‘Graphic design is my passion’ is a very popular meme and it went absolutely viral. This hilarious meme speaks to the heart of many designers. The meme is meant to call out bad graphic design, draw attention to the true art of graphic design, and tease those oh-so-serious graphic designers. If you’re a fan of graphic design, then this meme is definitely for you!

It’s hard to pin down the original source of any meme, given that so many of them are created every single day. In fact, the popular social media platform Instagram claims that users post at least one million memes on their website per day. That’s a lot of content.

When a meme like graphic design is my passion goes absolutely viral, it’s a pretty big deal. It can be a great add-on to your marketing strategy and tools. Sometimes, it’s all about the right internet user posting at the right time. In other cases, a meme goes viral because it resonates so deeply with so many people, mainly designers probably, as was the case with the “graphic design is my passion” meme.

So, where did this hilarious (if sometimes mystifying) meme come from, what does it mean, and how did it evolve? We’re here to dish it all. Read on to learn more about the “graphic design is my passion” meme and stick around to find out how you can make one of your own.

First of All, What Is a Meme?

Before we get started, let’s take a moment to talk about what a meme actually is. If you’re online, you’ve certainly encountered them before, those images with text over them, usually meant to be funny (though not always hitting the mark). However, you may not realize that all of those images have something in common: they’re variations of the same thing.

Some meme historians argue that memes have existed for centuries in some form or another. For the sake of clarity, we’ll stick to the definition of memes that applies to internet culture.

Simply put, a meme is a graphic shared online that references or comments on cultural (often subcultural) phenomena. As a result, memes (especially viral memes) become cultural phenomena, themselves.

They become funny if you can reconize the situation. Kids, dorks, husbands who do renovations and animals are often used for memes. The one below is made with the help of Midjourney!

What Does “Graphic Design Is My Passion” Mean?

Okay, so what’s this business with the “graphic design is my passion” meme? If you’re not familiar, there are several versions of this meme that all share the same text.

The quote, “graphic design is my passion,” is displayed with low-quality graphics reminiscent of clip art. In other words, the quote is paired with laughably bad graphic design. Popular fonts used for the “graphic design is my passion” meme are for example “Papyrus”

The clip art cartoon characters which are used to illustrate the meme ‘graphic design is my passion’ are meant to mock designers and highlight how ugly some designs can be. The most famous of these characters is the cartoon frog. While the meme may be funny, it also highlights a serious issue: many people don’t take graphic design seriously as a profession. So next time you see one of these memes, remember that there’s more to graphic design than meets the eye.

What commentary is being made by this meme?

1. Calling Out Bad Graphic Design

First and foremost, graphic design is my passion meme is calling out bad graphic design. Graphic designers undergo serious training, including self-taught training, in order to master graphic design software and techniques. When someone comes along and claims that they’re a graphic designer but put out low-effort, low-res, unattractive work, well, it tends to rub people the wrong way.

• Drawing Attention to the True Art of Graphic Design

2. Drawing Attention to the True Art of Graphic Design

What else is this meme trying to tell the viewer? Graphic designers are often asked to do professional work for individuals or businesses who are offering a very low pay rate. The meme is also meant to remind us that true graphic design takes time and skill, two qualities that deserve better pay.

3. Teasing Those Oh-So-Serious Graphic Designers

Let’s face it: some people with graphic design jobs take themselves quite seriously. We don’t blame them when they’re doing good work, but when they start acting like they’re more serious about their art than other designers, once again, it rubs people the wrong way. In some contexts, the meme is meant to mock graphic designers who act too seriously.

Where Did the “Graphic Design Is My Passion” Meme Start?

Who is responsible for the ‘graphic design is my passion’ meme? This popular meme has been traced back to a Tumblr user yungterra. They posted the meme to Tumblr in July of 2014, earning over 300,000 “notes” (which is to say, interactions on Tumblr), making it one of the year’s most popular memes.

The original meme featured a clip art frog with a white square background floating on a low-res image of clouds. The text used for the quote was Papyrus, an unpleasant-to-look-at font found on programs like Microsoft Word. All in all, it makes for a bad design. Today, the meme is still going strong, and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. So if you ever find yourself getting too serious about graphic design, just remember: there’s always someone out there who is willing to make fun of you. Thanks, yungterra for expressing your love for graphic design!

If you’re a fan of memes, then you’ll be happy to know that there’s an entire Tumblr blog devoted to them. In the Tumblr blog meme archives, there’s a veritable treasure trove of funny, relatable, and just downright bizarre memes. If you’re interested in graphic design-themed memes, there’s an entire section devoted to that topic. Among the most popular graphic design-themed memes is the “Graphic Design Is My Passion” meme, made by yungterra. If you’re looking for a good laugh or just want to see some really creative and clever memes, then be sure to check out the Tumblr blog meme archive, in the section for graphic design and you’ll definitely see lots of variations on graphic design is my passion.

Later Iterations of “Graphic Design Is My Passion” Meme

The meme has now undergone more changes than anyone can count, but there are a few other noteworthy moments in its existence.

In 2015, Tumblr user hatchergold shared a modified version of the meme with the added caption, “Staff be like.” This round received over 130,000 notes in a little over a month.

Later that same year, an unknown internet user created an animated text graphic of the phrase on AnimatedText.com. From there, it was shared on a variety of platforms, including Tumblr.

So it all started with Papyrus but there is more 😉 Who doesn’t remember to play around with Word Art. Designers got excited and tried to make the meme look even worse. That’s where the rainbow background came in for example. Or in other variations, you see a mismatch of many colors and fonts. Shadows behind text work as well very good in graphic design is my passion meme. Let’s not forget about the use of the most disliked font around the globe, Comic Sans. It works perfectly with this meme.

Other popular memes which are as much fun as graphic design is my passion

Whether you are a graphic designer or not you probably can laugh about such memes as Bad Luck Brian, Disaster Girl, Success Kid, and Kermit ‘But That’s None of My Business’ have been famous and funny for years. They got popular on the internet and in web communities such as Reddit and Tumblr. The internet community has adopted these memes and they are now iconic. Each meme has a different story or meaning behind it. For example, Bad Luck Brian is a meme about a teenage boy who is unlucky in everything he does.

The disaster girl meme is about a girl who is pictured in the middle of a house fire. And that a meme can even be worth money proves this picture. The famous Disaster Girl meme is now an NFT (non-fungible token). This is a digital asset that can’t be interchangeable and is stored on a blockchain, read more here. 
The success kid meme is about a young boy who is celebrating his successes in life. The Kermit ‘But That’s None of My Business‘ meme is about a frog that is minding its own business but can also be interpreted as being nosy. These memes are beloved by the internet community and became some of the most famous memes of all time. See as well this website for a good laugh.

How to Make Your Own Version of This Popular Meme

Do you want to get in on the fun? Memes are a huge part of internet culture these days. Whether you’re sharing them with friends or trying to make a statement, they’re a great way to add some personality to your online presence. 

What if you want to make your own meme? While there are plenty of memes out there that you can use, sometimes it’s fun to be the one creating the content. If you’re not quite sure how to make a meme, don’t worry – it’s actually pretty simple. 

There are three main ways to go about it. The first is to use a meme generator like imgflip.com. This website allows you to choose from a variety of templates and then add your own text or images. It’s a quick and easy way to create a meme, and you don’t need any special skills or software. So it is not just for professional designers, amateur graphic designers can do the job in this case. 

The second option is to hire a freelance graphic designer. This is a great option if you’re really into making memes but don’t have the time or skills to do it yourself. A freelance designer can create a custom meme for you, based on your specifications. Whether you decide to use a generator or hire a designer, making your own meme is a fun and easy way to add some personality to your online presence.

Another option that is just as easy to use is canva.com. We find that Canva has more customization options and allows you to search through a mega-database of images used for popular memes.

If you want to get really creative, you can even make one of these memes the old-fashioned way: in Microsoft Word or Paint. After all, these are the software options that these memes tend to replicate most often. Start with a rainbow background and some word art and you are halfway, hope graphic design is your passion as well 😉

Conclusion; Not So Passionate About Graphic Design? Let Us Help You

So, graphic design is my passion goes around for a while but is still incredibly popular and it doesn’t seem to go away anytime soon. It reminds us to laugh a bit about design to keep it all light and fun and don’t take ourselves (as graphic designer) too seriously.

But, maybe you’re not passionate about graphic design, and that’s okay! Not everyone needs to become a graphic designer in order to create a great graphic design for their business. That’s where we come in, branding is our job. We love coming up with unique and successful designs.

Contact us to set up a consultation, so we can learn more about what you’re hoping to achieve.