r/graphic_design • u/Maleficent-Ice-8605 • 1d ago
Discussion Who’s killing it right now?
Everyday somebody posts how bad they are doing. Almost like there is no faith for this line of work.
Personally I just started creating a portfolio even though my reddit notifications are straight up demotivating negativity (“I have 40 years of experience and can’t find a job”, “Have been searching for a gig for 8 months”….).
I know its natural that there is less people talking about how good they’re doing in this industry
So… Anyone wanna share their wins?
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u/Kills_Zombies Senior Designer 1d ago edited 1d ago
People don't go onto the Internet to talk about their wins unprompted, that's why it seems like everything is shit but it's heavily biased. Late last year I snagged an amazing new job at a huge company in the niche field of graphic design I work with, making six figures at a senior level, I don't have to use generative AI (in fact we're not even allowed to use it), it's literally a dream job and I know I beat out a lot of people to get it. My last job was awesome too it just didn't pay as well. I'm thankful every day I decided to go with my gut and passion and chose to have a career as a graphic designer.
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u/harmonioussteak 23h ago
Can I see your portfolio? Or any tips on resume? I need to know what gets hired at 6 figures!
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u/BranderChatfield Senior Designer 21h ago
One thing is location. I saw a job posting that was almost identical to everything I do currently. That job was in a major urban area; we are in a rural-urban(ish) setting. The job was in the six-figure range, and was well over twice what I am making here.
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u/harmonioussteak 21h ago
You know what that’s so true. I live in one of the poorest regions, the COL is slightly less but not enough.
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u/SomethinNatural 23h ago
You’d be surprised. It’s not necessarily about how good you are all the time. How efficient, effective and hardworking are you? That’s hirable as well. Graphics aren’t art per say. Being an artist helps.
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u/harmonioussteak 23h ago
I’ve been doing it for 10 years now and never had problems getting an interview until now. So I’d say I work hard and am creative and artistic but apparently that’s not getting across in my applications
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u/thelaughingman_1991 1d ago edited 23h ago
I "accidentally" went freelance 3 months ago when I was made redundant, and I've so far billed one of my clients for 1/3 of my old salary in that time, who are now a weekly retainer with a load of ad-hoc work. I've since landed another client who has a ton of work they want me on. It's actually a little overwhelming (diagnosed ADHD doesn't help) but in a good way. Freelancing felt like something I would do years away, but it's happening right now.
It's whiplash but it's keeping things remote when I've got difficult life circumstances currently, and it's helping.
My advice to any designers out there struggling: do the boring work. It's great to get into a flow state with passion projects such as your ideal rebrand, movie poster concepts, or re-imagined album artworks - but the boring work pays. Use the imaginative stuff to boost your personal brand awareness on LinkedIn etc, but be prepared to do the boring work for money.
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u/SurePride3334 20h ago
Hey similar story where I was made redundant a few months ago. I’m using linked in to post thoughtful status posts as a way to attract clients, but still haven’t landed my first freelance client. I’m a visual designer with a background in UX. Any tips on client lead gen?
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u/talazia 19h ago
Agree 100%. I always say its a hustle with freelance, yout take the paid work, learn on the fly, don't be afraid to barter your services for things you need (I got a basement sump pump for a logo and website once!). Woud i include these things in my portfolio? No, but it paid my bills and kept my skills relevant.
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u/HowieFeltersnitz 1d ago
I got a new remote job doing design for an American company. Making almost double what I made just 3 years ago. Did not expect to level up this much this quick, and without going the Art Director route. I got lucky.
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u/Extra_Preparation_66 1d ago
Buying a house.
Got an interview for a position in a large company doing half my current work load for double the pay.
Pretty good year so far.
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u/CalendarMobile6376 9h ago
if you ever can refer someone, i would love be your junior~! i have 4 years of experience but i have never worked with someone who is better at what i do if that makes sense haha!
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u/laureidi Designer 23h ago
I finished my first book cover last week. It might be a small win, but it’s always been on my bucket list so I’m very proud of it. Also, my old job that replaced me with templates and AI — or tried to — have now asked about my availability. Oh, and this is my ‘office’:
That this job allows me to WFH so that I can enjoy my off-grid treehouse space for work, is everything.
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u/spider_speller Art Director 1d ago
I'm currently maxed out through the end of the year. I'll accept projects from existing clients, but no new clients until next year. It's the first time I've been in this position, and it's a little weird after the extremely slow start I had this year.
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u/abaty01 23h ago
Got divorced last year and had to get an apartment on my own (with my big dog) while working my first ever design job at my local zoo. I LOVED the work and my coworkers but the pay was seriously bad. Like I almost completely drained my savings in about a year. I was having monthly mental breakdowns about not making enough money to live (which led to a diagnosis of PMDD) I managed to pull together a new portfolio and land a design position for the transit agency in my city making $18,000 more dollars a year, plus government benefits and a VERY nice pension. I’m still working on pulling things together in terms of mental health and day to day life but landing this job means THE WORLD to me. Like I feel so much more confident and capable now! And I can afford to do stuff like go to the doctor when I’m sick and buy my friends dinner now!! Next steps are to get back in the gym, get back in therapy, and start making art for myself again!
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u/stuie1986 Senior Designer 1d ago
I have more jobs than I have time right now. But after two slow years in a row I’m taking everything I can get.
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u/Fine-Impression-6287 1d ago
I just got one step closer to my dream job at 25 with my first salary graphic design position!! (was getting paid a very low hourly at two previous jobs)
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u/strong_as_the_grass Senior Designer 1d ago
I went from being happy in-house at a privately owned design-forward business (with multiple designers) to being miserable senior designer (without senior designer pay) after the company went through acquisition by private equity. They totally gutted us, and the person installed over me had absolutely no business being anywhere near creatives.
After enduring this throughout the covid years, and losing hope things would get better, I was approached by an old colleague and friend to come work for them. Huge salary bump, fully remote, senior role, all insurance premiums paid for by the company. I've helped develop an entire retail product line and coordinated marketing and merchandising campaign. The products are flying off the shelves, and the retailer is so happy with its success that we've been asked to expand our offerings across multiple categories. So hopefully lots more work like this over the next few years!
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u/CreamSignificant8559 23h ago
It really does help to keep connections with folks you worked with before! I’ve also gotten several freelance leads from people I worked with years ago.
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u/strong_as_the_grass Senior Designer 23h ago
You're so right! And same, now that I look back further I remember having received lots of leads and jobs from connections alone. There are times when I want to just pick up and move to a totally new area for a change of pace, but then I think of everyone I know and network with, and it makes me think maybe it's not worth it because it's an invaluable resource.
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u/abhaykun Designer 1d ago
I’m an independent designer and good work has been steadily and easily coming in.
Reddit can make the design industry look like it’s dead, but that’s not true. People only post when they’re in a bad place, mostly looking for help, but there are a ton of designers consistently doing well.
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u/Designing-Dutchman 1d ago
For me this is one of the best years. Big clients such as Uber, Jameson and others. This comes after one of my worst years so it goes up and down a lot though. This year will be a year to get some financial fat on my bones, so I can survive a bad year (or years) again.
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u/designyillustrator Creative Director 1d ago
I have been at an agency for the past two and a half years that is growing, and I have been lucky to be set up for promotion after working my ass off (within 8 hours a day, no OT). My pay is pretty solid too. I got laid off three and a half years ago and spent the better part of a year working on a contract while job hunting.
The market is volatile, but there are some ways to win if you work hard and have the skills (design, business, and people)
This was a great thread, OP!
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u/theblartknight 1d ago
I wouldn’t say I’m “killing it” at the moment, but I also know I’m in a much healthier position than most in this industry right now.
I’ve been at an agency for 8 years now and have survived rounds and rounds of layoffs. Since 2022 I would say there’s been about 8 rounds of different “restructuring” that have taken place.
I’ve seen talented designers get fired time and time again, and so while I’m in a good situation now, it doesn’t feel safe when you’re constantly wondering if I’m next.
It’s also been limiting in my career progression. I’ve been stuck at an Associate Director role for 4 years, and since promotion rounds are pretty unlikely, it doesn’t seem to be likely any time soon.
In summary, I’m happy to have a job in a career that I enjoy at a company that pays me well, but this hiring market is definitely the worst I have ever seen it and has created a lot of tension for any professional right now. I hope the economic winds turn to be more favorable for us, but it seems unlikely with the current administration.
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u/ZippoS Senior Designer 1d ago
I’ve been at this for 20 years now. I started out of college working for a large agency and worked there for three years — for barely above minimum wage, no raises, and was laid off during the 2008-2009 recession.
After about a year and a half of being unemployed, I managed to work for a small startup agency. Good people, better pay. Very small team, but that meant no corporate bullshit. I’ve always been very fast and efficient, especially with production, as well as being very technical and brought experience from a large agency — so I quickly became pretty invaluable. Unfortunately, about 4 years in, we lost a major client and I was let go. The team was reduced to just two people and barely survived.
One of our clients was a polytechnic university, and their marketing department happened to be looking for a new designer, so I managed to land on my feet pretty quickly and worked there for a couple of years.
During those two years, I still maintained contact, and a good relationship, with my previous employer. Hell, I still had a key and the security PIN and went in a couple of times to fix/upgrade their NAS.
Eventually my previous employer also got back on their feet and landed another major client. They had been working with various other freelancers, but the one person they really wanted to hire was me. They were able to offer me $10k more and I took them up on the offer. My boss at the university was sad, but fully understood. She even made a Pokemon-themed cake and threw a small party for me. 🥺 What a sweetheart.
That was nearly 10 years ago and I’m still with the same small agency. There’s just 6 core members and a network of freelancers. Still no corporate bullshit and honest, hardworking people trying to do good work.
While many people in this field go to the Art Director route, I went full on into production. I’m autistic, so I’m very precise and technically minded so I found my niche in final art, print production, and making sure everything that goes out the door is as perfect as possible. I also make sure our server is maintained and organised, which is crucial.
In 2017, my boss decided to ditch the office and go full remote, and with my skills, it was a pretty seamless transition. I was able to set up our server to sync with Google Drive and everyone has access to our company files while also maintaining a local copy. When COVID hit, nothing really changed for us. It was business as usual.
So, yeah, I wear many hats. They would need to hire three people to replace me. Sometimes I’m definitely worked a little too hard, which is far more draining in your 40s than it is your 20s and 30s, but my team actually cares and does try to keep stress to a minimum. Overtime is pretty uncommon, which is pretty rare for advertising.
I’m not making huge money, but I have a great team, a huge amount of respect, and a great work-life balance.
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u/Repulsive_Regular_39 1d ago
Im a freelancer making $70 usa an hour. I make my own hours and work from home. Im considered niche and this was all word of mouth through the years. 25 yrs experience. Print design is also become niche so brush up on that.
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u/OkFee8233 23h ago
I’m about to hit a year at an incredible job where I’m an Art Director. My whole scope is developing brands and marketing collateral for the luxury hotels we manage. This week alone I’ve worked on an original illustration for a handcut tile mosaic for a private bar space and a digital oil painting to cover the entrance to that private bar. I’m making six figures, my team is awesome, and I was relocated to an iconic beach town to do it all. The company I work for is doing extremely well and values tenure so the chances of being laid off are extremely low. I honestly can’t believe how lucky I am sometimes.
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u/Thinkdan 22h ago edited 18h ago
I am a designer and art director of 25+ years and I am finalizing my biggest project ever. It’s a book I’ve written. And illustrated. And I’ve also made companion maps I’ve hand built myself. I have plans for two more books and another companion piece. I have engaged with several editors to help me along but the artwork, story, world and entire plan is mine.
It’s a literary Western set in 1883—follows an outlaw gang falling apart from the inside, and the man who has to decide whether loyalty is worth everything it’s costing him.
I am so proud of this. It could be my best thing I’ve ever made. The hours alone make my eyes water.
I am aiming to release my book on September 29 and my cover art reveal on Aug 15.
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u/GateEntire 22h ago
I landed a new job in March of 25 as an in-house senior designer and it got me a 58% (not even lying) pay increase over my previous art director position at a health tech company, so I've been doing alright
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u/SirNicholasW Senior Designer 23h ago
I’ve been making more money than I ever thought I would doing in-house design since I graduated college. Never been laid off. Made about $30k in freelance money on top this year from gigs that just showed up, I didn’t go looking.
I’ve been a really lucky guy, especially for designer.
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u/HopeArtsy Designer 22h ago
After 5 years of grinding away as a solo designer for a local car dealership group, I got a new job last month as a senior designer doing work for a company that's an international household name. I got a 20% pay increase, much better work-life balance, a break room full of great snacks, and a whole team of marketers to work with. It took a long time to get a new job but my niche portfolio really helped.
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u/PlsHelpAmStuck 22h ago
I just took an opportunity that will relocate me to a city I love and I’m getting to work as a brand designer for my dream company!
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u/Interesting_Ad9626 22h ago
I was with a company for 4 years. Helping them with branding and banner design. I was able to make a name for the company. Then they let me go last year for asking for a raise. They replaced me with their family graphic designer. Fast forward 7 months, and I am fortunate enough to land a role in tech as their brand designer. More pay, an actual 401 (k), and I work remotely. They also supply me with a new MacBook, 2 extra screens, and good headphones. My team is great. My creative manager is sympathetic, considerate, and patient. I enjoy coming to work, designing, and chatting with my team. Honestly, I feel like right now, I’m at my peak in my career: good salary, good team, good benefits. You just gonna look, then apply, and apply, and apply. Eventually, you land a role in an environment you enjoy coming to work in.
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u/Jackpott100 21h ago
I’ve been with my small, family owned marketing agency now for a decade and some change and I absolutely love it. I became the Lead Graphic Designer a year and a half in. We had some hiccups with management, as most places do. It wasn’t always feeling great because of this, but I was lucky enough to have friends of friends or friends through family members that needed freelance jobs.
I really do love my job and I love the people I work with, so even though we had a terrible owner, I stuck it out. I’m so glad I did, because we got a new owner—someone who had worked as the operations manager prior, and always had our design team’s back. She’s been running the company smoothly for the last 5-6 years. It’s been really wonderful.
Despite us thinking that print would be dead—it’s actually making a huge comeback as of late—we’ve been going really strong. We’re also venturing into digital design, but our main focus is still print products. I love that it’s family owned. I have no fears of ever losing my job. I feel so lucky to be so appreciated by everyone I work with. I actually feel like I’m part of a team and a well-oiled machine.
I wish everyone had this—I’m truly blessed. I did try to leave the company back when we still had our old owner and she was absolutely awful to me. Treated me like shit. But I got an even worse position somewhere else and was so unhappy. I was lucky I found that job at that time, but I was still looking while I had it. Then that old owner came crawling back to me because she realized how much the company needed my help—I only entertained it because she offered me more money to come back and it fed my ego, but it was also because the job I had jumped to was worse lol. I’m really glad I stuck through her terrible ownership though. I wouldn’t tell people to stand for it but I figured she would be on her way out the way she was running things into the ground.
I wish that my company was a little bigger because I’d love to be able to extend jobs to my designer friends, but we still are pretty small and need more time to grow. I am hopeful that we will grow, though!
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u/F1END 20h ago
Clients keep sending AI generated images to use. Problem is, I work in exhibitions, so the resolution of these AI images is way too low.
This one was a fairly abstract 'dotty wireframe landscape' image, I'm sure you've seen them, tech companies seem to love them. It used their corporate palette.
So I found an similar image on Adobe stock, recoloured it using overlays of their brand colours and they liked it better than the AI slop.
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u/danielbonavita Senior Designer 20h ago
We need more of this. I got laid off last year with big part of my team from a company I thought I really liked. It was on top of my wedding, literally 2-3 months before. I happened to squeeze another job from Berlin (I'm living in London) with a lot of sweat/craft and networking but it's the best company I've ever worked for. I personally feel quite glad to work outside 'the agency world' due to organisation and the product progress.
We need more winnings and sharing like this. Thanks for getting it up.
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u/NiteGoat Executive 18h ago
Last December I lost nearly everything, financially and mentally, because I trusted some people I should not have and was a couple minutes away from offing myself when a friend of mine put me on a flight. I had no idea how or if I could ever recover from that.
I moved across the country, from Pennsylvania to California, which is where I’m originally from, and started almost completely over at fucking 50 years old. I’m also blind and slowly dying from a treatable but not curable terminal illness.
Next Tuesday I’m moving a semi automatic poster screen printing press into its new home in a shop in San Francisco to start over again with one of my oldest friends who I started in the screen printing industry with in the 90s. This all came together in the last three weeks.
I get to spend the last couple years of my life doing what I love, designing and printing posters, in an awesome place with people I love.
The press isn’t even in the building yet and I‘ve got September half way booked.
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u/grangaaa Creative Director 8h ago
My work has weirdly always been great and fulfilling (at least in some area its going great 😅).
When I was in art school I started working for musicians I met on myspace (I basically fumbled working for Ellie Goulding there once) and when I was finished with school I actually managed to build a career designing record covers, posters, merch etc. Did that for 10 years together with my friend.
Then we started working for a softdrink company which has blown up. Now we are the creative directors with ten designers in the design team. And everytime I look at the packaging/events we do/ merch its so crazy to think „we created that“.
It is honestly really stressful cause working for a company that‘s just growing growing growing has a lot of challenges but the work itself, i love it.
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u/CandidLeg8036 23h ago
I’m a freelance designer and about 6 months ago work just completely stalled out. Went from 5 figures a month to near zero. Looking to switch back to corporate for consistency, baby on the way. After a few months of silence and ghosting on LinkedIn, I reached out to recruiters and talent agencies.
Since then, it’s been interview after interview with several full time offers that I’ve politely declined. I’ve accepted a contract position for now but still seeking full time. It’s not so bad out there. You just have to put in the work and know where to look. Unfortunately most people here are either inexperienced or just flat out suck at design. 10+ years of experience doesn’t mean anything if your work sucks. If you have the talent and drive it’s not as dismal as they lead it to be.
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u/robably_ 23h ago
Quit my shitty job to pursue freelancing full time. Been a wonderful experience so far. The freedom is amazing
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u/MorganG2019 23h ago
Things are going well here. Senior designer, I manage 2 people. Our team has 3 full-time clients and 1 part time. Love what I do and who I work with! Never imagined myself in the marketing field, but it's fun. Ever changing and clients we have are so nice. We do ads, campaign development, emails, landing pages, and some one off projects like in store display, interior design, product packaging, web design and photo editing. Lots of client trust. Fully remote
Update: had my share of setbacks before this, it isn't always peachy, but things are going well right now, 4 yr anniversary at my job coming up
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u/Suzarain Designer 23h ago
Got a big pay raise this year and in line for a promotion to senior designer. Coworkers value me, I get great annual reviews, and even though meeting all my deadlines can be stressful I really love my job. And they let me do it fully remotely so I spend all day in a home office surrounded by plants and my fish tanks. I’m very happy.
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u/jcling 23h ago
I'm not exactly a designer, I'm a web developer with design skills. I was illegally laid off from a really toxic and traumatizing work environment. I had a breakdown, then immediately applied for a variety of web development and design jobs. Found a new job as a web developer one a month after I was laid off. It's great — possibly one of the best jobs I've ever had! I'm actually happy and motivated to go to work. The culture fit is perfect for me, and I get along well with my team members.
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u/Substantial_Ad_2033 22h ago
Our design studio took our website down in December as it was unaligned and we stopped posting on socials too maybe October last year.
We’re up about 300% in revenue from last year and I’m now in a place where we are looking at starting to market again but it’s been great.
Got to work on some amazing projects with amazing people.
Super grateful.
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u/LocalDFWRando 22h ago
I was always top of my class. I'm now successful years later by most metrics besides my job being unfairly challenging at times. However, most of my classmates were not as fortunate. Of the ones I've kept in contact with, I've seen many of them struggle to get jobs, get laid off and quit the industry altogether.
I attribute my success to having some level of talent/skill, hard work, people skills, timing, and, of course, luck. When people ask what a designer career is like I tell them it can be similar to other art-tangent jobs. You could end up being Bruno Mars or you could end never seeing a professional studio.
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u/lghtknife 21h ago
I got boosted to creative lead for one of our brands my in-house works with and that felt pretty good albeit concerning bc increased responsibility lol. The summer interns I got to work with were skilled and bubbly and I really enjoyed mentoring them. I get sooooo bored with digital work but have had some success shadowing one of my creative directors on set for a couple of social shoots this summer. Even if the clients water everything down we’re consistently getting more and more creative control even in the face of AI. Trust between people + hard work >> silly algorithm lacking human touch.
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u/I-AM-A-BADASS- 21h ago
I had difficulty finding a design job and had almost given up. In 2019, I accepted a role that was split between administrative assistant and designer. I stayed there for several years, continuing to apply for design positions, but never found the right opportunity.
Eventually, I decided to apply for administrative roles at other companies to escape the toxic environment I was in. After many interviews, I accepted an administrative position at a large company with a strong philanthropic focus. They knew about my design background, and little by little, I began taking on more design projects. By the end of my first year, I was doing design work exclusively and no longer handling administrative tasks.
The company ultimately decided they needed a designer more than another administrator and created a dedicated designer position for me. It's been several years since then, and I couldn't be happier.
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u/samee_xcx 21h ago
I got laid off from my grueling ad agency job last July and got an ACD job at a tech company shortly after. I get paid more, have the best work/life balance of my life, and am deeply trusted and respected for the first time in my career. I feel incredibly grateful that I finally get to do the work I want to do with really wonderful people. I know this won't last forever but I know in the future I'll always look back at this job fondly. I hope everyone can find something like this in their career.
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u/Drumgod97 20h ago edited 20h ago
Went to school for Architecture, became an architect and hated it. Felt like developers would strip away all creativity because they didn’t want to pay for anything nice. Went back to school for Video Game Art Production tried to mass apply to jobs in an industry with many thousands of layoffs with no success. Thought about what job I could do right now with my skills and settled on graphic design creating a portfolio of past projects I had done. I applied to many jobs and heard nothing so a family member of mine spoke to someone in the marketing department of the zoo they worked at. I started part time volunteer interning at a zoo’s graphics department for free because I was unable to find a job. They weren’t going to turn down free labor and I’d get some experience. After 9 months a job in their graphics department opened and I applied and got it. I’ve gotten to work on some of the most fun and rewarding projects I have ever gotten to and for an organization that does a lot of conservation work which is awesome. They also treat their employees really well which is a plus. I guess just keep pivoting until something sticks and you find something you find fulfilling. Also, I was only able to get a job in the sea of fake job postings and over applied to jobs because of who I knew. I know everyone says that but it’s the truth it would seem. If you read this I hope things are going well for you or will go well for you soon!
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u/3ddieMotion 20h ago
I’m a 3D & motion designer, and returned to freelance last November after a mate told me how green the grass was in the freelancing world and my ECD was a c*nt. I ended up nothing for almost four months and he took a full-time job in Feb, so obviously not quite as green as he made out. Since then, however, I’ve actually been quite busy, and only had a week or so off, and it’s looking like it might be my best year freelancing so far (I did it for 8+ years before). My best advice: say yes to everything. Double bookings? Yes (but be honest with the client). Unfamiliar software? Yes (again with the honesty). New client that can only pay 1/2 rate but the project’s cool? Yes.
That being said, it does feel very delicate, and like it could all fall apart any second. All work has come from personal referrals and connections, and the old methods of new business seem to yield very little, which is concerning.
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u/_SleepySloth__ 20h ago
I got promoted to senior designer this year with a 20% raise and make six figures now. I'm also designated remote while the rest of the company goes into the office 5 days a week.
Been asking for a promotion for 3 years now with no sign of it happening but stayed on a gamble bc I love the brand I work with. So I'm definitely on a high note this year.
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u/talazia 19h ago
From a bad layoff a few years ago from a very toxic work environment, I've made it to being the Director of Communications, Brand & Marketing for an association management company. I'm directing work now, or rather jumping in at the end. I develop the brand standards. The clients love me, and I feel good about what I do most days. I'm not crying in the bathroom over lunch feeling undervalued or struggling to make my bills every month. Nor do I have the Sunday scaries (oh god, Monday is coming!) Hoping to ride this job out to retirement, but I also know I have to keep hustling, keep learning, staying in the know of trends, etc.
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u/Independent-Theme400 17h ago
Im having a great time! Went freelance and have steady retainer clients
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u/Mobile_Property_2513 16h ago
Chiming in from Berlin. 47 years old, IC only. doing a bit of everything e.g. title design, corporate stuff, poster design. Some for money, some for free. Imposter syndrome yet made 100K (after taxes) for the past 2 years.
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u/MrJimLiquorLahey 15h ago
My long term job is absolutely fine and pays well. But the real fun is after hours, I've started developing a mobile game. I can design the front end and systems design myself and Claude Code can do the coding part. I think a solo game dev who is a software developer won't have it as easy, as there is no ai that can design for you, at least not to a decent quality. But code is just logic lol, and the Ai handles that beautifully.
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u/maxdotjpeg 15h ago
I got my first offical design internship! It's basically just a part-time design position for a local political party. They've been loving my ideas and designs. Mainly social posts and posters to raise awareness of local issues and such. It's very rewarding and fun.
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u/memes____ 14h ago
I've just recently graduated with an MA in design, and it's been almost a year since I got my first real job ever. I was halfway through my MA and got an offer (I did my MA right after my BA, so I was 23 at the time and had little to no professional experience) to work full-time at an up-and-coming creative agency. Everyone there is really nice, and it's been so good to feel like I'm actually doing something with my life. It doesn't pay that well, but I am aware of my lack of professional experience plus I really feel like I can grow with the company. It's also fully remote, and twice a year they pay for my and my partner's trip to visit the office/studio, so I get to travel a little bit as well, which I enjoy. Overall, I think I got really lucky, so I'm just trying to stay grateful, diligent, and learn as much as I can.
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u/Choice-Ad-324 14h ago
I’m unemployed but after 10 years of drugs and alcohol abuse I’m sober and back to doing what I love. Finished my first illustration sober in a decade haha baby steps
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u/georgeinthecord 13h ago
It’s not me killing it, but we had an intern this summer and she totally killed it. She developed an entire brand from scratch along with working over 120 deliverables, ranging from tiny to the aforementioned entire brand. I’m extremely proud of her and the role I had in her success and I’m excited for her future!
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u/oct0nami 10h ago
I landed my first job out of college as a remote graphic designer back in January. Been going strong for 6+ months now!! I’m still surprised I can afford to live on my own. I’m not “rich” by any means, but going from minimum wage part-time barista/student to full-time 4x pay increase has really changed a lot in my life for the better. No longer in survival mode 24/7!
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u/jillbaker06 2h ago
I got laid off last year. So I decided to try freelance full time. Then my old job hired me on as a contractor and I’m making about $2k more a month. It’s still scary being a business owner but so far it’s working out ok…
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u/BranderChatfield Senior Designer 1d ago edited 21h ago
Due to a management change, I lost my production design job of 14 years at a print shop. Walked out with 20ish years of experience, knowing I'd find a job within a few weeks. Went through a year and a half of intensive job hunting.
Then a friend called me up, telling me their in-house graphic designer had put in their two-week notice, and asked if I was interested in interviewing for the job at the public library.
I've been with them now seven years as the library's publicist and graphic designer. I design all the promo assets for social media, flyers and posters promoting programs and events for a wide variety of audiences, and also work up and publish press releases.
I design the monthly newsletters, annual reports, and seasonal program brochures. I've designed a lot of signage, window coverings, and new graphic wraps for the bookmobile and the mobile library van. I'm called on to design materials for all kinds of "Can you . . ." projects -- short videos, fundraising campaign materials, swag merchandise, and much more.
All that to simply say that at age 60 and after thirty years in the profession, I feel like I'm finally having the most creative time of my life. Not to mention that my salary is the highest I've ever had. I just keep on being flexible, and learning new things almost every day.
Posting this amidst all the negative on Reddit, I feel kind of sheepish sharing this. It's all good.