Ever since I first decided to start working in web design/graphic design field a couple of years ago, I've been trying to narrow down what I'd be best suited to. At first I decided I wanted to do web design but quickly discovered that I don't like coding and all the fiddly issues with browser problems, mobile compatibility etc.

 

Then I decided I'd go into graphic design as I am quite artistically inclined anyway. However after about 18 months of considering myself a 'logo designer' I think I've come to the conclusion that it's not for me. When I see all the great logo designers out there I start to realize that I'm not at the level and won't be any time soon. The fact that logo design is open to interpretation and can essentially be anything when you start a project is something I find crippling rather than liberating. That combined with the fact that there is now more competition than ever with designers from all round the world offering logo design at ridiculously cheap prices on sites like Fiverr, I've realised that to be able to charge well for it I'd have to be world class and I'm just not motivated enough to improve to that level.

 

It's actually quite liberating to rule out logo design as it's been weighing on my mind for a long time since I set the intention to do it and have felt obligated ever since. Something I do really enjoy is vector illustration and character design as you have a much more concrete idea of what you should be doing when compared to logos. I've had it in my mind for a long time that before I can really start making money as a graphic designer I have to have a brilliant portfolio of logos but I'm going to abandon that idea and just focus on designing mascots and other vector illustration since I'm much more inclined to do that well.

 

Anyway thanks for reading. Would be really interesting to hear about other people's similar experiences when it comes to web/graphic design

Edited February 27, 201313 yr by cab322003

I can understand your frustration. It's very easy to compare your work to everyone elses and there is always someone better then you. But on the other side of the spectrum are the groups that don't meet your abilities. I also get disheartened from time to time when you see the amount of competition out there but I take some advice from my father (every now and then ) who is an artist. I'm completely misquoting him, but it's along the lines of this: he says that everyone has a pencil but not everyone is has the skill and knowledge of an artist. Learn your craft. Easier said then done of course, but he's right (in my belief). I had the same situation with film. I started making short films and then saw the influx of clips on YouTube and lost my enthusiasm. There were way better filmmakers than me, but for every great filmmaker, there were at least double of the less talented ones. Nonetheless, I gave up on that journey and while I don't have regrets as such, do feel I should have stuck with it.

 

Logo design is insanely competitive. I've had experience of logo design that dates back to pencil, technical pens and photocopies to now all things vector. Again, (with the pencil analogy) everyone has a computer and a lot of people have deep pockets and have access to the full Adobe Creative Suite. Of course there are options like GIMP and Inkscape for free, but quite surprising how many people have Photoshop and Illustrator. I'm not going to be a snob about who is and isn't a designer - it's not my place to say - but the amount of people out there working in design who have no understanding of it are making the money because they are churning out everything so quickly for an attractive price to the client. At the end of the day, the client relies on the professionals to design. If the client likes the price and whether it looks good, they'll choose that particular designer over anyone else - regardless of whether the logo is print ready, makes use of space, shape, colour, etc...

 

There is no justice sometimes but you have to keep driving for it. I haven't 'made it' so I'm not speaking from authority or have I made an orange box to stand on But I guess I'm in the same boat. Character design is an excellent field. If you enjoy it and can make a living from it - go for it! If you can use the tools in Illustrator and you have a reasonably swift workflow, you can succeed. Stick with it - and don't necessarily give up on logo design!

 

(I'm running late so apologies if this post has multiple errors or speling mistaiks )

To be honest it's more the process of logo design that discourages me more than the competition and low prices. There are always going to be people out there offering work at silly prices but if you're able to offer quality then you can charge appropriately. It's funny that you mention about learning your craft, that's the problem that I've been having with logo design - because there are so many different types of logo that you can make I don't really feel that I've been learning anything substantial since I never know what direction to pursue. Take the example of the logo I'm having to make at the moment that I mentioned in the other thread - I got more information from the client and asked them for some logos that they like and I'm no more enlightened. Some of the information they provided was frankly ridiculous and made no sense.

 

Anyway I was thinking long and hard about what direction to pursue yesterday and I came to a concrete decision that I'd like to focus on learning custom lettering and calligraphy. It's something I've always admired and think I'd be good at. Plus this way I can still design logos but take the brainstorming/guesswork out of it, which is what I really hate. I think that combined with doing mascots and vector illustration is definitely where I'm going to focus from now on.

 

PS do you mind if I PM with the brief I got for the logo design I mentioned in the other thread? You seem like you have a lot of experience with logo design so you might able to advise me

I can understand your frustration. It's very easy to compare your work to everyone elses and there is always someone better then you. But on the other side of the spectrum are the groups that don't meet your abilities. I also get disheartened from time to time when you see the amount of competition out there but I take some advice from my father (every now and then ) who is an artist. I'm completely misquoting him, but it's along the lines of this: he says that everyone has a pencil but not everyone is has the skill and knowledge of an artist. Learn your craft. Easier said then done of course, but he's right (in my belief). I had the same situation with film. I started making short films and then saw the influx of clips on YouTube and lost my enthusiasm. There were way better filmmakers than me, but for every great filmmaker, there were at least double of the less talented ones. Nonetheless, I gave up on that journey and while I don't have regrets as such, do feel I should have stuck with it.

 

Logo design is insanely competitive. I've had experience of logo design that dates back to pencil, technical pens and photocopies to now all things vector. Again, (with the pencil analogy) everyone has a computer and a lot of people have deep pockets and have access to the full Adobe Creative Suite. Of course there are options like GIMP and Inkscape for free, but quite surprising how many people have Photoshop and Illustrator. I'm not going to be a snob about who is and isn't a designer - it's not my place to say - but the amount of people out there working in design who have no understanding of it are making the money because they are churning out everything so quickly for an attractive price to the client. At the end of the day, the client relies on the professionals to design. If the client likes the price and whether it looks good, they'll choose that particular designer over anyone else - regardless of whether the logo is print ready, makes use of space, shape, colour, etc...

 

There is no justice sometimes but you have to keep driving for it. I haven't 'made it' so I'm not speaking from authority or have I made an orange box to stand on But I guess I'm in the same boat. Character design is an excellent field. If you enjoy it and can make a living from it - go for it! If you can use the tools in Illustrator and you have a reasonably swift workflow, you can succeed. Stick with it - and don't necessarily give up on logo design!

 

(I'm running late so apologies if this post has multiple errors or speling mistaiks )

 

 

All of this. I find logo design most challenging, and what is frustrating is it looks like an easy job to clients. If you can illustrate, go for character design and custom illustrations.

BTW do you have any portfolio to show, maybe your work is better than you think?

Edited March 1, 201313 yr by teodora

BTW do you have any portfolio to show, maybe your work is better than you think?

 

Excellent point. We tend to be our biggest critics. Chances are others will really appreciate your work more than you do!

Yeah the logos I have created are not that bad but my issue isn't really with that, it's more with how much I struggle with design briefs and knowing which direction to go. I'm happy with my decision to pursue lettering anyhow as it gives me more focus and something clear to work towards. I was reading an interesting post last night on being a master of one thing vs jack of all trades when it comes to design and it definitely solidified the idea in my mind of the direction I want to take. You can read it here - http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/jack-of-all-trades-master-of-one/

Yes, I know what you are talking about, struggle with design briefs. Great article, basically I think no one can be expert in all things web design (and print) related. So instead of being all things for all guys and pleasing no one, it's better to find out what you really feel happy doing and master it. Then you will get the right clients.

Yes, I know what you are talking about, struggle with design briefs. Great article, basically I think no one can be expert in all things web design (and print) related. So instead of being all things for all guys and pleasing no one, it's better to find out what you really feel happy doing and master it. Then you will get the right clients.

 

I agree completely. I think lettering is a great field to master as it can apply to almost any area of graphic design. I find when I design logos I'll often just cycle through a bunch of fonts until I find one that I think looks good for the particular job, which is a really lazy and unrewarding way of doing things. I've been looking at some custom lettering online on places like dribbble and behance and it's really inspiring.

 

I've been having a discussion with someone another another forum about the subject of being a jack of all trades vs master of something and they are firmly opposed to that concept, thinking that you can actually be a master of a lot of things. I'm not sure I 100% agree with that. I think if you have an awful lot talent and motivation then you can be extremely skilled in multiple areas but for me personally I'd rather narrow my focus

Yeah I definitely agree - you can only really be a 'master' in context of how you compare with others who are in your field and even then they'll always be ways you can improve. Web design is definitely an area where you need multiple skills which is why I abandoned it pretty fast lol. All the coding and having to make things work for multiple devices just made me think I got into it way too late.

 

Red Bubble looks a really cool site. A bit like Society6 but better in some ways, plus this might be the greatest iphone case I've ever seen - http://www.redbubble.com/people/cdoty/works/9353685-wonka-bar-iphone-case?p=iphone-case&type=iphone5_deflector

Nah - you're never too old to learn anything. Well, perhaps Krav Maga... I started web design in the late 90's, took a big hiatus then came back into it only recently again. I'm far from a coder but I'm giving it a run. Just not aiming to 'master' it

 

That is a cool iPhone case. There are so many cool designs on there. I'm reasonably active on there with what I've been helping out on. The products are great but it can work out pricey at times. I'm aiming to create a shop outside of RB but in the meantime, they handle things really well.

OK, a wrong choice of words, excuse my English. Let's use 'expert' or 'specialist' instead of 'master'.

A master in certain area to me means a person who is an expert in their field to the level where they can contribute to the development of the particular profession or technology. Like Eric Meyer is to CSS or Bill Erickson to Wordpress, for example.

I do agree that one cannot be 'master' in multiple fields, but given you are dedicated and really enjoy what you do, after time (years) you can 'master' it or let's say become a leading specialist or expert, whatever you prefer to call it.

I do agree web design is an area, where you need multiple skills. In my opinion though you cannot be equally good in design and development, you will exceed in one or the other. Many designers have trouble with code, many front-end developers have trouble with more complex development and databases, and programmers have trouble when it comes to design.

It is often the case that a designer can code (well html and css), but they are much better at design, so you see what I am saying. Like I am a designer and I can code a wordpress theme from scratch, but I wouldn't dream of calling myself a wordpress expert. Also I cannot work with any other CMS, I don't know anything about complex development and databases, therefore I wouldn't call myself a developer.

 

I have always looked up to people who have chosen one field of expertise, like typography and custom lettering in op case and spend their time learning and improving their skills in this particular area.

Well, enough of my rabbiting, wish you a good luck

What an excellent post, Teodora! I don't think you chose the wrong word for 'master'. Your explanation hit the nail on the head. Calling Eric Meyer a master of CSS would be justified. No doubt he would play that down, but those looking up to him would consider him one. I overused and misplayed the term in my previous posts and should have re-read what I posted! Sorry about that

 

I agree with you on people being more of a designer than a developer and vice versa. You can see that some people clearly are better at design than coding and the other way around. There are some enviable people who can play to their strengths in both too. Swines

What an excellent post, Teodora! I don't think you chose the wrong word for 'master'. Your explanation hit the nail on the head. Calling Eric Meyer a master of CSS would be justified. No doubt he would play that down, but those looking up to him would consider him one. I overused and misplayed the term in my previous posts and should have re-read what I posted! Sorry about that

 

I agree with you on people being more of a designer than a developer and vice versa. You can see that some people clearly are better at design than coding and the other way around. There are some enviable people who can play to their strengths in both too. Swines

 

Oh, no worries at all, just wanted to make sure there is no misunderstanding, as English is not my native language and sometimes there is a very fine difference between words, which I cannot get

Yes, I have heard there are people who can do both equally well, amazing!