I'm starting this blog for the future budding artists because I'm fed up and burned out, and except for therapy (which is unaffordable on a meager artist's salary), this is my outlet. Welcome. This is what you have to look forward to...

I've seen and heard a lot of things in my designer's lifespan that would make your hair curl. It's amazing that anyone actually thinks they want to do this for a living. And yet, here I am. For some insane reason, I can't get enough.

So what qualifies me to comment on design? I'm an art director for an international corporate in-house marketing department. I went to college, and I've been doing this in one form or another for a good ten years.

"Oooh," you say, wiggling your fingers sarcastically in my direction. "So what? Everyone's an art director these days." I've also found (at least around here) that the actual job description of "art director" varies wildly depending on how uninformed the company you work for is. It can range anywhere from "graphic artist" to "creative director, just one step below the big boss".

My job description right now contains all of the following: Senior graphic artist, creative direction, marketing think tank, copywriter, technical writer, traffic manager, vendor liason, advertising consultant, salesman, negotiator/mediator, design teacher, morale booster, therapist, web designer, illustrator, print buyer, proofer, accountant, event organizer, and Mac networking techie. Needless to say, I'm kinda tired.

I have nothing but praise for the people who start their own agencies. You have to be all that and more. But I work for a big company. Supposedly, when you move up the ladder, you have more paperwork and less design work, because there are people below you who get to do the fun stuff. There are also supposed to be people in the other departments that do all the other stuff. We don't get that luxury for some bizarre reason. I think it's some sort of weird anomaly.

The company I came from before had over a dozen people working in marketing. We had a Marketing VP, an Art Director, 2 designers, 2 senior designers, a scanning specialist, a Mac network admin, a traffic manager, a print buyer, 2 copywriters and at least 2 interns at all times. And we were ALL busy.

Moving into a new company, which was the same size as the previous one, we had 4 people: the prerequisite Marketing VP, the Art Director, one other graphic artist, and an offsite copywriter.

Now... "Why," you ask, "is there a VP and an Art Director, when there are only two other employees?" Good question. (And I lied a little when I said there were only 4 people. There are 4 in the design section of Marketing. The department actually encompasses the Event Management area as well, so that adds a whopping 2 more people, who actually have nothing to do with design.)

The company actually started off with the VP before there was ever an actual Marketing department. I started as an artist, but was "promoted" when I finally convinced them that one person cannot function on 15 hour days, 6-7 days a week, for 11 months out of the year without help. I use the term "promotion" lightly, since it was only a title change. I'd already been doing the previously described workload almost from day one.

But it's late, I have an early day, and so I've completed my complaining for tonight. Next time, gentle reader, I'll start the rant about the actual work, and why artists have to be at least slightly insane to even consider making it in the industry...