I was reading the October 2007 issue of HOW magazine, when I ran across an article about an advertising agency that has revamped its own image. They decided to change their logo, create a new slogan and move their 75 employees to a new office. The new office has more of a retro feel to it. The office halls have artifacts from different eras and every office or open work area has "HANG IN THERE" on the walls.
This article made me think about when I graduated from undergrad and knew the world was at my feet. I saw myself working for an agency or company that would have this type of work environment. BOY OH BOY was I in for a rude awaking. My first job was doing paste up for a local newspaper. (I know most of you don't remember a time when Photoshop was a stat-camera.) The production room smelled like wax and developing solution from the stat-camera room. You were lucky if you were able to end the workday without shedding any blood from your X-acto knife.
Today my ideal work environment would be anyplace that has good people. One thing I have learned through the years is that designers need other good people around them. It is cool to work for a place that has a great color palette in the office and great artwork, but it is always better to have someone with whom you can bounce ideas off. It could be a tough environment to be creative without this support.
Today’s designers work in all types of work environments. We work in law offices, business offices, agencies, newsrooms, from home, etc. What is your ideal work environment?
1 comment:
I had the off chance to work for a dotcom right out of school, needless to say that didn't last long and the 6 hour days with office chair basketball, sushi once a week, shorts and t-shirts, etc. went away for good. Oh, not to mention it took me 4 years to get back to that same salary, rough times. Now I must agree, an environment that is conducive to creativity and respectful and a fulfilling setting is really all you can ask for today, also a decent salary is nice too. Still to this day I miss that first experience, the good old days.
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