Automakers have Detroit, investment bankers have New York, and film actors have Hollywood: the bright shining centers of their respective industries. For those seeking a career in one of these fields, going to the Capital City is often a given, whether to get a foot in the door, or build an existing career. The creative professions have their Meccas too, and the gravity they exert on designers and other creatives is strong indeed; perhaps too strong.
The cities to which I'm referring are probably obvious to most readers: San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston and Chicago, domestically; London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Milan and Barcelona in Europe. While it's true that a lot of design work goes on in these places, a lot more of it does not, and plenty of young careers are hobbled by failing to acknowledge this. We're all complicit, of course: creative professionals seem to have an enormous capacity for self-deception regarding how necessary living in a Design Capital is to finding work.
Graduating from design school in Brooklyn a few years back, I assumed a challenging but workable identity: young, well-trained, and looking for a job in New York. Unfortunately, so did literally thousands of other recent graduates, from all over the U.S. and all over the world, and we all seemed to want the same few junior positions. The competitive landscape that resulted is familiar to young creatives starting out in any of the above cities, where top consultancies and corporate studios are bombarded by dozens of portfolios a day, many from recent arrivals from far afield. They often respond by establishing two, three or even more temporary internships or contract positions for the lucky few, rotating them out every few months. Their recipients go deeper into debt, grateful for the opportunity of adding something useful to their resume while taking low-paying freelance jobs to pay the rent.
What finally inspired me to look beyond New York was a pair of realizations that hit in rapid succession. The first was that many freelance clients were remote, or might as well have been. Some were in other time zones, found through digital word of mouth; others were just a few subway stops away, yet we met in person perhaps once or twice in a year, exchanging files electronically and conferencing over the phone. "If it doesn't matter where I am physically," went the reasoning, "why am I living in the most expensive city in North America?" The second realization was that all of the Senior Designers I knew in New York--not just most, but every single one of them--had gotten their start somewhere else. Usually somewhere less sexy: Pittsburgh, San Diego, rural Connecticut.
These days, the reason seems obvious: in a tightly packed market, it's nearly impossible for anyone but a bona fide prodigy to get meaningful experience in a creative studio. Wages are low and turnover high, so inexperienced interns and juniors are handed small pieces of pick-up work, not major projects that they see through from beginning to end. In order to develop the sorts of solid, concept-to-market pieces that make a portfolio shine, a young designer needs to work somewhere that needs them, not one eyeing them dubiously until the next hungry grad takes their seat.
I did finally leave the city after a year and a half of scratching, and judging by the status of most of the fellow alumni I'm in touch with, this is a typical progression. We're scattered across this country and a few others, with those remaining in New York often held by reasons unrelated to professional necessity.
It was a fine decision, I'm happy to say. Upon arrival at my new job in the gently hip but definitely second-tier design destination of Portland, I was placed in charge of the largest single project in my new employer's docket. It was a massive undertaking, and required learning literally dozens of new skills and processes. It was, in other words, precisely the kind of project a recent graduate needs in order to learn how to be a real designer, and precisely the sort he or she would never get as a junior in San Francisco or Milan.
This truth is not hard to come by. A few months spent talking with designers at professional or social events and some careful reading of online discussion boards will lead most students to the conclusion that Design Capitals are rarely the best locations to start a career. And yet they come in droves, from all over the world, mumbling something about "having to go where the jobs are," while resolutely ignoring the hundreds of studios and corporations doing remarkable work in unfashionable places: the cutting edge furniture companies in Michigan and Denver, the brilliant game design studio in Orlando, the American design headquarters of a global electronics brand in Atlanta.
What they're really coming for is The Creative Professional Lifestyle: as strong a recruiter for the field as the AIGA or IDSA could ever hope for. It's an overwhelmingly urban image, of course, and the more urban, the better: nobody imagines moving to London to take a design job and ending up in a dull suburb working at a cubicle, even though that often turns out to be the case. Companies that employ creative professionals are constrained by finances just like everyone else, and frequently that means locating somewhere other than the centers of the world's most expensive cities.
The good news is that The Creative Professional Lifestyle exists in plenty of unexpected places. Detroit is full of high-ceilinged live-work lofts converted from derelict factories and warehouses--maybe more so than New York these days. Omaha, Austin and Portland have indie rock and art scenes that garner national attention. Minneapolis is building fantastic modern architecture with fervor, and holds one of the world's great modern art museums.
All of these places have creative professional communities as well. Not as large or dynamic as in the more recognized design cities, but viable and active, and more importantly, supportive of young designers. With the level of competition turned down slightly, creative professionals beginning their careers often find it easier to build lasting networks with more experienced colleagues, and impact the community around them rather than just react to it. This experience, coupled with expanded opportunities to get their hands dirty on real projects, is often pointed to by established designers as the bedrock of their professional career. With a solid foundation like that, moving on to a Design Capital later becomes a real possibility. In reality though, many successful creatives find they want to stay put, and get busy building the next Capital themselves.
Comments
Thank you very much for this post. I t is really getting frustrated trying to find a design position after graduation. I will start looking at other locations rather than the meccas and capitals.
Posted by: Shamar Milton | January 26, 2008 03:58 PM
Thank you. I agree, and we're doing everything we can to create reasons for good designers to come to (or remain in) Pittsburgh. The firms here have great people, their clients are national and international. It's cheap to live here, and there's a thriving climate of hands-on art, museum-going, university-mingling, band-watching, park-walking, and general FUN. My choice of home after living in NYC and Chicago -- haven't looked back.
Thanks for raising this point. Just wanted to testify [grin].
Posted by: Marc Rettig | January 28, 2008 12:56 AM
mm.. this sounds negative.. and it is a pity that i read this just a few weeks before I will move to italy (milan) to do exactly what you are warning me for. But I will stick with my plan saying to myself that i have already a little bit of experience from working in a less 'romantic' design-spot in the world. 1.5 years in Belgium and I feel ready to explore the world :) Wishing myself the best of luck and hoping I will write an article soon where I will say the exact opposite. Greetings, jeroen
Posted by: jeroen sere | January 28, 2008 06:53 AM
This informed opinion has come to me at just the right time in my life. I soon will be graduating and have heard nothing but graduates finding it difficult to find jobs.
Just as was beginning to lose faith in design and strongly considering my plan B, this information has reassured me that there is hope for those truly open minded enough to become successful designers.
Posted by: Ben | January 29, 2008 03:49 AM
Design capitals are meant to be built that is for sure. When my spouse/ business partner and I were faced with the need to open a satellite office for our design firm Focus Creative Group in Italy, we realized that the weak dollar would make it virtually impossible to settle in Milan, or even Rome. In the end, we decided to take our growing business to Sardinia. We now live on a gorgeous Mediterranean island and as Sardinian residents, flying to the mainland is incredibly affordable and time-efficient, making it easy to have face-to-face contact with clients when needed. I have actually just launched an online pub called @LANTIS dedicated to Sardinia's emerging creative economy (www.creativeatlantis.blogspot.com). @LANTIS speaks to your theory that valuable opportunities are not necessarily exclusive to high-profile metro centers.
Posted by: Stephanie Cuadra Focanti | January 29, 2008 04:10 AM
I appreciated this post a lot. As a writer and editor, much the same could be said for journalists as far as feeling the need to be in a "name" market to grow professionally.
I had more to say on your post at my blog, Creative Liberty:
http://creativeliberty.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/questioning-artistic-meccas/
Thanks for such a thought-provoking post!
Posted by: Liz @ Creative Liberty | January 29, 2008 11:24 AM
I totally agree, however Portland is quickly becoming a design capital. After graduating from OSU, a lot of my peers moved to Portland looking for jobs, but I decided to move to my hometown, Ashland, to be close to family and live in a small town that I loved. Not only did I find a job with a small advertising agency, but it was a great opportunity to really be in on some fun projects. A lot of my peers, are either still looking for work, or moved on to new careers. I value the small-town feel, and I like to know that I am contributing to local small businesses while building my skills as a designer. With sites like ifreelance.com and the widespread use of the internet, its easier than ever for designers to really make their work shine, no matter what city they live in.
Posted by: megan taylor | January 31, 2008 01:41 PM
This was a good article. I have struggled mightily looking for a "real" design job, not a $7/hr type thing trying to get my foot in the door. I ignored looking beyond my own tri-state area; something I guess I should stop.
Posted by: Stan | January 31, 2008 02:30 PM
The great thing about this post is that it should reduce the number of portfolios that design-hub based firms have to review this year. But as for the advice: This is like telling a journalist not to try to work for the major publications because they'll get better experience writing for a local weekly paper. They might get better experience in the beginning in some obscure way -- you get to write a whole article yourself but its about a four alarm fire in the next county, for example. There is really no substitute for exposure to top designers and the vast number of opportunities that come their way. These are really hard to duplicate in some of the more remote locations. The problem exascerbates over time, too, because the number of design opportunities in places like the SF Bay Area is so great that the designers here get much more experience in a much shorter time. It is a very vibrant community and there is so much going on that is not happening in Amarillo or Sioux Falls.
Posted by: DoubleDogsRacing | January 31, 2008 02:42 PM
There is a reason why we try to work in the capitals in Europe is because there aren't many opportunities in small cities, for example outside Berlin.
Maybe it is time to invade Portland.
Posted by: Elisa | February 6, 2008 10:16 PM
I'm with Elisa. Im working in barcelona, and i'm from lisbon. Why should i stay at a city that doesnt have work and doesnt pay properly?
I understand when you tell people to avoid the big centers, but the thing is... its there where the good oportunities are, and if you're good, you will get a job.
Posted by: Nuno Coelho | March 5, 2008 08:15 AM
I think this information is useful, for pretentious folks who don't know about life outside of "major" cities. For those of us from these less populated, loving, nurturing creative places, this news is no surprise. I have done the reverse, moving from outward climbs to the city, and finding work. I think there are more truly creative people outside of the major city limits because they are not flooded with the daily onslaught of sensory stimulus and influence, and I am constantly astounded by just how much knowledge city slickers lack about the world around them. It's really kind of hilarious. Everyone seems to have this view that the only important places where creative work can be done can are limited to bleak urban landscapes, filled with depressed and self-important folks who don't smile at one another. I hope to be headed back to gentler climbs soon. I have found work in my field in New York City, but that is not a golden key for everyone. Being happy in a creative environment is key, and I'm glad to hear that y'all city folks are catching on. . .
Posted by: Dixie | March 9, 2008 07:14 PM
Wish I had read this three weeks ago. I've just come over from South Africa having finished Industrial Design there. The industry is really booming in SA since its a developing country, but I turned down a great opportunities to come to the 'design capital' of London. Every job advertised requires at least two years experience and there are hardly any entry level jobs. Also, having not studied here, I don't have a network base. I'm now seriously considering heading home to Cape Town (for the weather if nothing else) and working in one of the many furniture/boat/product design companies and getting some experience before attempting this again. Bon voyage!
Posted by: William Saunders | March 28, 2008 02:04 PM