Design Life

In this episode we talk about how design is more than just pushing pixels. As a designer you may find yourself completing any number of tasks - planning researching, exploring, scoping, interviewing, wire framing - we could go on and on. Sometimes this can be frustrating. This week we discuss a query from a listener about what to do when you feel that design is the last thing on your to do list.Support the show on Patreon!

Have you ever thought about starting your own YouTube channel? In this week’s episode of Design Life we speak about our channel’s journeys, what has worked consistently and what we have done differently over time. We speak honestly about growing our channels, dealing with controversy, balancing content, monetisation and sponsorship. This episode is a must-listen for any designer who wants to start or grow a design YouTube channel.01.39 – Catch up04.15 – Gaps in the Youtube design community10.18 – Striking a content balance12.13 – Our favourite videos to make16.44 – Dealing with controversy19.06 – Growing your channel24.50 – Evergreen vs tentpole content 27.05 – Monetisation and sponsored content Femke's latest videoCharli's latest videoJoin our Patreon!

This is a very exciting time of year, a great time to evaluate 2019 and look ahead to what you want to achieve in 2020. In this episode, the first episode of the new decade, we talk about our goals and intentions for the year ahead. This has become a tradition for us on the podcast, at the start of every year we reflect on our goals and look forward to what we want to achieve next. Plan your year workbookThe Design Life Community on Patreon

Is the weight of your potential weighing you down? Potential can be both a blessing and a curse. When you feel fulfilled, you are able to focus on the task at hand and complete your best work. If you possess a greater potential than the task at hand requires, over time, completing this task will leave you feeling unfulfilled. In this week’s episode, inspired by Charli’s blog post, we go deep and talk about how fulfilled we feel right now, the weight of potential and getting unstuck.

In this episode of Design Life we have a special guest joining us, Zach Grosser. Zach joins Charli on the podcast this week as they both attended Adobe MAX 2019, Charli was an Adobe Insider this year and Zach was invited to attend by Adobe as a UX leader. Charli and Zach discuss their key takeaways from this year’s flagship creativity conference.Bézier podcast with Zach GrosserTalk to Me by Dean NelsonFull Time You by Meg Lewis

Are you hoping to make the jump from a junior to senior role in 2020? On this episode of Design Life we discuss a query about senior and junior roles from a listener hoping to change levels. How do you know when you’re ready, how can you figure out and prove that you have the skills you need to do the job at hand? We discuss how the jump is managed at our respective companies and the idea that there is always something you can do, even if it’s not being asked of you, to demonstrate why you you’re up to the challenge. Han Bang – Toronto design YoutuberGet your design life pin!Join the community

In a change to our usual format, this week on Design Life we discuss Femke’s experience of the Within leadership retreat. The three day, design leadership retreat provided plenty for us to discuss, including leading authentically, listening to your inner critic and coaching colleagues to come up with their own solutions.Leadership CirclesWithin Retreat

How do you deal with the frustration of people not accepting your ideas? When you share an idea and people brush it off or they don’t agree that it is a good idea, how do you deal with that in such a way that your team understand your disappointment but don’t mark you as a sore loser. In this episode we talk about how we communicate our disappointment and frustrations with our teams, and how sometimes listening can reveal an unexpected solution. 01.10 – Check in04.40 – Listener’s letter11.55 – What to do if this happens to you17.34 – Accept your idea didn’t make the cut22.50 – Listen & Learn25.55 – What to do if your ideas are being shot down more often than not

This week on Design Life we’re talking about a topic that has been on our minds lately - career progression. We have been thinking about the next stage in our careers, and thought you might be interested to hear what steps we have taken to secure the next phase and how we know it is time to have that all important conversation.

Brené Brown, Daring Greatly Kim Scott, Radical Candour Liz + Mollie, No Hard Feelings

After a short hiatus the Design Life podcast is back! Staying creative and motivated during big life changes can be a real challenge, one we have recently faced. We have jumped at the chance for our next adventure and moved to new countries. Femke has joined the Uber design team in Toronto, working with a new team on Uber Eats. Charli continues to work remotely for Convertkit but has swapped the hustle and bustle of London for sunny Valencia! Trying to stay inspired while also managing the logistics of a big move to another country is a challenge, in this episode we share what worked for us during this busy time. Ladies Wine Design Bumble BFF Ladders Conference Design Life Enamel Pin

In this episode of Design Life, we talk about how to get your first design job. It can be a conundrum, in order to get a job you need to have experience, but in order to get experience you need a job. How can you get experience if no one is willing to give you a job? We share our tips, along with an exciting new product we have launched in the Design Life store. Get the new Work in Progress Pin! Join the community Liz Steel Hollie Arnett

Passive income is a great way for designers to earn a little extra every month alongside your full time or freelance gig. In this episode of Design Life we discuss the different passive income streams we have used successfully, what we have learned and what we hope to try in the future. Charli’s passive income, a breakdown Amazon Associates

This week we are delighted to share a very special edition of Design Life with you. For this episode we invited Helen Tran who is a Product Designer, hobbyist writer, and the CEO & Founder of Jupiter to tell us all about her journey to becoming her own boss, the importance of teaching and her thoughts on going deep versus going wide. Helen Tran's Blog Jupiter Helen on Twitter

A few weeks ago on the podcast we discussed project retrospectives. A listener sent in a follow-up request for an episode about project kickoffs, which it turns out we have never discussed! Starting a project with a kickoff checklist can be useful for everyone involved. In this episode we discuss the checklists we use, and how to jump in successfully if you haven’t been involved in the kickoff. Design Life Episode 151 Running Design Sprints Join the community to get access to the free kick off template!

This episode comes by way of a talk Charli heard at the How Design Live conference in Chicago. Stephen Gates delivered a thought provoking presentation, about living life as a creative. One question in particular stood out - is our manufactured reality killing the design industry and our creativity? In this episode of Design Life we tease out this topic, and how we see it play out in our lives and in our careers. Dribbble's HANG TIME – Get $100 off admission! Stephen Gates How Design Live Join the community!

Is your portfolio truthful, is it a fair representation of your skills? Today’s episode comes by way of an email we had from a client, who asks this very question, and favours freelance market places as a result. We discuss how to make sure your portfolio is an accurate representation of your work, honestly. Dribbble Presents: Hang Time Quinn Keast’s portfolio Alejandra Quintero’s portfolio Daniel Eden’s portfolio

Job titles and promotions came up as a topic of conversation for us on Twitter recently and we thought it a topic worth diving deeper into, in this episode of Design Life. Sharing your job title with people gives them an insight into the work you do every day, but what if your title doesn’t reflect your responsibility or autonomy? We discuss the tips we use to explain our work in the best way possible and how you can too. Join the community!

In today’s episode we discuss running project retrospectives. Retros give the whole team the chance to reflect on what went well, what didn’t go well and any areas of opportunity to improve upon next time. Find out why we think that not running a project retrospective is a missed opportunity to give your next project the best chance to succeed.

Design documentation might not be the most exciting part of the design process but its importance cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately the people we work with cannot read our minds, which is why documenting our designs is crucial. Communicating the ‘how and why’ of our design’s functionality allows questions to be answered quickly and efficiently. Today we talk about how we document our designs and the tools we use daily. Flowkit library

In this week’s episode we get a little bit philosophical as we discuss the concept of done being better than perfect. This week’s episode comes by way of a listener comment, despite knowing that their design will only really come together in the end stage, they have a nagging doubt in their head that the project should look perfect at every step of the way. We discuss how we have overcome this doubt ourselves in the past and how done is better than perfect can often be good enough. Join the community!

What is an OKR? How can you best set and achieve goals at work? Join us for today’s episode, as we dive into the topic of goal setting and explore the process we use to help us achieve our goals.

What are design principles and how do they differ from design systems? In this episode we answer your questions about design principles and offer some direction as to how you can begin to define them for yourself.

Dealing with office politics? This episode of Design Life has you covered. We’re taking a break this week from our recent design focused episodes to answer a listener query - how best to deal with office politics. It can be tricky to keep a clear head when your work is impacted by factors outside of your control but doing so can make all the difference to your productivity.

In this episode of Design Life, we discuss running design sprints. In the Product/UX community for the last couple of years, design sprints have been growing in popularity. As a UX designer herself, Femke has run a couple of mini design sprints at Uber and found them useful. We talk about the what, why and how of design sprints and give you the steps you need to introduce them at your workplace. AJ & Smart‍ Sprint - The Design Sprint Book‍ Femke's Youtube Channel‍ Charli's series about Ecommerce with Webflow

Today we are talking about the a hot topic in the design industry - Design Systems. In today’s episode we share our experience of working with design systems, their benefits and how using an efficient design system can help your team. Join the community! Skillshare: Digital Product Design: Build a Flexible Design System That Lasts How to build your design system in Figma Complete guide to designing a site using a collaborative and powerful design system Design Systems at Deliveroo

In this week’s episode we talk about something which is pretty on-brand for us - weekly planning. We cover how to plan your week, how to stay motivated and how to get things done. We share what works for us and how we plan to update our scheduling routines this year.

Many people will start a new job this year, but how can you make sure you get off on the right foot? In this week’s episode of Design Life we answer a question from a listener about getting the best start at a new job. We share our experiences of our first week in a new role, how we’ve helped new members of our teams to get off to a good start and how you can too.

In the first episode of Design Life for 2019, we evaluate our 2018 goals and see what we achieved. We also look ahead and chat about our new goals for 2019, the things that are important to us, what we want to achieve and how we plan to do just that. Femke's YouTube Channel Shawn Blanc - Plan your year CharliMarieTV - 2019

Design challenges can prove a controversial topic, specifically the kind you might complete as part of a job application. Some people think they have merit while others think they tread a fine line between free labour and giving prospective candidates the opportunity to show their skills. We get to the heart of the matter in this week's episode of Design Life, sharing our personal experience and some news about the podcast!

Here at Design Life we are big fans of attending conferences, and probably attend well above the average each year. How do we choose which ones to go to and why do we prioritise our attendance at conferences so highly? In this episode we talk about our favourite conferences and why they have earned that title.

Your relationship with your manager is an important one. How can you best cultivate it? In this episode of Design Life we talk about how to build a good relationship with your manager, the traits of a good manager and women in management roles. Join the community!

As the Design Life podcast approaches its three year anniversary, we record another episode IRL. This week’s episode is a friendly catch up about our work and goals where we talk about some books, podcasts and apps we’re loving right now. Yoga by Candace Text Expander App It doesn't have to be crazy at work Women who Work Podcast How Millennials can get rich slowly Secure with Serena Financing Book Recommendations: The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing I Will Teach You to Be Rich Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Is your first idea ever your best idea? Is there ever a time where you design something once and then - BOOM! That’s it, done. In this episode of Design Life we discuss iteration. As a designer, when you design something new, it's the beginning of a process. Iteration takes practice. It takes time to refine your taste and your skill in design, you don’t just come up with one idea and call it done. We discuss the process and how we use iteration to our advantage in our work.

This unique episode of Design Life was recorded in Copenhagen after a fantastic weekend at Confront, a conference about dev and design. We are joined by a special guest, our friend and Design Life Community member Zach Grosser. For those who couldn’t be there, we share our key takeaways from the conference and chat about design systems, empathy and the relationship between dev and design.

Today we are talking about switching careers to become a designer. Charli was asked a question via her Youtube channel by a viewer who wants to switch from a career in marketing to a career in design. The feedback she has been given by recruiters so far is that she is over qualified for a junior role, but lacks the experience for a mid-weight design role. We try to shed some light on how our eager designer can use her prior experience to her advantage in her career switch.

Gaining stakeholder trust can greatly influence the success of your project, but where is the best place to start? In this week’s episode we share our tips and experience to make the process of gaining stakeholder trust as straightforward as possible.

In a slight change to our usual series on design careers, in this episode we talk about the compensation packages we have been offered at varying stages of our careers. How can you negotiate to get the most out of your compensation package, and what can be included? Find out how we have used our compensation packages to our benefit. Full takeaways at designlife.fm/episode/138

Personal branding can feel like an insurmountable task to many designers. Designing a personal brand that communicates personality, style and professionalism is no easy task. In previous episodes we have spoken about the importance of a purposeful personal brand, that accurately portrays who you are as a designer. However in today’s episode we talk about the nitty gritty details of our personal brands, the process we used to create them and how we got over some hurdles along the way. Webflow

There is still value to be found in sharing unfinished work, but does it really belong in your portfolio? In this episode we discuss sharing unfinished work, when it is appropriate and how to present it in the best light. Staying Convertkit Frederique Matti Join the community! 🎟 Follow us on Twitter! 🐦 Rate us on Apple Podcasts! 🎙

On Design Life this week, we talk about productivity in the workplace. Being productive at work is about doing what you need to do to get the job done while also being aware that other people need you. We share what works for us while working in an office and being remote. Basecamp Pomodoro Technique Design Life: Bullet journalling for task management

Many designers want to welcome more development skills into their toolkit and become a hybrid. In reality however, it can be a struggle to fit in the learning required to develop complementary skills while also completing the tasks you were hired to do! In this episode Charli shares her experience of becoming a hybrid, and the practical steps she took to expand her skillset. Treehouse SUPERHi

User testing, or usability testing, can help designers get to know their user even better. It can reveal insights into the use of the product or site that the team otherwise might never know. In this episode we discuss how user testing at Uber works, and how user testing can help to further develop designer’s empathy for the user, benefitting designers and the design process at the same time. Zoom conferencing tool usertesting.com WhatUsersDo InVision

In this episode we answer a question from a member of the Design Life community who is wondering if they should follow the advice to ‘fake it ’til you make it’. We discuss the pros and cons of ‘faking it’, how to use it as a tool to boost your confidence if you’re feeling unsure of yourself and when to know to stop. Sarah Doody on ‘Faking it ’til you make it’ Fake it ’til you make it for designers

Data can be a powerful tool in a designer’s toolkit. A/B testing can help to prove or disprove our design hypotheses by checking them against the data to see what actually works. In this episode we discuss our experience with A/B testing and how it can help you to become a better designers. Show Links: How Netflix does A/B testing A/B testing at Basecamp Google Optimize VWO

It’s easy to get stuck in the same routine – same job, same tasks, same projects. However there comes a time when maybe it’s time to move on to something new. In this episode we discuss experiences we’ve had with moving on to new endeavours, and how you know you’re ready for a change. Webflow Simplecast Say hi on Twitter! And provide us feedback via email at [email protected], review on iTunes, or in our community!

Have an idea for a new side project? With potentially a few already on the go, how do you make time for new side projects without neglecting your current ones? In this episode we talk about how we decide which side project ideas to pursue and how to decide which is worth investing in. Craft & Commerce Join the community!

User research is a vital part of the design process. It helps to inform your decisions and make sure that you’re designing the best solution to the problem. There are many different ways to do user research, and different points it could be involved in your process so that’s what we discuss in this episode! Jan Chipchase – Masterclass usertesting.com HotJar – website surveying

The creative process is like a rollercoaster. It has ups and downs, it can put you in a spin, and sometimes things are moving so fast you don’t even know what’s happening. In this episode we talk about the creative process and how we handle the low points to keep things moving.