At some point in your life you've certainly come across someone who belittled your profession, haven't you? Some Almost future clients, friends, family... especially when you work with something that involves art. Look, even those who don't work with art have suffered from this! It's really not easy. People who think that whichever Do what you do... others who think: “wow, how expensive! It's just a Cartoon”. Oh, since it's not easy, even more so to maintain your posture in the face of such a situation.

Here's an example of a client vs. craftswoman. They posted those days on Facebook... I don't know if it's real, not least because we can't believe everything that appears on the web, but honestly? It wouldn't surprise me if it were and that's why I'm using it as an example.

Staff opinions are divided. Some say that the client really crossed the line, others say that the craftswoman made the situation worse. I sincerely believe that the client treated the craftswoman with total disregard, offering such an indecent proposal and that no professional in the world would have to bear to remain silent in the face of such a situation! To say that you thought it was cheaper, yet to have the shamelessness to ask the professional to discard someone else's work and, on top of that, to say that it is “easy” to do? But I think what disappoints the most is reading “it wouldn't cost you anything to do, you shouldn't even work. That's why you're working with these things”. It's jaw-dropping at such brazenness.

Sure, maybe I wouldn't be as direct in my answer as this craftswoman was, I would try to be as polite as possible just out of politeness... but I understand why she handled the situation that way. Nobody deserves to have their work treated as if it were anything like that.

Again, it's not easy. The best thing is to ignore and move on with your dream when something like this occurs and never let us be overwhelmed by neglect. We have to value our work. Unfortunately, prejudice will always exist. Imagine how many illustrators, designers, IT professionals, etc. haven't experienced something like that, huh? There always is/will be someone to think that they know what their job is about, to think that it is “easy”. Little do they know the struggle every day, the effort, the study, the sleepless hours, the sleepless nights to finish that Freela...

Now, speaking more about Design, which is my field: there are also those who think that the devaluation began with the nephew/Micreiro. For those who work with Design, the term is not unknown. That individual who doesn't do the job with quality, who hasn't studied and everything else... but who clients hire because they are Baratinho. Trust me, it's not his fault.

The appreciation of our work begins with us.

Those who never thought it was their fault should throw the first stone. At a certain moment, we thought so... but, suddenly, we remembered that one day we were also nephews/miscreants... that our interest in the profession began to explore previously unknown territories — Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, designing, creating websites for the web, etc. And then we finally realized that the problem is in us. The problem lies in accepting a lower amount for our work out of desperation; accepting that the client is right at all times, when in fact we must suggest to them the best option according to what they need and according to what we have learned... and so on.

There is a right client for the right professional.

There will always be clients who will not be able to pay what their work is worth and because of this they will undoubtedly turn to professionals (or non-professionals) who charge less. Fact. There will always be competition in every profession. What will determine that your work is better is yourself, it's your portfolio, it's your work. Your differential. There are customers who are looking for a difference. If you fulfill this requirement, you're sure to have a better chance of getting hired.

The truth is that there will always be ups and downs in our career. In all of them! The good thing is that we will always have the opportunity to learn and increase our experience, no matter how staggering be the situation. And that makes all the difference. Always continue to value what you do, regardless of the situation!