How Can I Improve?

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out because I know I need to work on improving my designs, but I’m not sure where the best place to start is. I’ve been designing small jobs off and on throughout my life, and worked at some sign companies and print shops, but I feel like my style hasn’t evolved enough over time. Although I have never once used stock images in my designs, I do tend to gather multiple references and come up with my own take based Google searches, and most references are stock images. I’ve received feedback that my work sometimes resembles clipart and that I may be mimicking stock image styles too much.

One area that has consistently been pointed out is my typography. I’ve been told that it needs improvement, so I plan on looking into some online articles and courses to better understand the nuances of typography. Any informal design training I had was over 25 years ago, and I realize a lot has changed since then. Back then, I just subscribed to design magazines and practice based on what I learned from them, but the feedback I’ve received recently suggests that my work doesn’t fully reflect the experience I’ve accumulated.

I genuinely want to get better at what I do, and I’m open to suggestions. Where should I begin? Should I focus on enhancing my typography first, or is there something else I should be addressing in my work? Any advice or resources to help me improve my design skills would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help!

What are we looking at? Are these actual paying jobs for real clients?

The bear illustration is real nice, and I like the blue guy and the phoenix. (This assumes these are original to you and not direct or near-direct copies of reference material.) The turtle is nice, but it doesn’t strike me quite like the others.

That said, I completely agree with the feedback you’ve received. When I first glanced at your post, before I read what you had to say, the art looked like search results from a stock website. We’ve seen these styles before.

I’d say you should work on better and more creative execution when it comes to integrating the illustration work with typography (improving your type is inherent to this). This will give your work more of a bespoke look and less of a stock look. As they stand, these really do look like something you could buy from iStockphoto or Shutterstock. Looking like the competition, even if it’s a nice illustration, isn’t great. You want your clients to stand out rather than blending in.

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These are all just me practicing, and not for clients. Thanks for the feedback and it is very helpful.

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I also agree that the feedback you’ve received is valid, so I don’t want to dwell on it.

Are the samples you’ve shown representative of your work? If so, it seems you approach design as a series of small job logos that are built around illustrations, which is awfully limiting. With such a narrow niche, I’m not surprised you feel your style hasn’t evolved since there’s nowhere to go that you haven’t already explored.

You might want to jump out of your comfort zone and do a few practice exercises that are completely different — something that has little or nothing to do with logos or illustrations. Doing so might free up a few brain cells that have been wearing blinders for the past umpteen years.

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I’ll take your word for it… but

https://pixabay.com/vectors/bear-cartoon-head-mascot-logo-8188393/

The bear cartoon they’re a dime a dozen on stock images and with enough time I might find the exact one, or even if you changed it by 99% it still doesn’t make it your design.
This is tricky because it’s so common.

Same reasoning as above with the Phoneix and struggling to know why there’s an extra colour of a dark blue or different shade of black for some reason…

The blue guy is called Wumpus I believe from Discord if I’m not mistaken.
That being said, it’s a discord thingy so might be ok - not sure who owns copyright on this character.

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Yes, and I think that is one big problem. Since I design exactly as a client wants. There have been SO many jobs I don’t even want to post on my portfolio, even though they were GREAT paying jobs, and actually get a lot of visibility in town, bit even I don’t like how they look.

These designs were some that I had joined design crowds just to practice, and not intending to use that for clients.

I understand how you would get that. I assure you the bear, I created line by line. It was done quite a while ago when these types of logos were in style.

The phoenix also was totally mine. I designed it for me, and my logo specifically. Was also working on it as a tattoo. Of any of those, that would be mind from scratch, even idea wise.

The Wumpus is from Discord, and is a mockup that I created for the logo. Again, it was practice, and I didn’t sell it to a client. I used the logo for a gaming community, but I did create the logo myself.

Usually type issues means the kerning is awkward (like the space between J and E in JETT is much larger than the space between E, T, T., or the text doesn’t read well when the logo is small (the sunglasses) because the font is too stylized or has too much detail. PS, AI, ID, all have default kerning, but sometimes you have to adjust things visually.

Why is WN in Jael Dawn larger than the other characters?

Team Black - the worn/vintage look doesn’t really come across on those thin lines. Given the subject matter, I would be trying to make everything feel heavier, and the worn look would read better. And if it is supposed to look vintage, I would look for a font that isn’t modern. It seems like you want this to feel symmetrical, but the words Personal Training throw off the balance and spoil that.

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