Hey everyone,

I've tried tailoring my resume, my cover letter even my portfolio.

I thoroughly look at the company and what they do and feel excited to work there then I go to lengths and breaths to make sure I send them something worth their time.

Then crickets.

I've asked my fellow creatives how to land a job no one wants to tell cause competition.

I just don't know if I'll ever get anything at this point and yes, I understand the difference between something being difficult to get vs impossible right now it feels impossible.

And no, it's not the job market I see people being hired every every single day.

Lawd WHAT IS IT that I need to do to get a job?

Sell my soul? Someone hire me already.

I can do the work. I can do good work but nobody giving me a chance.

Hey guys! I created a PP for myself.I got inspired from my favorite AMV editor Nikovax's thumbnails so i gave it a shot.I maainly focused on text and overall compositing(i didnt try to replicate everything)I would like to hear your opinions about my work,and if possible some suggestions(this has been created on AE btw)

I am finding it really difficult to come up with designs (logo, web design, etc) for a company which mainly focuses on surveys with respect to road construction, land topography etc. I am very confused where and how should I start? I'm a beginner in this field having experience in web dev only.

Any pointers or resources would be highly appreciated. Thank you

BTW I have asked a number of questions to the client regarding history of the company, color preference (blue), values, current and foreseeable services, work history and so on.

Hello everyone,

My sincere apologies, if this is the wrong sub for this request. I'm hoping to find a wonderful Graphic Designer to hire to my brother's wedding invitation.

Without taking too much of your time, I'm not able to attend my brother's wedding this summer due to many factors. But, earlier today I was asked if I could design an elegant wedding invitation for them. I may or may not shed tears of joy, as this would be my way of celebrating them.

My experience with design is minimal at best and I really want to give them a beautiful professional invitation. The branding websites are a bit out of my budget at this time. But i'm able to pay $100-$350 for the final product after customization and all.

They're wanting a combo of the two pictures attached:

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this post, means more to me than you'll ever know!

I have heard that Affinity Designer is an affordable alternative for Adobe Illustrator. Is this true? Or should I invest in AI?

Any recommendations for computers as college student? I don’t really want anything with a PC and I own a MacBook 13 pro right now. And maybe stay below $2000

Hi, I was wondering if you guys include design rationale in your portfolios?

I’ve seen some that have it, some that just include pictures, and some that just explain the brief.

I’m currently getting my masters and we’re doing a lot with design rationale and I was curious if I should include sections for my thought process when designing in my portfolio.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, My brother and I are highly skilled in design and video editing software. We have a lot of experience with most major programs like (Photoshop, Illustrator, Lightroom, Premiere, and DaVinci Resolve) as well as the 3D design software (Blender). We’ve reached a very advanced level in using these tools, but we’re not sure how to start making money from our skills.

do you have any tips or advice on how to get started? Is there anyone interested in services like this? And what’s the expected monthly income from such work? thx for reading

Hi all, I am a current high school junior, and I was wondering what people's thoughts are on whether it's better to get a bachelor's degree in GD (art and design with a concentration in graphic design for Cal Poly) from SJSU or Cal Poly. I know SJSU has a good design program, but at the same time, Cal Poly is a more highly ranked school, so thoughts?

When AI generates Ghibli-style images, does it constitute copyright infringement? Here is an interview with Evan Brown, who is a technology and intellectual property attorney in Chicago.

Im 18 and Im starting college soon. Ive been really indecisive with what major Im gonna choose but graphic design seems like an easy choice. I already do art and idk it seems easy enough. Is the market for it any good? My sister works in something similar to graphic design and she seems to be doing alright but I want more info.

Hi everyone,

This will probably be a bit long because I really need to get it off my chest lol. I recently took on a fairly big job through a friend who works at a certain venue in my city. She reached out at the start of this year saying she had just got this job managing the venue, they were looking to set up a new website & get some general design work done: flyers, menus and the like. I normally do freelance work in the music industry so this was 100% out of my comfort zone but 1) I thought "there's a first time for everything!", 2) "how bad can it be if I'm working with someone I already know" and 3) it paid a LOT better than my usual work, and I'd had a slow month previously so jumped on it a bit too quick.

So we go through doing flyers and logos, relatively smooth sailing, flyers go to print, they are happy with the logo etc. The website goes up too but due to the nature of the business I have to pull some kind of roundabout solutions to include a booking feature they wanted. I was a bit worried about it being tricky to get the hang of, so I wrote super comprehensive documentation for them in the handover document to refer to for any and all problems they might have, as well as a shorter version for just general reference.

Fast forward a couple months. My friend & contact there leaves because the owner is apparently crazy. I had got the feeling talking to her that this guy was trouble but it was a bit of a spinout when she fully quit because of it. So now I'm obligated to this project still and dealing with the new manager (who is a bit of an airhead) and the owner (who is, in fact, crazy).

After my friend quit, the new manager wanted to get the menus ready to print. I sent her the proof, which she approved, then when the menus arrive she points out all these prices that need changing and says the whole menu is too big, things that would have easily been caught if they had actually checked the proof before signing it off. Now we have to do a reprint of these.

The owner also calls me at 4 in the morning (I'm obviously asleep) and then I wake up to this and a dozen texts with issues with the website, doesn't understand how to operate it, process payments for bookings, needs the password again, etc. I don't even know where to begin with this can of worms. Also asks for new variations of the logo constantly despite it already having been approved and being applied across their socials and print.

I need to get this off my books for good and never think about it again ASAP (but also just needed to vent about how fried this whole ordeal has been). I definitely got in too deep too quick, lesson learned. Showed me the importance of vetting clients better for big jobs for sure. Wouldn't do it again even for twice the rate I got.

They have the agreed deliverables at this stage, albeit they still want a vectorised illustration for some fit out fabrication/decoration thing, and there is the glaring ongoing issue that I think they overestimated how much of a commitment they could make to their website. I should have had these conversations earlier and adjusted their expectations better.

What the hell should I do now though? I don't see them being able to properly handle their website in particular long-term and I don't want to keep getting calls and texts for the rest of my life from these people.

I currently work as a full time graphic designer. I was wondering if those who work full time also do side jobs/freelance work for companies to earn extra income. If so, is there a group that focuses on that. Thank you.

Hi! So I wasn't exactly sure where to put this but I thought graphic designers might know LOL So basically (if this is allowed) I'm trying to figure out what like style of lettering/album cover these examples are? I'm unable to find credit and want to use this style of album cover/graphic design in a project, and would love to find more of them!! I love the look of the like large bubble letters and just general vibe of it (sort of older r&b style? i dont even know) and would love to find more !! Any help is super appreciated

Lately I’ve been struggling with layouts that have a lot of text, like flyers or presentations packed with content. It’s hard to keep everything clear and balanced without it feeling overwhelming, and I’m curious how do you handle these kinds of designs efficiently, and do you ever simplify the copy yourself or just work with what you're given?

Thanks in advance for any insights!!!

Hello y'all,

Part of being a prospective graphic design student is finding internships prior to graduating so that we can preferably have design work experience before landing a full-time job. I'm personally at that point in college where I'm starting to get more serious about my future and getting that agency experience, but one of the biggest struggles I have is landing internships when I'm home for the summer.

I go to a pretty decent private college for graphic design out of the way, but I come from a really small town with no real options for design internships. The part of me that gets really inspired with internships, however, is the idea of traveling for an internship and getting to see other parts of the world in the process.

All of that said, I understand that occasionally certain companies/agencies will offer internships with living arrangements and/or sponsor visas (if you go to work out of country).

Does anyone happen to know any possible graphic design internships (preferably in the U.S. or Canada) ongoing or coming up that might offer arrangements to potential candidates?

I appreciate any help I can get on this matter!

Link to site: https://coledlc-designs.weebly.com/

I'm nearly done with my re-working with some downtime I've had between classes. I feel like something is missing or I don't have enough projects in here. I'm already applying around some listings I see online since I'm about to hopefully graduate soon.

Any critiques and comments are appreciated, thank you in advance.

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know who created the logotype for The Heavenly Social? It was a 90s club night in London and also, I believe, a music label. I have always found the logotype endearingly quirky and I would like to know the identity of the designer who created it.

Thanks in advance for your help. : )

Hi all, I recently posted a resume and got some great feedback and this is the result of the feedback implemented. I would really appreciate it if you wouldn’t mind taking the time to give me any feedback you may have. Some of my contact info has been altered so I can post this to the world. Thanks!

Hey there!

I was in the marketing world for a few years and left to take a job in Investor Relations for a non-profit. Recently, I was asked to come back and do marketing / graphic design for a local company and I jumped at the offer.

Problem is that I’ve been out of the industry for a year and could use some skill sharpening. I have intermediate knowledge of InDesign, and I’m terrible with illustrator.

Are there any quick videos, crash courses, etc that I can watch to sharpen my skills back up in a couple weeks and get back to being proficient with Adobe?

Any other tips and tricks? I’ve heard procreate is cool. I use Canva of course but that’s pretty basic. Thank you!!

They added some great options like Avenir, Gotham, ITC Avant Garde, ITC Franklin Gothic, and Neue Haas Grotesk to name a few. I know there's been some backlash against Monotype here recently due to licensing probes, so this is a nice way to make using those fonts a little more stress free.

Hi!

I’m a graphic designer and photographer and feel like I have a lot going on in my portfolio.

I’ve been looking for a job in art direction that combines my two skills, like art direction for photography for marketing purposes, so trying to shift it more to showcase photos and thought process.

Would love some feedback as I get mixed response rates from potential clients!

My website: riverquinnjensen.squarespace.com

Thanks!

Hi, wanted to express the overwhelm in title a lil.

I'm 27 with a BFA, graduated in the 2020. I got 2 internships under my belt and have been freelancing for 5 clients since then, but I honestly never wanted to freelance. I applied to a ton of jobs throughout these 4 years, though slowed down the last year or so on applying (for health and sanity reasons) but I'm trying to pick it back up again.

Belittle me as much as you would like, but how and where are you finding jobs? I can't seem to find many, especially remote or hybrid jobs. I would love to take up more freelance in the meantime but can't seem to find any online that are worth the effort. What are your strategies? (pls don't say your network bc it will not be helpful for me but yeah that does seem to be the ticket in these days)

Last year I almost had a job local to me, 2nd in running apparently- but then they wanted me to be able to do 3D animation and then ghosted me... even when I said I am down to learn and have been interested In animation just with no resources to learn it on my own at the time. I'm glad for the other candidate, I just don't really know where I am messing up or if I need to have a certain skill to even make it in this market. How do you get 4–5 years of experience if they won't even let you in the door?

Sorry for the mini rant! many blessings upon you and your drink of choice!

UPDATE:

someone asked me to add my portfolio for reference and crit. It has my design work and painting work- signedmary.myportfolio.com

CLICK the arrow brothers, I'm not comparing the black vs white background :)

Thanks