The Margins

The design world laughing at itself.

The back page of TheLayer. Curated by the editors. Off the clock. Credit always given.

The words 'DUE DATE' in solid black above 'DONE DATE' in faded grey, under the label 'the project timeline' and the line 'two dates that have never met.'
deadlines

Two dates that have never met.

made by TheLayer
A list of design file names, each more 'final' than the last: logo_final.ai, logo_final_v2.ai, logo_FINAL.ai, logo_FINAL_real.ai, logo_USE_THIS_ONE.ai, logo_final_v2_FINAL_real_usethis.ai — under the heading 'the design file lifecycle' and the line 'there is no final.'
client life

There is no final.

made by TheLayer
The words 'Comic Sans' set in the Comic Sans typeface itself, under the label 'typography crimes' and the line 'the only typeface with a restraining order.'
fonts

The only typeface with a restraining order.

made by TheLayer
Large text reading '3 A.M. you have moved the logo seventeen times. the mockup still looks fake.' above the line 'it is not you. it is the displacement map.'
ai

It's not you. It's the displacement map.

made by TheLayer
Large text reading 'it works on my machine.' under the label 'root cause analysis', with the lines 'famous last words — right before the live demo.' and 'just ship the laptop.'
dev

It works on my machine.

made by TheLayer
Large text 'just one small change.' under the label 'the client, Friday 5 PM' and the line 'the four words that delete a weekend.'
client life

Just one small change.

made by TheLayer
The word KERNING set with deliberately uneven, broken letter spacing, under the label 'you had one job' and the line 'the only word that, spelled right, somehow looks wrong.'
fonts

You had one job.

made by TheLayer
Large text 'but it looked fine on screen.' under the label 'RGB, meet CMYK', with the lines 'the print begs to differ.' and 'where colour goes to die: the proof.'
print

But it looked fine on screen.

made by TheLayer
The phrase 'make it bigger' set at three increasing sizes, ending in the word BIGGER filling the frame, under the label 'every client, eventually' and the line 'the logo is still too small.'
client life

Make it bigger.

made by TheLayer
The phrase 'make it' above a huge 'POP.' under the label 'the brief, in full' and the line 'four words. infinite revisions.'
client life

Make it pop.

made by TheLayer
Text reading 'can you send the source files?' answered by a large 'no.' under the label 'one week after final payment' and the line 'a love story in three acts.'
client life

Can you send the source files? No.

made by TheLayer
A six-step list of client revisions — make it a square, now make it bigger, more dynamic, rotate it 45 degrees, actually make it red, you know what a circle — followed by a loop arrow reading 'back to step 1. it always comes home.'
client life

The revision cycle.

made by TheLayer
Text reading 'do whatever you want — you're the creative.' followed by the large parenthetical 'but exactly what I already pictured.' under the label 'creative freedom, they said.'
client life

You're the creative.

made by TheLayer

Hand-picked, never scraped. Every meme is made by our team or used with credit. Rights & takedown →