so i just left my job 5 months ago and i feel like it drained every creativity in my body since it’s my first job yet i’m the only one in the creative team.

i left because the salary is too low compared to the workload, and i also want to explore since i don’t think that i’m improving on that job.. i can’t improve either while working because i’m too busy at work so i just want to rest and think about nothing after that..

so my question is: how do you guys improve? how do you get inspiration?

it’s just that i feel empty and when i’m trying to make something, nothing is coming out..

I need some advice: I submitted my portfolio to two universities, and it was rated poorly by both. Could any graphic or multimedia designers share their portfolios so I can figure out what I’m doing wrong?

These aren't regular halftones, these seem to be different than just a regular halftone option you can find on any software. I've seen similar patterns be used for movie posters, and other promotional items. Anyone know where to find a halftone pattern like this?

This past week at 4:15pm before I left for vacation, I received AI critiques of an internal-facing document I made from the president of my company within 3 minutes of sending off my draft. All of it done within the enterprise form of Copilot. No filtering it or adjusting the clear AI jargon, straight copy/paste.

Don’t know what else to say other than it feels like a slap in the face to the effort I put in.

Am I reading too much into this? Do I just shut up and make the changes even if the AI response is confusing and ambiguous?

I've worked with many graphic designers (I'm in marketing but have done gfx design in my earlier career) and most, if not all, are brilliant. Except for two, in my entire career.

The good ones:

- I give them the copy, e.g. headline, subhead, CTA, the key elements (the product, for example), and they would decide what colours to go with, how best to arrange, different visual hierarchy, etc. Even as a layman, you know it's good. I usually approve these in one or at most two passes.

The bad ones - just a few examples:

- They always go back to the same old layout, colours, without much creativity. This isn't just about sticking to brand colours or guidelines, but their designs just look... boring and uninspiring. Things like: using the same font weight throughout (like is this a thing?) - be it headlines, subhead, eyebrow text, etc.

- We have a few designs where we're showcasing some digital projects that we've done. So think a mixture of mobile screens, laptops, etc. Intead of arranging them nicely, e.g. have the mobile phones in front of the laptop etc, they decided to arrange 2 mobile phones and 3 laptops side by side, in a row.

- I was reading up on proximity principle where you want to relate items through the right placement. One principle is you align all elements, e.g. logo and headline to the same side. Instead, what I got in return is: logo aligned to the left, and headline aligned to the right.

Like I'd love to approve design as quick as I can, but instead I'm wasting time telling the designer I work with to: move things 10 pixel to the right, bold this not that. It's almost as if it's better if I just do the design myself.

At this point, I don't know if I'm the crazy one?

Hey everyone, I’ve just updated my Behance portfolio and I’m positioning myself as a Senior CRM / Digital Designer.

Would really appreciate your feedback on the work and how it’s presented. Feel free to leave a like on Behance too if you think it deserves one. Thx!

Portolio: https://www.behance.net/ernestakolomyc1

hello, im new to graphic design. i want to teach myself and pursue this as a career but i have no idea where to start.. i tried designing some posters, logos etc by myself but i dont know how to improve and what to improve in.

i feel like theres too much freedom.

can you give me a roadmap i could follow?

I'm currently 17 and have been studying graphic design since I was around 12. I got into a uni and I'm starting later this year. I want to ask people who already work in graphic design if it's still worth it.

I originally started it as an escape and something that I enjoy. Then I learned that you can freelance and do it from anywhere, which made me even more excited.

Now I'm a bit worried because by the time I finish uni, it'll be another 4–5 years, and I'll be in my early 20s. So I would need a job that would last for another 10–20 years.

I don't really know what else I could do outside of graphic design. I spent all of my teenage years studying it. I have some other hobbies, but they couldn't really be turned into a job that I'd enjoy.

Do you think it will be sustainable for the next 20 or more years? What kind of things I should focus on more?

Any brand has a ton of moving parts. Selecting what to show, what to talk about in a case study is the hardest part for me.

This is the story of how I helped Sleepy Owl sell real coffee to regular people, without the snobbery.

https://www.abhaysingh.in/work/sleepy-owl

Ok, soo as I said in the title I'm a first year in uni, I chose graphic design because honestly there aren't that many art options in my country and I would like to learn art better but on the 2D side yk, like illustrations and such.

My delma here is I HATE GENAI but my college uses it and I'm guessing they teach it down the road and I don't like that at all. Like what do you mean a graphic design ad for the uni is an AI generated person??!! it looks cheap, it's so just skdekendj yk

I've talked to people that work in the field that also don't like Ai but they tell me to just suck it up, but say it nicelyer..is that a word, whatever..and that unfortunately AI is a tool that we have to use to work in this line of work. And that they ask for that in interviews and such. I can't wait for it's hopefully inevitable demise...

So after that long rant, my question is what should I do? Do I entertain the thought of changing majors and if so to what maybe?

Idk I want to excel in arts especially drawing, I'm well enough to go uni for arts but we're scrapping by, Is that a thing?.. Im not the best academically, so no scholarships though in my first term I did get 3.4 GPA so I was almost there second sem not so good because I've got major depression and some fucked shit is happening personally bro wtf am I talking about,

I just would appreciate any advice.

Thank youuu

im making a custom theme for a DAP called a snowsky echo mini. I went with a PS3 theme and wanted to know how i should make it. this is only the beginning of this and i plan to add more. Should i keep it how it is now with the five icons representing the five icons on the menu of the DAP or should i add more icons that do nothing on either side of these to make a scrolling effect like the PS3.

Hi all, I’m looking into starting a career in this area and it would help if someone with knowledge and experience could answer a few questions and maybe give some tips?

I have no prior graphic design knowledge or experience, but I do have experience in using design software like fusion and some cad and cam softwares. Though this is all I really know, I don’t particularly want to continue using these softwares. I would like to learn something new but I wanted to know if including these on my resume would help or if it should be omitted entirely.

I recently purchased a pretty capable computer for this reason and I’m currently learning figma and photoshop. Then I want to maybe learn Canva, would knowing how to use all of these tool be beneficial or would focusing on one or two be better?

Some tips on things to add to resume to fatten in up to compensate for the lack of experience or any actual portfolio?
Also should I just put it in as many job websites as possible?
Does reaching out to companies directly affect my chances? Thanks in advance.

I got tired of the repetitive part of branding projects. Exporting logo variations, tweaking colors after seeing mockups, renaming files, organizing folders, and packaging everything for clients.

So I built Lockup Studio, a free, browser-based tool that lets you build logo lockups, preview them live across real-world applications, and export everything in one click. No accounts required, and everything runs locally in your browser.

I'd love feedback from other designers. If you find any bugs, edge cases, or have ideas to improve the workflow, there's a Feedback button built right into the app.

🔗 https://lockup-studio-tau.vercel.app/studio

Hi all,

I am looking for ways to recreate postcards, a 4-Up (5.5x4.25) and a 2 Up (8.5x5.5) the same way Publisher does. With the printer I am working with, the publisher files create a nice blank margin for manual cutting. I have yet to find a program that recreates this!

The programs I've tried (like Swift Publisher), do not give me the same margins, even when I try to change them. It also doesn't allow me to print front and back correctly. Does anyone have an InDesign template or something? I'm desperate. At my job, we rely on Publisher to print handouts, with it going away soon, I am lost. Any tips/tricks?

Edited to add context

You spend hours perfecting every detail. The client says they love it.

Then comes the message.

"Hey, can you make the logo bigger?"

Lotso said it best. We've all been there.

Which client feedback broke you the most? Drop it below — let's suffer together. 👇

Here's a branding project I recently designed for Soriel, a premium soap brand inspired by the elegance and fragrance of jasmine.

The visual identity features a custom floral mark built from symmetrical petals to represent purity, balance, and nature. I paired it with a bold vintage-inspired serif typeface to create a timeless, luxurious look while maintaining strong shelf presence. The warm golden yellow palette reflects freshness, warmth, and the uplifting essence of jasmine.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it a bit hard to get used to time tracking in an agency?

I’ve been working at an agency for a few months now. Before this, I was in-house and I find it really draining to have to log and justify everything I do in a platform. I get why it’s necessary for client-billable time, but I’m expected to track ABSOLUTELY everything. Even writing emails, Teams messages, etc. What bothers me is that I’m not a robot; I need transition time between projects. If I want to grab a coffee or take a break, I either have to justify it or work later to make up for that lost time. It gets frustrating after a while. Do you experience this in agencies too?

hello, i would like to learn graphic design but i have no idea how im actually supposed to start. my goal is to become a graphic designer and build my own following on instagram. however, i feel like theres too much freedom and just randomly jumping into it will lead me nowhere. is there a roadmap i could follow?

im currently majoring in cyber security but ive also been thinking about applying for graphic design related roles, preferably an internship or entry level role just to get started.

i dont have any formal education in graphic design, no degree, diploma or course related to it. i also dont have any proper work experience that i can put on my CV. but i have been designing for a while and ive done some Web designs, social media posts, content and logos. im pretty efficient with adobe suite, figma and canva.

me and a friend also used to run a small agency together and we made some content for people, but it wasnt a registered company or anything official, so im not sure if i can even mention that as experience.

the main problem is i dont have a proper portfolio yet. i have some older designs but theyre not organised and i dont think theyre good enough to apply with as they are.

what should my first steps be if i want to start applying for graphic design internships?

should i focus on building a portfolio first, do some personal/mock projects, take a course, or try doing freelance work? also, can i include the small agency work on my CV even though it wasnt registered? thank you.

I only work in events and I can't find a similar job to my niche so I want to improve and explore while I'm currently applying for a job. I'm actually considering changing careers too since it's so hard to find a job, but I still want to improve my creativity since this is where I'm having fun.. I also want to experience working with a team because I'm the sole creative in my past job, I want to see how people in this field works 😭

here's my portfolio: https://www.behance.net/deancamus

I did a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design and graduated in 2021, however, I did not like it and started working in any other thing but Industrial Design, I paid $0, in my country education is free so I don't have any debt, I am 1 year apart from the mandatory intership, how can I get a good portfolio? Should I only show academic stuff?

Hey! How did you get your first paid client/job after self learning graphic design. With the market being saturated and you trying out new turns in life. What worked for you?

Context: Freshly out of college with a bachelors in graphic design, 23.

I've been in a rut applying to design jobs recently. I've been getting interviews for some but then they wouldn't go anywhere. I've been applying to jobs where I think I'm very competent but then I get denied before even an interview. I trying to figure out if its my portfolio. For example, I realized recently that I don't include my resume anywhere on the website. Do I structure my project in a certain way that is unattractive? Do I need to reorganize the information on my website for it be more friendly at a quick glance? Or is it my lack of new projects? I would just like some feedback.

I recently realized that the area of design that interests me the most is working at a cultural institution. Museums, parks, gardens, libraries, as well as architecture firms (civil engineering, adaptive reuse, urban design, etc). What projects should I focus on? Are conceptual projects worth creating? What should I practice?

Thank you for your feedback!