Toxic parity

Thanks to the author for the article ! I remembered a similar story, only exactly the opposite.

This is a slightly different cry of the soul, because some designers are also people and "everyone can offend an artist." In such an environment, sometimes, everything resembles a match in Dota 2. Everyone remembers other mothers and measures Darwin's prizes.



There is no specific studio or names, there are only collective images from the story told to me a few years ago. The whole story is written by me with its permission and adjustment of the context. Everything further will be written in the first person, to avoid unnecessary confusion.

Lack of rules

I had a chance to work in a design studio that deals with branding, creating a corporate identity. The staff consisted of designers, an art director and a couple of managers, not including the owner of the company.



The owner himself did not delve into the process, and did not understand the design, he is an ordinary leader who hired managers and they, in turn, do a good job.



Designers lived their lives and worked on their Win7 laptops, drank coffee and ate office cookies, listened to the Art Director and indulged him in everything. What a flock!



The art director in the studio was the king of animals, had the right to turn on music throughout the office, bless and direct his friends around the studio. He had what is called Power.

Yes, albeit imaginary, but to one degree or another, power.

And he used it to its fullest:

• Are the dates on fire? So you stay in the studio for the night, at the same time tomorrow at the workplace you will be on time.
• New Year, from December 31 to January 1, we all studio, without discussion, celebrate together! We’ll rent an apartment and take some beer. Do not want to - force. I didn’t come - “are you like this?”
• A newcomer came to us, guys, we are all glad to see him! And if he does not suit us, then we will shout at him, I said so !.
• Oh, watch the Username concert! We all go there after work, without discussion! From each 1000r per entry.

Our leader loved himself, and most importantly us. And the authorities certainly liked it, everyone liked it. Gold, not a man!

Comfortable work environment

You can come to the office in the morning and hear a portion of prepared and subjective jokes. Learn a lot about yourself over the past day. If you really want to, you can measure your skills in humor, and make yourself an Alpha comedian.



The art director had God mode and any joke in his direction could have consequences. Designers loved strangers and their work, but absolutely did not accept criticism of the same work.



Every evening we gather for a lynch, discuss everything, the responsibilities include denunciations regarding personal life outside the office. After six months of such a sprint, bread crumbs remain from personal life, since work is the priority!



“I’m cool, I have cool work, I’m a car!” - everyone thought.



The backbone of the team is formed with a bang, almost got the first ribbon on Behance! We move the business, help people! Successful success, as they say, in business.



"- We are here like musketeers, and the authorities promise to move the whole studio to Moscow!"

By God, a fool's dream.

Stability

Everyone wanted stability and a corporate spirit. Everyone cherished his ego thanks to the current team and no one updated the resume, and did not go to the interviews, because they will know and will mock. So it was with the past designer, “I wonder how he is after leaving, where is he? I'll write him someday. ”



In a sudden moment, after a couple of months, the idea arose to change the attitude of colleagues towards each other. Friday lynch is the most appropriate place, I thought, and crap was wrong.



On Friday, nothing boded trouble. The evening passed as always: we ordered pizza and stared at the PS4, we walked about different topics, and then we were talking about relations with customers. Here it is, time!



As soon as I tried to draw a couple of people into the topic, and they began to listen and move to a new camp, because it turns out you can live peacefully and no one will say a bad word to you! But, like thunder among the empty field, He appeared, our Lion, who began to interrupt and hint that I was tired and I had to go home.



A night later, I came to work and thought about updating my resume.



I was greeted as usual, with jokes and jokes. They even made fun of putting the buttons under the fabric of the chair seat, kind of friends! And after I was called to the carpet, the Art Director and the owner of the company. They transparently hinted where my place is in this hierarchy of vertical power. The art director told me that my portfolio is weak and I’m not ready for solo swimming, and I don’t know how to work with a team, so do not rock the boat, frayer, tighten the tail and be a musketeer.

Run, run ..

Total with us: Designers who hostilely perceive any criticism of their work, moreover, they love the work of their colleagues. A charismatic leader, a man of the year, but you can simply - Art Director. The owner of the company, who is only interested in himself and pretends that his employees are important to him. And, managers. And yet, for the designers there was a piece-rate salary, which might not reach 30,000 rubles, because you communicate with the customer yourself.



One feeds with promises and pays by the job, so much so that half of the designers work on freelance most of the free time, because you have to pay for the apartment and buy the dog food. What about the owner? Well, the owner, he flies to the islands, he is not up to us. He, as they say, coughs up working issues.



In the meantime, he coughs them up, we are working together, and I don’t want to leave. After all, we are musketeers who simply find it difficult to try to get another job in another city ourselves.



The art director told me that I was not yet ready for a solitary Odyssey, the level of my work was weak and the manager from me was not very good.



That was the last thing I heard from him.



A month later, I flew on a kerosene gondola plane to the place where I was met by a normal team and adequate Tech.dir. All the following time, I will in every possible way deny and deny my involvement in that studio and in those people.



I do not like a team that considers insults, manipulation and psychological pressure to be the norm in their work. I am ready for objective criticism directly related to my work, but not for personalization.



And all would be fine, reading this bike a third time, I think that this is fiction. If other small studios in small towns didn’t practice this, where ordinary workers trying to enter IT do not want or don’t know / believe that they can get to another place in another city. Lose a salary for the first time, get comfortable in a new place without friends. If you recognize yourself, then not one person tried it before and not one person managed to get an offer, tighten skills and go through all the circles of HR-s.



The world of designers, it does not matter the interface designer or graphic designer, sometimes it’s still a place that any developer will envy.



I would like to separately note the attitude of designers in relation to criticism of their work, but I think this is the topic of a separate post ...



Good guys are always waiting on the other side.