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Graphic Design Student Interviews

Graphic Design Student Interviews

This article contains the responses I have given to a few of the questionnaires I have been sent by design students over the years.
They vary wildly in tone and nature, but here goes:

Interview 1

Questions to the Desktop operator or layout artist

1. What kind of publications do you produce?

I do not currently work for a publishing house, but I worked for a publishing house from 2001-2002 and again from 2007-2008.
We produced business to business magazines, mostly in the agricultural field. Some targeted at farmer’s wives, some targeted at farmers.

2. How do you plan a publication?

Generally, the editorial department would do the majority of that work. But after a look and feel and example has been approved, that is the template. The Editorial department has to know how many pages the book can be in total based in the math of the printing and binding procedure and also know how many advertisements the magazine needs to sell in order to justify the article pages, as well as plan how many pages each section will have for that edition. Even paid magazines need to cover the majority of expenses through advertising. Many of these magazines were free and subscription-based and ONLY made a profit from advertising.

3. Is there a set time schedule for projects?

Yes, generally these are VERY strict since the printers need time to imposition and prep the projects and everything needs to be correct and professional and signed off before then.

4. Explain the printing process that you use?

Generally, the printers handle the impositioning (might be inpositioning. Many terms are only used verbally) and preparation. From the layout side we need to make sure that everything is correct, only uses CMYK colours or possibly spot colours IF required, although it is rare, and make sure that all images are in the correct format and correct DPI (Dots per inch). On large publications, a proof version f the book will be printed for final sign off and micro changes or final advertisements may be added, but the odds of mistakes slipping in with changes like these are larger.

5. What type of software programmes do you use on a daily basis?

Adobe Indesign, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Bridge is also useful sometimes.

6. What does a typical day of a DTP operator/layout artist look like?

Designing new concepts or advertisements (often in less time than a student would expect) and sitting with a pile of stapled papers from editorial, putting text and images into your template file and editing text in minute details that designers who never worked on magazines are often not aware of. Or on the worst days, sitting with a stack of corrections from the editorial department that you change, print out again and staple to the original for approval, often for 2 or 3 days straight before publication.

7. Which parts of your job do you like and which parts do you hate?

Completing a project, feeling pride and releasing it into the world with you concepts, layout and designs is the positive aspect of the job. Sitting with an in and out box doing corrections and layouts is often less rewarding than that and is a monotonous part of the job… Also, taking orders from editorial based on politics in the industry is not always fun, since the real world will interfere with your art and creativity.

8. Do you have any advice for someone who would like to become a DTP operator/layout artist?

Pay attention to detail. Winning awards for magazines is not about being fancy or flashy, it is about being consistent and paying attention to detail. With a great team and consistent work with no mistakes, you will do well. A good layout-artist/desktop-publisher can pick up any newspaper and spot between 1 and 10 typography and layout mistakes on every page. Granted, newspapers are printed with very short turnaround time and mistakes will happen when deadlines are tight.

Interview 2

1. Your Daily schedule

My schedule is a bit unusual. I am an early riser which helps with discipline. Some days I start with a physical workout to get my mind working. Then I drive to a contract client or jump on whichever job I need to work on. I tend to work late, but I make sure to take frequent breaks and not exhaust myself or boost my stress levels.

2. what makes you “tick” for instance what inspires you the most to design?

I enjoy doing the extra bits of detail that many large firms ignore. Things like the favicon and small touches. Like most designers, I get new favourite ideas that I over-use and then I move on. The best part is completing a project and seeing it all coming together. That is if the client did not turn it into an ugly bastardised child… That happens when they take the reins too often or have contrasting ideas.

3.what does it mean to you to be a Graphic Designer?

It means being enveloped in an environment of good aesthetics. One often loses track of how well one advances in terms of visual taste. Only when confronting amateur designers does the difference become rather obvious.

4. what do you want to accomplish in this position?

I am also not a textbook example in this regard. I love completing projects and being on the creative side of things. But essentially I just love getting up and being able to have a cup of coffee and relax. I start when I want to and stop when I want to. I have no boss except myself.

5. where do you see yourself in five years time?

The game is changing very quickly due to technology so I am constantly changing my approach. Honestly, I would hope to get more passive/residual income streams going and stop selling my design time. Selling one’s time is one of the worst ways to generate money in the long run. 🙂

Interview 3

1) DO YOU FEEL YOUR CAREER IS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU ENJOY?

Absolutely, but any job is a job. Even if your job was relaxing at a holiday resort you would have days you did not enjoy.

2) IF NOT THIS SPECIFIC CAREER WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU BE DOING?

Teaching music, Full-time Photographer

3) HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FIELD YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN?

It has its ups and downs. Clients can be ignorant but the work is enjoyable.

4) DO YOU FEEL YOUR QUALIFICATIONS EQUIPPED YOU TO ENTER THE WORKING
WORLD?

I think we learn the skills we really need while working in the field. The learning is just a foundation and a what-not-to-do guide.

5) WHAT DO YOU DO ON AN AVERAGE WORK WEEK?

Create websites, answer emails, send out quotes, go teach for a few hours and attend a quick photoshoot.

6) DO YOU FEEL THAT SOME AREAS IN YOUR JOB WHICH YOU DID NOT EXPECT TO BE
DOING WHEN YOU WERE STUDYING?

Absolutely. I think a designer constantly has to expand his skillset so we always discover new things to do.

7) WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ONCE YOU ENTERED THE INDUSTRY?

The sheer lunacy and ignorance of some clients. If you don’t believe me, go read Clientsfromhell.net and realize that I have had many such experiences. On the other hand, I was surprised by clients who tried to take advantage of me financially and clients who were pure fraud artists who conned people using work I created.

8) WHAT/WHICH PART OF YOUR JOB DO YOU MOSTLY ENJOY?

I enjoy finishing a job and delighting in that final moment IF the client also likes it.

9) WHICH PART OF YOUR JOB IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE?

Doing hundreds of revisions, sometimes outside of the project scope and without adequate payment. Crazy clients can be a big problem.

10) DO YOU HAVE ANY OR FURTHER ADVICE OR TIP THAT WHICH YOU WOULD LIKE TO
SHARE WITH ME?

Always do your research about what you want to get into or need to do. Make sure your terms are clear and always get a deposit upfront. Sometimes you cannot get a deposit but know that those jobs might be a gamble.

Interview 4

1. How would you describe graphic design?

A crazy blend of art and a consumer society/capitalism

2. What attributes do you think one must have to be an effective graphic designer?

One must have an eye for composition, creativity, discipline within creativity, some people skills and most importantly must be able to handle criticism of your work!

3. What is your daily routine at work?

If you are a designer in an office the routine is to sit down and start designing/taking orders and having your brain metaphorically run out your ear half-way through the day…
At a home studio, the routine is to have coffee while starting the log of my hours for whatever job I’m busy with and jumping into that job. At home, I will often take breaks to read comics and watch series when I feel I need to recover.

4. How long are the working hours and is the pay satisfying?

Office work can be drab and generally include at least 8 hour working days.

Working from home can mean anything from 2 to 6 working hours per day plus unpaid time to reply to emails and such. The pay is similar when freelancing but you get the same money for much less time spent.

5. Which is most beneficial to being an employee, freelancing or being a sole owner of your own business?

Be an employee first, then be a freelancer… and once you get fed up with the clients and the pace, start your own company and delegate.

6. What inspires you to wake up and tackle the demands of your job?

Firstly I need to make sure I keep my bank-account fuller than the previous month since savings are required as a freelancer. Secondly, I’m a creative soul. Creation is what makes a designer tick. Sitting on the couch for a day generally makes me depressed.

I need to create something. On my off days, I am often playing music for the same reasons.

7. How would you describe the design market/environment?

It can be creatively fulfilling or a nightmare. Pick your clients wisely and have clear contracts to control clients who get out of control.

8. For a junior designer, can natural talent, passion and skill get the job done just as well as experience?

In my opinion, I am always a junior. Some of the best designers I know still think that they don’t know what they are doing. Secondly, there is NO substitute for experience.

Skill is built through experience

Interview 5

1. What is your background as a Designer/ Artist/ Crafter?

I Started doing art as a child and graduated from an art high school. An apprenticeship in layout sort of fell into my lap during my gap year.

2. What was your influence that made you decide to get into your
field of work and why?

I found that I had already developed an eye for detail and visual things. It seemed like a logical choice. It wasn’t until years later that I figured out how to make money out of it for real. It also pays more than being a musician (something in which I have a degree)

3. What inspires you as a Designer/ Artist/ Crafter? – Being
society, nature, politics – what is your biggest inspiration?

Human emotion is always my inspiration. I love human expression. In work, I find that mostly money inspires me though. You want happy clients with functional products.

Design is art but it is functional and not abstract or art for art’s sake.

4. Explain how you have grown as a Designer/Artist/ Crafter and
which has been your best work so far?

This is a tricky question. Sometimes I might take pride in something silly like a prototype interface for a money printing machine I designed. It might not be very artistic but it can be interesting and fun to work with. Mostly completing a project feels like an achievement. I find it is important to stay in touch with what other people are doing because one has to appropriate new ideas in order to stay current. Therefore we steal, yet nothing we steal can ever look like the original so it is a unique act of creation in itself.

5. What is your biggest setback that you face when creating your works?

Clients who have no budget but also give me incorrect instructions because they do not know what they want.

Spending 5 hours when you charged for 2 is not fun. Clients tend to give input and sometimes it is horrible and wrong but it is their money so they may do what they like with it.

6. What are the main aims of your work and what would you like to achieve with your works?

I want my clients to be happy and connect with their target market. My aim is to deliver high-quality work or rather to the best of my ability and not to let any client feel that I have let them down. Personality clashes are inevitable in this field though.

7. How do you see your work changing over time with the growing world?

I find that my work just changes because it would be a waste of time to create similar works my whole life. We also grow as our experience and skill grow. I never feel like I am a great designer or artist. I just keep working and working and feel thankful that I am still reasonably successful.

8. What materials do you use to create your works?

I work in the digital realm mostly. Sometimes it is good to work on paper first to get a hands-on creative feel though.

9. Where do you see yourself and your works in 5 years?

I would like to be more i a management position in 5 years in order to do less hands-on work and delegate more. Whether that is possible for my personality is another question.

10. Who do you think your main target audience is?

I generally work with medium-sized businesses that need a professional product but who do not want to pay double the price at an agency and cant risk using inexperienced students or risky designers.

11. Describe your development techniques and the process of manufacturing

Wow, this is an extensive question. It depends on the area and product. You can look at my workflow page on my website. Generally, you get deposit and brief. start work. get client feedback.

make changes. make more changes, make changes the client wants that is destroying your artistic work in the worst ways and then you tell the client that they can’t make more changes without more budget and then they thankfully stop. 🙂

12. What is your experience in the field you work in? 

Everyone thinks they know how to design. Just as in music. Sometimes I wish I was a brain Surgeon. No clients would tell me what to do then or argue. 🙂

How many balls – Riddle solution

How many balls - Riddle solution

I get a tad annoyed when people pass these riddles around yet refuse to discuss their logic. Everyone always seems to have different answers and the truth is never revealed. So… Here is my solution to this riddle. 🙂

How many balls - Riddle sulution
How many balls – Riddle solution

The Riddle reads as follows: “How many balls? 95{28148476ffc437209dc1edc2bb1735fee425a101a19f0038276a3a22ace885e0} People will get this wrong”

So assuming that the balls are supported by other balls and NOT counting the two dots on the question marks which some people count as balls I came up with the solution in the image above.

16 balls on the bottom layer. 9 in the red layer. 3 in the green layer and one in the yellow layer. It should be said that this would still work if the middle ball was left out on the red layer, giving us 29 balls instead.

Wrong solution

Many sites point to a different solution using 20 balls. It uses a 3-sided pyramid structure rather than a 4-sided pyramid structure. Note that this could also be done with 19 balls if you leave out the centre ball on the bottom layer.

However as you can see in the image, the angles would be very different for such a solution. In the riddle it is quite clear that the base layer has the balls positioned at a 90{2263dae43a8a11e2efe0bfa3331ab0d60f8e1a72fc91a3e0b3aea405158704f3} angle.

Think about it, if the pyramid had only three sides, the red balls on the far left and far right would only have two ball between them. See that image below. It is NOT possible. 🙂

How many balls - Wrong solution
How many balls – Wrong solution

How many squares – Riddle solution

How many squares - Riddle solution

I get a tad annoyed when people pass these riddles around yet refuse to discuss their logic. Everyone always seems to have different answers and the truth is never revealed. So… Here is my solution to this riddle. 🙂

How many squares - Riddle solution
How many squares – Riddle solution

The Riddle reads as follows: “96{2263dae43a8a11e2efe0bfa3331ab0d60f8e1a72fc91a3e0b3aea405158704f3} Failed this test. Can you answer it? How many squares are there? 🙂“The logic is simple. Start with the largest possible square. Count them. Then go one smaller. Count them. Go smaller. etc. etc. Be sure to remain aware of where the missing matches break the potential square.

That makes 1 square which is 5 blocks in height and width, 1 square of 3 blocks height and width, five squares of 2 blocks height and width, and 9 squares of 1 block height and width. Which gives us a total of 16 squares.

Why do graphic designers like me freelance?

Why do graphic designers like me freelance?

Freelance graphic design is my preferred occupation. I am a graphic designer living in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa and this is a short overview of freelance graphic design. In the field of graphic design freelancing is the dominant trend. Unlike many other fields freelancing is simply the only way to get ahead in graphic design.

Computer programmers etc. might be able to get very high-paying jobs working for companies, but graphic design is like fine art… The term Fine artist is synonymous with freelance fine artist. It simply is the same thing. I think that all occupations have some high-paying office jobs, but they can be few and far between. I even know people who could work in an office and get paid times more than they are making on their own. Some people favour freedom though.

It has been said that a freelance graphic designer can only work for 15 years before retirement. Whether this is true or not, it certainly is true that freelancing in any occupation, including graphic design can be extremely stressful. If a practitioner of freelance graphic design wishes to retire and have money, or even make an amount of reasonable profit, it is advisable that he or she be the boss or the “big dog” so to speak.

In my experience an employer will usually make about 15 to 20 times the hourly rate of the employee. In other words, if you are working for an employer you take 10% to 20% of the money that comes in and the employer takes the rest. Whether they put that in their pockets, or back into company expenses and development is their business though.

This does not mean that your boss or their boss is out to get you. Everyone is in business to make money and the heads take all the financial risk, so they reap the benefits. It would however indicate that freelancing as a graphic designer is the only way to make a decent income, unless you are still learning the ropes of the trade. An in-house graphic designer is often about as glorified as a secretary or maybe a middle-management employee, and the opportunities of job advancement in the in-house graphic design field are few.

Unlike a secretary who becomes an assistant, then a middle manager and possibly main management, graphic designers usually have no such options. There are a host of sites out there these days that are all dedicated to providing freelance graphic designers and keeping freelance graphic designers posted about freelance graphic design opportunities.

It is a big field and these sites often specialize in certain areas of graphic design. Freelancers and designers can fill in their information and their area of expertise within the graphic design market. There are also many new marketing opportunities for freelance graphic designers. The web is a major new source of freelance work and is the perfect medium for freelance graphic designers to get their work looked at by prospective clients. New social media tools such as Facebook or Twitter can also play a part in marketing of a freelance graphic design venture.

In rescent times I have even heard tales of artists and designers getting hired by large famous firms because smeone at the company spotted their work on Youtube or another online source.

If you are in an industry which allows you to work for yourself, I think we all owe it to ourselves to at least try and get out work out there and attempt to forge our own paths.

Graphic Design – A definition by a Freelance Graphic Designer

Graphic Design - A definition by a Freelance Graphic Designer

If all graphic designers had to fit the text book definition of the term perfectly we (graphic designers) would all be magicians who could jump through rings of smoke and make multimedia artworks appear with the wave of a mouse and the words “abracadabra”. In reality most graphic designers are only informed about a few parts of the graphic design field. Graphic design has become a multimedia field.

The reality is that the field consists of:

  • Illustration (digital or fine art illustrations including painting)
  • magazine layout and book layout (what you find on the shelves of bookstores and super markets)
  • textile design (carpets, materials and upholstery)
  • print design and advertisement design (concepts for advertising campaigns and silkscreen printing for clothing)
  • interface and web design (design and coding of websites and interface designs for software development and planning)
  • video effects and editing (shooting and editing of corporate video and commercial video as well as special effects and animation)
  • 3d modeling and animation (Creation and animation of 3 dimensional models like Shrek), and many other fields.

All of the above is considered to be Graphic Design.

Most graphic Designers will attempt to know as much as possible about all areas. Some have partners and friends that they often refer to for assistance with big Multimedia graphic design jobs. It is however not possible to be an expert on every field.

Graphic design is a term that is used in association with commercial art for the most part. It involves splicing together a multimedia concoction of art, computer skills, digital imagery, design concepts, advertising concepts, type, copyright, video material and more.

All the things we see around us contain elements of graphic work. People have asked me whether there is any work in my field. There are dozens of designers being churned out by most schools all around the country every year. Yet the market does not become saturated.

The following contain graphic design work:

  • tv ad
  • poster
  • bus ad
  • magazine
  • kitchen appliance logo
  • sweets wrapper
  • bottle label
  • bookmark
  • many clothing items

You see these items around you every day ,which contain work done by designers. Is it any wonder that it is a field with so much work out there? Getting the work is a different story alltogether though. It is surprising to find that the field is often not valued as a skill in the way many other jobs are.

Graphic design – a short discussion

Graphic design - a short discussion

A definition

About.com describes Graphic Design as follows:
Definition: Graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication. Today’s graphic designers often use desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their goals.
Also Known As: graphic arts | graphics design | visual communications | desktop publishing
Common Misspellings: graphic desing
Examples:
“A brochure that makes watching water boil seem exciting or a business card that entices the recipient to call instead of toss owe at least part of their success to good graphic design — it doesn’t matter if they were created with the latest hot software or an old ink pen.”

Video games – Their appeal and influence in the world of today

Video games - Their appeal and influence in the world of today

It has been said that visual triggers in the brain respond to programmed responses that we acquire from our every day interactions and that that is the deciding factor in our visual appreciation of art. (Csikszentmihalyi 1995) There has been a new trend for some time now in which human beings surrender themselves to simulated experiences that very closely correspond to the challenges we face in everyday life, namely video games. It is true that these experiences are also amplified via the fantastical programming we receive from the television, book and film media. Yet there is a reason video games have an edge and that edge lies in their interactive capabilities. In this essay I will explore why video games have risen to success in modern times and how that influences the lives of those who partake in such fantasy realms.

Reason for success
In the article, Is Google Making Us Stupid, Nicholas Carr states that the use of the internet has led humans to expect instant satisfaction and that this is stripping away our abilities to think and concentrate.  (2008)  He also states that people have come to rely on “quick wins”, efficiency and immediacy instead of traditional experience. Isn’t this even truer of the culture inspired amongst video gamers?

They huddle in packs, forsaking what other people consider as socially acceptable, “cool”, “hip” or any other description of popularity used at the time in that geographic location.  At the cost of not developing other social skills or acquiring new abilities that can be used daily they choose to overcome smaller measurable achievements, which only hold value in their own minds. Just like a group of drug users or a street gang, they live by the standards of what others like themselves see as acceptable. This reflects the fact that games influence people just as much as Csikszentmihalyi claims art creates aesthetic values for society. (1995)

User participation will become an essential part of software interaction. (Margoulin 1995) Games are a large part of this phenomenon and they mimic our daily interactions. This enables us to easily understand most possibilities in the fantasy realm we enter and allow us more apparent freedom of interaction with the software than most users would perceive on a software application such as Microsoft Word.  Margoulin also states users often do not use the applications to their full abilities because of a lack of knowledge about the software. This is not true in the case of video games. Users spend far more time searching for every single possibility and hidden secret when playing games. The possibilities get exhaustive and are explored to the point where the balance of fun and work is swapped around completely. The user who started playing for fun will labour for hours in order to find all the secrets and attain the achievement, even if it is only a silent internal one.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow said, “art helps reconcile ancient biological instincts with the artificial rules we have developed for organized life.” (Csikszentmihalyi 1995)  This might have been disproved in the article, but are simulated experiences helping us cope with our animalistic instincts by hunting, expressing aggression, foraging for food or dressing up a family in a fantastical world?

I would argue that this is very much the case. Research among Uzbeks showed that learnt properties are ultimately what we use to organize our visual and emotional experiences and don’t follow any set biological instinct. (Csikszentmihalyi 1995)  These simulations seem to be the ultimate art we can identify with. The act of running, talking, interacting and surviving seem to be the epitome of equilibrium between our survival instincts and the daily tasks we are considered to perform in society. The content of the games themselves certainly warrant them as a form of art. Besides labour being poured into every technical aspect, there is an abundance of visual, audio and musical art forms at work within such an application.

Marketing
Margoulin describes the freedom users have in modern software as “Token user control”. (1995) This is because users are only given control within boundaries. The gaming industry has however been able to narrow down certain target markets which also narrows down the expectations of that audience to ones that the suppliers can cope with.  A good example can be found in Gender differences. Studies have found that our stereotypical sexual roles change the ways in which we perceive the world around us. (Csikszentmihalyi 1995)  This is reflected in video game design. A user would not expect to be able to choose different outfits or a day-job for a character in a bloody fighting game such as Mortal Kombat. A user would also not expect a character to rip out a machete and run around hacking other characters to death in a game like The Sims any more than you’d expect excessive blood and violence in a children’s game such as Mario Bothers.

There are however games that attempt to corner many markets. Soul Calibur 4 is a violent fighting game, yet it gives users the ability to build their own custom characters with clothing, abilities and physical builds which offer millions of possible combinations and variations.

Csikszentmihalyi  states that the experiences in art must be tailored to the cultural influences of society. (1995) Therefore we need familiar circumstances and expected values in art in order for that art to be appreciated by the majority of the public. We therefore find that more than 90% of the users of a game like Punch Out, which features boxers fighting, will be male. And in the same way more then 90% of a game like Dance Dance Revolution, which features people jumping on colored arrows to match a pattern on screen, will be female. It should also be noted that the act of playing these games looks absolutely nothing like the act being copied, despite the attempts to make them similar.

Modern ignorance
Socrates said that the invention writing would make people who collected knowledge quite ignorant. They would be “Filled with the conceit of wisdom yet lacking in real wisdom.” (Carr 2008) Great examples of a parallel in gaming are the advanced users of a game such as Guitar Hero. Many children, especially some exceptional cases, play songs on the game with incredible accuracy and speed. Sometimes with a greater degree of proficiency than professional full-time musicians who are many times their age. Yet the skills are plastic and not useful. Though those skills might help the individual to later acquire some real life potential in the same skill such as playing the guitar for real, the application is vastly different and the user will have a lack of knowledge and possibly of motivation due to the lack of predefined small measurable challenges and goals like the ones in the game. The real world has infinite possibilities and the challenges take more time and skill to complete. The question of whether a challenge has been completed is also open-ended in the real world and there will always be others who are more successful at something, or that individuals might perceive as more successful. As an example, could Bill Gates consider himself as more successful than Steve Jobs? Could Steve Jobs do the same in relation to Bill Gates? No one can say.

Relying on our identification with the subject matter
In a study, described by Csikszentmihalyi, a person who is sensitive to art and esthetics is described as actively appreciating the art by participating and joining the act of creation rather than relying on the artist’s ability to make it transcend the barrier between the artist and the user. (1995) Is it possible that this is the sole enjoyment we find from these simulations? Becoming part of something we might actually call art? It is possible that we all strive to break free from the daily concerns of a job and labour that most of the people on the planet cannot escape from and games offer us that chance. They also offer us the chance to be more powerful than our environment just like the characters we idolize is books, movies, and comics.

Csikszentmihalyi also describes the relationship and feelings a user developes in relation to an art work or cherished possession. And states, “Without such feelings life is not worth living.” (1995) Similarly in gaming, are we attracted to these real feelings we get from these false environments? And are we really living at all then? It is not a questions one can easily answer but rather a conclusion that allows each person to decide the answer for him-/herself within the context of his/her own life.

Influence on routine and society
Aristotle claimed that the pleasure of perception comes from balancing monotony and confusion. (Csikszentmihalyi 1995)  This might have been disproved in the context it was used in, but consider that this is exactly what we are doing when we immerse ourselves in our computer worlds. Often monotonous day-jobs and expected routines are broken up by unpredictable wild adventures and quests. Are these “instant” experiences dumbing us down and helping to make us more docile and content?

With the invention of clocks people were and possibly still are disassociated from human events. We perceive time and our lives as mathematically measurable sequences. We stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock. (Carr 2008) While reading this it would seem that games are doing the same things to us, replacing our real-life achievements with measurable achievements that do not in most ways get carried through to our every day lives. This leaves everyday ambitions and non-measurable achievements by the wayside.

Thanks to the brain’s plasticity this also happens at a biological level and changes the way our brains work internally. This is similar to the way the Internet has affected our thinking ability. (Carr 2008)

Victor Margoulin mentions that in expanding the boundaries of software applications, the expectancy we have of products and our dependency upon them is increased. This might not be a good thing. Especially if  you apply that model to video games.

Conclusion
In this essay I have looked at possible reasons for the success of video games and why they continue to become more popular. There are now video games that have made more money in the first week than any music album or movie ever has in the same amount of time. We have also explored the effects they might have on our minds and on our way of life by comparing games to other related topics as discussed in the papers referenced. As stated by Carr (2008) it is entirely possible that the concerns I have about the effects of video games will prove insignificant in relation to the possibilities games and their technology might open up in the future. There have already been vast applications of the same technology for flight simulations, excavation equipment simulations and medical simulations. Just beyond the horizon there could be a great secret locked up in this seemingly harmless pass-time which has shown how it can negatively influence the users who partake in such “fleeting” satisfactions.

Phil Helberg

6 reasons to hire freelancers and not companies

6 reasons to hire freelancers and not companies

An observation by a Freelance Designer

Outsourcing to design companies and design firms often means you get taken for a ride and lose your money. Here are a few reasons to use freelance designers. The following is my perception after working at a few different design/media firms.

Here are the reasons in short. Find the extended explanations below.

  1. Freelance designers are less expensive
  2. You do not know who a design company employs lately
  3. Freelance designers tell it to you like it is
  4. Communication with a freelance designer is direct
  5. Freelancers don’t juggle your job as much
  6. Freelance graphic designers will try to impress the heck out of you

1. Freelance designers are less expensive

This might sound blatantly obvious, but let me explain why it is so important. If you read my article about ” Why do graphic designers like me freelance” you will see that I mention some facts about what percentage of money a worker receives. A freelance designer (or any other kind) might charge you a large sum of money for a job, but I can almost guarantee that a company or firm will charge you at least double what the designer is asking. The simple answer is that the company pays the designer less than his freelance fee, but they also do need to make about 60 to 90% on top of that in order to stay in business.

2. You do not know who a company employs lately

If you insist on using a company, do a THOROUGH background check and check the current state of their business. I have often seen design companies charging REDICULOUS fees for video editing projects right after they have hired a new designer who has just started editing video. This is blatantly dishonest for a start and means that you pay for the quality the company has provided in the past (which might be years ago), but only receive the services of a new upstart designer. Often these are the same guys that will freelance for you for a whole month for a 3rd of the price of the 2 day video editing job that the design firm is charging you.

3. Freelance designers tell it to you like it is

Design company managers, or managers in general have too much psychological experience. Yes, you read that right. It might not make sense now, but think about it. A manager can usually win the client over with words of reassurance and little “white” lies. A freelance designer usually tends to tell you the truth about a project or job. They simply don’t have the same amount of smoke and mirrors in their arsenal to use against you.

4. Communication with a freelance designer is direct

When you ask a freelancer to do your job, you tell them what you want, they brainstorm, get your opinion and get on with the job. When you work with a design company, they listen to you, maybe take notes, and then explain the concept to the designer. The designer often has to brainstorm in near seclusion and with little feedback. I have seen this backfire many times. I have seen brilliant designers layout an entire magazine in a great style, only to have editorial shoot it down. Then after redo-ing the WHOLE magazine I have seen the client say that they wish to completely change it again… So that means the layout was done 3 times. Simple communication between a graphic designer and a client without the middleman would avoid this situation right from the start.

5. Freelancers don’t juggle your job as much

What I mean by this is that companies often have about 10 balls in the air at any time. And by “balls” I mean jobs from clients. This often means that you are paying for the time spent on other jobs. It is not uncommon for a design firm to charge you for the hours that the job was estimated to take by the designer, yet then only spend a fraction of the time on the job and make the poor designer overwork themselves to get 5 jobs out in the time span of 3 or 4 jobs. Freelance designers are simply less prone to working in this way.

They want their work to look good and get return business, so they will put in the hours they planned to (and often quite a few extra) just so that they can be proud of the product and get a good reputation. After all, word of mouth is still the best advertising you can get. Design firms usually ask monthly fees to maintain websites and software. I have often been aware of design firms who charge a big client more money every month than it takes to pay ALL of the employees that are under management. That means that they can almost run the ENTIRE company on the money they get from one client… often for only 10 hours of work per month; Never mind all the other jobs they juggle.

6. Freelance graphic designers will try to impress the heck out of you

Trust me. Freelancers don’t want to keep looking for new clients each time they need work. They want to build strong relationships with several core clients and get more than one job from them. In fact, they will do backflips for you if it means a steady flow of work. Freelancers also want you to refer them to your friends and colleagues. So they really are going to go over an above the call of duty to impress you and let you know how much they appreciate the work.

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