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The Mechanical Hand posted:Anyone have anything they can recommend for learning more about typography? I took a class on it but I want to really get into it and get all that good stuff down perfectly. I've been reading "Thinking with type" by Ellen Lupton but I want to know if there's any other books or sites or whatever I should check out to help me out. The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst is arguably the bible of typography. If you can only get one book, I'd seriously recommend picking it up. "Grid Systems" by Joseph Muller Brockman is another text that's certainly worth getting your hands on, although it doesn't deal solely with type. There's also tons of good typography resources on the net.
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Jun 2, 2008 11:43
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I'm not sure how things are in the States, but over here in Europe, studios are still crying out for talented designers, especially if you're able to code / have a good head for web design (not absolutely necessary, but you'll need to bringing something other than pure visual design to the table). Wages are good too, especially with the current tech boom. Designers that kick rear end at web/product design (with a bit of Front End Development) can command hefty wages in the startup/tech industry. The key word though, is talented (aka having worked your rear end off. Talent is overrated, hard work is gold). The market is, indeed, flooded with designers (or more accurately, graduates with design degrees) — but good ones who can consistently produce well-made, innovative, intelligent work to often-tight deadlines, while getting on well clients are (surprise, surprise) in high demand. Good design has never been so widely discussed in the media, or publicly considered so important to industry, culture and communication as it has been today. Yes, more designers are entering the market, but the demand for good ones is high. It's a competitive loving industry, but it's the best job in the world, in my opinion.
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Nov 12, 2013 23:56
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Xibanya posted:Stuff about leaving tax for design. I say this as someone who earned a law degree, gave it up to retrain as a designer, and is in an excellent job with what might be a bright future — don't take this profession on lightly. It is hard work. You're not going to get any sort of decent position with just a good command of Adobe Creative Suite. Nowadays, literally every designer worth their salt is fluent in these programs. Decent design involves your brain and your eye first and foremost. Read some books (this is a good one) and figure out if this profession is really something you want to commit to. Because it's highly competitive, full of very talented people, are there are a lot of worthless, soul-destroying photoshop jockey positions out there that you'll probably end up working in. That being said, if you work/study your rear end off and constantly attempt to improve your work (easier said than done in the kind of positions you'll be starting off in) you may eventually get a good job. Good designers are always in demand, and with the explosion in online, web design in particular is a great (and even lucrative) position to work in. Same with identity design and "branding" (please don't ever call it that). But seriously; it is not an easy road. You'll be up against extremely talented graduates who not only have a decent (if not great) grasp on the creative suite, but usually have motion, spatial and coding skills to boot, along with an understanding of the history, theory and practice of design. You really do need to bring a lot more than photoshop skills to the table. I love my job, I love my workplace, I'm paid well, it's very rewarding, and I have a load of freelance work available if I want it — but to get there I had to work like an animal for four years in college (while essentially living in poverty), and intern every summer for minimum wage. This what you basically need to do to get a halfway decent job out of college. (Or be lucky I guess! You will not be lucky.) I could go on and on about the nuances of this job (and it's so loving broad nowadays you have a thousand different specialities), but my advice would be to do some freelance work on the side, take some night classes or courses if possible, and just educate the poo poo out of yourself about the profession. But don't give up your job. Something you like very much as a hobby you may not like full time. Try it out, bit by bit, but keep that sweet, sweet tax money coming in. Because you will need it if you want to become a designer.
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Jan 21, 2014 01:06
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