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 why most Graphic Designers are totally unprepared for it.

Recorded live at CropCon 2025 in Austin Texas, Dan lays down

• Why ignoring brand strategy is the fastest way to get replaced
• How to build a personal brand that clients actually value
• What clients really think when they hand you AI-generated work

By the end of this episode, you’ll know why brand strategy is your new superpower in this AI powered world, and how to use it to stay relevant, respected, and paid.

Stay Angry our Friends
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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 facing, and it’s not the tech. It’s the people using it wrong.

In this episode, we break down:

• Why Grpahic Designers are being reduced to decorators (and how to stop it)
• The rise of “confident garbage” and the illusion of quality
• How to push back, simplify chaos, and reclaim your authority

If you’ve ever been handed a “professional” AI brief that made zero sense… or had your strategy questioned because “AI said so”, this one’s going to hit hard.

This isn’t just a rant. It’s a damn wake-up call.
Because AI won’t replace you.
But your client, who THINKS they know how to use AI absolutely will.

Stay Angry our Friends
–––––––––––
Join Anger Management for Designers Newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/mr4bb4j3
Want to see more?
See uncut episodes on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/theangrydesigner
Read our blog posts on our website TheAngryDesigner.com
Join in the conversation on our Instagram Instagram.com/TheAngryDesignerPodcast

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 sabotaging graphic designers keeping them broke, burned out, and overlooked. You’ll learn how to spot the subtle red flags, shift your mindset, and start thinking like a designer – strategic, purposeful, and unshakeably valuable.

By the end, you’ll know:
- The real difference between artists and designers
- How the artist mindset is ruining your reputation and pricing
- What to do instead—so you get paid, respected, and future-proofed

Whether it’s pricing your work, dealing with client feedback, or trying to stay relevant in the age of AI, this episode delivers the straight-up truth that most design schools never teach. Let go of the starving artist myth. Start thinking like a designer. Your career depends on it.

Stay Angry our Friends
–––––––––––
Join Anger Management for Designers Newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/mr4bb4j3
Want to see more?
See uncut episodes on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/theangrydesigner
Read our blog posts on our website TheAngryDesigner.com
Join in the conversation on our Instagram Instagram.com/TheAngryDesignerPodcast