The inner workings of a designer
People that work within a creative profession are always thinking, observing, developing and analysing. Their jobs involve hard work, tight deadlines, late nights and motivation. Don’t be fooled by the iMacs and Wacom tablets, these are tools of the trade and not there to display glamour and charm.
Office politics
Sadly, offices aren’t everyones preferred place to work, particularly for designers as the office hierarchy can be effect their work and productivity. A recent study undertaken by Luna Parker at Prosperity.ie found that ‘Company Culture’ effected their working environment and eventually resulted in designers opting to leave their employment, 65% of designers said communication (or lack thereof!) was a key part to play in them handing in their notice as they believed their manager couldn’t provide constructive feedback or in some cases, the designers’ work wasn’t given much credit. A whopping 60% of designers were under the impression their work wasn’t valued or considered a contribution to the business, which wouldn’t boost the designers morale by any means.
Development
Designers’ development is key to their practice, they have to keep up to date. This means when their programmes update and there are new features – it’s time to quickly grasp the new tools and techniques that have been presented, not to mention constantly keeping an eye on trends so not to be left behind. This all benefits the end user – the Employer, the business or the customer. Take a step into a designers shoes and consider all of the elements it has taken to present you with what you have asked of them, the 2 – 3 logos you have been presented with have no doubt been whittled down from the 20 they originally designed.
Mixing it up!
Naturally, the creative streak within graphic designers influences the craving for new challenges and variety. Parker’s survey revealed that 40% of designers found their daily routine repetitive and therefore unengaging – which in turn means the designer loses interest as they are unable to utilise their creativity and put their originality into practice.
Calculate
Designers consider a multitude of elements when working: focal point, balance, white space, repetition, texture, typeface, alignment, line, contrast, colour, line, scale, framing, symmetry, depth, movement and composition ..to name a few. There are more elements dependent on the subject matter, whether it be responsive website design, print/editorial, flyers, stationery etc.
Hopefully this gives you a peek into the daily life of a designer, and an insight into the way we think!
Credit: Thank you to Luna Parker at prosperity.ie for the survey results within this article.