At the same time I think there are a lot of individuals who describe themselves as designers (all areas) but really don’t have a firm understanding of print design or even sometimes the based principals of design in general. They spend their days designing with CSS code but forget that in print design involves very specific requirements (color matching, typesetting, etc).

The inverse can be said for web design where layouts will often flex to accommodate additional text and it may be somewhat acceptable for colors to shift depending on the platform, browser, and display you are using.

- Nick

As a former Creative Group Head at The Richards Group and former Creative Director at TracyLocke, I was responsible for hiring both the interns and the junior designers/art directors. I told them the same things I told you in this article. Your brain is your asset, the computer is only a tool. And a secondary one at that. Executing strategically sound, well-thought-out, PRINTABLE design pieces requires alot more than just having a computer with Photoshop. And if a young person wants to work at a name agency, they must name drop to get their foot in the door, and bust their butt once they’re there. Having an education at a school like RISD, Ringling, CCAD, UNT, Parsons, etc gives an agency an idea that you have been trained properly in the thought process and design process and execution process for print work. Having a name agency/design firm internship on your resume then gives an agency the assurance that you know how the REAL world works; that you are a proven entity and a safe hire. Then, being nice, and humble about your good work, will get you very very far.

In my career, I’ve done national print work for Frito-Lay, Corner Bakery, Dr Pepper, Saturn, The Army, Baileys Irish Cream, McDonalds, Fruit of the Loom, Comedy Central, Woodbridge Wines, (I can go on for about 20 years). I don’t do any web design or anything remotely digital. I don’t create art in Photoshop – I prefer ink, paint, marker, or hiring a real-live illustrator person or photographer person. I don’t use templates. I rarely use fonts as they are, instead I modify letters to match what I’ve drawn in pencil. I choose colors based on my formal training in color theory. And I never create mechanical files that cannot be printed as-is by any printer. I learned how to be a graphic designer back before there were computers.

So I’m sure that for a Photoshop Web Guru T-Shirt Designer like Danny Outlaw, I must seem like a dinosaur. That’s ok. I’ll leave all the Photoshop T-Shirt work in his capable hands.

And if he would like to try to apply for a position as an Art Director at The Richards Group, he is welcome to send me his resume.

@Tina, thanks.

I like how the article mentions continuing education and training, too.