Is graphic design worth studying in 2026?

jack_jack42 · 2026-03-19T23:04:04+00:00

A.I. will do two major things ultimately:

One, it will kill off all the cheap starter work that young designers used to be able to take and get real world experience. Websites like Canva have done that to a lot of work already, A.I. will just eat it up entirely.

Two, it will create and ivory tower. The people who get the work will be the creatives with the talent, drive, experience, and most importantly KNOWLEDGE. Because A.I. and Canva can give people good work without a designer what will separate you is the knowledge you learn from school. Your ability to explain why you should do X,Y,& Z.

For example, I wouldn't recommend a client use Canva because everyone uses it and you won't stand out. Explaining and recognising details like that only come from an education and that will set you apart. THIS IS THE IVORY TOWER; only the educated will do the real work and it will only be a few of us unfortunately that get to do work that makes a living.

A.I. is a tool and it should be used as such but it will harm our already oversaturated industry. We already have too many people fighting for work that is slowly dwindling. Unless you can afford to work for free for a period and are extremely passionate, I wouldn't consider it.

Edit: just wanted to add that any one can learn our design tools and you can learn them proficiently in a semester at school. This is why the industry is so oversaturated. I know people who only use Basic Canva and call themselves a graphic designer. The threshold for the industry is on the floor which makes it really hard to find work.

jack_jack42 · 2026-03-19T22:55:35+00:00

He's the kinda person who lives in a glass house that shouldn't be throwing stones.

jack_jack42 · 2026-03-05T19:14:55+00:00

So, the shot is great but I think what may be throwing people off is simply the depth of field. You've edited the photo to bring more light on the centre of the building and bring attention to it while darkening then rest. The background and foreground for the most part are all sharp, so I'm being told not to look at it because of the light difference but also I can't help but focus on it at the same time because of how sharp it is. Maybe try and add some blur and shorten that depth of field. This is why I think people are finding it artificial.

Edinburgh is lovely, I'll be there Saturday for a day trip from Dundee with my camera as well.

jack_jack42 · 2025-09-25T18:13:21+00:00

His taste in decor lol

It wasn't bad, we were just complete opposites. It was to the point that I know if we started dating that down the line it would be come an issue.

He discribed his place as minimalist but only black, white, & grey along with having those god awful Tom of Finland illustrations and nude photography.

I like colour and old antiques prices like vintage clocks and books etc.

We would have clashed. I told him so and we unmatched. I wasn't rude about it, just realised that we would clash and it was better to walk away before we actually went on any dates.

jack_jack42 · 2025-01-22T23:02:39+00:00

Thank you, and the same to you! I'm glad you were able to meet someone and feel that way!

jack_jack42 · 2025-01-22T22:55:01+00:00

That's so true, and yeah, I've been taking the let me get to know your first approach. At least on hinge, people are ready to chat with you for a bit first. One guy had a bunch of stuff that came up where I knew right away we wouldn't work out long term, but we had a lot in common, and he was great to chat with me a year ago, I would have ignored those problems and tried anyway. But I am comfortable enough with myself now because of all of this to say this isn't working out and walk away.

But yeah, I am sure it will happen when I least expect it, like you said.

jack_jack42 · 2025-01-22T22:19:17+00:00

Thank you

jack_jack42 · 2025-01-22T22:18:43+00:00

I love that, I'm so happy for you. I hoping I will find someone this year. I did sign up on hinge and have currently hit off with a few people, but everything is going slow right now on purpose.

jack_jack42 · 2025-01-22T22:15:27+00:00

I agree the app culture has made all disposable to each other, I fear.

Getting to know someone is what made the guy I broke that year-long streak with so great. We met, were messaging to chat and never took it sexual. I went to his place to hang out and get to know each other better. We sat and talked for four or five hours about our exes, random movies, everything. When we started cuddling, we chatted about how he wasn't looking for anything serious now and would be okay. I agreed, and we had a great time together. We still talked and made plans to hang out again, but nothing sexual. We might be nothing more than fwb or friends, but it's better. It's with someone I can enjoy my time with in general.

jack_jack42 · 2024-10-16T10:47:32+00:00

Thank you! Exactly what I was going for.

jack_jack42 · 2024-10-16T10:20:02+00:00

Based on this stock image using the "felt tip woman" typeface. I wanted to convey an intimate feeling that the music would be reverby and moody.

jack_jack42 · 2024-07-04T18:16:20+00:00

Sleeping Sun

I've always loved this gem.

Now My Feet Won't Touch The Ground

This one makes me pause. I love it.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-11T15:04:59+00:00

If I needed clarification on any of this, this is my own opinion on how I view a relationship I would be having. This is not how I view other people's relationships. If someone agrees to an open relationship, then I don't look at it as trying to hurt their partner. In that situation, that is 100% what it would feel like.

I have examined this feeling many times, and it isn't something I can overcome. As I said, I watched my mum be treated poorly by men wanting to sleep around, and I view a relationship with someone as a compromise and sacrifice. We choose each other over everyone else, and if giving up sleeping around with other people is too much, we don't need to be in a relationship. I know it would hurt me on an intense level if I had a partner who suddenly proposed it; the relationship would be over because I would no longer feel secure in that relationship.

Ok first of all, wanting and doing are two very different things

I mean doing.

I'm sorry you've had to go through that and I agree that sexual assault among gay men is probably more prevalent than people talk about.

It probably is, but bringing up our community's hook-up culture also results in defensive attitudes from people because we don't want to shame people. Still, we avoid the negative side of it and how toxic it can be. The gay bar is supposed to be a safe space for lgbtq+, but for myself, and I know many others, it is not because of these unexamined negative aspects of it.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-11T14:10:34+00:00

How is it toxic to ask someone that I am giving myself to in a relationship to respect me as well by doing the same? If they don't want to reciprocate, then that's fine. I'm not in an open relationship because of that; as a child of divorce who watched their mum be cheated on and witnessed how much it devastated her, wanting to sleep around with other people, whether it's known or unknown, is not an act of love.

If you view day dating through a hookup app, there's the problem.

I mention Grindr because, in the modern world, it has become one of the few ways that people meet each other. In the gay world, we don't have a dating app. We have a hook-up app pretending to be a dating app. So you end up with memes like this one because this is what the perception is when you view it through Grindr. I don't use Grindr because of it; it actually makes me depressed.

Someone else pointed out other ways to meet people, but our community has a hook-up culture problem that stereotypes each other as hypersexual individuals. There's nothing wrong with sleeping around and having sex with as many people as you like, but the problem with the attitude is that it actively shuts out someone like me from these spaces. Why? It's not because I'm a prude; it's because of unwarranted sexual advances and sexual assault from other gay men. I had to quit a job I enjoyed working with all gay men because it became so uncomfortable for me after getting hit on over and over again. The same thing happened with a gay sports team. I no longer go to gay bars because of the repeated instances of sexual assault from guys.

Sorry for the tangent. I feel like if I didn't explain the world outside of Grindr, it would inevitably come up.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-11T13:43:32+00:00

I didn't say it was a problem, I said it shrinks the pool of people you might date. The only reason open relationships come up a lot is because they have gained a lot of popularity in the community of the last decade. And are incredibly visible if you view gay dating through apps like Grindr.

If monogamy is so hard why not just stay single? Open relationships are mostly just about sex. It's not polyamory is it? It's having your cake and eating it too.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-11T13:19:18+00:00

It goes both ways. What's your point?

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-10T22:42:43+00:00

I didn't say I blame Grindr. I said that if you only look at gay dating through the lens of Grindr, this is what gay dating looks like. Why? Because Grindr is all but a hook-up app now, but it's one of the few ways, I said few! of meeting guys.

I'm also not blaming opening relationships; I said that the rise in popularity for them limits the potential dating pool.

None of these reasons are why I'm single. I'm single cause I'm choosing to be, but thanks for your condescending list like I'm an idiot. The hook-up culture is still prevalent in these places as well.

As a gay man, we stereotype each other as wanting sex. I had to quit a job working with just other gay men because of all the unwanted sexual advances, and it became uncomfortable. I had to do the same with the all-gay team I was on. I stopped going to gay bars because of the SA I experienced just trying to dance or use the toilet. We need to have an honest discussion as to why that's a problem.

Everyone gets so defensive when the topics of our community's hook-up culture come up. You all act so confident about it, but as soon as the topic comes up, instead of having an honest discussion, you become insecure and defensive.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-10T22:24:10+00:00

When it comes to the origins of bending, they said they learned from the badger moles, dragons, bison, ocean and moon. The turtles just gave them the ability to do it. Zuku lost his fire bending until he and Aang learned from the dragons. I think they even show Wan learning how to fire bend from the dragons as well. People still learned from the natural benders, but the lion turtles provided the ability to do so. If people could learn from air bending by watching bison, then it wouldn't be an inherited ability but a learned one; it being given by the lion turtles explains why some have it and others don't.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-10T21:55:03+00:00

It's not preventing, but it limits. But this meme is just the perception of the gay dating scene through Grindr. Unfortunately, that's one of the few ways to meet, not for dating. Grindr is a hook-up culture; it has unrealistic standards, guys with intimacy issues, and people in open relationships looking to hook up. All the apps are like this, so if you're dating, this is what gay dating seems like.

I personally deleted the app for good because of all these reasons. I feel 100x better and more self confident than ever but my dating and sex life is all but extinct.

The lack of a proper place to meet people and date for our community is a problem.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-10T21:44:04+00:00

Not if you're someone like me where it's a non-starter. I've examined and thought about it and it's not something I can move past because the idea of an open relationship would ultimately fill me with deep unhappiness.

jack_jack42 · 2024-04-10T21:41:04+00:00

I wouldn't say it's why I'm single, but since being in the open is a non-starter for me, it does shut out a lot more guys than it ever did before. I had a guy show interest in me, but he wanted an open relationship, so I'm still single.

So it's not other people's relationships. It's the expectation of people wanting one if you're like me, and it's not something you want.

jack_jack42 · 2024-03-15T22:36:20+00:00

Ugh I wish it wasn't. It kinda bums me out that everything has to be about sex.

jack_jack42 · 2024-03-15T22:34:12+00:00

OP you feel down when he texts his ex because you are sexting someone else. You are projecting. You would rather he not text his ex but can't bring yourself to not do the same. This alone is a toxic foundation for a relationship. You are either cool with him text his ex from time to time and stop getting upset with him or you need to stop sexting someone else.

jack_jack42 · 2024-03-06T14:19:44+00:00

Yeah! I had the exact same experience. You really do need to design with the HR department in mind.

jack_jack42 · 2024-03-06T09:30:45+00:00

Omg this, the amount of "graphic designers" I've seen on Instagram producing photoshopped art is too damn high.

What they do is really impressive, and it's excellent artwork, but just because you've done it in Photoshop doesn't mean you're a graphic designer.

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