empowered that through design, development and blogging that one day I will be able to create some remarkable community somewhere.

Plus, there is still that selfish element that others can understand better how much work goes into a well-designed website and not a well-designed database schema.

Jeremy Davis’s latest post: When Do You Become What You Say You Are?
Richard, Peacock Carter
July 29th, 2008 at 9:47 am

I was wondering about this the other day - I do get the occasional twinge of doubt, but it goes as soon as we launch a new site, or see one of our client websites generating the business we anticipated for the client.

I think I thrive on the pressure of working for myself - I like being able to sustain myself through my effort, and the challenge of ordering all of the client work with the administration - I may be addicted!
liam
July 29th, 2008 at 10:09 am

Great subject and a very interesting read. Yeah I think you might be on to something, especially with the point about getting bored easily and enjoying the fact that things are quite often busy/hectic.

I think that there are still far more positives to being a designer, and it would take a little more then these set backs to put me off.
Zinni
July 29th, 2008 at 10:19 am

Jeremy,

I agree that often times good developers/programmers just don’t get the respect they deserve. Design is something that people are ready to comment on, which is both good and bad Thanks for the great article!

Liam,

I agree that there are far more positives to being a designer than I have listed here, otherwise I wouldn’t be in the business.

Danny,

Keep up the hard work it will pay off, I spent a 3 month stint as a developer with only minor design responsibility and I learned a lot from it.
Frak
July 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

Why I hate being a designer: Clients suck.
kcato
July 29th, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Great article!

There have been days I wanted to through in the towel. Then, there are those days that I’m high off of some new CSS code. But overall, I think I’d be miserable if I wasn’t a designer.

I’m constantly inspired by designers, and other designers are inspired by me too. Clients can be rough. But, being deemed the “expert” at something so powerful as design is the greatest take away for me.

kcato’s latest post: No More Bust-It Babies
Francisco C.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:10 pm

Sometimes i wonder the same too, but what would i do? Certainly nothing labor intensive…
Matt
July 30th, 2008 at 4:15 am

Hey,

I am about to go to uni in 6 months to become a designer but after reading many books and articles it seems like a job that requires alot more work than most and certainly less money of that calibre.

Cheers,
matt.
webz
July 30th, 2008 at 6:54 am

In my case, here in the situation here in our country, i know that there a bunch of different way path where you can choose, but since i live in our country, i decide to venture in world of web, the main reason is it’s a good paying compare into a different field, although not a good one, but well enough to support for my daily lives. But even me myself sometimes i started to think what if i am not a designer i’m not sure if can get a better job with a good salary, most specially if you are fresh grad.
Zinni
July 30th, 2008 at 9:27 am

Matt,

I know that there are a lot of “easier” careers out there for a person to pursue, however the freedom and radical thinking you are able to do as a designer trumps all those items for me. If you have a passion for design, I would try it out before writing it off. Internships are a great way to do this,
Andrew Kelsall
July 30th, 2008 at 3:21 pm

@ matt - Everyone has a gift, and if your God-given gift is Graphic Design, then it needs to be pursued on some level. For many others like myself, it’s about using your skill with the enjoyment of creativity, not money (although money is an essential need).
tcwithington
July 30th, 2008 at 4:53 pm

Thanks for the article. It’s helpful during the trying times to see that this though has crossed other designer’s minds.

I personally chose to become a designer to allow me to work in a creative field. I’ve always been “artsy” and I needed a career I could believe in. Being a print designer has done that and opened more door with web design and learning to code. I’m never bored!
BunnygotBlog
July 31st, 2008 at 10:24 am

Most freelance designers have to love it in order to stick with it. They often work several hours per day eventually becoming nocturnal creatures to their friends and family when working on several projects at a time.
Or wake up in the middle of the night with an idea or solution.

Often tedious hours spent on tweaking and coding.
Coding.
Never ever interrupt a designer when in the middle of a coding dilemma

I do have to agree.They often don’t get the respect they deserve.

BunnygotBlog’s latest post: It’s Showtime (A Questionable Day, Part 2)
roel_azw
August 1st, 2008 at 1:41 am

hi…hi…
better late then never
i finnaly found this one nice blog, thanks
Talking about design, hard to mention why design was always growth. There’s always be place nd space to explore with design. I’m not so expert in design, but i’ll always learning nd practice day by day,not to be interupt with other’s, but still follow the trends nd style. One word….Keep design, design your world
Lucinda - Eightyone Design
August 1st, 2008 at 7:16 am

Really interesting article!

I can’t say that there was a defining point when I suddenly realised that I was a designer. Even as a child I constantly carried around my sketch pad and crayons and that hasn’t changed much at all!
Tiffany
August 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am

Hmm good insights. I became a graphic designer and a web developer simply because I wanted to be creative and get paid. Choices in the creative field are few unless you are the best, and then the sky is the limit.
Jonathan Tenkely
August 1st, 2008 at 10:35 am

Great post.

I am constantly going back-and-fourth on the freelance vs. agency decision. The change and unpredictable pace of freelance always makes a strong argument, but the social changes and interactions make agency life seem appealing.

+1 on the “design takes a ton of work” comment. This job is much more than comparing one product to another. It takes everything from sales and customer service, to management and skill.
Sarah Childers
August 14th, 2008 at 8:39 am

Good article. It is tough being a designer sometimes, but the result is worth the time put into a project. I recently graduated from UNI, and I started my first full-time design job. I love it, and it isn’t about the pay, but how happy you are doing design. It is a learning experience, and that is what I love about design.
DT
December 31st, 2008 at 8:18 pm

Great post. If I reflect back on my life, I think yes life would be easier if I was not a designer. But I would end up doing something I would not love, or something that I was not good add.

On the flip side I believe it has everything to do about love, and if you don’t have any for what you do, especially design you should not be a designer.