ZDO Blog
Where have all the creatives gone?
Having just turned forty-two recently, I was reminded of a daunting thought I had several years back, "What does happen to all those creative professionals who are past middle-age?" I don't recall ever meeting or working with an Art Director or Creative Director over the age of forty-eight! Where do they go? What are they doing now?
They didn't take early retirement, that's for sure. While it's possible to make a comfortable living in this field, early retirement is not likely. Did they burn out? Are they all designing wine labels and packaging somewhere in the Sonoma Valley?
Advertising professionals tend to move around a lot throughout their careers, so I understand losing touch with them over time, but there must be some other explanation for their disappearance. I have heard a few stories of people encountering unique business opportunities due to their field and venturing out on their own. I've also heard of several who ended up on-board with one of their past clients, but those stories would only account for a handful of people.
While the norm in corporate America is to replace well seasoned professionals with younger cheaper talent, I have met and/or worked with a few people who's wealth of knowledge in this industry would be a travesty to put out to pasture. Are they all doing consulting now? I'm just befuddled as to the whereabouts of what must be thousands of creative professionals that have mysteriously disappeared since my own entry into this field in the late eighties. Many, like myself, are avid fine artists, but I find it hard to believe that very many have found a way to earn a living at it.
If you know of one of these people, or are one of them yourself, please send me a reply. I'm getting concerned that I be should focusing more attention on what I will be doing ten years down the road.
Lee Mauer
20.08.2009. 18:07
Approaching 33, I find myself deciding weather to rebuild my client base and portfolio or follow my passion for business by pursuing an MBA. All the designers I have kept up with give me kudos for sticking with it this long. Most have gone on to find a field where they won’t be replaced by interns that are willing to work for free. All facing their 30’s with over 40k in student loans have the hope of supporting a family some day. Most of my friends have become: dental assistants, pizza delivery people, assistant manager of a subway, receptionist, day care, and one that I hear is homeless. What is worse is that he was the best of the lot! Thus far I have been let go from one organization that hired two college freshmen at ¼ my salary to replace me. They even had me train them under the premise that I would be supervising two people. Then a week later on my 90th day I was escorted out of the building. After being informed that if it made me feel better, I was better than the last three they let go at 90 days. I was most upset about having to leave my plant behind. Oh well. Most of my clients stopped paying or kept bidding me lower and lower. Printing clients would increasingly inform me that they could get the same design from this other guy, or even from India. That’s when I knew I was in for a haul. The only person I know that is still a designer does CPG and bills out at a rate I would get hung up on for mentioning. Never mind that he has contracts. So now I find that everyone wants a 5k website for free. Maybe I’ll just stick to playing my guitar and working with non-profits.
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