Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with job and design

This job is killing me.

b33j — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:38:32 -0800

Panic attacks are killing my self employment. What (work) should I do? So I've been self-employed working with a number of academics over the last 18 months. However, a number of major life issues have collided, along with a lifelong anxiety problem, resulting in panic attacks. Unhappily, this is most notable when it comes to reading email. The further behind I get, the worse it is. I've lost a couple of major clients already and have begun to accept that I can not work from home anymore, nor in a non-structured environment.

This is particularly disappointing as my next plan was to do honours (postponed on doctor's advice) and then slip straight into a PhD with the academics I currently work for as supervisors.

So, these are my qualifications: Bachelor of Multimedia Studies with Distinction (GPA 6.9/7) from about 3 years ago. Expert in Illustrator, Word & Excel, proficient in Photoshop, Indesign, Access. General overview of HTML - I can work a content management system more easily than someone without training, or things like Survey Monkey, but I can not code a website from scratch.

I used to do admin (and hate it and the pay), but for the last year have been doing a variety of tasks like project management, running an online journal (last 5 years), high end presentations, diagrams and illustrations for books and government reports, data collection and low level analysis, document design and formatting for a mining consulting company, and for a number of published academic books.

I live on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Graphic design work is hard to get into and pays pretty crap. I would be prepared to move to Brisbane but reluctant, as my cat and I would have trouble finding accommodation that will suit both of us (I don't want to mow lawns, I do want him to have a safe outside area) and my lease doesn't run out until February next year.

I have a psychiatrist who has increased my anti-anxiety medication (not yet working) and a psychologist to counsel me (first session yet to occur). I live alone (except for the cat). I have some savings left over from the sale of the marital home, but do not want to chew through this completely because I'm not working (also behind on billing).

Suggestions as to career options, and fixing my current situation much appreciated.

If you feel that the tough love is the most appropriate, please temper it, as I am extremely fragile, and I doubt that you could despise me more than I do myself. I have all the advantages of a developed country, the freedom of working when and how I want, in a variety of well paid interesting jobs, and I am very well aware that I am throwing it all away.

From dork to designer

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 14:20:06 -0800

I've landed a temporary graphic design job. When it ends, I'd like to be an attractive candidate for other graphic design jobs. What should I focus on learning? (Anonymous and slightly vague-ified in case my coworkers read AskMe.)

I've read this question; my situation is somewhat similar, but my question is different.

This is my first real graphic design job. I had an internship years and years ago, but no other professional experience; I didn't feel confident enough to do freelance work, and had no portfolio. My future boss and coworkers have seen samples of my work and I will be able to hit the ground running in this role. I'm a little nervous, but beyond thrilled to have this opportunity. This could be a major turning point in my career, so I want to take advantage of it.

There is a slight chance that this could result in a permanent position, but for now it's a temporary assignment – twelve weeks, maybe more. So I've got good reason to learn everything that I possibly can.

But what?

How can I best use this limited time to transform into a "real" designer? What skills will help me the most in finding future employment? What should I focus on? Any blogs, books, tutorials, or other resources that will help me? I'm looking for any and all advice, no matter how basic or specific (in fact, basic and specific are great).

Thanks!

Toronto Art Director seeks job in NYC: What are the costs?

mistertoronto — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:28:23 -0800

How hard will it be for me to find work in New York City in an Art Direction role with a boutique design firm or major news-media organization? (Looking for a fresh 2012 / Canadian to NYC / Design approach, if possible) I'm currently working for a major media organization in Toronto, where I am the lead designer / assistant Art Director with a few national and international awards under my belt, and a few major projects, too.

I'd like to move to New York City to explore opportunities

- Want to know how long I can last with 30k in cash?
- What sort of salaries can I expect in the city?
- Will it be easier for me to be in the city to solicit Creative Directors?
- Are companies bent on hiring American? anyone more international?
- Anyone got the best link for visa apps / paperwork?

Me: 28 years old. Male. Cycle and transit more than cab. Likes to eat out, but capable to scaling back and cooking. Fine with living in a borough. Prefer to have my own place. No roommates. No need for parking.

How do I commission a logo?

Doofus Magoo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:12:23 -0800

How do I hire a graphics person to make a small logo? I coach a merry little band of chuckleheads who are going to be banding together to play some soccer tournaments this year, and we need a small logo created for our uniforms. I created the logo we used last year from an SVG I found online, but I would like something a little more professional this year. How would I go about hiring someone to do this, and what could I expect to pay?

Is there anything in the graphic design/logo/whatever world equivalent to rentacoder.com, where I could post the job and have people bid on the job, perhaps by providing samples, and I select the one I like best and hire them? Would Jobs or craigslist be viable options? If I were to go either of those routes, would posting it as "send me a sample of what you propose in low-res format" be a reasonable request?

When I commission the artwork, what format(s) should I request the finished product in so that we can get the most of it down the road? SVG?

Normally in a job like this this, do I (the client) get full rights to the final product, so that if we wanted to use it again down the line for something else, or tweak it, or whatever, we would be free to do so?

What can I design?

Kirn — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 08:24:21 -0800

I enjoy design, but what different, disparate roles would give me the satisfaction of being a designer? That's 'design' in the most abstract sense - I'm looking for wide-ranging, wild ideas. My definition of 'design' might differ from yours, but I feel like designing things is what gives me the most pleasure, and I'm trying to find new areas that I could experiment with.

Some obvious fields of design: Product design. Graphic design. Web design, video game design, user experience design. Fashion design.

Less obvious: Plot twists in a story are 'designed' by the writer - they have to drive the story forward and make logical sense, but also make an impact on the viewer, to surprise them without annoying them, to impress with the elegance of their disguise. I would say that a plot twist has to be 'aesthetically pleasing' as well as functional, and this sounds like design to me.

But what else? Designing political strategies? Designing puzzles? Designing cakes?

Your wildest and wackiest suggestions warmly welcomed!

"Computer programmer seeks new challenges"

Kirn — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:16:43 -0800

I have a good computer science degree and about 4 years' experience as a programmer. What other jobs can I do? I worked on university projects relating to education and video games, mostly user interfaces. I'm sick of programming - specifically, the endless learning of new languages - but I do like universities and novel computing/technology/science in the real world.

I really enjoy design, in the most abstract sense - e.g. I would call an elegantly disguised but logical and effective plot twist as good 'design'. I feel like this could apply to lots of things, but I'm not sure what they are.

I also like comedy (I do stand-up and am very interested in this world), video games, science, rational/evidence-based thinking, left-wing ideals (equal rights, welfare state etc.), travel, flexible work, and being self-directed and independent.

Other skills: I'm a good writer and I'm organised. I'm not great at maths, multitasking or talking to people for long periods. I have no sense of direction and my common sense sometimes fails me.

What jobs/careers besides programmer might I enjoy and qualify for? All suggestions wacky or otherwise gratefully received!

Where's the best place for UX people to work in NYC?

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 06:37:58 -0800

Where's the best place for UX/UI/IA/ID people to work in New York City? I'm an interaction designer/user experience person at an agency in NYC looking for something new. Khoi Vinh's essay, The End of Client Services, has me thinking that it's time to step away from agency life. I'm sick of:
- insane schedules and scopes of work that exist in a fairytale wonderland
- high staff turnover, coupled with rounds of massive layoffs earlier this year, where I lost 3 fellow UX designers on a 5 person team (60%). My manager is typically traveling between multiple offices and it's getting a little lonely.
- client-side legal stakeholders who don't understand the web (and don't care that they don't understand the web, plus the agency representatives are not "allowed" to talk during their reviews of work)
- the "launch the site and forget it" mentality -- meaning there is little to no chance of testing and iterating on designs due to budget constraints
- being permanently short-staffed, on purpose, to be considered "more efficient" when the workload is light
- being asked to do random tasks because we are short-staffed, like help QA the site and log issues, write business rules, write copy and proofread, help someone find a PSD buried on the server, etc. (we have people that DO these tasks)
- being given crappy tools like Lotus Notes, an old version of Jira, a old PC laptop that can't handle more than one browser being open at the same time, Visio
- very little work/life balance, such that leaving at 5pm feels like sneaking out of the office

Special snowflake details:
- I'm good at making user flows, site maps, user personas, wireframes, functionality specifications, test scripts. I've written user research discussion guides and moderated user research in the past but not in the past 2 years.
- My Photoshop skills are rather rusty, so positions calling for that don't seem to be a good fit & I wouldn't have a portfolio of recent work to show.
- Same goes for my coding skills, and I think a position where I'm programming all of the time would not be a good fit either.
- I have 7 years of UX experience, and 5 year at a my current digital marketing agency. I'm seeing a lot of job postings out there that seem too junior or too senior for me.
- I make in the low six figures a year and would like something comparable.
- On paper, working 50-60 hours doesn't look too bad, but "can you please wireframe as fast as you possibly can" takes a toll after a few years. I'd like my life back, please.

So where's the best place for UX/UI/IA/ID people to work in New York City where projects are managed properly and there is work/life balance?

Google? Startups? Finance? Go in-house somewhere? Go freelance?

Looking for career website benchmark reports

lord_yo — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:34:36 -0800

Where can I find benchmark reports and general best practices about company career websites? I'm looking for benchmarking reports / comparative reviews / recommendations on how to design a good career website for a company - what are companies normally doing, what's cutting edge, what works, what doesn't. There must be some reports or guides out there, but I can't seem to find them!

A professional look, without a lot of professional stuff

blazingunicorn — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:59:27 -0800

Website filter: how to design one for a writer or other professional who doesn't have a lot to show off? I've been working as a freelance writer for a few years, but want to take my career to the next level: a book deal, feature stories only. My clips, thus far, are nothing to brag about--I have a lot of book reviews, music articles, and shorter pieces. (I do have longer pieces I'm proud of, but they haven't been published.)

I've been studying a subject and working on a book proposal for a while, and potentially have a lot of related expertise to share. I'm considering using the website to seek examples, potential interviewees, and bolster my platform in this subject. So yes, I suppose I'll have to start a blog... but one that looks halfway professional, and overcomes my relative inexperience.

How can I show off my stuff? Any examples of non-cheesy website designs I could use? (Bonus points for being free or a Wordpress plug-in.)

Help my friend find a job in a fashion/clothing company in London

noztran — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:44:03 -0800

Help my friend find a job in a fashion/clothing company in London My friend (female) is looking for a job in London in fashion/clothing industry---not as a shop assistant, but rather as a content creator, set designer, etc. Any obvious companies out there in London? Also, what would be considered as standard requirements for such positions?

In case of magazines, what do ones like Vogue UK look for in a prospective employee?

Finally, how to best present oneself, if all she's got is genuine passion (for years she's been collecting fashion magazines, composing her own sets out of things cut out from them, she remembers designers' collections from the past) and 1st hon. Masters in totally unrelated Archaeology?

Any thoughts appreciated!

Been there, did that, got the degree, now what?

b33j — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:54:09 -0800

I've nearly finished my degree. Help me work out my future. I am nearly finished my Bachelor of Multimedia Studies. By 30 October I will have graduated with a GPA between 6.5 and 6.95 out of 7 (say, between 3.71 and 3.97 on a 4 point scale) and more likely the upper end of that range than the lower. Unfortunately, despite the name of the degree, I cannot code a decent webpage, nor work within a 3D package or do more than the simplest of animations in Flash. I’m very good with Illustrator and general graphic design, layout and formatting, mediocre with Photoshop, out of practice with Indesign. I have a DSLR, but my understanding of composition far exceeds my technical ability.

I’ve been freelancing (part-time) during much of the last 3 years, working for academics (in a different field) doing things like: creating databases (and doing the data entry for it - blargh), formatting and editing a new international journal, contacting the authors and reviewers; designing documents for print; creating presentations for international conferences; producing diagrams – that sort of thing.

I enjoy the flexibility and variety of freelancing. I haven’t had any issues with payment disputes, or difficult attitudes with this client base. This is clearly awesome and incredibly unusual. So one of my career plans is to keep doing what I’m doing, only to find more people to do it for. So here are the questions about keeping on doing it:
Q1. How do I increase my client base without outlaying a lot of money?
Q2. What percentage increase in hourly rate can I charge, given that I now have a degree that says I can do what I was already doing without pricing myself out of the market?

On the other hand, what about a real job? I’ve kept track of advertised vacancies for graphic designers (etc) within a 300 kilometre radius. Last week I saw a job advertised, “experienced web designer and coder, graphic designer and data entry operator, $20 per hour”. (I charge nearly twice that now!) Many of the advertised jobs I would qualify for offer a wage less than what I was earning as an administrative assistant. So if I didn’t keep doing what I’m currently doing…
Q3. How can I take advantage of my GPA to land a good paying job, and/or a job with prospects of a good rate of pay?
Q4. If I don’t go to work for someone else now, will the advantage of achieving good results fade, and if so, how quickly?

Australian, female, 42, located near Brisbane (state capital). Any other job / career tips gratefully received.

What should I do when I grow up?

LolaGeek — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:31:56 -0800

The future of my current job is uncertain (familiar story, I'm sure). What should I do to plan for the future? My background is in art, and ... pharmaceutical training and compliance. I'm a pretty much self-taught graphic designer and web designer. I graduated from college five years ago with a BA in Commercial Art. The program was woefully behind the times, so I actually learned very little about the software side of things, and our training in web design was nonexistent. (I ended up teaching HTML to half my class during that lesson.) While I can write up a nice HTML web page in notepad, and I'd consider myself an above average-level user of most standard design software (e.g. the Adobe Creative Suite), I feel like I'd be totally lost if I walked into a job tomorrow as a "graphic designer." My local community college has a Web Development certificate program that starts with the basics and works up to different server technologies. As a county resident, it would run me ~$4000 to complete, and can supposedly be done in a year, full-time.

On the other hand, for the past five years I've been in the pharmaceutical industry, working in compliance and training. So I'm now very familiar with compliance issues working in a highly regulated industry, and have lots of experience with training development and administration. Part of my job is that I'm the webmaster of a large, unruly intranet site, but that doesn't require too much specialized skill. Another large part of my job is being a glorified administrative assistant, and I do some customer service-type work, communicating with clients about training issues, and troubleshooting their technical problems (so I'm also a technology help desk, sort of).

There's really no specific career I'm interested in switching to (e.g. education, nursing, etc.), though I could if I needed to, if there was someplace my skills would be a good fit. I feel like my general skills (organized, good communication, highly technologically competent, etc.) would be desirable in a lot of areas, but in the current climate I'd want to make myself as marketable as possible. So should I focus on graphic design and/or web development, should I try to stay in the pharma industry, or should I totally change gears? And if so, what should I learn now to help me in a future career?

"Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you what you are."

pickingoutathermos — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:12:26 -0800

I'm currently looking for a job in the Vancouver or Victoria BC areas, and I'd like some suggestions on companies that do the kinds of things I'm looking for. I'm a Mechanical Engineering Technologist trained at BCIT, with all my post-grad work experience in manufacturing. I'm looking to move my career into a design focused job that has elements of Mechanical and Industrial design. Job classifieds have been pretty meagre, and I'd like to take a proactive approach instead of waiting for something great to come along.
I would love to work for a company that designs / makes / does :
- bicycles, automobiles, boats, aircraft, personal transportation
- heavy equipment like excavators, bulldozers, backhoes
- product design on a contractual basis
- toys, recreational equipment
- musical instruments (guitars, drums)
- medical equipment and/or instruments
- furniture

Any suggestions for companies that have design departments, and do any of the above ?

Help me find a job in NY!!!!

ss448 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:02:35 -0800

Just moved to new york and I need help finding a job in the Graphic Design world. Help me get my foot into the door. So I moved to New York to live in a city where I’m surrounded by my passions. It’s been 4 weeks, I still don’t have a job, a permanent place to live and I haven’t enjoyed any of the things I love so much about this city.

I know the market is bad, but help me find a job. Where do I look?!? I am a graphic designer, I need an entry-level position so I can get my feet wet. I’ve been so desperate that I have been looking at Administrative positions just to get by. I haven’t found any of those either.

What resources can I use to help me find a job in the city. I have used and abused craigslist, monster and creative circle but I haven’t really gotten a bite. I have tried temp agencies, maybe you can suggest the right one? What can I do about getting a job in my field? Is their any job fairs in the city I can attend? What are some good design firms I can send my resume to? Even if they are not hiring, I can just put my name out there maybe?

I’d appreciate all sorts of advice. From helping me find graphic design work to even helping me find something more administrative. I want to start enjoying the city I love so much, but without a job it’s hard to concentrate on anything else.

Thanks in advance

How can I help my girlfriend find work?

malthas — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:38:31 -0800

My girlfriend and I just moved to Austin, Texas and she's looking for a job in graphic design. She needs advice, and I want to know how I can best help and support her in her job search. Long story short: I just started my MS at the University of Texas at Austin. Both my girlfriend and I are new grads; me in engineering and her in graphic/3D design. She moved to Austin with me, and though we've only physically been here a couple of weeks she's been trying for more than a month to get a job down here. She's looking for a full-time or temp-to-hire position (rather than contract or freelance) and has done a couple of internships so she has actual work experience.

She started using our Austin address on her resume a couple of weeks before we moved and that seemed to help a little bit, but still no interviews. She's been primarily checking Craigslist and the local AIGA Job Board for openings, but there have also been a few other websites she's tried (Work in Texas, UT Job Board, etc). She's also applied with a couple of temp agencies, but they haven't gotten back to her yet.

Her resume and portfolio have been forwarded around by a couple contacts she has. These contacts have given her positive feedback on her portfolio, saying it's good and well rounded for a recent grad, but she hasn't heard anything back from anyone her materials were sent to.

Because she's been at this for a while and feels like she's exhausted her available connections, my girlfriend is starting to lose hope. She wants to know what else she can do to help her get a job, and I don't have an answer for her. Is it always this hard for graphic designers to find a job? What else can she do? How can I help, other than providing moral support?

Why haven't I been hired?

Richard Daly — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:14:50 -0800

I have been applying for entry-level graphic design jobs from Philadelphia craigslist for two months and haven't received even the slightest nibble of interest. What am I doing wrong? First off, my work is online at my site

My ego would like to pretend that it's just a hard market, and that all entry level work is difficult to catch, but if I face facts, I suspect it's my portfolio or resume.

Three months ago, I graduated from a small New England school where I was a big fish in a very small pond. My professors loved my work, but the final portfolio class was a boondoggle and now I question their evaluations. I'm afraid I need a bitter dose of hard truth, and I know of no better place to get it than metafilter.

What needs work, what has to go, what should I build from scratch, and what errors have I made that are keeping me from landing an interview?

Renaissance Communications Man Seeks Advice.

producerpod — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:24:44 -0800

Am I a marketer? Am I a flack? Am I lost? Yep. I'm currently the marcomm director at a non-profit agency - the only person in my department. I am a true renaissance man, handling marketing, PR, internal communications, the website (I've hand-coded an entire site), all our graphic design and some video production.

I do it all, and that's kind of the problem. I'm looking to leave for the for-profit world, and I don't know which way to go. Marketing seems to be the best solid profession to get into (I am a family man as well, so pay is a big consideration) but I'm not sure I know what a for-profit marketer would do. Most marketing positions I see seem to be industry-specific as well. The more job descriptions I read, and the more resumes I read of people who are in marketing, the more I realize I may not have any idea how to do that at all - and it's rather depressing.

In my former life, I was a TV news producer in a top ten market, which gives me a lot of solid, basic skills that translate into any industry: team leading, writing, ability to grasp complex topics quickly and translate them into common language, working under HIGH PRESSURE under daily deadlines. When I do the PR part of my current job, it's this background I use, and I have a very easy time dealing with the media. I have no problem speaking on camera, or to large groups of people. I see people making PR mistakes ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I think I should go into for-profit PR based on my journalism background, but I dread working for an agency, calling reporters and producers with forced story ideas from a lame client.

My true passions, though, are graphic design and web design. I love CSS, Flash, XHTML, all things Adobe. I'm told I have a talent for it, but referencing a previous point (I'm a family man, entering my mid-thirties) I'm not sure I can create a new career from it.

Bottom line: How do I leave the non-profit world, and which path do I pursue?

Where can I find an internship?

mwang1028 — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:44:12 -0800

I'm a third year Visual Communications major looking for graphic design internships in the S.F./Sac/or inbetween area. Where can I find more places to apply? I've checked craigslist, mefi jobs, and the usual job search places. I'm looking for jobs that may be easier to miss, under the radar, or less advertised.

Examples of architecture, office/laboratory design and amenities for alpha geeks

caek — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:18:32 -0800

I'm looking for interesting or noteworthy examples of architecture, office/laboratory design and amenities for alpha geeks, i.e. programmers and scientists — or writing about these things. I'm thinking about a range of things here, from the large 20th century corporate labs (like the Union Carbide HQ and other labs written about in this NYT article) to dot com approaches to programmers' working spaces (e.g. Fog Creek, Fresh View) to striking and wealthy academic institutes (e.g. The Perimeter Institute and Salk Institute). I'm also looking for examples of unusual amenities offered to employees/academics/students: free transport, food and drink, games, etc. Basically all the things architects and managers do to make the working environment for their "creatives" a more pleasant place to be, to maximize the amount of time they spend there. This is for a film project, so the more visually interesting the better — it doesn't necessarily matter if the buidling, feature or amenity failed (which is clearly true of the large rural labs).

Articles, photography, book references are all welcome — whatever you got! If it's a building/article/cool-thing-employees-at-Google-get-for-free not cited above then please assume I don't know about it.

Pigeon holed into oblivion

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:40:21 -0800

How do you apply for (design) positions if all the work you've done is proprietary information? I am starting to feel trapped at my job as an interaction designer for a large, international, technology company. They have been my main employer basically since I've graduated from college. I like it here, but I'm youngish and I don't like feeling like I'm stuck here forever. As I explore career opportunities, many places ask for portfolios to display experience and skill. However, all my work is proprietary in nature and anything that has become public (very little) is now old and irrelevant.

How can I approach companies that have this policy?

I know there's the possibility of creating a personal portfolio, but seeing as how I'm not a graphic designer, or even a web designer, I'm kind of stumped how to show what I do without showing what I do, especially in a real world application kind of way.

Throwaway account at portfolio.askme@gmail.com

Managing a design team 101?

theNonsuch — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 21:05:00 -0800

Managing a design team 101. Can you recommend any books, web sites, articles, etc. on the most effective, *humane* way to manage a design team? I'm looking at the Mythical Man Month, Scrum, and other developer-centric books that I'm sure will be helpful (process is process, after all) but I'm wondering if there are references out there that can help with the more creative / design side. How do you keep people motivated, inspired, and happy? What's the best way to delegate creative (web, mostly) work? How do you deal with ego, personality clashes, and the inevitable creative disagreements?

Finding a design job

O9scar — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:46:39 -0800

Trying to find a design job, but generally clueless as to how to proceed. Yes, even after reading this question. For the record, I am also in Seattle. I have also signed up with the Creative Group and every staffing agency. It hasn't gotten me much work. I am a little older than the typical design graduate and have some work experience, but not a lot of "real" stuff in my portfolio.

So it sounds like I need to cold call people, which fills me with dread. How do I make it more bearable? Should I have a script, or at least talking points? Should I ask for the creative director/etc or just talk to whoever answers? Do I say I'm looking for work, I'm a freelancer, or that I'd just like to get feedback on my work (a la informational interview)?

How do I send my stuff in - a book/booklet, my website link (I know, needs work), or a pdf? Is that entirely up to each company?

Am I better of aiming for interactive design, even though my schooling was mainly for print design? It seems like better money/opportunities, but what do I know?

If I respond to a job ad, how long after contacting do I follow up?

If I need more portfolio pieces, should I rework my school stuff? I wouldn't mind doing some pro bono work for the right people, but I don't know how to find them.

Right now I need something that pays the bills more than the all-perfect dream job.

resume

willie11 — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 07:41:39 -0800

Help me put together a sleek resume without using Microsoft Word. I've gone the photoshop route before with fancy graphics and headers and it certainly helped my resume stand out. But in the end I think it just looked silly.

Now I'm trying to get that same level of differentiation, but without the flashiness. Does anyone have an ideas, resources, or templates for a great looking, stylish, but professional resume?

I'm not a programmer or a graphic designer. So anything in XML or Flash is probably out of the question. And I'd still like to get away from the drab Microsoft Word look that everyone else has if at all possible.

Maybe one of the Adobe Suite products? My only requirement is the ability to export the resume as a pdf file.

Where in South Carolina can I learn how to be a good Graphic Designer?

JDHarper — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:13:27 -0800

Are there any good graphics design schools in South Carolina? Recently, I graduated from college with a degree in business. This, I have come to realize, may have been a mistake. I've discovered that the parts of my job that I really enjoy are the occasions where I work with Photoshop and other graphics design tools.

So I searched on Metafilter and through it discovered the Graphic Design Certificate Program from the Massachusetts College of Art. This looks like a near-perfect program for me--it's designed for people who have graduated from college with degrees other than Graphic Design. In particular, the portfolio classes, where you work on a portfolio that's reviewed by actual graphic design professionals at the midpoint and at the end of the program, look helpful.

Basically, the program assumes that you have a basic understanding of the tools involved--Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator--and teaches you how to be a designer rather than how to use the tools.

The main problem that I have is that I am not a resident of Massachusetts. Students from out of state are forced to pay an additional $4,000/semester (!!) in addition to the normal room/board/tuition for in-state students. Frankly, I can't afford that.

All of that to say: Is there a similar program offered by a reputable school in the state of South Carolina? Is there a better way to learn how to be a designer than through a university program?

How do I become a "think-tanker"?

ThFullEffect — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:35:30 -0800

What is the official name for a think tank type career? How do I get into the field, and where might I look for company that employs tank-thinkers? I've been told a million times that the best way to enjoy your career is to find something that makes you happy and do it. What I enjoy most is coming up with new ideas relating to technology, the web, and useful products in general. The problem is I lack the connections and knowledge needed to create said products.

My Question: Where can I be employed to do this kind of work, and what is the official title of someone who does it?