Are you always unhappy with your work?

[sintax321]

Do you guys have this same problem. No matter how good of a job you do on something and no matter how much other people like it you still hate it. All you can see are the errors you know are there but know one else does. You know what work when into it so you aren't as impressd but it. I hate looking at my own work. I know I should be happy when a job is finished and the client loves it but I'll I think about is I could have done better. If anyone else has this problem please drop a post here :smirk:

[eilsoe]

I usually get bored when looking too much at what I'm doing...

But for me, when the client is happy, I'm happy... :)

[Jubba]

even if the client is happy I'm usually not happy with my work, but if I still get paid, then I overlook my unhappiness and therefore become happy...

[vts31]

i usualy hate my work...every once in a while i'll like it..then get sick of looking at it and go on to make something better.

[Aikido]

I get sick of your work sometimes too.
Ur so good.
I envy your skills.

[sintax321]

Who's work do you envy?:q:

[Raydred]

I too hate most of my work. nothing really makes me happy as a desiner, and i continue to make it better. I think thats why we have awesome designs, because we push our selves to become better and better.

I admire Kit's Artwork, her anime Rocks!
I really admire all the top memebers of this board, I think we have a great collection of tallent from all over the place and their efforts to help people show it =) (including you Syntax) =)

[lostinbeta]

I hate all my work. I like it when I make it... then I hate it and wonder why I ever thought it was good at all.

[mdipi]

i always hate my work. i like making people happy, thats the fun part about it, or when people say wow. but when your working on it you see it so much you get sick of it fast.:cyclops:

[bit-101]

i think it's the same with anything. i had a good friend who was a master marble mason - does these gorgeous marble floors and walls in hotels, rich people's houses, etc. He learned it in argentina. been doing it his whole life. he said the same thing. he will do a job and people will be admiring it and saying how beautiful it is, but he can see a million imperfections and places where he didn't do his best.

i think leonardo davinci said something like "an artist should never get so good that he cannot criticize himself"
i probably totally butchered the quote, but the idea is that your ideals should always be ahead of what you are doing. then there is always room for improvement.

[andr.in]

lostingbeta: I hate all my work. I like it when I make it... then I hate it and wonder why I ever thought it was good at all.
That's exactly what happens to me all the time.
Right now I'm trying to make my homepage but I'm sick of it already...

[sintax321]

I'm haveing the same problem also. I started one Personal site and half way through just hated it so I have started from scratch. Now there are things in it I just hate so I'm re building some of the main elements from scratch. The worst thing is buttons. I don't think I've made a button yet that I liked. I just go with something cause I'm running out of time. I guess its kind of like a magic act. If you are the one preforming the tricks and know how they are done it just isn't impressive to you.:)

[andr.in]

YEp If you see some kinda cool effect then you're like WOW :o
But when you learn how to make such things then you think ... hah no biggie. AND when you are really making it then you're just sick of it.

[RenaissanceGirl]

I hate all my work too - but I would say mainly because of garish ideas spawned from the client's head. Has a client ever asked you to use that awful animated gif of a "letter that writes and and magically mails itself into cyber space" or perhaps a scrolling ticker or *gulp* the dreaded blink tags? Clients think it's "neat" and demand that I use it. Sometimes I want to cry.

[eilsoe]

www.avalon-rev.dk

that's my domain... it's been like that for 4 months now...

kinda says it all :P


I've scrapped a million designs by now...

[bit-101]

another leonardo quote (davinci, not dicaprio):


"I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have"

[sintax321]

When a client ask me to use some crapy gif or other elements like that I just say NO. I explane why I won't use it and he shouldn't use it. Most clients usally listen because that waht they pay me for. If they keep presisting then I'll use it if I really need the money but most listen. Sites like that I don't put in my Portfolio because they make me look bad. I want to just yell at the client when they wan't some stupid thing like that.:evil:

hey eliose you should submit for that for site of the week. Very origonal. I like it alot.:beam:
Just kidding man. Can't wait to see what you do come up with though because it will be sweet.

[eilsoe]

Ha ha! :P

Original may not be the best word.. :)


I hope it'll be sweet too... I'm considering a full flash site.. just gotta think of a design.. (argh)...

[eilsoe]

Sintax, say this out loud 100 times:

E---I---L---S---O---E


And then write it 10.000 times!

:P :P :P :P :P

[sintax321]

Sorry:(
I have a slight case of dyslexia so I have trouble keeping words straight sometimes. My brain just spits them out the worng way. I know how it will upset a person when your name is spelled wrong.

People keep on spelling mine "Syntax". It is "sintax". Do you get the secret meaning?

[lostinbeta]

Lol, I think I got the secret meaning (and did when I first saw your name).

If that secret meaning has anything to do with "sin"

[eilsoe]

Sin comes and makes you PAY for using the forbidden Machina!! *grunt*

[sintax321]

The Defition for "Syntax"

syn·tax Pronunciation Key (sntks)
n.

The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.
A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules.
The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse.
Computer Science. The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.
A systematic, orderly arrangement.

The word means rules for proper spelling and structure of code. I spelled it wrong becasue I'm dyslexic I have troubles following proper rules and structure thus the miss spelling of "syntax" for "sintax". But I'm sure there are other meanings you can think of. Anybody got one?:)

[eilsoe]

Yeah, read my above! :P

Just my FFX brain going wild.. :)

[sintax321]

Ya I Guess I some how total forgot abot FFX. I should start using a picture of Sin from FFX as my footer.:) You know whats really bad. I still ahve to finish FFX. I stoped playeing 90 hours in.

[eilsoe]

I stopped after trying to beat Evrae 100 times...

**** dragon just won't die...

[RenaissanceGirl]

I wish I could tell them no! I usually make suggestions and see if they like it. But then the marketing people - who love shiny flashy things - jump in and want the offending element in too. I just give up by then. :P

The problem with this is now I don't have anything nice to put in my portfolio.

[mdipi]

I AM THIRSTY!

[sintax321]

Thats exactly the problem. It's hard to do work that you don't want people to know you did it.

[reverendflash]

the bottom line is that nothing in your portfolio is worse than something. =)

I mean nobody is going to hire you off of an empty portfolio, but if you present the work you have done in a pleasing manner, with explainations of what you did on that project, it will do more good than all kinds of tricky flashy stuff.

Ren:

If your clients are asking for these "tacky" things, then it could be advantageous to put them in your portfolio. Remember, your portfolio is not there to impress you, but your clients.

Sintax:

Maybe try this: actually plan a site, with storyboards, planned copy, and then execute that plan. Then when you are done, step back, take a look at it with a client's eye. Is this site what the plan asked for?

The bottom line I guess, is it doesn't matter if you don't like your work all the time, but it does matter if your clients do.

MHO,

Rev:elderly:

[sintax321]

Good advice REV. :)

[reverendflash]

I know exactly how you guys feel... :-\

I had to find satisfaction in other ways...

hence the suggestion to storyboard. I know it is a major pain, but the satisfaction at the end of the project is much higher when you have a concrete goal to begin with, rather than winging it (which can produce some fantastic results, don't get me wrong) and by the time you are done, the project is way off from the intent at beginning.

Besides, it is usually the way it is done in the biz... also covers your butt in certain situations... :P

As a rule, I don't accept a client until we have laid out what they expect from their site, and my storyboard of how I plan to acheive that goal. I even make them sign off on it... :-\ but I'm kinda anal about some things... It's the pastry chef coming out in me... :P

Sorry for pontificating, I'll get off my soapbox now...

::trips, falls into gutter, stays there::

Rev:elderly:

[bcogswell11]

Haha I could quote everyone and all their posts on this thread, they reflect exactly how I feel. Someoneleet.com was probably the fourth or fith design idea I came up with. Then I scrapped a ton of little elements over and over again. It was my first site, so I don't think it is very good anymore, I can do better now, but the first couple days after it was done I thought how cool it was. Now I don't even like looking at it. A new one will be coming after I finish a page I'm working on for someone else.

-brad-

[RenaissanceGirl]

Now I'm not saying I don't like any of my work. This isn't about being picky. It's about being forced to use elements that many consider to be amateur. Think web pages that suck (http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com). The target audience of my portfolio are art and creative directors. Surely if they know anything about design, they will not be impressed by my flaming-skulls animated gifs and "Welcome to our Homepage" scrolling tickers (in Comic Sans, 36 pt, no less).

Rev: Fortunately, I do have my personal projects and "freebie" work to fall back on in terms of my portfolio. But I'm afraid that lack of commercial work will hurt me. Rev, are you an art director? Can you tell me or advise me about what things you look for and what things impress you? At this point, I'm thinking of including some stuff that I'm not so proud of, while showcasing some of the designs that were turned down - just to show, "hey, it wasn't my idea to put that there. If I had my way, it would look like this..."

And I do "actually plan" my designs. But I work as part of a team, not a freelance designer - so there's a lot of head-butting at times. This is also why I can't say no to a client - it's not my say.

Anyway, I'm working on my portfolio right now... well a light, HTML version of it. I need to rework the Flash version as well. I will surely post it in site check and ask for everyone's feedback, as there are many creative individuals here.

[reverendflash]

Ren:

My last post was directed more at the guys saying they hate everything they create, than you.. :x

Unfortuantely, I am freelance, so I get to pick and choose which projects I do... :-\
That said, I do have clients that want that "flaminig logo" floating across the page. As you said, you can't say no, they are paying the bill (usually they are related to/sleeping with the artist).

I wouldn't put anything up that "wasn't picked," just because that might make you out as troublesome... :evil: I do like the idea of a screencapture highlighting the parts of the project you did, with an explaination. It shows you work well on a team... very important in today's climate...

It's strange, I get new referrals from the clients which were the hardest to deal with, and who have stifled my creativity the most... go figure...

I wish I could help, but I am trying to figure out what art directors are looking for as well... The climate of the web world is so different than it was 2 years ago, it's scary.

Rev

:elderly:

[RenaissanceGirl]

Hehe, I guess this is where the term "starving artists" comes in. It's a lose-lose situation - sacrifice your creativity or sacrifice your paycheck. :P

[reverendflash]

too true :P

My poor brother only does programming (he can't draw a straight line without a ruler), so all of his portfolio is about stuff that he didn't have any artistic interest in... So he has a screenshot, and tells what he did in the background...asp, etc.

Rev:elderly:

[eilsoe]

Hey!

I just saw a guy marry a pig in a brides dress on tv!!

Thought you might want to know :P



On topic: My dad's a programmer too, he couldn't even draw a straight line WITH a ruler...

[eilsoe]

TV's amazing today...

I just saw two drunken frogs sing, too...!

[Raydred]

"Hello my baby, hello my Darling, hello my Ragtime Gal..."
*ribbet*

[sintax321]

That was the best loony toon episode ever. The singing frog oh what a frog.:beam:

[RenaissanceGirl]

*sigh* You all make me miss TV so much.

[eilsoe]

My drunken frogs were in a movie...

Some disney movie me thinks...

[kira]

LOL you guys are crackin me up:P

but i was going to reply to the actual subject before the frog jumped in: mixed hatred of my work

if i work on something long enough to produce the results i was after, i'm thrilled and have to go back and look at it frequently, if the client f's it up somehow i'm not as happy but i do like to get paid :)

as for my "own" work, like my site, my logo etc, i can't help but feel that it totally sux! i threw away my old plain text site (had a freebie site bc i couldn't get the domain i wanted) so i got another domain and made a clean layout with portfolio (even did a php form :Þ), but i still hate it. it's like, i wanna show it to ppl and get more work (i'm a freelancer) but then i think, oh no! everybody else's site is better than mine!

then someone told me, you're not designing your site for yourself, it's for your prospective clients, and i'm thinking no, my site is for me! i will design their site for them!

blah it's been a sucky monday- i need a beer~8] :trout:

[eilsoe]

HAH! :P

Welcome to mi amigo :)


Oh, and before anyone else tells you different, *I'm not crazy* ...



shhh..... ;)

[lostinbeta]

Welcome to kirupaforum Kira.

Eilsoe and I are the only sane people on this forum :beam:


BTW: If you add the word "up" after the "r" in your name... you have "Kirupa" ;)

[eilsoe]

must be the unibrow's sister...


"Unibrowess"... *snicker*


I'm so bad... :chinaman:

[lostinbeta]

LOL, now now Eilsoe, no picking on the new members. For that you get a trout smacking!

:trout:



:geek:

[kira]

i love the trout! :trout: :trout:

"A good beating done right can be a wonderful thing...."
-Jerry Cantrell

[lostinbeta]

You will see the trout a lot here.


Kirupaforum is famous for its trout fights.


:trout:

[sintax321]

Wow another old thread. thisis kind of neat to see some of the old posts i made. :trout: just for fun

Welcome Kira.

[kira]

thanks :):) glad to be here-

and the old thread revival is my fault- i was searching for "freelance" since i just dumped a major client today....;)

[lostinbeta]

Most of the people here are looking for freelance work too.

Look to do freelance, not looking to hire freelance.



Every once in a blue moon someone comes along looking for a freelancer though.

[eyeinfinitude]

welcome to the forum kira!!

[kira]

thanks eg and beta- not surprising you all are freelancers :)

i see flash jobs every day and pass them up bc it's just not my bag baby (yet....) (-:

[eyeinfinitude]

Actually I do both, I work for a printing company and freelance. Now that's my bag baby! :P

[kira]

oh i love print work- i'm just starting to get into it but i really do like it- well print work AND the trout....:trout:

[eyeinfinitude]

you like trout huh? In that case, take these!! :trout: :trout: :trout: :trout: :trout: :trout: :trout: :trout:

[kira]

thanks! :)

ok so since you work in a print shop- i'll show you my first (and only) print job- just completed last week-

http://starlightdesign.bz/images/port/kwh.jpg

[eilsoe]

Hehe, I just finished some print work actually! (-:

If you ever order a Filter Queen vacuum from Denmark, the hard-paper folder containing important documents and whatnot, was made by me =)


Kinda matches the new layout on www.filterqueen.dk hehe...

[eyeinfinitude]

wow kira, the printing cost for those won't be cheap, your client must be rich.

A 4 color process on an order of 5,000 business cards and letter heads would definitely burn a hole in my pocket. =)

EDIT: typos =)

[eilsoe]

YEah it is costy.. my former client (for now), the filterqueen dude, ordered 3000 copies of the hard-paper folder.

Ran him about 4000$!


Glad it's not me.. but he loved them.. so...

[Kitiara]

I wish I could tell them no! I usually make suggestions and see if they like it. But then the marketing people - who love shiny flashy things - jump in and want the offending element in too. I just give up by then.
True, true... And it always seems to be the people that don't have a clue about the Internet or HCI of design who have the final say about the sites you're making. My company Intranet is a case in point. I warned them against scrolling marquees, blink tags all that, and what do they <i>demand</i>?

Got it in one.

And I would like to point out that Eilsoe and Lost are <i>not</i> the only sane members of this forum. I count myself as the most normal person here. These two have intriguing conversations about ladies lingerie. I shall say no more. :beam:

[eilsoe]

U just hang on to that bra there missy :bad:

[Kitiara]

Aieeeee!

Hehe, couldn't resist that little observation, sorry. :)

[eilsoe]

:blush:

[Kitiara]

Bless. :)

Damnit, what's the URL of my cyborg smilie again?!? I'm going to save it this time...

[kira]

Originally posted by electrongeek
wow kira, the printing cost for those won't be cheap, your client must be rich.

A 4 color process on an order of 5,000 business cards and letter heads would definitely burn a hole in my pocket. =)

actually, i got her 500 business cards for $67.00 - BUT get this, the printer made them with a computer printer and the cards came out flimsy and some of them were crooked! i did the stationery on my printer- but only gave her about 20 sheets to give her an idea what they'll look like and to get her started- i had to use post-it tape on 11x14 so i could print to the edges but they looked fantastic! .... now she wants envelopes. :)

[eyeinfinitude]

haha interesting method kira :o

[lostinbeta]

Originally posted by Kitiara
And I would like to point out that Eilsoe and Lost are <i>not</i> the only sane members of this forum. I count myself as the most normal person here. These two have intriguing conversations about ladies lingerie. I shall say no more. :beam:


Well yeah, you and kit are normal too. So maybe I should have stated that Eilsoe and I are the most sane of the guys :beam:

BTW: BRAs!!!!!!!!!!

[sintax321]

That doesn't say much around here. :trout:

[Kitiara]

Argh!

Whatever happened to that er... Lady... smilie? Or is that deemed inappropriate for general usage? :beam:

[lostinbeta]

Yeah.... I think Kirupa banned that smiley from the board.

[eilsoe]

Kit: http://www.avalon-rev.dk/kirupa/ppl/kit.gif


and yes, the boob smilie was banned from the open boards, I still have to smack a bra on it :)

[Xero]

I have made at least 15 versions of a homepage but I do not like my work. Soo I keep on making more and more versions of my home page until i creat a perfect one. I will never make a perfect homepage. Because once I make it it will not be perfect. The thing i don't like about my work is that i design in
1152 x 864 and most people veiw in 1024 x 768. When i change my resolution to 1024 x 768 after I have completed a interface. I hate it. The pixels are crap!!! And i cannot stand having 1024 x 768as my default resolution.

[eyeinfinitude]

Xero that's understandable, I tend to do the same thing myself.
In my opinion, there is no such thing as a perfect "homepage" or any kind of project. When it comes to my own work, I'm extremely picky and never satisfied. If it wasn't for deadlines then I'll just sit there and change things around several times.

[Xero]

I think all the clients care about are shiny effects in flash. If you showed them one of the top sites like 2 advanced they would just say "what the hell is that". But if you showed them a hello MC with 100 x2 gradient balls in flash rotate they would be in awe