A recent post on Creative Bits (and the subsequent commentary underneath) got me thinking about what might be required to refer to oneself as a 'graphic designer'. Is it a college degree, a kick-ass portfolio, or is it simply because you've printed the flyer for the local church's fish dinner on your home inkjet for the last 10 years running...?
There's a commercial that appears on TV in my neck of the woods for a local trade school called Gibbs College, and it manages to make my blood boil most every time. Not only because of the deafening audio levels at which all cable ads seem to run at, but because it also seems to cheapen what I do for a living.
"You TOO can become a graphic designer!", the voiceover blares at me. Then out walks a young woman with pink dye in her hair (signaling to the audience that she's a hip, groovy artist-type person), explaining just how 'easy' it is to enter the "exciting" world of graphic design, where you'll instantly be creating magazine layouts, album covers, even video games! Meanwhile we're treated to stock footage of various young go-getters sitting at their computers, all simultaneously working on the coolest project imaginable.
Can you imagine if this sort of approach was used for other professions? Picture a similar (deafening) ad on your local cable network: "You TOO can become a doctor! In just 8 short weeks you'll be prescribing pills and removing tumors!" Cut to stock footage of guys in white coats performing appendectomies and laughing to each other in the doctor's lounge.
To give you a bit of background on me, I attended a four-year school and cut my teeth in what I considered to be an excellent graphic design program. I soaked up all I could about the theories of color, composition & type, studied ad design and marketing principles, and learned to use all of the design software employed by the industry at the time. I spent countless hours in computer labs and darkrooms, lugged tons of equipment and paper samples all over central New Jersey, and racked up enormous bills buying the books, comp markers and anything else my professors deemed necessary to my education. My reward? A book of stubs that I tear out each month and send to Citibank for 10 years.
Oh, and a Bachelor's degree.
But honestly, what *good* is that degree when just about anyone watching that same TV commercial can register at someplace like Gibbs and seemingly achieve the same status in a matter of months? Does this bother anyone else? And furthermore, do these ads create colossally unrealistic expectations about the profession in general? Somehow I think graduates of Gibbs might be a little disappointed with the "exciting world of graphic design" when they're sitting in a tiny cubicle at an accounting firm, laboring over pie charts & Powerpoint slides for some middle manager who simply *loves* Comic Sans.
However I also understand the viewpoint that having a degree in graphic design can't take the place of talent or experience in the field. I imagine that any particularly motivated individual could carve out quite a career for him/herself without ever stepping foot in a design school. Personally speaking, I never learned HTML, CSS, or Adobe InDesign while in school, but in my free time on lunch breaks or at home in the evenings. Unlike the medical (or legal) trade, a piece of paper really hasn't dictated my career path much past the first year or two – rather it's been a lot of hard work.
But here's my question - shouldn't that degree carry a bit more weight in the design profession? Would it benefit me at all to put "B.F.A." on my business card or resume? Would it actually mean anything to a client as "PhD" or "M.B.A." would for a physician or an accountant?
Somehow I think not.
"Graphic Designer" status is only a pirated serial number away…
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 10:18 — coghill-cartooningFunny, I thought you just needed to download Photoshop for Windows off of BitTorrent to be an 'official' graphic designer :^)
To be fair, those commercials are designed to lure you in, so obviously they are going to play on the 'cool' aspects of the work. And as far as the degree - well, someone paying attention to a degree would probably be familiar with the bigger names in design/art schools.
Degrees are probably most useful for those looking for certain types of jobs with certain employers, early on in their career. For those out there working or freelancing, I think portfolios and/or client lists set you apart with those clients/employers that know what they are looking at.
These types of degrees are really prepping people to become production artists, not graphic designers.
Oh - and while I understand your metaphor with the medical profession, I don't think the two can really be considered in the same boat - even if clients *do* act as if it's life or death that their logo is bigger before their one-day turnaround job is sent to print…
Degrees do carry weight.
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 12:00 — Jon (not verified)"Degrees are probably most useful for those looking for certain types of jobs with certain employers, early on in their career."
I totally agree.
If you're trying to get in the door of a big agency like JWT for example, you may not even get a call back because you have no formal training. If you're neck-and-neck in an interviewing process with another candidate and you have a degree and they don't, chances are you'll get hired over them.
For me, my degree really just helped me get in the door. I had accolades like President's List, 4.0 gpa, scholarship etc etc. When you're right out of college the best thing you have going for you is technical command of programs like indesign, PS, illustrator etc. I prove this day in and day out at my job when everyone comes to me because they don't know how to do something. So, college pushed me to learn new skills and use many features of a diverse range of programs.
Last, you should be able to make great contacts while in school. Which will also help you land your first job.
When I graduated I really didn't see non degree holders as direct competition. I knew I had a great portfolio, a superb command of many programs, and a lot of professional contacts to help me land a job.
I'd say go fro the degree.
one more thing
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 12:04 — Jon (not verified)I don't see non degree holders (of comparable age) nor people who have the "quick degree" as direct competition.
The industry, especially the
Thu, 08/14/2008 - 02:36 — aoc gold (not verified)The industry, especially the online industry, is filled with eBook-taught designers, but you also get those without formal qualifications who develop themselves. Some of the best graphic designers I've worked with, especially in Europe, have received no formal training in their discipline.
EXCELLENT!
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 10:24 — BillyBob (not verified)I agree with everything you said.
Heh...
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 10:35 — Pete...I knew someone would call me out on the doctor analogy. ;-)
No, you're right, they *can't* be thrown in the same boat in regards to life importance, but I suppose that all depends on how you perceive the status of each profession. Maybe the gap is just too great with respect to doctors and graphic artists...
Perhaps I should have used a lawyer instead? ;)
Work With Pete!
"Graphic Designer" is a career
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 12:43 — Ross Graham (not verified)The phrase "Graphic Designer" describes a career ... sometimes a job title.
I am currently titled as an Art Director, but I will forever be a graphic designer. When folks ask me what I do, that's what I say. It's much like my wife telling folks she's an accountant, but her actual job title is Controller.
Please, let's not enter into that conversation about whether or not we need to be licensed, though. Who wants to be giving the government more of their money just to be able to do their job. And what's to say that some shlocky person can't buy a license. Even the doctor last in his class has a certificate on his wall.
Let portfolio and success of previous campaigns do the speaking for you, and be the proof that you know what you're doing.
That's #2. The #1 most irritating thing for a designer is...
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 14:47 — Kelvin Chappell (not verified)I know the blog is about the 2 minute degree education to be a seasoned professional but what burns me up even more so than that is when they go to Office Max, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, BigLots, "Dollar" Store(for that matter) and buy a cheap $15 program and say they are doing what you do for a living and that you charge too much to do something they can do in 10 min by opening a template and changing a predone name and phone number. They act like art explosion or microsoft word clip art is the greatest thing in the world. And then they begin to critic what you've done from scratch as not a hard job at all and question why you get paid so much to do it.
Very good points raised
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 16:11 — Dave Robertson (not verified)Very good points raised here. Love it.
Great commentary, Pete!
Fri, 03/21/2008 - 21:58 — JamesThe whole topic is quite annoying to those of us in the business. We're constantly battling the "secretary who is also our designer" mentality.
Still as true as always
Mon, 03/24/2008 - 09:14 — Shoaf (not verified)Although Pete's comments are nothing really new, they are still very much spot-on. The "joke" back when I first got out of school was that I was competing with the Dentist's wife that just bought a Mac and PageMaker, so now she's a "graphic artist". Nowadays, it's just that much easier now that you can get a bootleg Photoshop for free, and pretty much everyone has that.
The way I look at it is that I need to further differentiate myself from the "instant artists" in ways that make it obvious to my current and potential clients/employers what value I bring to the project or job. Just gotta keep raising the bar.
OTOH, I'm not sure how much the "instant" artists are really competing for my work. The employers/clients I work with usually see my book, and understand why I can charge more than the 15 year old that just downloaded an illegal copy of Ps last week. The people that don't want to pay what I'm worth? Well, they can go to Miss Photoshop. She can have that business.
As a side note to the side note— can I say that I despise the term "graphic artist"? The "graphic artist" staff here where I work (and many other places I know of) is made of entry-level positions full of repetitive drudgery. It's all semi-skilled technical stuff, no creativity whatsoever.
the degree has varying levels of importance
Tue, 03/25/2008 - 07:22 — greg (not verified)most importantly, it (generally) gives the degree holder a base of design knowledge to build of off and create a quality portfolio and learn on the job.
but, as mentioned above, a degree helps open some doors (and lack of degree closes some doors). for some studios/agencies, having or not having that degree is the difference between them looking at your book or not looking at it.
that said, some of the best designers out there don't have degrees and some designers with degrees don't have much of a clue. less so from the more prestigious schools, but schools face more pressure every year not to fail people because that means less money. unfortunately that degrades the meaning of the degree from that school, when they're putting out graduates who really don't have the skills.
so... in the end, it's the book that gets you the job, but often enough, the degree is a factor both in whether your book is good and whether you can get in the door to get people to look at it.
as far as gibbs and schools of that ilk, their degrees are generally not worth the paper they're printed on. personally, i'd find a degree from gibbs to be a *negative* on a resume.
Not everyone
Fri, 03/28/2008 - 09:57 — Visitor (not verified)IT is true, everyone is a designer. But not everyone is a good designer. It used to drive me insane that everyone thought they could do what I do. After a while though, I backed off a bit and realized they can do what I can do. Anyone can make a flyer, anyone can design a logo. However, they can't make an interesting flyer, or a memorable logo.
The only thing that matters is the work.
If school helped you be a better designer, bully for you. If it didn't, at least you got to attend some good parties and learn to do a keg stand :)
Your not alone...
Mon, 04/21/2008 - 04:08 — Spencer (not verified)You my Friend are 100% correct.
I have a BA in Illustration and a BFA in Graphic Design. To be honest I don't need either and wish I had the 80k back in my pocket. Does not matter if your a good designer or a bad designer it comes down to companies wanting to pay you for nothing.
Your 15 years 2 degrees at lets say 50k a year vrs right out of a 2 year college for 29k year starting pay... guess who wins.
They also like the right out of school kids cause they work their asses off, and can be programed by the company on "good" design. That same kid will sit their for 10 years and ruin the design department getting bumped up to Creative Director and have Zero design skill to boot... Thus running the department into the ground.. but in the long run after pay increases, the company has a Creative Director making only 50k and thus setting a very low pay scales for the rest of the department.
Iv'e been in the Design world for 13 years now and Im getting out. Even when the pay is GREAT! I can't take the micro management from Sally the Daughter of the Boss or Kens wife in accounting had an Idea from her Family get together flyer or the AE in a Firm who wont ever use red cause it reminds her of blood and shes scared of blood. It goes on and ON...
Oh and don't get me started on my duties... I'm a print designer thats all... not an IT /web/flash/cartoonist/copywriter/proofer/production department/CSS/secretary/copy machine repair /graduation color correction for your kids guy....
So all being said... I can make 42k a year with mindless tee-shirt folding and standing around selling clothes and go to bed happy at night that I do have to explain for the 900th time why the 72dpi gif photo you took from flicker wont print high end or why all your truetype free fonts are useless...
Maybe Mabye Not (About the Degree)
Mon, 04/28/2008 - 19:57 — J.A.B.s Freelan...It wasn't nice of your friend to say that designing a website wouldn't be hard. Ha! I'd like to see him do it!
I am in the same situation, as my boyfriend is a guitar player...and well...I am practicing to try to get into professional design at some point.
Anyway...as far as a B.S. Degree...unfortunately I think that since people are learning computers and tech at such a young age...who knows...
Running a computer will soon have the status of working at a fast food joint. Sucks I think, but hey what are we going to do?
I even heard that computer jobs were on the decline which also was a shock to me. It's not FAIR! I was just thinking...maybe I should make a career move, but what good would it do?
I am contemplating going to finish my degree though. I am doing articles for a client on "Freelance Design" and that is how I ended up at this site.
Julie, Pro Writer and Aspiring Graphic Designer: http://www.jabsfreelanceworld.com
Graphic Designer
Wed, 05/07/2008 - 03:58 — web developer (not verified)To be a successful graphic designer you must have a wide views on art and loves your work as well. It requires dedication and perseverance to be listed as one of the Best in terms of designing.
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