Graphic Design Strut

SalamiFingaz

Being that theres on occasional design related post on here every once in a while i wanted to seek experienced designers on here and ask for In June Itll be a year that I graduated from the all might Art Institute with my Bachelors ''receipt'' in Graphic design/fine arts. I graduated hoping to get a position where id be doing creative/ inspiring work full time, aren't we all? But i keep getting these jobs that im being utilized as a production tool, Dont get me wrong at my current position( Marketing Firm) I do get the occasional creative freedom for some projects and the people are great but its not projects id envision myself ever involved in. The day to day work is very boring and not challenging at all.Mocking up promotional products,airbrushing,placing logos. PM me and I can explain.I always wanted to build my professional portfolio at an agency where Id work under an Art Director where I would learn things to push myself but the positions I keep having to get to make ends meet are not heading me in that direction. Adrian Shaughnessy states that there is no wrong first job in ''How to Be a Graphic Designer: Without Losing Your Soul '' (great read) as a designer but im anxious to get my hands on some real projects. Branding, Ads, Posters, Album covers. Yunno the things that inspired us all in the first place.Im basically looking for some guidance, im becoming a bit discouraged about it all. But not at all thinking of quitting, I cant expect to get the dream job after year or even 5. Talk about your experiences and struggles to where you are now. I have alot to learn from you guys. How many designers are actually on here? is this a or cricket:

pjl2000xl

freelancer or freelance worker is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer. The term "freelance" was first coined by Sir Walter Scott (1771???1832) in his well-known historical romance Ivanhoe to describe a "medieval mercenary warrior" (or "free-lance"). The phrase later transitioned to a figurative noun around the 1860s and was then officially recognized as a verb in 1903 by various authorities in etymology such as the Oxford English Dictionary. Only in modern times has the term morphed from a noun (a freelance) into an adjective (a freelance journalist), various verb forms (a journalist who freelances) and an adverb (she worked freelance), and then from the verb into the derived noun form "freelancer".

The author and poet Ernest William Hornung (1866???1921) also used the term in "The Gift of the Emperor" to describe something of poor quality: "I warmed to my woes. It was no easy matter to keep your end up as a raw freelance of letters; for my part, I was afraid I wrote neither well enough nor ill enough for success."

Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism and other forms of writing, copywriting, computer programming and graphic design, consulting, and many other professional and creative services.

Freelance practice varies greatly. Some require clients to sign written contracts, while others may perform work based on verbal agreements, perhaps enforceable through the very nature of the work. Some freelancers may provide written estimates of work and request deposits from clients.

Payment for freelance work also varies greatly. Freelancers may charge by the day or hour, or on a per-project basis. Instead of a flat rate or fee, some consultants have adopted a value-based pricing method based on the perceived value of the results to the client. By custom, payment arrangements may be upfront, percentage upfront, or upon completion. For more complex projects, a contract may set a payment schedule based on milestones or outcomes.

SalamiFingaz

I get my freelance on, no doubt. Its the only way my friend.

deLYS

pictures>
lol

The-gaffler

In June Itll be a year that I graduated

But i keep getting these jobs that im being utilized as a production tool

welcome to the real world. you gotta start somewhere, and to "them" you're just right out of college. sorry to say it, but i don't know too many people that got "killer" jobs right out of college. everyone i know that has a good gig has been 10 years deep in the game, and my younger friends just freelance their ass off on illustrations for the new york times.

it's one of those careers that YOU must build on. my dad worked his ass off to get where he got, and he was still going until his stroke a few years ago.

i never developed my talents into a career, but i freelance here and there. and currently i've been working on a website for the past 6 or so hours and finally went to get something to eat.

bleh, okay...everyone else complain/rave...

SalamiFingaz

Yah I feel you. I feel like Im not doing exactly what I want but it beats manual labor. I grew up helping my father in construction out in the sun all day . I also dabble with Illustration, in which im trying to learn the ropes as far as freelancing. I was fortunate enough to get a front page illustration published for the miami herald while i was in school doing an internship for the Miami Herald.
Everybody else get ya 2 cents in

RAJ

You got a web site? I wanna see your stuff?

SalamiFingaz

PMdawned RAJ

breadwinner

but if you stick with it, you could get really really really good at page layouts! so tight!





i decided to not go to art school and save $$,$$$ and figure it out on my own. getting fired from my liquor store gig was my starting point. after two years, i have a pretty solid workflow coming at me and i only see it growing,

my suggestion is to ask everybody you know if they know anyone that needs some work done -- my first projects were things for a friends, a friends mom, a former coworker of a friend, etc.

maru

I graduated with a degree in Computing in the Arts, hoping to do anything related to graphic design, motion graphics, digital video, ect. I couldn't get a job and ended up doing admin work for a year before I decided to go to grad school for Art Direction. I know grad school is not always feasible for everyone, but my skill set and knowledge was vastly expanded, and I was focused on one area of work instead of many. I got a job right out of grad school, and while I still do some shitty production/monkey design work here and there, I've been able to do some really cool creative projects that I'm proud of. Right now I've kind of hit a brick wall with my current job and am looking to leave in a few months for bigger pursuits. My best advice is to do stuff on the side (freelance, personal, shits and giggles) to help build your portfolio, and at work assert yourself and volunteer to do things that aren't necessarily assigned to you. Maybe you'll impress the people above you which will lead to better assignments and more responsibility. If you really think you're in a dead end job, I wouldn't stay there too long. It's easy to get trapped. Work on your book and get out of there.

Extra_Large

I graduated Art School almost a decade ago with a BA in Graphic Design & Visual Communication...

I've worked as a designer ever since, but the companies I've found myself at haven't utilised my skillsets or inspired me in the slightest...

I've done a fair amount of freelance design work over the years, but it's always been at mates-rates, so it was never a viable option for me to quit my 9-5... In those cases I saw the jobs (mostly design work in the music scene - where I really wanted to work) as a way of making links and hook-ups, but an unexpected relocation deaded most of those links...

Right now, more than ever I need to be in a regular job, plus I need to have been there for a while as I'm sorting out a mortgage and the wife and I are trying for kids... This is stopping me from persuing any other career options...

I am, however doing my best to step into the illustration scene as an extracuricular thing...

Currently I'm jaded with my career...

Sorry for the wrist-slittingly depressing response to your thread... I feel your pain and I'm 10 years deep...

FYBS

I graduated about 1.5 years ago from a pretty well respected design school with a BFA in design. Initially I went to work as a designer (no Jr. status here) at a big agency in Minneapolis, and while it was cool at first, I ran into the same problems you did. Design directors over-reaching their boundaries, stupid client feedback that made no sense, basically people who shouldn't be making design decisions using seniority and position to trump what you know is right. after about 10 months there we lost one of our biggest clients - a very fast and expensive car company. Big money. I was subsequently laid off (last one in the door, first one out - especially since I wasn't married with a family like half the people that worked there). After that I decided that I didn't want to work in a place like that again. So when I started interviewing, it was more like me interviewing the agency, not the other way around. If you have the talent, can stand taking your time, and are willing to move, you can find an agency that fits what you want to do. I moved halfway across the country, took a slight temporary pay cut, and took a job I love where my opinion is respected, we stand up to client feedback, and do what we know is right. Our clients love us, we're financially stable, and I can do all the freelance work I want on the side (provided it's not for other agencies).

My advice is to constantly be looking, constantly be building your portfolio, and do your own projects to fulfill what your work isn't feeding you. Send me a portfolio site, I'd love to see it.

The-gaffler

"i see here you have a PHD, an MA, and a BA. what have you bee doing with all this?"

making candles man

TheeeCasualMale

It's all about the side-hustle projects. Get that moonlighting on.

Now can we please turn this into a JPG-fest? I wanna see some damn design work!

Here are some thangs I've been doing lately...

FYBS

Okay. Bunch of stuff from my flickr page :

rad

Im working as freelancer and i still have to take lots of crappy projects to make a living.




CD cover for shitty rapper:

soulmarcosa

These threads make me jealous.

Here's a couple of my recent dayjob projects:





And some personal DJ-oriented stuff:

gwiz

i have a site i put together with a bunch of my "work" HERE
been trying to do more projects rather than my own..









i've also been making shirts lately

dollar_bin

Wow, did they ever put this out with your cover, or on vinyl?

Tabasko

i've also been making shirts lately

nice, where can I cop all four?

gwiz

thanks, at my label site: sassbologna.com
also if you want to stay up to date with shit i might do that is not related to the label check out: blizzanthra.blogspot.com

RAJ

I dabble in the arts.

I have been doing web site design for almost 10 years and just recently have been doing print design... mostly book covers for the company I work for and cover art for software. It's not the indie hip hop glamor job... but work pays for all kinds of toys (Macbook Pro, G5, 30" Apple Cinema Display). I have fun.

Here's some of the work I have done:

Tabasko

thanks, at my label site: sassbologna.com
also if you want to stay up to date with shit i might do that is not related to the label check out: blizzanthra.blogspot.com

thx, copped 3!

gwiz

sweet, i am trying to get more into the professional side of design and actually learn what i'm doing and get jobs.. i just scored my first web design job with a real paying client and am excited about that

FYBS

It's not the indie hip hop glamor job...

I don't think doing indie hip hop is that glamourous.

TheeeCasualMale

It's not the indie hip hop glamor job...

I don't think doing indie hip hop is that glamourous.

Cosign... it's the indie hip hop design job that FYBS and I are collaborating on right now that's making me want to



my



out.

Oh and Dollarbin, the LP jackets are printed and are being die-cut right now. We'll have them back this week and they should be ready for sale soon! Check http://standuprecords.com to find out the details!

M

street_muzik

I'm in my first semester of a Jr College Graphic Design program so I guess I'll post my latest assignment.

dollar_bin

Oh and Dollarbin, the LP jackets are printed and are being die-cut right now. We'll have them back this week and they should be ready for sale soon! Check http://standuprecords.com to find out the details!

M

RAJ

It's not the indie hip hop glamor job...

I don't think doing indie hip hop is that glamourous.

It was a joke.

TheeeCasualMale

It's not the indie hip hop glamor job...

I don't think doing indie hip hop is that glamourous.

It was a joke.

hcrink

All design school ever got me was hellish job formatting text for instruction manuals in Quark Express for 10 hours a day. After a year of that shit I was ready to buy a sniper rifle and find some picnicking families.

It's all good though. I gave it all up to sell records and now I have a big house, money, chicks, my own jet, never-ending hip hop pool parties, etc, etc.