The life of a designer sucks — updated

Being a designer has its peaks and troughs but generally sucks. 40% of your day is spent ensuring your work is world-class, on brief, strategic, culturally relevant and, crafted well enough to increase conversion and brand awareness and operationally efficient.

South Park © Comedy Central

Your endorphins are boosted when you get paid well for your work, get recognition for your efforts, laugh well, eat well and get out while doing it.

Things begin to suck when you work long hours for little money, your ‘client’ doesn’t get it, the team you’re working with are unbearable, and you’re stuck at your desk eating homemade lunches and drinking free office beer.

It’s depressing — what’s more depressing is how the system is set up.

Free work
The free pitch, the free proof of concept, the free ‘pre-sales’ workshop. Somehow, working for free is part of our industry’s DNA.