What makes you so frustrated?
Bad compensation? Copycat? no promotion? Please share your experiences.
A good designer is a frustrated person by nature. Our desire to discover, analyse and improve eaks into every aspect of our lives. Show me a truly happy and content designer and I will show you a designer who is not pushing the boundaries. I can count the amount of time I have not been frustrate in minutes. It is what you do with it that matters. So instea of looking for causes, look for results.
I think most designers start their design job because they just think this is enjoyable job for them. Nobody start design to earn a lot of money. Designing is fun and sometimes make me feel catharsis. But, the circumstances are not so friendly. Sometimes clients, money, competitors…etc.
If there is anything we can change for designers, I would like to know…
I agree with Yo, but I do have something that I think isn’t what makes us designers, but would help make everyone’s lives easier.
If they taught the importance of design (through history to today) in lower school along with the importance of math, science, art, etc…
The purest form of designer frustration is to arrive at one solution that you think is ideal to the brief presented by the client and the needs of the marketplace, and upon presentation, have the feeling not be mutual.
In other words, to have what you think is a great idea, rejected by the client, and a secondary concept selected instead.
It is the occupational hazard that a designer comes to live with and expect. Still is frustrating.
How about being in the zone for about 30 minutes and not saving and then…
I don’t get hung up on any one solution - they’re all pretty interchangeable in many respects and represent tradeoffs of some sort or another. Why get married to one, right? So that isn’t really a source of frustrations.
But what I can’t abide are client organizations that are unable to answer the following questions:
“How will decisions be made?”
“What is a successful outcome for this project?”
“What led your project team to where you are now?”
I think my favorite is when InDesign crashes and makes the file corrupt…
How about having to use badly designed objects.
For example I was using a machine to buy a parking stub and there’s large text CHANGE RETURN with of course the hole for change return. I put in my twoonie(Canadian 2 dollar coin.) I do not receive any change as the cost is 1 dollar. Under neath in smaller lettering says does not give change.
WTF!!!
A good designer is a frustrated person by nature.
Totally on the mark, as usual, D2O. 
People wanting to pay peanuts for something they expect to help them make millions.
No s3x.
Just so we are on the same page, I got smart and used the Googles on the internet machine:
frus·trat·ed/ˈfrəsˌtrātid/Adjective1. Feeling or expressing distress and annoyance, esp. because of inability to change or achieve something.
As a designer, I am perfectly happy and content to solve other people’s problems. Other people’s problems don’t frustrate me because by definition, I have all of the ability to change and solve their issues. Since I am not bound by the same frustration, I am able to push boundries because I am much more able to step back with a clear head.
As for things that frustrate me, I’d say Hoodzy nailed it. As a product designer there is nothing that hits as close to home as being forced to use an inferior product. I want to scream at the genius-designer responsible for the crap to know what the hell were they thinking.
I hate being forced into an inferior direction due to ‘upper management’. When someone from the business side of things wont follow through on your product due to personal ideas and preferences and they do not inform you until after the sample comes in and orders have been sent.
Other designers who only want to copy Apple. Isn’t being creative about doing something new???
students plastering logos and graphics all over their objects and layouts
crappy business cards with personal logos for freelancers
super-ego a-hole designers… why can’t good designers be nice people too?
When some designer with no skills and is full of s*** gets recognized.
Focus groups.
I agree with all of the above.
Definitely, the most frustrating thing for me is realizing my limits. There always seems so much to do and so little time:/