Graphic Design Jobs Nobody Talks About
Feb. 4th, 2016 08:42 amI wandered through a casino this weekend, and while I didn't play anything, I was systematically overwhelmed by the sheer volume of art, both 2D and 3D, produced by young men and women whose entire income is based off separating pensioners from their savings accounts.
There's a staggering amount of original art, intellectual property, and 3D rendering that goes into the modern video casino. The Game of Thrones machine looks like a driving video game, with comfortably reclined bucket seats and a multi-screen wrap-around view that obstructs you from seeing anything other than that you're playing poker with Daenerys Targaryen. Both actual scenes from the series and 3D maps of various settings flicker at the periphery of your vision, an effect which, like the low-level tobacco smell and the constant sounds and music, work hard to grab your attention and sap your reasoning skills. To the left, three slot machines with pictures from the original Wonder Woman TV series with Lynda Carter play on while the credits roll overhead. Down one entire aisle there's a collection of video poker machines where comic book and fantasy-tinged half-naked women cavort to convince you to put more of your money in.
Nobody ever talks about the graphic design jobs that aren't admired in art schools. All of my friends who went to art school wanted to do their own comic books, be a lead on a Pixar film, or get a cover illo on a magazine. People who want to win an Oscar, a Webby, or even a Clio.
Nobody talks about the poor schlubs who end up designing new hazard warning signs for municipalities, slaving away in some county back office. Nobody talks about the graphic designers who end up working for Monsanto, illustrating the guides on how to use their seeds in a way that even the illiterate understand. And nobody talks about the men and women who pull down insane amounts of money because they've been asked to create art for the explicitly immoral gain of depriving the weak-willed of whatever money they've managed to carry into their retirement years.
There's a staggering amount of original art, intellectual property, and 3D rendering that goes into the modern video casino. The Game of Thrones machine looks like a driving video game, with comfortably reclined bucket seats and a multi-screen wrap-around view that obstructs you from seeing anything other than that you're playing poker with Daenerys Targaryen. Both actual scenes from the series and 3D maps of various settings flicker at the periphery of your vision, an effect which, like the low-level tobacco smell and the constant sounds and music, work hard to grab your attention and sap your reasoning skills. To the left, three slot machines with pictures from the original Wonder Woman TV series with Lynda Carter play on while the credits roll overhead. Down one entire aisle there's a collection of video poker machines where comic book and fantasy-tinged half-naked women cavort to convince you to put more of your money in.
Nobody ever talks about the graphic design jobs that aren't admired in art schools. All of my friends who went to art school wanted to do their own comic books, be a lead on a Pixar film, or get a cover illo on a magazine. People who want to win an Oscar, a Webby, or even a Clio.
Nobody talks about the poor schlubs who end up designing new hazard warning signs for municipalities, slaving away in some county back office. Nobody talks about the graphic designers who end up working for Monsanto, illustrating the guides on how to use their seeds in a way that even the illiterate understand. And nobody talks about the men and women who pull down insane amounts of money because they've been asked to create art for the explicitly immoral gain of depriving the weak-willed of whatever money they've managed to carry into their retirement years.
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