Getting older and working in design
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- ptrdo62
61. Been at it for 42 years. Rough patches, sure, but the best work I've ever done has been just now. Keep it that way and you will survive. Survive, and you will bubble up. Don't worry about the kids, they don't know any of the things you know. Let that be your confidence. Confidence is key. But if that's not working for you, it might not be you but what's around you. Apply for something new. Always be applying. Never stop. It keeps you relevant and gives you practice defending yourself. Take the job or turn it down. Turn them down a lot. It will keep you young.
- Good advice!nocomply
- and still posting on QBN!uan
- +1oey_oey
- Yes, good advice. It's not as easy as it sounds, though.SimonFFM
- ptrdo is our wise elder. Please teach those close behind you in age.shapesalad
- Love this. Being 46.de4k
- +2fisheye
- Yup, kids don't know shit.babydick
- Thanks. Insightful!maquito
- Turning 40 next week... thanks for the advice!desmo
- 47 - this is the way_me_
- 38 here; on the fence of young/naive AND old/wise. Not a girl, not yet a woman.
: )ideaist - Now that I'm getting close to 42, this is very comforting. Thanks, and congrats.monospaced
- 44, very timely. thank you.wordssssss
- I never had kids and don't know how I would have, knowing how unstable working in design is. The anxiety during the rough times is still difficult.CyBrainX
- Aside from that, I commend you on your positive outlook,persistence and turning down the bad jobs. I just turned down something in NEWARK 2 min. ago.CyBrainX
- wow i thought i'm the oldest here more less @54. i share your views 100%. turn down jobs a lot is my mantra ;)renderedred
- damn am I the youngest here?!
Good advice and I would add: always stay curious!grafician - 45 and feel like my best years as a designer are still ahead of me.bocadeets
- +++GuyFawkes
- Post of the year.DRIFTMONKEY
- 43 and just accepted my best role yet after 1 week of negotiating. Always network, always follow the work, and never settle.whatthefunk
- 45. 21+ years in web/ad agency doing digital. From Junior to Senior, started company, CD, sold company, worked with buyout company....microkorg
- ...had kids just after sold company. 1.5 yrs ago jacked it in and moved to tech company as product designer. Wish I'd done it years ago...microkorg
- ...strictly 9-5. no lates! no bitching, no stress, better work/life balance. Time to do freelance design work on the side of clients I choose! Hobbies & Kidsmicrokorg
- 4 more upvotes and they will match your agedee-dubs
- 56 here, it's good to here from someone still working past 60. I'm not tired of the profession and think older designers bring something different to the table.Josev
- 46 - so true currently on an upswing after some meh years, great advice!jpgjpg
- Bennn-1
'Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think'
Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/maga…
- I read most of it. The headline is mostly misleading and most of the people here have stories that contradict the pessimism this article implies.CyBrainX
- Beardy1
I’ve been in design my whole life. Started off in packaging then got a little studio together with some mates (that lasted a year). Then joined a cool little company and helped them grow for the next 10yrs.
Bumped that and joined another studio for a lifestyle change (who were bastards); left and worked on my own for several years whilst doing some lecture work at the local Uni. Things slowed so I joined another studio recently.. but am now on furlough.I love being creative but it’s always seemed really difficult to make money from design.
Currently thinking of setting up a weekend pizza pop-up, because that’s easy to make money from, right?
- Pizza business are hard work.. buddy in my hometown switched to ice-cream parlours.. he told me it was 10 times easier to run and wished he'd done it years agoSlashPeckham
- From my experience, it's hard to make money consistently as a creative. The turnover is pretty cruel.CyBrainX
- You're still on furlough?! Fuck.Nairn
- ..on and off furlough. Neither here nor there...Beardy
- Well, knowing a few people in a similar position to yourself, I hope you're making lemonade out of a load of lemons! :)Nairn
- mekk7
Six years ago I answered this thread with my experiences so far and how frightened I was looking into the future, as well as seeing how inexperienced I was back then.
Looking at it from today's perspective, I'm not afraid of the future anymore because I've seen that I can always learn new stuff and adapt. Can confirm that the 2010 me was as amateur to the 2015 me as the 2015 me is to the 2021 me. I will probably see myself in five years again and think of myself as a total beginner one more time.
I trusted myself when I was in doubt and it paid off. To be honest, could have been otherwise so don't take the "always be yourself" advice with a grain of salt. When you are in doubt, there is a reason for it and you have to be brutally honest with yourself.
A while ago I found new things annoying and shit, mostly without trying them. It was because new things interrupt what other skills we are learning currently and they question our own experience. Nowadays I'm much more open to new trends. New stuff helped me develop massively.
- https://www.qbn.com/…mekk
- You stop learning, you stop living.thumb_screws
- Just need to be old enough so one understands that new things are just old things remixed or even worse - recycled
but yeah, keep being curious = major keygrafician
- slappy6
I wrote a bit of history on my journey but it was too long and who cares, so I'm starting again. I have been a digital designer for just on 20 years and instead of chasing money, I have chased working with good people (clients and colleagues).
I don't fear the younger/cheaper/better designers as design is only one of the things I do. How I stay relevant is I leverage this experience to plan successful digital projects. I get to know everything about the businesses I work for, what their challenges are, who their competitors are, where their business model isn't working and I create a strategy for them to work towards their goals, using research.
I then create a roadmap and assemble a team to roll out the plan, starting with fixing their brand (a different side of our studio). Typically we will hire a copywriter (comes from brand work), photographer, sometimes film /production, 3D vis, development / coding, SEO & Marketing and sometimes PR.
If I'm doing a site or app and they don't want to resolve any brand issues, pay for high level copywriting or create their own imagery, chances are they don't have any money and are never going to achieve want they are looking for, so better letting those jobs through to the keeper.
I think age comes with the experience required to be in more of a producer role, if you are tired of keeping up with trends then hire a young designer. Working with cool people who are experts in their field inspires you and shares the load.
- Sorry still too long, skip to the last paragraph.slappy
- This is where Im finding myself too. Its almost a suit/production but coming in from a creative/problem solving angle.thumb_screws
- sarahfailin1
the light inside has broken but i still work
- scarabin12
I got into design because as a kid adults would ask me what i wanted to be when i grew up. “Artist”, i’d say. They’d correct me and say that’s no career. The right answer was “graphic designer”. So i changed my answer.
As it turns out design is *like* art but with all the fucking soul sucked out of it. I became a designer and it ruined the artist in me. So fuck those clowns.
If you ever ask a kid that question and they say they want to be a dinosaur or explorer when they grow up you fucking tell them it’s fantastic idea, don’t correct them with some bullshit adult “no i mean how do you want to sell your self to make someone else rich” answer.
Adults are stupid and work is a scam. Be the best T-Rex you can be, MF. I’m only now giving myself permission to do that.
- On the other hand I know a bunch of artists who didn't go to design school and they're very poor.nb
- But I fully agree 100% DO NOT EVER correct a kid on their dreams!!Just because you're dead inside and a failure does not mean you should encourage more failure!nb
- One dude decided he wanted to be a gorilla and landed the part in half a dozen hollywood movies. Do what you wanna do. Be poor. Who caresscarabin
- Dude I wanted to be a designer when I was a kid. I made class stationery in 2nd grade. And I had a logo for my superhero character. And I drew it everywhere.monospaced
- That’s awesomescarabin
- Gayyyyyy
JkStoicLevels - every time i told my mom i wanted to be a photographer she would say, "yea but what do you really want to do?" m%$#!sea_sea
- You grow up because you're told to stop playing. Fuck the school system and greymen!ArchitectofFate
- I wanted to study fine are but got pushed in to graphics. But I actually really like it.Chimp
- also DO NOT EVER correct a 30s person on their NEW dreams! Let them experience even more failure doing something elsegrafician
- I was convinced I wouldn’t be an artist even while getting an art degree on the side and holding the in house design lead position for 2 years at my university.monospaced
- I decided to drop the law pursuit even after stuffing for and taking the LSAT and doing quite well. Still paying for the design school 16 years later.monospaced
- wow. that really hits home. Bravo scarabin.randommail
- Love you, old schoolerBonSeff
- @mono. I wanted to be a designer too. I repeatedly drew a logo for myself on my hand in 6th grade. I did hand drawn lettering and illuminated manuscripts.CyBrainX
- cannonball197810
^
I think I may have landed something starting on Thursday. I’m not dead yet!
- cannonball19783
I’m looking for work and have noticed that I am either too expensive (which they tell me) or too old (which they don’t). I wonder if I’ve aged out of working in design. At least in the ways that let me get a job in my field (UX and design strategy).
- Get a skateboard and https://cdn.vox-cdn.…nb
- With you there... grey hair doesn't help. hence just do my own business even if it earns less... and trade stocks/crypto.shapesalad
- Chimp11
Today one of my team produced a better design than me. She's 12 years younger than me.
I was actually so happy. It meant that I can finally concentrate on the direction of the company and strategy rather than doing all the hands on work.
In the past I would have been insecure about this but now I find it a relief.
- Same here... The only difference is that now I can focus on doing nothing :Dgonzalle
- You lucky man! Achievement unlocked, lolgrafician
- Yeah, the young(er) guy who works with me is a waaaaay better 3D artist than I ever will be - just his post work is rusty and he knows this.face_melter
- I'm glad I'm running my own thing as it would be worrying if this happens in an agency where every f-ing thing is a competitionChimp
- Doesn't bother me none - I fucking hate 3D now but I have learned a *lot* from him. I'm from a time of just smashing shit together in Ps to make it work.face_melter
- So I teach him the shortcuts for my post effects and colour balancing.face_melter
- kill and drink her blood... steal her skills and youth!necromation
- As the saying goes, only hire people better than you! Looks like you did - congrats.nylon
- monNom1
Most notable painters did their best work in their 60s or something. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
- not the same thing at allBen99
- eh? painting is different than design or an ad campaign.iCanHazQBN
- really? Have you ever painted something? it's almost the exact same process.monNom
- That sounded snarky. I guess my point is that the thinking and understanding gets sharper with age, but you've gotta find clients that value that.monNom
- ^ fully agree with monNomSimonFFM
- StoicLevels-1
I lasted until my early 30's, then got bumped out by the kids.
I deserved it, I was a cunt.
It was a good experience, I still have a couple of clients I do things for but it's over.
Design is life, though. I learned a lot from design.
- what did you transition into doing?dee-dubs
- writing and event productionStoicLevels
- It's good to change and evolve your career.Chimp
- yeah Im happy with the change overall. no complaintsStoicLevels
- Chimp4
40, running my own small agency. I could never go back to working for someone else's agency. The whole team is remote.
We do a mix of corporate stuff and some "cool shit" for small local companies.
I glad I've got some young guns on to help out.
- Sound like a dream. Was it hard to start? How did you get clients?Longcopylover
- I was actually pretty easy. I had been working for 14 years so I had quite a few industry contacts.Chimp
- scarabin11
39 here. I’m moving toward sculpting, prop making, and set design. Also been building stock for a festival shop i’m gonna get serious about after covid. Got tired of being behind a desk all day!
- Nice! Sound like your having fun with it.
I still don't know what I want.Sellies - I'm ready for a new career by 40 too. I just don't know what to do.mapleT
- do you still look like a final fantasy character?StoicLevels
- Yesscarabin
- Mostly because i wear a wizard hat while gardeningscarabin
- Cool. I dig your hairStoicLevels
- Nice! Sound like your having fun with it.
- cannonball19781
There is also the question of whether it interests you anymore, digital design...
It would make sense that those who were captivated bu the early frontier stages of the industry would wish for something else now that it has ossified into a business capability with all the rigidity and frameworks applied.
That phase of an industry would naturally attract designers who are less artistically inclined.
- Yes but also isn't money lovelynb
- Find other things you like to do for money.cannonball1978
- Salarrue0
I think any business related studies helps to understand what potential good clients are looking for and with a +20 years experience in the field, one is more capable to come up with creative business solutions / work.
I find these are a good summaries by John Maeda about the current design field potential for "older" designers.
- Also the creative process is similar for every medium. At heart we’re problem solversscarabin
- CyBrainX0
Age, aside, I just wish I could get a job. 13-14 interviews since September and only intermittent freelance so far. This is the worst job market since I started in the mid 90s.
- Sorry to hear - for some reason I had it in mind that you had quite a cozy finance-related gig. I have absolutely no idea why.
Things are picking up. Good luck!Nairn - I worked at the NY Stock Exchange two years ago. That place had turnover like crazy. My last gig was an 18 mo. contract at Yahoo FinanceCyBrainX
- Sorry to hear - for some reason I had it in mind that you had quite a cozy finance-related gig. I have absolutely no idea why.
- Bennn-1
any idea what careers are made for introverts having a bachelor degree in graphic design but who dont want to work specifically as graphic designer anymore?
I've read social network manager is tailored for those people.
Any of you are or know people doing this job?
what else?
- Well, considering the entire social media employment space is in a bubble ready to burst, I wouldn't put many eggs in that basket.ETM
- social media are about to burst?Bennn
- Some burst but others come along. That seems to be the thing for a while.CyBrainX
- I mean, how long can Snapchat stay popular?CyBrainX
