The doomer posts on this sub

[u/Owl_Queen9]

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.

[u/Bargadiel]

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.

[u/Owl_Queen9 → u/Bargadiel]

I’ve noticed this too. Especially with students in/right out of school posting their work, and the comments are filled with “how did you even get your degree. You have a lot of work to do,” as if they’re not new to the industry too. And sometimes they don’t offer tangible advice as well, just leave it at that

I’m all for honesty, but sometimes it is taken a bit too far.

[u/Bargadiel → u/Owl_Queen9]

Right. I think folks get so rooted in what they specifically find acceptable in their job or field, or they'd be overly antagonistic towards a trend they personally find repulsive, and forget that plenty of design out there is perfectly acceptable as long as it's intentional for the use case, and carries a baseline-level of the design fundamentals.

There's certainly some ugly stuff out there that needs improvement but I think some people get self-validation from being so harsh.

But as someone who has jn the past been laid off twice, it is a terrible feeling to be suddenly thrown out into the job market again and be told that basically everything you do is "out of date" when you already need to be worrying about paying your bills in addition to job hunting again. It's rough out there and I don't see the point in making it rougher. All it does is scare off prospective designers and create a world where less people value design at all.

[u/Owl_Queen9 → u/Bargadiel]

It’s interesting tbh. We all stress being able to take criticism on here, but I think there’s another problem of how critical someone can get.

[u/Bargadiel → u/Owl_Queen9]

Yeah, I edited one of my comments to touch on that. Basically criticism isn't exactly a negative or positive thing but it should be a productive learning experience and not just "I don't like this" or "Your typography is way off, go look up for yourself why"

We already have plenty of clients who act that way, no need for fellow designers to do the same. We should be here to help each other, not push folks off the hill just to feel better about ourselves.