the Nitty Gritty: downsides to being a designer

I'm envious of those people whose work doesn't rely on upgrading. Do artists need newly designed paints and paintbrushes?

Before computers, designers rely on simple tools like rulers and Xacto knives they would use them for years and years. Then the computer came along. The designs never looked snazzier. The downside is that there's always something new to buy or there's something new to learn. It's the tech industry's way to profit.

When I graduated college, I was naive to think that I was going to focus on design solely. It got a little convoluted over the years. Design is still my passion but they keep piling on the list of new skills to learn. I had to learn all the ins and outs of my main tools Photoshop and Illustrator but then I was told that I needed to learn some programming skills. Because of the early limits of HTML, I had to learn how to design around tables, low bandwidths, and a color palette of 215. Our industry is so tied to the tech industry that it's gotten my head into a tizzy thinking about all the apps and coding I had to learn.

I just installed the new Adobe Suite. Ugh. I really was fine with what I had already. What more? The new Photoshop CS4 has new 3D functions. 3D? I tossed out the idea of 3D when I had to force myself to design with less colors. In college, we did 3D animations using Director and quickly tossed those skills away until now. At least designing for the new media is more librating now than the 215 color palette. I feel like I've come full circle.