Hey there! I'm a beginner graphic designer, but I've been designing and drawing as a hobby for several years & I'm currently building up my portfolio with some real and practice projects.

Several days ago, I designed this conceptual brand identity logotype & mascot, inspired by retro American diner visuals. I'm an okay-ish illustrator, albeit I mostly draw doodles or small illustrations, and I'm using Procreate to draw digitally. With this project, I intend to emulate the style of a mid-century cartoon mascot using a calligraphy brush on Procreate then turn it into a vector on Illustrator.

However, I noticed an earlier post on this subreddit showcasing a brand design with a mascot, and how people (including me) could tell it was AI generated immediately. It got me wondering if my own work also looked AI generated, considering how good AI 'art' have become. And if so, should one avoid any particular drawing or design styles that AI has mastered and always strive to create something more distinguishable from AI?

So, what do you think? I'm also looking forward to general feedback on this personal project outside of this whole AI anxiety, since I'm also a beginner designer hoping to share my work with the world lol. Thank you!

Note: I added a screenshot of my original drawing on Procreate to show how it looked before it became a vector.

It started innocently. A poster here, a logo there. Then a whole branding system I couldn't stop thinking about.

A few years later I had thousands of unnamed screenshots, three different "inspo" folders, and zero ability to find anything when I actually needed it.

So instead of getting help, I made it worse. I organized all of it into a free library called Pixlpin.

What's in there now:

• Branding and identity systems
• Posters, editorial and packaging
• Illustration that's doing real design work
• Motion pieces, ad campaigns and launch videos

You can search it with design words like "bold poster" or "minimal packaging," and when you open a piece it shows you similar work next to it.

Every piece credits the designer and links back to their original post.

I keep it FREE on purpose. Good references shouldn't sit behind a monthly fee, especially for students and designers just starting out. I spend 8+ hours a day digging through Instagram and X for the best work I can find and adding it, so the library keeps getting better.

I really hope it helps some of you the way it's helped me.

Browsing is free, and you only need an account if you want to save things into your own collections.

https://pixlpin.com

I'm a graphic designer, and this has been frustrating me lately.

Sometimes I'll finish a design, go over it a few times, and think everything looks good. Then, right after I send it, I'll suddenly notice something I completely missed. Maybe I copied some text incorrectly, left out a word, or didn't notice that the spacing between elements was uneven.

The thing is, these mistakes seem so obvious once I notice them, and I genuinely don't understand how I didn't see them before. It's not like I don't check my work, which makes it even more frustrating.

I already struggle with anxiety about job security, so every time this happens, I start worrying about how it makes me look at work.

For those of you who work in design or any job where attention to detail matters, how do you deal with this? Have you found any tricks that actually help you catch these things before sending your work?

Canva has been expanding its creative software ecosystem through acquisitions, including Affinity, which it acquired in 2024, and remove.bg, which became part of Canva in 2021.

Now, the new Affinity app is completely free for its core photo editing, vector design and layout tools. Canva has also brought animation software Cavalry into its portfolio and is connecting its creative tools through Canva ProSuite.

Meanwhile, Adobe's professional creative apps remain largely subscription-based.

Is Canva making professional design more accessible and giving Adobe some much-needed competition, or could having so many creative tools under one company eventually create a different kind of monopoly?

hello! i am a graphic design rookie (as I’ve been using affinity but started learning indesign and illustrator). lately, ive become interested in the intricate style of japanese magazines - especially those focused on fashion and cosmetics.

since i do a lot of 3d fashion/clothing texturing, i grew interested in making a magazine in this style during my free time! however, i am not sure where to begin design wise. i have bought many copies of the nicola magazine (fashion magazine) and have been studying them a lot.

for example, i tried breaking down the structure of a spread more or less (last pic). as you can notice by the pictures above, there’s no fixed style through the pages so it can get a bit overwhelming to figure out.

would anyone have tips or advice when it comes to approach a style like this? i would love to hear it, please! i have been planning a few articles, have been collecting information and writing but i find this style is a bit intimidating. any advice can help, thank you in advance 😁👍

We are oppening a burger place.
We want to also host meetings for various hobbies and be an all around nice place, where people socialise and eat good food.
Wich logo do you like more?

A little look at my work on Session Smith 🎲

I developed the visual identity around a custom mascot, with a few different logo variations and badges to make the whole system feel more flexible.

The little guy with the hammer is definitely my favorite part of it 😄

What do you think about the character and the overall color palette?

Hey all!

I am currently a community college student in my state and am looking to transfer to a more art-focused college to complete my degree. I recently had my portfolio reviewed by SAIC and was highly recommended to apply. I received an application waiver as well. I really want to see other options before I commit. I want to apply to RISD, SCAD, Parsons, and SAIC. I would love some insight! I am happy to answer any clarifying questions.

I did a little design exercise today. I wanted to do Mary Shelley's Frankenstein cover for fun in honor of spooky month :) Tell me what you think of it!

Wanted to share this poster I made of one of my favorite bands. Mostly an exercise to learn some more processes— the distressed/etc. aesthetic is something I love working with.

Hello people who make the world beautiful! I’m building the brand for a small mushroom growing company and trying to pin down the visual direction. We‘re going for foresty/humid/mossy, somewhere between friendly and badass with a dark color scheme.

Maybe that description is not clear at all, but if you have any brands that have a similar, from skateboards to clothing brands, please share… I’m out of my depth!

Hi Everyone, thank you for having me. I graduated with a BA in comms and media studies in 25. Now I am working in state government (I was involved in a bunch of advocacy on campus) I am really lacking creativity in my everyday work… in fact, I’m super unhappy with my current work. I have been in the process of applying for a masters in UX design. But my real goal is to get into art direction. I however, do not have a portfolio— I am the type of person who works best in a classroom setting. I understand I could take some local classes, but I’m really wanting out of my current job/environment. I know this is a lot, but does anyone have any insight or advice whatsoever? I would apply my way out of this job but the job market is already so unfriendly already, and I’m looking to change careers which is worse in this economy!

Anything would be much appreciated. Ty.

I wanted to pick some of your brains on the key things I can do to improve myself as a designer, particularly in the areas of attention to detail, design theory, creativity/ideas etc.

I have lost 2 design jobs in the past 6 years down to dropping the ball when it comes to attention to detail in particular (alignment, lack of implementing the key principles and lack of using grids etc), so know that's going to be the paramount thing/s I should focus on improving on.

What would be some recommendations you would give for improving and locking in the principles and keeping a good eye for mistakes etc?

Basically I need to improve as a Designer all round I think.

Surprisingly I have more things for my studio Arts degree CV versus my Graphic design one which only has a few design awards. Should I keep these separate or have them all in one document?

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Hey all, I'm graduating in 3 weeks with an animation degree

(focused on character design) and I'm currently doing an unpaid character design internship.

I'm based in Chicago. My background is mostly character design (model sheets, turnarounds, expressions) and illustration. I've also been getting into visual identity and brand strategy through spec projects, and I'm working on a coffee shop identity right now. I mainly use [Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate, etc.

Portfolio: https://sparrow-caribou-dmkw.squarespace.com/character-design

Honestly, the character design and animation job market feels rough right now: AI, layoffs, oversaturation, and barely any paid entry-level roles. So I've been looking into other directions, and the packaging design keeps standing out. It seems harder to automate because of the physical production side, fewer designers seem to go for it, and illustrated packaging feels like a real way to use my character and illustration skills.

My plan is to turn the coffee shop identity into packaging (bags, cups, labels) with real dielines and physical mockups, then apply for production artist or junior designer roles at packaging companies, printers, and trade shops while I build a couple more packaging projects.

A few things I'm worried about: I have zero packaging work in my portfolio right now, my background is character design rather than graphic design, and I'm mildly color blind, which I'm not sure how much matters in this field. I'm also wondering if I'm being naive thinking packaging is less competitive.

For anyone working in packaging/questions:

How did you get your first job?

Would an animation/character background help or hurt me?

What would make an entry-level packaging portfolio stand out to you?

Is production artist/prepress a good way in, or should I aim

straight for designer roles?

Any honest advice is appreciated. Thanks!

This is an Illustration of a map of lower manhattan, followed by an illustration of James' route and the places he visits. he is a finance bro. It is part of an assignment where I must create 3 personas for a brand, in this case, the brand is citibike. This is one of 3 "posters." the only room i have left for text is on the left side.

I have 10+ years of experience working as a graphic designer, mainly in-house and for marketing teams/magazines. I have been doing bits of freelance work, whilst trying to secure a full time role after being made redundant.

I'm wondering if there is something I can pivot to that is going to be a bit more futureproof. Has anyone pivoted to packaging design or UI/UX?

Also, I have been asked by a lot of recruiters about performance marketing design - how are other designers showing this in their portfolio? I have done 100s of banners over the years and even had conversations with marketing about a/b tests...but I'm not even sure if this is exactly what those sort of roles are?!

Hey designers!

Looking for some professional advice. In a few places I work at, there's huge pressure to automate social media design workflows using AI.

How do you actually automate this? What tools should I use? What does your current AI stack look like?

Hi all,

A little bit of history about me is I graduated from a UX bootcamp when I was 30. I started a family shortly there afterwards and my pregnancy made me really sick, so I was never able to break into the industry with a paying job. I did however, work on a real client website and had it shipped. I also did two websites for my current company right now that has also shipped (redesigning company website and building a digital publication website).

I have been doing a lot of self reflection and just being honest with myself. I don’t love all of UX just some parts of it and I don’t think I would be fulfilled. The reason why I say this is because I recently took a UX Design volunteer position at a nonprofit and I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

I love website design and have started learning how to do some graphic design. I love designing layouts and I want to move into branding too.

Fast forward, I am 34 years old and I am thinking about going back to school for a graphic design degree. That being said I am really worried about ageism, AI, this job market and salary. I hate the thought of starting over salary wise but I also hate the thought of not being able to do what I am interested in. Pick your poison right?

I am considering going the freelance route but I would be lying if I wasn’t scared of all of the above. I really didn’t think I would be here doing all of this again 🥹

I would really appreciate any kind of perspective, guidance 🙏

It’s hard to see a way out of the endless reaction machine we have all become part to. This digital ping pong game of giving attention to an increasingly redundant amount of stimuli is just plain not good for us & we know it! It’s all digital slop & it isn’t even directly for us anymore, it’s for computer clicks. The good thing about this acceleration is that it shows the value of the obvious alternative. While the nature of how we get our information has changed forever, there are eternal formats that are waiting in the wings to be dusted off & used again! The magazine is just one of many! x SEAN

Hey all, I just finished my first year as a Visual Communication student, got 2 to go and I'm looking into purchasing a external SSD to have my work backed up. I was looking at the Samsung SSD but they seem to be really expensive for a 1TB. Is there any other good brands that last and also a decent price?

All the other brands that I am looking at seem to have issues or just fail quickly, haven't read similar stories for the Samsung one. Any advice would be appreciated.