Jessica Hughes Designer & Illustrator

10/19/2026

Let's talk about Adobe Express.

Everyone knows Canva, and everyone knows (or knows of) Adobe.

I was very skeptical of Adobe Express when it was first announced, just like I was with Canva, but I didn't fall into the "CANVA IS GOING TO TAKE MY JOB" hole as a lot of designers did. I did refuse to use it, though. Adobe Express is different.

Once I started using it, I noticed how much time it started saving me, and how it gave me access to Adobe products without having to have a full subscription to the full Adobe suite (an issue on its own). My favorite thing about it is that I can upload everything for a brand (colors, fonts, logos, etc.), create my own reusable templates, and when I need to create something, I can just GO.

You can also schedule directly to your social pages (I don't because I use different software), but there is so much you can do with it - a little more than Canva.

Try it for yourself and see how much time you can save.

10/16/2026

Facebook and the "AI content" label.

Facebook (possibly other platforms, but I'm not sure) has started to label posts that contain AI content. This is GREAT, but I also think some people may still misunderstand what it means.

In some of my recent posts, you'll see the "AI content" label. This does *not* mean that I used AI to create the designs themselves. In my case, sometimes what this means is that I used AI to arrange the designs. Take the real estate kit, for example:

I created all of the designs myself using Adobe products. Every photo and every bit of text was placed by me and created by me. What I let AI handle was the "arrangement" in order to display those designs. Before AI was used more widely, this type of look was accomplished with pre-created templates. You buy a template, put your design in it, and then you have an arrangement. This is the same principle, except you're not buying a template to do it.

AI is (rightfully) getting a lot of heat and criticism right now, but it's also helpful to look at it with nuance.

10/14/2026

New listing coming up? You'll be busy enough without designing five different marketing pieces.

My Real Estate Listing Kit includes Just-Listed, Open House, and Just-Sold graphics, plus print and digital property flyers—all coordinated around your listing and branding.

$250 per property, with two rounds of revisions included. Design only; printing isn’t included.

Take a look: https://jessicaehughes.com/shop/p/real-estate-listing-kit?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic_social&utm_campaign=real_estate_kit_launch

10/14/2026

Pantone is the Big Daddy of the color world. If you're a designer, you definitely know them for their color books, but if you're not, you may know them from their "Color of the Year". Designers will also know them from how they recently locked down their color books and changed to a subscription model (a gripe for another time).

I'm definitely guilty of holding on to old color books just for the novelty, but now that they're introducing newer, brighter, and more "chaotic" colors, I may have to get new ones. Even as a good goth, I do l

https://www.fastcompany.com/91608327/pantones-new-colors-prove-were-living-in-a-more-is-more-world

(photo property of Pantone).

10/11/2026

I've been hard at work the last few days! I've finally gotten my shop up and running with almost all of the products I've been planning in the background. Not just templates and graphics, but also several different specialty services - and gift cards.

Have a poke around, and if you see something you like (or that you know someone else would like), give them a lil linky link and send them my way.

Quick and easy design, less DIY. Shop custom design services and digital products by Jessica Hughes for your business, your next event, or that idea you're ready to launch.

10/02/2026

Heading into the last part of the year, I come with a long-asked-for business update: I now offer payment plans on my service packages.

Lots of people and small businesses WANT to hire professionals for their business but don't have all the money upfront. I've been asked before about offering payment plans, and I've finally made it happen. I'm working on getting aligned with several common pay-in-4 options, but in the meantime, I also offer payment plans directly.

If you need help with design or marketing but money was an issue, this is your sign to go ahead and make it happen.

I also now offer options to pay via credit or debit card, or ACH. I love having and giving flexibility.

You don’t have to have your s**t fully together before reaching out, either. Show up with whatever you have. Seriously. “I need help, and I don’t know where to start” counts.

Send me a message or find me at https://jessicaehughes.com.

09/28/2026

Disgruntled? Hardly. They say "a hit dog hollers", and I'm positive this person felt personally called out by my post. I didn't call out any single business, and I didn't even criticize a small business using gen-ai (thats a different topic). I offered sources and gentle help for small businesses so that they can at least start to distinguish themselves from other businesses (as much as they can).

There's a good chance the fellow who called me a “disgruntled graphic designer looking down the barrel of being obsolete” is one of the businesses that falls into the category I mentioned. He seemed personally offended.

He was also very wrong.

jessicaehughes.com/sketchbook/quite-gruntled-ai-flyers

A stranger on Nextdoor called me a disgruntled graphic designer because I had thoughts about AI flyers. Joke's on him, I’m pretty optimistic about where design is headed.

09/27/2026

Being "chronically online" of course I'm on Threads. I like to follow different communities but one of my favorites is the one centered around jobs.

I've made my thoughts and feelings on in-office mandates very clear, and on this particular day a Thread about in-office work popped up. There were plenty of replies that I resonated with, but here are a few that I agree with as well as some that I experience myself.

09/25/2026

We're coming up on the last three months of the year, and the holidays are right in there. If you need to step up your social awareness campaigns (or get them started), now's the perfect time to get in!

09/24/2026

This is just the start, but I've started the journey towards the Complete Design Leader Certificate from AIGA.

I have several years of experience managing teams and direct reports, handling day-to-day operations, and all of the responsibility that comes with running an operation. Although it was in a retail environment, what I've witnessed firsthand is that management in a retail setting is good enough to be considered for management and supervisory positions in the graphic design field.

Within graphic design itself, I have experience guiding and mentoring young, aspiring designers. I want that experience to be reflected, respected, and, frankly, rewarded in my career, and I think specialized certificates and programs will get me a step closer to it.