But, all of them look pretty different, and not only is there a difference in all of the projects I've seen, but there's a difference between designers and their specialties. Sometimes I feel like every good designer knows it all, and can satisfy any client, whether their needs are print based, web based, branding, app creation, illustrating, hand-lettering, coding, ect. ect. ect. But I'm starting to get this feeling that it's not really like that, and if you don't have the know-how to do one thing or another, you shouldn't feel bad about it. You shouldn't apologize for it, and if you truly don't have the desire to learn how to do it, then don't apologize for that either.
As a designer, you have to always be evolving. A designer 20 years ago meant something very different than a designer today means, and those that didn't update themselves probably aren't succeeding today. I talked a few months ago about becoming an expert, and I sort of concluded that it's a good idea to become really good at one thing before moving on to learn about something new. I can't say I've become an expert in any one thing yet, but I still think it's a really good idea to loosely follow that methodology.
I wonder if a lot of designers did it that way. I wonder if the designers that seem to "know it all" did it that way. I wonder if I really have the patience to do it that way.
I do know that I need to stop being envious of the designers that have 85 million things listed under their "Skills" page.
I ran into all of these thoughts last week when I was working on a blog design project for this girl. I don't consider myself to be an expert or even half as knowledgeable as any of the developers out there, but I can do simple tasks and build off of templates, and of course there's handy dandy Google. But as I sat there changing the blog around, I felt like I was an imposter. I don't advertise that I'm a developer, and if someone came to me with a crazy development project I would tell them the truth.
I guess my point is that I feel like I need to learn coding (at least basics, if not more) to be a successful designer, but I don't know if I even want to get into all of that. I'm not the tech-y type of girl, I just like things that look pretty, so maybe I don't even belong in that world. Is that how it works for other designers that choose not to follow the developer path as well?
Obviously I have many years to deveop my skills as a designer, and my thoughts and passions may change, but for now I think I'll stick with the designer side of it, and leave the development side of it to the people that can wrap their mind around all of it. For me, if a quick Google can solve my html problem, then it's good enough for me.
With all of that said, I'm going to bring up another side to this discussion, and that's the side where I consider that there might be designers and developers out there that aren't nice and shut out those that aren't up to their standards. I saw this infographic that someone on Pinterest posted a few weeks ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I don’t really know where it came from or what authority the sources have, but I guess it stung me a little bit. It paints this picture that Developers are better than Designers, maybe because they know this other complicated language, and then there are “amateurs” that are beneath Developers and Designers.
Ok, so maybe bloggers that aren’t into blogging to get followers and sell ad space and all that just need a basic design, so they do it themselves. What’s wrong with that? Maybe a designer is just starting out and trying to learn the ropes of the business. Not really an amateur, but they aren’t an expert in design yet.
There’s this Mean Girls “You can’t sit with us” feeling that
I sometimes get about the design industry, and I think I feel like it targets
those of us who are teaching ourselves. Those of us who can’t devote 40 hours a
week to a design job because we have other day jobs.
Am I the only beginner (possibly amateur) designer that
feels like this? It can even be applied to any other profession, so I’d love to
hear what you have to say about it!
For now, I’ll leave you with a nice little computer and
iPhone background with this great quote that I found over at Creative Mornings,
which is a great series of “breakfast lectures for the creative community”. I
plan on exploring the site a little more to see what I can be inspired by!
And get it for your iPhone!
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
I know exactly how you feel! I am just entering my final semester of my Graphic Design program and I don't have TIME to design for myself! I am working 20+ hours a week in retail to pay for school, going to school over 20 hours a week (AND commuting there). I have one freelance project almost finished (that started before my semester did) and it's hard to even find the time for that (though I should be working on it instead of commenting here... whoops). Yet I'm still starting another one soon (because like you, its one that I am REALLY in love with and I actually can't wait to do it even if makes the rest of my life stressful) and know I'll enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThough really, there are too many people who consider themselves graphic designers. I don't mean people with TALENT, even if you didn't go to school you can still do amazing things with graphic design & coding- but I mean more, anyone who got their hands on a copy of photoshop and thinks they can make anything way better than you could be paid to do.
I definitely agree- graphic design is way more than pretty things and pretty colors and putting some codes on the Internet. It takes a lot of time- maybe even a lifetime to learn the ins and outs. You have to be able to focus on just a few things at a time in order to get them right the first time. Don't feel guilty about not being able to handle everything at once! If a client values your work and expertise they will wait (a reasonable amount of course) for you to deliver to them the perfect design.
DeleteThanks for dropping by, I hope you will continue to read here!
Hi Emma! I came across your blog from Shauna's comments (Nubby Twiglet) and this article caught my eye instantly because I was you almost ten years ago. As a designer/developer, I want you to know that I try to connect with new designers because it's not easy. Sometimes the mean girl mentality is just ladies who have been creating for so long and they're super busy. Sometimes, some of these people are just mean.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely shouldn't let how others act distract you from this industry. It's one of the best industries to be in. There are fantastic people whom I've met through blogging in Twitter. What's even better is that you don't have to know everything. Figure out what you love to do and make it work for you! I'm sure you're doing great thus far and I can't wait to see your career take off!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to write such a great response!! People like you are just what I need some days for that extra boost of confidence. I definitely have to remember that people are just as busy as I can be sometimes, and that I just have to keep doing my best and pushing myself to learn something new every day, even if I'm not sure if I want to pursue it more deeply!
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