Graphic Design is dying
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- dbloc13
I know this idiot that does logos for $5
- They're horrible too.jtb26
- Ugh that guy.pango
- Lets kill him.dirtydesign
- Can't believe this. The clients are probably amazing, too!iCanHazQBN
- i need a $5 logo asapsea_sea
- Something is wrong when a bottle of kombucha costs more than a logosublocked
- the rise of kombucha trend is weird enough for me...pango
- Graphic design shouldn't only be affordable to the 1% and their corporate slave goons though.omg
- Kombucha? Isn't that a drink of the 00s?SimonFFM
- Kombucha on tap my next businesssublocked
- I have no idea what Kombucha is, but it sounds like a bug that is crushed to make pigment and colouring. Instead of red, it makes yellow or something.face_melter
- it tastes like that, face_meltermonospaced
- Eww kambucha. As a kid my mom made this and made me drink it. Disgusting. It's basically a fermented mushroom, you drink the water. Gag me.sea_sea
- I was painting a mural for a resturaunt and the owner said he'd been getting a dude in India to do all his design for about £5 per item, including menus.PhanLo
- Morning_star9
One thing i've noticed is an increase in frustrated designers whining like bitches.
The reality of the situation is that we are whores...end of story. You do what your trick wants or you don't get paid.
We are not artists.
What we do is subjective.
There is no right answer, whatever Dieter Rams says.
99% of what we do is diluted by the CD or AD or Client or the fucking dog."Oh, but, but you wouldn't tell a surgeon how to do your heart surgery" damn fucking right. If it goes wrong I die.
If the client changes the size of the logo nobody dies.If you don't like the industry, change industries and get a job you do like. Get up every day and want to go to work and while you're there work hard.
- +nb
- I believe that every designer has their own 'right answer', so if you're good enough and wanted enough, it may was well be 'the right answer'.detritus
- What isn't art?PepeTheFrog
- totally, my boss reminds me sometimes that "nobody's dying"monospaced
- in advertising its all about being paid off and say whatever the man wants you to say. Junior whore, Senior whore, and Whore Director.omg
- "99% of what we do is diluted by the CD or AD or Client or the fucking dog."
That's a pretty sad outlook I have to say.set - I'm lucky to have *some* clients who generally accept my professional opinion and advice. You're only a whore if you allow yourself to be.set
- It's nice to have a balance and have work you can maintain your creative integrity and passion withset
- and other work you just give whatever nonsense they ask for and take your money. Can't argue with stupid...set
- http://www.qbn.com/r…set
- You wouldnt tell a lawyer how to do his job!!!Hayoth
- Whatever. Everyone whines about their job at some point and by this rationale any profession, not just design, makes you a whore. I bet you're fun in meetings.MrT
- You wouldn't download a car.PepeTheFrog
- set10
If you think graphic design is dying then I imagine it's because you're being left in the dust and not keeping up. It's not dying but it's certainly changing and heading in new directions, and if you dont change with it then I understand how one might perceive it as dying.
Regardless, it's a small minded and massively over generalised statement so I guess the only thing left to do is gfy
- <- I'm with the smart guyBluejam
- +1weirdname
- ThisBaskerviIle
- Agreedterry_cloth
- GD 2.0omg
- ✅dbloc
- Bennn0
The woman who created Canva sits on a campany that now worth 3,200,000,000$
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ale…
Her idea was to simplify graphic design...
They now offers services to big brands and enterprises, so we graphic designers, will lose jobs from McDonald, JP Morgan and 100 other big company.
Users have made 2 billion designs in Canva to date, one billion in the past year alone.... Thats a lot of jobs taken from graphic designers.
- good for her, making money out of what is essentially clip art. i don't want to work for clients who think that is graphic design.hans_glib
- It looks good, thats what matter to many clients. Canva stuff looks good, thats why it work so well.Bennn
- At least they offer design not architecture plans to "empower people to build houses"...grafician
- soonBennn
- +1 hans. Did those customers ever consider hiring a designer, or were they the ‘I can do this, I’ve got Word and some fonts’ crowd?MrT
- This will eliminate the bottom dwellers. Also I used Canva couple of times for tight deadlines and preliminary samples.Beeswax
- well, MrT, Canva now works with majors brands like McDonald ... soBennn
- Canva is to design what Big Macs are to food : ]MrT
- Pretty slick app but at the end of the day it's really just a bunch of templates isn't it?yuekit
- You have to keep in mind that the market for "graphic design" has expanded exponentially and will continue to expand.yuekit
- ^ yepMrT
- Pretty much the opposite of the thread title in other words. People who never would have needed a logo or poster will want one, and turn to services like this.yuekit
- thank you templatemonstersted
- https://www.canva.co…wagshaft
- Yeah, Just like wix killed the web design business lol_niko
- And really it’s no different than any of the other crap that’s out there, some of it’s pretty good even but it creates a boring overused aesthetic._niko
- Never heard of it. Seems the whole world is going to be a template.NBQ00
- A lot of their templates looks very solid actually.Bennn
- Bennnnnn! the secret's out in every industry. There is perfect balance, typographical choices, composition, colour etc, when there is enough of it out there_niko
- you start coming to a consensus of what is aesthetically perfect. We can do it via crowdsourcing like canva or AI but we end up at the same result._niko
- It's been happening with pop music for years. They've discovered the catchiest melodies, the perfect pitch, the catchiest lyrics etc. it all sounds great but_niko
- at the same time it's all shit. Monotonous, disposable shit. Same with the stuff on Canva. As a designer it's your job to rise above it and do something differe_niko
- I know niko. But the clients often doesnt care or have the knowledge, they actually WANT something they've seen many times.. lolBennn
- Templates and casts are common place in the ceiling coving industry and it hasn't done them any harm.shapesalad
- right benn, and for those clients, grab a template mark it up 10x and call it a day :)_niko
- All this means is that designers need to expand beyond churning out sites that can be better made by a template ffs.monospaced
- Also, just because a few big companies use them it doesn't mean they use them for EVERYTHING.monospaced
- Most big companies use various agencies for various marketing campaigns and initiatives and products. Canva probably just for small shit.monospaced
- Canva doesn't actually take agency work away. It might just take work away from the lowest rung of design, like an entry level junior would be assigned.monospaced
- What hans said pretty much sums up my feelings. If you have a client who'd rather use Canva themselves than use your services, they're probably the type of...ben_
- client who'd be over your shoulder asking you to make bad decisions as it is.ben_
- in-house it makes some design projects much easier. Like all the requests my team gets to make invites and post cards from HR.ben_
- Their logo is shit.MrT
- Would.CyBrainX
- templatemonstersted
- Bluejam2
- those should kill it deadFax_Benson
- Trends. It's everywhere now.NBQ00
- those should kill it dead
those should kill it dead
those should kill it dead
those should kill it dead
those should kill it dead
those should kill it deadhans_glib - i hate this hipster shitutopian
- Jacqueline Casey and other Swiss designers were doing this in the 70s. It's a throwback, nothing more.i_monk
- i_monk is right
i_monk is right
i_monk is right
i_monk is right
i_monk is rightgarbage - I don’t think this is „hipster“NBQ00
- it stays12xu
- still using the word 'hipster' lolinteliboy
- millennial anti type brutalism hipster shitutopian
- lack of ideas, quick turnaroundrobthelad
- But how many of you Brits get the 'GoCompare' song in your head every time you see one of these posters?Nairn
- ShenanigansTV2
Wasn't sure the best place for this, but this was the first thing that fit when I did a filter.
- There were no standards for style, format, etc. in the world of Flash; it was an open canvas. BUT it was a drain on performance/battery... It HAD to go.ideaist
- The iPad killed flash and web design.i_monk
- Boring design is what people want. Simple boring and functional. Flash was just weird glitch. 'I like what you've done, but could you make it AS BORING AS FUCK'PhanLo
- it was a great time to be creative back then, good timeBennn
- true. Multimedia fun stuff is a drain on the battery, but it's also a blast. Now it's how can I make a bank transfer from my phone? I miss Flash and also print.nuggler
- I think if you look at https://www.awwwards… and comparable sites awarding various components of todays web design, you'll see some exciting stuff...ideaist
- ...NOT as fresh or timely (maybe) as flash once was, BUT exciting none-the-less.
: )ideaist - Utopian posted this article last week.utopian
- Bad choice, you should have waited until today.ShenanigansTV
- Loved it in many ways, but flash was a huge pain to do text-based content, particularly attached to a cmsmonNom
- shapesalad5
- I've always liked him. Still do too.DRIFTMONKEY
- I would take his class.utopian
- He's an artisti_was
- I saw him speak once a few years ago and have to say his approach is refreshing in a world of product design button wankerspedromendez
- chukkaphob5
- Stoner Slothtank02
- hehe my thoughts exactlyVectorMasked
- hahah! sums up this thread/topic perfectly.Krassy
- go back to pic of the day Krassy. Drown your brain with funny stuff. ktxbyeBen99
- @Ben99 I might just do that because "Pic of the Day" is a lot more intriguing, inspiring, entertaining and stimulating than this here negativity =)Krassy
- OkBennn
- jtb267
I've seen a rant like this two or three times a year, every year for the past 10 years.
- I've never lost business to a template.jtb26
- Same as with 'print is dead', 'TVCs are dead', 'radio spots are dead', 'professional photography is dead' ... bla ba bla. Whatever.Continuity
- Pro photography is dead now too? Jesus. Wish someone would have told me I just spent two days at a shoot.jtb26
- I know, right? Teh instagramz are making everyone pros!Continuity
- So much angst, so little time.weirdname
- pablo282
- 'Hi! I'm Bob and i've paid 5$ for the logo of my coffeeshop. and i'm proud'Bennn
- You'll need to design 500 logos every 2 weeks to have a normal graphic designer pay check.Bennn
- thats 50 logos every dayBennn
- or 36 if you work 7day/7Bennn
- If you make 50 logo /day. You'll need to make 7 logos per hours on a normal 8h/day or work.Bennn
- that mean 7min per logo.Bennn
- the arrival of fiverr/99designs coincided with the end of my freelancing days.Al_dizzle
- I want to hear the pitch that companies give that can charge $50k for a logoformed
- wellll, the 50k stuff is usually not just for the logo... more like a 300k do-over of someone elses bs corp-manual?ArchitectofFate
- a side note: i was thinking the "model" looks like some child star. the kid from neverending story?garbage
- and the answer is nope. holy crapcakes, he looks ridiculous. http://36.media.tumb…garbage
- totally looks like the never ending story kidAl_dizzle
- The folk doing arch-viz are fuckers. 1 pic, 8 days = $100. $100? Have some fucking self respect, you clowns.face_melter
- I hear this all the time. 'Oh, there's some guy in Poland that can do it for $X'. Fucking use him then, and be happy with your shit Sketchup fuckface render.face_melter
- ^ what he saidMrT
- scarabin4
if you do the sort of design that can be replaced by templates, then yeah, sure. i'm guessing this market would be something like mom and pop shops, who don't have any money.
good identities and advertising campaigns for larger entities still have to be designed though, whether it's for corporations, or films, or commercial products, media or whatever...
- get an agency gig and you'll never have to worry about itscarabin
- yeah big companies with lots of money still pays lots of cash for graphic design. But all the market under, they are cheaper than ever.Ben99
- ^ but you'll die inside a little very dayGnash
- and thats the most of our clients as graphic designer, the local shops and businesses, we dont all do work for Nike and Apple.Ben99
- but you can act like itmonospaced
- maybe start making and selling templates?scarabin
- You have to be valuable. Just creating a superficial design is no longer valuable to a business. What else are you bringing?ETM
- If you can't do that or answer that, then might be time to consider another career.ETM
- Bennn0
We're that close to never need graphic designers anymore. Its like a microwaves for design.
- People still design the basics in the first place, and people will always want original design. If you're good, relax.set
- I'm kinda joking with all this. Still...Bennn
- Branded stories really?utopian
- Social media campaigns are the new facebook apps. All this will be obsolete in 3 or so years.Maaku
- aren't you just a hobbyist anyway with cracked Adobe CS6 and all illegal fonts?monospaced
- Zing...see_thru
- I don't want to be bothered with the kind of work this app replaces.jtb26
- this design looks like every other wp-template available now. pre-fab.umbee54
- omahadesigns2
This is the official artwork for Kanye's upcoming album, no joke.
- http://www.qbn.com/t…Al_dizzle
- RAYGUNish http://2.bp.blogspot…prophetone
- quite like it - nothing new thoughfadein11
- David Carson would be proudvaxorcist
- Not as good as Yeezus artworknb
- vomitutopian
- Bennn0
"Online graphic design startup Canva is now worth $1 billion"
http://mashable.com/2018/01/09/c…
Canva is getting bigger and bigger. Pick from thousands of free
templates for every occasion... No need to hire and pay a graphic designer anymore! YAY! https://www.canva.com/print/- as read on their website: "Thanks to Canva, everyone can be a designer"Bennn
- Sites like this make it harder for the bottom 30% of our industry. If your clients actually think this is a good replacement for you, you were doing a shit job.noneck
- and they weren't worth having as clients in the first placehans_glib
- It's true, everyone can be a designer. But good ones a rare, great ones even more so.monoboy
- I got a call last year form a startup with a Wix website looking for help. They'd spent weeks tweaking the fuck out of it and it was a total mess.monoboy
- But it's free he said. Hmm, and how many billable hours have you spent on it I ask. Oh, er. erm. £5Ks worth as it happens.monoboy
- The problem here isn't the tech. It's the fact that everyone 'wants' to be a designer and they haven't the first clue about how long it takes to do a good job.monoboy
- Are we talking about graphic design or web devoloment here?monospaced
- ^ canva does it allGnash
- I’m sorry, but isn’t this just graphic designers making money?monospaced
- Meh. If you’re threatened by this, maybe you’re in the wrong line of work.monospaced
- Templates, templates everywhere....Wish every career became as automated and accessible.Maaku
- monospaced5
Templates and filters? Graphic design is so much more than websites and deliverables. The rise of all this mediocre design does not signal the end of the design, it just obscures it.
- Right. Just because design has become accessible for the masses, does not mean their isn't a market and appreciation for outstanding design.ETM
- In the old days there were few designers and they typically catered to larger businesses and brands. That remains.ETM
- The web created a need for a lot of low and mid level design for low and mid-level customers. But it's matured, and services have filled the void.ETM
- You can't lament the loss of basically a temporary or fliud situation.ETM
- Well said.bainbridge
- kona1
Calling what we do "Graphic Design" is probably one of the reasons design is dying.
Stop calling it that. Start calling it "Design Strategy" and people will literally throw their money at you. Last week during a Design Strategy pitch a client gave me a black eye by throwing a currency strap of 10k right at my face. When I woke up I had 3 pairs of panties on my face as well. Win Win.
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- p.s. The only thing that will be dying is you if you don't upvotekona
- Kona is right. And the word "strategy" is scaring all the people who only know how to make z pictures.mg33
- i like the idea of calling it Design strategy, looks more serious in a wayBen99
- it's true, I even invoice our calls and time as "strategy" these daysmonospaced
- That's advertising!robthelad
- or Public Relations...robthelad
- whateverrobthelad
- That's one of the cleverest things i heard someone say in a month.jagara
- fate5
"We are not graphic designers. We are problem solvers who happen to do use graphics as a means for providing the solutions and ninjas."
"Thats why their is an industry push for strategic design, design thinking and business strategy."
No offense, but most designers don't know the first thing about solving business problems.
Most of them don't even understand marketing, let alone bringing together finance, operations, engineering, sales, partnerships, or attracting talent and managing teams.
- yes, you have outlined the issue well ... and you've highlighted the difference between pros and amateurs while simultaneously justifying the cost difference.monospaced
- of course there's no offense, because most people here are good designers who would make their client's business problem the NUMBER ONE consideration in any jobmonospaced
- so, no offense, but I have to completely disagree: most "real" designers DO know about solving problems and understand marketing, finance etc.monospaced
- No, they really don't have a clue.fate
- obey_pdx3
This topic is such a loaded debate... Sorry, but I am definitely going to agree with Ben99...
1.) Portland and Seattle design firms have dropped their rates significantly in regards to paying designers in the past 5 years...
2.) Staffing agencies dominate all job postings... Why? Because companies no longer hire full-time employees, especially designers, especially at the rates they once were (both figuratively and financially) - it's per project and little to no benefits >>> this saves them money and this is the model that continues to thrive >>> temp works and contractual workers over full-time employees
3.) Bad design is everywhere, it has been and will always be - people are marginally getting better and software is getting easier to use - this creates way more "pseudo-designers" and way less "serious clients"... They come to expect mediocre and are shocked by what true and talented designers charge.
4.) "Coding" has replaced "designing"... People often try to convert designers into coders... If you can do both, you are much more valuable. This "lessens" the role of a typical designer...
5.) Marketing and design has and will always be the first thing to get cut in most corporate environments unless it's the core business need.You combine those factors (amongst several others) and you have what most markets are experiencing today >>> an oversaturated market where everyone is a designer, yet there still only are a few really good designers per city
- http://i.hizliresim.…Bluejam
- +1 for eloquencetryother
- people always say things are getting worse when they are getting older and losing touch a little.fadein11
- allthethings5
https://twitter.com/helen/status…
i’m losing it thinking about graphic designers being asked to design apologies but keep it “on brand”
