Design as a Career?
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- mtthwsms
I cannot draw and I don't know how to use any programs or tools to create design. I want to be a designer. I'm a okay photographer and my friends tell me I have good taste in design.
Can I be a designer? If I spend the money, work my ass off and go to school for a proper design education (whatever that is) could I do it? Despite not being able to draw? Thanks guys for your answers.
- doesnotexist0
can't draw? can't use software? be a creative director!
- scarabin0
as long as you can thumbnail well enough to get a point across you're good. depending on the type of design you're interested in doing you probably won't need to draw
- ESKEMA0
Yes. Drawing is overrated as design is concerned, plus you'll be teached on how to draw in Design School.
- mtthwsms0
@Scarabin web design and identity design really interests me.
- you may need some drawing skills for identity, depending on what you want to do..ESKEMA
- yessa unless you're creative directing that ID oooooodoesnotexist
- Claymantis0
- i don't get itdoesnotexist
- seriously, do you WANT me to start in on you?monospaced
- of course you don't... Its a thinker I know... super deep bro.Claymantis
- Who is that, Clay?monospaced
- yea looks like clay to meClaymantis
- who is that in the photo?monospaced
- the comma implies that he is talking to a person, not saying it is clay.doesnotexist
- oh doesnotexist, you don't need to get involved... he was being clever with words!monospaced
- lol
not a bad looking photo tho.pango - I know. It's been my Facebook profile pic for over a yearmonospaced
- Looks like a cunt, talks like a cunt...eoin
- i mean.... do you guys know how to do this? you need to pick a terrible photo so everyone can laugh!pango
- mtthwsms0
I appreciate the advice guys. Do you have any thing you wished someone told you BEFORE entering design school? Also should I focus on a DESIGN schoo i.e Art institute of Atlanta or can I go to a college that does other things yet has a design program?
- doesnotexist0
you won't get anywhere wishing that. always remember you know more than you think you do, and there's always a silver lining/takeaways from what you did learn. just apply it in a new way and be creative. and clever.
- rounce1
In short, give up now.
- jagara0
Funny question. If you go to (design) school and work your ass off, you'll become a designer. Of course you can do it. Everybody can. It's just that some people are naturally talented, and have "an eye" or "flair" for design. Those people usually make more interesting (some would argue better -) designers. But anybody of reasonable intelligence can become a designer.
If you're already a decent photographer means you already have a sense of composition, color, and aestetics in general, and already there you have something to build on.
You'll learn at least basic drawing skills atdesign school. But you don't have to be able to draw to be a designer. You do, however need to be able to at least jot down an idea on paper, somehow. Á la below:
- Miguex0
can be a designer
- jagara0
re: Do you have any thing you wished someone told you BEFORE entering design school?
• It's not always a super interesting and creative job. You spend a lot less time actually designing stuff, than you'd expect. A lot of time is spent communicating w/ assholes.
• You never ever know if you're going to work 8 or 19 hours a day. And because it's "creative" and vaguely artistic, there is some sort of unspoken agreement that you must be "passionate" about your work (work 70 hours a week without complaining). For most designers, it's just a job. It pays the bills. But in this business, admitting to that is something you do only if you want to get fired. You must (pretend to) be PASSIONATE about that shitty website/identity/logo whatever. Imagine if plumbers were required to feel passion about fixing drains and installing toilets. They're not.
• You get to see your beautiful, well-crafted & tasteful designs ripped apart and reassembled with comic sans fonts and drop shadows by boardroom bores with no sense of design or aestetics. A tip: vent your true creativity away from work. And treat work as, well, work.
But the above is only 45% of the time. Sometimes it's rewarding and interesting work :)
- yurimon0
I depends on how you get in, in the industry. But If you are looking for a school go to California, like Portfolio center or some school in LA. Thats prob your best bet as far as education is concerned and career potential in my opinion...
- monNom0
Drawing is a skill like any other, you just need practice to become accomplished at it. Don't worry that you can't draw yet, you can learn.
DO worry that you can't draw yet, because that might be telling you something about what you actually enjoy doing, and design might not be it.
IE: If you haven't been practicing drawing as a simple byproduct of wanting to create "things", then a career in design might not come easy, and you'll be competing against natural born tinkerers and artists who will seem to have a leg-up on you as a byproduct of their constant practice of their craft. They've been visualizing "things" their whole lives, and have learned to draw those things to give them form.
My advise would be to think long and hard about what you actually like doing. What did you do as a kid? where did your skills with photography come from? why do you have good design taste? Get to the heart of that and you can figure out where you'll be best directing your education funds. Design isn't a well paid or prestigious profession (generally), so you really need to love it for it to be worth paying for.
If you do want to get into design, dip a toe in before committing 4 years of your life. Sign up for lynda.com and learn some software, Assign yourself some projects and figure out how to make them, Take a couple of intro short-courses and see how you like them. Design absolutely does not require a degree, though it's probably the fastest way to get up to speed.
Also, I'd suggest a college that has a well regarded design program over a technical school that will teach you mostly software.
- yurimon0
Also in my opinion. I would major in Industrial design. and 2nd major in graphic design. Reason I believe is that you make yourself more diverse in skill sets with 3-D, etc and if you end up in a shitty freelance or career position you can have a nice skill sets that will give you wiggle room.
You will have more flexibility for example, film industry demands alot of the industrial design skills, add few classes and you can animate or create special effect. Also architecture industry has related skill set, usually with few classes untop of your foundation.
Any who just saying, my old timey opinion..
- VectorMasked0
I'd suggest you to study accounting or some other common career.
Design sucks. I love it, but things are brutal out there. No one hires..., after 35, companies won't hire you because you are too expensive and your career is over. From here you'll be lucky to land an art director job, which btw a lof ot 27-year-olds have, and you'll have to be self employed or you'll have to try to start your own agency. The other thing is that you won't get hired based on your talent, but based on who you know.
- breadlegz0
Study design if you really love it.
Study marketing if you want to make money.
- freedom0
If you're interested in web design and identity, study typography and grids and editorial design. This principles can be applied to everything.
If you want to do more illustrative logos, then you need to be able to draw. That's a different type of design. Paul Rand could draw.
- pango0
this might help...
http://www.good.is/posts/how-to-…