Am I the only one ..

[Bill]

on this planet who is not a graphic designer.?.

Everywhere (on or off the net) people claim they're some kind of graphic specialist.
Dozens of titles ... all pointing back towards the graphic arena.

Stop at a gas station. Hand the girl a bill ~fill it up on #4 pump. You look bored~
"Part time job *because* I'm a ......".!.
Stop at 7/11 in and out store for a 60¢ coke.
Listen to a guy (as he hands me the wrong change back from a dollar bill) tell me how he's (couldn't of been more than 18 years of age) a web designer.
Goes on and on and on.

On the net: Seems everywhere .. everyone claims they can dot an {i} cross a {t}, spruce up a portrait, make a website the best-of-the-best etc .. blah blah.

All these up and coming teeth whiteners were coming out of the woodworks years ago and some actually made their own medicine cabinets.
I've no idea the percentage who did get too put their brand on a shinny page/site/magazine .. whatever.
Good for them!

Yet seems to me this new crop of wanna-be youngsters have a problem with where to or what to do with a toothbrush.

Don't get me wrong. Dreams are dreams. Hope most their dreams do become a reality.
Just that one needs to 'pump' the knowledge up in the gray matter first and not skip that as if -oh I'll learn that later-.!.
The Mommy and Daddy will get them out endless story.

Responsibility should be pounded in their heads over and over again by whatever means it takes to get the point across, sinks in.

Granted I'm a hypocrite typing this because I was the same when I was knee high to a grasshopper.
Lots ... Lots of wild oats, trouble followed UNTIL nobody but no one was going to fill the stomach, needs but yours truly.

I remember people calling me young, reckless, foolhardy, better stop there!

[kelly]

Well. I'm not a Graphic designer. And never built a Web Site.

If that's of any help.

[Dreambird]

I'm not a Graphic Designer either... but it sure "is" fun to pretend...  

Sister's a bonifide, went to college, got the papers and T-Shirt G.D. but she didn't come to that decision til she was 26... I shouldn't talk about her "grey matter"... she might decide to drop in with my luck!

[ljocampo]

Bill:  Did you miss a Prozac dose?     I'm not a graphic designer per se. Actually, my masters and teaching certificates are for teaching new media design.  

[Bill]

Little clarification here.
I'm talking about tumbleweeds blowing loosely in the dessert winds when their roots weren't firmly planted.
Even a baby cactus if planted properly will eventually become something to reckon with.

How many graphic designers do you know personally who are highly skilled in their field?
Besides yourself of course. <gr>
I myself. Not really a lot but have run across plenty through the years.
One example comes to mind is this old geezer who was an independent that had an exclusive for a multi $$$ corporation similar to say flour corp.
He'd crank out some mighty big projects. Finish. Grab his family and jump in their motorhome or he'd climb on his Harley and got lost for a month or two.
You don't get to that level by BS'n.

Like ljocampo, Dreams sister you have to put in your time and learn.
Fact GiantMike is another.

[kimmer]

QUOTE(Bill @ Jul 21 2003, 7:18 PM)

on this planet who is not a graphic designer.?.

I can design *simple* web sites, I can crochet, I can color with crayons and design clothes for paper dolls ... but the only thing I can do with Photoshop Elements is adjust the size of a pic, add a quick back shadow, and convert web-tv graphics to real jpgs.

Sneakers is the one with the 12 years of Photoshop. He can do all kinds of cool things with pics, graphics, with his Wacum tablet. I just sit and drool. I know, personally, one other person who has skills close to his.

QUOTE

Yet seems to me this new crop of wanna-be youngsters have a problem with where to or what to do with a toothbrush.

Bill, I've met tons of "wanna-be's", and most of them don't have any better skills than I do -- but they are trying to make a living as a graphic designer. Go figure.

There is a gal on another board that took a crash course at a local college and went out to get a jog as a GD. No one would hire her. Back to WM as a cashier to put food on the table for herself and her kids. No one knows how to tell her that part of the problem is her lack of basic English skills, lack of people skills, lack of any working experience that would give her some self-confidence to go out to corporate America and sell her skills. It's sad. She figured a few hours of learning and she was set for a big job.

I had dreams when I was a kid - still do as an adult, but I was also taught to take responsibility for achieving my dreams. I knew that it took hard work and persistence.


kimmer

[Mrious_be]

Ok ok... i feel i shouldn't say this but, i really understand the nature of this topic.
I myself am graduated from an Art Academy, and learned the traditional values of a Graphic Designer.
The problem these days is that much people with home computers "think" they can design stuff and like to call their self "graphic designers" or whatever cause it sounds nice.
I don't mind that people play around with their puter, try and learn new programs and even print little things for family invitations and business cards.
I know, it's fun and... go ahead, it saves you money.
My problem however is that i feel that the last 5 year people are designing their stuff on a home computer (not to mention Intel boxes cause that's what they mostly use) and then... they dare to deliver that material to a professional printer or advertising agency
You have no idea what mess we get, and than if you tell them you can't use it, they are insulted and angry, cause didn't they do it all correct (the book "said so"), and didn't they spend a few hundreds off dolars on a brand new program.
It's sad, irritating and not good for the real graphic designers out there.
I'm not going into details what things we get to our desks, just imagine pdf's, converted to low resulation images, no fonts, layout in... Word or even Exell.... ((sigh)).....

Oh yes... and i AM a graphic designer,

[Bill]

That is my point or points exactly Kimmer and MB.

My day to impress someone you had a waxed surfboard under one arm, sixpack of suds under the other, stuffed sock in you trunks and be leaning against someone's 57 Chevy nova. OH YEAH! Them my wheels.

Guess now days for these young whippersnappers it's the -I'm a graphic designer- baby.

[ljocampo]

This is a tough topic, because creativity sometimes come from the mouths of babes.  Someone might not be schooled as a GD but they have an innate talent.  In my 10 year academic experience, I've seen this several times.  These people of course are rare.  They can't tell you why they placed that page element the way they did, but somehow it fits.  I've been at the fore-front of new media design for quite some time now, and I can tell you, that by the time you learn one graphic software program, it has changed ten-fold.  My point is that what makes the trained graphic or new media designer, is a sound understanding of the fundermentals of design. Once you have that, you'll need the business and people skills and confedence, to sell yourself.  OH and BTW some creativity too!

[Bill]

Know I'm going to catch h**l for this. <gr>

Snuffysbluff has been turned into an example.

[Sneakers! Ya got any running types you can loan me asap!]

The guy (Snuffysbluff) is an incredibly good artist.
Can't find his site off hand. Maybe someone else can help out with that.

I'll bet if he was handed a pencil and a brown paperbag , within minutes he would draw something that would knock anyones socks off.

Now the same situation only a hundred years ago when he first started out.
Bet whatever he drew would ......... Gonna leave that blank.

[RHPConsult]

Hey, Bill:

FYI.

Hereeeeee's Snuffysbluff . . . and a fascinating site it is .  . .
Here

[RobW]

Well Bill--I'm not, but my wife is/was. As was posted by Mrious_be earlier, she has an undergrad degree in Art and majored in graphic design. While she was out on maternity leave things really really started to change over to computer. She hated that, and especially hated hearing about people "designing" things with programs like Printshop, etc. Actually, it was because of her attempts to get back into her changed field that we bought our first Mac. She never could get into it--felt frustrated by it, etc. Eventually, she changed fields and went into teaching.  But the Macs were with us forever. (We still have the old Performa 6115!)

[Bill]

Sneakers
When and if Snuffy shows up, I'm going to need those running shoes. <gr>

The old desktop full of you-name-its. Never could understand why people do that.

[Gary S]

Graphics designer.

Yeah, everyones doing it.

I own a bunch of graphics programs but I wouldn't call myself a Graphics designer....an artist.....now that's a different story. I'm an Art-teest....yeah that's it!

Mostly I'm just myself though.

[ljocampo]

If I had to pick just one word to describe this topic it would be:

Empowerment

Like the printing press, the computer has empowered us to be more than we were.