Choosing Graphic Design Work that Matches Your Values

Career Opportunities By The Cleveland Kid

How do you make sure that your work fits in line with your personal ethics? Although this is a post targeting designers and artists, almost every working person deals with this issue at some point. You might have seen a colleague who thinks it's "just business". And chances are you don't trust this person, even if it seems like they're a fine upstanding citizen outside of work.  When taking a job, full time or client based, do you think about the clients ethics?

What are work values? These are the set of beliefs that you've acquired over your life. Mom and dad instilled you with a sense of right and wrong.  There's nothing worse than feeling like you have to do something you're fundamentally against to survive or because you've agreed to a job you don't agree with.

Evaluating your client: First of all, let's qualify this by saying you should understand your potential employer. Go in with an open mind.  Sure this company may have a bad reputation in your industry for it's practices, but without discussing it with them and doing your research you don't really know if it's a good fit. If you're hoping for repeat business, ask your client about any potential for more work.

Take the time right now to do a self assessment. Figure out what your core ethics are. Perhaps it's important to you that you have a certain amount of autonomy with your projects.  Accept nothing less.  There are clients out there that will trust you to complete the work.  I've designed marketing projects where I've heard very little from the client and they're happy with the end results. Your dream client is out there.  Imagine that you want autonomy and have no part in the decision making process. How upset will you be?  Imagine if you thrive in variety and have to do a monotonous job.

In the end, you won't be truly happy with your work unless you're following your own morality. It's not just business, it's a huge part of your life.  Figure out what's really important and use that knowledge in your decision making.  Say no to the clients and career moves that don't match up.

Designing Something You Hate?

I ♥ Graphic Design by Craig Keeling

How do you deal with that tough design project?  The one that you probably shouldn't have taken onto in the first place.  Or it's the part of the project that you knew would be least fun. Whatever the reason, you don't want to work on this project.  This could even apply to a full time job or your whole career.  Here's a few tips on how to deal

Stay positive. Your positive attitude can be infectious. If it's that project where the client is never happy, maybe it's just that they don't know what happiness looks like.  Point out the positive elements to yourself and others.  Don't spend your time away from it complaining. Or at least limit your complaints. Your family likes you better when you're focused on the upside.

Planning.  A plan can make something you hate turn into at least something you can bare until the check clears. Figure out an escape plan, detailing all the steps from here until the end of the project.  If you have an exit route in place, you might find that it's not so bad after all.

Find time for what you enjoy.  If you could afford to quit, you probably would have by now.  You agreed to the work for a reason.  But it shouldn't consume your life.  Take the time out of every day to do something that truly makes you happy and takes your mind away to your happy place.

Learn from the experience.  Next time you're faced with taking up work you don't want to do, remember this day.  Do whatever it takes to never have to tackle the nightmare project again.  If your full time job is one nightmare after another, it's time to move on.  Figure out your exit plan.  Fire your trouble clients.  Get away from the boss you hate. Don't get away from one situation just to end up in a similar situation elsewhere.

Do Web Designers Need to go to a Technology College?

Photo: Blog Redesign by Vancouver Film School

Being a self-starter is a valuable tool as a web designer. Many designers learned their skills on their own time through trial and error and personal research. While there are probably hundreds of web designers holding good jobs who never attended college, that number is shrinking as web design becomes a more structured career. Today, companies are looking for web designers who have diplomas to back up their talent.

Competitive Job Market

One of the simplest reasons for a web designer to go to college is that there is so much competition in the web design market today. Anything you can do to make your application more impressive than the next person's application is worth looking into. Employers like to hire college graduates because that degree provides proof that the applicant is able to begin a task and complete it in the required amount of time. Many jobs in the computer field are quickly becoming closed to anyone who does not have the appropriate degree to compete.

Benefits of Structured Education

Spending time focused on web design through college courses can be valuable for you and your future employers. College gives you an opportunity to work directly with instructors who have been in the field and know what skills you really need on the job. You will be faced with a wide range of topics regarding web design that will give you an extra set of tools to fall back on when you encounter a problem in the real world. College also gives you a chance to learn about the most cutting edge technology as it is released.

How Employers View Degrees

When someone has earned an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree in their chosen field, it tells an employer that the applicant is dedicated to gaining as much knowledge as possible about their work. Employers also understand that it is impossible to graduate from college without learning how to meet deadlines with quality work. When facing a choice between a talented web designer without a degree and one with a degree, the degree will almost always win. College provides a structured study of web design that depends on a stable approach to studies over a series of years. Many employers appreciate stability in an employee as much as they admire creativity and skill.

Finding the Right School

When you are looking for a good web design school, make sure that you choose one that holds accreditation in the United States. Schools with accreditation are required to meet certain educational standards so that students who graduate are guaranteed to have a good quality education. If you are trying to choose between a 2-year degree and a 4-year degree, opt for the 4-year degree whenever possible. The options for web design schools range from technical colleges to online degree programs. It is not hard to find a school that fits your schedule.

Jessica Bosari believes technology will eventually save the world. She writes about technology colleges for technology-colleges.info.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in a creative field?

Photo: Designer at work 2 by Wildebeast1.

In our first ever survey, we asked what advice you'd give to someone who is just starting out in a creative field.  I remember what it was like, a new designer fresh out of high school starting my first job doing typesetting and design for a local business.  If there is anything I would share, it's that you can learn from anyone and everyone around you. Be a sponge and don't dismiss anyone young or old, new or not.  There's so much to learn no matter how long you've been doing it. Now I'm working on local magazines for a nationally known company and have creative freedom and lots of fun at work. And I'm still pushing harder than ever to grow and get better.  Take a look at the responses from our panel and chime in with your own advice and experiences.

• "The advice I would give someone who is just starting out in a creative field would be to know exactly where your end goal is and how you plan to get there. Creative fields are difficult, competative and very stressful. If you don't know where you want to end up or even how to get there, you'll be eaten alive."
  
  Tearra Marie (@AhorashiiKagome) is an inspiring singer/song writer, actress, and novelist who blogs daily her writings and struggles in the music and publishing world at AhorashiiKagome.livejournal.com
  
  
• "The *most* important thing is to launch stuff ASAP. Success is mostly a numbers game -- the more you try, the more likely a successful outcome."
  
  Paul Singh (@paulsingh) is an entrepreneur and advisor to startups doing interesting stuff. He blogs at www.resultsjunkies.com/blog
  
  
• "Find out from other freelancers how much things cost and what to expect before diving in. Save up your money for the most necessary. Don't go into debt. Don't pay for the un-necessities. Seek the really good clients by requiring contract and down- payment requirements before beginning. It is easier to keep a good client on by treating them well and doing a great job for them, than to try to get a new one."
  
  Lisa C. Jackson (lisajackson.biz) is owner of a Company Identity Solopreneurship, Lisa Jackson Design, and helps small local businesses to succeed.
  

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