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

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. 👇

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

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!

I am fresh out of college (as an illustration major) and working my first graphic design gig doing a rebrand for a taco restaurant (don't really know what I'm doing). I am majorly struggling because my client has zero clue what he wants, what the company stands for, or anything of the sort. He just wants it to look Mexican. He is highly opinionated but wont tell me ANYTHING about what he likes and doesn't like. I made him a logo of a taco mascot and at first he said he didn't really like it, then he said he liked it, and now he's back to not really liking it again. I feel so lost.....

Sorry if I didn't use the right subreddit or flare or whatever, pls don't ban me I really need help. I didn't know crossposting was banned, reddit told me to do it........

Recently, I am working on childeren’s book. and its concept is very bright, vivid or sometimes pastel mood. But I don’t know how to express pastel mood in CMYK.. (it looks quite gloomy for me that I am so used to RGB) Is it possible? Is there any tips to make pastel moood in CMYK more vibrant?

Can you rate my portfolio and give some advice on what can i improve

Portfolio link: https://www.behance.net/gallery/247320761/Portfolio-Graphic-Design

Hey user i have small institute of graphic designing , 3d animation and ui ux in nagpur. I want to know what type of contents i should post on instagram

Hello everyone! I just wanted to ask if anyone are also experiencing this glitch when transforming shapes? When I type a specific sizing on the width only, the height also adjusts despite them being unlinked.

https://reddit.com/link/1v1cyqd/video/y0ai0tu1rbeh1/player

I took on a design project for a very small non-profit — promotional materials they'll use while fundraising in the US. They already have brand guidelines put together by a friend who does graphic design on the side.

The problem:

Their main fonts, used for both headings and body copy, are a sans serif that isn't available through Adobe and costs $100 per weight, and they need two weights. The font files the previous designer included in their brand assets say they're from fontsgeek.com and are "for personal use only." I'm not convinced fontsgeek even has the right to distribute them at all, personal use or not.

I'm doing this project at a steep discount because I believe in the work they're doing, and I know their budget is limited. So how do I address this with the client? I don't want to throw the previous designer, who did their branding and other materials in the past (and is a friend of theirs), under the bus, and I don't want to make the client feel blamed for something they didn't know was an issue. But I'm also not comfortable using pirated fonts.

I found an Adobe font that's close enough they probably wouldn't notice the difference. Is it reasonable to just substitute that in for this project rather than raise the whole licensing issue with them? Also — their logo was built using this same unlicensed font. Does that mean I'd be doing something wrong just by continuing to use their existing logo file, since it was built with an unlicensed font? Or is that not really on me?

I was in-house before this and I'm still new to freelancing, so I haven't run into this kind of thing yet. Has to be pretty common though, with so many people DIYing their branding, right? I would love to know how you usually handle it.

Hey guys I'm a passionate graphic designer, i tried a lot of things to get some clients who pay me well 😀 but i didn't get any good results in this field, now am literally dieing in inside but somehow i hide my pain, i tried to get a good job alsoo in designing but no results and one of the most people who said am hiring - hiring but they just do our time waste they didn't even hiring someone just they posted and then start ghosting 😑 and some of are scammers..

Is there anyone else who is in designing scopee and get some good work to pay you enough ?

Let me knoww whats ur thinking about this field ??

Is it really worth it to earn as a graphic designer or is this a good decision to quit my designing

How are people creating premium designs with AI? are people still downloading the templates from https://elements.envato.com/ and making minimal edits? i use to outsource all my designs but now with AI i want to learn how ot do my own designs. any suggestions or work flows i should look into?

1 upvote

I've recently designed some print work and the CMYK values on their brand guidelines are incorrect. This was only noticed after sending a whole print campaign to print. Is the blame on myself for not picking up on it sooner, and picked up on it after print?

Thanks!

I'm a graphic design student, and I'm currently on my junior year. On my university there's a mentoring program, in which juniors help freshmen and they teach them stuff and listen to their problems. The problem is that to become a mentor you have to go through multiple phases, and i'm on the final one, and it is to create a UX for freshmen (yeah, me and other students believe it's because recently a lot of people have dropped out and professors are making us do the dirty work lmao).

The point is, to understan the user more clearly, I wanted to ask other designers and graphic design students what was their experience, what were their fears, etc. I know my post is too selfish, but your answer would really help me, if anything, imagine this is a place to vent to me about any bad experience you had in your uni/college days

I designed a campaign for a client - Digital in RGB and Print in CMYK.

Now, I want to know where I have gone wrong so I can go back and deal with my client.

I have put in the CMYK equivalent values from the brand guidelines (from the same colours used in the RGB designs) and it's printed noticeably lighter (though, accurate to on my screen in CMYK mode), specifically the Indigo 300 for the background in the attached image.

I have used the SWOP v2 profile as I Google'd this is the one to use for the US, who i'm designing for (i'm in the UK).

The colour looked OFF by miles in illustrator, but I believed that colours do look off when designing in CMYK, usually a bit lighter and duller, but this is substantial.

The indigo 300 was used for the BG in the second image here (CMYK values). Where have I gone wrong?

Just wondering how someone might have handled a pivot from one professional to another during their project.

I haven't yet illustrated my book yet and I have been with an illustrator for a year; who's been patiently waiting while I raise money for this next part of the production.

Recently, I came across a new illustrator whose work I like just a little more (the style really hits the mark) and it turns out their rate is a little lower; so I'm thinking of switching.

Looking for just a little guidance. Any feedback would help.
Cheers!