From The Archives
Paying Your Dues Without Selling Your Soul
How do you strike the balance between exuberant young artist with vision, supporting cast member, ever-ready helper, and frustrated doormat?
“You have to pay your dues.”
It’s a mantra heard often by students and young designers. But it can mean many different things to many different people. And its usually stated in the third person. So, for clarification, I’ve asked over a dozen successful designers for personal stories about how they paid their dues.
Most describe it as a period time during which they had to give and follow patiently, even when they wanted desperately to be allowed to break loose. They gave up something to receive something they did not have, something that they desired: credibility, professional skills, experience-the answer is different for everyone.
But when do we go too far? When do we go from paying dues to selling out? Is it OK to “rent out” your soul once in a while? How many times is too often? When is it a temporary necessity as opposed to an intolerable state?
The stories told vary in situation and circumstance, but there are common themes of hope and reflection. They illustrate the power of pursuing our individual vision and doing whatever it takes to make it real. Just thinking about it is not enough!
Petrula Vrontikis
Creative Director, Vrontikis Design Office
Senior Faculty Member, Art Center College of Design
In this series:
Stay Up Late
Michael Bierut
Paying One’s Dues Is How One Earns Self-Respect, and the Respect of Others
Michael Patrick Cronan
Full Plates
Deanna Kuhlmann-Leavitt
Carpet Boy to Designer in Due Time
Bill Grant
Your Soul Is Really All You Own
Jim Sherraden
Paying Dues for a Purpose
Bruce Sterling
I Was Really Smart
John Clark
On Paying and Paying and Paying and Paying Your Dues
Terry Lee Stone
Square-One All Over Again
Armin Vit
An Investment That Continues to Pay Me Back Every Day
Ann Willoughby
The First Career Stages of a Young Designer
Wayne Hunt
Good Design is Always About Paying Dues
Kim Baer
Working Smarter, Not Harder
Kelly Goto
I Stopped Working for a Minute and Started Thinking
Margo Chase
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I believe that its not about paying dues, its about being passionate about your work, and craft, and over time if one is truly driven and focused on their goals there dues will be paid in full. The truth is that any good designer that has struggled at any point in time in their career and came out successful has paid their dues. No one starts out on top, and most know this when the first start in the field, that’s why they call it “working your way to the top”, and doing work for other people doesn’t mean that you’re a sellout or you have less integrity as an artist, it’s the difference between commercial art and fine art.
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I believe it is a combination of both "paying your dues" and being passionate about your work. The first thing that came to mind when I read this article was what I happen to be going through right now as a very fresh and young graphic designer in the world. I was very naive thinking I could start out in the business world and immediately have the chance to push my creative input and ideas.
When working with clients, whether it may be your boss or the clients themselves, you have to truly strike a balance between what horrible things they want and what you think is best? 99.99% of the time being what they think is best. I’ve noticed that if I give options of very simple, “traditional designs” and designs a bit more modern and creative? well, of course, the first always gets chosen. I bite my tongue and save the creative ideas to build up for later. It is truly a learning experience, but it is my genuine passion for the work that continually pushes me to express my abilities and ideas no matter the situation or the time. I believe the process of “paying my dues” will last awhile as I grow and learn, and until both my design and way of thinking finally finds a match and is appreciated by somebody. -
I think it's ALL about paying your dues. That's what 'dues' are... Debts. We as designers are in debt. To our audience and to ourselves, regardless of what our message is. I see nothing wrong with trudging through the mundane and unagreeable to ensure that the message will go on.
I have seen many, many terrible designers with no patience who belive that the world is thier oyster, who are passionate, and, quite frankly have to much emotion and not enough logic- who are passionate, yet are terrible designers.
Let the fact that we have 'dues', the unsavory and horrible weed out the weak from the strong, the passive from the determined.
We can't all be the 'rock-stars' of the design world... Some of us need to realize and accept that we will become the 'garbage men' as well.
The difference isn't our message; we can't forget that we do not always have the mystic, heartfelt total zen of a fine artist with no grasp on the realities of rent and car payments. The difference is our hard-nosed determination to tromp through the muck that our next employer or client brings us. Any one that terms Graphic Design as a 'fine art' (which it isn't) that deems thier work as not worth 'selling thier soul' to create and show, doesn't need to be doing it. -
Most of us young designers (at least where I come from) are warned that to get to the power seat of the advertising or design company which thy covet they will spend the first 1 or 2 years of their lives slogging at the stuff no self-respecting 'established' designer wants to do: technical stuff. 'Technician' is now being replaced with the more pleasant-sounding 'DTP artist' but the job is the same: errand boy/girl who also occasionally makes coffee. And yes, this is the 'must pay rent' part of design. The pure ideal of the artist in all of us wants to whine at the unfairness of simply doing someone else's job while the big shots get to call the great ideas and tell you "This is what we want you to do."
Reality of life. You *will* fulfil your vision eventually. It takes persistence, patience, utmost dedication with many nights of sleeping and brushing your teeth in the office. Hey, if an easy life was your ambition you should have gone to business school. At least you get to go home early. Even in college, assignments are not something you can leave in class, forget about until next morning and assume that life is going to plan out your timetable smoothly.
Everpress is right about graphic design NOt being a fine art. Not that there's nothing bad or overly airy-fairy about fine arts. It's just a different field, one that should never be mistaken for what we do - as one of my lecturers said, our main objective in life is to help other people make money. (On the less prosaic side, design can also help make the world a better and safer place to live in, so there.) It's not as cold and cynical as it sounds - I believe working in the design industry can be and is an enriching career, both finacially and artistically. Just don't expect a 9 to 5 job. :) -
I'm 25 with 2 degrees, one in design. I'm exhausted. University was one to two all nighters a week plus week-ends in the design studio, now I'm told that the first 2 years of my career I should expect peanuts for my salary so I can pay my large student loans. No one seems to appreciate or understand my work (I'll always the one who draws really well -to employers and friends).. and also apparently everyone I know thinks I'll work for free to get a portfolio piece. I'm also hearing from everyone who thinks they know design because they like debbie travis (why don't you add a script font with a nice drop shadow instead)... when does it all end.. I've been "paying my dues" for what now 9 years? (7 at University and 2 working).
...and yet I still recommend studying design to some I think have the talent.
You have to pay your dues... I cringe everytime I hear it. -
To Jon:
Good luck! You'll get thru eventually. And be stronger for it. -
All the links on this page are broken. They just say "no document found". What happened?
I would really like to read the opinions of these different designers. I hope somebody will fix the problem. -
The links are broken, I was looking forward to reading them. Sort them out you big tease!
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"I've been "paying my dues" for what now 9 years? (7 at University and 2 working).
...and yet I still recommend studying design to some I think have the talent. "
Then maybe you're at a dead end job and need to find some place else to work (easier said than done). 'Paying one's dues' is a load of crap. After 11 years I've experienced/seen plenty of places that expect the dues thing and then there are the better places to work with great projects and 'paying dues' doesn't exist because everyone is actually on the same side. It has more to do with the maturity of the people you're working with. -
This is tantalising stuff, but none of the links work. Is there anywhere else I can find this material?
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I'll check with AIGA about these links. Please check back soon.
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The links work if you go to the main "Design Heroes" archive.
You can do this by clicking on the words "Design Heroes" just above my picture in this page, or click on "Design Heroes" in the "More Topics" list on the left nav bar.
Thanks for your interest. Please keep reading them!!
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