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My Boss Sucks, My Job Sucks. I Suck!


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My Boss Sucks, My Job Sucks. I Suck!
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usurp
High Monarch of MacDebate
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Kuwait
 
2004-10-17, 04:37

urgh some days i just can't stand it at work!

i am a creative designer working in a small advertising agency. we do not have a creative director. its me and 2 other designers and thats all. But we report to our boss (ie the owner of the agency).

He doesnt have a degree in anything, he doesnt have good taste or any good ideas... unless ofcourse he got them out of a design magazine or book.

sometimes i feel like i am a factory worker. i graduated the best in my class, was featured under young designers from the Middle East and am friends with some of the best designers in the middle east. Yet if you see me now and you saw me before i started working here you would think we were 2 different people. i used to think i was creative, now i am just boring. i mean when you get a paper with a layout already drawn on it and with the orders "do it like this", how else am i gonna turn out. After 3 years here i have even lost the will to fight about stuff like this.

why do i stay?

the money is good. the office is 5 minutes away. my wife works in the same office as a designer also so we carpool everyday. its basically convenient. I dont have any money saved up so i cant quit and go look for another job.

i just need to know, this is normal right? no one here likes their jobs right? I am not the only one who is stuck in a job for the money and the convenience right??? please say right..

portable: MacBook 2.4Ghz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HD | personal: PowerMac G5 dual 2.3ghz, 6GB RAM, 6TB HD | work: MacBook Pro 2.5ghz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD | car: Alpine iDA-W407 with black iPod 80GB | pocket: iPhone 3GS with Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's
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Gargoyle
http://ga.rgoyle.com
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: In your dock hiding behind your finder icon!
 
2004-10-17, 06:32

Yeah that's normal! But it could be worse - you could be paying for a house your not living in like me! (GF and I are splitting up!).

My advice, look for another job while you still have one!!! If you quit, then look. You will accept the first job offered to you - because you will be skint and will have been on a dozen crappy interviews!

If you keep at it with your current job and pull a few sickies or take half a day hols here and there you can find a better job without the worry of running out of cash.

Alternatively, explain the situation to your boss or discuss it with the other designers and see how they feel. He might agree that every 3rd project you can have total creativity.

From his point of view, do the clients generally like the work first time? What I am getting at is; Are the projects being turned around faster because you are sticking within layouts that your boss knows that the clients are going to like?

OK, I have given up keeping this sig up to date. Lets just say I'm the guy that installs every latest version as soon as its available!
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-10-17, 15:15

I know the feeling. It's amazing, some of the the jobs I've had, where you're constantly art-directed by a true know-nothing, always to the detriment of the project.



I'll do something really nice, really thought over, cohesive, clever, appeals to everyone in the department and even the person it's GOING to, to some degree, and all it takes is one a-hole higher-up who doesn't like a certain color(!), doesn't "get" any type that isn't 12-pt. Helvetica, centered, all-caps, etc.

I've actually had things shot down because the boss's WIFE (or girlfriend or whatever) doesn't like a particular shade of blue or whatever! Since when is SHE the client, paying the bills, signing my paycheck, is qualified to stick her nose in, etc.? I REALLY hate that, and I worked at a place in SoCal about five years ago where that happened a few times.

I just felt like a monkey.

WTF?!?!



I always just want to say "why in the hell was I hired? If you just want some schlocky, low-rent horseshit, then go grab someone off the street who can turn on a computer and type reasonably well and cut their teeth in Photoshop Elements 1.0, pay them 1/3 what you're paying me, etc. You're not even using me to my fullest!"

Idiots.

Kinda in a similar situation now, although I work a lot on my own and have gotten to the point where I go ahead and do it my way and ignore any "art direction" that fucks the project up. And always - ALWAYS - the way I did it originally is 100x nicer and more professional-looking than after the boss gets hold of it and works his/her "magic".



"Starbursts, starbursts...all caps, too! Bright red, and can you make the headline 300 points?"

"But the finished project is only 4x7 inches".

"Don't argue with me...we're going for impact here! We gotta grab 'em, Paul!"

"Grab this."


Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2004-10-17 at 15:21.
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ast3r3x
25 chars of wasted space.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2004-10-17, 15:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
"Don't argue with me...we're going for impact here! We gotta grab 'em, Paul!"


I can just see your boss saying that with such emotion and power and doing the little clenched fist shake.
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murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2004-10-17, 15:53

I could have easily started this thread. I am my own boss.



Yeah dude, I totally know the feeling!!!

heh heh
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ast3r3x
25 chars of wasted space.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2004-10-17, 16:22

I went to google and did an image search to find if I could find a picture of somebody doing the mental image I had. Don't ever search "fist" in google images, you can imagine...
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Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2004-10-17, 17:54

I've had similar (but not as bad) situations where I work.

When designing the web sites, I kept on trying to stress the importance of certain design principles (dos and dont's) and the owner just wouldn't listen. We ended up having all these "collborative discussions" with the team (one person has zero design expertise, and two next to none) and finally I just had to give in because the sites wouldn't have gotten built and I wouldn't have gotten paid otherwise.

Now of course, a year later I show designs to the owner that are similar to what I suggested and he's suddenly agreeing with me and acting like he just wanted to get a placeholder up there originally (when in reality he was adamant about doing some really design-unsavvy things).

...into the light of a dark black night.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-10-17, 18:26



Yeah, that's about how it goes. You get it. Makes you nuts, doesn't it? I've got no problem being art-directed and collaborating...WITH people qualified to do so, who understand basic principles of design, typography, etc. I actually enjoy working like that, with talented, like-minded people that I can learn from, bounce ideas around with, etc.

But those seem few and far between at some of my past jobs.

I try to do nice, attractive stuff ALWAYS, but I'll have a boss who thinks the damn Penny Saver circular is the pinnacle of cutting-edge, high design and doesn't want to see any of that "foo-foo faggy shit".

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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2004-10-17, 18:38

Hi, my name is Drew, and I'm a puppet graphic designer for my boss..

I've recently taken a full-time job with a company that I've done stuff for on and off for the past nine years (movie work is slow in Georgia right now). I am being paid a rate that is extremely competitive and am being compensated for the use of my own equipment (staving off the crap experience of designing on a crap PC). And yes, my boss utilizes me, at times, as a puppet for his own designs.

Many are the times that my pleasing palettes and sensitively handled images are knocked down, block-i-fied and turned into something that could hardly be called Graphic Design.

Then I remember that until recently I was a hired gun and long ago tossed away any angst I had about doing bad design for paying customers. I give them the three strikes option if I really care about a design. If my three attempts are ignored then I smile and give them what they ordered. If they later come to their senses and realize that it's a bad design they'll also remember that I tried to talk them out of it...several times. It also may mean that I get additional work out of them for the redesign.

This basic hired-gun mentality will need to be updated now that I'm locked into this one customer for an extended period of time, but that ability to "release" will hopefully prove handy; I don't plan on getting sucked into caring about these images more than my own personal projects...and that's my recommendation to you Usurp...

If you're not doing your own stuff, START. Your portfolio will be richer (I suspect you're a damned fine designer) and your creative needs will begin to be fulfilled. I know that your friends call you to do this little thing and that little thing, but do something BIGGER than that. Create your own "thesis" project and explore it. The results could be fodder for a show, or for products or for landing a creative job somewhere that counts.

And the thing that helps me with the bad designer clients? The Golden Rule.

He who has the gold makes the rules.

sucks, eh?

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
Captain Drew on Twitter
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LoCash
Rest In Peace
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2004-10-17, 18:50

I love my boss (I think she's totally hot), I love my job (I'm a Visual Communications Architect), and I totally kick ass.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-10-17, 18:57

Is she an older, sexy vixen of a boss?

If so, have an opening?
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murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2004-10-17, 21:41

He'd bang her, if he wasn't so busy jerking off into cups and snorting coke.

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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2004-10-17, 21:58

Quote:
Originally Posted by usurp
i just need to know, this is normal right? no one here likes their jobs right? I am not the only one who is stuck in a job for the money and the convenience right??? please say right..
Hi usurp. I am on a year's leave (sabbatical) from teaching right now. I saved up to be able to take this leave. I'll tell you how I feel about 'my' job.

I love my students and the act and art of teaching. I love having an impact on my students' lives (they're age 13). I know that I have changed some of their lives in vast and significant ways, because the parents tell me so! I can't begin to tell you what a fantastic feeling that is.

BUT...the "out of classroom" aspect of teaching is very stressful. It is a relentless grind that never lets up - the constant deadlines, the *UNBELIEVABLE* amounts of paperwork. By the third day of school in September, I feel (and actually AM!) three weeks behind.

And the worst part is that a *huge* amount of the paperwork and the endless, time-consuming hoops teachers need to jump through are just a bunch of useless CYA stuff for people at the district office, who constantly need to have documented evidence that good things are going on in the schools.

If only all that time and energy could be spent on lesson plans and strategies that have a direct bearing on teaching in the classroom. But instead, it's all a bunch of show-and-tell paperwork for the bureaucrats. I SO resented having my precious time wasted on that stuff, when I desperately needed those hours for work directly related to my students.

Anyway, though I dearly love teaching jr. high, I don't want to go back. I'd rather teach in jr. college, where the students are paying to be there, are interested in learning, and where the teacher's time isn't wasted on paperwork and meetings for the district office's show-and-tell binder.

You need to start putting money aside and planning ways to extricate yourself from your current dilemma. I guarantee, no one else will do it for you.
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2004-10-17, 21:59

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
Is she an older, sexy vixen of a boss?

If so, have an opening?
i'm sure she has a few openings you'd be interested in.
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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2004-10-17, 22:08

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gargoyle
Yeah that's normal! But it could be worse - you could be paying for a house your not living in like me! (GF and I are splitting up!).
Ouch. Not good. Hope that works out for you eventually.

Btw, Gargoyle...only two years ago, I thought Liverpool was named after (eek!) a "pool of livers"...... "livers" being dark-red, bloody organs.

I have a feeling most Americans probably think that. But they/we wonder about it in silence, and hesitate to ask; because it would be kinda rude to say: "Hey, why have you named your city after a pool of bloody organs?"

I finally asked an online friend in London about it, and it really gave him a good laugh. Then he explained....

I bet it's cold there now, huh?
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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2004-10-17, 22:17

Quote:
Originally Posted by alcimedes
i'm sure she has a few openings you'd be interested in.
You are a very naughty boy.
  quote
Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2004-10-17, 22:22

Quote:
Originally Posted by murbot
I could have easily started this thread. I am my own boss.



Yeah dude, I totally know the feeling!!!

heh heh
So, then...what line of work are you actually in, murbotsky, eh?

Or is it a secret?
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usurp
High Monarch of MacDebate
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Kuwait
 
2004-10-18, 04:02

wow, thanks a lot for the responses. reading them made me laugh and nod my head so many times. so 300pt helvetica is popular elsewhere i see.. thought it was a top 5 request only in kuwait

it was very healthy to read these posts. it helped me to understand my situation and better evaluate it. i now know i am not alone.

after reading all this i discussed my issue with my gf and let her read the replies here. after that we talked and we decided that if we cant work in a decent place we could at-least do our own stuff after work. this is why we just decided to work on 2 visual books in parallel both related to kuwait. this way we can atleast keep our creativity but only use it after work.

so thank you everyone, you put me in a much better mood.


Ban comic sans!
http://bancomicsans.com/

portable: MacBook 2.4Ghz, 2GB RAM, 250GB HD | personal: PowerMac G5 dual 2.3ghz, 6GB RAM, 6TB HD | work: MacBook Pro 2.5ghz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD | car: Alpine iDA-W407 with black iPod 80GB | pocket: iPhone 3GS with Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's
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Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2004-10-18, 20:44

Quote:
Originally Posted by LoCash
I love my boss (I think she's totally hot), I love my job (I'm a Visual Communications Architect), and I totally kick ass.
A visual communications *architect*? Is that sorta like when intranet designers call themselves "information architects"?
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LoCash
Rest In Peace
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2004-10-18, 20:50

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs
A visual communications *architect*? Is that sorta like when intranet designers call themselves "information architects"?
Someone's jealous LoCash has an amazingly cool job title. I pull out the business card and it totally makes the chicks swarm around me.

"You're a visual communications architect? Oh my, LoCash!"

It is with great regret that we say our farewells to Jack, who passed away on May 28th, 2005. Jack, you will be missed by all

Superior thinking has always overwhelmed superior force. - Marine Corps Officers

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head-that's assault, not leadership." - General Eisenhower
  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2004-10-18, 21:52



And then you show them your stash of feel-good chemicals and Hunter S. Thompson-like orgies ensue?
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Powerdoc
Cat's Dreamlands
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-10-19, 15:15

It's not a secret. He is a ebay wizard.

Sorry I have to edit : he is the ebay wizard

Needless to say of whom I refer
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2004-10-19, 15:24

at least you don't get suspended for going to a rock concert.
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Xaqtly
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-10-19, 16:55

I was the tech guy at a place in L.A. that does movie trailers and posters, bus sides, etc. We did the art for Bulworth, remember that Warren Beatty movie? We must have gone for 2 or 3 weeks doing mostly just comps for Bulworth. Every week Warren Beatty would come in, look at this huge pile of comps, and tell us every one of them sucked.

Oh yeah, it can be a lot of fun to be in the graphic design business. Another example is Mars Attacks - we did that one too, but you should have seen some of the other comps our designers came up with. They were so much better than the one the studio picked, it was frustrating. I was like... "are they blind? wth is wrong with them?" So yeah... it's harsh.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-10-19, 17:34

I would've told Warren to **** himself, and that he peaked with "Bonnie & Clyde".



I can totally imagine him being that way too, sadly.

"Dude, you're plugging Annette Bening in real life, and climbing all over Halle Berry in your new crapfest movie...why you gotta be such a dick, man? You've won the lottery...chilllll".

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LoCash
Rest In Peace
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2004-10-19, 17:37

Three things designers are good at though: Bitching, moaning, and whining. You're like the emo kids of the working world
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-10-19, 17:38

We come by it honestly, sparky.

Considering the vision-challenged, revision whore spineless middle-management, no-talent fuckhead hack nephew-of-the-owner/self-ordained art director types we deal with week in and week out, it's a wonder our occupational suicide rate isn't up there with shrinks and coppers.



You're damn right we bitch and moan.
  quote
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2004-10-19, 22:22

Can I get an Amen, my brothas?
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2004-10-19, 22:40

man, i wish my dad was a designer so i could understand what you were all talking about.
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Windswept
On Pacific time
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
 
2004-10-19, 23:10

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
We come by it honestly, sparky.

Considering the vision-challenged, revision whore spineless middle-management, no-talent fuckhead hack nephew-of-the-owner/self-ordained art director types we deal with week in and week out, it's a wonder our occupational suicide rate isn't up there with shrinks and coppers.



You're damn right we bitch and moan.


You are so funny, skates.
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