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Flat design is easy to accomplish for designers who never learned how to draw, or do computer modeling. Unfortunately, most design programs don't actually teac
by hodwik 11y ago
Flat design is easy to accomplish for designers who never learned how to draw, or do computer modeling.
Unfortunately, most design programs don't actually teach these foundational skills. That means there are a lot of designers out there who are forced to work in an oversimplified print-design style to hide their incompetence.
As someone who hires for this stuff, finding skilled designers is unimaginably hard.
I hear designers constantly complaining about the lack of jobs. They're full of it. The problem is the lack of skilled applicants. Design has become filled with lazy people, while being arguably one of the hardest fields to be good at. I've had ads out in a major US city for months for a very good paying design job, and have yet to see a portfolio that looked even moderately professional.
That's really where this all comes from, flat design hides designer incompetence.
- optimusclimb 11y agoMonths at a time? Try paying more.
- hodwik 11y agoWe've offered a salary twice the median for our city, plus benefits, paid transportation, 401k matching and 3-year enrollment to our profit sharing plan. It's not a pay issue as best as I can tell.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- optimusclimb 11y agoTwice the median for "the city" overall? Including waitresses, garbage men, bank tellers, etc? If a skilled surgeon (or someone 5+ years into their career at Goldman, etc) makes 4 times the median of your city, what does the median have to do with what they're worth? Sorry, not trying to be rude, but whenever I hear people saying they "can't find anyone", they still counter that they're offering enough...and yet they still can't fill the position. It doesn't make any sense.
- hodwik 11y agoTwice the median total would still be $70,000 so I'm not sure what you're getting at. You don't think $70k seems like a reasonable salary for a skilled graphic designer?
- jonknee 11y agoDidn't you just say you haven't been able to find one with the money you're offering? I'm not sure where you're located, but it's certainly possible that you're not paying enough.
- optimusclimb 11y agoLike you said, skilled graphic designers are in high demand. As a software engineer, I made over 70k base my first job out of school in 2006, with similar perks. And this wasn't even at Google/Microsoft/etc. So I don't think if I were a good graphic designer now, I'd be stoked on 70k a year in most locales.
- EarthLaunch 11y agoSure it can make sense, it was already said in the post you replied to; it's possible for there to be a lack of high-level professionals.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- chipsy 11y agoThe level and breadth of skill you're describing sounds more in tune with someone who isn't calling themselves "just a designer". They'd have a broader digital arts background and advertise themselves as illustrators too. Maybe change the job title and see what happens?
- duderific 11y agoWhile flat design can certainly help cover up incompetence, I don't know if I'd agree with "that's where this all comes from." A lot of it is driven by functionality: flat designs generally scale better visually across devices, and generally produce smaller file sizes so downloading images is faster. Agree strongly that good designers are very hard to come by - it takes years of experience combined with some level of innate talent to be a top level designer.
- triangleman 11y agoDo you have an email where I could forward you a resume for a designer?
- hodwik 11y agoI assume by resume you mean portfolio? richard [|)07] laborde [@7] gmale
- triangleman 11y agoYes, portfolio. Thank you.
- hodwik 11y agorichard [|)07] laborde [@7] gmale
- devbug 11y agoInteresting. Are you open to training? I've always viewed success as passionate curiosity. If the mindset is there, but not the skill, you can teach the later.