So I was not formally trained in design. Ever since I was a kid I noticed a heightened interest in aesthetic and have been using the tools (photoshop, etc) since I was a kid.
I’m 26 now, got a degree in political science after being a little confused, but did finally embrace my passion and did freelance and now full-time design work for an agency.
In your experience can self-taught designers, for the long-run, hold their own in the design industry? I’ve been catching up on some of the core fundamental stuff on my own, and seem to put aside time to learn such non-practical things in the field weekly, but it’s a bit chaotic without a planned course-load that a school would of course give me.
No, and I’m surprised you were hired . . . unless you had a fictitious resume and stole someone’s portfolio.
Let me put it this way. I’ve been a designer for about 45 years. I’ve taken a ton of courses, both in college and continuing education, and have had jobs in virtually every aspect of the industry. Now you come along with no training and no experience, and take the job away from someone who “paid his dues.” And now you’re asking me for advice?
Stole someone’s portfolio? As I mentioned above, I have been doing this since I was a child, but did not go to college for it. I was hired because I had a portfolio of freelance work, and I got that work by doing free projects, working for start-ups and paying my dues that way.
Your hostility towards a different path for a designer is a shame. As mentioned, I try to learn from the classic/core area of the field as much as I can in my free time at work/home. That said, I’ve read a fair amount regarding typography, including The Elements of Typography twice, but I am still learning of course-it’s an ever-changing field.
Maybe goBuffalo is a really gifted and naturally talented graphic designer, and doesn’t need a formal education to be successful. Maybe he’s a graphic design genius.
Maybe you are not so gifted and talented and need a lot of education to succeed.
He didn’t post his question asking you for advice, and I think your hostility is shameful.
Sounds like someone is un- or under-employed, possibly got replaced by a younger, cheaper designer and is mighty pissed about it. I can understand your frustration panache, but still very poor form.
Hey goBuffalo, I am a technical writer, but due to the need to find a paying internship in college, I got a job doing ad layouts at the local newspaper. That job taught me bucketloads about good design in addition to paying me enough to finish my college education. It now serves me very well as most of the work I do requires me to render instructions graphically instead of using old-fashioned words.
Panache is giving you a good suggestion in a very hostile manner. See if you can get some experience with some old fashioned cold type printing. Try to take design classes in your spare time to give some support to what you already know how to do and learn some fine points.
Some hiring managers and HR people think the actual degree is the necessary thing, not so much your experience. Others know better. Keep in mind that if you were competing for a job with someone who had an equally good portfolio but also had a degree in design, that person would likely get the job (unless you request a much lower salary).
yeah for sure. Thanks for the advice. I actually have been getting together a large reading list for myself, including lots of text books used in most art schools for graphic design/theory. I figure consistent amounts of that, project experience, and getting better with the tool is a good combination-maybe with some classes mixed in as well.
My book suggestions would all be outdated by now. Practice is your main key. Join design groups on work/social websites to get book recommendations. And do take classes where/when you can. Think of classes as shortcuts to learning. It’s much faster than learning only by doing.
No, please don’t stop. Next post though, if you could start it with “back in my day” and use the phrase “young whippersnapper” at least twice, it would really complete the entire theme you have going. Old people. :rolleyes:
My husband is in the same situation you are, goBuffalo. We feel your pain in trying to take classes to get the classical training while working.
If it is any comfort, we have seen a LOT of newly minted design students with absolutely no idea how to get their beautiful creations to print correctly because they don’t teach very much practical application in schools. The Husband, as the lowly in-house copy jockey, would have to puzzle out whatever bizarre mistake the student made, fix it, and get the finished product to look like it intended all on his own. So, there is more to being a successful designer than high education.
The attitude that gets under my skin is the idea that education always trumps talent or experience. I’ve known too many talentless and mediocre hacks who have tons of education, and like to point to that education as if it means something real.
Congrats on getting that job! I just wanted to say, graphic design isn’t politics or the military or anything, the idea that you should have “dues” to pay is absurd. All that matters is if you do good work, which you must because you got a good gig. A smart agency will hire a designer who best produces the results they are looking for, without much regard for whether they overpaid for training to look better on paper or not.
I agree but it is still a fact, albeit a frustrating one. Back in my day (sez the old carnut) there was no such thing as a technical writing or instructional design degree so it’s hard to compete with those who have such degrees. Sometimes my Journalism degree isn’t enough to get me by the HR person with the blinders on. When looking for jobs I have to rely on my long list of experience. And using the correct terminology for the resume-mining bots.
Panache45, you came off as a jerk to someone who was asking a harmless question, then jumped ship without explaining yourself. I think you owe him an apology.
Hey there gobuffalo, I was looking through the web and came across this posting, I am also a self taught Graphic Designer, my husband spent 5 years getting his degree in graphic design, he is an AMAZING designer, I learned everything I Know from him, my place of employment gave me the oportunity to come into marketing from being the receptionist because of my artistic nature, I am also a self taught oil painter and I also create tattoo art (just the drawings not the actual inking) the director of marketing saw my work and wanted me on the team, she was willing to train me in marketing and I took it upon myself to learn everything I could about design since I do not care much for marketing. My husband was thrilled and we are now a year later thinking of creating a side business me being the art and he being the design. I also work on my own truck, I tought myself to do that also, I am someone who believes I can do ANYTHING I want to do, Oil painting is my number 1 passion but I am loving what I do now, I dont believe that you HAVE to go to school to do something amazingly well, some people just pick things up in a way others do not, like a child who can play the guitar by ear with no lessons, if he is amazing, he is amazing, and no one would say otherwize. I can fully understand people being upset that they had to spend lot of money and time going to school to learn something, but everyones situation is different, some of us cant afford it or have small kids or are single parents, there are all kinds of reasons a person may not be able to go to school, does that mean we should give up? NO GOOD FOR YOU! I be you rock at what you do.
