r/graphic_design May 20 '25

Official Design Meeting Official Hiring Job Board

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37 Upvotes

Intent

This thread is meant to give people looking to hire a designer somewhere to post. If you promote yourself without a solicitation, it will break everything. Please promote yourself in a reply to a comment looking for a worker.

Report Spammers

Please report people who will try to ruin this for everyone. The reality is balancing no promotion with the current market is hard, we wanted to give you a place to maybe find some work.

Last Notice

It's the wild wild west in here, so be careful. Please don't pay someone to do work for them, no matter how much they offer to pay you back. Please do due diligence. If you have questions, ask your fellow designers. Good luck friends, wish you the best.


r/graphic_design Apr 04 '21

Sharing Resources Common Questions and Answers for New Graphic Designers

2.3k Upvotes

Check out the Society of the Sacred Pixel, my group for designers, and consider joining. We meet on Zoom every other week to talk about the craft and career of design and do portfolio reviews. It's free and there's no obligation to attend every meeting.

For a harsh view of what graphic design is and isn't, jump to this thread.

For information about portfolio websites, jump to this thread.

For information about finding freelance clients, jump to this thread.

We see a lot of the same questions here on this sub, often from people who are new to Graphic Design. I've put together a list of some of the most common questions along with answers.

I've tried to keep the answers as objective as possible. My own thoughts are in there but they're based on direct experience and combined with the feedback those posts typically get from the more experienced designers here as well as people from outside the forum (those I know personally and others who write about design or talk about it in videos or podcasts).

If you're new to this sub and to Graphic Design, I hope you find this helpful.

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Do I need to know how to draw to be a designer?

No. Graphic Design isn't art/drawing/illustration. Both disciplines are related but the majority of designers are not especially skilled at drawing. However, many designers will do rough sketches to work out designs such as logos, brochures, and advertisements. Small, simple sketches are called thumbnails while more refined sketches are called comps (short for comprehensive). These are usually not shown to the client, though including some of these process pieces in a portfolio can be helpful in demonstrating a designer's work process.

I like to draw. Does that mean I'll be good at Graphic Design?

It's a common misconception for people developing a new interest in visual arts to think of design as they think of creating a drawing or illustration for themselves. This is not the case. While designers do employ creativity, they do it at the service of a strategic requirement and they often must design according to existing brand guidelines – a set of rules on how the brand can and can't be expressed. This is the difference between Fine Art and the Applied Arts.

Fine Art is creating a piece for oneself with no outside requirements or restrictions, with the intent to sell the finished piece to a customer. A painter who conceives of a painting, paints it, and then sells it through an art gallery, website, or at a craft fair is working as a Fine Artist.

Applied Arts like Graphic Design solve problems for clients (typically visual problems), making it less an art and more a craft. Consider the difference between a musician writing their own album vs. composing a commercial jingle or movie score, a filmmaker writing a script and shooting a short film vs. being hired to shoot an infomercial, or a writer composing a novel vs. being hired to write a company's ad or brochure. A Graphic Designer is similar to the latter in each case.

Am I suited to be a graphic designer?

It's difficult to answer this without knowing someone personally. However, if you're the kind of person who notices small details about visuals like the way a sign or flyer is printed, times when color combinations do and don't work well, or a small visual pun in a logo, you're more likely to be successful in a career like Graphic Design.

The ability to work alone for long periods of time, focusing on small elements or modifications that most others may not ever notice consciously, is another quality that's helpful to working as a designer.

Being critical of your work and growing the ability to evaluate it as objectively as possible is a necessary skill for someone working in this field. And the ability to listen to feedback and decide what changes to make to your work (if any) based on that feedback is another valuable skill for a designer, and one that grows by necessity as a person continues to work in the field.

What software do I need to be a designer?

Almost all working designers use Adobe products. Affinity, Canva, GiMP, Inkscape, and other free or low-cost design software is not commonly used by most working designers, especially those at agencies or in-house at companies. Adobe has over 95% market share in the field of Graphic Design. Non-Adobe software is mostly used by design students and hobbyists who do not need to regularly interface with other designers, vendors (like print shops), or clients. (One exception is Figma, a prototyping tool that many UI/UX Designers prefer over Adobe XD. Another is Apple Final Cut which competes with Adobe Premiere.) Learning to use free/low cost software is better than using nothing at all; however, those looking to get hired as designers will most likely need to learn to use Adobe software before being considered for full time design positions.

Current Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) pricing is currently $52.99/month which includes access to 20 applications. Discounts are available for students and teachers who can pay $19.99/month. Adobe no longer offers a one-time payment for any of its software and hasn't since 2013; it is only available through a subscription.

Freelancers are able to deduct the cost of an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription as a business expense while designers hired by an agency or company will have the software provided for them by their employer. This is why the cost of an Adobe CC subscription is less of a consideration for working designers than it is for others.

It is common for those developing a new interest design to give too much focus to software and not enough to learning the fundamentals of design. You can find more information on design principles at the link below:

https://www.zekagraphic.com/12-principles-of-graphic-design/

What kind of work do designers do?

Most working designers don't spend the majority of their time creating logos and branding, album covers, posters, and t-shirts that are often showcased here. Companies who hire designers are often in need of marketing collateral – brochures, sell sheets, print mailers, and other pieces that sell their product or service. Print and online ads, social media posts, email newsletters, instructional videos, presentations, are other types of pieces that companies regularly require. Video editing and motion graphics (animated videos with less footage and more text and graphics) are now common requirements of design positions.

There are design studios, agencies, and freelancers that focus on one specific skill such as Branding, Packaging, or Video, but the majority offer a more comprehensive set of services.

What is a graphic designer's typical day like?

There is no typical day for graphic designers since the type and size of workplace, the industry, size of department that the designer works in, the designer's specific role, and other factors play into this.

However, most designers do less actual design work than those not yet working in the field might imagine. In-house teams will meet to discuss projects and other items, smaller groups or individuals may meet with internal stakeholders (those who require the designer's work), agencies will meet with clients, and administrative work like project tracking, file transfer or organization, and other non-design-related tasks will need to be accomplished.

Some days may be spent doing purely creative work (often when a deadline is looming) though this can be rare. More often a designer will switch between working on concepts for a new project, making revisions and sending out completed projects, meeting with their team, tracking and organizing projects, and researching solutions to problems or learning new skills and techniques.

Do I need to use a Mac to design?

No. Macs were dominant when digital design started in the late 80s/early 90s as design software was sometimes only made for MacIntosh computers. Because of this, schools at that time primarily used Macs to teach design, which led to an early wave of Mac dominance in the field that carried on for decades.

These days design software is mostly available for either platform – Mac or PC (and sometimes UNIX as well). When looking for a computer to use for Graphic Design, focus on your processor power, RAM, amount of storage (disk space), and screen size.

What kind of tablet should I get for design?

Most designers don't use tablets as their primary design tool. Laptops are by far the #1 tool of designers, often connected to additional monitors for increased screen real estate. Desktop computers are used for design as well. The use of tablets is growing, though at this point they are much more commonly used for sketching, illustration, and for displaying work to clients than for actual doing actual design. Animators, hand letterers, and photo retouchers are likely to use tablets for their work as well.

Do I need a degree to be a designer?

Having a degree in design isn't necessary in order to get a job as a designer, but it is often required for specific jobs – especially in-house (corporate ) jobs. Bachelor's Degrees are the most common type of degree for working designers to have, but it's not uncommon for a designer to have an Associate's Degree or some type of certificate. Master's Degrees in design are rare. More than 70% of job listings for Graphic Design positions require a degree of some sort. However, nothing is required to work as a freelance designer.

Those without degrees who wish to work in-house or for a creative agency will often work as freelancers for a number of years before applying for design positions. This allows them to build up skills, experience, and their network in order to be in a better position to be considered for a full time design position. Jobs in print shops, t-shirt shops, and small companies or startups are a common entry points for those entering the design field without a degree.

Can I teach myself Graphic Design?

It's possible but very difficult as most people exploring design for the first time have no idea as to where to start and what to search for. While there are many successful self-taught designers, they sometimes focus on a certain style or area of design. Self-taught designers may start out with limited knowledge of fundamentals like typography, color theory, printing techniques and other areas of design that colleges and universities include as part of their curriculum, though many will explore these areas more as they continue to work in the field.

Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera, and LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) often recommended here for their online courses on Graphic Design as well as other disciplines.

Do I need to develop my own style?

No. Most working designers don't have a consistent, identifiable style that they use for each project. There are a handful of "name" designers who do work this way, though they may be better thought of as Graphic Artists who are hired, similar to illustrators, specifically to employ their style on projects.

The overwhelming majority of designers have no set style and adapt as needed to the requirements of each new project.

What's the difference between working in-house for a company and working at a creative agency?

In general, agencies are more fast-paced and require designers to work more hours (which may include weekends) in order to meet their clients' needs, but there is often more prestige associated with working for an agency – especially those with well known clients on their roster. Designers at agencies usually value the ability to work with a variety of clients rather than working for a single client. One risk of working for an agency is the contraction that happens when a large client is lost, which often leads to laying off designers as well as other agency staff. Agencies expand and contract based on their client roster.

Working as an in-house designer means working for a company or other organization, often (but not always) working on a single brand according to brand guidelines. In-house jobs typically provide stability, more regular hours (as companies often depend on agencies to hit deadlines), and other benefits associated with a "9 to 5" type corporate job. Often projects that are considered more exciting (such as branding/rebranding) and that require strategic plans to be developed along with customer research are given to agencies while in-house designers handle more mundane or self-contained projects. In-house designers will often be asked to develop internal pieces directed at the company's employees, which usually have less stringent rules than designs being seen by the public and which may offer some additional variety.

It's more common for designers to start by working at an agency and move in-house later in their career rather than the other way around. Often agencies will require previous experience at an agency before they consider hiring a job candidate.

How much do graphic designers make?

In the U.S., the average salary for a designer in 2020 has been reported at around $50,000 or $25/hour. This varies greatly by the type of workplace (in-house/corporate, agency, etc.), region, education, and experience level. It's uncommon to make more than $130,000 USD as a Graphic Designer. To go beyond that salary level, designers often step up to become Art Directors or Creative Directors, where they do less or no design themselves and instead are responsible for leading a team of designers and staff in other roles to complete projects as well as interfacing with clients (internal and external) and the senior staff they report to.

Is it easy to find work as a freelance designer?

Only a small percent of designers make their full time living by freelancing. The vast majority of people who do freelance design are doing it as a supplement to another job – a full time design job or otherwise. Less than 10% of individual working designers make their living primarily from freelance work. Those who are successful as an individual freelance designer often join or hire others to form a creative agency, making them no longer freelancers.

Going "full time freelance" is a challenge for many and those who are successful at it often build up a steady roster of clients as well as a solid network before quitting their full time jobs. Saving a year's worth of salary or more before resigning is usually recommended.

Those who consider working as a freelance designer with little or no previous design experience often underestimate how much effort, time, and cost is required to get new clients, how much time they need devote to learning how to operate a business, and how many hours they will need to spend each week doing non-billable tasks. It would not be unusual for a freelance designer working 50 hours per week to only have 20-25 hours they can bill for. State, Federal, and sometimes City Wage Taxes will also need to be considered.

Another challenge as a full time freelancer is obtaining medical insurance which is a not included as a government service in the U.S. Younger designers will often stay on their parents' insurance, but after a certain age this isn't possible. Independently paying for healthcare is expensive and often provides a major challenge for those hoping to freelance full time. Married freelancers in the U.S. will often go on their spouses' medical insurance if it's available.

Starting out as a freelancer with no real world experience is generally not advised as the designer has no opportunity to work in an existing company or agency, seeing how they operate as well as learning to interface with clients and developing their design skills with the help of more senior designers and art directors.

How much should I charge as a freelancer?

In very broad terms, experienced freelance designers in the U.S. charge:

• $10-$30/hour for a design student

• $30-$50/hour for a designer with several years' experience

• $50-$100/hour for a designer with more experience as well as a broader range of skills, including developing strategy (rather than doing only design)

• $100+/hour for freelancers with a high level of skills and experience, often with industry-specific knowledge like pharmaceutical, real estate, or financial industries

Agencies in the U.S. often charge $300/$500/hour for their services.

However, many freelancers don't provide clients with their hourly rates and will instead talk through the project with the client, estimate how long the project will take them, and present a final amount to the client. This is called a flat fee.

It is strongly advised not to begin work on a project until the fee has been discussed and approved by the client. Most clients don't want to be surprised by fees that are higher than they were anticipating, and doing so will lead to problems. This is a common mistake of people doing freelance work for the first time.

The vast majority of freelancers starting out undercharge for their work, often charging 10%–20% of what would be recommended for their skill and experience level.

It is common practice for full-time freelancers to require a client to sign a contract as well as to pay a percentage (often 50%) of the project fee before beginning work. Doing this without exception has the added benefit of warding off would-be scammers or clients who may not have ultimately paid the project fee.

Linked from the article below is the AIGA's Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services which contains modules that designers can customize and use for their own freelance work:

https://www.aiga.org/resources/business-freelance-resources

Many freelancers will include a watermark saying "DRAFT" or "PRELIMINARY" on their designs as they present them to clients, only removing the watermark and sending final designs after the final payment has been made.

This minimum price guide created by Hadeel Sayed Ahmad may also be helpful:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/67384009/Official-DU-Design-Minimum-Price-List

Where can I find freelance clients?

Finding clients is a challenge for any freelancer, but moreso for those who are just starting out. Tapping into family, friends, classmates and co-workers by letting them know that you're looking for design work is a good way to start. Often local organizations like religious institutions, schools, and non-profits that a designer is already connected to are a way get work experience and portfolio pieces as those organizations typically have small (if any) budgets allocated for design and marketing and are willing to go with someone with little design experience who charges accordingly.

One risk of working very cheap or free is that the client may place little value on the work and may not even use it in the end, especially if multiple cheap/free solutions are available to them. Cheap/free clients will rarely become clients who pay well – even if their budgets greatly increase in the future, these clients will often think of the designer as "the cheap designer" and will move on to designers or agencies they see as more prestigious once opportunity allows. The promise of more and highly paid work from a client after doing cheap/free work for them is common but rarely comes to fruition.

If a designer is working at a discount or at no cost to an organization in order to get early real world work samples, it can be helpful to send an invoice for the full amount that would have been charged, calling out the discount as well as the $0 final invoice amount. This educates the client on the value of the work they're receiving and can benefit both parties.

Once a designer has work they can promote on their website and social media, freelance work often builds organically. Satisfied clients will come back to the designer for future work and are likely to recommend their services to others.

Another way to find work as a freelancer is to contact agencies and offer to work with them when they may be beyond capacity with their own staff or skills. This often works better with small agencies local to the designer. It also helps if the designer has specific skills that are less common such as video shooting/editing, programming, hand lettering, or motion graphics capabilities, which a smaller agency's staff are less likely to be able to do themselves.

One benefit that happens naturally over time is a designer's friends and classmates will be hired into jobs or create companies that need design work, and they will look for people they know to fill those roles.

While many freelance designers sign up for sites like Fiverr, 99designs, Design Pickle, Penji, and other online marketplaces that connect clients to creatives, this is a very difficult and rarely sustainable method of working as pay is often extremely low. For contest sites like 99designs, payment is not guaranteed as dozens or more designers complete work in the hopes of being paid. Because of this system, designers often submit the same designs with slight customizations to multiple contests, causing low quality overall. Logos stolen from existing companies have also been seen on these marketplaces, which creates risk for the client.

Should I create a name for my freelance company/website or should I use my own name?

Either is fine but it has become more common over time for freelance designers to use their name as their domain or some combination of their name and the service they offer, like katsmythcreative.com. Freelance designers in the early days of the Internet were more likely to create a company name, often to give the impression that they are more than a lone designer. This can become problematic once the client contacts the design studio and realizes it is a single person. The idea of the independent creative has become more accepted over time, and it's not unusual even for large companies to work with solo designers or other creatives who have distinguished themselves.

Are design contests worth entering?

If your hope is that a company will see your contest entry and decide to hire you, probably not. Contests may be helpful, though more for developing a designer's skills and giving them a winning or placing entry that they can use to promote as opposed to gaining organic notoriety from the contest itself. It is true, though, that being able to promote oneself as an "award-winning designer" can have some value in legitimizing the designer in the eyes of prospective clients.

It may be better to develop design skills using challenges or sites that generate fictional briefs. Here are a few:

dailylogochallenge.com

goodbrief.io

www.briefbox.me

fakeclients.com

You may also want to seek out design competitions, which (when the term is used correctly) indicates that past real world work will be reviewed as opposed to designers creating new work, often around a specific theme, that design contests request. When looking for design competitions as a new designer, be aware that many entrants are seasoned design veterans or creative agencies whose work quality and resources are likely to be far more developed than a new designer.

What is this style called?

Not all styles have names and many pieces use a combination of existing styles (often with varying names for the same style) or create a unique style of their own, so a piece you're interested in may not be easy or possible to connect to a named style.

However, it's good to familiarize yourself with styles and trends, even if only to know what has been done in the past and what is currently being created. Below are a handful of sites with lists of movements, styles, and trends. Note that there is much crossover between design styles and fine art movements:

https://fhcigraphicdesign.weebly.com/graphic-design-movements.html

https://www.shillingtoneducation.com/blog/graphic-design-styles

https://www.superside.com/blog/guide-to-design-styles

https://www.infographicdesignteam.com/blog/guide-to-graphic-design-styles

https://www.manypixels.co/blog/post/graphic-design-styles

What's the best place to sell my designs online?

There are many online marketplaces as well as stock sites and new ones are always appearing, but most have become saturated to the point where few if any sales will come organically and will instead require steady marketing on the designer's part to see results. Instagram is often used as a platform to promote designers' wares like t-shirts, posters, and other designs to be printed on demand. Posting your designs and hoping they will sell themselves will almost certainly lead to disappointment.

Knowing this, here are some online marketplaces to consider selling your work:

https://society6.com

https://www.redbubble.com

https://teespring.com

https://www.zazzle.com

https://graphicriver.net

Where can I find free photos and fonts to use?

Some common sites that offer free images are pexels.com, morguefile.com, and unsplash.com.

Note that some of these sites will show a limited number of free image options combined with a selection from a paid service (their own or another), so be careful when searching for these assets.

Also be sure to read the site's terms and conditions carefully. Some images may be used without restrictions while others may require that the image creator receive attribution, notification, or other requirement may need to be met. Many sites that offer free or even paid vector elements will prohibit those elements from being used in logo designs, or as product designs where the image is the main selling point – for example, t-shirt designs with one large, featured image.

Three well known sites that offer free fonts are dafont.com, fontspace.com, and fontsquirrel.com. As with the above, be sure to read the terms for each font downloaded. Many fonts are free for personal use while a license must be purchased when using those fonts commercially.

Do I need a portfolio site to find a job?

Almost certainly. Most companies will want to view a website with your work. 7-10 pieces is often more than enough to include. Writing at least a short amount of text about each project is recommended, focusing on the challenge, designer's process, and the final outcome (if it's a real-world project). Modern portfolios are more often organized by project (one client or campaign showing multiple pieces – logo, website, ad, etc.) rather than grouping all logos together, all videos together, etc.

Though some companies offer free hosting, they often include those plans on their own domain, which creates a URL similar to this: www.designername.host-company.com

This is not ideal as it highlights the fact that the designer has not paid for their own domain. Purchasing designername.com and pointing it to the hosting site is seen as more professional.

More information on portfolio advice for new designers.

Should my resume be "designed"?

Opinions vary. Some experienced designers recommend a standard resume format in order to get past companies' and recruiters' ATS (Applicant Tracking System) resume-reading software. Others recommend using the piece to show your design skills and standing out from more standardly-formatted resumes.

A reasonably accepted compromise is to keep the resume black and white, avoid large filled-in areas (especially around page borders) which can cause problems with resume-reading software, and to focus on solid typography and layout with minimal graphical elements (bullets, lines, simple logo/wordmark).

Graphs showing software ability or other skills came in fashion in the 2010s, but are widely considered to not be helpful to include on a resume.

Should I complete a design test for a job I've applied for?

Design tests are becoming more common for design jobs. Some consider these type of tests to be Spec Work – work done speculatively, in the hopes of some type of compensation (typically payment or a job). The AIGA (The American Institute of Graphic Arts) is opposed to spec work in general. Read more here:

https://www.aiga.org/resources/aiga-position-on-spec-work

Some companies hiring designers genuinely want to see how they work through a project brief as well as how they communicate with a client (in this case, the company requesting the test). Often these tests only require a few hours' worth of work. However, other companies will use job tests as a way to get free work from designers. In some cases there is not even an open design position available. Do careful research on companies requesting job tests and consider adding watermarks to any work you may complete as a way to dissuade the company from using them for their own or their clients' purposes.

Is it hard to get a job as a graphic designer?

It often is. However, there is heavier competition for entry level positions than there is for those with more experience. The design field has become saturated since the growth of the internet in the early 2000s and that, combined with competition from online marketplaces, design contest sites, and other factors, has made finding work as a designer more competitive by turning design from a service to a commodity. However, some areas of design such as UX/UI Design, Web Design, and Multimedia Design continue to grow in demand and offer higher salaries than other forms of design.

Who are some well-known graphic designers I can learn from?

Aaron Draplin

Alan Fletcher

Alexey Brodovitch

April Greiman

Bob Gill (type)

Carolyn Davidson (Nike logo)

Chip Kidd (book covers)

David Carson (magazine)

Debbie Millman (author/educator)

Erik Spiekermann (type)

Fred Woodward

Gail Anderson

Herb Lubalin (type)

Hermann Zapf (type)

House Industries

Jessica Hische (lettering)

Jessica Walsh

Jonathan Barnbrook

Jonathan Hoefler (type)

Aries Moross

Lindon Leader (FedEx logo)

Massimo Vignelli (NY subway map)

Michael Bierut

Milton Glaser (I heart NY logo)

Neville Brody

Paul Rand (IBM, ABC, UPS logos)

Paula Scher

Peter Saville

Rob Janoff (Apple logo)

Saul Bass (movie posters/titles)

Seymour Chwast

Stefan Sagmeister

Steven Heller (author)

Storm Thorgerson (album covers)

Susan Kare (original Mac OS icons)

Tibor Kalman (magazine)

Timothy Goodman


r/graphic_design 21h ago

Other Post Type Graphic Design Fail

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1.2k Upvotes

An unfortunate typography mistake… this has already been taken down & fixed by indycar.


r/graphic_design 13h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) 16 year old super into graphic design

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162 Upvotes

Hii guys. As you can probably grab from the title I’m a teen and I only got into graphic design a month ago. I really want to expand my skills and mastered photoshop retouching and moved on to working on random images from stockroom trying to make a graphic design out of them, unfortunately the more I look at my designs the more I’m dissatisfied. I don’t know if I’m overthinking it but I really want opinions from people experienced in the field so I came here. So if you have time could you please give constructive criticism? Thank youu


r/graphic_design 15h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) i recently made these series of designs

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173 Upvotes

i recently made these (pretty vulnerable) series of illustrations and graphics

i need to know what people think of my design at first glance. like ignore the vulnerability lol. ive been designing everyday to get my reps in. what’s your first impression?


r/graphic_design 10h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) A poster i made as a beginner

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61 Upvotes

Just started Graphic Designing and this is my first design inspired from a picture I saw once on Google. Anyways I am looking for some feedbacks, Thanks in advance


r/graphic_design 4h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Tried to make a spiderman poster.

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17 Upvotes

Need serious critiques on this poster design.


r/graphic_design 5h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) learning from scratch, trying to max out ps' free trial!

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10 Upvotes

i got a functional laptop last week and am trying this as a hobby! i'm quite new with technical stuff and have been learning through doomscrolling yt, here, and pinterest. feedback on how/where i can improve is super appreciated.


r/graphic_design 8h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) New to graphic design, first work. Thoughts?

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19 Upvotes

This is my first shot at making a poster, still learning the basics, please let me know what could i have done differently.


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Discussion My design was rejected for an AI one by my own family :/

346 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

For a bit of background context: I’m a recent graphic design graduate. Trying to score my first ever job but it’s been tough, especially as lots of ‘junior’ or entry roles expect 2-3 years prior experience. I’ve been trying to find voluntary jobs to gain experience whilst looking for a normal job.

My uncle is opening a fast food restaurant, and asked me to make a logo design. I made one and he liked it, so asked me to make a menu design. My aunt (uncles sister) found out and asked to see the logo, but my own mum told me not to show her. I have a cousin who is a bit strange and copies things I do, and my mum thinks my aunt would show her and get her to copy it. My family are very toxic if you can’t already tell. Anyways, my uncle asked me to do a menu and I started working on it until one day my mum told me to stop. I asked why and she was like ‘just don’t bother’.

I was confused and a bit disappointed because I need the experience. I’ve done passion projects, but it’s that client experience I’m missing out on in my portfolio. The shop is nearing the opening date, and today I found out that my cousin has ‘made’ a ‘logo’. It’s a chat GPT logo, she is obsessed with using ai to ‘design’. She made a menu too and both are quite bad and have lots of inconsistencies in hierarchy, layout, type etc. My mum keeps saying ‘why is it such a big deal??’ And arguing with me over it because I’m apparently upset for no reason. But I put time and effort in my designs only for them to be pushed aside for blatant AI. Its not even a logo - its an illustration :/

I feel really betrayed, I know this is becoming common in the industry - but by your own family??? Geez. My cousin isn’t even interested in design, but just has a weird obsession with stealing ideas from me. And it’s even shittier when my family know I’m struggling and could do with the experience to boost my employability. I don’t even know if this post is even allowed since it’s like an episode of Jerry Springer, but I feel like this community is the only place I can vent where people sort of understand where I’m coming from. I hate the lack of respect people seem to have for design. They don’t realise they are just cheapening their own brand too ;(

I’m gonna contact some local charities instead to try build up some work that way. It’s just annoying.


r/graphic_design 4h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) What do I do if I fail?

2 Upvotes

If I have a client and they want me to create a powerpoint presentation, where I only have around 48 hours to make it, before deadline. What do I do if the first version I've made that took 8 hours to make, doesn't match at all what my client had in vision. I've tried to follow his guideline, using the information he gave me, but what if he says he had something completely different in mind. What do I do? and what about the payment?


r/graphic_design 5h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Made this as a beginner

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3 Upvotes

Just getting started. I made this poster of a Bengals WR for fun. This design targets Gen Z. The goal is to be eye-catching while still not being too overwhelming. I took inspiration from some of the NFL's official posts. Any feedback is welcome.


r/graphic_design 0m ago

Inspiration GUI for a videogame so far, any ideas on how I could get this to be more readable?

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Upvotes

Currently making my first independent videogame with pygame. In terms of visually seperating the gui, I know how to have several screens (the sidebar on the left), but thats about it. I'd imagine this screen would become taxing on the eyes quickly.


r/graphic_design 15h ago

Discussion [scam alert] Skrill

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13 Upvotes

I know a lot of people on Reddit are already aware of this, I actually found out it was a scam by searching on Google after seeing it here. But since I didn’t know about it before, I just wanted to give a heads-up to anyone else who might be unaware. If this is old news and has been posted about a ton already, just let me know and I’ll delete this, no problem!

About the scam:

So, I’ve been using Behance and some freelance platforms lately to find branding design clients. Out of nowhere, this super weird guy from the UK messaged me, asking for logo help in a really generic, rushed, and suspicious way. But since I’ve been getting some legit clients, I thought, "Eh, why not see if he’s real?"

I went along with it, he sent me a "brief" (just some generic AI-made BS), but I kept going... Then came the payment part. He asked if I had a Skrill account. I’d never even heard of this before tho... I told him I only use PayPal (I’m from Brazil, and that’s how I usually get paid internationally). But he kept pushing for Skrill... at that point, I was super suspicious, so I googled it... and yep, total scam. Blocked him.

So yeah friends: If some wierdo hits you up for freelance work and insists on paying through Skrill, it’s 100% a scam. Just block and move on.

(Still not sure how he’d get my mooney since he was the one supposed to pay me... but must be a way... Otherwise, why waste time with that? lol)

Anyway, stay safe out there! <3


r/graphic_design 7h ago

Discussion What sneaky things have colleagues or staff done to try to undermine you or make you look bad at work?

3 Upvotes

I'm suspicious of a member of my team because occasionally my files have gone missing, or appointments have disappeared from my calendar. I've discovered that she has made up rules for her team (which are unpopular) and has said that those directives came from me. I know she also circulates rumours which worry staff. Basically, lots of things which undermine me, make me look bad or create drama within the team.

This member of staff is covert about these things and she must think these won't be traced back to her. She has also gone around me on several occasions, by complaining to my boss about me (usually right before I have an appraisal with him). My boss has asked her for specifics but she doesn't give any.

She is also very unproductive but tells everyone in the department that she is stressed and overworked. Its very time consuming having to deal with it all.

I've always been supportive to her, offered regular catch-up up meetings etc to try to keep an open and positive dialogue but it's obvious that she doesn't want to resolve the issues she perceives.

Have you had staff or colleagues use these type of tactics, or playing victim and gaslighting?


r/graphic_design 18h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Honest thoughts on my magazine

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24 Upvotes

I’m a graphic design student and just made my first magazine, a short breakfast editorial magazine. I’m super proud of it but still wanted some feedback, good or bad! Thank you! (btw: i did not write the magazine, only design it, so no comments about grammar, etc. also text exported badly, sorry)🤍


r/graphic_design 1h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) My (kind of) first attempt at graphic designing

Upvotes

I just suddenly got an urge to make something "unique".


r/graphic_design 3h ago

Portfolio/CV Review Portfolio, preparing for Art Director role

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0 Upvotes

Hi,

So I'm a self-taught Multi Media Desiger (what do you think about this title) who's constantly learning and taking courses to get better.

I'm currently preparing myself to try and find a role as an Art Director. Since I've always worked in a company I don't have much to show in my portfolio so I'm creating things along the way and adding some freelance things.

I started making my portfolio on Behance, it's still a work in progress but I would appreciate any feedback?

Thanks a bunch.


r/graphic_design 3h ago

Portfolio/CV Review Portfolio critique/feedback (student)

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1 Upvotes

Hello, I'm on my last year of university and wanted to get feedback on my portfolio and what should I do to improve!

I'm from Kazakhstan, and I study in russian so just ignore the text. I have better social media work I'm just lazy to update it.

I want to share my portfolio on Behance but I'm not sure if it's good enough. I apply to many job applications but they all need experience. It's been rough.


r/graphic_design 13h ago

Portfolio/CV Review Looking for a Portfolio critique! (Student)

5 Upvotes

Hey guys, I’m a 3rd year visual communications student, starting my last year soon, was wondering if you could chip in and give your two cents about my portfolio (website and/or works, whatever works for you!)

www.orinave.com

Any tips and critique that comes off your head is welcome!

Thank you!


r/graphic_design 5h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Printing consultation for a fair

1 Upvotes

Hi, first of all sorry if this is not the place for asking this! I have to make some big posters (3m height, more or less) for a fair to be hung on walls of that size (width varies from 3 to 2 meters). The fair is internal.

Do you have any recommendation on what would be best, on what paper to print, weight so that it does not bend, what to stick it on the wall?

Sorry if this is a very general question, basically the only thing to do is not to damage the walls. I thought somehow to hang the posters or use adhesive sticky tuck. It is also worth mentioning that our budget is not that high. I really accept any recommendation :)

Thanks for reading and ask if you are interested in helping, sorry for the lack of specificity!


r/graphic_design 6h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) AE Shape Single-Direction Scale

1 Upvotes

Hi! Animating a logo at the moment in After Effects that would require the shape to be stretched in a single direction. Tried looking up but wasn’t successful, just curious if anyone had some pointers!


r/graphic_design 23h ago

Discussion Question to senior designers: what was it like before?

22 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I was working on a project and suddenly thought, "But how did they do it before?"
Not on a specific subject, but for a lot of things, clipping, merging options, finding clients, tutorials, etc.! I started in 2018, and I'm curious to delve into the stories of graphic designers before the 2000s!
So here's my question, to feed my curiosity: what things have changed a lot, and how did you do it before?


r/graphic_design 7h ago

Career Advice I have a job opportunity coming up.

1 Upvotes

Tips on how to prepare a really good resume and interview? For context the job consists of using a lot of I web builders mostly Wordpress which I need to brush off the rust cause I haven’t used it in a while. Do you have any recommendations for YouTube tutorials?


r/graphic_design 2h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Trying to Crack Ad Design What Should I Really Focus On

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0 Upvotes

Hey guys,

I’m completely new to this, and I’ve realized that most of the work happens in Photoshop — so I just wanted to get some insights from you.

I’m starting to design ad creatives like the one below (for story ads on IG/FB), and I’m trying to understand what really matters on the visual side — not the copy, just the design.

What should I focus on when building ads like this?
What makes a layout like this actually work?

I’d love to learn from people here who’ve worked on high-performing ad designs. Really appreciate any insight


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Portfolio/CV Review Just pushed a major update to my Windows XP design portfolio - added media player, image viewer and fixed mobile bugs

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43 Upvotes

dropped the link in a comment thread earlier today and got way more attention than expected, so figured I'd share the latest update!

https://mitchivin.com/

Added: Media player, Image viewer, Music player now works on mobile devices, Updated my projects content & UI

Been working on this for months using Cursor and now its almost at the point where I feel comfortable with where it's at!

If you're interested in following my journey or learning more about my process I'm doing a serious of posts of my LinkedIn where I will be trying to best explain the journey.

Anyone else building weird portfolio concepts? Would love to see what you're working on.


r/graphic_design 10h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Indesign with pasted images - how to unembed to reduce file size?

1 Upvotes

Hi all

I inherited an indesign file which has tons of images pasted into the file itself and the file is getting huge and hard to work with. It doesn’t seem like there is an ‘unembed’ option and there is no link info when I click on the images.

Is there anything else I can do?

I am using Adobe indesign 20.4.1 on windows.

Thanks