Are you tired of the daily grinding of commercial creativity when you have to be creative on the client’s command with a special idea in mind? I know, I know … Strange question about the blog. But sometimes, the process of continuous work on someone else’s creative visions knows to become a little …. monotonous.
The painful truth is that not everyone who works in a creative field should be a designer. However, the good news is that there are many other professions that can better suit you from the design itself. You may need to consider pursuing another career: artistic editor, programmer, illustrator, photographer, owner, etc. How to find out what to do? Let’s see!
Do not stop learning
I got my first degree from a design school and then I decided to go back and enroll in culinary skills. After years of adjustment, I managed to combine these two disciplines in a happy medium: designing for customers who are involved in culinary. I am currently working on a personal project that combines my two passions: design and cooking. If I stopped after the designing school, I would never be able to make such a creative combination.
Perhaps your problem is that you still have not finished with your own education. It does not matter if you were out of school 10 months or 10 years ago or even whether you attended a school at all. I know about the opinion many people share about the system of colleges and universities and how bad their infrastructure is, but going to school is just one (wrong) option of the many incredible learning opportunities around you. Continue to learn and understand what exactly you should do in the future.
Do you want to consult or create?
Being a creative professional means being a consultant from time to time. If you do not enjoy the idea of working with people who do not know as much as you and advise on the best design choices, then it might be better to go to a career where there is more work and creation, and less talk.
If you work from home, this will be relaxed, and then your boss will usually deal directly with your customers, making you no pressure to balance work and customer preferences. If, however, you want clearly set daily goals, and you need a social environment, then part-time work is definitely not for you.
Craft or art?
I always get angry when people outside the design industry talk about art and design so that they can be replaced. The simple rule is that it’s about two completely different things. Yes, they are connected, but in the same way that cooking is associated with serving. They are technically under the same umbrella, but they are separate disciplines.
Art means to be true to its creative self. You do your work for yourself and you do not have any expectations from anyone. The design, or the craft, is doing things to solve problems. If you are not thrilled with the idea of helping people solve their problems, or by thinking that everyday problems can be solved creatively, then you should not be a designer at all.
Go against the rules
If you want to draw, paint, or be creative in some way, and you do not see yourself as a freelancer or working with clients, then you may not need to be a designer. Perhaps you are an artist – someone who creates something he wants to create and who is paid for it. This is a little more risky than when you have a permanent job and salary, but for these people, the freedoms they get are worth more.
Artists receive money to create for corporate brands, and maybe they pay to stay loyal to themselves rather than compromise. Designer Marian Bantjes famously passed the line between design and art, creating bold, experimental pieces that were not in line with customer expectations, but in the end they could not, but did not fall in love.
I started as an “artist” by studying an illustration, but then I realized that I prefer the process of problem solving. It is said that art poses questions, while the design suits them. I really agree with this idea and I think it is the right gauge to be taken into consideration when deciding whether you should be an artist or designer. If you want to ask more questions than to answer, then you are closer to art.
What do you think?
Are you a freelance designer or want to become one? What are your thoughts about the process of part-time work and working with clients in the face of the work themselves and in their own way?
