creative field: architecture vs graphic design

[xcautionx]

I'm an artist n had done amateur graphic design since 16 (26 now) and I went to school a min 2 get a degree for graphic design, but said forget the loans etc. After finally getting back n school and ready to transfer back into a art school I'm thiking forget graphic design and leaning towards architecture. The market is just waaay too saturated imo. Any architects and/or graphic designers on the board? Advice?

 

[xcautionx]

I'm an artist n had done amateur graphic design since 16 (26 now) and I went to school a min 2 get a degree for graphic design, but said forget the loans etc. After finally getting back n school and ready to transfer back into a art school I'm thiking forget graphic design and leaning towards architecture. The market is just waaay too saturated imo. Any architects and/or graphic designers on the board? Advice?

 

[ground king]

I need advice as well 

 

[ground king]

I need advice as well 

 

[bstarrian]

It's easy. Ya gotta dig deep and find a passion in what you'd prefer to be creative in.

 

[bstarrian]

It's easy. Ya gotta dig deep and find a passion in what you'd prefer to be creative in.

 

[thegoat121886]

there's plenty of money in architecture. how about architectural engineering?

 

[thegoat121886]

there's plenty of money in architecture. how about architectural engineering?

 

[im not you]

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

 

[im not you]

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

 

[scshift]

Don't do either thinking you'll be banking. You could if you invested countless hours and truly loved what you did (and consequently were excellent at it), but unless you're willing to be the best, don't expect to have major cash. I was once interested in architecture as well, but I wasn't passionate enough about it that the low payoff would have been justifiable.

I do love design though, especially product/mechanical design.

 

[scshift]

Don't do either thinking you'll be banking. You could if you invested countless hours and truly loved what you did (and consequently were excellent at it), but unless you're willing to be the best, don't expect to have major cash. I was once interested in architecture as well, but I wasn't passionate enough about it that the low payoff would have been justifiable.

I do love design though, especially product/mechanical design.

 

[xcautionx]

Originally Posted by Im Not You

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound cocky or anything but I'm a great artist and designer and whatever I end up choosing will be able to hold my own as far as survival of the fittest I'm just having a hard time I guess choosing which direction to go in.

 

[xcautionx]

Originally Posted by Im Not You

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound cocky or anything but I'm a great artist and designer and whatever I end up choosing will be able to hold my own as far as survival of the fittest I'm just having a hard time I guess choosing which direction to go in.

 

[scshift]

Originally Posted by xCautioNx

Originally Posted by Im Not You

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound cocky or anything but I'm a great artist and designer and whatever I end up choosing will be able to hold my own as far as survival of the fittest I'm just having a hard time I guess choosing which direction to go in.

If you're confident you will succeed (which usually is enough), or if you truly love it, then it's up to you. We can't tell you what you'll like.

I'll break my view of it down for you:
-Architecture is for you if you like the design of homes/buildings. If you like walking around cities/neighborhoods and admire the small details and materials they use in the construction, this is for you. Personally I think it's a lot of fun to design a building, cause they're so useful and to see it play out is amazing.
-Graphic design is cool if you like to create stuff visually. Architecture is also visual, but it's more of an overall construction and is dependent on things other than aesthetics, whereas graphic design allows you to focus completely on how something looks (but you still need to implement function). I don't like graphic design as much because I get bored of just designing designs, if that makes sense. I like to work with stuff on a bigger scale.

If you're stuck, have you considered just choosing a design major? That way you can explore various types of design and maybe find one you weren't familiar with that you really enjoy.

 

[scshift]

Originally Posted by xCautioNx

Originally Posted by Im Not You

every creative field is oversaturated. If that's your breaking point then don't pursue either. It's truly a survival of the fittest career.

I mean don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound cocky or anything but I'm a great artist and designer and whatever I end up choosing will be able to hold my own as far as survival of the fittest I'm just having a hard time I guess choosing which direction to go in.

If you're confident you will succeed (which usually is enough), or if you truly love it, then it's up to you. We can't tell you what you'll like.

I'll break my view of it down for you:
-Architecture is for you if you like the design of homes/buildings. If you like walking around cities/neighborhoods and admire the small details and materials they use in the construction, this is for you. Personally I think it's a lot of fun to design a building, cause they're so useful and to see it play out is amazing.
-Graphic design is cool if you like to create stuff visually. Architecture is also visual, but it's more of an overall construction and is dependent on things other than aesthetics, whereas graphic design allows you to focus completely on how something looks (but you still need to implement function). I don't like graphic design as much because I get bored of just designing designs, if that makes sense. I like to work with stuff on a bigger scale.

If you're stuck, have you considered just choosing a design major? That way you can explore various types of design and maybe find one you weren't familiar with that you really enjoy.

 

[wr]

Why not get into game design which covers both areas?
And I think the only reason the field is presently saturated is because of the technology that allows people to play with simple templates and pass it off to consumers as if it's custom design work. All of these things will fade out the more artist create better works and make the templates look like....well templates.

 

[wr]

Why not get into game design which covers both areas?
And I think the only reason the field is presently saturated is because of the technology that allows people to play with simple templates and pass it off to consumers as if it's custom design work. All of these things will fade out the more artist create better works and make the templates look like....well templates.

 

[swyftdahoe]

You don't need a degree or schooling to be a graphic artist. But you do need one to be an architect. Heck, go for the latter and you can do both.

 

[swyftdahoe]

You don't need a degree or schooling to be a graphic artist. But you do need one to be an architect. Heck, go for the latter and you can do both.

 

[ham city]

Coming from someone who spent two years of his life pursuing an architecture degree, think long and hard before you go down that path.

To keep it short, you're going to be putting more time into course work than most people put into their careers. I'm talking up to 60 hours a week, every week, for 3-4 years. It's really not a joke man.

On a positive note,, you're background in design will certainly help you with your more design/creative oriented courses early on.

One last thing, after you finally get your degree, you're still going to be a nobody making very little money for a good eight years before you can even think about moving up in your firm, or starting your own, where the real $ are at.

 

[ham city]

Coming from someone who spent two years of his life pursuing an architecture degree, think long and hard before you go down that path.

To keep it short, you're going to be putting more time into course work than most people put into their careers. I'm talking up to 60 hours a week, every week, for 3-4 years. It's really not a joke man.

On a positive note,, you're background in design will certainly help you with your more design/creative oriented courses early on.

One last thing, after you finally get your degree, you're still going to be a nobody making very little money for a good eight years before you can even think about moving up in your firm, or starting your own, where the real $ are at.

 

[timcity2000]

i think people have misconceptions about what an architect does.

we don't sit around and draw all day, nor do architects have to be incredibly good at math.

you do need to be good at solving problems and coordinating complex tasks.

designing and drawing a building is the fun part. coordinating all the engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, structural, etc) is the not-so-glamorous part... and unfortunately the part that takes up most of your time.

 

[timcity2000]

i think people have misconceptions about what an architect does.

we don't sit around and draw all day, nor do architects have to be incredibly good at math.

you do need to be good at solving problems and coordinating complex tasks.

designing and drawing a building is the fun part. coordinating all the engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, structural, etc) is the not-so-glamorous part... and unfortunately the part that takes up most of your time.

 

[wr]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

i think people have misconceptions about what an architect does.

we don't sit around and draw all day, nor do architects have to be incredibly good at math.

you do need to be good at solving problems and coordinating complex tasks.

designing and drawing a building is the fun part. coordinating all the engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, structural, etc) is the not-so-glamorous part... and unfortunately the part that takes up most of your time.

side question. 
Do you ever design for fun. Like do you have a portfolio of just random ideas for fun or stuff you do free of worrying about interfacing with other disciplines like you mentioned?