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Thinking about leaving design....

I am in-house product designer since 7 years, and I am tired of it.
It's the same and the same again. It took me a while to find out several things:
  • I am totally tired of design or do I need just some holiday?
  • I am totally tired of the design job or only of my company?
  • What else would I like to do?
  • Where can I learn the new skills, needed to become a pro in the new field?

I guess you have to take some time and get your mind clear!
I found out that I am tired of staying in front of my screen for 10h a day. It is kills my brain! I wanna work with people, I want to manage them...helping them to find ideas...rather than executing ideas.

I applied for some top notch business schools, and finally was surprised how warmly I was welcomed there! A designer CV catches attention there!

I opted for an Executive Marketing and Sales Program and I enjoy every minute of it. It opens my mind, I learn to see the other sides of a new product. I learn that creativity is needed everywhere...just the execution differs, I feel that I can give something to my mates, that see everything from a marketing or sales point of view, while I can tons of stuff from them!

My goal is the creative direction of some company...or something completely else, who knows, but I am sure that after this program my skillets are doubled! While another Maya course would add some 2%
 
MacBoobsPro said:
Im in the same boat really. Burnt out but don't know what else I could do.
Click to expand...

Wow this topic is just what I was thinking about today!

I worked as an intern then full time designer at a medium sized corporation. After 7 years it got very stale, I grew tired of corporate politics and being asked to do 'more with less'. (which meant work 60hrs a week with an 8yr old computer, outdated software and not getting paid for overtime). So I moved onto a smaller corporate thinking it would be different, it was actually worse.

I was so fed up and just burnt out I actually considered starting again as a dive bar comic. =) Luckily as fate would have it my wife got her RN degree, a very well paying job and I took some time off, did some more photography and now I'm starting my own business, got a few clients and I feel re-energized. Sometimes a break is what you really need.

Will it work out? Who knows but if this is failing I'd rather be on my own flailing blind than 'succeeding' for someone else's profits that I don't get to share.

But I do have a funny joke about nuns and a blind man if you want to hear it sometime! :D
 
oscuh said:
but in general I'm just plain burned out.
Click to expand...
<- Here, this is the reason you want a change. I know this because I felt the same way about computers for a period of time, and that feeling does come back every once in a while. It all boils down to " Get a vacation man! :) " You may need a long one too before it all comes back. In general, that's a sign that you need a change in your life. Good luck, man!
 
lukasdesign said:
I am in-house product designer since 7 years, and I am tired of it.
It's the same and the same again. It took me a while to find out several things:
  • I am totally tired of design or do I need just some holiday?
  • I am totally tired of the design job or only of my company?
  • What else would I like to do?
  • Where can I learn the new skills, needed to become a pro in the new field?

I guess you have to take some time and get your mind clear!
I found out that I am tired of staying in front of my screen for 10h a day. It is kills my brain! I wanna work with people, I want to manage them...helping them to find ideas...rather than executing ideas.

I applied for some top notch business schools, and finally was surprised how warmly I was welcomed there! A designer CV catches attention there!

I opted for an Executive Marketing and Sales Program and I enjoy every minute of it. It opens my mind, I learn to see the other sides of a new product. I learn that creativity is needed everywhere...just the execution differs, I feel that I can give something to my mates, that see everything from a marketing or sales point of view, while I can tons of stuff from them!

My goal is the creative direction of some company...or something completely else, who knows, but I am sure that after this program my skillets are doubled! While another Maya course would add some 2%
Click to expand...

Great post, I am too thinking of a change but not sure were... But some really good food for thought.
 
oscuh said:
I've been in prepress and design for over 10 years now and I'm considering leaving the field (I know, go right ahead! Less competition!) but I have no idea what field I would go into.

I still want to use my creative skills and even at times be able to whip up a design if necessary, but in general I'm just plain burned out.

Has anyone here left the design world and done something else?

Any suggestions on careers that would utilize a typical graphics/prepress skillset, but doesn't directly involve doing design on a daily basis?

Then again, maybe I just need a vacation... I dunno...
Click to expand...

I left design and became a cop...Then I went back to design.

True story.
 
I just graduated with a degree in design and I'm already thinking about leaving design! :eek: Its such a dead end career... very little transferable skills, low pay for long hours, creative jobs far in between, difficult to find employment (especially now), the instability, ...... its better as a hobby on the side. The print industry seems to be shrinking considerably and web is taking over, sometimes I feel like this is a dying industry since it seems to be constantly fighting for relevance in society. I can't help but feel I wasted so much money getting the degree. Wish I had known 4 years ago the things I know now.
 
I worked in multimedia and hand drawn animation for about 7 years and got burnt out.

Then I took off to Japan and taught English. I never did any unpaid work (unlike in animation!) and I had plenty of time for my own artwork.
 
firstjudge said:
I just graduated with a degree in design and I'm already thinking about leaving design! :eek: Its such a dead end career... very little transferable skills, low pay for long hours, creative jobs far in between, difficult to find employment (especially now), the instability, ...... its better as a hobby on the side. The print industry seems to be shrinking considerably and web is taking over, sometimes I feel like this is a dying industry since it seems to be constantly fighting for relevance in society. I can't help but feel I wasted so much money getting the degree. Wish I had known 4 years ago the things I know now.
Click to expand...

I think your instructors did you an injustice. If one really 'gets' design, you realize there is a world of opportunity out there.

-mx
 
I agree with the marketing thing for most people but if your gonna go back to web i think that's a better idea.

ive been dedicated to web design for about 7 years now and randomly dabbling in print, video and for some reason went to school for 3d...

Three years ago i got a job in radio though and i LOVE IT. I get to manage four different brands across four sites with the occasional print ad.
the department is completely new so nothing is really set in stone as to what we do and we are still expanding. when i started i was a temp so they could train the new designer and new sales person because the old designer was leaving after four years by himself.
Now there are two sales/marketing people and two designers (the old one came back lol) and were even thinking about hiring another after the hiring freeze... or snagging an intern for the busy summer season.:cool:
 
firstjudge said:
I just graduated with a degree in design and I'm already thinking about leaving design! :eek: Its such a dead end career... very little transferable skills, low pay for long hours, creative jobs far in between, difficult to find employment (especially now), the instability, ...... its better as a hobby on the side. The print industry seems to be shrinking considerably and web is taking over, sometimes I feel like this is a dying industry since it seems to be constantly fighting for relevance in society. I can't help but feel I wasted so much money getting the degree. Wish I had known 4 years ago the things I know now.
Click to expand...

You could always learn HTML/CSS/etc... and get into web design.
 
I usually lurk on these forums but this thread relates exactly to what I'm experiencing. I currently work as a Sr. Graphic Designer for an in-house art department and a jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from product photography, retouching, photo-illustration, catalog design, etc.

I'll work on a piece with a meticulous and intelligent approach, following every rational design choice, rules for composition and type, etc., only to have it butchered to the worst possible aesthetic by my employer whose choices defy all logic. And the deadlines are impossible to meet, and I'm fast at what I do. Every employee has similar issues relating to their departments and morale has been pummeled to almost nil. I defy every bad suggestion made only to be told by my fellow employees to just go along. I feel my potential isn't being realized, I'm burnt out to the point where I can't muster the energy to work on a portfolio to get another gig, and the economic downturn with disappearing jobs makes prospects look ever grim.

So, ultimately, I think most designers here probably feel their intelligence and skills aren't being maximized to their potential and have to be reduced to the most mediocre denominator.
 
Unfortunately, this conversation is all too familiar in the fine art world as well. Lots of burnout. I suspect it's the general nature of life and submitting to the forces wishing to repress and devalue our talents.
 
What burns me out is a combination of bad clients, boring work, and technology that is hard to keep up with. I seriously don't know how web designers can be good at both design and coding. Trying to master both is like being a master chef and engineer all at once. There is so much to learn and so little time to learn it and still get work done.

It would be great to just have a job and not worry about technology breaking down, or software that constantly changes and/or needs updating.
 
It's rare that I post anything but this topic got to me a bit.

I've been in the field for about 10 years and like you I got totally fed up with the type of work and moreover the clients expecting more and more for less and less and quicker and quicker.

I took a break for a couple of years and hired a couple of girls to do that kind of work for me and concentrated on setting up a print management company.

After 2 years I missed the design and felt totally re-energised. However 2 years ago I felt complete dissatisfaction with the country (UK) that I left. Luckily being single etc I just up-rooted and moved across the other side of the world.

Now again I am totally loving my work although I am working 18 hour days. I am more of a layout specialist that a total designer but that's ok. I know what I'm good at and am also very good with people.

I would say that you need a break. See if you can outsource some of your work and then try and get onto another field. Not too far away but ultimately away from the day to day tools. Keep your hand in so that you can come back when you want to or when you feel that you're re-energised again. it'll happen as us "designers" love the art and the creativity side that rarely goes away.

I only wonderif i'll be doing this forever and what my next step is. Now being in my er..... late 30's I guess I need to think about it but right now I'm enjoying myself so who knows!

Good luck in your decision. Whatever it'll be it'll be the right one at the time.
 
oscuh said:
I've been in prepress and design for over 10 years now and I'm considering leaving the field (I know, go right ahead! Less competition!) but I have no idea what field I would go into.

I still want to use my creative skills and even at times be able to whip up a design if necessary, but in general I'm just plain burned out.

Has anyone here left the design world and done something else?

Any suggestions on careers that would utilize a typical graphics/prepress skillset, but doesn't directly involve doing design on a daily basis?

Then again, maybe I just need a vacation... I dunno...
Click to expand...

Your options are limited.

A) Take a vacation
B) Become Steve Jobs

I hear the latter is really, really hard to do.
 
Wow I am going through the same as the op and others. Honestly what killed my spirit in design (well a final straw) is Adobe CS4 its like Windows coming out with office every year.
I was a starving graphic designer barely could afford my design setup with Adobe CS3. Landed good jobs and done great things but the brown noising can kill your spirit but I learned to live with it since its something everyone goes through. My background is in print but I advance myself in HTML and CSS, I am currently working in an interactive agency but web design is not my taste... so I am working into Information Architect and getting my masters in Library and Information Science which can compliment graphic design skills.

Basically I feel design is heading towards materialism instead of self development.... its easier to find blogs on latest free brushes and wallpapers than dealing with the practition.

I did the vacation thing just feel my burn out is more not feeling it no more. =(
 
wow... so i'm not the only one! I've thought about leaving this industry a few times. The same reasons always pop into my head.

1- Almost every job I've seen posted in the classifieds ask for all CS software + HTML/CSS/FLASH and more! Personally i don't really enjoy web and those strict design jobs are getting very hard to find.

2- If you find one, the pay isn't great.

3- Maybe it's just my experience but clients don't really value you or the design process. I've had so many experiences where clients have asked for this, that and the other, yet they don't have text prepared, photos of their products etc. They just want it fast and cheap. They assume photoshop does all the work for you.

4- A good designer is a better sales person. You have to be if you want to get good contracts. I know... it should be your portfolio but unfortunately this is rarely the case.
 
For someone to say they are leaving the profession of design is not understanding what they are really leaving. You can leave a web designer position or a production artist position but, design is not a profession - it's an approach.


-mx
 
Another thing is most people just don't have any visual taste anymore. Most can't tell or just don't care about the difference in quality between something done by a rookie and something done by a master. You spend all your time kerning, fixing rags, perfecting the composition.... and then someone picks it up and looks at it for 3 seconds and puts it aside. Sometimes I wonder is it worth it? Why fix rags and fix letter spacing (which can get so tedious and exhausting) if nobody will notice it except other designers? Where is the payoff? Hence why we have all these things now with elance and outsourcing the jobs to india where people design being paid peanuts. Design is expendable to most people and they don't care about having something GREAT or original, just something decent enough that wont get in the way of their business and can be created in the least costly and shortest amount of time. I don't see this changing any time soon. Our culture is moving away from appreciating any sort of art and craft, we are obsessed with getting rich and developing our tools. While humans are advancing rapidly in the area of technology, in the area of arts, we are moving backwards. Just listen to the music on the radio these days. We went from Mozart to Britney. Art will probably cease to exist in the next 200+ years.
 
firstjudge said:
Another thing is most people just don't have any visual taste anymore. Most can't tell or just don't care about the difference in quality between something done by a rookie and something done by a master. You spend all your time kerning, fixing rags, perfecting the composition.... and then someone picks it up and looks at it for 3 seconds and puts it aside. Sometimes I wonder is it worth it? Why fix rags and fix letter spacing (which can get so tedious and exhausting) if nobody will notice it except other designers? Where is the payoff? Hence why we have all these things now with elance and outsourcing the jobs to india where people design being paid peanuts. Design is expendable to most people and they don't care about having something GREAT or original, just something decent enough that wont get in the way of their business and can be created in the least costly and shortest amount of time. I don't see this changing any time soon. Our culture is moving away from appreciating any sort of art and craft, we are obsessed with getting rich and developing our tools. While humans are advancing rapidly in the area of technology, in the area of arts, we are moving backwards. Just listen to the music on the radio these days. We went from Mozart to Britney. Art will probably cease to exist in the next 200+ years.
Click to expand...

I agree with this and it makes me think about the fact that art has (seemingly) lost its relevance in society (as a whole). Sure, we have people that make, buy and view art - but it's been commodified to extinction (thanks in part to Dada, Surrealism Abstract Expressionism) But, really I think about the realities of making money and how paramount they are to everyones life and livelihood - even if we don't want them to be, we will still have to work 3 times as hard to make half the money - as compared to the mid-70's dollar and wages earned.

We have no time to reflect and enjoy art - too much to do, too much to consume and too much work. There was a book published in 1973 called Future Shock by Alvin Toffler that somewhat addresses this ever increasing speed of "progress" and its tool on mankind. He postulated that the acceleration of technology and society was starting creating mental and societal havoc and would continue to do so as everything progressed in time. (it's been years since I read the book, but that seems to be the premise I took from it) and its results were much like what we have today - widespread internal discord, economic breakdown and heavy medication use.

I suspect that some 35 years later, we are now viewing the results of this imagined future and it's very difficult to assemble and process out the relevant information - ie:quest for quality and meaning within the creative process instead of the sickening debasing of our collective artistic expressions.

That said, I feel if one stops and takes the time to look around carefully (ie: disconnect from the distractions) I think we'll would find some of the most incredible talent that this world has ever seen - all around us - just waiting to be courted though the gates of our imagination.

Sigh...

I think turning off our TV's really is becoming the best first step.
 
^^^ I don't think that graphic design is art. It does require talent and skill, but it's almost the antithesis of art.
 
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