Low pay and unrealistic expectations - Graphic Designer Punch Studio Employee Review

Our team is quite micro-managed by leadership and sales. Punch is more of a trend-chasing company than trend-forward, so be prepared to copy a lot of existing artwork and designs that sales sends to the art department, and be ready to do it at breakneck speed to appease our unreasonably demanding clients. There’s not any wiggle room for any creative interpretation. Designers are given the exact colors, fonts, embellishments, and placement to use within assignments, and anything otherwise is considered wrong. We are expected to know an ungodly amount of expert knowledge about hundreds of different products, all having different specifications for different potential clients. Due to this we waste countless hours and dollars trying to fix errors that we couldn’t possibly have ever had the foresight to know when items are expected to go into production before we know the scope of how we should have prepped it. We are expected to take a 'jack-of-all-trades' approach to everything, so whatever knowledge you need to cram into your brain this week will be gone next week when the next project is assigned. The company refuses to invest in an editor or proofreader, so tens of thousands of products are mis-printed every year when nobody has the time or energy to look over product thoroughly. Leadership has taken an anti-remote stance on work for the art team despite the fact that 95% of the work can easily be done remotely. A lucky few have worked out sweetheart deals to work remote, but most get denied. The company is still stuck in the 80s when it comes to office culture. Many Los Angeles offices offer perks such as flexible scheduling, hybrid work options, bonus opportunities, flex days, etc to attract and keep talent. That is not the case here. Salaries have been stagnant for several years, with many members of the art team making the minimum legally allowed pay rate for California, which is insane for the skillsets we are required to possess (not to mention the cost of living in the Los Angeles area), and the amount of time and energy it takes to onboard new hires for this department. Due to all of the above, the sense of morale is in a perilous place. We have a shared understanding of how unreasonable the hoops we have to jump through are, but the mentality is ‘just push through, things will get better’, though they never do. Burnout levels are at an all-time high.