Do you think there has been exponential growth in the number of people aspiring to be graphic designers?

Question

In your opinion, is it a good or bad thing?

Answer 1

I think is a good thing, the number is amazing..☺

Answer 2

Don't worry about the numbers because the industry will judge their talents in the end and there will always be the best, the mediocre and the not so famous. There will be work for all given the technology boom, the different levels of opportunity, and the fact that areas are at different stages of design. Small towns work with mostly freelancers, governments hire their own, and big cities have jobs all the time because of population growth.
I think any interest into a particular field is just a sign of the times. Ever notice how much the nursing industry has taken off ever since they said they were having a shortage of staff.
May you have eyes to see true talent beyond what it required for the job. ;)

Answer 3

Yes, I do. I think it is due to the new hardware and software making it easy to create some designs and most people thinking their ideas are good. They have heard that there is a lot of money to be made in graphic arts, they know how to make cards and calendars and think that is what it takes.

I am a graphic designer. But I work in printshops. I get to take the files from these people who think they can design and try to turn them into workable files without changing them. And it is difficult for two reason.

1. Their designs are not good. They like what they made, but it could be done more effectively and cost efficiently by someone who understands design and production of their ideas.

2. Not understanding how things are reproduced in printing, they don't design for gripper, bleeds, trap or color. The files I get are disasters and it takes me hours to make them workable. In the end, the customer can be charged hundreds of dollars for my fixes. Often, more than the cost of the original work.

So, good or bad? It has always been a competetive field. The influx of new 'designers' makes it more difficult for good designers to make a living, but I am hopeful that one day it will become fashionable again to have GOOD design and the desktop designers will go back to the things that they do better than the rest of us and let the people who actually do understand how to design do their work.
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Additional:
Boy, this sounds so snooty! I am always eager to share my experieince and I am not one of the best designers in the world. I guess I am just a bit worried because I see the advent of computers, software and printers kiling the industry that I work in. And I have just lost the job that I loved because of this change. It is a good and very challenging way to make a living and I can't blame anyone for trying to get into it.

Answer 4

It is a double edged sword. On the one hand, the increase will keep the demand for improvements in software high and so tools will continually be upgraded.

But on the other hand, the immediate economic effect is felt when a company can pay someone a tenth to do something who is not making more than say 10.00 an hour.

If you have mad skills in design, an crazy imagination and can bring it into reality, it doesn't really matter about how many others who are trying to do what you do.