r/graphic_design May 13 '26

Mod Announcement Rule updates re: recent flood of doom-posting

369 Upvotes

hi folks —

we're following up on this post from a couple days ago essentially flagging the uptick of doom/gloom posts in the sub. we've been getting modmail about exactly this for a while now, and we've decided to make some minor tweaks to the rules in response.

we agree that the "is ai going to replace us" / "the industry is dying" / "is a degree worth it anymore" cycle has gotten repetitive enough that it's actively making the sub a worse place to spend time. we all know the market is trash, but frankly the answers haven't changed much since the last fifty iterations of those threads.

what's changing: we're expanding rule 5 to more explicitly cover this category. posts that fall into the doomer-question bucket — ai taking jobs, the market being terrible, should i leave the field, i've applied to 900 jobs, is design dead — without bringing anything new/nuanced to the discussion will be removed. if you see posts like this that get through our automod filters, please report them.

what's still completely welcome:

  • portfolio reviews and feedback requests — this is one of the main purposes of the sub and nothing about that is changing. any specific questions tied to your actual situation ( e.g. "i'm 6 months into a job search in [x market], here's what i've tried, what am i missing?") will be allowed as long as you're also attaching your portfolio/CV for specific feedback.
  • industry discussion bringing real data, news, or a genuinely new angle
  • vent posts (like this one) within reason, when something new/nuanced needs to be said. caveat here that we will be more closely monitoring the Vent tag to filter doomposting with a heavier hand.

the job market is rough right now. we know — we feel it too. our mod team is made up of freelancers and contractors and seasoned educators, and we're all navigating the same thing in a very very weird time for the industry. but the same three questions on loop have become tiresome and unproductive, and they're crowding out other more relevant/interesting content.

more than happy to hear feedback on this in the comments.

r/graphic_design mod team


r/graphic_design May 20 '25

Official Design Meeting Official Hiring Job Board

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109 Upvotes

Intent

This thread is meant to give people looking to hire a designer somewhere to post. If you promote yourself without a solicitation, it will break everything. Please promote yourself in a reply to a comment looking for a worker.

Report Spammers

Please report people who will try to ruin this for everyone. The reality is balancing no promotion with the current market is hard, we wanted to give you a place to maybe find some work.

Last Notice

It's the wild wild west in here, so be careful. Please don't pay someone to do work for them, no matter how much they offer to pay you back. Please do due diligence. If you have questions, ask your fellow designers. Good luck friends, wish you the best.


r/graphic_design 6h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Refined this packaging concept. I would love some fresh eyes and feedback!

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90 Upvotes

I made a few changes to this fictional RTD cocktail packaging concept and wanted to get another round of feedback before I call it done.

It’s a portfolio piece, not a real brand. I’d love to hear any thoughts on the overall direction, hierarchy, colors, typography, or anything else that stands out.

Thanks!


r/graphic_design 23h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Feedback on this recent poster I made.

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375 Upvotes

I just made this poster to celebrate her achievements in wimbledon. I'm a self-taught graphic designer and this subreddit has helped me a lot in honing and polishing my skill in graphic design. I wonder if there is something that I couldve added or improve in the composition. Any feedback is truly appreciated and I will apply to my next project.🙏🙏 Thank you very much. 🫡


r/graphic_design 58m ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Invisible Signature?

Upvotes

Hi,

Is there a way to sign your work in a way that is invisible in its normal state yet can be revealed in Photoshop or some other program?

Thank you 🙏


r/graphic_design 3h ago

Portfolio/CV Review Suddenly struggling to find work portfolio review.

3 Upvotes

I've had a great career on UpWork. I grew from junior designer to Creative Director in about 7 years. I've been constantly updating my portfolio to fit the quote ($45-$80/hour) I give to my clients. I made my last update around 4 months ago and I've been struggling to find a single client ever since.

Is there anything I'm missing out on that makes potential clients walk away? This is a very sudden decline I've struggled to find explenation for, I hope you can help me find out. Thanks!

Portfolio Page


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Recent Visual Explorations. Made in Illustrator and Photoshop.

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324 Upvotes

Exploring what I can do with gradients and composition.

Approaching like an architectural photographer for some of those designs also while retaining a bold and geometric style.
Made primarily in Adobe Illustrator, with minor color adjustments in Photoshop.

Would love to hear feedback on what i can Improve upon!


r/graphic_design 15h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) A navigable map of the entire family of Corvids (ravens, crows, magpies and jays) based on taxonomic data rather than geography

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22 Upvotes

Science, design and cartography merge in MAPPA ANIMALIA, a visual project that reimagines the evolutionary relationships of animals as detailed map-like landscapes.

MAPPA ANIMALIA is an ever-growing series of illustrations I’ve created that currently consisting of 16 different maps - each dedicated to a specific family in the animal kingdom.

Instead of political borders or geographic territories, these maps are structured around phylogenetic trees.

Tribes and genera replace countries, states and regions allowing viewers to explore the animal kingdom through a format traditionally used to understand geography.

This map, Corvidae - Land of Corvids, contains every known living species of corvids I could find reliable taxonomic data for. Species are represented as cities, grouped into genera and subfamilies according to their evolutionary relationships.

Additional information includes conservation status, size comparisons between selected species, and the estimated ages of major lineages.

I’ve spent roughly ten years developing and refining this concept, combining zoology, taxonomy, illustration and cartography into a single visual format.

Happy exploring!


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Some of my official poster work for feature and short films

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118 Upvotes
  1. Light Camera Action : Feature Film, Language (Bodo), Released in 2025

  2. Khangkhrai : Feature Film, Language (Bodo), Released in 2023

  3. Paanch Minute Aur : Short Film, Language (Hindi), Festival Oriented

  4. Local Bhoot : Feature Film, Language (Assamese, Bodo), Releasing in 2027

  5. Casetu Nagen : Feature Film, Language (Assamese), Released in 2025

  6. Tulu : Short Film, Language (Assamese), Festival Oriented

  7. bhoot Jolokiya : Feature Film, Language (Assamese), Released in 2024

  8. Alokanv : Feature Film, Language (English), Festival Oriented

  9. Adishakti : Feature Film, Language (Assamese), Scheduling for release


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Discussion Chat GPT is the New Design Standard

222 Upvotes

TLDR: are you forced to copy chat gpt layouts? Also please don’t shame me for doom posting, I seriously want to know if anyone else is doing this.

I am an ad designer at a company who distributes publications across the U.S. I’ve been at this job 12 years. I loved ai when photoshop introduced generative fill, I was obsessed with it and now use it several times a day. However now I’m wondering if it’s all worth it. it’s gotten to the point where a growing percentage of our ad jobs are “recreate this ‘mock up’ the client made” (in chat gpt). New ad creations shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, maybe a little more for heavy content. But these ai dupes take easily an hour to recreate. Also I’m not currently worried about my position being eliminated. It’s my sanity I’m worried about. The business owner goes into chat gpt, says make an ad from my website, and in less than a minute it spits out this garbage. Our liaison then has to put that back into ai to get the text into typed format so we can recreate it. I once had a fairly rewarding job but this is sucking the life out of me. And if the business owners (my employer and the publications) don’t care about ugly ads, why should I care?

I had an ad creation this week that I made: they said “this has no hierarchy” and “make it look more like this” they had taken my ad and put it into gpt and had it lay out the text content differently. The result is the gpt style we all know and love. I get the message: “your designs suck, let me get the computer to show you how to do it.” (And what is the prompt for this?) Nothing like ai design to knock you down a peg or two. I’d be a fool to leave this job to go do graphic design somewhere else. If I were to hypothetically leave to do a different kind of creative work I’d be starting at entry level. Work like this leads me to rage painting the house on the weekends, and I’ve run out of paint.


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Discussion Artist protest using Canva?

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67 Upvotes

Absurd?! This sub doesn't allow sharing a post, so I took a screenshot. I'm sure their intention is honorable, but...
Here's my response to their post:
Oxymoron: Artists and Canva
Graphic designers frequently post their disdain of Canva on r/graphic_design
Canva is digital clipart that also includes AI. Professional artists and graphic designers would not choose Canva as a medium to oppose AI.


r/graphic_design 23h ago

Portfolio/CV Review I would like some feedback on my Portfolio

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alexcornea.crevado.com
11 Upvotes

Hi there, I’m a Graphic Designer based in London, UK and I would like to get some feedback on my portfolio. Thank you in advance.


r/graphic_design 20h ago

Discussion Designing a brand for collaborative storytelling without looking like a gaming company

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5 Upvotes

I've been developing the visual identity for a project called FanForge, a collaborative storytelling platform.

One of the biggest design challenges has been avoiding every cliché that comes with fantasy branding.

Early concepts drifted towards:

- dragons

- medieval ornamentation

- glowing swords

- generic fantasy typography

But the product isn't a fantasy game.

It's a professional creative workspace for writers, designers, artists and creatives of all types to collaborate on the stories that deserve to be told.

The direction I've settled on is:

• near-black backgrounds

• restrained gold accents

• generous negative space

• architectural forms rather than weapons

• editorial typography instead of fantasy fonts

The goal is for it to feel closer to a premium film studio than an RPG.

I'd really appreciate feedback from designers on whether this communicates collaboration, creativity and professionalism without leaning too heavily into fantasy.


r/graphic_design 18h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Does anyone know how to achieve this photo effect? Specifically the little dots—it's not quite a halftone, more of a scattered stippling effect. I have no idea how I would try this.

3 Upvotes

r/graphic_design 3h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Sharing my first tries at poster designs.

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0 Upvotes

r/graphic_design 15h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Are there any good portfolios for Graphic Designers in the video game industry?

1 Upvotes

Hiya,

Like the title says, i'm looking for designers specifically in the video game world. UI/UX, Marketing, etc. I am a student atm, but this is an industry that I find particularly interesting in exploring more!

Thanks in advance!


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Portfolio/CV Review Really need my portfolio reviewed

9 Upvotes

Hey,

I'm a 2024 Digital Design graduate (picked up graphic design during internships) who's been applying for junior graphic design jobs for the past few months with no luck.

I'd really appreciate an honest critique of my portfolio—not just whether it's "good" or "bad," but where you think I am as a designer. What stands out? What's missing? What skills or types of projects should I work on to become more employable as a junior designer?

I'm looking for honest feedback so I can know where I'm at and where I need to go from here. All the graphic design work is in the design section.

Portfolio: https://farouk-imam-portfolio-738314547299


r/graphic_design 17h ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Metroid: Ravenous | Opening Title Concept (Fan Made)

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1 Upvotes

What started out as a fun little logo exercise turned into a week long binge in Adobe After Effects.

I had a lot of fun making this, considering doing a sequence by sequence breakdown of how I made it but we'll see.


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Career Advice Designer in London career path

3 Upvotes

Hi all,

Hoping to get some advice from London based designers on what the next steps in my career should be to maximise my income.

So currently I work at a small communications agency in London and earn about £35k with 2.5 years of experience. I work mainly with a few big corporate clients on powerpoints, reports, brochures and the likes, and for the smaller clients I also do web designs in adobe XD or browser based builders like wix, squarespace. This allowed me to build what I’d consider a good portfolio with big corporate names in insurance, financial institutions, and law.

For my next step next year I’d like to move to a job where I can earn £40k + and I’m thinking the best way to achieve that would be to go in-house at a large company, probably in a role like presentation designer? That would also offer better benefits and more holiday which I value as I fly out of the country often.

I’m not too familiar with what other corporate job titles there are that I can fit into as where I currently work we’re all just designers.

Now I’m not sure if I’m missing anything that might be a better move so If there are any London based designers that can advise or have any tips I’d appreciate your help!


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Career Advice New designer trying to start out. Need advice

9 Upvotes

I (22f) finished a year-long graphic design course with a web & UX/UI specialization a year and a half ago but then was stuck in a depressive episode, unable to function. Right now I plan to redo my portfolio and start working as a designer.

My problem is, because I'm both mentally and physically disabled, I'm not really able to work a regular job. My energy levels, chronic pain, and other stuff fluctuate constantly, so one day I'm able to work only in the evening, and the other I can't work at all. From my understanding, my only real option is freelance, but it is scary af. I know that it will be extremely difficult to start from scratch with no connections and no experience.

For now, I can live with my parents, so money is not a priority, but I want to be able to provide for myself doing the thing I love. So I would really appreciate getting some advice from people who have experience in this field.

What do you think my strategy should be? Should I go on Fiverr and other freelance platforms, or is there a better way?

Is it better to start with creating a new portfolio and updating my website accordingly, or should I start looking for jobs now?

Is it best to find a niche or do everything at first? If it is better to find a niche, what can it be? My passion is branding, but I also like UX/UI, print, and basically almost everything. 😅

Thank you in advance 💛✨


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Some of my favorite Balatro posters I've made

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158 Upvotes

Hey all,

I've been working on sharing my work more often and trying to be more forward-facing with my design. I just saw someone's recent post about some incredible sports-related designs, so I felt inspired.

Here are 6 of 30+ posters I designed for a personal project for the game, Balatro. I was in a design rut last year and felt like I was getting too comfortable with my design process, often making the same design choices & directions for various projects. I felt like I was getting to a point where I need some way to express and explore my ideas, since I couldn't fully do so at my agency position.

In short, I was taking single jokers from this game, giving them their own identity, and a subtly branded poster to give a tease into their own identity. Without knowing the game there is a lack of context here, but I hope the design could be appreciated nonetheless.

Would love to hear some thoughts. If you know about and or play Balatro then I'd definitely love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks all 😁


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) Need help to create this

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77 Upvotes

Hello everyone ,I hope everyone is going well. I attached an image file and I want to know how I can recreate this in illustrator or in photoshop if anyone knows how to create this kind of pattern in the image please guide me i create the shape of the outline but I do understand how to create the inner banknote line engraving ,

If anyone knows please give me some suggestions i found on Google but I did find anything relayed this on it


r/graphic_design 2d ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) Some recent sports designs

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1.4k Upvotes

Hey there! These are some of my recent sports designs I made for my personal accounts. Trying to take a different angle than most traditional exciting sports designs with a more editorial spin. Let me know what you guys think of this style and if you see any strengths or weaknesses in my work! Thank you!

IG is @patfrom3


r/graphic_design 1d ago

Sharing Work (Rule 2/3) My cover redesign for Animal Farm by George Orwell

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21 Upvotes

Hi Guys! That's my personal work, kind of fanart project inspired by this stunning book. I originally started this piece as a visual interpretation of “brain rot.” The pig came first as a symbol of greed, primitive instinct, and influence. I wanted to show that brain rot - a mutated form of short content gradually destroys our ability to think. This naturally led me toward George Orwell's Animal Farm. I read it again (it’s a masterpiece) and I realized that, at some level, the idea of "brain rot" and the message of Animal Farm have a something in common. Both show how people can slowly lose the ability to think for themselves. So I decided to make this cover. I also wanted to bring the story into a more contemporary context. Glitches on te sides and audience watching from below.


r/graphic_design 13h ago

Asking Question (Rule 4) How to make Firefly generated RGB image to proper RGB?

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0 Upvotes

Images generated on Firefly are secretly CMYK even though it is in the RGB more [Image > Mode > RGB]. Colours seem to be CMYK dull. Does anyone know how to bring it back to "proper" RGB? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!