The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
A Graphic Design Podcast that cuts through the industry bull to help frustrated Designers charge what they're worth and build rewarding creative careers
258 episodes
13 hours ago
Most graphic designers think their biggest challenge is competition, AI, or not getting enough exposure. The truth? Many designers are sabotaging themselves every time they open their mouths. From vague feedback requests to filler phrases that kill confidence, these everyday habits destroy trust, weaken authority, and make even talented designers look like amateurs. But here’s the good news...once you recognize these self-sabotaging phrases, you can cut them out and instantly raise how client...
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Most graphic designers think their biggest challenge is competition, AI, or not getting enough exposure. The truth? Many designers are sabotaging themselves every time they open their mouths. From vague feedback requests to filler phrases that kill confidence, these everyday habits destroy trust, weaken authority, and make even talented designers look like amateurs. But here’s the good news...once you recognize these self-sabotaging phrases, you can cut them out and instantly raise how client...
Most graphic designers think their biggest challenge is competition, AI, or not getting enough exposure. The truth? Many designers are sabotaging themselves every time they open their mouths. From vague feedback requests to filler phrases that kill confidence, these everyday habits destroy trust, weaken authority, and make even talented designers look like amateurs. But here’s the good news...once you recognize these self-sabotaging phrases, you can cut them out and instantly raise how client...
Most graphic designers think being “just” a designer is safe. But when a Reddit thread exploded over whether it’s actually risky, we didn’t just scroll past. We tore it apart! Some takes were spot on. Others completely missed the mark and sounded like entitled designers crying because they didn't get their way (and we’re not shy about saying which is which). In this episode of The Angry Designer, we break down the “Is Being Just a Graphic Designer Risky?” Reddit thread, calling out the most...
Most graphic designers think they understand logo design trends. But after reviewing nearly a million logos, Bill Gardner knows otherwise. As the creator of LogoLounge, the most iconic logo archive in the design world, Bill has seen the good, the bad, and the painfully average. He’s judged tens of thousands of marks, built trend reports that define the industry, and helped shape what logo design looks like on a global scale. So what are so many designers still getting wrong about Logo Desig...
Graphic designers have mastered the art of making things look good, but the future of design demands more than pretty pixels. The world is shifting faster than most creatives can keep up, and the biggest threat to your career isn’t AI. It’s you: - clinging to outdated tools - static portfolios - a visual-only mindset The truth? Design is evolving beyond what you see, and those who don’t evolve with it are about to get steamrolled. In this episode of The Angry Designer podcast, we bre...
Most graphic designers think their biggest threat is AI, bad clients, or lack of exposure. But the real problem? They don’t think like designers at all. Instead, they’re still stuck in the artist mindset—chasing aesthetics, taking feedback personally, and wondering why they’re underpaid, overworked, and overlooked. But what if one mindset shift could flip your entire career? In this episode of The Angry Designer, we break down the Designer Mindset Shift That Changes Everything. We’re talki...
Graphic designers have been fighting the wrong battle. While the design world panics about AI taking jobs, a more dangerous threat has already arrived — Graphic Designers who know how to use AI better than you. They’re faster, sharper, and landing the work while you’re still debating whether it’s “ethical” to use the tools. This isn’t a future problem. It’s happening right now. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we rip the mask off the real competition, and no, it’s not a robot. It’s...
Designers are freaking out about AI, and for good reason. Clients are skipping strategy, bringing AI-generated logos to the table, and treating designers like disposable decorators. But while most designers are still obsessing over execution, the smart ones are building brands, owning strategy, evolving and becoming irreplaceable. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we sit down with our friend Dan Janssen of Lincoln Design Co. to unpack the real shift happening in the creative world and ...
Graphic Designers aren’t being replaced by AI. They’re being replaced by their own clients using AI. The real threat to a Graphic Designer isn’t AI. It’s lazy marketers, overconfident interns, and clueless execs showing up with AI-generated briefs, Frankensteined logos, and bloated brand docs pulled straight from a bot. And they expect you to clean it all up like a design janitor. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we expose the uncomfortable truth about the actual enemy designers are...
Many graphic designers are stuck and they don’t even know it. They price based on feelings, take feedback like a punch to the gut, and chase originality over clarity…all because they’re thinking like artists, not designers. This mindset starts early with crayons, sketchbooks, praise for creativity and it feels right. But in the real world? That same mindset is quietly sabotaging your career. In this episode of The Angry Designer podcast, we’re exposing the artist mentality that’s quietly s...
Good design is losing. Not by better design — but by faster, cheaper, half-assed garbage. And the worst part? Clients are eating it up. Welcome to the new reality where timelines matter more than talent, and “good enough” is winning over great. Designers are watching their best work get ignored while AI bots, Canva templates, and $5 Fiverr hacks get the green light. And yeah, we might have been the ones to let this happen. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we rip into the real reaso...
Too many Graphic Designers forget one brutal truth. Design is NOT for you, your portfolio, or even your client. It’s for their audience. Period. The client pays the bill, sure. But they’re not the one your work is for. And every time you forget that, your design gets weaker. Less effective. Easier to ignore. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we’re calling out one of the biggest blind spots in design: the end user. We break down why obsessing over client approval is killing your impact...
Most Graphic Design advice is garbage wrapped in a motivational quote. From “charge what you’re worth” to “design is storytelling,” these overused sayings sound deep but do more harm than good. They confuse young designers, create false expectations, and let lazy pros pretend they’re being profound. In this week’s episode of The Angry Designer, we tear apart the most misleading sayings in the graphic design industry, line by line. You’ll discover: • Why “Do what you love and the money will...
Graphic designers love to blame AI, cheap clients, and garbage logos for the downfall of the industry. But what if those things are actually your biggest opportunity? While most designers are panicking about race-to-the-bottom pricing, automation, and template trash flooding the market, a small percentage are flipping the script and using it all to their advantage. In this episode of The Angry Designers LIVE at Creative South, we sit down with two of the most popular Logo Designers; Allan P...
The most common misconception of being a graphic designer? To “make things look good.” That mindset is exactly why clients are moving on. Fast. AI can make things look good, faster, and cheaper. And customers are quickly flocking to a "Good enough" mentality. In this unapologetic episode of The Angry Designer, we expose the dangerous gap between what designers think clients want… and what clients actually need in today’s AI-fueled, shortcut-obsessed world. We’re diving deep into: Why executio...
Graphic designers pour blood, sweat, and sleepless nights into their portfolios—only to be ghosted, passed over, or worse… completely forgotten. The harsh truth? Good design doesn’t speak for itself. And if your portfolio isn’t telling a story, it’s telling the wrong one. In this no-holds-barred episode of The Angry Designer, we expose why most design portfolios fail—regardless of how good the work is—and what actually makes creative professionals unforgettable. Straight from our experience r...
Most Graphic Designers think they know logo design, until they see how the legends did it. While the internet’s flooded with trend-chasing tips and lazy logo lists, the truth is: there are laws. Rules. Principles. And the greats like Paul Rand, Saul Bass, Massimo Vignelli lived by them. That’s why their work still hits decades later, while most logos today barely survive a rebrand cycle. In this episode of The Angry Designer podcast, we dig deep into the 18 Irrefutable Laws of Legendary Logo ...
Most graphic designers are told to niche down, play it safe, and follow the damn rules. Pennybridge did the opposite—and built a global, wildly successful studio from a surf town outside Australia’s big cities. This isn’t your typical design story. In this episode of The Angry Designer Podcast, we sit down with the unapologetically raw, fiercely independent founders of Pennybridge—a creative powerhouse known for high-energy branding, punk rock vibes, and logos that landed them clients like ...
Graphic designers chase inspiration like it's gold—but most are flushing it down the drain without even realizing it. You feel the rush after a conference, a workshop, a killer keynote... but days later? Poof. It’s gone. And you're back to the same-old grind. But what if that crash wasn’t inevitable? What if you could actually capture that inspiration—and turn it into real, unstoppable growth? This week on The Angry Designer Podcast, we tear into the brutal truth about why most designers was...
Graphic Designers used to be the chosen ones—the creatives, the artists, the ones who thought differently. But times have changed. AI is generating. Clients are prompting. And the gap between relevance and replacement is closing fast. Most Graphic Designers? They don’t even see it coming. They’re still fussing over colors and kerning while AI pumps out results in seconds. And the real kicker? Clients don’t care how it was made—just that it’s done. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we...
Most graphic designers are still designing logos like it’s 2005. And it shows. In an era where logos are viewed more on screens than on paper, following outdated design practices isn’t just lazy — it’s costing you clients, credibility, and cold hard cash. But here's the truth: the logo game has changed. Permanently. And if you're still handing off flat JPGs and calling it a day, you’re already behind. This week on The Angry Designer podcast, we break down the 3 new rules of modern logo des...
The Angry Designer Graphic Design, Freelancing, Branding & Creative Business Podcast
Most graphic designers think their biggest challenge is competition, AI, or not getting enough exposure. The truth? Many designers are sabotaging themselves every time they open their mouths. From vague feedback requests to filler phrases that kill confidence, these everyday habits destroy trust, weaken authority, and make even talented designers look like amateurs. But here’s the good news...once you recognize these self-sabotaging phrases, you can cut them out and instantly raise how client...
