zoomaru

I’ve been in graphic design for (HOLY CRAP) 19 years. Nineteen. Long. Years. What I’ve enjoyed about it is the opportunity to be creative, to wear jeans to the office and to work with other funny, creative people. And I realize it’s the first step of the process, before the work is presented to the client, that is the most fun. Ah! A conundrum. The very people who pay the bills often make the job unenjoyable. I know that any job would be more enjoyable if there weren’t clients or bosses to please, but those are the ones that seem to pay the best.

Art or anything creative is a purely subjective matter. As a creative person, I love seeing things that surprise me. Wow! A bank uses orange as their main color? Now that’s original! Orange would certainly stand out from the masses of blue and green that most banks use. Bankers are an extreme example to use. I’ve found that any company that works with money is particularly freaked out about freaking out potential customers. Can you say “conservative”? I knew that you could.

When I chose my profession, I very clearly remember thinking to myself, that “I don’t think I can work with a bunch of suits every day.” And some days I’ve forgotten that. And then I do work for a financial organization and it becomes crystal clear again. I know there are some rogue bankers and investment dudes that wear boxers with skulls n’ crossbones on them, but for the most part these folks are very frightened of being seen as different from everyone else. Don’t make waves! Conform! BLUE!!! BLUE IS A GOOD COLOR!!! SEE MY TIE? IT’S BLUE!!!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve designed conservative-looking pieces in maroons or golds or what have you and then been asked to make it blue. When asked what I did all day, I’ve joked for years that “oh, I made it blue today.” Blue is the ultimate safe color, sure to offend no one. It’s as though I put no thought whatsoever into my color choices when the opposite is always true. The client sells pumpkins, perhaps their logo should have orange in it, for example.

So, for all those folks who wished they had ended up in a more creative career, let this be a grass-is-greener warning for you! It’s actually been great, I’ve enjoyed it a lot, but fighting the same sorts of battles over and over gets tiring.

There are lots of ideas spinning about my head. And I’m just not the sort to go off half-cocked. Especially now with responsibilities for family and home. So, I’m going to have to be pretty firm in my head about what it is I want to do and how I’m going to do it. Some of my ideas have start up costs associated with them, and long term financial effects as well. It’s pretty hard to leave a career this far into it, especially the salary involved. I’m starting over if I jump career-ship. One possible way to go is to go part-time in my current job while training for or starting up next venture. Freelance is also an option although developing a client base might be tricky. I’m lucky enough that I can do this job easily from home. And there is a certain attractive quality to answering only to the client, rather than also to a boss with their own pain-in-the-ass ideas.

Ah, nothing like feeling like a 17 year old looking down the barrel of graduation!