Graphic Designers

pjoasisrule

Any of you have a job that doesnt involve printing, production, and all that other bullshit?

dunkman

i was a designer at a print company for many moons, but i gave it all up years ago to get into digital mapping and work for the government... wise choice with hindsight as i know of 2 print companies that have folded since i left that industry... less and less people need print work and more and more people think they are graphic designers.

nuffingman

dunkman wrote:

and more people think they are graphic designers.

LOL! You can say that again. Hence the pile of crap that comes through the door with the freebie newspapers.

"We don't need a graphic designer, Gladys in secretarial does it all for us now."

Being a printer must be like being on death row, just waiting for the final moment. In the last 6 years 12 I've known have gone under. Some of these were big 24 hour companies.

dunkman

nuffingman wrote:

"We don't need a graphic designer, Gladys in secretarial does it all for us now."

"what do you do then"

"i'm a graphic designer"

"oh aye, what software do you use"

"microsoft publisher"

"okkkk, thats like calling yourself a mechanic because you put fuel into the car"

"huh?"

"exactly"

mammasan

pjoasisrule wrote:

Any of you have a job that doesnt involve printing, production, and all that other bullshit?

Yes. I do a bit of digital work now.

pjoasisrule

dunkman wrote:

"what do you do then"

"i'm a graphic designer"

"oh aye, what software do you use"

"microsoft publisher"

"okkkk, thats like calling yourself a mechanic because you put fuel into the car"

"huh?"

"exactly"

At my former job, most so called designers screwed up their jobs so bad that it would take me up to a half hour to fix sometimes. Working in printing really really sucks.

mammasan

pjoasisrule wrote:

At my former job, most so called designers screwed up their jobs so bad that it would take me up to a half hour to fix sometimes. Working in printing really really sucks.

I have had the fortune of starting my career in print production which has helped my design career out tremendously. having the knowledge of how a job needs to be set-up and what is feasible to produce within cost has been a great asset. I have encountered way to many designers who have no idea of what print production does. their files are a mess and half the time their design doesn't work because they never stepped back to consider the production aspect of the job. I feel for you man because I know what it's like and I never want to be on that side of it again.

Smartypants

I used to work in print. I transitioned to web about ten years ago and never looked back. I'll sometimes help a client if they have a small print job but it's often a pain in the neck so I try to avoid that now.

We've got the same problems, though - newbs whose computer comes with a copy of Dreamweaver so they sell themselves as web designers. Once, after an excruciatingly long proposal process we lost a job to someone's college-age nephew. Of course he couldn't actually complete the job and we refused to come back and finish it for them. But, yeah, overall I enjoy digital more.

Are you thinking of switching?

BUFFALO

wow ... this is very uplifting ... im just going on my second semester in web/graphic design and im hearing so many horror stories... wtf ... i have a couple printing classes an Fn hate them .... i cant imagine doin that shit the rest of my life ... no way

pjoasisrule

BUFFALO wrote:

wow ... this is very uplifting ... im just going on my second semester in web/graphic design and im hearing so many horror stories... wtf ... i have a couple printing classes an Fn hate them .... i cant imagine doin that shit the rest of my life ... no way

Ill be honest with you......doing creative designs is great.......printing, deadlines, troubleshooting, marketing, artists block is absolute shit. I am really regretting what I went to school for and thinking about looking into doing something else.

schmoff

i'm an art director, have been in the graphic design business for over 15 years, i work completely in the print world although i do supply alot of art for the web, i do alot of large scale graphics for trade shows and such also

pjoasisrule

schmoff wrote:

i'm an art director, have been in the graphic design business for over 15 years, i work completely in the print world although i do supply alot of art for the web, i do alot of large scale graphics for trade shows and such also

How much do you like your job?

dunkman

we employed a 'graphic designer' straight from University in my old workplace.

in the space of 3 days we discovered

1. he had no idea what 'bleed' meant
2. had no idea of the dimension of an A4 page
3. never knew Pantone colous existed
4. Vector and Raster were alien to him
5. He never used black, he used REGISTRATION!!!!
6. He didnt know Black was used to overprint other colours



what the fuck did they teach him??? all he ever used was Phtoshop... some of his stuff was nice enough (portfolio speaking) but seriously... a degree in Design and he didnt know the fucking basics.

he left after 6 months, was working as a trainee manager for a wholesaler company i last heard

pjoasisrule

dunkman wrote:

we employed a 'graphic designer' straight from University in my old workplace.

in the space of 3 days we discovered

1. he had no idea what 'bleed' meant
2. had no idea of the dimension of an A4 page
3. never knew Pantone colous existed
4. Vector and Raster were alien to him
5. He never used black, he used REGISTRATION!!!!
6. He didnt know Black was used to overprint other colours



what the fuck did they teach him??? all he ever used was Phtoshop... some of his stuff was nice enough (portfolio speaking) but seriously... a degree in Design and he didnt know the fucking basics.

he left after 6 months, was working as a trainee manager for a wholesaler company i last heard

All they teach you is what good and bad design is. They do not show you how to use the programs and they do not tell you a whole lot about the technical aspects. I had to learn all of that on my own time and through mistakes.

dunkman

pjoasisrule wrote:

All they teach you is what good and bad design is. They do not show you how to use the programs and they do not tell you a whole lot about the technical aspects. I had to learn all of that on my own time and through mistakes.

then its an art appreciation course and wont do anyone much good in 'real-life'

be like showing pictures of houses to someone for 4 years and then telling them they are an architect...

schmoff

pjoasisrule wrote:

How much do you like your job?

i like it alot
can't imagine doing anything else not art related
maybe a job as an art teacher would be good for the summers off but that is about it, if you are good at it and are talented you will be paid well and should have a great career, i know people that have been doing graphic design for 20 years and are still in entry level positions, now that would suck

schmoff

pjoasisrule wrote:

All they teach you is what good and bad design is. They do not show you how to use the programs and they do not tell you a whole lot about the technical aspects. I had to learn all of that on my own time and through mistakes.

that is not a very good school then, i have an associates degree in advertising art & design and a bachelors degree in graphic design, all of these technical skills should be learned in some sort of print production courses and desktop publishing courses, hell i know art students that went to school and used PCs and not Macs, that is a sure sign to look for another school, of course hands on internships are the best way to learn i think

that being said i know plenty of designers with no degrees at all that make a decent enough living, if you know your shit, you know your shit, AND i have interviewed many, many prospects with great portfolios and realized after working with them that they suck at their job, i am in new york so things might be a little different here

vital5

mammasan wrote:

Yes. I do a bit of digital work now.

I love doing digital work... sometimes on myself.. sometimes on others... :eek:

vital5

dunkman wrote:

we employed a 'graphic designer' straight from University in my old workplace.

in the space of 3 days we discovered

1. he had no idea what 'bleed' meant
2. had no idea of the dimension of an A4 page
3. never knew Pantone colous existed
4. Vector and Raster were alien to him
5. He never used black, he used REGISTRATION!!!!
6. He didnt know Black was used to overprint other colours



what the fuck did they teach him??? all he ever used was Phtoshop... some of his stuff was nice enough (portfolio speaking) but seriously... a degree in Design and he didnt know the fucking basics.

he left after 6 months, was working as a trainee manager for a wholesaler company i last heard

There are SO many courses for graphics designers.... *shrug* I never saw myself getting into it due to the fact to break it, you have to work for free.... fuck that. What a stupid industry... Anyway... i know what bleeding is.... i can look up the dims of an A4... i know what pantone colours are... and the diff between vector and raster... but i reckon i taught myself that stuff.... i did a course in Design and Technology, which had Graphics in the course i'm now in Engineering lol...

vital5

pjoasisrule wrote:

All they teach you is what good and bad design is. They do not show you how to use the programs and they do not tell you a whole lot about the technical aspects. I had to learn all of that on my own time and through mistakes.

Yes alot is learnt through mistakes .. and also limitations of software and the like....

brainofPJ

taking Visual Communications right now....

can't wait to get out in the field