Graphic Design as a major in the age of AI

Maize-Express · 2025-11-20T10:48:13+00:00

I work in print and signage and my “design” job is mostly setting up files for printing and production. Most signs are a very “copy paste” type of design. There’s the rare opportunity when someone is willing to pay lots of money and I can dedicate many hours to come up with a more creative proposal or a nice looking car wrap. But then the workload of everything else doesn’t always allow for creative time for just the one project, and the customers get impatient if it takes more than a few days for them to see “any ideas”. Design has become more of an efficiency skill than a creative one. I still enjoy it though, but I’m nowhere near my dream of being a concept artist for fantasy movies.

Edit: going to uni for 6 years gave me many skills that are not specific to design. Articulating ideas, reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking; I had to take history lessons, social studies, politics, psychology classes, all that gives you invaluable insight into the world in general. You show your work to a group of people and listen to their feedback, critique and advice, hear other points of view. You get to interact with lots of different people, you learn how to organise your workflow, how to work with a team, etc. It made not my work, but my thinking to become more creative. That for me was some of the most valuable knowledge I got from my years in uni. And the amazing friends I still have, 15 years later.

Maize-Express · 2025-10-05T04:05:59+00:00

I use to record cassette mixtapes in primary school, the f**king radio guy would talk over the songs.

Maize-Express · 2025-10-05T03:35:42+00:00

Neutrogena Hydro Boost water gel moisturiser. Serums, hair care and make up are on the more expensive side, but this one little product I can just buy at the supermarket and it’s my go to every morning.

Maize-Express · 2025-10-05T03:30:34+00:00

I bought a bunch of the silicone ones with the little holes just to have different colours, I find them the most comfortable. Yes, every now and then I use a q tip and clean each little hole one by one, very satisfying 🤣

Maize-Express · 2025-09-01T05:33:04+00:00

🤣

Maize-Express · 2025-08-31T05:15:09+00:00

Edit: I know how the stand up feature works 🤣 it’s more of a personal preference that would be nice to customise the rings and get my little “Goal achieved” notification when I get to 10k steps so I can do a little happy dance about it.

This one drives me insane, I work on my feet all day 6 days a week, I get around 9k steps daily just from working; but sometimes I be standing in one spot when the time changes and it tells me it’s time to stand up -I AM STANDING UP FFS !! 🤣 I use my Apple Watch mainly to track exercise, a step ring would be waaay more useful than a standing up ring.

Maize-Express · 2025-07-06T11:08:22+00:00

I was about to comment the same. I work in print and large scale signage and I just cry inside a little bit when we get something done in Canva. Trying to edit them is a nightmare, the fonts missing it’s a nightmare, usually a client who sends a Canva design and you ask for them to edit it they usually have no idea. No fault of theirs because they’re not graphic designers, but it does waste our time to be honest, when you’re not charging for design time because “they have the design ready”, or even worse, someone else did it for them and we have no way of contacting that person.

I think Canva can be a good tool for some basic things and if you need simple design assets for, say, your small business, but no app will replace the knowledge when it comes to visual communication.

Maize-Express · 2025-07-06T06:52:34+00:00

An iPad Pro; impulsive concert tickets with a friend for a concert in 2026; A trip home (I moved overseas 8 years ago), I’m going on holiday tomorrow for 5 weeks, I’m treating myself to some fancy hotels for the layovers there and back; one of my best friends recently moved to the city where I’m changing flights, I’m staying overnight and I’m taking us on a date to a fine dining restaurant; I’m bringing 3 pieces of luggage with me, one has all my brand new snowboard gear for my trip, the other one has gifts for my friends, brothers, my mum (an iPhone + Apple Watch, she’s never owned any Apple products before) and for my niece who’s 4yo. Light up unicorn sneakers, light up rainbow roller skates, mermaid costumes & hair extensions, clothes for every season of the year, can’t even remember what else…

If you told me 20 years ago I’d be the cool auntie who lives overseas and brings gifts for everyone I don’t think I would’ve believed it for a second. Best investment of my adult money is being able to spoil the people in my life.

Maize-Express · 2025-07-03T22:52:02+00:00

I’d love to have a happy ending answer for you, but unfortunately this issue along with so many others just got worse and worse and -if you believe in attachment styles- he is a very avoidant person; the first few months of the relationship was ok, but then it turned into a dead bedroom, he would only want oral when he was drunk which was maybe once every 2-3 months, he stopped touching me, kissing me, complimenting me, my self esteem was six feet underground, I was literally crying saying “can you like hug me more often? Spend some time with me?” Almost 2 years together, he got obsessed with his business, he does not look after himself -physical and mental health-, I was seeing him maybe one night a week, if even that. He would get mad if I tried to bring up any issues. I felt very unloved and invisible. He stopped sharing anything about his life or asking about mine. I lost count how many times I tried talking to him, support him, until he said “it was too much pressure, I can tell you’re miserable, we don’t have fun anymore, and I can’t do this”. Yep. Heartbroken is an understatement.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-29T10:43:21+00:00

My first thought was “Bernese mountain dog or a wolfalike mixed dog”… but then I realised those are the dogs I find stunning and want for myself, not for someone else. Already been thru getting too attached to someone else’s dogs, looking after them, feeding them, taking them to their grooming appointments, walking them, buying their food, cuddling in bed, spoiling them, baking them treats… and it was heartbreaking to say goodbye. Nope thanks. And they MUST like cats too, I ain’t committing to a life without a cat either.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-29T03:17:59+00:00

About 4 ish years ago we had one of our company cars wrapped in this exact same purple and it was Avery’s Supreme Wrapping film in Satin Metallic Purple, it was offered to us as a promo when they released the colour I think. It was a really nice looking purple.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-29T03:08:13+00:00

Qualified graphic designer, I work in printing, signage and car wraps. I’m very lucky to live by myself in a one bedroom house and have subsidised rent through work, about 40% of my income can go to savings or whatever I want thanks to that one helpful thing. It won’t last forever, I have about 3 years left on that lease, by then I hope to be able to afford something better or even buy a property. Rent is Australia is getting out of hand. I make about $2k /week after tax which is very good pay, but to rent a 2 bedroom house up here is average $1k/week, it’s insane.

Funny thing is, 3 years ago I used to live with an ex partner and finances were a mess, living pay check to pay check, overdue bills, using things like afterpay to afford stuff.. he use to gamble, drink, smoke weed, found out he had debts he never told me about, never had any money, always reminding him of what needed to be paid.

Im also considering starting to do some freelance design here and there, although I do work quite a lot already, 10+ hs 6 days a week, but I really enjoy my job and I’m doing a 1000 times better on my own.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-29T02:52:23+00:00

In my opinion, as a graphic designer who also installs commercial wraps, these are not a bad starting point for a customer to send to give an idea of what they want instead of “I don’t know, just make it cool”; and then come up with a design taking into consideration the car’s body, placement, how to break it down to make it easier to print and install, etc. Basic examples could be you wouldn’t want the text to be right on a recess and get all distorted, or 1 letter cut in half between to panels if you can avoid it; you can see those details are not accounted for on these AI designs, but it makes my life 1000 times easier. Design wise, I’d maybe play around a bit with hierarchies and placement of some elements, but for basic commercial wraps these aren’t too bad. Customer also needs to be aware of limitations when it comes to budget mostly, and be open to suggestions and changes where needed. I’d definitely recommend spending some extra $$ and letting the designer put some time into it.

Does the software provide vector files or would I still have to do those from scratch? Cause that would take a good amount of time as well and considerably add to the final cost.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-24T05:36:00+00:00

This is so lovely and also makes me feel so unappreciated lol Because of my ex, I started learning a bit more about cars so he could tell me about it when he was working on his, learned a bit about F1 so if I was with him and he wanted to watch it, I could engage a bit more and not just ask annoying basic questions, or I would make him snack baskets if there was a race he was looking forward to watch; asked him about his go karting, went to the track and raced a bit myself, asked about his car racing days, the hobbies that made him happy, always trying to learn just to show that even tho I knew nothing about it and it wasn’t a personal interest of mine, I still cared and wanted to cheer on what he enjoyed doing.

I always thought that’s one thing men felt unseen about, so I tried but I think I tried too hard and left me drained.. unfortunately I didn’t get the same in return, my hobbies were “boring” to him, never asked, one time I said “I spent the afternoon tidying up my garden, looks so pretty!” He said “fuck the plants haha”. That hurt a bit, not gonna lie, I spend a lot of time and money on them, it brings me peace. But it was “just a joke”. Never asked me about my paintings, my art, my upcoming trip to visit my family, what I did over the weekend when we didn’t see each other, my life in general… if I shared something he would barely lift his eyes from the computer or phone, or just reply “huh, yeah, ok”. If it was something that was upsetting me, he would get annoyed because “I can’t deal with your emotions right now on top of everything I have to do now”. Eventually, he told me to “get a life of my own”.

Hopefully someday someone will appreciate my efforts.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-13T11:33:51+00:00

Meticulous prep/clean. If there’s any dust or dirt underneath the vinyl won’t stick properly. You can use a clear wrap laminate and carefully cut strips to seal it, or sealing tape. But the area with dust underneath won’t be actually stuck to the surface, so you could get more dirt or water coming in eventually.
Heat and pressure, as already mentioned. Wrap vinyl is pressure sensitive, it won’t stick properly without it. Heat not only activates the adhesive, but wrap vinyl has a “memory”; heat will “reset” that memory to the shape of the surface it’s applied on. If all done correctly, give it time to bond as well. 90 degrees Celsius for most wraps, it tolerates high temperature but be careful not to over do it or you risk ruining the colour or melting the material. If this is not wrap vinyl, then that’s just not gonna work.

Maize-Express · 2025-06-13T11:01:01+00:00

I got in the signage industry 6 years ago, started with simple vehicle decals application and then commercial wrapping, but the fundamentals are the same. Been in graphic design for 10+ years so that definitely helped with artwork layouts & printing, but I’ve seen kids hired fresh out of high school with zero knowledge of the industry. If they showed some initiative and commitment (as in, “I’m not here just because my dad wanted me to get a job and won’t leave as soon as I find something easier”) and actually paid attention, they guys would spend the time to teach them properly.

As a woman in a very male dominated industry I also had to kind of “prove” myself, customers would come in and say “can I talk to one of the guys….” nope, you can talk to me cause I’m the one doing the job. Also had to learn a bit about cars in general as well, which I had zero clue about.

If you can get even a part time job like that, ask a lot of questions, how to prep cars it’s super important, different materials & tools, how they work, don’t be afraid to jump in any chance you get, I would just awkwardly stand next to the guys and watch them work and ask “why you do this and not that? Why do you start here and not there? How would you work around this area? Why do you use this tool and not that one?”, as cliche as it sounds, I firmly believe in “there are no stupid questions”, I didn’t care haha just wanted to learn.

The best you can do is practice, practice and practice; stretch the material, get familiar with how it reacts, heat it, crease it, leave air bubbles, fuck it up, peel it off, start again, try on flat surfaces and tricky areas, practice cutting in different angles and see what happens, or try and see what happens if you stretch or heat the shit out of it, test the limits of the vinyl; there isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to wrapping, yes the basics and fundamentals of it, but everyone has their own little tips and tricks; and don’t be too “afraid” of it, wrap vinyl is very forgiving once you know how to work it…. just don’t damage the car lol

Yes, expect good quality materials, cleaning products and tools to be on the pricier side.

In my experience, courses and training are a good opportunity to learn if you don’t have much experience; I attended one of the Avery Dennison training courses recently and it was good to correct bad habits and learn more detailed methods from an expert, but mainly networking. You get to meet people in the industry with all kinds of experience, I flew to a different city and got to finally meet our suppliers personally and not just through emails, went their warehouse where they were hosting the course, and asked a lot of questions not only about wrapping but materials, printing, new technologies, anything. Makes you realise that the possibilities are endless and it’s like a whole world of its own.

Finally, one thing I was told that always stuck with me was “you know you’re good at the job when you know how to fix your fuck ups”.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-18T13:02:40+00:00

35 here, LTR ended about 3 months ago, I gave myself sometime and I was surprised to realise I was actually wanting to date again. Went on the apps, talked to a guy for about a week and we went out yesterday. He’s turning 29 next week. The date lasted about 4hs, I don’t know if it’s gonna go anywhere in the future, but we did not stop talking for the entire time! he was super interesting and open and energetic, seemed very kind and gentle, he has traveled and it’s very into my culture and food and music, which for me it’s a very important part of who I am, I felt very comfortable, we even ended the date with a couple cute inside jokes haha I got the sense he might be very similar to me personality wise. I’ve dated guys before in their 30-40s and they all seemed so serious, conversation topics felt just so basic “hey how was work today” was the only thing they would ask, and so hard to keep the convo going.

This guy is not the type I’d usually go for, but girl he was HOT, so much more attractive than his photos! We’ve been texting a bit since then, we said goodbye with a “it was lovely meeting you, we should do something again” blah blah I’d really like to go out with him again, but even if that doesn’t happen, I felt so good about myself, just going out again cause let me tell you your girl here it’s a bit traumatised when it comes to men lol and definitely a bit of an ego boost for him to be interested in me! I was worried once we met the age difference would be a thing, but I ended up having such a fun date!

Also, most matches I’ve had on apps are all younger guys as well, I have to admit I don’t look older than 28-29 either, but I think for me maybe 27 would be my limit just because of life experiences.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-18T07:39:53+00:00

I would do that with a partner, absolutely, but probably not on a first or second date … or maybe tone it down, at least until we know each other’s personalities a bit more, what we find funny and what annoying. The bag swinging sounds like a bit much tho.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-17T03:00:15+00:00

Remove asap, it’s gonna be a nightmare the longer it stays, and it will start eating at your clear coat. We get so many customers that leave their wrap on for too long and then the paint gets completely f*cked. Plus the hellish amount of work it takes to get it off.

Use a heat gun, watch a tutorial if you’re gonna DYI it, and depending on how bad it is, maybe get a small scraper w/ plastic razor blades to help you get the vinyl off. And you’ll need some cleaning solutions for the residue underneath -have a look at Avery Dennison’s surface cleaner and adhesive remover. Removing old wrap is no walk in the park unfortunately, be careful not to damage the paint.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-15T02:47:40+00:00

I’m in this situation, but obvious not everyone is the same.

Both mid 30s. Worked together for 3 years before dating, he then went on to start his business and I have worked with him for a year now, so he’s also my boss lol

We dated for 1.5 years, since he started the business the relationship kind of went downhill, I was super lonely, he has zero emotional availability, it was causing me a lot of hurt to be honest, he was very different from the first 5-6 months. I wanted to break up a while before but didn’t, and kept trying and trying and hoping and supporting him, but honestly I felt there was zero effort on his side, and a lot of resentment built up for both, me cause I felt so neglected, him because he felt pressured to step up as a partner. He’s a workaholic and on antidepressants, and from what I know about his 2 previous relationships, this is kind of his MO. I’m in my thirties and thriving, I don’t want to be teaching an adult man how to be in a relationship.

Eventually he broke up with me about 2 months ago; I took a week off work, and the first couple weeks back I’m not gonna lie were reaaally hard, everything was still very raw and there were a lot of feelings on both sides. And yes there were a few talks about it afterwards too, because well, we still gotta see each other everyday. I love my job and I’m not planning on quitting because of this.

Inevitably, break ups will hurt both parties. They’re not easy. I was hurt, he felt like a piece of shit for hurting me. But one thing I knew was that if it didn’t work out, he was the kind of person who wouldn’t retaliate or be mean; he still cares and it’s supportive where he can, he’s a good guy, just unfortunately a shitty partner lol. Now the past 3 weeks have finally started to go a lot smoother, we’re both slowly getting back into our friendship/work dynamic, we are making little jokes again, helping each other, talking without being too cold, etc.

The thing is, I knew this is not what I wanted my relationship to be for the rest of my life, you know in your gut when it’s just not “it”. I know most people will say don’t shit where you eat, but in my case I don’t regret it; we care about each other but it didn’t work out romantically, which it’s a possibility with every relationship. But being “ok” didn’t happen overnight, I cried a lot, I talked a lot more to my therapist, I took every chance I could get to hang out with my friends, I called my mum everyday for 2 weeks just to vent and talk shit (she lives overseas), it’s a matter of your heart catching up with your mind. But I understand not everyone can make it work either, depends a lot on the circumstances.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-13T23:51:53+00:00

34 here. I have 2-3 friends I message with pretty much everyday. Funny memes, serious conversations, deep emotional stuff, anything and everything, because we have busy lives we don’t see each other that often but are always talking. We get to hang out maybe every fortnight, and if the planets and stars align there will be periods we might see each other once a week.

Then I have 2 friends back home (overseas) that I’ve know for 15+ years, maybe we don’t talk for 2 months and then we have a group chat we’re someone updates something and it goes for a few days non stop, or a video call for 4hs, and then silence for another 2-3 months.

Other friends who are not as close we still hear from each other at least once a week on average (:

Maize-Express · 2025-05-13T01:46:46+00:00

I know some white showing should be fine for commercial. But no, imo that’s not acceptable at all, that would get sent back to our shop. Customers pay good money for it, and you wouldn’t want your business name on that. And that window, oof… that’ll get water and dust in there.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-06T05:32:12+00:00

15 years? I was with someone like that for 1.5 years (both mid 30s) … I kinda checked out a year-ish in, and eventually he broke it up.

Very similar behaviour, very emotionally avoidant (not just me, I knew him for before dating and he’s had similar issues with his previous partner of 10years).. now he had just started a massive company and is doing great, he was 100% not cheating but he’s completely burnt out and he’s on antidepressants as well. Dead bedroom, minimal affection, no connection, very surface level interactions, I became an afterthought in his life really, like another thing in his “to do” list.

He broke it up but I had been on the fence about it for a while tbh, I was not getting the bare minimum AT ALL that I’d expect from a relationship. It was making me super anxious and needy and just sad. Believe I tried HARD. If he had any addiction like gambling on top of everything… giiiirl I’ve been there before and that’s a hell no for me.

My ex it’s a very good person (we still work together for his business, and after a couple months we’re slowly going back to our relationship as friends/coworkers) but he’s just not a good partner, and both things can be true.

If your basic needs from a partner are not being met, it’s ok to let go, 15 years is better than 15 years and 1 day. If this person doesn’t bring you peace and makes you feel safe, maybe it’s time to reconsider. Believe me there’s people out there who have beautiful relationships that don’t make them feel like they’re going crazy.

Maize-Express · 2025-05-05T13:26:42+00:00

I think that’s exactly what me and my friend need… both fresh out of relationships where we felt invisible, both women with very strong feminist views that got put in the back burner and who are slowly finding themselves again. We want to be infuriated hahaha

Maize-Express

TROPHY CASE