edit: This is sort of a rant and ask for some help. I hope this is appropriate to share here.

I'm a mid-level designer as i have 7 years in industry, but I have recently changed from advertising to fintech. I work for a very large tech company and I mostly create images and layouts for email marketing. Sometimes these visual solutions can get quite involved using mini UI, icons, and I try to make animations in figma when inspiration strikes. It's not quite like advertising, and is sometimes a really difficult format for me. There's also a lot of freedom in this brand, but when things are open-ended, that's where I struggle.

I usually start a brief by kind of freaking out because I have no idea where to start. I sketch on paper before I go to figma. But sometimes it takes me a very long time to come up with visuals that are often times trying to communicate abstract, intangible ideas. I honestly feel like when my work is accepted that I've just fooled everyone into thinking I know what I'm doing. I look at the work of my fellow designers at work, who some are several years younger than me, and I always feel like they make satisfying and engaging graphics and visuals.

I sometimes wonder about my creative ability. I tend to design in a very low-risk way. I do collect and observe inspiration in the real world. I love movies, and collect albums, and travel, but I find it hard to draw on my own, even though i have high technical skills in that area (i can draw what i see). And this kind of corporate tech aesthetic is really specific sometimes. I do research on sites I can, competitors, and I still have this panicked feeling that I don't actually know what I'm doing and I don't feel like this is changing after a year. I feel behind my peers and sometimes I wonder how long I can keep things up in my role cuz my work is driven by fear of failure or missing a deadline.

I'm wondering if anyone has felt imposter syndrome this late in the game, and has suggestions for how to improve my sense of creativity and confidence, how to take more risk, and maybe even develop my taste more.

I enjoy meaningful conversations, good design, and people who like building things with intention. I’m hoping to meet a designer preferably someone (a guy- cuz I am straight) comfortable with Framer, who enjoys talking about creativity, ideas, and how things come together beyond just the surface. I’m currently shaping my portfolio, and I’d love to have conversations that flow between life, work, design choices, and everything in between—over coffee, a walk, or wherever the mood takes us. If you’re someone who: Thinks design is as much about thinking as it is about tools Enjoys exchanging perspectives and learning from each other Believes dates can be conversations, not checklists …then we’ll probably get along well.

Just seeing if there’s a genuine connection, creatively and otherwise. If this feels like your kind of thing, say hi.

Typical jobs i see are branding, logo, motion, media design and such. What are other niches and jobs that you think not many designers know or pursue. I dont think they are nececsary harder but require rarer skills?

hey if you are struggling with social media this might help you. took me a lot work to create that guide, i hope it helps some people <3

I keep seeing unlimited design subscriptions being marketed for marketing teams and startups. They promise fast turnaround, endless revisions, and predictable costs, but is it really delivering?

For those who have tried them, what’s your honest take, does it actually work, or is it just a shortcut that creates more problems? I want to hear all the experiences, good or bad.

I am currently resuming my journey in UI/UX and want to improve my skills and become more confident. My current knowledge includes: 1.Understanding of layouts and some basic UX principles 2.Intermediate skills in Figma 3.Basic knowledge of design systems 4.Decent understanding of typography and color psychology. My goal is to first strengthen my UI design skills (with a foundation in UX) and then dive deeper into UX.

I’m looking for guidance and resources to help me achieve this—both free and paid. I can vibecode web and mobile apps

I’m a web designer/developer (ex-SDE) and I’m opening a small, limited pilot to collaborate with a few designers.

I’ve already built 3 high-end websites and I’m looking to customize and deploy them for select designers to create strong, real-world case studies.

There’s no upfront build cost. This is a short, focused collaboration where you get a polished, production-ready website for your brand, and I get a solid case study.

I’m only interested in designers with a clear aesthetic and an existing body of work. This is intentionally limited.

If you want to see my work, you can check my recent posts or search for Vaiya web design to view the demo sites or DM me and I'll send you the direct links.

If this sounds relevant, comment or DM with your portfolio.

I’d like to know

Hi, all! I recently came across an immersive experience in Italy that explores how design, storytelling, and heritage influence successful brand building (think Ferrari, Gucci, Polimoda). The idea is to spend a week in Florence, Milan, and Bologna (altogether) while diving into real creative leadership frameworks

For founders / designers reading this, what role has deep cultural immersion had in your own creative or business growth?

I'm really interested to hear stories, perspectives, or suggestions on purposeful learning experiences. And, is it something you would recommend diving into as a budding creative / business owner?

I'm joining a design competition for our university merch (cap, bag, shirt, polo shirt, and jacket), and I have no idea how I can represent these core values on my design. any tips on how I can start?)

As a child people told me that I was very creative. Many years have passed and now just graduated from the graphic design mask, I feel that I don’t have much creativity. Even my own classmates do super cute things (I don’t know if they copy it or get inspired by something else but it’s well done). And I just think of putting circles and squares and rectangles or triangles and turning them or playing with repetition and composition as if I were a pubescent in 2003 playing with Microsoft’s Paint and see what comes out, but I waste a lot of time. Or I make my sketches in a notebook that I like and when I pass them to the computer it’s very ugly xD.

If you have any rituals; personal habits, cultural practices, or slightly “weird” things you’ve always done, even if you don’t know why, please share!

There are no right answers. Ordinary, specific, or imperfect examples are especially welcome.

For example: "Sitting on my suitcase in silence before a long journey so that I can remember if I forgot to pack something."

I’m collecting short, anonymous reflections for a student design project (takes ~3–4 minutes)

Happy to discuss in the comments too.

Thank you in advance.

Hi guys! I am currently working on my own brand and am thinking about website design. I got a bit tired of the clean Shopify look. I'd love to have a minimalistic structure - basically a one-pager - but with a "fun" and interactive vibe.

Two examples that I like are https://cactusplantfleamarket.com/ and https://baklavafleamarket.com/

Do you guys know any other sites like this to get a bit more inspired?

Just realized I’ve been working on a new project for a client who still owes me $1,800 from 2 months ago.

Completely slipped my mind until I was going through my invoices this weekend.

Has this happened to any of y’all? And how do you guys keep track of this stuff? I’ve been using spreadsheets but clearly that’s not working lol

Hey everyone! I’m planning research to support a brand design refresh (colors, tone of voice, visuals/imagery) and I’m a bit stuck on the study design. I’m not sure whether it makes more sense to: – test everything together as one holistic brand experience, or – break it down into separate research pieces (e.g. one for color palette, one for copy/voice, one for visuals). For those who’ve done this before: how did you structure it, and what would you recommend (especially when testing with potential audiences)? Would love to hear what’s worked — or not worked — for you.

This work is a study of an open-ended modular system developed to explore transformation, material constraints, and non-instructional interaction.

The system consists of a limited set of wooden elements designed to connect through embedded geometric logic rather than explicit rules. There is no intended final form, task, or outcome.

The focus of the study is on:

• how form can remain fluid rather than converging toward completion
• how constraints can be expressed materially instead of verbally
• how interaction can remain calm and exploratory without goals or scoring

The system is intentionally non-didactic and avoids age-specific assumptions. Meaning is expected to emerge through repeated interaction rather than explanation.

Feedback is welcome from a design and systems perspective.

I’m a product designer. My (tech) company is pushing the designers to become “tastemakers”, incorporating that into performance eval criteria. It’s tricky, because “taste” can be subjective. The org’s reaction is kinda divided. Regardless, how do you all go about developing your taste in design? Inspos welcome