GRAPHIC DESIGN

I'm thinking about going to the Academy Of Art to get a degree in graphic design in the fall. I would like some feed-back from anyone who has gotten a degree in graphic design. Is it worth it? Is there many jobs? Does it pay well?

im thinking about this also..

The Vice A to Z of design

Being a designer used to mean you drove a Benz and you could get good drugs. Now it means you own a computer. What the fuck? You start out thinking you're going to blow people's minds with your incredibly unique take on the beauty that surrounds us all, and by the time you actually get your career in motion you're essentially a wedding photographer chained to a desk.

It starts in design school, where they have so few computers they make you learn Microsoft Word forever under the pretense that you're "getting the foundations." By the time you graduate, the little bit of software knowledge you did get is totally out-of-date (even as I write this Quark is getting phased out to make room for InDesign). You think you can reverse all this drudgery when you make your first club flyer but that's when the pain really sets in. You see, your ideas don't mean shit to the client. He couldn't be bothered learning how to use a computer, so what he wants to do is use you as a human paintbrush. Any idea you come up with, no matter how mundane, is going to be further bastardized by his shitty Guido taste until the final result is a perfect example of everything you hate. There, you got into design as part of the solution and now you're just another part of the problem. Still want to learn more? OK, if you fucking insist…

Originally posted by <KEY3>@Feb 9 2005, 07:52 PM

The Vice A to Z of design

 

Being a designer used to mean you drove a Benz and you could get good drugs. Now it means you own a computer. What the fuck? You start out thinking you're going to blow people's minds with your incredibly unique take on the beauty that surrounds us all, and by the time you actually get your career in motion you're essentially a wedding photographer chained to a desk.

 

It starts in design school, where they have so few computers they make you learn Microsoft Word forever under the pretense that you're "getting the foundations." By the time you graduate, the little bit of software knowledge you did get is totally out-of-date (even as I write this Quark is getting phased out to make room for InDesign). You think you can reverse all this drudgery when you make your first club flyer but that's when the pain really sets in. You see, your ideas don't mean shit to the client. He couldn't be bothered learning how to use a computer, so what he wants to do is use you as a human paintbrush. Any idea you come up with, no matter how mundane, is going to be further bastardized by his shitty Guido taste until the final result is a perfect example of everything you hate. There, you got into design as part of the solution and now you're just another part of the problem. Still want to learn more? OK, if you fucking insist…

Quoted post

So I guess it's not quite worth it. But please tell me more.

check the link, read the whole article.

art majors got it worse.

dont front.

If you are dedicated you can make it.

I highly suggest going to the best school you can get in. A good rule of thumb

is don't attend a school that has commercials on TV. Make sure the school is

NASAD accredited. Admissions directors will try very hard to impress you, so

when visiting the school find time to talk to the students. Ask them questions

about the school and on their friends that have graduated. AIGA (http://www.aiga.org)

is a professional design organization that will be extremely informative, if you

do decide to follow the design path join this organization, it helps.

A lot of what K3 said is true and it can be really depressing. Here's how I

manage through the bullshit.

Through out school as soon as I understood the programs I jumped ahead and

read up on proper print production. Started talking to everyone I knew and

began picking up work where ever I could no matter what it paid (some didn't

pay at all). My teachers knew my work & ethics and recommended me for AIGA

Student President, and I got it. During this time my school offered me paid

fulltime position at the school designing all the print work. At graduation I didn't

just have my school projects, but a ton of real world projects, a networking base,

and credentials, that got me a job a week after graduation, I started as Senior

Designer at an entertainment company (they own and run about 50 restaurants

and clubs) they paid crap but it gave my portfolio a huge variety it needed. 6

months into that I started working my network and found a position of Art Director

(salary, 401k, health, life, dental) for a publication company. The work is sterile

and boring but they take care of me real nicely. Having this salary gives me the

freedom to only take freelance work in which the client gives me just about

complete artistic freedom. And that is where I let lose and blow minds.

After a year at this position I’ll start to look for a larger one at an Agency and

work that side of design.

"art majors got it worse"

aint that the fucking truth.. What in the hell can you do with an art degree really??

Never let school get in the way of an education

Originally posted by Telo@Feb 9 2005, 03:56 PM

"art majors got it worse"

 

aint that the fucking truth.. What in the hell can you do with an art degree really??

Quoted post

I really don't know. I honestly think I might end up spending four years in art school, graduate, and just go right back to doing construction.

but hopefully not.

Originally posted by Coffie Crave@Feb 9 2005, 04:10 PM

Never let school get in the way of an education

Quoted post

Extremely true!

Life is everyones education, just pay attention.

Originally posted by deterrent@Feb 9 2005, 08:51 PM

If you are dedicated you can make it.

 

I highly suggest going to the best school you can get in. A good rule of thumb

is don't attend a school that has commercials on TV. Make sure the school is

NASAD accredited. Admissions directors will try very hard to impress you, so

when visiting the school find time to talk to the students. Ask them questions

about the school and on their friends that have graduated. AIGA (http://www.aiga.org)

is a professional design organization that will be extremely informative, if you

do decide to follow the design path join this organization, it helps.

 

A lot of what K3 said is true and it can be really depressing. Here's how I

manage through the bullshit.

 

Through out school as soon as I understood the programs I jumped ahead and

read up on proper print production. Started talking to everyone I knew and

began picking up work where ever I could no matter what it paid (some didn't

pay at all). My teachers knew my work & ethics and recommended me for AIGA

Student President, and I got it. During this time my school offered me paid

fulltime position at the school designing all the print work. At graduation I didn't

just have my school projects, but a ton of real world projects, a networking base,

and credentials, that got me a job a week after graduation, I started as Senior

Designer at an entertainment company (they own and run about 50 restaurants

and clubs) they paid crap but it gave my portfolio a huge variety it needed. 6

months into that I started working my network and found a position of Art Director

(salary, 401k, health, life, dental) for a publication company. The work is sterile

and boring but they take care of me real nicely. Having this salary gives me the

freedom to only take freelance work in which the client gives me just about

complete artistic freedom. And that is where I let lose and blow minds.

 

After a year at this position I’ll start to look for a larger one at an Agency and

work that side of design.

Quoted post

Would you consider the academy of art San Francisco a good school? It has commericals on t.v. bout I think its a really good school.

comercials DO NOT make a good school.

good schools use their reputation and their graduates to advertise.

Would you consider the academy of art San Francisco a good school? It has commericals on t.v. bout I think its a really good school.

If it's the school I'm thinking of I've had several friends/people I know come from there

with the Masters and are doing well. Isn't it also a fine art school, if so I've heard of it

and it's a great school. When I heard academy I was think Illinois out here there is an

"American Academy of Art and Design" they suck, really hard.

Go on the website and look at the Alumni section see if you recognize any one, I believe

that was McGee's school.

Originally posted by <KEY3>@Feb 9 2005, 09:22 PM

comercials DO NOT make a good school.

 

good schools use their reputation and their graduates to advertise.

Quoted post

so a good school CAN"T have commericals? The commericals were made by the students in the motion picture, graphic design and advertising departments.

It can't be that easy to pick a school based on how little advertising they have. Especally if they have an advertising department.

1.Learn as much as you can in school.

2.Try to work on side projects while in school, yeah it's a bitch but do it.

3.Take on a part time or full time job right before your last semester, kinkos, alphagraphics count too (you will learn simple print knowledge).

4.After you graduate try to use your school for further information, networking, computers, prints etc...

5.Establish your own identity and start working for your self, use your friends sometimes they can help and sometimes they can harm you. Oh well that's life!

6.If you do end up working for the man, don't stay there too long. Over five years makes you look like you only have one type of work to show.

good luck!

Im in art school now, Pratt in BK, very good art school, also very fuckin expensive, and full of hipster bitches.

Here goes:

If you can ignore the personalities (or lack of) from your co-workers and such, if you can deal with heavy amounts of stress and weeks in a row of 3 hour "naps" a night, if you can deal with people constantly pissing on your work that you took hours to do, go for it.

Any design or art field is not for the weak hearted. It takes a lot of determination, hope and basically a "fuck you, help me" attitude.

Commercials usually make a school not so good (k.gibbs, etc.). Just because "art" is featured in a school's name, doesnt mean its so "art"sy. If youre still in highschool talk to your guidance counsler, they SHOULD know best, but who knows.

I'm a graphic designer and I went to a community college and make a pretty good stable income. It's not the greatest but i'm liven better then alot of my friends. The key is having connections so you can do as much freelance work as possible, which kinda sucks because that means you don't have much of an outside life. I'm sure you could make a better living then me going to a better school, but I fukin hate school.

O.K. everybody check out the school and tell me if its a good one

http://www.academyofart.edu

O.K. everybody check out the school and tell me if its a good one

http://www.academyofart.edu

have any of graphic designers heard of alston pervis or richard doubleday?

I think you'd be far better off comparing the criteria of a few different schools and making the decision of whether or not its a good school by yourself.

The fact that you are looking for a complete stranger on the internet to make a possible life changing decision makes me think that you are not ready for a career that absolutely depends on strong, independent opinions.

^^ true

graphic design seems simple until your in it

i'd say go for undecided where ever you land and take a course in graphic design..see what its all about

and i know some folks that make quite a decent living in it

it is about networking

blah

error

Don't get into graphic design. For one if you live in CA everyone else and his mother can do graphic design. It is a super over saturated market with competition at super high due to everyone else going to school to become a graphic designer. Unless you are super good at it right now I would not suggest getting into the feild. But what do I know...

teach art... but i too hear that the graphic life is a shitty ruff one

starving artists..

make cartoon with pixar.. thats in the bay.

i've been offered to be apart of a team of art judges for the movie brother bear, but i let that window close

Money. Money. Money.

As an artist we say; "That perfession is shit cuz you work your ass off, and get nothing". But, this is true for ALL artistic professions. In-fact, to be on a "GRAFFITI" forum and say art is all about money is quite hypicritacle.

And as far as asking for the feedback that I did. I am quite profound in making decisions for myself. I CHOOSE to ASK QUESTIONS before jumping into any aspect in my life. And if you think this board is where I get all my answeres, You are wrong It's just another outlet for my life compairsons.

p.s. spelling sucks so shut up. THE POINT IS THERE.

so tell me, oh wise one, how exactly do you plan to use the answers to the question you posed on here?

Do you have some kind of formula where you divide posts by popularity points? I take it higher posts are worth more? Do you take off points if they're from Australia or Hawaii? What if they're rookies?

I'm just curious.

Oh yeah, last time I checked...spelling was kind of important in design.

Originally posted by KONFLIKT@Feb 9 2005, 09:20 PM

Would you consider the academy of art San Francisco a good school? It has commericals on t.v. bout I think its a really good school.

Quoted post

weird, i posted my 2 cents and it got deleted...

big deal, they air commercials. the instructors are rad but the admin sucks ass. i got my mfa from there and i was able to get a job as an art director.

as far as gd goes? i wouldn't do it again for the money. the people are pretentious and assholes steal concepts from your book.

im a designer and for what its worth i say to teach yourself fuck an art school... instead of spending 20k for some washed up schmuck to teach you outdated techniques at a school go to seminars. read books on things like preflight,layout,offsetting,trapping,html etc. after all that boring shit(and trust me its boring) if you still want to be a designer then learn the programs... being a graphic artist unfortunately isn't just drawing pretty pictures....

thats what i did and i am a graphic designer who is lucky enough to have a job in graphics like someone before said this market is filled with people (especially middle aged women) who assume there graphic artist because they know how to draw a fucking picture in microsoft paint . dont be that person unless you want to work at fucking kinkos for the rest of your life..