Too old to be a designer?
Over 50,000 professional and freelance designers and developers. Post your design project once and review up to eight proposals. Save time, save money. Over 5000 projects delivered since 2006.
|
| ||||||||
| E-commerce Database Blog Social Paypal Registration Twitter | |||||||||
| Compare: | |||||||||
I’ve been a freelancer for 31 years and while it’s great to be in business this long, there may be a downside.
The design profession seems to have a youth bias that is not working in my favor. Whereas other professions (medicine, law, etc.) value experience, the design and marketing fields seem to think that if you no longer fall into the coveted 18-34 demographic, you are too old to be relevant or useful. Experience is often seen as a sign of being “out of it.”
This is a bit scary for me because I am 61 and I have no intention of retiring. Let’s face it, design isn’t strenuous and after 30 years of working hard to get better, it’s more fun than ever. Milton Glaser is 81 and still works, so why not the rest of us?
The problem is, I know of no precedent for this. Mr. Glaser is a rock star genius. I am merely very good. Big difference when it comes to convincing prospects that they should hire me. He has fame and prestige to offset his age – I don’t. I am sure there are many designers who are in the same boat, but no one talks about it.
I googled “Old graphic designers” and didn’t get much. In addition to us boomers, there are a lot of freelancers coming up behind us who will face the same dilemma. I have been told that if you are over 40, no agency will hire you. If that’s true, what happens to all these people when they get laid off?
I am not worried for the immediate future. My niche has turned out to be the community I’ve lived in and served for three decades. I know how to communicate and sell here, and so far that has been acknowledged by a steady stream of projects. It has ebbed and flowed over the years, but I am pretty sure that if I stay visible, available and consistent, I will have a good shot at whatever’s out there.
I don’t count on that lasting forever, though. At some point some new person, undoubtedly younger than me, will decide that this would be the perfect place to establish a design practice, and will aggressively go after my market share. He/she will probably try to marginalize me by portraying me as too old to do a good job any more. This is what keeps me up at night. It’s also why I am trying to figure out how to get good projects online, but that’s another story.
Do any of you have thoughts about this? What strategies have you identified for being able to work as long as you want to?
Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:06:20 GMT
Tags: ageism, Designers, Freelancing, Illustrators, Laurel Black, old graphic designers, Work/Life Balance,
Over 50,000 professional and freelance designers and developers. Post your design project once and review up to eight proposals. Save time, save money. Over 5000 projects delivered since 2006.
|
| ||||||||
| E-commerce Database Blog Social Paypal Registration Twitter | |||||||||
| Compare: | |||||||||
Related Tags: ageism
Ageism forcing you into freelancing?
More than any other age group, older workers have remained unemployed for ninety-nine weeks or more, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and one in every three seniors earn less than $22,000 a year, according to the National Council on Aging. You’d
More on Ageism Beyond the Design World
Laurel Black follows up on the topic of ageism and the latest trend to never retire.... Continue reading
Related Tags: Designers
Tools for Streamlining Business Tasks
People who run a business alone often want it to appear bigger than it really is — as if it has teams of employees and unlimited resources. This is now more possible than ever thanks to some tools that so-called solopreneurs and other small businesses hav
What is a 24/7 Creative? (part 1)
Creativity is actually more a part of the life you live than it is a part of the work you do. We are independent creatives, are we not? Then who determined when we should work, when we should play, when we should shut it all down and when we are to be giv
March events from Freelancers Union
Don’t miss these great events from Freelancer’s Union, a live event in NY on March 8 with Ilise Benun and Galia Gichon and a webinar on March 16 with Luke Mysse. Read on for details….
Related Tags: Freelancing
Only 40 Freelancer Kits left
The "How To Succeed As A Freelancer" Ultimate Collection is now available and it includes a selection of books and webcasts especially for freelancers priced at only $99 ($391 value). Only 40 left as of Thursday morning....
Need Interactive Website Design? Check out our member profiles:
We can design, build, and host Web sites for any purpose. Our graphic designers can create: ? Business logos ? Brochures ? Web site Design ? Graphic Design ? Online Store ? E-commerce ? Flash
evans , Georgia US
Cincinnati web design, web site design, and web page design by 513webMD.com Cincinnati Web Design, Cincinnati Web Site Design and Cincinnati Web Page Design, specializing in web design, web site desig
Cincinnati , Ohio US
561 DESIGN GROUP is dedicated to the graphic design and creative aspects of web design. We specialize in Brochure websites, database-driven websites, corporate portals, intranets, extranets, and Inter
Boynton Beach , Florida US
Full service web and graphic design, visit us at www.redthirteen.biz
Bozeman , Montana US
Affordable website design in NYC - brooklyn NY ecommerce
brooklyn , New York US
Web Site Design Hosting Marketing Maintenance and Training Solutions for your business. Real People... Offering Real Solutions for your Web Site. 24/7 Support & 99.9+% uptime guarantee. www.web-site-s
Brookfield , Wisconsin US
AdvancedInternetConcepts specializes in Florida small business web design, programming and internet marketing with an emphasis on real estate, golf, restaurants and independent business professionals.
naples , Florida USOver 50,000 professional and freelance designers and developers. Post your design project once and review up to eight proposals. Save time, save money. Over 5000 projects delivered since 2006.
|
| ||||||||
| E-commerce Database Blog Social Paypal Registration Twitter | |||||||||
| Compare: | |||||||||
Get 8 Free Bids:
Service
Location:
Budget:
Deadline:
Compare:
Get 8 Free Bids:
Service
Location:
Budget:
Deadline:
Compare:
7 Sleek glass speakers for crystal-clear sound
Grace Kikon: There are different types of speakers available in the market for decades but there is
Xperience is the perfect camera to capture your extreme sports moments
Asmita Prasad: Capturing moments in extreme sports is one of the hardest jobs in photography. Be it
How to build a retractable fence?
Neha Gargi: The concept: Fences not only define the boundary of your abode but also add to its beaut
10 hi-tech motion sensing devices for hands free comfort
Suja Natarajan: Using hands free devices is truly a luxury and comfortable experience. Be it in a ro
Plug and Play the music of your choice
Jaazhh: Mp3 players have been ruling the market for quite some time now. Giha Woo, a Korean produc
Article Tags
Interactive Website Design Articles
Lifestyle
Inspiration
Designers
Concepts
gadgets
Freelancing
Freelancers Union
All Posts
Writers
web design
architecture
Featured
design
Marketing
Transportation
Tips
Premium
Illustrators
Freebies
Friends:
Ecommerce Web Design