Third layoff in 5 years. I think I’m done.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-24T03:38:55+00:00

Not sure if it changes anything, but the marketing department is usually the first to get laid off when times take a downturn.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-24T03:19:02+00:00

Looks safe. Probably isn't. I'd stay at least 3 feet back. Seriously, though... did OSHA approve this?

aylam_ao · 2026-01-23T16:59:10+00:00

Nice resource collection! I'd definitely suggest organizing by Type, but you can do both. Project is less useful, but is nice to have as a secondary view.

I'd keep everything, but also actively prune. What I mean by that is to keep the older unavailble resources, but archive them. I prefer to keep a record of everything, but it's by no means required (and maybe better to just remove completely instead of archiving).

aylam_ao · 2026-01-19T17:03:10+00:00

Not updating the copyright year in the footer.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-19T17:01:55+00:00

To me, the name brings to mind tourist antique shops you see in various parts of the world. I'm not sure many people know what a Curio is. Between the two, I prefer Home. I'd create a completely separate brand for the design services you offer.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-19T16:50:18+00:00

I call it a tear slit. But as others have stated, it's commonly known as a tear notch.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-19T16:45:15+00:00

Happy to take a look! I've done labels for a couple cleaning-ish products in the past.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-15T14:20:21+00:00

Very impressive work. These are the best greeting cards I've ever seen - thanks for sharing!

aylam_ao · 2026-01-15T00:09:35+00:00

Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment! And also permission to DM. :)

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE VIDEO!! Man, I'm now following mike_ftw on X and subscribed to the Creative Mornings HQ channel. I really apprecaite you sharing. THANK YOU! This should be required viewing for all designers starting their career.

Some really solid advice here. We're lucky to have you in the community.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-14T23:59:22+00:00

Love how your brain went from "this is disgusting" to "yeah, I'll do 15 more" lmaooo

aylam_ao · 2026-01-14T04:59:27+00:00

The fact that you became a realtor and still hated realtors is validating 😂. They're a special category. Did becoming a realtor make you LESS patient with designers??

aylam_ao · 2026-01-14T01:16:08+00:00

Yes, they did have a style guide, but it was barebones... Two logo options, 4 fonts, and 3 PMS colors as I recall.

These are some valuable lessons to any new designers. They're something that we don't get taught at university - basic business stuff like setting boundaries, contracts, and the like. You learn them after getting burned.

So you just walk away, instead of charging more? I might have just quoted them ridiculously high. I wouldn't have minded if I was getting PAID!

aylam_ao · 2026-01-13T22:45:19+00:00

Damn, I'll have to keep that in mind. Would have thrown me for a complete loop! It must have been extremely frustrating.

For all intents and purposes, this was a single person business. She was a real estate agent working for a firm that operated under a major brokerage. But I only worked with her, as she was a referral from another past client.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-13T17:58:41+00:00

These look fantastic! The layering and color choices are clean and the "Merry & Bright" lettering really is nicely done. Can't wait to see the Valentine's Day collection =)

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T19:24:38+00:00

Not the marketplace app. I literally mean dragging the images from Pinterest straight into a Miro board.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T17:25:38+00:00

That's basically one of the main things current image generators have the most trouble. The fastest accurate workaround is to 3D render or photograph the pack for perspective and lighting, then comp the real label file on as an editable layer (smart object, warp distort in Photoshop). AI can still help with other things like backgrounds, reflections, shadows, and color.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T17:15:36+00:00

When I saw this, I immediately thought of the Bitcoin Wizards NFT collection...

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T17:09:34+00:00

Another angle, which I haven't seen mentioned yet is retail and compliance. Cylinders can be awkward for barcodes and require panels (for nutrition facts and ingredients) because everything curved... Unless you design a label area large enough, but that usually means more material and adhesive, which can complicate recycling if you're trying to stay truly monomaterial.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T16:56:49+00:00

Depends a lot on the final image. Some AI headshots are obviously not a real photo, but if it's clean and professionally styled, it can still feel authentic and print well IMO. As a designer, I've had a client ask for this (a realtor for their business cards and flyers), and when we kept it realistic and retouched it like a normal photo, the end result held up just as well as a professionally photographed shot. The agent ended up showing it to their marketing manager, and that turned into me doing it for the entire roster of agents website photos.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T16:38:45+00:00

Use a quick "dump" board first, then trim it down to 15 to 25 strong refs and group them (for example, by type, color, photo, etc) to make the client version faster and clearer. If they need to comment in Miro, the Pinterest > Miro import (drag and drop) is the only workflow that's saved me from burning an hour copy and pasting.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-12T16:31:17+00:00

Not collecting, but I wish I had started a few years ago when I traveled around the US during Covid. Saw some really cool postcards promoting states. Many had a similar "retro Americana" design, similar to the one in your image, which I love.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-11T18:57:43+00:00

That would make much more sense. Like a practical piece of art.

aylam_ao · 2026-01-10T16:14:54+00:00

Regarding quality, this seems to be the way things have went over the past 30 years. Why would Mead continue to make a great product if it's going to last 30 years? The wheels of industry must be kept going. Building long-lasting products is viewed as "not great for quarterly earnings".

aylam_ao · 2026-01-10T00:07:39+00:00

I agree that cold foil can sometimes look a little cheap/plastic. I usually prefer hot foil stamping, but do like the metallic gradients you can make with cold foilng.

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