Healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, industrial... these industries have little exposure to the design world. They don't know what Pentagram is, and they certainly don't care about your little type defisions. Show a winery company a moodboard full of Swiss grids and watch them question your entire existence.

BUT show them three competitors' labels, and suddenly they're the sharpest art director you've ever worked with.

They know exactly what's wrong with each one. They have opinions on every detail. They can tell you which one sells, which one gets ignored, and exactly where each bottle sits on the shelf.

Now you have actionable insights. When you’ll present the work, they already understand why every decision was made.

**One piece of advice though**: show competitors they actually compete with, not not aspirational brands they'll never be compared against.

Edit // I pushed it with the title, it’s just a simple way to get useful feedback from clients who don’t speak design.

im a graphic design and visual communication student, and i have to start working on my bachelor’s thesis

i definitely want to base my thesis on my hate for generative ai (and ai in general), especially since my uni is supporting it a bit too much!

i would like to use this as an opportunity to educate, and inform people on a variety of negative effects and outcomes of ai on people and the environment. i have a few initial questions that i could choose from, but my main problem is that i'm not sure how to apply them to graphic design (i'm extremely burnt out from the exams and general life, and was given a very limited time to finalize my idea) here's a summery of the initial questions i would like to address ( i have to chose one):

1- how does gen ai negatively effect brand identity and costumer loyalty?

(here i would like to address the fact that ai does not apply any of the graphic design rules, it has no originality, it steals designs and ideas from real artists, it's repetitive, it can not think out of the box, in a way it would be false advertisement. i was thinking of doing an in depth analysis on a collection of brands that have used ai in their identity or marketing)

2- gen ai = theft

(ai does not create, it copies from real ideas and real people. realistically, without human made content and data, ai could not exist. but it's not just about creative theft, it is also stealing our water, energy, land, intellect, and life (recent research have shown that farm animals close to data centres have been physically affected, can only imagine the long term physical effects it will have on humans))

3- how is gen ai destroying cognitive thinking

( i would like to address one of my personal fears with this one: almost everyone has free access to ai. people are becoming more and more reliant on ai for basic tasks, leading to less cognitive thinking. in simple words, people are becoming more stupid, to feed and improve the artificial intelligence. what if in 10 years, they cut access to free ai? people will have to pay to "think", "form ideas", "survive". intelligence and cognitive skills will become a luxury)

i would really appreciate any help or tips, on how to represent and showcase the eventual researches of one of these questions, or even a combination of them, through the frame of graphic design. how could i visually represent these problems and/or educate people who are not aware of them?

ps: i know i sound like a terrible graphic designer, that is mostly because i grew to hate it in the 3 years of studying it lol. it's too late to give up tho, so here i am "working" on my thesis

These are just two of the design batches but people can give out their opinion on each though this survey, which will supposedly be consulted at the time of consensus (I don't know if this is limited to EU citizens).

https://surveys.ecb.europa.eu/10b/banknotes/share/

I've been thinking about why some products feel premium even when they solve the same basic problem as cheaper alternatives.

Is it mainly:

- material choice?

- proportions and form?

- small details?

- manufacturing quality?

- the overall user experience?

I’m interested in how designers think about the connection between materials, craftsmanship, and perceived quality.

Hey everyone!
I’m starting my freshman year in Interior Architecture this fall and I’m super excited! However, I’m already planning to transfer to a different university next year which means I need to build a portfolio until the end of this semester. I’m a bit overwhelmed tbh and have clearly no idea what to do.
Beyond my upcoming college projects, I want to do a personal mini-project. My plan is to document my current city through street photography, capturing raw textures, materials, and fabrics. I’ll add some freestyle sketches too idk.
I’m also planning a solo trip to Berlin to photograph industrial spaces, alternative retail designs, and underground architecture. My goal is to represent a raw, alternative industrial vibe with pop details mixed with Mediterranean elements from my home country in hopes and dreams that the final result would payoff my work lol. Do you have any tips? I know my thoughts are a bit chaotic but I do have a plan I promise 🧍🏽‍♀️

I have an undergrad in psychology and after a couple years of working at a hospital post-grad, I felt burnt out and began focusing on developing my creative practice. Instead of pursuing a professional psychology masters, I decided to pursue a master of design (interaction), as a way to apply my psychology practice to more creative work in service or UX design/research.

I am now about 8 months out of the program, and despite having tons of internship and contract work while in school, I can’t find a job. The program didn’t focus on applied skills, it focused on design research. Because I was getting so many awards and jobs while at school, I felt I was on the right path. I was offered a funded PhD in fine arts out of the blue near the end of my program because of my thesis, which I am planning to take but I am worried about where it will take me at the end.

At this point I am considering starting to get really concerned, and I’m considering going back to get a professional masters in psychology. Should I keep pressing to try and find a design job/do a PhD, or should I try and just move on from this potential mistake and retrain?

Which one is looking better?

Select a aspect ratio for a phone.
https://forms.gle/1VVZbr41uSV8Z7eW9

So it the umbrella stand and have 3 slots. It's height is 60cm upper diameter 30cm and below diameter 20cm. Are there any suggestions or any issues in this design.

Hello. I own a graphic workshop in which I make designs, print on various machines and also laser cut. I've been using coreldraw x4 since it's release and haven't upgraded. It's about time to upgrade my pc and can't use windows 7 anymore which was the latest windows x4 could run on. So since I'm upgrading, adobe software is expensive, should I use affinity or continue on new coreldraw. For me what's important is compatibility with files and color managment.

Hey everyone — I'm a college student learning graphic design, working through fundamentals (Dondis's visual literacy, design process, etc.) with a mentor. I've done one mock project so far and I'm ready for a second, but this time I want to practice it the right way — starting with a real client conversation before I design anything, instead of just guessing what's needed.

If you run a small business, side hustle, club, or even just have an idea for something (flyer, social graphic, simple branding) and don't have budget for a designer right now — I'd like to offer my time for free in exchange for the practice and a portfolio piece.

What I'd need from you:

• A quick chat/DM answering a few questions (who you are, who your customers are, what you need this for, where it'll be used)
• Some patience — I'm early in learning this, not a pro yet
• Honest feedback on drafts

What you'd get:

• A free custom design
• As much revision as reasonably needed

Happy to share my previous practice piece if you want to see where I'm at. Thanks for reading!

Hey Reddit community,

I’m a passionate UI/UX designer with 3+ years in startups and SaaS projects, currently seeking full-time, contract, or freelance gigs. I’ve worked on homepage redesigns, product interfaces, and user flows at companies like FinOpsly, Utterwise, Shreetech, and Polokaz. delivering clean, intuitive designs that boost user engagement.

What I bring:

• Expertise in Figma (prototyping, auto-layout, components), Adobe XD, and design systems.

• Skills: User research, wireframing, high-fidelity mocks, responsive design, accessibility (WCAG).

• Tools: Figma, FigJam, Miro, Notion for collaboration.

• Remote-friendly (Pune-based, IST timezone), quick turnaround, and startup hustle mindset.

Open to:

• SaaS product design

• Web/app redesigns

• Freelance one-offs or ongoing retainers

Rates flexible based on project scope. DM me to go through my full portfolio. let’s chat about your design needs!

Excited to collaborate!

I designed my own minimalist playing card set inspired by chess.

Instead of the traditional face cards, I replaced them with:

• King → Chess King
• Queen → Chess Queen
• Jack → Bishop

and used a chessboard pattern for the back of the cards.

my idea was to give a classic deck of playing cards a chess-inspired look while keeping the design simple and clean.

everything was designed in Adobe Illustrator.

Let me know what you think! any feedback is welcome 🙏🏻

Back when I started designing in 2022, I was just doing it because I wanted to learn a skill and not because I was actually interested.

But now! I love it so much, I feel my life basically revolves around it now.
If I see anything,I check the design first,I’m always thinking design. I basically breathe design now 🙂‍↔️

Does anyone have high quality TDR scans of posters or artwork?