Videos: Graphic Design & Advertising Ain't Easy

Honest. We love what we do. Otherwise we wouldn’t have built our lives and careers around marketing, branding, design and advertising in both print and digital spaces. There, we took care of the SEO part of this post.

But any career is not without its frustrations, and given what people like us do is communicate, there are some pretty funny and/or scathing videos out there commenting on working in this business.

Here are three that get referenced all the time either to make us laugh, or when we need to cry in our beer. And then we get right back at it, doing the best for our clients.

Spec Work

This one is clear and to the point. Some clients want you to give them free stuff up front to see if it’s what they want. You don’t do that to other industries, so why does it happen in the world of design? Thankfully, presentations like this one have helped educate potential clients to the pushback from agencies working with tighter margins than ever.

The Process (Designing the Stop Sign)

When logic and analysis totally miss the point of communication. We run into this most often when a client thinks tech specs are the same thing as a clear and simple message for an audience. Or the client is always moving the goal posts and doesn’t understand what good process can be. Education and patience are the only cures.

Truth in Advertising

If you’ve ever worked with multiple stakeholders and more than one ego wishing to whip out the power stick and beat you with it, this video will likely cause your PTSD to flare back up. You’ve been warned.

Beyond the deeply sarcastic tone here, it reminds you to cherish the good clients. The ones whose intentions are good. They respect and trust what you do, and only want the same in return. The politics and darker bits of human nature don’t need to derail people trying to accomplish their goals.