During my stint as a web developer in the corporate world and my short stint as a freelance web designer I found that I would ask myself frequently if I could do design/development every single day for the rest of my life. The answer was always yes, if I could just do it on my own without having to worry about outside influences (aka clients). I always dreamed of an utopia where you could have fun designing and programming without any stress at all. The only criticism laid upon your work was the criticism placed by yourself.
I know that some designers/developers are able to enjoy all of their clients and all the work that they do. How do they do it? I have no idea, because I know that I was never even close to that. Once you invite a client in to pay the bills you lose a part of that freedom. Some clients wish to take all of that freedom away from you and those are the ones that you just don't deal with.
The reason I say that you lose part of your freedom is because you aren't painting a piece of art to be auctioned off to someone who happens to like your style (unless you do template design), but you are mixing your design tastes with that of the client. That's where part of your freedom goes.
That's why personal site design is so important. Every designer/developer needs her playground to experiment and have fun with. You can see it here on Whitespace every single day almost. I am on design #46 I believe for this site. The design moves along with my tastes for the moment and I get to see what works and what doesn't. Many would argue that constantly changing the design can turn your readers off. This may certainly be the case, but no offence to your readers, at times you have to look out for your own happiness.
I believe if you want to do design your whole life there has to be a part of your day, week, month, year that you devote to your own work. Try your best to filter out what other's will think of it and focus on how you feel about it. Hell, you don't have to make every site you do a public one. Create a section that is just for you and have at it.
Even when you do this though, you can get burnt out from work, whether it be the corporate world or demanding clients. What keeps you going? How close have you been to just saying fuck it and moving on to something else? Can you do design your whole life?
Posted by Scrivs at April 14, 2005 10:42 AM
#1 | Bryan (http://www.majorchampionships.com)
I agree. I enjoy designing and doing client work, but at the same time, I enjoy working on my own projects. Of course, I am like you, I want to make all my money from the web, and that may come down the road, but for now, I will have to submit to the fact that part of my design freedom is removed simply because the client likes what they like and that won't change.
#2 | Jeroen (http://braintags.com/)
People enjoy their hobbies wile they won't enjoy doing the same thing for work.
#3 | Scrivs (http://9rules.com/)
The problem is Jeroen when people have to make their hobbies the money-making part of their lives. It would be different being a doctor and doing design when you get home, but I don't know anybody under those circumstances. If you love design usually you do it for a living and separating the "hobby" from doing it for a living is near impossible I think.
#4 | Jennifer Grucza (http://jennifergrucza.com)
Sometimes I think it's easier to be creative when you are more constrained. Too much freedom can actually make things harder.
I think utopia would be working on projects where the clients give you the goals and constraints, but trust your judgement on the more subjective details.
#5 | Scrivs (http://9rules.com/)
Yes of course too much freedom leads to too much choice, which in turn means nothing gets done. Even when doing stuff for fun there has to be a set of restraints to guide you, but that's what makes things more fun.
#6 | Lea (http://xox.lealea.net/)
Just couldn't resist to add irrelevant two cents--for the doctor doing design when they get home... Bioware, the company that created Baldurs Gate and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, was founded by Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk and act as the Co-Executive Producers of BioWare's games on top of being CEOs. Oh, and they keep their medical licenses by continuing to parctice medicine a few days a month.
#7 | Ryan Latham (http://www.unmatchedstyle.com)
I can absolutely design for the rest of my life, as long as I am doing it for myself, or where I have full creative control over the project. But in the real world, that just doesn't happen. I am not in a position where can up and quit working and make it work, and as soon as I am at that point I will go into work and say:
I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!
I mean real jobs are over rated. Last month I made damn near as much as I did doing something I love, and doesn't keep my life constrained...as I did getting up early in the morning...going to work for 40 hours awake. It really fucking sucks, especially if you are in a relationship with someone who has a conflicting schedule...you get to see them a couple hours a day if your lucky.
My ideal job is starting my own new projects, maintaining existing ones and making money from it. I admit it now, I am lazy as hell...I want to stay up all night, roll out of bed at the crack of noon, work on some sites until 5 at the latest and do it all over again. I am living fucking proof that "Office Space" is real. I'm just waiting on my get rich scheme.
Until then I will live my life doing the crap that is dictated to me; being no more than a code monkey. I have no creative say, hell I don't even really get to design; I code back end. And not even a respectable language, ASP man, I mean come on ASP! The webs D student.
But I'm happy as hell to come home and do what I like for a couple hours a night. Now that everyone assumes I am going to go into work tomorrow and start shooting everyone up...damn it feels good to be a gangsta.
#8 | Alanna (http://www.expio.net)
Hey, Paul. Remember me? Yeah, I don't either.
Your question is one that I had to ask myself in high school. I'm one of those people that has fostered ten billion interests and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what I could actually dedicate myself to in an 8 to 5 environment. I've been through a list of possibilities, from a vet to an actor, from a writer to a director... and I was lucky to try a lot of my interests out before I concluded that most of these things were not for me, professionally speaking. And I was even luckier to stumble across the digital arts and web design a year before I made my college decision (and thus my career decision).
When I design professionally, my priority is always the client’s needs. Always. I’m not out to make something for myself, I’m making something for my client. Now, of course, I have my own sense of standards that I like to interject as a web designer, whether that is a design aesthetic or valid web standards, but if my client is not satisfied with my choices and - most importantly - if I am unable to convince the client that my choices are what is best for the project, then the client is always right. I am wrong. Their desires for the project alway trump my own.
I guess it comes to a matter of point of view. My work is not a reflection of myself. It should be a reflection of the client. And I get a strong sense of satisfaction when a client comes away thrilled with the end results.
And, so I do agree with your conclusion. We do need the opportunity to have our own space to design. A place where we are our own clients. A place where we can develop new and creative ideas that business clients do not always give us the opportunities to develop. I have found it to be an essential element to staying excited about web design and digital arts. I know that when I stopped giving myself the opportunity to develop my own personal projects on the side, I became disinterested and uninvolved with the ever changing web development world. But I’m starting to get back on track and excited again...
And, hey. I just found out you sold the CSS Vault. (Yes, I’ve been very uninvolved.) Congrats to you!
#9 | mrod
For me, designing is a chore, I'm much more adept at project management/general business stuff. I'm just doing the web stuff as a means to an end.
Yeah, I really do feel like saying "fuck it" and opening up my own stripclub or bar/niteclub.
Cheers.
#10 | Vinnie Garcia (http://ibebloggin.com/)
Could I design for my whole life? Sure. For other people? Nope.
I've asked myself the classic Office Space "what would you do if you had a million dollars" question. After the obvious two-for-one answer, I'm pretty sure I'd still be building cool things for myself. I'd probably only do web stuff few hours a week, but I'd still do it in some form.
#11 | Ryan Latham (http://www.unmatchedstyle.com)
I think everyone so far is in the same boat. When we are off on our own, we love it; and we have a passion for it. But as soon as you take away our ability to create what we want, how we want to; it looses its luster.
I know this all to well. There is very little room for pure designers to make money; the ones who have been doing it are kicking ass and taking names, and giving the rest of us something to shoot for. But I go to work 40 hours a week, working 9 hours a day on Monday through Thursday so I am only forced to be in my rectangical for half a work day. Developers are the ones who have jobs; and lets face it, developing is boring.
Programmers like code, most people interested in anything web are more visual. There is not a 9 to 5 for us. And ultimately, our dream job does not exist. No matter what, if we are working on any project other than ones we create for ourselves, we will be doing something we don't want to do.
#12 | Scrivs (http://9rules.com/)
Hey Alanna! Long time, no read.
I can see your perspective about doing design for the client. I just have been involved with too many frustrating situations that involve clients so obviously my perspective is a tad bit jaded.
Instead though I am learning that I am more of a fan of design then someone who yearns to create quality design.
#13 | Linds (http://www.dizzylimits.com)
I guess I've been pretty lucky to date, my clients tend to listen to me. :) However, there are a few freelance projects that I've worked on that I really haven't enjoyed, mostly due to indecisiveness on the clients' part. It's hard to design when the client doesn't have a clue what they want or what is involved in getting what they want.
Even worse is the dreaded 'committee' (with little to no knowledge of how the web works, of course) that gets to pick over your design until you're ready to punch them all in the neck.
Clipart anyone? lol!
#14 | Linds (http://www.dizzylimits.com)
Oh, and to answer your question, I could definitely see myself doing this for the rest of my life as a hobby. As a career, ehh, ya, probably. I've been doing it for 11 years how, what's another 27 years? :D
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