work ≠ personal satisfaction
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- hargbine
aside from all of the fun we have here, my boss and former "art director" keep saying that designers shouldn't expect to get personal satisfaction from their work. That this is a business, and we're here to serve the client needs, etc, bs, etc.
This to me is utter bullshit, but I can't seem to figure out where they think they are coming from.
wtf kind of perspective is that?
- hargbine0
and yes, btw, this is a real question, not troll/thread bait
- animatedgif0
"wtf kind of perspective is that?"
Dead inside?
- uan0
work experience.
- beautiful0
realism.
- it's sad that some still don't grasp the basics of running a companygeorgesIII
- hargbine0
that's exactly it animated...it seems to me that's the consequences of their thinking
- zoozoo0
your boss is telling the truth.
in the end your a barber.
- uan0
he says "shouldn't expect", doesn't mean you will not get some sometimes...
- hargbine0
I'm just finding that their approach seems like a huge dead-end.
I've worked in San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati for years (10+) and never heard anything like that.
Yes, we're in a service industry, but if you don't get satisfaction of a job-well done with a client, then fuck it. Why are you working for them?
- hargbine0
it feels like it's just this place churning out work just to get paid and trying to justify "design" as a business
- monospaced0
Your boss and former AD seem bitter.
- hargbine0
^ yep, and me and the other designers are fighting to not be bitter
its a very odd thing to fight
- jtb260
You get what you put into it.
Saying you're here to 'serve the clients' can either mean your there to pusha da pixels for some ass hole in an office or it can mean that your a valued partner and consultant.
If you accept that the former is true than your absolutely right. If you strive for the later you'll find it really rewarding. Being invested in your clients success and creating beautiful work that helps them succeed can be very personally rewarding.
For me, I've been on both sides of it. I worked in-house for people who don't understand or value design. My misery there was probably in my own failings to create work that was meaningful and strategically relevant. I've been lucky enough to end up at an agency where the people 'get it' and are passionate about the work.
- scarabin0
i get very little creative satisfaction from work these days. i blame the fucked up infrastructure and poor creative direction, but it has driven me to do my own personal pieces, from which i derive massive creative satisfaction, making me happy at work. go figure.
- <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Knuckleberry
- What Knuckleberry said. And Scarabin, too.hellobotto
- desmo0
Is your glass half empty or half full?
People get bitter after years and years in this industry...like any job, of course.
And like any job, it can be a grind.
- bored2death0
You think the client is there so you can win awards?
- hargbine0
jtb26, thanks x1000
that echoes a ton of our conversations here. I just can't believe they act like it's a strategic position. most of the clients lately are a bunch of douchebags with no respect for design process—which seems to have infiltrated the entire studio.
scarabin, true too. thx
- hargbine0
bored2death, no, not saying that. but if the integrity of your thought process, and ability to integrate elements of design is compromised over and over because the clients you work for don't care, then years later, you've got shit to show for your design abilities
design for designers sake (aka awards) is a whole nuther debate
- scarabin0
in the end i'd rather people remember me for my personal work, not my client work; but that's just me
- zoozoo0
some clients want to use you as their design machine to create what THEY like, when it gets to that point just show me the fucking money.
- twokids0
1) You need to enjoy the work to begin with. Doing simple things in your field should give you satisfaction - or else why do it?
2) The work you are paid for is not your personal artwork - it is for a client. People forget that all the time.
3) If you want to do personal artwork - do it! But do it for yourself - don't put a desire to do personal artwork on a client's desire to get something they paid for.- 2) right, but it's still a manifestation of you—your thoughts, your designhargbine