Ageism
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- zoozoo
What are your thoughts on the design industry and age?
Does it seem that jobs for designers stay stuck at the 25-30 age?
Will we see guys like Paul Rand in the digital age?
- dbloc0
the goal is to move up the ladder as you age.
- zoozoo0
no its not, it is to move down the ladder. :/
- CALLES0
when you start working they give you no office keys. you are not in charge of nothing. Then as you move up you get more and more keys. things you have access to. but you know you really made it if you get back to having no keys again
- zoozoo0
I just wonder if 20 years from now if we will have holographic UIs and a bunch of youngins running them ... laughing at us oldtimers stories of photoshop and mouses.
us oldtimers that will be working at the supermarket
- fadein110
its something that worries me a lot. I am a 30something freelance designer and have been for 6 years.
It is becoming more apparent that I need to grow the business into a small agency and employ younger designers.
But I love being a one man band... will clients want a 40 something freelancer?
I guess its still all about the work/service but age is a big factor in this industry.
- zoozoo0
its not like we lose the ability to design logos as we age... do we??
- zoozoo0
with the logos coming out these days id love to see a designer from the 60s get a crack at something conceptually.
- scarabin0
from what i've observed so far age doesn't seem to be an issue as long as you can still deliver quality work and haven't let yourself grow out-of-touch.
keep your skills up to date and make sure you're continually honing your craft and i don't think there'll be a problem
- zoozoo0
this link is relevant to this thread:
- akrok0
also zoozoo as you want to move down the ladder as you age.
means you will make less and less money. end up working for free as an intern. but an old intern.
- vaxorcist0
In the late 90's, I worked at a great boutique ad agency where the name on the door belonged to an Art Director in his late 60s, he ran the place from his corner office, and he was keenly interested in watching me make animated GIFs...and learning what was possible in Javascript at the time....He was also great at shepherding talent, and knowing when to let people do things without interruption, then check in and say a handful of words that made you rethink everything...
His own work was so tastefully understated it went well with the outrageous copywriter lines it was often pared with...
Otherwise, I've generally seen agencies less driven by the creative side tend to send people upwards into the account side,sometimes into "account planning" or some powerpoint wizardry.... or they leave and form their own small agency of creative refugees with at least one really good account person....
- vaxorcist0
It did seem that before 2005 or so, I found more creatives over 35 or so... after 2006 or so, most of the creatives were under 30... this could be the different agencies I was exposed to, but it could also be the economy causing some shops to hire cheaper people and fire expensive people....
- zoozoo0
akrok is a funny graphic designer.
- Fax_Benson0
Ageless Male.
- see_thru0
I'm seeing plenty of work where clients need rescuing from a young gun who's either f**ked up or is at home in bed because being an adult is hard work.
...just saying.
- qoob0
It's all about what you want in life.
Do whatever makes you happy.
- kai_40
Honestly, it might be difficult to stay a freelance graphic designer through your 50's. Not that there aren't a lot of incredibly talented and fulfilled people who do it, but you may want to tether yourself to a few projects with longevity in the meantime and negotiate yourself to a position of value and irreplaceability.
Graphic design is a great job during your 20's and 30's... You can work in coffee shops, locked in headphones, flexible hours, much worse things to do on a hangover. But since you're already brushing against that income ceiling in your 30's, of course you're right in thinking it won't get easier with time.
Why not parlay your self-branding into being the creative director of something... production houses, media, fashion, tech? You might have to give up some of your freedom, but if that's not the definition of growing up, I don't know what is.
Unless you're completely confident in your management skills, running an agency -- even boutique -- would be a hard transition after years of only (and barely) having to manage yourself.
Or you could marry a rich girl and be the best stay at home Dad ever. TBH pretty ideal.