stoopid job stoopid industry
I'm an art director in an advertising agency. And it's a stoopid industry that I'm in. Don't get me wrong, my boss is wonderful and he's constructed a great place to work but you can't get away from the silliness of the industry. It's the falsest procedure for creativity that man could devise. Creativity, to me, is meaningful and planned but spontaneity is an integral component. In advertising and graphic design, everything is evaluated by 12,000 people and often the mail room guy has just as important say as the president. God forbid you're doing work for another agency! Their entire agency evaluates it, then it's sent to their client who routes it to THEIR mail guy.
Sometimes the most random comment becomes law. And by the time the changes make their way to me, they've been interpreted and translated by folks that, although well-intentioned, have no creativity and very little, if any art education. Some times the client is so vague or pendantic that they beat the life out of the project and me. It's awfully hard to get fired up creatively. Make it blue. Make the logo bigger. SWEET JESUS, JUST LET ME DO WHAT I KNOW HOW TO DO. I DIDN'T arbitrarily choose those fonts those colors those layouts those photos. I researched your company, your industry, your audience, your branding. really. I asked you questions, i thought about this project while I was in the shower, for christ's sake.
You also don't run into many hands-on designers over the age of 40. Most of them move up into management or out into customer service or they work for themselves so at least there are no internal layers to please. I dream of opening a little gift shop or something! Something! the idea of selling widgets is very appealing. You like my widget, you buy my widget. Design is too subjective, everyone has an opinion. Even fine artists must experience a bit of this. In order to eat, you figure out what paintings sell and you make more of those paintings or you wait tables on the side.
Now I have a husband and a young child, my personal life is so much richer than in my 20s when I worked and worked and worked. I was passionate and committed. Perhaps when my child is older and not quite so dependent on me I'll feel challenged again. or motivated. I don't know. I think i'd rather be excited about my family. Trips we can go on, memories we can make. As opposed to when i was younger, I don't want to think about work when i'm not there. My efforts at work will hardly last a few months. My time with my child? That'll last our lifetimes.
Update: apparently I've bitched about making logos bigger before and apparently i really, really want to sell widgets ;)
Sometimes the most random comment becomes law. And by the time the changes make their way to me, they've been interpreted and translated by folks that, although well-intentioned, have no creativity and very little, if any art education. Some times the client is so vague or pendantic that they beat the life out of the project and me. It's awfully hard to get fired up creatively. Make it blue. Make the logo bigger. SWEET JESUS, JUST LET ME DO WHAT I KNOW HOW TO DO. I DIDN'T arbitrarily choose those fonts those colors those layouts those photos. I researched your company, your industry, your audience, your branding. really. I asked you questions, i thought about this project while I was in the shower, for christ's sake.
You also don't run into many hands-on designers over the age of 40. Most of them move up into management or out into customer service or they work for themselves so at least there are no internal layers to please. I dream of opening a little gift shop or something! Something! the idea of selling widgets is very appealing. You like my widget, you buy my widget. Design is too subjective, everyone has an opinion. Even fine artists must experience a bit of this. In order to eat, you figure out what paintings sell and you make more of those paintings or you wait tables on the side.
Now I have a husband and a young child, my personal life is so much richer than in my 20s when I worked and worked and worked. I was passionate and committed. Perhaps when my child is older and not quite so dependent on me I'll feel challenged again. or motivated. I don't know. I think i'd rather be excited about my family. Trips we can go on, memories we can make. As opposed to when i was younger, I don't want to think about work when i'm not there. My efforts at work will hardly last a few months. My time with my child? That'll last our lifetimes.
Update: apparently I've bitched about making logos bigger before and apparently i really, really want to sell widgets ;)
