My Graphic Designer Hot Takes 🔥😅

[@willpatersondesign]

These are some of my opinions. Do you agree or not? :) Thanks for watching!

[@lucarapisarda3517]

Totally agree with you, Will. I haven't used Glyphs yet, but I trust you on that hahah

[@Itielbryce]

More videos like this please

[@xavier.jimmylee]

I really felt it. I was initially thinking that niching down would limit my client pool, but your advice about specializing makes sense. Not only will I be able to do work I enjoy, but it could also open up a larger pool of potential clients who are looking for specific expertise

[@3polygons]

I am a graphic designer and an artist (illustrator, comic creator and game artist). Worked professionally in all those fields (am freaking old, that's why). But I would never mix the categories in concept. Since the Bauhaus, design is mostly after function, unlike maybe in the early 1900s and all history before. And when I am painting I am definitely not designing!. Next step in that line would be saying that when I am doing some fast web code I am creating art (one could argue that the CSS, graphic heavy sites of the early 2000s where master pieces, I won't deny that :D. But that's long gone in this world of frameworks, dynamic sites, server components...). The one take I might not agree with is about the new Kia logo... kind of less readable... but hey.

[@AllanMainSegment]

Is this a hot takes? It's more like a motivation to be honest.

[@christophertaylor87]

First day of design school my professor told us we “do not need to be here to learn design” 😂 it was great to have such a down to earth professor

[@goldbrick2563]

The tools change, but the artist remains

[@goldbrick2563]

The tools change, the technician (graphic designer) remains

[@danielhayes8558]

I LOVE the KIA logo and I'd go further and say wobbly fonts don't look good at all.

[@oggardner522]

I agree with the NFT take (and others as well) - the amount of scammers being revealed in the NFT space is pretty astounding.

[@dillondowd3992]

Same! actually got called an idiot for having zero interest in the market because there was "money to be made" and I feel so vindicated in hindsight because that market is all but dead now, rest in pepperonis.

[@rasmusnordstrm1632]

I work in graphic design and other content marketing. I have never been taught an ounce of graphic design, at any school or university. I sometimes feel that imposter syndrome lurking, but then I remember, that the best way to learn is by doing. My clients love my work. That’s what counts. Not some expensive degree. Thanks for putting that hot take out there.

[@willpatersondesign]

If your clients love your work, it sounds like you're doing it right! :D

[@cjbeall6471]

This was a fun video! Your Awesome Will! You should do your own podcasts too!

[@MattTalksPhotography]

As someone in the creative industries for... 25+ years now, I feel like your hot takes are actually just takes that experienced designers have. 100% truth without the hyped opinions. That said in terms of design university, which I completely agree you don't need to go to, but instructors here in Australia have to show industry relevancy. They cannot just clock off and teach full time - they have to prove they are still working and producing work of the highest calibre. That however is not the case with unregulated design courses that don't have to follow that requirement.

[@StephenVerlí]

another hot take is 80% of "graphic designers" are awful. they study one course or watch one video and think they are a good designer. when in reality they need to understand a lot more before selling their work. concepts like typography, color theory, information architecture, and contrast are foreign to them.

[@willpatersondesign]

I've looked through hundreds of portfolios from designers who have formal qualifications and many of them were worse than the self-taught ones. Qualifications are meaningless if the work is of a poor standard, and in the design world it's all about your portfolio and being able to showcase your skills, knowledge and understanding (for both agencies who are looking to hire AND potential clients for freelance designers) :)

[@StephenVerlí]

@willpatersondesign I agree. But what I feel bad about is that I have been studying User Interface and User Experience design for over a year. I have completed over 10 courses and have even gone and studied the basics of every other type of design. Yet no one wants me. I have seen many designers who are just bad in general who get much more than I could dream of. Once I had to replace what the designer did on the project because it was really bad. And everyone loved my version. But I can’t find a job. Anywhere. I had to start working for free or just getting really small payments as a freelancer in order for anyone to consider my work.

[@soulfulsatyam]

1:52 this is how will look at 60 . Thanks for the information ..I loved it ❤❤

[@user-tj9zj6jo2y]

I mean, I do agree with everything u said.

[@sidathramesh]

Agreed with not to niche down... Good one.. Thanks for the the video.

[@willpatersondesign]

Thanks for watching!

[@CoMontE03]

I know when I was in school, and not a specific design or art university like SCAD, but the design teachers were required to be an active artist or designer while holding their teaching job. To you're point, it really helped with teachers being able to curve their lectures and projects to reflect a more real world client problem just a bit while also keeping in mind the skill level of the students you're teaching and still teaching. I doubt all universities are this way, and I have recognized this early on in my career.

[@winnetouch]

My hot take... Comic sans is not a bad font... We just ruined it by overusing it for the wrong purposes.

[@willpatersondesign]

You might have a point there. :)

[@nikosalgio8149]

I agree to ALL of your hot takes! 🔥Τaking occasion from the KIA logo redesign, why do you believe that most of the famous brands not taking the "risk" of redesigning their logos? Is it because a logo that works must stay untouched or something else? (coca-cola, mercedes, McDonalds are just the firsts that comes to mind). Maybe an idea for a next video? 😁

[@teavetyskova]

I agree with every single one of them actually.

[@katieb5723]

I love that one of your hot takes was that someone doesn't need to go to design school to be successful in the industry. I made some questionable decisions when it came to my education in the past and those avenues lead me nowhere and over the past 2 years I've been working freelance in the graphic design field and although I'm very much a tiny tiny fish in a very large pond it gives me hope that maybe this could be my future, its certainly my passion. Loving the content, keep it coming! x

[@joeporter4970]

I love this video. You speak from experience and observation in the industry. Well done!

[@prabakarann4144]

10/10 never have i ever i have related to a person this much!

[@MathiasNewberry]

Damnnn you came at me with this one 😜😂 lol I’ll get ya back

[@the-good-chad]

Agree with most of these. It's also refreshing to see someone say they're going to offend someone without saying something absolutely atrocious. The only one that rubs me the wrong way is the artist/designer distinction. I guess I just don't see the point in that take? To me if you make something creative that creates an emotional reaction, then you're an artist. Design absolutely falls into that.

[@willpatersondesign]

I wouldn't say so. Design is created for a reason - there is a metric of success so therefore I believe good design to be objective and not subjective. Art is completely objective. :)

[@the-good-chad]

@willpatersondesign I do see where you're coming from. Even though design is far more objective, I think there is still some degree of subjectivity and style to it. The element of appropriateness comes to mind. Sure, you can measure that somewhat by how positive the reception of the design is, but there's no direct measure between two designs of which would be more appropriate for a brief. There's at least a small measure of subjectivity. On the other side of the same coin, art has plenty of objectivity too. That's the whole reason we have art classes to show proven objective methods of how to improve. It seems we just have fundamentally different definitions of the words art and artist, which is totally fine! Thanks for the perspective. As an illustrator who has done plenty of design work too I find these conversations fascinating.

[@Adityakittoo]

Loved it, would love to see more Parts of this !

[@Bassammansour88656]

i alyaws love these comment and how to react to them in positive way as a graphic designer, thanks Will

[@Mattadhino]

I agree with the Design University hot take to a degree (no pun intended). I believe it's down to how the individual preffers to learn rather than whether it's a necessity. I dropped out of uni after less than a year because I couldn't connect with the lessons and the teaching methods. After a few years of working in sales I started doing freelance and self-teaching until I got my first professional job at 23. I'm now 33, I'm a Senior UI Designer and I have been a professional designer for over 10 years, and I've paid off my student loan (even though it was only a years worth). Do go / don't go. It's your choice, but he's right you don't need to go to be a professional designer.

[@willpatersondesign]

That's amazing! Such an achievement, Uni or no Uni!

[@dferg9320]

Wobbly fonts the new Comic Sans 😂 😂 never thought about it this way. I have to agree

[@taufeeq8269]

The handwashing design example was just perfect.❤

[@chell2133]

If Illustrator included more in depth type design tools it would be the best program on the face of the earth.

[@aasifbarwatiya1088]

I just watched the first 2 hot takes, man i loved it, i feel exactly the same, i thought i was alone and wrong about that

[@willpatersondesign]

Wow! I'm glad that you agree hahah

[@JaniruforGraphics]

I'm still 16 and wanna be a designer like you 😊❤

[@hishamhoweedy7073]

THANK You! You literarily spoke my mind! Oh, at last!!

[@paulwillard81]

The only one that's an absolute dumpster fire of a take for me is that "graphic designers aren't artists". The principles that one applies whilst making art, expressing oneself through art and distilling how they feel about a subject, object, theme or what have you can be done THROUGH graphic design. Graphic Designers think about color, theory, layout of the filled and empty spaces, textures, form, function, etc. just as much as any other "artist" Just because they're not drawing or painting the images or doing fancy calligraphy doesn't mean they're not producing art. The techniques applied and thoughtfulness behind graphic design is art in and of itself. 🤷‍♂

[@screaminchief]

Apparently searches for KN cars increased massively after the Kia logo redesign. I like change and I love the idea behind the kia logo I just feel it was poorly executed

[@naomipaterson9300]

I think it looks like KN too!

[@thejrkanglearchived]

You had me in the first half. Then you threw in the KN design.

[@0r1zuru]

Actually, nothing on here is a hot take lol - NFT's ARE a legit scam - y2k IS overrated and most importantly, KIA logo IS awesome! It's edgy, modern and suits well to the whole new design philosophy they are following now. This video is based lmao xD change my mind

[@Candrex]

I literally agree with every "hot" take of yours.

[@jacobjibi]

My hot take: my designs are not trash

[@RuthlessxNexus]

I’ll rebut those hot takes: * I agree. AI is not going to take over graphic design, I think it’s going to take maybe 30, 50 years for that to be the case, but I don’t think AI will take over, especially with the fact that Firefly is more of a tool, and not a way to “take over the graphic design space.”, as a matter a fact, AI that’s ran by companies, they actively go out of their way to capitalize on the fact that you’re using their ‘art’ by putting watermarks on them, or just by you simply mention that you use Dall-e or Midjourney tells me you know nothing about graphic design or art in general, and the vast majority of spaces where people say that they’re “AI artists” are really just going to realize that it was never really a thing, and if anything, are probably going to die out in the next couple of years. * I also agree with the fact that Graphic Design is an art. It’s not an art in the traditional sense of, grabbing paint, a paint brush, easel, etc., and just painting away, but it’s more of the idea of what clear goals you can make just to get to where it is you want to get to in terms of building a company, a brochure, a book, a cup, etc. I think that is true, being both an artist and a graphic designer are completely two separate things if you want to get into the philosophical way of it, but there’s nothing wrong with mixing the two. * I think I would have to disagree. The whole Y2K and retro stuff I think isn’t really cringe, it’s the people that give into the stuff that can be cringe sometimes. The Designs themselves and everything else look nice, I like the designs, but I think it’s more of the implications of what was new and hip 20 years ago with that design aspect at that time was not really cringe? Teens love it, and most young adults love it, but Y2K being Cringe? Idk. Design trends can be bad themselves, and the people giving into those design trends can be cringe, but I think I have to disagree with this take. * I think not charging enough falls down to the people that work in art. Like you said in your video, it’s not about being THE best, but being the best in your own right, being the favorite of most peoples eyes, and going out of the way to design stuff for people to go out of their way to be like “Oh, I like this guy, let’s give him/her a try.”. * 100% agree. I do not think you need to go to Uni or College just to get into the industry. I WISH I had known this years ago, and just either never went or just dropped out earlier on, and now I owe mounds of debt, and I never asked for that. I would always tell people, and let them know that, it depends on what degree with what you’re going for, but if it’s something like graphic design undergrad, don’t bother. * I think the Golden Ratio is just something that can and will make designs that, if you just let it, can be one of the most useful tools in a graphic designer’s arsenal, if they can use it right. I could probably use it if I felt like it, most other people could as well, it’s subjective to the designer, but for me, Idm having to use the Golden Ratio. * NFT’s are 100%, were, are, and will be a scam. There’s so many examples to show that they are, you can look up on the internet that show that they’re a scam. * I guess Niching down isn’t bad, it really depends on what it is that you’re doing with your designs, etc., a lot of factors come from that, but niching depends on your goals, objective, etc., but I will agree, specializing is better, I will not disagree with you on that. * Yeah, Kia logo is alright. It depends on the logo change, the only one that’s got me riled up was the TVTokyo logo change, but I think that’s because I grew up with it.

[@canalcoloradoaado]

Tbh, wobbly fonts are like throw up graffiti (in form and function), its cool and all, but everyone does that and its kinda hard to work with it creatively

[@roysama_gg]

Great hot takes Will!

[@PurabKDew]

"Are you in a hurry? Why are you shaking your legs, man?" Just a joke.

[@willpatersondesign]

Restless legs! :)

[@MooshAttack]

I spent $50,000 on design university. I only gained any new knowledge on design in my last semester. I am learning things I REALLY need to know now by watching youtube and attending various courses. I am so mad at myself for wasting so much time and money.

[@willpatersondesign]

It's something I've heard so many times, so glad you're still learning and developing your skills, and hopefully you got a lot of knowledge when you were studying, even if it was only at the end! There are some great design schools, but unfortunately they're are also some pretty rubbish ones, too.

[@onyxangel7097]

Precisely, design university is as useless as studying at art university 💯

[@Itielbryce]

I always loved the KIA logo actually and followed with their new design language for the cars my view on the brand changed from just another car company to an actually interesting car company

[@LandonKline]

Definitely agree on the Y2K point 😅

[@RLACom]

I was not riled up or offended. I was pleased to hear AI won't take my job. I don't know that graphic designers are or aren't artists. I am a cartoonist. There are cartoonists who are artists. I'm not one of those. It does not matter. I do it because I enjoy it. NFTs, are they still around? I thought AI took their job. I have no opinion on Wobbly Fonts. 1.618. I have looked into it in some depth. I don't think it is a myth. I think it is wildly overblown, by certain people, not you.

[@willpatersondesign]

hahaha that NFT one was funny :)

[@mihirkardile6676]

decentralized currency will never be anything more than an internet community

[@gearlounge3743]

Thank you brother. Really choosing an industry is mendatory

[@codyratcliff5981]

💯% agree that the new Kia logo it way better than the old one. It fits the brand and the automotive space better.

[@razkeren2787]

Whatever happened to Zimri?!

[@isiaqagboluaje7203]

Hot take you don't charge enough is soo Ture I started on fiverr for $5 gigs and slowly go it up to $100 like 10% of the time then I started taking classes and am still on fiveerr but I chrge $900 now a a basi book over design and $5k-10k for branding and $6k-15k for custom webflow websites and I littrarty just cancled an order and snaped at every one and boom Butt it's not all sunsine and rainbows I only get max 5clients a month and mostly 1-2 clients a month. and the delivery files man I need to find a programmer

[@calliehatsu]

agree with all statements!

[@thenewfranciselmirajackson]

Totally agree!

[@tobilobaakinboade5622]

I enjoyed this one😂 Here's one Canva is not your enemy

[@Sheetmetalsupreme]

You whilin', the KIA logo suuuuucks😂😂😂

[@PohTate]

ZIMRI LOVE!!!!!!

[@willpatersondesign]

BFF

[@Nuke_Skywalker]

i feel those but i wish you would have gone more into the reasoning behind it because not everyone can abstract that from your takes.

[@willpatersondesign]

Which of my takes did I not give enough reasoning on? :)

[@stefanmatthiascorneliusgla5262]

Is that Cooper Black? The f doesn't seem to fit. But what font is it?

[@itsthesa]

Here is one question: is UI part of Graphics Design?

[@kimseyla7885]

So great❤❤❤❤❤

[@salheahmed4582]

Very useful, love the video ❤

[@filipstojanovski1675]

Not a single hot take to be honest, all on point. Edit: About the Kia logo, it's a mistake because in Cyrillic (which is like half of their target audience) the brand is read 'ki' and not 'kia'.

[@willpatersondesign]

oh damn! I didn't even think about that. Great point about the KIA Logo

[@sockx3618]

i think graphics design is art. i consider any human creation with the intent of being enjoy and used with imagination as art. so maybe if your following the traditional boring (lol) textbook rules of design i supposed your not an artist i just consider graphic design modern art using technology and your own creative ideas that’s art

[@tobilobaakinboade5622]

Give me more of this pleeeeeeeeeeese😂😂😂😂😂

[@brookadiledunndee9381]

y2k has always been cringe, it was bad then and its still bad now! I said what I said!

[@ZeeLX.]

subtitle font?

[@willpatersondesign]

Gelcia I believe

[@spraymie]

Leonardo Da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh to many others use grids and use that for art. Graphic design is art Logos are art Band logos for instance no?

[@ethanb4586]

Artists use grids to create structure and form within their works but that does not make them a graphic designer. Graphic design isn't about applying grids either; like those artists, it helps create structure - grids are a tool. I agree band logos could initially be created as art but ultimatly they will end up serving a higher pupose within personal branding. They go from art to functionallity; creates an initial look and feel, repeated use builds recognition and thus starts the foundations for personal branding. As Will kinda said in his video, art has a wide definition and an even greater space for interpretation - design is the opposite, design is seeing the problems and painpoints, then creating a specific solution with a desired outcome.

[@spraymie]

@@ethanb4586 Art is anything you want it to be. I’m nearly 44 and I’ve been doing “design” / “art” for a fair old while. It’s art. Idles for instance with Orlando weeks Graphic design / art the look to all of the merch to the cover Squaring the circle on Netflix would suggest graphic design is art.

[@takimi_nada]

@razell4586 if you think that artists don't design things for a desired outcome... you're pretty wrong. the artists that don't have a specific purpose for their art aren't the most common type of artist. plenty of artists take commissions, which have specific requirements. plenty of artists take commercial work for companies like nike and lotte. artists use art style as a type of branding/recognition. artists make art with very specific goals as well, for example, making a cute drawing of a girl from a recent anime to gain many clicks. or making a book cover that conveys the plot/summary of the book. this doesn't make artists graphic designers, but it doesn't separate art and graphic design as harshly i think you're looking at a niche of artists that maybe paint with oil for fun. but there are plenty of artists who aren't any different from graphic designers in function. also separating art from graphic design by saying that art becomes graphic design when it gains functionality is an odd take. art doesn't stop being art if it's functional. you can use art in graphic design, but it doesn't change that it's art. also graphic design can be very subjective, even if it is serving a purpose. as Will said, y2k is overrated but I disagree. this makes it already subjective. I love webcore type designs, that replicate the early internet. some people don't. i think it makes sense if graphic designers are generally considered artists. everyone is free to choose their own label: you may feel like you are an artist, or you may feel like you're not. either way it's fine

[@AndroidNoir-L06k]

Damn, just a second opinion.... Wobbly font is just tasteless, jesus.

[@KipVaughan]

Illustrator is one of the worst drawing tools ever made and that will ever be made. That should be a common sense statement but I guess it has to be classified as a so called "hot take."

[@willpatersondesign]

It's definitely not the worst drawing tool. By far is it the worst!

[@kevynlevine]

Couch.

[@willpatersondesign]

hahah that's a new one!

[@naomipaterson9300]

🛋️

[@naomipaterson1097]

❤

[@DanielNeds]

Hot take: These weren’t hot takes.

[@willpatersondesign]

I need to increase the temperature of these.

[@marius6503]

No hot take found

[@willpatersondesign]

i need better hot takes ha

[@opertin]

Kia logo is mid at best unreadable at worst

[@zk4929]

AI WILL reduce creative jobs. Keep kidding yourself.

[@buborka7441]

Saying graphic desig isnt art is very silly

[@space.tel-e-grams]

AI and Fiverr won't steal your job.. _if_ you are already an established/high end designer. They really do cannibalize the low-to-mid tier jobs where most freelancers cut their teeth. I dare say if AI and Fiverr were around when many of the established graphic designers were getting their start, they'd likely not be where they are right now. This gap is only going to widen in the coming years, with more and more small businesses (who do make up the vast majority of businesses) turning to these solutions as cost saving measures over hiring an actual human designer, especially as the tech advances. The high end designers will begin to charge more, which will drive more and more "average" businesses to AI / cheap Fiverr labor rather than to "average" human designers. And yes, NFTs/crypto are a complete scam.

[@TunaIRL]

It's good if the lower paying jobs are decreasing. The truth is most people who are charging at the lower amounts and are basically getting ripped off by their clients. The less ripping off there is the better.

[@willpatersondesign]

I think people can sometimes forget that Fiverr sellers are designers, Fiverr is just a platform - and the designers set their own prices (not disagreeing with what you've said, just adding to the conversation) I know they launched in 2010, and when I started out in 2012 I was doing work for friends and family etc from $15-50 to begin with, because everyone starts somewhere :) and if you've got no friends, family or neighbours who need any work a platform like Fiverr can be a great way to get those first paying customers! And to be fair, there are loads of Pro sellers too who are amazing designers who just like the platform, and that's cool too!

[@space.tel-e-grams]

@@willpatersondesign You are absolutely right, I guess it's easy to forget that people on Fiverr are designers too. What I said still stands in regards to AI though. Many companies will see it as a way to cut costs and I think it's only going to get worse. With AI how it is right now, perhaps only the lowest tier of clients will drop off, but as the tech gets better, I can pretty much guarantee that more and better projects will begin to get reassigned to AI so they don't have to pay for a designer. I don't think we are quite there yet but it's coming.