The Post-Apocalypse Graphic Designer

Is there really anything to look forward to after a pandemic and a recession?

In the AMC post-apocalyptic horror television series, The Walking Dead, an ensemble cast of humans are trying their best not to become dinner for what they call walkers. These are zombies that will do anything to eat you. Of course, life is stressful when you have to worry about being someone’s snack. So, creativity is abundant among the survivors as they continue to desperately return to some sense of normalcy by being a community, falling in love and nurturing friendships. But unpredictable circumstances always crop up in this world such as  zombies that can run, food shortages, friends/relatives turning into walkers, healthcare issues and despotic leaders. Their new normal becomes normative in very interesting ways. This show, airing since 2010, is one big social experiment testing the human will and human fragility. (Like the Bachelor reality TV series, right?! LOL)

As the COVID-19 virus hits the United States hard, social distancing, an overburdened healthcare system, closing businesses and state of emergencies are becoming the norm. I won’t mention the present infection stats because they will change by tomorrow. Either way, Americans are not accustomed to living under these kinds of restrictions. (But Black people in the Jim Crow era have some idea. I just wanted to throw that out.) Although the elderly and those with ailments are most at risk, most of the people in this group tend to live in poverty. In spite of that, the coronavirus does not discriminate as we hear of some public figures becoming infected and some losing the battle.

The economy has slowed to a crawl, universities have disappeared into cyberspace and many events up until July have been canceled. A lot of money has been lost and is being lost. The result has been massive layoffs in almost every industry. I have never seen anything like this in my lifetime. It is no secret that during severe economic downturns, jobs in communications, marketing and design are the first to go. In addition, small businesses are seeing their contracts canceled creating gaps in their income. Work is drying up.

I wonder how Pentagram is faring? Is it time to purchase a bunker and move to Montana? Not so fast.

There are numerous programs being put in place to help businesses stay afloat during this time. That’s a good thing. But we still have not seen the worse of this pandemic and recession yet.

The Recession Life
In my lifetime, recessions seemed to take place, on average, very 8-10 years. According to Barrons.com, a recession is a period in the business cycle when economic activities are in a general decline. Typically, what accompanies this is rising unemployment, falling income, anemic consumer spending, business failures and falling stock markets. 

So far, I have lived through three recessions in my adult life:

1. The early 1990s recession (lasted 8 months) brought on my U.S. debt accumulation and a downturn in consumer spending.
2. The early 2000s recession (lasted 8 months) brought on by the dot-com bubble collapse and Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
3. The great recession of 2007 (lasted 1.5 yrs) brought on by the subprime mortgage crisis.

Our current crisis will be my fourth one. Recession #3 had lingering effects which made it feel like it lasted for 3-5 years. A lot of jobs did not come back. My employment status was threatened by this one the most. 

The Recession Learner Life
I determined that, after recession #1, I would purposely make it hard for any employer or client to sever ties with me. So, as a designer, I started rethinking my relationship with employment after recession #1 and developed four approaches to add value to my professional design career:

1. Be a Constant Learner: Always be on the grind learning how your job or your market works. Develop skills that enhance your ability to communicate and be an exceptional designer. This can mean going back to school, taking online classes or crafting your own learning plan on the internet. But, this takes discipline. I saw the fruits of this approach after being in the professional world after 20 years.
   Example: My first job out of college was as an art director for an international nonprofit. They had satellite offices all over the world. I learned a great deal, on the job, about how to apply logo guidelines and a branding system in a global context. In addition, my knowledge of global affairs and my ability to manage projects and people improved. This served me well on future more complex research and branding projects.
2. Be Entrepreneurial Minded: Always be willing to go the extra mile without receiving anything back. The right person will eventually see your efforts. Taking initiative and applying creative problemsolving strategies from other fields sets you a part from simply being a designer that ‘makes things pretty’ and working just for a check. Start a side hustle to practice this approach. In short, just like your stock portfolio, diversify!
   Example: A credit union contacted me because they are planning to open an urban branch office and wanted some insight on how to reach a multicultural audience. They paid my airfare to visit to their headquarters and participate in a weekend brainstorming session with select employees. Later, they hired me to write a Creative Brief that included a SWOT analysis, industry profile, demographics, brand strategy, marketing plan, etc.
3. Be Congenial: Pleasant people attract positive vibes and ideas. Genuinely happy people are giving and productive people. Others care about how you feel when life gets the best of you. Congenial people also tend to be encouragers. However, don’t sell fake happiness to people. Leave that on social media.
   Example: I struggle at network events. So, I simply identify 1-2 people to talk to and keep the conversation simple and light. They will let me know if they want to pursue a deeper more professional discussion.
4. Be a Researcher: Be open to asking the hard questions, seeking answers, applying analysis and converting it into written form. Everybody has an idea but people who write them down are taken more seriously.
   Example: I rebranded a nonprofit client five years ago. Even today, this client is still using the Creative Brief I wrote to guide their rebranding efforts, organizational changes and future decisions. This client still occasionally hires me as a consultant.
   

But let’s be honest: you can possess all of these things above and still lose your job. But my point is talent isn’t the only thing that will keep you employed and make you competitive. Talk to those who are still employed and those still receiving work through their business in the midst of this crisis. 

The Post Recession Life
What will the business landscape be like once the recession passes? Let’s be real, working-class Americans won’t be the same after this experience. They will adapt their lives out of necessity. Businesses and nonprofits will follow suit to attract them. Here are three observations:

• Vision/Mission Shift: Although many businesses will not re-open after the recession, some new ones will open and others will rebrand because new opportunities will exist. Designers will be needed.
• Economic Priorities: A substantial amount of money will need to be re-invested in the infrastructure of companies that had to lay off workers. Some positions will be brought back and others will be merged. Designers will be needed.
• A Race to the Target Audience: Every business will have to compete to lure back their audience(s) to make money, some more than others. It will be imperative that businesses develop marketing plans, marketing, design and PR campaigns to reach their changed audience(s). Designers will be needed.

So, every industry will be looking for creative professionals. Will you have the skills, knowledge and talents to compete as a job applicant for a design job or a creative professional operating your own business? If not, you have at least one year (or more) to prepare!!!

What Do You Think?