A Day In The Life Of A Graphic Designer
“Amerikan Made Prints was started by the husband and wife team of Keith and Jenn Bowman. Keith creates all the designs, which are usually inspired by growing up in the 1970s and frequently falling down stairs as a child. Jenn is responsible for expertly mixing paint pallets for the posters and quality control.”
Their most recent print celebrates the realities of being a graphic designer:
The dream of a graphic designer is to create meaningful designs that communicate on a visual, intellectual and emotional level. It is the joy of being creative and having someone pay you to do it. But the reality of that dream is that it often comes with the heavy price on the creative soul. There are endless meetings, client revisions, committee-mandated direction, project managers who are frustrated art directors, long hours and often little recognition. These are the daily and universal struggles of a graphic designer and this is my loving tribute to those in the design trenches. May the creative concept never be forgotten and the good fight always be fought.
If you are a graphic designer then this poster is for you, or if you have a friend or loved one that is a graphic designer this would be a great gift! Perfect for office, cubicle or home studio, show your solidarity!
HOW Brand
@HOWbrand
You preaching to the choir like your work
You left out your mother asking you to design a flyer for the church that will eventually assume the persona of DESIGNSTEIN, but pay absolutely nothing (save for calls from Church Ladies wanting you to “design” scrapbook covers for them–gratis, of course.) :-)
Great poster!
Michael: Utter classic, sir! Couldn’t have put it better myself…
hahaha exactly…since we all have so much free time. Or better yet, the secretary could handle the design project since making something with clip art would look just as nice. Gurrr
Ha! Poster made me laugh out loud, this comment made me guffaw. So true.
Michael: for me worse, I VOLUNTEER
First of all, to Megan: thanks for making our week with this blog post! We greatly appreciate the support for our work. We would also like to thank all those who have help to spread the word, bought our prints and have just been very kind to us. We have received a lot of love from the design community over the years and this print was my small way of given some of that love back.
>Keith
Yes I remember this, especially the 7:30-8:00 pm part. I definitely felt this when I was working full-time in a studio. Thanks for posting. =D
This is hanging on my living room wall and makes me smile every day! Love the work Keith and Jenn! Keep it up!
The loser is part of the problem. If this is a typical day in the life of a Graphic Designer, it’s self inflicted. Keep in mind that the Graphic Designer is the ass in the system, the funny guy in the basement, the one with the pony tail and the cute band Tshirt. He/she is a cost factor and that’s why he/she gets bossed around and squeezed like a lemon. GDs don’t get respect, they get orders. If you want to get out of this cycle, upgrade your services. Become a revenue factor, be a driver, a visionary. All what companies care about is revenue and growth. If you can feed into that and show them how to grow through well crafted design/marketing/brand strategy, they will respect you – and pay handsomely. Otherwise you’re stuck in the basement with that cute poster on the wall.
“The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination.” John Schaar, Futurist
Marc,
I agree that one Graphic Designer should aspire toward the qualities you’ve listed: many design conferences talk about the designer’s approach in the firm/ corporation, should be just that [ persuade how your design brings revenue and growth] at some point.
As for myself, I’m a junior level GD and I’ve just recently got my foot in the door at a start up studio. This poster speaks to me, and nearly copy pasted my daily routine. I laughed. I think if someone is stuck in a rut, they should see this poster, be reminded of the cycle, and strive for greatness. The ending and beginning are the opportunities to update and upgrade our skills. [8pm-2am] I try to get more sleep than that, but end up not upgrading and doing some freelance work or updating my portfolio or resume.
Peace,
BTW – I’ve no pony tail, don’t live or work in a basement, and only wear band shirts to sleep. TMi ~ maybe
Graphic design provides high end solutions for all businesses, expressing the brand or service with the business in the most valuable form.
My absolute favorite: project managers who are frustrated art directors, and I need to add, “just because they sent one of their kids to art school, and since said kid married a painter, makes the project manager really believe he’s an art director! Thanks for letting me get that out! Love this, I’m framing my poster now!
Yes, Love being a Graphic Designer…even if only 2 hours out of the day is actually productive design work :) Keep dreaming, keep designing and make those clients happy!
You hit the nail in the head!
An inlteglient answer – no BS – which makes a pleasant change
ayonPh kagecvpecwds