Where to go with graphic design

Graphic Design
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1

Hey, everyone, new here.

So I’ve been on a break from graphic design for some time, and previously I’ve done it for around two years. I started with Inkscape Vector, then Adobe Illustrator, and I managed to create my first portfolio before taking the break.

I want to come back now, I need to develop this into a strong work from home business, I want to freelance, but even before I was mostly stuck on how to go ahead as a self-taught designer. People say not to buy courses, everything is available on youtube etc, but I feel like before I’ve done tutorials and everything and I was just spinning in circles never moving on, so I’m not sure what to do that could actually take me far, and actually how to start making design that is client-worthy. I was considering the Lindsay Marsh mastercourses from Udemy, but I’d like to find a good community that could help with professional opinions from people who are more experienced.

I would really appreciate some guidance, thanks in advance.

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This isn’t the answer you’re looking for, but it’s an honest answer … I’d consider a different career field.

As a self-taught freelancer, here are some of the obstacles you’ll need to overcome:

  • Competing against designers with a formal education.
  • Competing against a boatload of self-taught designers.
  • Competing against designers, both domestic and foreign, who are willing to work for pennies on the dollar.
  • Would-be clients using contest and crowdsourcing sites.
  • Would-be clients adopting a DIY approach (cheap software, templates, “good enough is good enough”).
  • Would-be clients using AI to generate design.

Yes, I think there will always be a need for highly skilled designers. No, I don’t think AI will totally replace every designer. But I don’t see graphic design as being a growth field. Neither does the World Economic Forum. Take a look at this report from the WEF. They rank graphic design as eleventh from the bottom in terms of job growth / decline for 2025-2030.

I have three young-adult children, and I am glad none of them decided to follow in their dad’s footsteps. I’m not saying you can’t make it, but I am saying there are tremendous hurdles you’ll have to overcome. A wise person would do the research and ask the right questions up front.

I don’t think asking about courses is the right question. I think the right question would be, “Is graphic design a viable career path for me for the next 10, 20, 30, whatever number of years?”

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I’m afraid that I have to agree with Steve, even though I would prefer that not be the case.

For the first time in decades, the profession is shedding designers rather than hiring them. In other words, when people leave jobs (quitting, layoffs, retirement), those jobs are often unfilled with a new hire.

In freelance situations, smaller clients are increasingly relying on cheap crowdsourcing, DIY websites, and AI prompts to give them what they think they need.

My best guess is that within five years, half of all entry-level design jobs will disappear. And as Steve pointed out, those jobs that remain will be filled by the most talented and educated.

This isn’t a temporary trend; it’s the new reality. I haven’t seen your work and know nothing about your personality, but for most, jumping into the field as a self-taught designer is unlikely to work out. With luck, you might be able to pick up a few lower-paying crowdsourcing jobs, but honestly, that’s about it.

4

Thanks for the replies, that’s definitely not a good thing to hear but I do keep wondering the same myself, that by the time I reach the level of making a business, it might all go to hell. I don’t want to just give up, though this sounds realistic, so I’m wondering, what steps would you recommend towards a different career, is there even anything that I could set up as a work from home thing and break through those very same issues as there are with design?

I guess my big inspiration for design were people who DID make it from nothing to six-figure jobs, Abi Connick is an example, but that was still a different time and I do need something that can pay off down the road.

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I wouldn’t look at this as a shrinking field so much as a fast-moving one.

Design has always evolved alongside technology, print to digital, static to motion, desktop to mobile, and what’s happening now with AI is just another shift. The difference is the speed. Things are changing quickly, but that also creates an advantage for anyone willing to lean into it early instead of resisting it.

Rather than worrying about whether design is “still viable,” I’d focus on how to position yourself within where it’s going. The people who do well aren’t the ones who know the most tools, they’re the ones who adapt fastest and understand how to apply those tools in a way that’s useful to real clients.

If you treat this as an opportunity to get ahead of the curve now, you can be the person who already understands the workflows, the tools, and the expectations when others are still catching up.

On the practical side, a few things that will help you move forward with purpose instead of spinning your wheels:

  • Pick a direction rather than trying to cover everything (branding, social content, UI, etc.). You can always expand later, but focus creates momentum.
  • Build 3–5 strong portfolio projects based on realistic scenarios, not tutorials. Treat them like real client work, brief, concept, execution, and rationale.
  • Start incorporating newer tools (including AI) into your workflow, not as a shortcut, but as part of how you ideate and iterate.
  • Get feedback early and often. A good community is more valuable than another course if it helps you improve your thinking, not just your technique.
  • Don’t wait to feel “ready” before doing small bits of paid work, real-world constraints accelerate learning faster than anything else.

It’s a fast-moving space, no question but that can work in your favour if you approach it with the mindset of learning continuously and staying slightly ahead of where the average designer is.

If you’re willing to do that, there’s still plenty of room to build something solid.

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I have never heard of Abi Connick, so I had to look her up. In my opinion, you need to be careful with influencers, people selling courses or people who profit from getting YouTube views. Are they telling you what you want to hear so that you will buy whatever it is they’re selling?

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I’d be cautious about putting too much weight behind people like Abi Connick and similar “no gatekeepers” messaging. Often there’s a contradiction there… you’re told everything should be open and accessible, but the actual value sits behind sign-ups, courses, or funnels.

That doesn’t automatically make it bad, but it does mean you need to be selective about what’s genuinely useful versus what’s just well-marketed.

There’s also a wider point here, success online doesn’t always correlate with depth of knowledge or skill. A lot of it comes down to visibility, engagement, and packaging. That’s not new, but it’s much more amplified now.

You’ll see people doing very well financially from content, tutorials, or courses, but that’s a different skillset to being a strong designer working with real client problems. It’s important not to confuse the two.

A more grounded example
I worked with someone early in their career who saw where things were heading with digital print when others dismissed it. Within a short time, they took the risk, set up their own shop, and built something genuinely successful. That didn’t come from following tutorials it came from recognising a shift and acting on it.

That’s really the key point. The industry is changing quickly, and there’s a lot of noise around it. Courses, YouTube, communities they all have a place, but none of them replace actually doing the work and developing your own judgement.

If you have the initiative to adapt, focus your skills, and build real-world projects, there’s still a path. If not, it’s very easy to get stuck going in circles, consuming content without progressing.

So I wouldn’t focus too much on finding the “perfect” course or person to follow. Put that energy into building work, getting feedback, and staying close to where the industry is actually moving.

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Thank you all so much for the replies, it was 4 AM when I read this and I felt pretty down cause at this point I’m not sure what career to go for anymore, I want to do what I love but I also need something that’ll bring me money with the hard work that I put into it. I’d hate to give up on graphic design cause I really loved the creativity and freedom when I was doing it.

Yeah, I get that for Abi Connick, and I more meant the fact that she’s successful, and rich, to say plainly, but she started from nothing. I mean, influencers and all, who can be sure, but I just want to believe that making a good business out of this can’t be impossible.

@Smurf2 on that practical side, it’s exactly what I’d like to expand on, because I want to work with real client designs and that kind of thing, rather than circling tutorials and following step-by-steps that in the end don’t teach me nothing. I would like to know where to start with that, how to pick through the right things in a sea of knowledge.

Especially about communities, I can’t seem to land on a good one that actively talks about design and is willing to give feedback for work.

And if not courses and formal education, what do I built my expertise and familiarity with tools from?

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I totally get the hesitation, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s not viable just because it’s gotten tougher. There’s a big difference between a challenge and a dead end.

Honestly, what you’re feeling is something almost everyone goes through. You love the creative work, but you don’t want to pour your soul into something if the ROI isn’t there. That’s not being cynical it’s just being smart with your time, especially with how things look right now.

The “Influencer” Trap

You’re spot on about the Abi Connick types. It’s not that their success isn’t “real,” it’s just that they’re often playing a different game. They’re masters of content, marketing, and building an audience, which isn’t always the same thing as being a high-level working designer. It helps to separate “winning at the internet” from “being great at the craft.”

They can overlap, but you don’t need to be a YouTuber to have a career.

Getting Out of Your Head

If you want to move the needle, here’s the move - stop watching and start doing.

You’ve probably had enough tutorials for a lifetime. What you need now is the “stress” of a real project. Pick a “fake” brief maybe a brand identity for a local coffee shop or some packaging for a fictional brand and just build it.

The key is to do it without a guide. Make your own choices, hit a wall, get frustrated, and find your own way over it. That “mental friction” is where you actually become a designer. Following a tutorial is just following instructions solving the problem yourself is where the skill lives.

A Better Way to Level Up

  • Keep it low-stakes. Find a friend with a side hustle or a local club that needs a flyer. Doing even one “real” project for another person will teach you more about the process than six months of courses.

  • Find better feedback. Don’t look for massive communities where people just post for likes. Look for small, quiet groups where people actually tear work apart (in a good way). You don’t need constant praise you just need a few honest critiques to apply to your next move.

  • Learn as you go. You don’t need to be an expert in every tool before you start. Most pro whether they went to school or not just learn things as they break. You run into a problem, you search out the fix, and suddenly you know a new skill.

At the end of the day, the goal is to break the loop of just consuming content. If you can spend more time producing than watching, you’re going to be fine. If you stay in the “research” phase forever, you’ll just stay stuck.

You’ve got the foundation now go build something.

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I’ve looked at a few of those Connick videos they’re very much covering fundamentals. There’s nothing particularly advanced there, and you could pick up the same basics from a range of sources.

What’s worth being aware of is how those videos are structured. A 10–15 minute tutorial can easily represent days or even weeks of planning, preparation, recording, and editing. By the time you see the final result, it often looks very straightforward.

That can create a misleading impression that the process is quick or effortless. When you then try to replicate it and it takes far longer, it can feel like you’re doing something wrong, but you’re not.

You’re just seeing the condensed version of a much longer workflow.

The main thing is not to measure your progress against how fast someone else can demonstrate something on camera. Measure it against whether you’re actually building the underlying understanding and ability yourself.

My advice - ditch the online influencers.

Start designing. And learn the stuff without thinking you have to do it quick or using a trick.

I mean one of her tips was using the Eye Dropper tool - basic. Another was the puppet warp tool. There’s nothing special there - just using the software as it was designed.

Ditch this crap. Get to work.

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Thank you so much, this really means a lot.

I’m a bit rusty as it is, it’s been a while since I designed, so what would you recommend from concrete sources, where to learn from, while I’m doing projects? For the theory part and something that can actually help me without the influencers and drama.

If you have the time and will, I could send you the portfolio I’ve put together before I took a break, it’d mean a lot if I got some honest critique.

And about those communities, I’m definitely struggling to find something like that. Discord servers are either dead or so full nobody pays attention, and outside the internet, I’m not sure where to start.

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If you’re serious about moving forward, I don’t think you’ll find a better place to give you solid advice than this forum. Between those who have responded so far, you’re getting close to a hundred years of work experience behind the comments. Most of the regulars here are working professionals.

Feel free to post samples of your work in the Crit Pit part of the forum if you want some constructive criticism and opinions.

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Reckon it’s probably double that. 30 years this year for me!

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@Smurf2 and I have two different outlooks — which is fine, nothing wrong with getting diverse opinions. But I still maintain you’re asking the wrong question — or at least putting the steps out of order. If you are moving forward, which it seems like you are, you need to do so from an informed postion. So ahead of asking about self-directed learning and mock projects, you should write a fully fleshed out business plan. You need to do a SWOT analysis. You need a marketing plan. How are you going to get clients? Are you looking for local clients? If so, what is the local market like in terms of supply of talent and demand for service? Are you looking for national or international clients? If so, how are you going to attract clients? You need a financial plan. How much do you need to charge to cover the cost of running a business? Think beyond the basics of a computer and software. If you don’t have a spouse with benefits that extend to you, what are you going to do for health insurance? What happens to your cashflow if you suffer an injury or loss and can’t work for an extended period of time? Does your homeonwers or renters insurance cover business assets or do you need a business rider or separate business insurance? Are you going to do your own tax returns and prepare your own quarterly estimated tax payments or hire an accountant to do that? What do you need to charge so that you can be contributing to a retirement account? Are you going to operate as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship? I could go on, but I trust you get the point.

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15

I can see where you’re coming from, and I don’t think you’re wrong about a lot of the challenges you’ve mentioned things have definitely shifted quite a bit in recent years.

To me, it feels less like graphic design isn’t viable anymore, and more that it’s becoming harder to sit in the middle. The lower end is being squeezed by AI, templates, and crowdsourcing, so it’s pushing people to either level up or struggle.

I’d tend to agree that a lot of the day-to-day digital and social work is moving toward DIY between templates, platforms, and AI, more people will just handle that themselves.

Because of that, it does feel like the skill demand is shifting. Either toward more technical areas like prepress, production, and accuracy-focused work, or in the other direction toward things like coding, systems, and more complex problem solving.

Where I probably agree most is that it’s the middle to lower end that’s going to feel the pressure. A lot of that work is exactly what AI and automation are starting to cover.

That said, I’m not sure it’s entirely one-way. There’s a chance some of the AI usage becomes a bit of a novelty for clients, and they circle back when they realise the limitations.

Either way, it feels less like the work is disappearing and more like it’s shifting into different areas.

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My background is in graphic design and instructional design, and I was a part time lecturer at a California state university for 8 years.

A balanced education in graphic design will include the study of history, criticism, aesthetics, and technique. Technique is the software. Most online courses emphasize the software because step by step tutorials are easy to create and monetize. The other 3 are difficult to teach online, but they’re the things that will more likely determine a person’s success as a visual problem solver. Seek out courses that emphasize those, rather than software tutorials.

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Yes, I definitely appreciate any opinions I can get. I’d love to learn everything that I need, marketing included, whatever it takes for me to get started and get moving.

In my country, tax and insurance and opening a business are all a bit funny, but definitely considered within the whole working from home thing I want. Even these things you mention are important, and I want the whole picture, outside JUST design, to know what to do and where to get all this information from so I can be successful.

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Hi MaryB. I used Reddit to find graphic design jobs and its worked for me. Stay away from the others as those are mainly scammers. Also use Google for your area and check out local printing, vehicle wrap, and design companies. Remote help for these types of clients paid off for me also.

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Thank you very much, I’ll keep this in mind!