The Daily Cubicle

OOOOO!!  Good article!

http://www.gomediazine.com/design-articles/opinion-design-articles/death-to-creatives/

I have grown tired of seeing this word used within the design community. It is not our word. It is a word created by the advertising industry for their communication purposes. Outside the advertising community, however, it is incorrect grammar.

Now maybe I’m being a bit nitpicky here, but it is incredibly annoying to me. Yes, as a people designers are typically of the creative variety, but we don’t call advertisers ‘pitchers’. I mean essentially they are pitching their ideas to their clients, but does that accurately describe what they do? I would like to see all the sexual harassment and discrimination claims that would materialize if that term caught on…

However, using ‘creatives’ as a noun is just a symptom of a larger issue; what do I say when someone asks me what I do for a living? I’m certainly not a ‘graphic designer’, even though it says that on my degree. The connotations with that term are just terrible these days. Any old housewife that has a pirated copy of Photoshop Elements is now calling themselves a “graphic designer”. It is much worse when people refer to me as a ‘graphic artist’. The term just sounds so dirty to me and it makes me feel like I’m making clip art for a living.

I could be more specific and name all the different hats I wear, i.e. ‘identity designer’, ‘print designer’, ‘web designer’, etc., but I think that would be too much for most people looking for a quick response. Then there are terms like ‘information architect’ and ‘communications designer’. These sound a bit pretentious to me personally, but at least their credibility is not completely destroyed…yet. There is also the issue of illustration and typography. Where do they both fall into the equation?

So I’m left with a dilemma. What exactly do for a living? I design. I am a designer. That’s it. No more fancy titles or faulty phrases that cannot convey my true craft. I’m stripping it down to the essentials and laying it all out there for the world to see. If in casual conversation someone’s interest is sparked by my profession and they want to know more, I will elaborate. However, if I’m in a shitty mood when they inevitably ask “What do you design,” my answer will be “everything.”

Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. We specialize in Brand Development, Website Design, and Illustration. We deliver effective designs with legendary customer service, giving our clients an unparalleled experience.
Hire us for your next creative project.

Yay, happy monday!

So, my title at work is “Art Director”…of a corporate website…but, that really isn’t exactly what I do. I don’t direct any real art, I do as I’m told on projects, little changes here, little changes there-very little room for creative art direction. I got hired on at this company as a Graphic Artist, which is a bad enough title-sounds more like a Desktop Publisher (which of course, there is nothing wrong with this, if you enjoy what you do…) but, our company is so tied up in labels and correct titles that it’s so damn annoying that we MUST stick by these titles when they don’t mean a damn thing. For instance, I’ve been at this job for 5 years. In the  5 years I’ve given my life to this company my title has changed 4 times.

• Year One:  Graphic Artist
• Year Two: Graphic Artist of Retail & Recruitment Advertising
• Year Three: Web Designer
• Year Four: Art Director

So, as you can see I’m an incredibly important asset to this company, so much so that I am lucky enough to get a brand new title each and every year.

It’s frustrating. I don’t feel important, I get this title that is a blanket title for a variety of job functions, and according to salary.com, I’m not paid what I should be paid for holding this generic title.  Sigh. I hold a Master’s degree in Design, which I worked very hard for, and I’m not any higher in my position as the kids that came in after me with basic design degrees. Makes me wonder if graduate degrees are really worth it in the real world for a job like mine. Hm.

Funny thing is, I’m not a director, technically, the “Creative Director” is 2 levels above me, gets paid twice what I get paid and carries an ego the size of the planet Earth.

I  need a sarcastic title to put in my email signature…Artistic Director (but not really a director), Creative Artistic Super Powered Designer…etc.