I know that a lot of designers are getting f$ck out there when it come for getting money has a freelancer or has a designer that works for a firm…
MY dear Designers FRIENDS …it is time to get the $$$… because when things are slow like in the summer …business people think you should work for free…F that …they seem to think it’s easy what we do…
WE should start to say no… I will not work for free …this is not hobby …I don’t draw on weekends for free…I’m making you in some case millions…so pay me I have bill just like you …
no respect for designers…it’s time to change that… any ideas. guys what can we do …let talk and make some changes…can we create maybe a online designer bldg that all designers could log on and talk about things I don’t know…what the answers is…?
I want some freaking respect…just because we are a little artistic… Doesn’t make us stupid…
IDEA Awards, covered by Business Week, and bragged about on product pages. Result: more people know of and respect design, more people want IDEA worth products.
They publish a Salary Survey that helps us get what we deserve.
They publish a member directory, so I can call they guy in a position just like mine to talk shop with (or as a student or unemployed can get a foothold into.) HUGELY valuable, but underused by most.
They have some of the best design conferences, events etc. to keep me on my game and broaden my awareness.
They have local chapters, some are really good.
They are the definitive source for defining the discipline and setting standards (yes, I do think they could do a better job like AIGA or AIA, including accredidation.)
They’re great for bootstrapping students into the professional world (for all the reasons listed above, plus scholarships and Merit awards.)
I think it’s because the average joe despite socioeconomic/class background doesn’t think any form of art/design is important. To them they see us creatives as these people who just draw all day and have a fun job, when that’s not entirely true.
We get looked over because maybe they don’t get it. Then they justify their salary as having an MBA or a masters in computer science or whatever
Throughout history, if a mass number of people are tired of being oppressed, there’s usually a revolution. That’s not a bad idea.
Here here… I say unionize or have a professional organization who’s job it is to license and set standard living wages for designers… I mentioned this in an eariler posting, but guilds used to work for artists in ye olden days, they can work now. Perhaps get involved in IDSA and take it to the next level, or scrap it and start again. Either way, we sorely need a common voice in this industry and it’s time to stop getting raped in the butt. We’re highly educated and highly trained professionals, we should be treated like it. People entering the field should have a clear and decent apprenticeship plan and a path up the chain that involves learning and making a real living while training - that way, not every person on earth can be called an Industrial Designer and dilute the wage pool - plus, it’ll stop some of the rampant age discrimination. Most companies don’t value seniority because WE don’t value it either. Senior people in the field should command a respectful wage and give back to the field through involvement in their local chapters to keep their licensing intact. There should be a reason to stick with it, and a long term plan to follow. ASID does it, and it seems to work for them (to a certain extent that is).
A little structure wouldn’t be a bad thing. It’s great if a 22 year old graduate has a fantastic portfolio and brilliant drawing skills, but what good is that if they’re burned out an unemployed by 30? How many people would trade job security and a career path for the current anarchistic “lucky few” situation we’re in now?
As someone who was once a student of Ron Kemnitzer ( now IDSA president ) I can tell you that the chances of him doing anything at IDSA other than promote himself are slim.
He didn’t do shit at KU, and he isn’t doing shit now. I finally dropped my IDSA membership this past year after seeing how his ego had spread through the organization like a virus. Every page of the IDSA Design Perspectives magazine had his name listed at least twice. On top of that every other page always seemed to have a photo of him drinking wine at some party with other members of the IDSA self-congradulatory brigade.
He could care less about getting more respect and money for working industrial designers. As long as the IDSA dues keep coming in to pay his bar tab he is just going to ride it for all its worth. Thats what he did at KU. He thought he was the god of ID and asked them for a pay increase and tenure. They told him no and he ran off like a little crybaby.
How come engineers, architects and doctors hold such high regard in the minds of masses? Since Loewy design meant something in very small circles. The ripples are very slow to come about but they engulf larger parts of population. Just 10 years ago when I first got interested in ID I could not find much info or talk to anyone for that matter about it. Take a look now, there is so much crap you can’t turn around without seeing something about design. Now the problem is separating good and bad design, unfortunately there is more bad than good, so how do we expect to get some respect? We need to be better educated. It’s not just about pretty sketches, we need to have more depth than that, oh yeah and big egos.