What if confusion was cleared up?
Misunderstandings? We all have had them. Whether they be about everyday life things like what the holes in a Chick-Fil-A nuggets box are for or how a person carries themselves. How about when it comes to a profession? Your cousin’s or even your own? Meaning people sometimes confuse your profession for something else. Do you find yourself having to clarify or correct people sometimes your own family about what it exactly is that you do? I can relate to these things. Of course, I don’t take it personally. However, I feel that is important it is that I actually offer thru my services, that way future and potential clients understand exactly what I DON’T do. (I’ll do another blog on everything that I DO do, and no it isn’t do-do; pun intended)
First, I DO NOT just swipe logos already made and registered and use them for clients’ own logo designs. Not only is that highly illegal (little thing called copyright infringement) that can get me and my client sued, that’s horrifically undermining of the very essence of my profession, creativity. C’mon! Do you really think I just do it for money? Wrong. I picked my profession and my business because there is never a dull moment. My mind is constantly stimulated and my projects always vary so I can never say “Same ole s—-. Different day” (not that I would anyway). Creativity is what helps me love what I do all the more. Money is obviously a very important factor, as I always say that you don’t go into business to NOT make money. But it’s not the only important factor. So no, I don’t reuse old designs and call them original for clients.
Second, just because my portfolio shows I’m very capable, DOES NOT always mean that it’s easy to do what I do. Every once in a while you get that client that actually thinks that their photoshop editing request of cutting out multiple faces and removing scenery is oh so simple or building a simple website for cheap is easy. If it’s that easy and you can “do it yourself”, why are you bothering me then? Aside from that occasionally condescending vibe I’ve gotten from people in the past, there are some people who legitimately don’t understand the challenges that a designer like me will face, just as I don’t understand the difficulty of an engineer or a transplant surgeon. Creativity involves attention to detail, and within details are complexities that involve the very programs and tools I work with.
Third, just because I do my work on a computer DOES NOT mean I’m a computer tech support person. I’m kind of surprised how often this one comes up. And I’m honestly not really sure where it comes from. Pretty much anyone who works in an office works on a computer. It’s the same kind of method as me. I simply just know how to use the programs I need to do my job. I don’t build or design computers or programs. Don’t ask me to fix your motherboard that froze up, because chances are I’ll just make it worse and ruin your whole computer. When I have problems with my computer or the programs on it, I either look up how to fix it or I call the necessary support.
Fourth, my profession DOES NOT include IT (information technology). This is probably the most common misunderstanding of what I do thus far. I do somewhat see where this misconception comes from. IT by definition according to bestcollegereviews.org/faq/what-is-information-technology/ is “The field of information technology, or IT, covers the support, administration, and design of telecommunications and computer systems. Being that web design is related to the internet and part of IT crosses over into it when it comes to cloud server support, it is somewhat easy to see how web design can get confused with it. But IT is NOT web design, and web design is NOT IT. Web design is purely the internet and has nothing to do with the computer itself. The same goes for graphic design.
All in all, it’s normal for there to be misconceptions about what exactly I do. I hope this explains all explain better what I don’t offer in terms of my services. Stay tuned for more blog entries and direction, including the launching of a couple of new surprise features that will help me connect better with you, the reader. And last but not least, I will be going on a vacation in 12 days to a tropical paradise dream called Tahiti. I still cannot believe I’m actually doing this trip and I can be assured it will be relaxing, adventurous and change the way I see the world as a whole. Pictures and videos from the island will possibly be featured in my next blog post. You’re not going to want to miss that!
Much Love,
Joe Gardonis