There does seem to be a lot of designers-designing-for-designers going on at the moment. I’ve tried to rebalance the reading/following/subscribing I do of other designers in relation to other interests I have – because ultimately it’s those external interests that offer the magic ingredients for the work I do.

Sites like Dddrrriiibbbllleee (I can never be bothered to remember how to spell it) and 52 definitely have a purpose, and it’s great that there is this community spirit in our industry (a fact we often take for granted), but sometimes it’s too easy to get blinkered. I think it’s down to all of us to make an effort to look outside every once in a while.

(Also, as for not being allowed that job title, it reminds me that in my previous job, I wasn’t allowed to refer to my art direction as art direction “in case people think you’re on the Board of Directors”.)

“This is not a big industry, and the demand for web designers outstrips supply like you wouldn’t believe, as you probably know. “

This is particularly interesting as I am very new to digital / web design and I’ve always been taught that design is really over saturated and the competition for jobs (especially as a recent grad) far outweighs the amount of positions.

Do you think this it’s different for web design then? I mean, I imagine you do unless I’m misreading what you’ve written. Why do you think this? I like the idea of being able to find work..

Massive problem in the design industry generally. Lots of people fresh out of college think they know everything and get ahead of themselves. Takes 6 years to become competent at design.

Classic example is one year at the D&AD; portfolio workshop a student gave me a card with his details on. He had CD as his job title. I then spent his 15 minutes explaining to him that to be a CD you need to have someone to creative direct. He refused to accept it and argued with me. In the end I had to tell him to go away.

@Luke as a freelance web designer, I can tell you that I have three times as much work thrown at me than I can actually take on. If you’re good and make yourself known, you’ll have no problem getting work. That applies to FT positions too.

Very much agree that egos are such a pain to deal with, especially, I have to say, as a girl trying to work in a mostly-male industry..!

@Katie

Thanks Katie, I really appreciate the response. Now I’ve just got to get good ;)

Ego is what defines you. See id ego superego. You need to be individual. Otherwise you end up being a theme or using the latest trend.

Do what you do and run through the experience. It’s how you get ex points.

Everything you think, think the opposite. - great book. Also anything from bob gills

Great thoughts, Daniel. I agree 100%: designers with ego cripple themselves.

Another related point though: a good creative director can intrinsically earn the respect of her designers, regardless of titles. The best CD I’ve ever had never had that title when I worked with him (he was a Sr. Art Director), but I always looked to him fit creative direction and he always offered it whenever appropriate.

Is it that the designers are not respecting him??

If he has a great portfolio and the experience to back it up then i can’t see why these designers would not want to work with him.

Maybe they are not happy with his creative direction on the project ??

Well said, Dan! :)

Great post Daniel. :)

daniel - Great points, and I have to say that my team and I have been thinking about this a lot lately. How do we help foster creative meritocracy online - supporting a community that can be more about the work and less about the ego stroke? We also think that the design community underestimates the value of the intersection of creative disciplines. We shouldn’t silo ourselves to one particular field…because creative insight comes from exposure to what (and who) we don’t already know.

For these reasons, I think we’re still in the early days for what “community” can do for creative careers. Obviously, at Behance we’re aiming to help folks (from across creative fields) showcase and discover depth over breadth. Still lots of work to do though…