Graphic design 'hot takes' are lighting up Reddit

These days, it seems like everybody has a hot take on everything. And with graphic designers being a famously opinionated bunch (read: they take their craft very seriously), it's no surprise that there's a take or two to be found in the design world.

A Reddit thread in the r/GraphicDesign channel recently called out for designers' hot takes, and people are taking the opportunity to vent. From misunderstood fonts to 'pointless' events (sorry, Pantone colour of the year), it seems there's plenty that gets designers goats.

Design hot takes? from r/graphic_design

"You don’t need a style, clients aren’t really that annoying, and design influencers on social media aren’t working from a brief so don’t compare your work to theirs," one user offers. Another adds, "Throwing grids on your logos shows you have imposter syndrome" – ironically, it's the design influencers who often do that, to show us just how symmetrical their logos are.

Indeed, it seems graphic designers who post prolifically on social media are a target for several of the comments. "The most “liked” and “successful” designers on social media are the least successful in real life. Real busy successful people don’t have time to make trendy posts/reels everyday," one user argues.

And then there are the font opinions. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot in here about Comic Sans. More surprisingly, quite a lot of it is sympathetic. "Comic sans is perfectly fine in the right settings (with younger kids and for goofs). I know early education folks who love its legibility and friendliness." "Most designers can’t tell you why they hate comic sans, they just heard their professors say it."

Money comes up a lot too. "If you can take the pay cut, in-house or freelance work with nonprofits and arts folks is wildly fulfilling. They can be fantastic clients because they often don’t have access to high quality designers at their price point," one user offers, while another adds, "Clients will likely pick what you think is the worst concept and destroy your design with changes. Provide insightful feedback but know when to shut up, do what they ask, and get paid. At the end of the day graphic design is still a job. Not everything is a portfolio piece."

And then, of course, there are the existential final words. "Your audience doesn't give a f**k if the kerning is slightly off so just make it look decent and stop overthinking about it." And, something we would all do well to remember, "Nothing we do truly matters."

Got your own design hot take to share? Let us know in the comments below.