The 8 Biggest Threats Facing Modern Graphic Designers (and How to Beat Them)

Being a modern graphic designer is not easy. In fact, at times it’s downright dangerous. With so many threats to your professional livelihood to deal with, it’s a wonder that there are any graphic designers left!

However, when the negative aspects of the job are appropriately dealt with, graphic design is an amazing and rewarding career. To help you find your way in the industry here is our guide to staving off the common threats in every modern graphic designer’s life.

Threat 1 – DIY Designers 

DIY designers have been around since the advent of desktop publishing software, however, the new wave of design apps and open source software is seeing the presence of amateur enthusiasts increasing at a rapid rate. Just check out Behance, or DeviantArt for evidence of this.

While some argue that the democratisation of design is a good thing, bringing the value of high quality graphic design to a wider audience, others believe the DIY trend is diluting the professionalism of the industry, diminishing graphic designer’s authority, and reducing clients’ respect.  

Solution 
 Remember that simply having Photoshop installed on your Mac does not make you a designer. While some of the work from amateurs is technically very impressive, it is very different to the work of a professional graphic designer. A real designer can create visuals that not only look good but that solve problems, communicate big ideas and tell a meaningful story.

If you keep working to professional standards, then the gap between the amateur enthusiast and the professional graphic designer will remain distinct. Clients will soon come to realise the benefits of a thoughtful, educated approach to graphic design after a few DIY flops.

Threat 2 -Picky Clients



Poster design by Mark Shanley and Paddy Treacy

Every graphic designer has a horror story about a terrible client. Whether it’s about the time they demanded the impossible, gave you unrealistic deadlines, changed their mind then changed it back again, or something else entirely, we’ve all been there and we’ve all been frustrated. Wasting your time is not fun and wasting it on a client that you cannot stand working with is even less fun.

Solution 
A bad client may well tempt you to producing a lack of decent work, and that’s understandable, but it’s not a good idea. Never, under any circumstances, perform at a lower level than you are capable of. If you produce bad work you will only get bad clients. Always perform to the peak of your powers and you will soon be able to drag yourself away and land a job that your work is worthy of.

Threat 3 – Penny Pinchers



Image by Jeffrey licensed under CC BY – 2.0

In an age when everyone fancies themselves a bit of a designer you might find it difficult to command a respectable fee for your hard work. There are more designers out there, and the high demand for jobs compared with the low number of opportunities sadly puts employers in a position where they can acquire talent for less.
Solution

Lack of decent pay is a common occurrence in the design industry. You may feel forced into accepting a low wage due to lack of work, but where possible, try not to do this. Always try to negotiate what you think you’re worth. Remember that you represent the graphic design industry and accepting a lower wage sets a precedent for everyone else. If you do get forced into a low paying job, don’t slack off. Show the client that the work you do is worth more to their business than they realise.

Threat 4 – Assimilation



Image by Joan Campderrós-i-Canas licensed under CC BY 0- 2.0

If you look at the work displayed on design blogs you might notice that sometimes there is not much difference between a lot of it. A large majority of graphic designs seem to be following the trend of the day, be it pastel colours, hipster whimsy, or whatever is ‘in’ right now. Clients can end up wanting the latest trends too and often ask for something that resembles the latest Facebook TV ad or their daughter’s Pinterest profile. This assimilation process of design styles could quickly become a case of too many sheep and not enough shepherds. This would be bad for the progression of the industry.

Solution
As a professional designer you should be more than an artist that follows the trends of the day. You need to have a number of styles at your disposal or risk being a one trick pony. By all means follow the latest trends and be influenced by your favourite designers, but always work towards a style that you think will work for the project, not what you think other people will like. In your personal work, experiment and constantly challenge yourself and you will eventually develop a style that stands out from the pack and that will demand the respect of your clients.

Threat 5 – MultiTasking



Image by William Warby licensed under CC BY – 2.0

If you are a freelance graphic designer, which most people in the industry tend to be, you will often wonder why you are spending so little time designing. Time will be taken up by self-promotion, finding clients, managing your accounts and a whole number of little tasks that eat into your creative time. What you thought would be the ideal 9 to 5 might become more like a 24 -7.

Solution
If you’re going to do something, do it properly. Organise your time better to stay on top of things, you’ll be surprised how much time order will free up. Managing your finances might not be fun but make sure you keep it in check or else it will soon become unmanageable. Self-promotion is another tedious task, but you will have to promote yourself well in order to attract clients. Building an audience doesn’t have to be taxing, follow our examples of how to properly market yourself on social media to get you started:

After all your hard work you might just find that your business is successful enough to afford someone to help you tie up those loose ends.

Threat 6 – Copyright



Image rights are a little bit up in the air for everyone right now but you should be aware of your rights if you want to avoid difficult situations or even exploitation. While you shouldn’t be too uptight about sharing your work, you will always want to make sure you are credited for any images of yours that are on public display. Getting your work out there is a great way to attract clients but knowing where to draw the line is something every graphic designer needs to be aware of.

Solution 
While getting your creative work shared on design blogs, magazines, industry newsletters, and so on is a great for promotion, having an image stolen with no back link or mention of your name is unforgivable. Try watermarking your images before putting them online to guarantee that your name is always on display alongside your image and to prevent your work being used without your permission. Knowing your rights is always something a graphic designer should be well in tune with and you can read our article on copyright law to find out more.

Threat 7 – Getting left behind



Image by daniel zimmel licensed under CC BY – 2.0

The graphic design industry advances at such a rate that it can be difficult to keep up. Technology, software, trends – it can all become a bit overwhelming. In a world that advances so rapidly, how do you know that you are still a good graphic designer? Are the skills you learned at university still relevant? Is Photoshop enough, or do you need to become an expert coder to stand a chance of employment in the near future?

Solution
Taking additional courses or up-skilling with a graphic design master’s degree is an amazing way to get both up to speed and stay one step ahead of the competition. There are an increasing number of accredited MA Graphic Design courses that are available to study flexibly around your day job. These are a great way for you to continue working at the same time as becoming confident in your skills as a modern graphic designer.

Threat 8 – Health



No joke – graphic design can be hazardous to your health. Bending over a computer all day and staring at a bright screen inches from your face is maybe not so surprisingly bad for you. Poor posture, spinal injuries and chronic pain, eyestrain and dry eye syndrome, loneliness and depression, metabolic syndrome resulting from a low energy expenditure, increased risk of diabetes and heart disease and many more horrible things have been found to be encouraged by working conditions similar to many modern graphic designers.

Solution
 Take a break. Get up and walk around. If you work in an office, raise your concerns and make sure you have an atmosphere where it is acceptable to get up and stretch your legs when you need to. Make sure your chair supports your posture and shift your seating position periodically. To save your eyes, follow the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes you look at the screen, focus on an object at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

Be Careful Out There

With the constant progress of the industry, the threats impacting a graphic designer’s life are never over. As graphic design advances into the uncertainty of the future, more and more threats will emerge from the darkness so you must be prepared at all times to save your career and stand up for professionalism in the industry. If you don’t do it, who will?
Source:iDesign