Where have all the designers gone?

Sat, Dec 30, 2006

SEO

I’ve been sorting through creative director/interface designer resumes from job sites these past few weeks.

Here are two lessons for those hunting the same prey:

Affordable, creative geniuses are extinct - I have no problem paying top dollar for top talent. If the talent’s there, they deserve top $$$ simple as that. Problem is, finding these design gurus is harder than ranking for marc on Google. I’ve tried hanging out at PW and other designer lounges and couldn’t get anyone’s attention. If you do have one, take care of them coz you got hunters like me on the prowl for top talent.
Majority of designers don’t know how to put their best foot forward - if you’re applying for a design position, the minimum requirement is to have your URLs on the resume, the more the merrier. Better yet have an online, browsable portfolio of your past design projects (web, print, multimedia, etc.) and make sure you highlight your killer designs first, keep your earlier designs at the bottom…is that too much to ask?

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9 Comments For This Post

Eivissu Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 8:59 AM

I think the reason why it’s hard to find talented designers these days is because these guys do get paid well that it’s hard for them to leave a particular company (just like you mentioned). However, I also believe that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

A lot of designers these days are sort of gravitating towards learning SEO/SEM (I know a lot of my designer friends are). Combining good design talent and SEO/SEM skills is way more lucrative than just good design talent alone.

Because designers are now getting into the e-marketing arena, I suspect a lot of these guys are going into the business on their own as well.

These are all just assumptions of course. Take them with a grain of salt. :)

There could be other reasons. Is your job opportunity interesting enough to lure a few good ones?

Alfredo Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 10:00 AM

1. Affordable, creative geniuses are extinct - I have no problem paying top dollar for top talent. If the talent’s there, they deserve top $$$ simple as that. Problem is, finding these design gurus is harder than ranking for marc on Google. I’ve tried hanging out at PW and other designer lounges and couldn’t get anyone’s attention. If you do have one, take care of them coz you got hunters like me on the prowl for top talent.

- Many designers in PW prefer foreign clients because they pay higher than local.

2. Majority of designers don’t know how to put their best foot forward - if you’re applying for a design position, the minimum requirement is to have your URLs on the resume, the more the merrier. Better yet have an online, browsable portfolio of your past design projects (web, print, multimedia, etc.) and make sure you highlight your killer designs first, keep your earlier designs at the bottom…is that too much to ask?

- True, got the same experience when I was assigned to interview web designers. Many of the resumes are no longer updated and many site links are gone. The best way to filter these people is conduct a design test for 30 minutes then choose the best among the batch.

Dennis Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 9:23 PM

Most designers might be busy on their Ituloy Angsulong entry.

Better post after the contest.

ggadwords Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 11:38 PM

i have a lot of google adwords account. it is 50GBP. have $100 overture account. if you buy them, plz contact me. they are very cheap. don’t lost chance.

eli Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:21 AM

Most of the best designer I know is in the U.S., some are doing a freelancing job. They earn more than working with a company here in the Philippines.

jozzua Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 AM

The talented web designers and developers are all freelancing. Go figure.

Jace Anonuevo Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:41 PM

Try Robin. :) Kakasal na daw sa May. Kailangan extra money nun sa kasal. :)

Miguel Says:
January 4th, 2007 at 1:13 AM

But if they are freelancing, then Marc can hire them, right? Unless they want to stay freelancers. Perhaps some have gone corporate.

asartalo Says:
February 7th, 2007 at 10:39 PM

Interestingly, most of the designers at jobstreet list these as their skills:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Dreamweaver
… other Adobe Products
MS Office(!)

Hardly could you see true skill sets like can they do CSS, hand-code HTML, some programming perhaps, rapid prototypes? When was it that the number of tools you use equate to your competence?

Eivissu Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 8:59 AM
I think the reason why it’s hard to find talented designers these days is because these guys do get paid well that it’s hard for them to leave a particular company (just like you mentioned). However, I also believe that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

A lot of designers these days are sort of gravitating towards learning SEO/SEM (I know a lot of my designer friends are). Combining good design talent and SEO/SEM skills is way more lucrative than just good design talent alone.

Because designers are now getting into the e-marketing arena, I suspect a lot of these guys are going into the business on their own as well.

These are all just assumptions of course. Take them with a grain of salt. :)

There could be other reasons. Is your job opportunity interesting enough to lure a few good ones?
Alfredo Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 10:00 AM
1. Affordable, creative geniuses are extinct - I have no problem paying top dollar for top talent. If the talent’s there, they deserve top $$$ simple as that. Problem is, finding these design gurus is harder than ranking for marc on Google. I’ve tried hanging out at PW and other designer lounges and couldn’t get anyone’s attention. If you do have one, take care of them coz you got hunters like me on the prowl for top talent.

- Many designers in PW prefer foreign clients because they pay higher than local.

2. Majority of designers don’t know how to put their best foot forward - if you’re applying for a design position, the minimum requirement is to have your URLs on the resume, the more the merrier. Better yet have an online, browsable portfolio of your past design projects (web, print, multimedia, etc.) and make sure you highlight your killer designs first, keep your earlier designs at the bottom…is that too much to ask?

- True, got the same experience when I was assigned to interview web designers. Many of the resumes are no longer updated and many site links are gone. The best way to filter these people is conduct a design test for 30 minutes then choose the best among the batch.
Dennis Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 9:23 PM
Most designers might be busy on their Ituloy Angsulong entry.

Better post after the contest.
ggadwords Says:
December 31st, 2006 at 11:38 PM
i have a lot of google adwords account. it is 50GBP. have $100 overture account. if you buy them, plz contact me. they are very cheap. don’t lost chance.
eli Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 12:21 AM
Most of the best designer I know is in the U.S., some are doing a freelancing job. They earn more than working with a company here in the Philippines.
jozzua Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 AM
The talented web designers and developers are all freelancing. Go figure.
Jace Anonuevo Says:
January 3rd, 2007 at 1:41 PM
Try Robin. :) Kakasal na daw sa May. Kailangan extra money nun sa kasal. :)
Miguel Says:
January 4th, 2007 at 1:13 AM
But if they are freelancing, then Marc can hire them, right? Unless they want to stay freelancers. Perhaps some have gone corporate.
asartalo Says:
February 7th, 2007 at 10:39 PM
Interestingly, most of the designers at jobstreet list these as their skills:

Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Dreamweaver
… other Adobe Products
MS Office(!)

Hardly could you see true skill sets like can they do CSS, hand-code HTML, some programming perhaps, rapid prototypes? When was it that the number of tools you use equate to your competence?

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