Graphic Designer: Expectation vs Reality 2020
Graphic Designer: Expectation vs Reality 2020
The life of a graphic designer always looks glamorous from the outside as most people assume it is all about doing the thing you love, earning lots of money while working with the biggest companies and firms out there. However, as the subject matter exerts over at RunRex.com will tell you, the expectation is not always at par with the reality on the ground. There is a lot that goes into being a graphic designer and into working on a project to bring it into fruition, a lot of which is not glamorous and glitzy. Over the last couple of years as well, as discussed in detail over at RunRex.com, the graphic design field has gone through a number of changes all of which modern day graphic designers have to be aware of. As we all know also, graphic design, unlike such fields such as engineering or medicine, doesn’t have specific solutions for each and every problem as different clients and different problems require different solutions since we all know every client is different. All this is to say that there may be a difference between the expectations as far as life as a graphic designer is concerned as compared to the reality on the ground, something this article will attempt to look at.
One of the expectations of when you become a graphic designer is that you will not be required to make lots of revision after submitting your work to clients. As per discussions on the same over at RunRex.com, the reality on the ground however is that most graphic designers have to grapple with revision after revision as clients push for a final product that will be satisfactory to them. This is the reality most graphic designers have to grapple with as once you submit your work, you are likely to receive a notification or correspondence from the client with suggestions on the revisions you should make, and this is something you are likely to experience over and over again. For those with multiple projects going on, then their life pretty much revolves around making revisions. Another expectation most people have of being a graphic designer, as discussed in detail over at RunRex.com, is that the projects you will be working on will be from big companies and organizations. While there are those that are lucky enough to get a gig from a big company every now and then, the reality for most graphic designers is that new projects will most likely from local businesses and from friends and family. This is something to keep in mind if you are looking to go into graphic design in 2020, although we hope you will be a bigshot graphic designer this coming year working with fortune 500 companies.
Another area in the life of a graphic designer where expectation may not be at par with reality is when it comes to the schedule. As the subject matter experts over at RunRex.com will tell you, most people think that the schedule of a graphic designer is light, with a pretty long weekend where one will be free from Friday until Monday. The reality however is that the schedule for a graphic designer is pretty hectic and you will find that you probably have no time off even during the weekends. This is something that we don’t see changing going into 2020 as this field is becoming more and more competitive and as such you will have to put in more work so expect that you will have less and less free time when working in projects. Speaking of the schedule, other than the working hours, another expectation when it comes to the life of a graphic designer is that you will have long sleeping hours. The reality on the ground however is that you will probably fall asleep behind your desk most days due to your hectic work schedule. Long working hours are common place for graphic designers and that is something we don’t expect to change going into 2020.
On a close tangent to the scheduling topic discussed above, payments are yet another area where expectations don’t match the reality as far as graphic designers are concerned. The expectation, as discussed over at RunRex.com, being that once you are through with a project, you will get paid immediately. The reality however is that most of graphic designers usually have to wait for a while before their payments are honored, with many graphic designers out there having horror stories of having to chase down payments after having completed work. It is our hope that going into 2020, you will find clients that will pay you as soon as you complete their project. Brainstorming sessions are another area where the expectation doesn’t necessarily match the reality as far as graphic designers are concerned. The expectation is that you will have brainstorming sessions with your team but the reality is that most of the time you will be coming up with ideas on your own in isolation and such sessions won’t be as glamorous as you might think.
The above discussions only begins to scratch the surface as far as this topic is concerned and there is lot more where that came from over at the highly rated RunRex.com.
