Give Your All or Not at All: My Decision to Be a Designer
I think I have always known I would have a career within the art field. I’ve been surrounded by creative people and have been exposed to a multitude of mediums and methods for art as I’ve grown up. I know more about art than anything else, so it just made sense to pursue it for the rest of my life.
That being said, I knew nothing about Graphic Design when I applied for college. Based on what pieces I create in my free time, it would seem like a major such as Studio Art would suit someone like me better. After all, the list of some of the mediums I am comfortable is as follows:
- Drawing (digital & traditional: pencil, pen, marker, ink, colored pencil)
- Painting (oil, acrylic, gouache, watercolor)
- Soft pastels & charcoals
- Block printing
- Silk screen printing
- Sewing
- Collage
But I made the choice of Design over Studio Art and was exposed to an entirely different side of art I had never known about. It wasn’t a revolutionary, “AHA!” moment, but rather a logical decision. I didn’t want to work freelance as my main source of income; I wanted to work for a company where I’d have a set salary. Pretty much everyone knows the term “starving artist,” and I didn’t want that to be me. I wanted a better sense of job security.
I also knew long before applying for college that I didn’t want to spend the majority of my adult life working in a field that was unrelated to my interests, as that would bore me long before retirement. I didn’t see the point of spending thousands of dollars of voluntary education just to end up dreading work. I couldn’t accept that as part of my future.
I truly adore design and its process. I am very passionate about what I create, and I will put my entire effort into my work to achieve something I can say I’m proud of. I refuse to only put in half effort to get lackluster results. For this very reason I love being critiqued; I strive for perfection, or at the very least, a sense of satisfaction. Being surrounded by creatives who are just like me is one of the most fulfilling feelings; sharing our thoughts, feelings, and plans for our designs is exciting! I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that. And after being in the field of education for design for three years now, I have no doubt in my mind that this is where I am intended to be.
