Designers and Brands Can’t Afford to Be Lazy Anymore

Graphic design has always evolved with technology—but somewhere along the way, the creative process started to take a backseat to convenience. What used to involve concepting, sketching, and intentional design thinking is now often reduced to assembling stock elements with minimal adjustment. It’s efficient, but it’s also making design feel increasingly replaceable.

Designers must take responsibility for the originality of their portfolios—but brands also need to recognize the value of thoughtful, original design. If speed is always prioritized over intention, creativity doesn’t have the room it needs to thrive. Great design takes time. And the best results happen when brands give designers that time.

To creatives: if your current workload doesn’t allow you to produce the kind of portfolio pieces you’re proud of, build them yourself. Create fake brands. Rebrand an existing one just for fun. Start a passion project that pushes your skill set. Do whatever you need to do to showcase original thinking and execution.

But above all, do not showcase stock-heavy or templated work and pass it off as your own. Hiring managers and creative directors can see right through it with one simple reverse image search—and in this competitive market, that shortcut could cost you.

The future of design is about differentiation. AI is advancing rapidly, and clients are more empowered than ever to try things themselves. The question every designer must be able to answer is: Why should someone hire you instead of doing it themselves? And if your portfolio doesn’t demonstrate originality, strategy, and clear intent, that answer gets harder to defend.

At Buzz & Bloom Media, we believe great design starts with curiosity and ends with innovation. We regularly review portfolios and connect with freelance talent—and we’re always looking for those who go beyond the obvious, who put in the extra thought, and who value originality as much as we do.