Getting older and working in design
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- 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
- cannonball19784
Damn. Go the job and everything I asked for. It seems like when you put your anxieties and needs out into the universe, it sometimes does provide.
Also, having been looking into work over the last few weeks, there seems to be a small groundswell where wisdom is becoming valued in the consulting sector for design. That's something you can't fake and that comes with age. So that is reassuring.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- palimpsest3
Stay away from NFTs.
- 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
- pseud2
I appreciate you all for sharing your thoughts. I'm learning a lot.
- shapesalad2
https://issuu.com/slanted/docs/s…
Grey... white haired designer - nice typography.