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A few weeks back we asked a few graphic and web designers what they thought was the hardest and most challenging part of being a Graphic Designer and the amount of discussion and feedback was fantastic. Thank you all for contributing your thoughts and expressing your feelings the last time around. This time I ask you the opposite, What’s the best part of being a Graphic Designer? While every designer has his or her own gripes when it comes to our professions, at the end of a stressful day I can sit back and honestly say I love what I do – creating, thinking, problem solving… making the world a better looking place! My love for graphic design stems from my passion to create while solving problems. It’s like combining art and math class – you get to create something stunning while figuring out the best solution. Also, the ability to represent yourself and your client through your work is an honorable feeling. Here are a few responses I received from other designers, including links to their Twitter accounts, that answers the question of why they love being Graphic Designers. Kevin J. Furst: Being able to do what you love and make a living doing it. I am able to work with clients while doing my own thing on the side working on pro-bono projects donating my time to others. Through design we all have the ability to make a difference and that is what I love to do. Design for Change. @kivodesigns: Every day is different and there is such a great community of designers @osvaldas: It’s about being able to control people minds by creating a visual object. Will people like it or hate it, depends on the result you designed. But it’s so pleasing to understand that all the possibilities are in your hands – it’s just the matter of how well you will use it! Kyle Garzia (@KGD22): Being able to see something that starts as just an idea or a sketch and turning that into a full functional, living and breathing identity for your client. It’s like having a baby and seeing it grow before your eyes. There’s nothing better than completing the job and moving on to the next one, and later receiving a follow up from that client some time later saying how much that job has helped his company/project grow. Matt Spire: When you present something to your client that inspires them to see in themselves what your design exposes. Gretchen: That rush you get when you deliver a design solution that significantly impacts the clients bottom line. There is something so empowering about creating something out of nothing and having it make a difference in someone else’s world. @Megalongcat: When I create a successful brand identity that reaches across a broad market spectrum. It’s one thing to appeal to a niche, it’s another thing to alienate everyone else. Kyle Steed (@kylesteed): I love solving problems and finding solutions. And to me, that’s what graphic design is. Of course we get to do it in a visual way using colors, shapes, images and words to convey our message. And that is such a thrill for me. But it’s not just creating work that is fun for me, it’s looking at other peoples work and seeing what they’re doing. Especially looking at work from overseas. I really like the Japanese approach to graphic design. Being a designer allows you to break down language barriers and be understood by all. Jenny Leonard: I live to be creative. As a freelancer I choose what companies and clients I take on and that gives me the freedom to work for companies and people I feel passionate about and create work that inspires and meets expectations. I can work in a variety of environments by taking my laptop and working from anywhere in the world. I’ve worked remotely from almost all of South America and all over the US… and of course my home city: Houston, TX. I get paid to be creative and come up with great ideas??? What else is there?!? Joann Sondy: That I get to pick projects and say ‘no’ to others. But more importantly, the variety of clients and industries that I have encountered in my career working closely with seasoned PR/IR executives. @RBKartworks: I have full license to be me when I tell people I’m a designer. I am by no means an airy fairy artsy fartsy, but in discussions I often look outside the box. Some of my questions or answers can throw people off. I inevitably get “What do you do for a living?”. When I answer Graphic Designer it can diffuse, cause curiosity, and/or continue the conversation in a interesting vein. I am myself because I do everyday what I inherently love, it’s a freedom many want but don’t have. @djschwin: having access to the cool projects that my clients are working on. Whether it’s a restaurant, a socially-conscious nonprofit, or a CD cover, I get to be in on the ground floor and help the client shape his or her vision. It’s a great marriage of skills: what I know how to do helps them communicate what they know how to do so well. @jeffvalois: watching your client proudly display your work or hand it out to their clients. Knowing that a company wants to use your creativity to grow their business is sometimes much more rewarding than the check you get for the actual work. @mark_denton: While I’m not actually a designer, I am a writer/marketer who works in a design studio. For me, the best part of being in this business is that almost everything you do can be viewed as something that informs or enhances your work. If you are a dentist, or an accountant, or a pilot, there are a fairly narrow range of activities that you can say make you better at your job. As a designer, though, everything from sunsets to visits to the grocery store and afternoons spent in a museum are making you better at what you do. When you can, in a sense, “write off” almost everything you do as work related, it makes it all that much easier to both enjoy a life full of extraordinary adventures and see meaning and beauty in mundane, everyday activities. @DerekLand: Is Creativity.Very seldom do I get bored when I’m working – there’s always something new to do, or I find some new way to apply what I know, or I am necessitated to learn something new to make the project successful. Is Freedom. Working for myself as a designer I can set my own hours – I don’t have to to submit for time off, I can finish a project quickly and not be docked for hours I didn’t work. Much work is over the internet, which means ability to live almost anywhere (theoretically). Is Challenge. Rather than stagnating or letting some app do the heavy lifting, I can test myself to do things I otherwise wouldn’t attempt. More often than not, I can do much more than I realize if I set my mind to it. Is Helpfulness. For the most part, if there is any question, the abundance of knowledge is fantastic, and most are more than willing to share their knowledge and help if they can. What’s the best part of your job as a Graphic Designer? What inspired you to join the profession?