r/graphic_design

I come from a very small town in a very small country in Europe. 13 years ago, after graduating at the fine arts academy and teaching graphic design for a while at a local highschool I started working with my brother who is a web developer and together with another friend from marketing we opened a small digital agency. We do ok, we even got some Awwwards for websites etc but struggle because we always spend too much time on projects, polish everything, do more work then we initially agreed on and undercharge.

Back then we rented office space from a friend who we collabed with for a while and we were sharing the space. He always jugled multiple projects and one of the projects he got at the time was being a creative director for a startup from another country (sorry I dont want to expose too many details).

That startup needed branding and they asked him to
make a specific logo, an animal, and he just said to me - could you please do it for me, you are better at drawing - so I did and did a whole branding presentation with aplications of the logo and everything. He paid me a friendly fee for my work and presented it without mentioning I was the author.

Later on that startup changed the name but kept the mark without changing it at all - and spent millions on marketing- all the variations of the animal mark from my original presentation are still the same, they even made nft's selling the mark and the amount of exposure it got is insane. I never thought for a moment it would grow that big. I watch tv or open anything on youtube and that logo pops up all the time. Their company is now worth billions of dollars and they are just now celebrating 10 years from starting as a small startup and even in those commercials the animal mark is at front and center.

Nobody but my friends and family knows I was the original author. I know I dont have the rights to just swoop in and I don't feel I was wronged in any way because it was a favour for a friend and he did even pay me some small anount then, even thou I would do it for free- but it would mean the world for my design agency if I could just say I was the author.

I was discussing the situation with chat gpt and other ai platforms to hear what they would tell me and they all agree the best aproach would be to write a substack on my personal name and just showcase old files from that presentation with the name of the original startup they had before becoming this gigant of a company. Not asking for recognition, not calling them out, just some archive files and explanation of the process and an afternote on how those files lived on (because I have some funny screenshots)

So what do you think, what would you do in my situation? The friend never said I couldnt do it but would prefer if I didnt, but he also hasnt been working for them for 10 years now and also he did nothing wrong- in fact I think he made the right call in hiring me for the job he knew I would do better - and that is what creative directors do. They never asked who is in fact the author.

Would it be unprofesional of me to publish those files?

Edit to add:
Thank you for all your comments! I see now I can't really do anything without asking my friend again to try and find the documents he signed and checking if there was an NDA and what kind.
We don't really hang out anymore and he does have a branding tag on his Linkedin profile for the period he worked for them but I would still hate to do any harm to him and his family if it turns out he wasn't allowed to pass on the work without letting them know and having them make a contract with me as well or anything like that.
I would still like to hear from anyone having a similar experience!

I work at a medium-sized company. In recent years, our client base has grown, and the number of projects has increased significantly. We’ve already completed over 12,000 projects. At the same time, there are only 7 of us working in graphic design, including myself. We have roughly the same number of people handling client relations.

For quite some time now, we’ve been struggling with a serious problem at the company. How do we keep track of such a large number of files and projects?

The project managers have their own system for tracking projects. It’s not very smart, but… each project is simply labeled with a number. Years ago, some total idiot (I’m betting it was my boss) came up with the idea that we’d adopt the same rule for our file system. Thanks to this, those lazy bums (the project managers) will have easy access to files - for example, if a client writes to them about project No. 12345, they go to the file server, find folder No. 12345, and download preview files from it.

If you’re still reading this post, you already know that this approach is a disaster. Why?

• We do a lot of repetitive tasks. For example, a graphic designer creates a key visual, it gets invoiced, and the project gets closed. A month later, the client asks to turn that key visual into a poster - so a new project and a new folder are created. A month after that, we turn that key visual into something else entirely. So, in reality, a single project can exist across multiple folders.
• We design a lot of packaging. Clients sometimes update this packaging over the course of several years. Such packaging might be updated twice a year. Imagine having a line of 30-40 packaging designs that all have to be consistent with each other. Keeping this mess under control is a nightmare.
• ...and multiple other problems.

For quite some time now, I’ve been trying to convince my boss to implement some kind of revolution in managing this chaos. I’ve read a bit about DAM systems, but they seem like a ridiculously expensive investment. Is there another way to solve this problem? How does it work in your case? Is it possible to balance the needs of project managers with those of graphic designers?

Hey everyone. I'm a freelance designer (mostly doing posters for clients). I have already attended the "design bootcamp" suggested by this sub and I believe I know my fundamentals well. (e.g. using grid systems, hierarchy, colors, and grouping). My designs work (in the sense that they communicate the concept clearly and are accepted by my clients); however, I have noticed that they feel blunt, soulless and too simple.

I would like to know if this is a common experience for beginner designers and how to push past this. How do you get that high-end, sophisticated feel? Are there specific resources that could help me cross this gap?

I think my graphic design job is in danger. How do I actually improve?

I've learned the basic design principles, but whenever I start a design, my mind goes completely blank.

Most of the time I end up copying layouts from Pinterest and recreating them in Photoshop because I don't know where to place text, what shapes to use, or how to make a composition from scratch.

HELP ME WITH THIS TOO-

Also, where do designers get all those small design elements like arrows, underlines, scribbles, lines, icons, and other decorative assets? Do you create them yourself or download them from somewhere?

How did you get past this stage? Any resources, exercises, or advice would really help.

Im 33 and I can't seem to get an entry level job into graphic design. I have a master's in illustration and bacherlors in animation design. Though I know they are both not graphic design degrees. I have been freelancing since 2013 and have done two graphic design internships. I know my portfolio isn't the strongest but I know I am more than capable in doing work in an entry level job. The job postings only today are just asking so much from the applicant and honestly a lot of the postings don't give me confidence to apply. The other issue is how any graduates or entry level applicants suppose to gain experience if hardly any employers don't want to take on anyone unless they have already had agency roles before or too experienced. It's honestly hardwork getting a break in this industry.

I've provided links to my portfolio: Behance.net/markocabaniuk

You can critique the work. I'm all ears.

Many thanks!

but i have a question, since tomorrow is my first day, and we haven’t signed or talked about any contract, should i be worried since there is no paperwork before starting ? or is that normal?

The whole idea of design criticism was considered impolite (in the 1970s)

Folks who were around doing design or studying it, in the 1970s: was this true for you? x

Was it kind of a 1970s hippie thing? That people should be just free to be creative and do whatever, and not be constrained by critiques?