All my friends are quitting design.

The great resignation strikes once again, with some damage.

Credit: Unsplash

I went back to Singapore for the Lunar New Year with the intention of catching up with friends and loved ones, and did just that. So if you’re wondering why I was on hiatus (on top of my already busy schedule), it wasn’t because I got depressed or got into some sort of trouble. It’s because I was having fun stuffing my face with pineapple tarts.

I wish my life were more dramatic. (Not really)

Anyway, I was out collecting stories, listening to people, playing a journalist if you will.

Now, I am not a sentimental writer. I’m simply not a person who likes to write something emotional and personal then having some sort of “moral of the story” sort of lesson at the end of it.

But I think this would be one of the first few articles that might hit a bit close to the heart, because it is something that genuinely makes me sad and I think we should all reflect on it.

A disturbing trend… I might jump on board on…

As the title already spelled out quite clearly, a lot of my industry friends and mentors are leaving the industry in one way or another. It might be temporary, and we don’t know what the future holds, but quite a number of respected designers I know have quit their jobs and aren’t turning back.

Are they rich trust fund babies? No, not even the slightest. A lot of them need a salary to sustain their living.

And yet, they chose to give up their jobs, some in prestigious roles, to travel or to work on initiatives they feel are more worthwhile of pursuit than a sterilised corporate job.

Sick and tired of the lack of creative input and output

One of the most common complaints among these now inactive group of practitioners is the lack of creativity in their work.

Everyone just wants to play safe.

Everyone thinks they know design because they took a course.

Everyone treats designers like factory workers who’d execute some top guy’s vision.