Why Graphic Designers Stop Getting Better and How To Fix It

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Why Graphic Designers Stop Getting Better and How To Fix It"

The Angry Designer – December 9, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this candid, no-BS episode, hosts Massimo and Sean tackle a silent threat to every graphic designer's growth: the autopilot loop. They dig deep into why even skilled, experienced designers often stop evolving—mistaking efficiency and repetitive output for real advancement. The discussion explores industry and personal habits feeding complacency, the dangers of "safe" design, and specific strategies to reignite creativity and drive growth.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Autopilot Syndrome in Design

(00:00–08:07)

• Many designers believe they're improving, but are simply getting faster at repeating the same tasks.

  "Most designers don't actually get better at design. They get faster at just doing the same thing over and over... that is autopilot." (A, 00:28)

• Designers, especially seasoned ones, fall into comfort zones, churning out familiar looks/styles rather than evolving.
• Example: Designers struggle to deliver something truly "new" when pushed by clients or creative directors.

2. Efficiency vs. Growth—A False Sense of Progress

(08:07–12:21)

• Falling into a "signature style" can become a trap:

  "I've known so many designers... over the course of 20 years... their work looks the same as it did 20 years ago." (A, 08:41)

• Making clients happy and keeping work consistent often leads to creative stagnation.
• Real story: The hosts lost a long-time client when a new contact criticized the repetitive, un-evolved nature of their work—even though it was high quality and "on brand."

  "We must mistook repetition for mastery... we never pushed anything outside... and unfortunately, we lost that customer." (A, 10:37)

3. Industry Structures Enabling Autopilot

(14:03–19:26)

• Workplaces prioritize speed, not critical or strategic thinking.
• The creative industry subtly rewards “safe” and consistent deliverables over fresh thinking.

  "Our work culture rewards speed. Nobody really thinks about thinking, about the strategy." (A, 15:51)

• Critique is underused or avoided:

  "Workplaces aren't very critique-happy... they don't appreciate criticism... and designers are becoming more and more fragile." (A, 16:22)

4. Personal and Environmental Habits Feeding the Loop

(19:26–25:02)

• Avoidance of criticism: Designers fear feedback, stunting growth.

  "If critique scares you, criticism scares you, this is the wrong industry." (A, 19:26)

• Lack of deliberate practice: Spending all day on client work leaves no room for learning or experimentation.

  "When do you get to practice anything new? People are working so much, they're not saving time for themselves every day." (A, 20:11)

• Over-servicing clients: Trying too hard to please clients leads to complacency and discourages pushing creative boundaries.
• Fear of touching the brand: Designers confuse 'consistency' with stagnation.
• Tutorial dependency: Relying on step-by-step tutorials prevents real understanding and creative problem-solving.

  "Tutorials teach you steps... but it doesn't actually teach you the instincts on how they got there." (A, 24:12)

5. Consequences of Design Complacency

(25:02–26:13)

• Autopilot equals complacency, and complacency leads to falling behind peers and industry standards.

  "Autopilot is just another fancy word for being complacent. And if you're complacent and you're not evolving, then you're going to fall behind." (A, 25:12)

---

Memorable Quotes

• "Speed without growth just means you're getting faster at doing the same thing."
  — Massimo (A, 12:08)

• "If critique scares you, criticism scares you, this is the wrong industry."
  — Massimo (A, 19:26)

• "We must mistook repetition for mastery... and unfortunately, we lost that customer."
  — Massimo (A, 10:37)

• "Autopilot is just another fancy word for being complacent... and you're going to fall behind."
  — Massimo (A, 25:12)

---

Solutions: Breaking the Autopilot Loop

Massimo's Top 5 Methods
(26:13–31:52)

1. Monthly Skill Challenge

   • Pick one skill a month to push hard—after hours, on weekends, or carve out time during work.
   • The compounding effect over a year is huge.

   "Just one thing, one thing, one thing. The beginning of the month, write that shit down, and by the end of the month, see how far you can push it." (A, 27:14)

2. Create a Real Critique Circle

   • Form a group with trusted, honest peers; share and critique work openly.
   • Massimo's group includes respected designers like Scott Fuller and Alan Peters: "No ego here... we're not there to kiss each other's asses." (A, 28:26)
   • Avoid anonymous public forums filled with unhelpful feedback.

3. Reverse Engineer Work That Inspires You

   • Don't just copy—dissect stellar design work to understand how and why it works.

   "You're not copying to steal, you're copying to understand. This will keep you out of this autopilot loop." (A, 29:54)

4. Document Your Design Decisions

   • Brief journal (in bullet points) the reasons behind choices for each project: fonts, layouts, hierarchy, etc.

   "Try to actually acknowledge why you made the decisions you did... Bullet, form, point, form, whatever." (A, 30:16)

5. Regularly Change Your Inspiration Inputs

   • Subscribe to new newsletters, browse different portfolios, seek trends to challenge your style (while avoiding blind trend-following).

   "On a regular basis, change your inputs, change what you're seeing, what you're getting, what you're ingesting." (A, 31:30)

---

Closing Thoughts

• Creativity and growth don't come from just making clients happy and staying "on brand"; they require deliberate practice, open critique, and a willingness to push boundaries.
• The autopilot loop is an easy trap, but with self-awareness and proactive habits, designers can keep evolving and keep their careers rewarding.

"You're not just coming in and doing the same old thing day after day. You're getting to use your mind. You're getting to flex."
— Massimo (A, 32:48)

---

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction to the autopilot loop in graphic design
• 08:07 – Dangers of style stagnation and industry stories
• 14:03 – Industry and workplace pressures causing complacency
• 19:26 – Critique avoidance, lack of practice, and client-pleasing traps
• 26:13 – Five actionable strategies to break the autopilot loop

---

Final Takeaway

This episode is a much-needed wake-up call for designers at all career stages. Challenge yourself, seek real feedback, and never confuse comfort for mastery. The creative world rewards those who evolve—not those who just get faster at being the same.

Transcript

[A]

You clicked on this video because deep down inside, you know that your design skills aren't progressing the way you think they are. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're busy, you're working, you're delivering, you're getting paid. All great. But your work is starting to feel familiar. Too familiar. Because the truth is, most designers don't actually get better at design. They get faster at just doing the same thing over and over and over. And that's not design evolution. That is autopilot. But what if I told you that the real danger isn't actually you? It's the industry quietly pushing designers into autopilot mode without them realizing it. In this episode of the Angry Designer podcast, powered by Wick Studio, we're talking about the career killer that every designer is scared of and doesn't realize it, the autopilot loop. These are habits, environments, and comfort traps that quietly freeze your design skills in place. And this autopilot thing isn't just for beginners, but it hits the most experienced designers even harder. Let's go.

I'm drinking some sort of dark berry sour. It's only a matter of time before the sour beers are going to be off the market because it is now freezing up here.

[B]

Oh, good point.

[A]

Salut, my friend.

Oh, damn. That's a good sour beer. I don't know why I like sour beers. People make fun of me for it. What is yours?

[B]

It's a lager.

[A]

Oh, loggers are good to say.

[B]

This is a very different what I'm used to.

[A]

So, sir.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

What are we here to talk about today?

[B]

Wow, this is a really cool topic.

[A]

Well, kind of. I like to.

[B]

First off, I just like to point out that on the way out the door yesterday, Moss said to me, he's like, I don't know what we're going to talk about. So then he comes to me this morning, he's like, yeah, I got like, four topics.

[A]

Like, Jesus Christ, man. Oh, you know why? It's because I had, like, two weeks off. One week because I was sick and one week because of personal things. And so I'm all fresh and ready to go.

[B]

Yeah, that's what it was.

[A]

And, and. And it's. It's kind of like how I have felt the past year and a bit, maybe two or three. Right. As, you know, I, you know, like, since, you know, Zed Factor was acquired, I've stepped back into more of a creative director role, and I'm kind of been on the outside looking in, where for the past 24 years, I've been hand on every day. Right. And I miss that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I remember talking to some people about it and I do miss being hands on on a daily basis because I am a designer. That's what I am. So now it's like I only get to do it for me projects and for our podcast and for the podcast. Okay. Right. But you know, I, I notice a lot of things from, from being at that level. Okay, so let me ask you something. Yeah. When was the last time that you felt you actually learned something new?

[B]

Oh my God.

[A]

Right. Like a new, new style? Not a new tutorial or technique or how to, you know, following the book of James and learning some new crazy ass technique on how to clip yourself in two clicks. Nothing like that.

[B]

Oh my God. I don't know. I don't, I can't remember.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And that's why this is, was so relevant and hit me so hard when I read it. I was just like, geez, right.

[A]

Do you feel like you're actually improving or do you feel like you're just working?

[B]

You know, it's funny because it's kind of like, I think of it as like.

I've kind of simplified stuff back in the old days, back in the 90s, and it was cool back then. You jammed as much shit as possible. You hone the style and the skills.

[A]

Over the years, kind of. Or is that just what we're telling ourselves?

[B]

And this is what this kind of.

[A]

Was, you know, honestly, because again, I, I, I am seeing it more and more and you know, the, the past little while, as I'm kind of looking from the outside into, you know, and working not as a designer, but, you know, with designers and critiquing designers. I'm noticing that I'll, I mean, again, it's, they're getting very hard. It's getting hard for designers to think outside of the norm.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. They're, they're in this, this mode where they're cranking workout, they're working with clients on a, and so when I'm, when I'm saying, hey, give me something new.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They struggle. Yes. Right. When it's like, hey, stop thinking like you have been and, and, and give me something out of the box. It's like, wait, wait for this client. Right. And it's almost like they can't get, they are their own worst enemy and they can't actually design outside of. So while they're getting better, you know, working on a daily basis doesn't necessarily mean that they're becoming better designers. Per se. They're becoming more efficient. Right. They're. They're getting work done, which is great. And, you know, in part, you know, this is probably an industry. Industry problem. But the thing is, it seems as though they're on autopilot on a daily basis so much. They're not necessarily learning new design work. They're learning new techniques. They're learning how to become faster, more efficient, more productive, but they're not necessarily learning how to be better designers or growing their design skills.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Which is why when I push a lot of our designers and I'm like, no, no, guys, the exercise here isn't to make it look better. It's to help solve the problem better. You know, redesign the flow. Let's get this. Let's change the journey on the webpage. Let's change the journey on the. On the brochure. You know, give me. Give me a different look. And it's like there's a hesitation, and it's hard for them to do this. And I think this is a big problem, not just here, but across the industry, that designers just go into autopilot mode. Yeah. Right. And they're going in. Yeah. They're productive.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

They're feeling like they're working. They're getting a lot of shit done. Yeah. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they're growing as designers.

[B]

You're taking your bag of tricks and. And digging into it and grabbing out this tool, and I'll try that because I know how this works.

[A]

Right. And again. And I think that this is something that so many designers are doing, they don't even realize that they're doing. Right.

[B]

Yes. I think you're. Absolutely.

[A]

And that's why I want to talk about this today, because, again, you know, before we get too deep, of course. You know, don't forget to sign up for Anger Management for Designers. It's our newsletter. It's a lot of this. Just a newsletter format. Quick, brief, fun. And. Yeah, you're always going to be learning something new or having a good laugh. Yeah. But regardless. Yes, this is why. That was a real shameless plug.

[B]

It was beautiful, though.

[A]

It just. It couldn't have been more. Just. Just jam it in there. No.

[B]

Plugs are shameless.

[A]

You know, this. This. I'm calling this the autopilot syndrome.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think so many designers suffer from autopilot syndrome and don't realize that they're doing this. And the problem with this is they're not actually improving. Okay. They're just repeating on a daily Basis. We're not saying they're bad workers. Yeah. We're not saying that they're not servicing their clients. Okay. But if anything, they're doing a disservice to themselves because again, when was the last time you learned something new?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And not a tutorial. Bullshit. We're designers.

[B]

Yes. And see, I think people kind of confuse that too, with, you learn something new, but you're just learning a tool or an idea or something. Something somebody else has done.

[A]

Exactly. Right. And again, maybe it's because you're busy, maybe it's because, you know, you're always in the go, but the reality is, I think that so many designers, you know, can, can work a full day on autopilot, not even think about it, and be productive, even be billable, but they're not necessarily growing. They're just repeating what they did yesterday.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And they're just advanced repeating what they're going to be doing for tomorrow. Right. Yeah, it's, it's a syndrome where it's like every day, you know, you pull from the same layout, you pull the same, the same swatches, the same fonts. You know, at the end it turns out to be a great looking piece. Okay. But it's, it's the same piece that you did last week.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Maybe last month, maybe even last year or the past few years. Because you it earlier, even when you said it's like it's. You develop your look.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and, and how to achieve that look.

[A]

And is, is that the case? Because, I mean, Aaron Draplin has a very distinct look.

[B]

He does.

[A]

Okay. Yes. I don't necessarily think he's on autopilot. Okay. Or maybe he is in the sense of when he's thinking, I'm going to design something for myself, that's his go to. Maybe, you know, when was the last time Aaron Draplin actually learned something different?

[B]

So this is the thing, is he has to look. He has to. Everything he does has to look like Aaron Draplin.

[A]

You know, I've known so many designers that over the course of 20 years of knowing them and seeing their work, okay, their work looks the same as it did 20 years ago. Yeah. The fonts might be different. Yeah. They're still thin, they're still light. You know, the grids are still beautiful. Same, you know, very light, very airy. Their look has been. So then I challenge, you know, them. Are you actually growing? Have you picked up anything else? Are you sticking to the same tools and techniques that you have for the past 20 years. Right. Because it's comfortable. Because you're complaining facing at this point. Right, Right. It's this whole idea that, you know, you avoid new challenges. Okay. Because it's, it's not simple, it's not comfortable. It pushes you out of that comfort zone. Right. That you have grown to be and believe that you are a kick ass designer because you're cranking out this the same stuff.

[B]

Yeah. And it works.

This is, this is the thing. So it's kind of like, so is it bad?

[A]

Is it good?

[B]

Oh, that's what I'm saying. It's like if the client is happy, which we talk about, which we would like to make that client happy, that's our, that's our job. Right?

[A]

You'd think, yeah, you'd think. Making the client happy. Okay, but so here's a story for you, okay? So, you know, and again, I've always been about making clients happy. Okay. I push, push, push to make clients happy. And so, you know, had a client happy. We made sure we over service them when they called, we delivered, we always delivered them the same high quality stuff, right. We had a look going, we had to feel going. Relationship was great for three years and for us, that was great. Right? That's awesome. You, it's like you, you, you were on autopilot, you were delivering, you know what they asked for.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

They, our contact left, new guy came in, new guy's like, well, okay, you know, what have you done? Well, look at the past three years worth of work. This would. And he's like, okay, well it all looks the same and it's all boring in my opinion. What else can you bring to the table?

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Well, now on a sudden we were stuck because we were stuck in this same look in this field. You know, we couldn't step out of our comfort zone that we, we were so on autopilot with this customer, with this brand, with. This is the way we've done it, right? And, and you know, like, you know, we're doing a disservice to the brand. He's like, okay, yeah, but it's boring and I want something different. We couldn't deliver and unfortunately we lost that customer. Right. And again, it wasn't because we did a bad job. Yeah, right. We serviced the customer, the customer was happy. You know, we always gave high quality work. It was good. But our contact left. Someone new came in and they challenged us. They're like, hey, give me something new. Because everything you've done looks the same. You haven't, you know, you haven't tried to change anything, you haven't tried to add anything to it. It looks good. So by all intensive professional purposes, sure, yeah. You know, you can say that you did the brand service. Okay. But all it takes is that one person to come in. Yeah. And boom, it's all, it's all done in that case. Right. So again, in this situation, we, we must mistook repetition for mastery. We thought, oh, we were awesome designers because look at this shit that we're doing for this customer. And we're doing everything from their brochures to their website, this. And it was all on brand. But we never pushed anything outside. We never did anything to complement the brand.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

Or campaigns or grow it. Right. So we kind of got screwed. In that case, yeah. There is this phrase that's.

Speed without growth. Just means you're getting faster at doing the same thing.

[B]

Doing the same thing.

[A]

Doing the same thing. Right. And that's what you want to kind of avoid.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Right, exactly, yes.

And now a word from our sponsor.

All right, designers, let's cut the bull.

[C]

How many times have you had a killer website designed only to watch it fall apart because of code or developer.

[A]

Telling you no, no, no.

[C]

Or maybe you've held back from web design altogether, thinking it's just too complicated and too technical or totally out of your wheelhouse. Either way, it's time for a change. WIX Studio is designed for designers, removing the barriers that limits your designs. Whether you're tired of developers watering down your ideas or too intense, intimidated by the technical side of web, wix Studio puts the creative power back in your hands. No code required. With a drag and drop interface that feels designer intuitive. Plus no code, animations and even AI powered tools, you can create fully custom websites that match your vision. Every pixel, every detail.

[A]

And if you're worried about the learning curve, don't be.

[C]

Wix Studio is designed to feel as intuitive as your favorite design tools. Some designers here even say more. So that means you can jump right in and focus on what you do best. Designing badass brand aligned websites that'll take your business to the next level. So whether you've had enough of developers holding you back or you're ready to finally step into web design, check out wix studio.com and take control. That's wix studio.com go and take back.

[A]

Web design for graphic designers.

[B]

So how, how does like we're talking time constraints with, with clients like you, you, we have, we don't have a lot of time. We're, we all get shit done. That's our mantra.

[A]

So true.

[B]

So there's not a lot of options.

[A]

It's not. It's not even that. It's. It's. And let's back this up. I'm not even blaming designers. That's the funny thing, because you're right. You hit the nail in the head. Oh, really? Well, because this isn't necessarily all the designer's fault. Okay. Maybe some of it is just a designer a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But this is kind of like an industry problem. Right. Because this didn't happen in a vacuum. We didn't do it ourselves. The industry has created this. Okay. Not the graphic design industry per se, the design industry per se. But, like, you know, it's something that I'm like the autopilot loop. Okay. And it's a loop. It's a constant loop. Right. It's like an industry trap that designers keep getting caught up in. Because we want to make customers happy. Yes.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And we want to make sure we deliver fast. And delivering is always really important, you know, and at the same time, you know, we're also told that, you know, you have to, you know, keep things on brand and keep things consistent, but at the same time, if you overdo it, then all of a sudden, everything starts looking like you're complacent. Yes. Like you're not trying very hard. And you might be being. You might be trying very hard, you know, at keeping the brand consistent. And you might be actually genuinely, you know, trying to be a brand guardian in this case.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But that doesn't mean that you can't, you know, you can't forget the fact that you are a designer and your job is to constantly keep evolving yourself. The client's brand. Right. You know, change the brand. Coca Cola's brand has been exactly the same for the past 100 years.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But every decade, they've got new campaigns out that meet them fresh, that keep them active, you know, keep them, like, relevant. And that's what designers need to do for our customers.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

But I mean, you know, if you think about it, you know, our work culture, it rewards speed. It rewards. You know, nobody really thinks about thinking, you know, in the strategy, and it really sucks. Right.

[B]

Yeah, you're right. It's. It's. As soon as you get a job, you're, boom, you're into it.

[A]

You're into it. Yeah.

[B]

You don't have time to sit with it and. And, you know, kind of map things out or. Or, you know.

[A]

Exactly. Well, and think about it. Right. Even, Even on social media. Right. Like, we're always looking at, you know, social. Of cool logos, cool campaigns. Right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Nobody ever rewards or starts digging into the strategy behind them, behind that. Nobody takes them apart and starts. Because that's not sexy, that that's not rewarded. So that's, that's what I mean by it's an industry problem. Right. Something like that. Right. Workplace. Okay. This might be even a bigger issue, but in general, workplaces aren't very critique happy. They're, they don't, they don't appreciate criticism. Okay. And designers are becoming more and more fragile. Yeah. You know, and you have to be careful how you criticize, but nobody wants to hear it. Nobody wants advice. Nobody wants criticism on it. Everything you create is supposed to be good, so everybody's tiptoeing around it. Right. So, you know, they don't criticize just to keep the peace, to keep a good work environment, which. Okay, yeah, I get. But that doesn't help you evolve as a design.

[B]

This is true.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, while this is a designer problem, it's not necessarily the designer's fault. The industry has put this on us. Okay. They Absolutely. Right. So the industry pushes us to go into this autopilot loop, but it's these habits that designers choose to do that keep us there. And that's why it's like, you know, it's like one is feeding the other. It's like, it's like that snake eating its own tail.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And it's constantly, like, it's in this perpetual loop. And again, it's like, like, I, I, I commend designers. Now I have a whole different appreciation for it because again, I've, I've, as being an agency owner, most of these years, I worked as a designer side by side with everybody. Okay. So maybe I wasn't as aware of it. We lost jobs, and I was just like, oh, well, they're dumb. They don't know what they're talking about. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Now, you know, when I step back and I look from an agency level down and trying to help everybody, I'm seeing, you know, how our, our team is getting caught on these. Yeah. Okay. And now I am constantly there trying to push everybody to think outside of the norm, of what I'm constantly been telling them. You got to be consistent. Got to be consistent. Yeah. You have to be consistent, but you have to be able to break out of that mold as well. Yeah. So, again, these are habits that we obey from the industry. Okay. And have created upon ourselves. Right, okay. So, again, reasons why designers can go on auto loop. I actually wrote down some of these. Okay. You know, we already talked about this one. Okay. Where, you know, designers go on. On this auto loop, okay. Because they want to avoid criticism. They don't like criticism. Okay. And. And again, people know this is shot to the ego, of course. Right. And I'm talking real criticism. Okay. Which is too bad, because if you have real criticism, you know, nobody should take that personally. No. Okay. It's supposed to help us grow that. Yeah. Okay. Grow our skills. But the problem is we've been so entranced with social media lately, and everybody who talks against anything, a design, a mark, this, that, well, they badmouthing, and so nobody wants to hear it anymore. Everybody feels so fragile, you know, when somebody, you know, says, oh, you didn't do a good job, or, here's a participation trophy. Right. Honestly, if critique scares you, criticism scares you. This is the wrong industry.

[B]

Yes, I know.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Because you're going to get it from all angles.

[A]

And not only you're getting it from your customer, you're. You're getting it from your friends.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Your boss.

[B]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

You're getting it from someone at the coffee shop that is just looking over your shoulder and they're like, hey, bud, I see what you're lining there.

[B]

Helvetica, again.

Shut up. Shut up. No, you're absolutely right. If you can't take a punch in this field, then, holy smokes, it's not going to be good. I always looked at that as, like, it's not an attack. No, it's. It's like, you would help me if I was struggling with something and you pointed it out. It's like, oh, yes, I get it. And then it's like, okay, that totally makes sense.

[A]

Number two, okay. How people get into these autopilot loops, okay, is they have literally zero deliberate practice. Okay? You are working all day long on customer work, Right. When do you get to practice anything new? Right. When do you get to step aside and try something new? Okay. People are working so much, they're not saving time for themselves every day. Like we said, the hara hashibu. Right. Keep a little bit for yourself every day. Okay? Right. And, you know, like, actually work on your own stuff so you can step outside this loop, because that's the only way that you're actually going to be able to. To find new things to complement the work that you're doing. Right. But again, if you're not, again, repetition on a regular basis, doing the same thing does not equal improvement in any way. Right. Especially not in this place. Yeah. Speed kill. Who cares if you're fast at it, Right. If it's the same crap you're turning over, sooner or later the customers are going to hate that. Yeah. Another reason that, you know, we get stuck in these autopilot loops is ready. We over service our customers. Okay. We try to keep them too happy.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And by trying to keep them too happy. Right. You know, they confuse Good sir. We're confusing good service with, you know, not pushing back. You can push back. Yeah. Okay. It's your job to push back. Okay. It's not your job to be a difficult designer. Right. But again, just like today, you know, the conversation I had with our designer internally, she was like, you know, well, this is what they gave us. This is what they want in the piece. I'm like, okay, that's fine if that's what they want. I'm not even recommending removing it. But let's rethink how we can lay it out. Let's rethink the story. The journey, right? What we're putting on the COVID what we're saving for the back cover, what the journey on the inside spread is. Okay. Customer said, this is the way I want it done. Yeah. Doesn't mean this is the best way.

[B]

To do it necessarily the way it's. Yeah.

[A]

It should be done. And so in this case, we present what they want and then we introduce a second version with new ideas. Hey. We also thought we'd take the liberty and do this and try the. This is how we keep ourselves fresh. Remember, it's not our job to bend over for the. I would over service your customers. You know, treat them like gold. Meet your deadlines. Okay. But don't give them only what they ask for. It's your job to push back and customers appreciate. That's why they hired us. Yeah, exactly. So that's number three. Number four, of course, in line with that is, you know, designers have a fear of touching the brand. And again, this is exactly right. This puts designers on autopilot because they're like, nope, can't do that. It's not on brand. It's not on brand. But we kind of remember what on brand means. A brand ultimately is, you know, what customers on the outside feel when they see, you know, this, this company, this product, this image. Okay. Right. So if you want to add elements to a campaign to enhance a brand, okay. We're not recommending changing the logo. We're not recommending changing the company color. We're not even recommending, fucking around with, you know, the company, the branded fonts or anything like that. But. Okay, a new layout or a different layout or an enhanced layout to something that has been kicking around already for years, it's not doing a disservice to the brand. No. Okay. It's actually keeping it fresh. It's our job to keep it right. Our job to stay up to date with what's current, you know, design, layout wise. We're not recommending change the brand, change your Coca Cola logo or anything like that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But you can deliver the new campaign. That's going to be temporary, it's going to be here, it's going to be now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Could be style and photography, could be just. Just the layout itself. Could be. Could be the dimensions, the weight, the hierarchy of what you're presenting. Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So again, we're not recommending by any means messing with the brand, but that doesn't mean that you, you have to follow the same guidelines. Otherwise they wouldn't be hiring a designer, they'd be hiring a production artist.

[B]

Yes, exactly.

[A]

And number five, you know, I think another, another reason why designers get on this auto loop, okay, is their costly dependency on tutorials. And they're looking at all these outside sources, you know, of how to get things done, but they don't actually understand what it took to make these things.

[B]

Right.

[A]

They're not dissecting them. Right. So it's just like they're rushing to that end part. The end. And that's, that's the, you know, it teaches tutorials, teach you steps on how to do something, but it doesn't actually teach you the instincts on how they got there. Right. Okay. So again, you need to start, you know, getting past that and get to that understanding level. Okay? So that's why it's like this tutorial dependency thing, man. It's just.

[B]

It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. And it's kind of like, you know, you. You think, oh, I wanna. I wanna learn this, but then you have no idea where to use it.

[A]

You know what I mean?

[B]

Like, it just, it won't fit into anything I do, but I'm gonna cram it in there. You know.

It'S like junk food for designers, literally.

[A]

Right? Like no calories so bad for you at all. Right.

[B]

It's tasty. At the same time, it's addictive.

[A]

Yeah. The reality here is this goes back to if you're on autopilot. Autopilot is just another fancy word for being complacent.

[B]

Y.

[A]

Okay. And if you're complacent and you're not evolving, then you're going to fall behind, whether it's for, you know, your customer, whether it's in the design world. And this is what we have to avoid more than anything. And again, we. I caught it here early enough with all the customers that we were seeing. Yeah, but how many people are blindsided by this?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Yeah. It's got to happen quite a bit, because you do. You're right. Like, you just get into that zone and everything's going well and you don't question it anymore, and. Wow. And before you know it, you're kind of. You're stuck in a rut, and you're. It's not even on autopilot.

[A]

You're right. I guess.

[B]

Kind of is. Because you're not growing.

[A]

Yeah. You're right.

[B]

Right. So. But also the complacency part.

[A]

But how ironic. Hey, you're working. You're keeping your customer happy. Yeah. But you're not growing. Yes. Let that sink in for a little bit, because that's kind of like a real. That's a Batman slap if I ever saw one.

Seriously? Yes. So. Okay.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Five ways. Okay. Five ways. Designers can break the autopilot loop, okay. Because it's easy to get into this loop, but these are five ways to prevent yourself from getting into this loop. Okay? Yes. Number one. Okay. Give yourself a monthly skill challenge. Whether you have to do it after hours, whether you have to do it weekends, whether you carve out time during your workday and just be like, hey, I need this to improve our customers. This. That. Right. Pick one skill. Okay. One. Whether it's, you know, logo design, whether it's layout. Okay. And push it hard that month. Okay. Go. You know, push it hard. Find new ways of changing it. Push the limits. See how far you can actually take it. Just one. Just pick, like, one thing every month because that'll be 12 different skills. Okay. For by the end of the year. And keep in mind. Yeah. The compounding effect of each one of these is immeasurable because you're going to do layout this month. Well, next. Next month, you might do web design. Well, guess what? Your layout that you just pushed yourself is now going to catapult your web design because it's just a piggyback.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Then you're going to jump into whole brand layouts and corporate IDs. Well, guess what? Those other two months previous. And you're going to keep doing this and keeping Yourself fresh and keep pushing yourself, everyone. So just one thing, one thing, one thing. The beginning of the month, write that shit down, and by the end of the month, see how far you can push it. Okay? It's awesome. Okay? Number two, create a real critique circle. Okay? Now, you think this is silly, okay? But everybody uses this, okay? I am currently in one. And I mean, I don't want to brag, but it's like Scott Fuller. Okay. James Bernard, Alan Peters. And we're all on a WhatsApp. Okay. And we're, we're actually exchanging ideas. Somebody will post something, be like, hey, I'm working on this. What do you think? Right. Somebody else is like, hey, I need help. Anybody have this? Okay. The other day, I was flipping through some old, you know, pictogram books to share with Alan Peters. Right. And again, it's really cool because there's, there's no ego here with these guys. They're actually wanting legitimate professional feedback that's unbiased. Yeah. And, you know, we're not there to kiss each other's asses. Okay. So. And that's the key. You can't be scared to offend anybody. Because, I mean, again, you're not saying that they're amateur.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You're not saying they suck. These guys are some of the. We're talking. These are like the three legends, in my opinion.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Those guys are so cool to just see what we're working on, have ideas, have people that you can bounce stuff off. I mean, again, I, I, I feel bad because I'm not posting nearly anything like these guys. Like, I. What I mean by that is, you know, they're, they're working really cool. Yeah. And it's awesome. And, you know, it's just cool to be like, wow, get an inside look how they think, how they. Yeah. You know, and then how they take feedback and just, it's just really. It's appreciated.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know what I mean? And it just kind of grows for a stronger bond. Yeah. So totally find that group, whether it's people in house, whether it's people online, there's people on Discord, there's people on, on Reddit. Like, I mean, it's everywhere. Yeah. Okay. So I don't recommend posting it blindly on Reddit because those guys, Guys get, they get damaged. But, you know, find a core group of people that you trust, you respect, and that will be honest with you. Okay, so that's number two. Okay, I. We've said this before. I'll say it again. Reverse engineer work that you like, oh, this is brilliant. Yes, well, and again, right. Everybody always, you know, study logos, study layouts. Don't just copy them, but learn how they got to them. Learn, you know, what it took to get to that point. Point. Okay, so you're not copying to steal, you're copying to understand. This will keep you out of this autopilot loop. Right. Okay. Because again, you're pushing yourself to learn, not to copy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Key. Nice. You know this one. While I am not a fan of journaling. No, I do think it's important if you document what you learn. Dear Diet.

Today I did a logo underneath a tree I felt very great with.

Well, where I'm going with this though, is not, is not. I don't, I don't give a shit about your personal feelings about that, but I mean, try to actually acknowledge why you made the decisions you did. Oh, okay. So again, it's not, oh, well, the customer wants me to do it on brand, so I did it on brand. No, I'm saying I chose this font because of this. I chose this layout because of this. I chose this hierarchy because of this. Right. Bullet, form, point, form, whatever, or even just in your head. Yeah, but document the points, why you made the choices you did. And last, okay, not least, but in my opinion, probably the most valuable is regularly change your inspiration inputs. Okay. So I regularly, you know, see what's, what's new, what's hot, what's layouts. Right. I'm, I'm getting so many newsletters it's annoying as hell. Okay. But a lot of them are inspiration, which is really cool. Right. I'm constantly know on websites looking for, you know, looking through new portfolios. I'm trying. While I am not a big fan of trends, I'd like to see what people are doing now with campaigns at a higher level because this is how you start evolving your thinking. So on a regular basis, change your inputs, change what you're seeing, what you're getting, what you're ingesting. Okay? So this way it's like you're constantly being fresh and then this way it gives you new things to try. Okay. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're copying these things, especially if you, if you, you learn to understand these things and how they got there. Okay. But again, by changing these inputs, it's just, it gives you this fresh, you know, it's like fresh new portfolios on a regular basis.

[B]

Oh, okay, right.

[A]

Think of it that way.

[B]

Yeah, that's awesome.

[A]

So again, I think these are, you know, five Easy ways. Yeah. For people to break out of the autopilot loop. Okay. And try not to ever get into this autopilot.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

But I think that, you know, this will catch so many people off guard. Okay. And so many people probably don't even realize. And like. Holy. That's right.

[B]

When I was reading this, I was just like, holy, dude.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like, this is. This is serious.

[A]

Serious. Yeah, it really is, actually.

[B]

Yes. I think I'm that.

[A]

Well, listen, I hope you guys got something out of this. You know, again, I. I am seeing more and more of this within our own agency. And not saying that I have bad teams. I have the best team in the world. Best team in the world. But, you know, from the outside looking in now, I'm seeing how easy it is to try to over please customers and go on this autopilot mode and create what pleases them. And you know what? This makes for a more enjoyable industry, more enjoyable job. Okay. You're not. Not just coming in and doing the same old thing day after day. You're getting to use your mind. You're getting to flex.

[B]

Yeah. Which is great. Like, yeah, that's. Yeah, that's what we want. Exactly.

[A]

Yeah. Ooh, cool. Flex. All right, everybody. Drop us a line. Hit us up on social. Hit us up on YouTube. On Instagram, leave a comment, join the conversation, and hit us up on our website. And don't forget about our newsletter. The newsletter. The newsletter. My name is Massimo.

[B]

My name is Sean.

[A]

Stay creative.

[B]

Stay angry.