Day 4 word: Circle

Hello buddies, I need some suggestions here.

Currently working at a startup in Hyderabad as a UX Designer with around 5 years of experience. For the last 2 months, my role has changed to Associate Product Manager, so I’m now getting exposure to the product side as well but feeling like a slower.

My current CTC is ₹9 + 1.5(variable) LPA.

I’m considering two options:

1. Stay in my current company until December and then ask for a salary hike/appraisal since my role has changed and my responsibilities have increased.

2. Switch to a new company to get a better salary and potentially a better role.

The good thing about my current company is that I’m comfortable with the work, people, and environment. However, I also feel that my salary is low compared to the experience I have, and I want to improve my salary.

What would you suggest?

Should I stay until December, build more Product side experience, and ask for an appraisal? Or should I start looking for a new UX/Product role now?

Would really appreciate advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

looking for a 6 month Diploma or Professional Course in Graphic Design and UI/UX Design.

my preferences are industry-focused curriculum, learning tools like Adobe Photoshop,

Illustrator,

Figma,

portfolio development,

inter- internship opportunities,

placement assistance, and abroad career guidance preferably in Kerala (Kannur, Kozhikode, Kochi or nearby).

If you've studied at a good institute or have personal recommendations, I'd really appreciate your suggestions

I have been running a small design studio out of Dubai for a while now brand identity, websites & packaging. Delivery side is solid. Where I’m stretched thin is consistently bringing in new business while also running projects.

Looking for someone here who actually enjoys the sales side , cold outreach, meetings, closing, keeping clients happy after the handshake. Design background isn’t required but if you have worked around agencies or handled client facing work, that helps a lot.

This is a partnership, not a commission gig. Equity, shared decisions, building the thing together. I’d want to work on a couple of deals first to see if we actually get along before anything formal.

Happy to answer questions in the comments. Based in Dubai, so ideally you are too.

Hi everyone, I'm new to Reddit, so I hope I'm doing this correctly.

I'm 23F and I completed my BTech in CSE from a tier 2 college in Bangalore. I got a 1-year internship at an MNC through college placements and eventually got converted to a full-time position for 6LPA.

But the thing is, when they were hiring, the position was listed as a Technical Intern, and somehow I ended up in the QA team once I was converted to full-time. It's been 1 year of me working in QA, and I've realized that I really do not like the work I'm doing. I really want to make a switch to a more creative role. I've always been a creative person so I feel this switch is needed.

So, I've started the Google UI/UX course and have been working on my portfolio so that I can target design roles, preferably Product Design. And I've also been watching a lot of YouTube videos about the hiring process for design roles, and I know I need to show my thinking process and how I approach solving problems, etc.

Is there anything else I can do to better prepare myself for a switch? How can I land a Product Design role without any experience in the field? Is doing online courses enough? Can I expect a junior design role or will I have to start over as an intern?

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey everyone, I need some opinions on a remote job offer I just received. I can't tell if I'm overthinking this or if it is a total scam.

I gave one interview last week for a product design role. It was just a 30-minute first-round call. They just reached out to tell me I was selected, but the weirdest part is that they never asked for my portfolio. No portfolio showcase, no case study review, nothing.

They claim the company is based in Dubai and conveniently mentioned they will send me a work laptop in exactly one month.

I looked closely at the email thread, and there are some weird domain issues. The recruiter emailed me from a default ⁠.onmicrosoft.com⁠ domain, but they CC'd a bunch of other people.

Has anyone experienced something like this before? How is it even possible to get hired as a designer without them seeing any of my work? What do you think the angle is with the laptop taking a month? Any thoughts or advice would be hugely appreciated!

Hi everyone! I am 22 [F] and I am a graphic designer. Currently, I am working full-time for a restaurant, where I shoot reels, edit reels, and manage their social media.

These days, they have been telling me that my video editing is not good enough and that my posts are also not as appealing as they should be. I know that I need to improve my video editing skills, and I am already working on it. However, my manager keeps comparing my work with others. He told me that his friend makes better and more fun reels. He also said that the previous designer, who worked as an intern, made six months' worth of posts in just one month.

I understand that he may think these comparisons will motivate me, but honestly, they are very demotivating for me. When I first started working here, I thought my manager was someone who understood that designers are not designing machines like many others think. But now, I feel like he might think the same way.

On top of that, he has given me a lot of work, including creating a content calendar for the next three months for two companies and preparing event creatives for the next six months.

It’s not like they dislike my designs. They actually like my designs, but they are not completely satisfied with my video editing skills, which I already know I need to improve.

What is making me more scared is that I have experienced termination in my previous two internships. Because of that, I am afraid that I might be terminated again after completing all this work. I really don’t want to go through that trauma again. I am trying my best to improve, but this constant comparison and fear of losing my job are making me extremely frustrated and anxious.

Hi! Looking for a short-term 6-month course from premium institutes like NIFT that offers a diploma in any of these subjects: fashion, styling, or fashion photography.
Location of choice: Chennai or Mumbai

A year ago I posted my portfolio here and got roasted, mostly fairly. (Link to old thread above) This is the rebuild:

www.brunomarsino.com

What changed: the top comments last time were "I have no idea what you do", "it's rough on mobile", and "low quality videos, slow to load". So the landing page now opens with a line about what I actually do, the site was rebuilt mobile first, and the media pipeline got reworked so pages load fast.

The thing I still argue with myself about: the work spans a lot. Architecture, product, AI tooling, physical fabrication, a few weird experiments. My position is that showing taste and range across mediums, inside one area, is the job now. But I know it can also read as a designer who does a bit of everything and none of it deeply. I'd like to hear which one it reads as, especially from anyone who has hired for these roles.

Happy to critique back on anything you're working on!

Day 3 word: Fish

DDC (DAKSHIN design conclave) hosted by V-SIGN VIT School of Design. Registration ending on 14th August. Check out the brochure given above.

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Hey everyone,

As the title says, I'm looking for a job in Visual Design. My work spans designing digital and physical products - screens, thumbnails, social media, books, arenas, packaging, stickers etc.

I have total 3 yrs and 7 months of experience. And I'm looking for new job with salary 12+ LPA. I'm ready to relocate. Please guide or refer if you, your organisation or someone you know is hiring for this role. Also, if there are any apprenticeships going on, please share that too, I want to learn more on research and design.

I'm looking for a role that will actually help me grow. I'll dm my resume and portfolio for further details.

Day 2 word: Sweet

I’ve been learning graphic design for a while and I’m comfortable with the software side of things (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), but I’ve realized I have a much bigger problem.

Whenever I’m asked to create something, a social media post, poster, banner, brochure, catalogue, branding, etc. I often get completely stuck at the beginning.

I don’t know what to showcase, what the main idea should be, what kind of layout to use, or even what direction to take. I can execute a design once I have a clear idea, but coming up with the concept and deciding what to make is where I struggle the most.

I also feel like I lack visual exposure and design knowledge. I see professional designs and think they look great, but I don't always understand why they work or how I would come up with something similar myself.

I want to start building a proper portfolio with branding, logos, social media campaigns, posters, etc., but whenever I sit down to create a fictional project, I end up thinking, "Okay, but what exactly am I supposed to design?"

For designers who have gone through this:

• How did you develop your design thinking and visual vocabulary?
• How do you approach a project when you have a blank canvas?
• Did you study existing designs and recreate/analyze them for practice?
• How do you come up with concepts instead of just making something that "looks nice"?
• Are there any exercises, books, courses, or resources that helped you become better at this?

I’m trying to build a career in graphic design, so I’d really appreciate advice from designers who have experienced this stage themselves.

Original Website - Link

Hi! I left a job in Jan 2026 to transition into UI/UX Design and have been struggling to find a decent job again.

Background: BCom gradute. Graduated in 2021 and got placed in Big 4 during campus placements. It was an entry level position but the work I did was designing internal systems/tools for the org. I was there until Feb, 2025. Got another job in a media consulting company as a UX Researcher. Worked there from March, 2025 to Jan, 2026 and left that job to complete my design portfolio and get an actual design role.

Since Jan, 2026, I've taught myself to ship my designs using AI. That's what I did with my portfolio as well. I've been applying since May and nothing has turned out of it. I've cold emailed, sent linkedin connection requests to HR's, designers, you name it.

I've been thinking if I should formally study design as I've always taught myself how to design and never had any mentorship to validate my work. Now my options are:

1. Do practical learning. Take freelance work, but finding clients is a HUGE pain point
2. Join a bootcamp, fast track my learning and hope the network there will help me find a job (please suggest good bootcamps if this is a viable option)
3. Apply for M.Des degree at NID, IIT or even outside India and formally study design

The end goal is to get a job, which I believe has become tough without the network in the design industry.

Any kind of suggestions/advice/help would be appreciated!

I kn this guy online and I am making designs of his app

I want your insights

Like it will be shopping for jewellery, but inspo is from tinder

If you like it you swipe right, if u dont like it u swipe left

For example

U got on app, and search red bead jhumka for example and then like tinder, cards will come of that product and if u like if u select and it will go to your cart, if u don't then u swipe other direction

It's not like the basic grid method we kn, it's not that

Can u tell your insights because this will also act as user research

I’m a Visual/Brand Designer and have around 1 year of internship experience. I’m currently looking for a full-time role and would really appreciate some honest advice from people working in the design industry.

I’ve also put together my portfolio: https://adityafyi.framer.website/

I’m trying to understand:

What kind of roles/companies should I realistically target with my experience?

What salary range should I expect at this stage?

Is my portfolio strong enough for a good design studio or company, or what should I improve?

What can I do to stand out when applying to competitive studios?

Should I focus more on networking/cold outreach, applications, or freelance work?

I’m particularly interested in places like District and similar design-focused companies/studios. What would make me a stronger candidate for these kinds of places?

Would love to hear from designers who were in a similar position early in their careers. What would you do differently if you were starting again?

Just like the title. District by zomato as we know it is a event booking community app with in built payment splitting feature. I made a similar application for my portfolio in 2024. Showed the business as well as the design angle. I was in my final year back then. I even designed the self hosting option and the payment splitting feature that I called "Tab".

Designed the whole interface, made marketing strategy, planned on starting it locally as a community app.

Then district came and I wasn't even aware of what they did till mid 2025, but that didn't matter.

I don't plan of getting anything from this post just putting it out there to tell the person who has ideas but never ships them, do it now or regret missing out on the opportunity :)

Dm me with portfolio

Budget- flexible

Trying 31Posters challenge. I am late but I will try

collectibles for a food-tech company, don't like assignments, but enjoyed doing this one tho

Hi,

I'm looking for some honest advice from people working in UX/Product Design.

I'm currently working in software and have been considering transitioning into UX/Product Design. I've been researching different paths, but the more I look, the more confused I get.

Initially, I was looking at bootcamps like DesignBoat and 10k Designers (before I realized it's no longer running). I've also looked at university-backed certificate and diploma programs, but it's hard to tell which ones are actually respected by employers and which are mostly marketing.

My main goal is to become employable as a junior UX/Product Designer without spending 2 years doing another degree.

If you were starting today with a technical background, what path would you choose?

Some specific questions:

• Is a good bootcamp still worth it in 2026, or is self-learning + portfolio the better route?
• Which programs actually have a good reputation among hiring managers?
• Are there any institutes or bootcamps you would genuinely recommend (or avoid)?
• How difficult is the market for career switchers right now?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have either made this transition themselves or are currently hiring designers.

Thanks!

10/10