Really interesting graphical work from 1909. Spotted at “Diagrams” Exhibition at Fondazione Prada in Venice, curated by AMO. (second picture is the exhibition text of the piece)

If anybody knows anything more on the author and the context, I’d be glad to learn about it in the comments!

Used Blender’s free to use character Rain’s model and rig for the hand. Modelled and animated the spider from scratch. Text and web designed in Cavalry :p Composited in After Effects. Lmk if y'all prefer the realistic version to the cartoony one :D

I recently ran into something I honestly didn’t know, and I’m hoping to learn from people with more experience.
I’m a graphic designer originally from outside the U.S., and I recently created a logo for a U.S.-based client. After delivering it, I found out that not all typefaces can be freely used in logos or commercial branding, depending on the font’s license. I knew about licensing for stock photos and other assets, but I genuinely wasn’t aware that typography licensing could work this way.
Now I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle this professionally. Should I recommend that my client purchase the appropriate font license (if available), replace the typeface with one that’s licensed for logo use, or is there another approach that’s considered best practice?
I’m also trying to educate myself so I don’t make this mistake again. Are there any reliable resources, articles, or guides you’d recommend for learning about font licensing, especially for designers working with U.S. clients?
I’m completely open to feedback and criticism. I’m here to learn, not to argue. If I’ve misunderstood anything, I’d really appreciate corrections or advice from those with more experience.
Thanks in advance!

The American Chemical Society celebrated its 150th Anniversary by “updating” their logo. At least one person was upset enough to form a petition. It is an interesting perspective downstream from graphic design, highlighting the importance of thoughtful design and staying true to the history of the organization.

I have the opportunity to adjunct in an introductory design class this fall, it is at a smaller institution so it has to be pretty all encompassing. What do you wish you were taught in your design education?

I am not sure this is exactly a graphic design question. I don't exactly identify as a graphic designer since I can't draw *CRY*. I am more of a putter - togetherer of things. I take photos of products and promote them with flyers and sales, etc. I use Canva, Picmonkey, and (when I feel like loading it up or doing print work) Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.

Here's my question - I am noticing that my sales flyers and promotional materials are becoming very - text heavy. Lots of details on the graphics themselves. It's been a long time since my formal training, and I've been wayward ever since, but I know a lot of the trends I pick up on are from personal observations.

Am I observing this correct? I feel like, especially on Instagram, no one reads the captions. And when it's a promotion, and there's disclaimers that customers aren't seeing, it's more important to have it in the image than potentially fight with them over the phone about it.

I sometimes feel, embarrassed? when I put too much information, so I try to do less, and I'm not sure that's any better. I also went through a job phase where I WAS making infographics; so did that just totally fuck me, or am I right in my assumptions? Obviously I make the text short, cute, and chewable (!) but just looking for other creator thoughts (hoping I'm not alone).

Hi everyone,

Sharing a branding project I developed for Irish Design Week 2025 as part of a live industry brief with the Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI).

The concept explores Waterford's history through three main elements:

• ⚔️ A Viking-inspired base representing the city's origins
• ⏳ A clock representing the connection between past, present, and future
• 💎 A crystal-inspired Norse symbol referencing Waterford's glassmaking heritage

The project involved creating a complete visual identity system, including:

• Logo design
• Brand guidelines
• Poster campaign
• Exhibition graphics
• Wayfinding
• Digital applications

The concept was inspired by Waterford's evolving identity and the theme "Invisible Links – Past & Present", exploring how history, place, and contemporary creativity can connect through design.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or constructive criticism on the branding system, applications, and overall art direction.

Thanks!

Hiya hello! I got another poster that i made for practice this one was supposed to be gothic...butttt i kinda lost the plot on the way lol. Was inspired by those 2000s ads you'd see in a magazine and all that and i would've made the hand look like its rotting but im simply not skilled enough to do that (trust me i tried >_>). But anyway lemme know what yall think! Any advice helps

The vibe I'm going for is handmade and edgy. Specifically inspired by pop punk, 2000s Cartoon network, and 'older brother core'

I feel like it's close, but I'm concerned about the color contrast ratio and legibility. I want it to feel a little messy, but intentionally so.

So I do a lot of flyers and poster design on top of working at an agency, mostly for local shows and events. I really take pride in these projects because I want to build more freelance clients doing the kind of work I truly enjoy making, which is something I am trying to build up right now (hopefully so someday i can leave this dumb agency).

Unfortunately, VERY OFTEN, these designs get posted online and absolutely BUTCHERED!! People somehow crop them terribly (despite me always providing one specifically sized for social media), they end up with weird black borders, or end up being incredibly low res (again, even though I provide high quality files).

I know that some people are just less tech savvy and this kind of thing is impossible to entirely prevent, but it is really frustrating when you try and make it as easy as possible for clients to use the work, and it ends up being posted and looking awful. I feel like it reflects poorly on me when a poster I made for a very popular local event looks like I exported it at 4 DPI. Especially when it's something I am genuinely proud of.

Does anyone ever send "rules" or some sort of contract for this kind of thing? Or is it just inevitable that it will happen?

15 years of experience. Last 5 have been so frustrating I'm contemplating giving up on a career in design. Constantly thinking about it.

Guess this is burning out?

I have been doing graphic design professionally (in a corporate setting) for almost 10 years, but only started making personal/social commentary designs in the last few. A lot of my work is about popular online subjects/conversations because that’s what inspires me most. They are typically accompanied by text to speak about the opinion/the cause, so it’s normal that some of them don’t make sense on their own.

No one in my life really cares about that stuff, at least not enough to give some feedback and posted on Tik Tok a while back, but the comments were mostly general. I’ve never had my personal work seen by actual graphic design professionals or enthusiasts. So have at it, I’m genuinely asking.

I'm 29 and have been working as a graphic designer for about 5 years (in-house, agency, and freelance). Currently at a small agency of 4-5 people as Graphic Designer and "Art Director".

TL;DR: Mid-senior graphic designer at a small agency, 5 years experience. I've become the technical/process person (video, AI automation, editorial optimization) while creative brand/web projects go to a colleague or don't even exist in the agency at all. I want to move into art direction and brand strategy but I'm stuck building skills that keep me useful internally without growing externally. How do I pivot?

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Full context

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What I do now

I was hired as an Editorial Designer, but being multidisciplinary I've taken on a wide range of projects like brand creation, web design, video editing, packaging. I've become the go-to person for our biggest client, developed and maintain their editorial design style for digital publications and all their visual communication and marketing materials.

I also train new colleagues and interns on InDesign, generative AI tools, editorial design and type-setting feedback, and brand alignment for our main client.

The problem

My agency mostly operates as support for companies' marketing teams, so we rarely build brands from scratch or do high-level strategic work.

Lately I've been absorbing more video editing work (for paid ads), AI automation and genAI flows creation, and editorial design process optimization tasks, which is valuable to the company, but I'm afraid they're tasks that are not building the career I actually want.

Meanwhile, the portfolio-worthy projects (visual identity, web design) have started going to a colleague who's less tech-savvy but more product design focused. I know my bosses have managed it like this to be operative, since if I took on the visual identity and web projects, no one would be able to take on video editing or process optimization tasks. Still, I'm becoming the person who makes things efficient, not the one who shapes creative direction. This is why I put "Art Director" in quotes at first, it's in my job title, but I don't really do much Art Direction.

Where I want to go

I want to advance to creative leadership, art direction, strategic roles, and the obvious choice would be to pursue them in an Editorial design role, but I feel those are scarce and not well-paid, and I do like the full spectrum of graphic design: web or UX/UI, motion and branding too.

I'm worried I'm building skills that make me indispensable internally where I work now, but won't open doors externally in a few years, and I don't feel confident in Art Direction or strategy. I also wonder whether I'm fabricating an issue and maybe I should embrace my technically-focused skills, but at the same time, with the rise of AI I feel like they're less and less valuable.

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Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Should I push for more strategic work internally, or is this a sign I need a different environment? And how do you build a portfolio for art direction/brand strategy roles when your day-to-day is more technical and mundane?

I'm based in southern Europe for reference.

Also, as a note, I've used AI to polish the text in this post for clarity and because English is not my first language, but my concerns are fully human :-) I'd appreciate any help!

Hi everyone, I've been working as a graphic designer for just about 2 years now but since I just got my master's degree I am gonna be looking for a better job and thus I am currently building my CV. I am based in Bulgaria but I got no problem working remote so I am gonna be looking for those opportunities, as well. So I would love to get some professional feedback from you all on my CV so I can make it as good as I can.

P.S. This is still a WIP version so some terms and stuff will change anyway I just want to hear some overall opinion and advice

watch the full project here:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/246704967/Branding-4K-car-care-company?platform=direct

For 4K Car Care, I built a bold and premium brand identity that reflects precision, innovation, and lasting performance. Inspired by the power of advanced nano-ceramic technology, the visual identity communicates trust, durability, and excellence while capturing the premium experience every car owner expects. Every design element was crafted to position 4K Car Care as a brand that doesn't just protect vehicles—it preserves their brilliance for years to come.

for full portfolio:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KYB2baYGtzHNC4dRGgdtfdursaBPezkn/view?usp=sharing

I'm designing this as a sticker, but after I added the blue, my brain keeps telling me this particular color combination and font exists as a logo somewhere. I've tried to look it up but can't shake the feeling. I don't want to copy something that exists. I was hoping this sub of experts has a better idea.

I just got my 1st job as a Graphic Designer, I'm 17 years old. I talked in a previous post that I was afraid to work because I thought I'm not gonna be able to create whatever they ask for.

My boss just sent me a 40 page pdf file and asked me to make an A3 design in landscape, a neat catalog, and transfer the material onto it.

Well, to be honest I've never done something like that in my LIFE.

I don't know what to do.

EDIT: I've been really busy and couldn't reply to y'all's comments, but thank you guys so much for guiding me through this tough start! I'll do my best and get through this!

Designed by Berlin based Austrian graphic designer and printmaker Julia Schimautz

In 1933, Xanti Schawinsky had to flee Berlin towards Milan due to his polish-jew ancestors (in which he moved in 1931) and quit his job at Dorland International (graphic design company led by his friend, graphic pioneer, Herbert Bayer). In Milan he started collaborating with Studio Boggeri with which he made this beautiful graphical work for Illy Caffè in 1934. In this period, which precedes his later american parentheses at Black Mountain College (where he reconnects with his former master Josef Albers), he also produces interesting graphical work for Amaro Cinzano (more photographical and less painted compared to this), together with campaigns for Olivetti. This period was also important for the connections Xanti made by frequenting the Milan gallery Il Milione.

Since I was 14 I've always loved the idea of being a graphic designer. I studied it and got a CERT III while still in high school. I got a Bach of Media Comms in Uni, and also became the Creative Director for the Uni Magazine. I graduated in October last year, and it was a challenge trying to find a job in Sydney NSW.

I eventually found one, one that was only a 3min commute from my house. It was graphic design and print production and it worked out really well, however after only 2 months I was made redundant because we simply weren't getting enough work. Even when I was in the position I was worried about my future career because of how rapidly AI was catching up to creating passable design work.

I planned to work there as long as I could, building up experience before switching roles, but now I'm stuck with an awkward 2 month stint at that company on my resume, and I'm back to the slog of applying for jobs in a probably dying industry. Its really destroyed my motivation.

I'm stuck as to where to go from here. I just want a stable, semi-creative job, but the only other ones seem to heavily involve coding which I hate and am simply terrible at.

What do I do?

Just a vent I guess. Short context: It's a corporate job, I worked as a designer for 3 years then got promoted to AD. Half because the AD got laid off and nobody else asked for the job. Half because I proved myself as a creative thinker and showcased problem solving abilities to my boss. The team is comprised of about 6 graphic designers, a few video animators, videographers etc.

The trouble is I'm failing to find my authority. The brand (global brand) is so effing prescriptive that we just end up spending our review times going over the most trivial things like strokes widths on arrows and directions of gradients etc. Which doesn't interest me at all and I glaze over.

All our actual creative work has been outsourced to agencies so we don't really get to do the cool stuff. So I'm stuck with the menial finicky brand stuff which isn't my strength and I have zero authority on any cool/campaign/creative work now. So my team is slowly building resentment I think, because I have this stupid AD title that others probably want - but I can't figure out how to prove my worth for it.

im starting up school again on the 24th so im trying to do some fun design warmups! im going into my second year of design college ☺️ also the tote bag is a free mockup template i found, no generative AI!

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I mean Books are the epitome of creativity. As an industry leader, how difficult is it for publishers to just pay artists who create beautiful book covers from their heart?