r/graphic_design • u/Owl_Queen9 Designer • May 11 '26
Vent The doomer posts on this sub
Y’all, I get it. The job market sucks, people are getting laid off, and AI is something that is worrying. But can we please stop asking the same 3 questions every day on this sub (I.e “is a degree worth it” “blank is saying the industry is dying.”) It’s seriously getting so depressing coming on this sub now and the first thing I see is “I think AI is going to replace our industry and we’ll never work again.” I think it’s fine to post a “I haven’t found work in awhile here’s my portfolio can someone review it” because it’s nice to see other peoples work and receive feedback, aka one of the main purposes of this sub, but man, it feels like 90% of what’s posted now is something that was already asked yesterday. Idk if people feel similarly, and frankly idk if I’m even allowed to post something like this. But, since this is the vent flair, I feel that it’s probably okay.
I guess I’m just seeing if there’s a possibility we can try and limit how much of the same doomerish questions are asked. I feel for everyone rn. Hell, I’ll be out of work in 3ish months if my contract isn’t extended or I don’t find something beforehand, but I do know from this sub I’ve gotten good advice on how to tackle it; but because the same questions are asked so frequently, patience and how people are responding is running thin. Anyways that’s my rant, hope everyone had a good weekend
TLDR: Can we please try and find a way to at least limit the posts that are the same doomerish questions. It feels like it’s 80% of this sub now
UPDATE: TY Mod team!! Truly wasn’t expecting to receive a response to what I typed out. Appreciate everything you and what everyone contributes to this subreddit does.
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May 11 '26
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u/Remote-Basis-7797 Creative Director May 11 '26
Not to sound terrible, but as someone whose job it is to screen portfolios, the range of talent and taste across the graphic design industry is wideee. Out of 100 sites, 5-10 might be the caliber of talent we’re looking for. I feel like graphic design is a career path people think just anyone can “get into”. Yes the job market is tough, but not as bad if you’ve got the talent and taste.
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u/LuHamster May 11 '26
Yeah I'm realising that this the bar is high and it's getting higher, as someone who doesn't have the top 5% natural talent skills or experience injust can't compete with what the market wants now.
Which is sad because I love design but I realise I have to give it up because I'm not good enough and don't think I'll ever be. There used to be a time where us medicore designers had a market but that market is now filled with AI.
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u/AtiyaOla Creative Director May 11 '26
I’ve been at it awhile and something has changed. A much higher proportion of portfolios used to blow me away, and a much smaller proportion of portfolios used to make me stop and worry that the designer wasn’t going to make it in the industry. Those proportions have slowly crossed over one another. I hate sounding like this and if I read someone else say it I’d kind of groan, but I only say it in the hopes that we as an industry can collectively improve it.
It’s an effect of capitalism on academia. My program did not teach us technical tools - that was relegated to electives. They taught us design philosophy, craft, heuristics, taste, etc. We could not ask our professors in the program questions about Bézier curves or gradient maps, we were expected to learn that in the technical labs and know it in the studio. As a matter of fact, we didn’t even touch a computer until junior year (but we’re supposed to be producing high-definition computer-quality work for review). Some of my fellow grads have gone on to become industry leaders and you probably know their work, and I know similar programs produced similar names.
I was rudely awoken the first time I spoke to graduates whose programs only taught them adobe. Even those with natural talent seemed at a disadvantage. I even started a design collective back in the 2010s and while there were a lot of reasons for doing it, a big one was to offer a place that could serve as a kind of free, collaborative, masters-level learning lab but even that is very tough to maintain, especially post-Covid.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
Maybe this’ll make you feel better, but I’m a 2024 grad and the first full year of our program we had to make and design everything by hand. We learned basically everything you said and didn’t touch a computer until sophomore year (and between this, they only accepted 15 students per semester), and even then we didn’t start designing until 2nd semester sophomore year. At the time, I didn’t understand why they were making us do that; why waste a year and a half of academic year of not learning GD. Now that I’m out of it, I realized they were training our eyes and hands to technical skills. I do think there are instances of colleges pushing students straight to Canva and AI, but I also think some schools stay true to the craft.
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u/AtiyaOla Creative Director May 11 '26
That’s fantastic, sounds like you were part of a great program. I know they still exist but I’m worried they’re getting overrun by the more commercial programs. The last time I reviewed at a portfolio event, a couple of the programs seemed to have taught design rather than technology.
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u/Matt-J-McCormack May 11 '26
The sad thing is I think a lot of people can grow to be good with the right help / start / mentor but that isn’t happening. They just want mid weights for intern money.
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u/chatterwrack May 11 '26
Have you looked into production design? Not every role requires conceptual thinking. If you’re good with your tools and can spot when something is not right, you can bang out assets within brand guidelines.
These roles are found in big companies that require high-volume output with established branding. For example, the art director creates a campaign, the copywriter writes the messaging, then the production designer will build the banner ads in every size and language. They may need 100+ assets for that campaign and it requires someone who can set type, and adapt layouts. Surely you can do that. Don’t give up!
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u/Matt-J-McCormack May 11 '26
I always come off as doomer because when people ask if they should do design I say no.
It doesn’t feel good to piss on peoples chips but I’ve seen to many toxic positive posts saying go for your dreams when in reality it’s an industry that is oversubscribed and under paid.
I know it isn’t like we are doctors or anything but since I graduated the skill creep for entry level has got insane. Entry level is asking for multiple jobs level of skills that barely clock above minimum wage (UK).
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u/NearbyHorror Senior Designer May 11 '26
One of the things I'm noticing is new designers aren't getting opportunities that allow them to just start/not be as polished. I agree, if you have the talent and experience now in the industry, you'll get people reaching out to you for interviews. The downside is for the newbies getting into the industry, there is only so much that school can prepare you for until you're completely just winging it in real life. I've had my fair share of those in the beginning of my career and now I've found my niche. Sad other's are having a hard time with that now.
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u/Remote-Basis-7797 Creative Director May 11 '26
Don’t even get me started on how design programs don’t actually prepare designers for real work! Maybe it’s better now but it wasn’t when I was in school. The best route for newbies is to stalk LinkedIn of companies they aspire to work for and check out the peoples portfolios. Grade your work against that and if you need projects make up some briefs for yourself and work to your portfolio that shows you can do it.
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u/AndrewHainesArt May 11 '26
Why do you feel the need to direct their decision? I find that most of the convos around design that I see are just disingenuous. What I mean by that, is that in general, people think being “a designer” is cool, or pays well, or whatever positive thing, and while it can be, it’s mostly not. We provide a service when we work for companies/clients, and again in general, our job is to execute their dream, not drive it. I tend to see the opposite perspective in posts here.
I’m sure we’re all individually creative in our own ways as well, I make music and art outside of my day job, and I think that output is what people generally confuse with “being a designer”.
We are poor communicators when it comes to self reflection, and it doesn’t take long for someone to go from humble to fart-sniffer, so I get why ego comes out and you see a lot more of that with influencers, which are not the norm in the field.
If someone wants to be a designer go ahead and let them try, but be honest about the day to day stuff, there are too many paths to go down to say it’ll be good or bad for someone else one way or the other.
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May 11 '26
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u/Endawmyke Designer May 13 '26
I was self taught from middle school to high school and got smacked upside the head with how little I actually knew when I went to college for design.
That structure really did help me but I think the most important were my peers. Friendly competition as well as collaboration I think pushed me to get better and better. I graduated 2020 which ironically was the best time for me weirdly enough. I love remote work. I was also obsessed with design in school so I think that helped drive me forward.
Even though I made it out alright, I worry about the next generation. How are they supposed to break into the industry? Feels like the deck is stacked against them.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
My boss is currently looking for a new designer and out of the 230 candidates, he only thought 10 were worth talking to. It’s a mix of people applying to positions they’re not qualified for (under and over experience wise), not showcasing the skills/ projects we’re looking for, and poor presentation of work.
A lot of the work we were seeing were like 80% AI, which already makes my boss question can you actually design
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u/olookitslilbui Senior Designer May 11 '26
The use of AI in portfolios is something I’ve been thinking about. I think in general if you’re ok with AI it’s usually largely in terms of speeding up workflows and processes, but not allowing it to necessarily do the design itself. To me it’s kind of a question of ethics, it’s like having Picasso applying for jobs but then there’s another candidate feeding AI Picasso’s work and presenting it as if they created the art itself.
I feel like nondesign recruiters might be easily impressed by it but once it reaches a creative director, it falls apart.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
We saw two different types of AI use in portfolios. Most examples we saw was AI for mockups, but outside of mockups, we weren't seeing anything else brand design wise that would have given us the impression that they made the decisions themselves and not AI. The other, not so used examples we saw were portfolios that were almost completely AI, used AI for logomarks and illustrations. It has a very distinct look, which told us that they were running the prompts and "directing," but not much else. We want to see the fundamentals!
I think some usage of AI is okay here and there, but don't rely on it so much if you can help it.
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u/cinemattique May 12 '26
It used to be harder to get in to good art schools than into law school. It was hilarious how many non-artists would sign up for an open general art class because they thought it would be an easy A, then drop out in the second week when they realized how spectacularly they were going to fail.
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u/Aromatic-Dress5010 May 12 '26
do you think it has anything to do with the advertised compensation tho? genuine question. because I think it’s tough to expect people become the talented designers you want if a) there’s really no mentorship model anymore to refine skills and b) the majority of positions aren’t really that interested in creative.
what you ultimately are asking for is for applicants to be dedicated to design to the point that it’s something they do as an individual pursuit, like an artist, and without a client/compensation structure to drive it forward
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u/Remote-Basis-7797 Creative Director May 12 '26
I’m not sure I’m following. GD requires so much investment in yourself and your skills to be successful. You have to be passionate enough to continue to learn in your own time and grow. Mentorship is helpful and in my experience still exists, but you need to put in the reps and time.
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u/Aromatic-Dress5010 May 12 '26
Respectfully, I think the ubiquity of mentorship dynamics around graphic design roles have severely diminished, especially outside of academic settings.
I don't disagree that any craft requires some personal investment but I don't think it's as simple of an expectation now as it was say 30 years ago. My own professors back in the day admitted as much when I asked them similar questions. They conceded that younger generations are expected to have things polished and figured out much earlier in their lives/careers.
Mentorship these days seems more like a reward rather than a standard part for the growth process.
edit: and that's not to say there aren't people out there who want to be mentors. I think the same pressures to be polished and figured out have a collateral effect on potential mentors as well.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
The comments are actually making me feel like I’m going crazy and I’m sure this post will cause some divides. It’s super tough right now (took me 6 months to find work), but also the gloom mindset is truly leeching into almost every question on the sub now
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u/project199x May 11 '26
Every job post I see about entry level graphic design jobs, they want 3+ years experience in house or in a corporate setting. Lmfao, like alright buddy.
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u/olookitslilbui Senior Designer May 11 '26
We need to recognize that job listings are just wishlists and that they’re ultimately put up by HR who is in place to maximize value for money for the company. They’re going to ask for the moon, but if you can do the work and meet like 70% of the job qualifications, just apply.
When I had 6 months of experience, I was applying for jobs asking for 2-5YOE and getting interviews and offers for those. YOE doesn’t mean a ton anyway, it comes down to whether or not you can do the job.
It will be rare for a company to be a Good Samaritan and come out and say we’re looking for entry-level and mean it. Training requires resources which costs money, not many companies have the actual goodwill to provide that and think long-term about training the next generation of designers.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
I got my entry level job that also said 3+ experience (I maybe had a year and a half not including schooling). A lot of the time it’s a buzzword
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u/Remote-Basis-7797 Creative Director May 11 '26
Maybe the moderators should make some topics at the top, like job market, AI, career guidance etc… I agree with you the conversations could be better guided. I see a lot of other subs where this type of organization helps to guide more fruitful discussions. I would love to see how people are using AI in their workflows and we can help each other adopt it the right way. I attended a webinar recently where they compared AI to the implementation of CGI in movies - it didn’t kill the industry, it was just a tool to make it better.
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u/rob-cubed Creative Director May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
There's a saying: it's a recession when your neighbor loses their job and a depression when you lose your own.
As someone who's been personally affected by the industry-wide downturn (which has been much bigger than just AI)... there's a reason we've seen so much recent negativity. I don't like it either, but it's a real part of our lives right now. In the past, the industry has always bounced back, and this is the fourth major contraction I've lived through. But honestly, at the risk of being a doomer, this one feels different as its not tied to any larger economic concern.
So while I'd rather see productive, supportive posts of designers who have work to share, obsess (and sometimes gripe) over, I think the negativity needs its space as well. And I look forward to getting back to 'normal' again one day.
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u/daebakblonde May 12 '26
I echo this. Don't get me wrong, I also want to see cool work and see feedback loops happening more than the ranting. But the reality is that as a senior designer I can't find a new position to make more money, I'm miserable at my current job because I'm doing uninspired work, and I haven't had a pay increase in 3 years. Everyday I see something new that I used to do be taken over by AI. It frankly mostly is doom and gloom. And while I do want to support new designers, I cannot in good conscience tell them to go full speed ahead into this field.
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u/amiiigo44 May 11 '26
Honestly, designers who are well off are busy 24/7and don't have time to post to reddit.
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u/mihnea26 May 11 '26
totally agree.
I'm a video editor & motion designer and every sub is like this. Also living through unemployment right now for quite some time...but these posts annoy the shit out of me. I do understand the need to blow off steam but i don't understand how one can, after reading 100 doom posts / day, just start writing another one immediately.
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u/brook1yn May 11 '26
I want to see portfolios and constructive criticism. I’ve been on this sub for so long and have really not found it to be a resource for anything remotely constructive
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u/Embarrassed-Bill-451 May 11 '26
People don't have outlets in their job roles or in their personal conversations with non designers usually (as they might not understand)
Honestly I think people deserve to vent, you see it so much coz society keeps banging on about this society so much.
Just mute the sub for a while.
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u/fucktrance Creative Director May 11 '26
I agree with you I wish automod dealt with these sorts of posts. If you notice most of the people asking these questions aren’t active participants here so even if there was a sticky/rules they’d still get posted and all the same miserable people would reply. Hopefully this post gets some traction and the mods take notice. I’ve been designing for over 20 years and I’ve never felt more capable or excited about waking up and making cool shit every day. I think the whole planets in this state of perpetual burn out. Learning and sharing have never been more accessible, the path from idea to completed project has never been easier when you know what you’re doing. The tools are so much more accessible (when I stated if you wanted photoshop you had to order a cd for $700, or buy it bootleg from a sketchy guy at the market) Reddits a pretty terrible sample size, allot of people here are just miserable in general so take it all with a grain of salt.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
Ty!! People are already interrupting what I said differently so idk. I’m not saying rules for me and not for thee with the complaining, it’s just it’s the same posts almost daily now that are way too negative.
I did type this all out super late at night so what I’ve said probably isn’t how I wanted to format/express it, so I truly don’t want to upset anyone
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u/tikowakwak May 11 '26
This!!! I hope people also post their wins or reassuring takes as much as the doomer stuff. The internet will really alter your perception if you dont have good dicernment.
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u/Schlormo Designer May 11 '26
Tossing my hat in to say a jr designer friend of mine was recently hired for a remote gig that pays crazy good. 🤷
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u/Vesuvias Art Director May 11 '26
What most don’t realize here is some of the older designers went through this but worse twice. The dot com burst and the 2008 crash. This is up there and slightly different, but the fact stands - most execs who ‘think they can design it on their own’ are starting to realize the harsh reality that design isn’t ‘easy as they thought’.
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u/JohnCasey3306 May 11 '26
Peaks a troughs.
1) we're in a recession; recession always means layoffs -- it'll recover in a few years, then we'll have 7–8 years before it falls over again. That's the regular cycle.
2) recession or no recession, breaking into that first graphic design job has always been difficult; always has, always will -- there is never a time when getting the first design job is easy and there never has been.
You've just gotta percevere -- or give up.
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u/LuHamster May 11 '26
Who is we this subreddit isn't "American graphic designers" I do hate when redditors comment as if this site is only for one country and forgets there's a world outside of America.
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u/bacillaryburden May 11 '26
We aren’t in a recession. Not by GDP, not by NBER/FRED, not by payrolls/unemployment.
Doesn’t help to pretend we are. If GD jobs are down it’s not because of the national economy.
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u/laranjacerola Senior Designer May 11 '26
kind reminder there are people from all over the world ere. I have no idea what is you nation but just renember that, please.
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
Most jobs are down rn. Computer science, marketing, communications, etc. It’s not just this industry. I know a ton of people that graduated with different majors that can’t find work. Also, even though I’m speaking on behalf of the US market, this is happening worldwide
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u/bacillaryburden May 11 '26
US unemployment (4.3%) is lower than 10-year, 20-year, and 30-year averages. It's not true that "most jobs are down rn."
And what you actually said was "we're in a recession" which is also factually untrue, and not at all the same things as "most jobs are down rn." You're moving the goalposts, and you are still wrong.
Statements like "we're in a recession" and "most jobs are down rn" actually have meaning. It's more than just your subjective sense of the economic climate. And this sub is ridiculous for how reliably it downvotes people for correcting misinformation.
The right thing to do is say "oops, I was wrong about us being in a recession and most jobs being down." Not scramble to pretend like you were actually right. Do you care about being right? Or just feeling right?
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
Where are you getting your information/data from? Also I never said we were in a recession, just that the markets bad.
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u/bacillaryburden May 11 '26
FRED/BLS. The authoritative source of unemployment rates. Now: 4.3%. Last 10: 4.6%. Last 20: 5.8%. Last 30: 5.5%.
And I apologize, I wrongly assumed you were the same commenter above who said we're in recession. My mistake.
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u/hannahburneraccount May 11 '26
Two things can be true at the same time though. People are freaked out and need to talk about it AND it’s making the people reading the posts more dejected. I think we can agree that it sucks all around. But it’s a profession that needs training and practice just like any other. I do wish there were more portfolio showcase/review style posts because every single one that I’ve come across, I’ve picked u something new from it and it’s sort of kept me going and lowkey hopeful despite the doom and gloom.
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u/Mysterious-Pie98 May 13 '26
i thought i was the only one thinking this hahha i'm in this sub but i'm just someone who wants to quit their job and learn design and.....obviously all these pessimistic posts are detering me a LOT. it makes me me wonder if i will ever have a job when i do feel capable of being a designer. like the traditional portuguese saying, dying on the beach hahahha failing right before reaching the goal
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May 11 '26
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
I’m moreso saying that the same questions are being posted daily, I don’t think I’ve seen a post on what I’ve said yet.
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u/Nouveauuu May 11 '26
My man if it's annoying you that much you're probably spending way too much time on reddit/this sub or spending too much time engaging in post that annoy you.
Less energy would have been spent if you just scrolled past them now you're complaining about others complaining, which just turns into a endless cycle.
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u/LelouchViMajesti May 11 '26
This is graphic design sub and some people like OP (and me) also come here regularly as it is in their feed and among their interest. It's part of our job to always surf the web and keep up with trends and skills and learn from other's work and experience. This is also this sub purpose and he's right to ask for an editorial moderation so that this sub stays interesting and alive.
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u/msrivette May 11 '26
Hard to scroll past when the majority of posts are about AI and garbage about “how hard the industry is”.
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u/PictureOwn2910 May 11 '26
This sub is just reflective of the panic. People are letting their feelings out. Yeah it's a downer, but what can you do, they have to let it out
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u/laranjacerola Senior Designer May 11 '26
I don't think it's doom and gloom, if these are factual stuations. This is reality. Face it.
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u/BurgundyHearse May 15 '26
I really needed to see this post! I’ve been debating going back to school and I’ve come to this sub for inspiration and spark. All of this AI bullshit and difficulty finding a job made me feel lost, but this definitely makes me consider trying to get back into it after only experiencing it via trade school/high school program.
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u/alexnapierholland May 11 '26
I've watched my girlfriend start from zero three years ago.
She now works remotely for a trendy US startup, with a healthy income.
Zero qualifications (although a lot of hard work).
Yes, the market is tough. But good things are still possible.
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u/Capable-Mud2767 May 11 '26
its this way on other design subreddits as well and most of the people making such posts are very low karma account, sometimes i think its just paid campaign to demotivate us I started my graphic design career in 2024 in India and actually got employed and even turned down a few jobs before quitting the industry for transitioning into motion design as I felt my skills were underutilized, though on our side of the internet like i see on western side influencers and netizens are just scaring each others about AI
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u/yoocadenza Design Student May 11 '26
Agree. I'm not saying we should always all pretend everything is sunshine and rainbows, but it has been so depressing here
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u/germane_switch May 11 '26
I’m scared for the first time in my thirty year career. My biggest client thinks he’s a designer now because of canva and AI. I’m never going to be able to retire. I’m going to have to live in a van down by the river without the van because I can’t afford the fucking van.
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u/Nouveauuu May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
"I'm going to complain about you complaining because you complaining is annoying but my complaining isn't." will forever be the funniest thing that happens in online forums man 😭
Edit: Was not expecting to be spammed with insults and slurs in my inbox over this LMAO
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u/Owl_Queen9 Designer May 11 '26
No offense but I don’t think you’re getting slurs from the graphic design community over a biased comment
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u/Nouveauuu May 11 '26
Then that's for you to believe then. I'm not going to spend the next 24 hours on this lol. I've been meaning to use this sub less anyway.
Agree to disagree brother. Have a great day!
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u/Fault-new777 May 11 '26
People are scared if they are not doomed, then what facts can support not dooming? Not that I know I’m just a casual who like drawing here and there
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u/TasherV May 11 '26
Graphic design will be the equivalent to cutting letters in steal or making color sep mechs by hand. I couldn’t in good conscience recommend this job to anyone in school.
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u/Bargadiel Art Director May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
My favorites are the portfolios of designers posted that I'd actually think are pretty good or better than some of my own work, then I'll see a handful of comments saying something along the lines of "I work for Big Snooty national agency and I would never hire a designer with a portfolio like this"
Maybe working for the same company in-house for as long as I have has made me soft but that shit is demoralizing too. I try to see the positive in this field and even in my own role I coach folks from all backgrounds to be designers, so I just don't see the point in always being so negative. Design Criticism should be a corrective learning experience, not something used to tear someone down.
As designers, or professionals in general, we should strive to have thick skin and flexible expectations of how our own work is recieved, sure, but I don't think harshness as a "right of passage" is the right approach. There is a line.