Design Life

Do you sometimes feel guilty for taking a break? Maybe you tinker on things throughout your break to ease the guilt, or perhaps you feel the guilt after enjoying a weekend away. Well we feel that too, so that’s what we discuss in this episode. You’ll hear our feelings on this guilt, and our advice for overcoming it and allowing yourself the permission to relax. More at www.designlife.fm

Working from home is becoming more and more common as more creatives take on a freelance life, and more companies embrace the remote way of working. In this episode we discuss the pros and cons of making your living space your working space, and give advice for combatting loneliness, switching off and distraction. More at www.designlife.fm

Us designers can be emotional people. We love our jobs and we feel passionately about our creative projects. But what happens when that passion wanes? In this episode we talk about what it’s like to lose the passion you once had for a project, and what to do about it. More at www.designlife.fm

Learning a new skill can be hard, especially when you’re teaching yourself. But it’s also a vital part of growing as a designer throughout your career. In this episode we chat about how we teach ourselves new skills, the struggles we face, and how we deal with them. More at www.designlife.fm

Struggling with confidence is a big problem creatives face. We’ve all had days where we feel like we can’t keep going on our creative journey; that we’re not good enough and should just give up. But facing those hurdles is a part of the learning process and something we have to learn to deal with. In this episode we discuss confidence issues and give advice on ways to feel more confident in your work and abilities. More at www.designlife.fm

Sending a client the deliverables is the last step of a project, so it’s one that can have a lasting impression. In this episode we discuss our process for sending client deliverables and some improvements we want to make to end the project on a really professional note. More at www.designlife.fm

Stepping out of your comfort zone is something you have to do every now and then to learn and develop. In this episode we talk about what that means for us in terms of our side projects, taking on new opportunities, and also with our design style. More at www.designlife.fm

When you’ve got a tight deadline to meet (or when you’ve just got a lot to do) little tricks to speed up your workflow can make all the difference. In this episode we talk about how our workflows have improved over the years and suggest some ideas for you to try. More at www.designlife.fm

The design world has gotten a little too perfect. All we see are beautiful finished products. The ideas thrown out along the way never get shared. But there is value in sharing your process and it can help others learn. In this episode we talking about perfectionism and sharing, and about how we need to see more crappy work. More at www.designlife.fm

How do your personal morals fit in with your design work? As designers, and as humans, we have a responsibility to think about the user and put forward work that makes the world better rather than worse. In this episode we discuss ethics and morals, and share examples of a few things we draw the line on. More at www.designlife.fm

In this episode we reflect on what it’s been like to leave design school and start designing full time. We cover the many differences in the design process and the people you work with in school vs out in the “real world” and share advice for making the transition smoother. More at www.designlife.fm

When it comes to creating content online, consistency is the key to building a reputation and an audience. In this episode we discuss how we stay consistent with our content creation and share advice for how to overcome some common struggles. More at www.designlife.fm

Remote working is becoming more and more common, and more and more desirable these days. In this episode we discuss our remote jobs and share advice for focussing and connecting with your team as a remote worker, and making the most of your nomadic situation. More at www.designlife.fm

When it comes to your design career, you need to think about what you want out of it and where you want to end up in the future so that you can make steps towards it now, and make choices that align with those goals. In this episode we discuss the career goals of our listeners (and our own!) and share tips for figuring out what you want, and working towards it. More at www.designlife.fm

Constraints breed creativity. If they’re not too restrictive, they give you a starting point and a box to think outside of. In this episode we discuss how to see constraints in a positive light and share advice for setting your own constraints on side projects. We also talk about what to do when a client is overly prescriptive and the constraints box you into a corner, and how to treat budget and time constraints as a good thing. More at www.designlife.fm

Lack of focus is our biggest enemy when it comes to productivity. In this episode we talk about focus time and how we can create it for ourselves. We discuss some different apps and techniques that help towards finding focus, but we also talk about the fact that focus looks different for everyone. The thing that helps someone else focus may not work for you, but it’s about experimenting and seeing what sticks. More at www.designlife.fm

When it comes to getting jobs in creative industries, your portfolio is more important than your resumé. Your portfolio should show your best work, and should demonstrate why you’re the person to hire for the job. It can be tough to create a good one. There are lots of decisions to be made, from what work to include and how to talk about it, to what platform to use and how much process to show. In this episode we share advice for all of these things and more. More at www.designlife.fm

The start of a new year is the perfect time for you to think about what you want to get out of the year ahead, and set some goals. In this episode we get super honest and share our audience building, teaching, learning, financial, content and health goals for 2017. And of course we give some advice for setting your own goals for the coming year. Be ambitious, and let’s make it a good one! More at http://192.241.209.196

The people you surround yourself with can have a huge impact on your life. That impact can be positive and uplifting, or it could be negative and crush your dreams; it’s up to you. In this episode we talk about how to find inspiring people and make them a part of your life, and also about how to let go of people who might be having a negative impact on you. More at www.designlife.fm

Sometimes you have to say no to really good opportunities, whether that be because you’re too busy to take them on, or because you want to make sure there is still room for great opportunities to come your way. In this episode share our experiences with saying no to things we might otherwise have said yes to, and give some advice for figuring out whether or not you should say yes to something. More at Design Life.

A contract is an essential part of being a freelancer. Even if you’re just starting out, it’s valuable to put one in to your process as soon as possible. In this episode we share advice for creating your contract and some hurdles to watch out for, alongside so many useful resources in our show notes. More at www.designlife.fm

Content marketing doesn’t have to be a thing only big businesses do to seem like they know their customers; it’s something we as creatives can do to get our names out there, attract the right type of client, and become a part of the creative community by giving knowledge back. In this episode we discuss the benefits we’ve gotten from content marketing, as well as tips for creating content. More at www.designlife.fm

When you market yourself for freelance work, there are two main ways to brand yourself: as an individual or as a studio. In this episode we discuss the pros and cons of each and help you figure out which option is best for you. More at www.designlife.fm

For Design Life’s one year anniversary episode we invited our listeners to send in an audio recording telling us about something they’re struggling with at the moment. We do our best to answer their questions about managing time, confidence, finding clients and opportunities, and creating content.In this episode you’ll hear advice for getting through the struggles and share our own stories on the topics. More at www.designlife.fm

We often hear stories of designers waiting months for payment. It’s hard asking for money, so how do you get clients to pay up? In this episode we talk about issues with payments, and share advice for making the payment process professional and easy. Remember, you deserve to be paid for your work in a timely manner, and there are things you should be doing that will help make this happen. More at www.designlife.fm

Going to conferences is something most professionals end up doing at some point in their career. But when should you start going to some? How do you know which ones are best? What should you do when you’re there? We discuss all these things in this latest episode and share how conferences have impacted our careers, as well as give you advice for how to get the most value from them. More at www.designlife.fm

Hustle is a buzz-word we see a lot these days. In this episode we discuss what it means to us, and the effect it has on our mental state and our work. It’s easy to feel a lot of pressure to hustle when you see others achieving so much, but it’s important not to let the hustle take over your life, so listen in for some advice on balancing that. More at www.designlife.fm

Repositioning your niche or your content isn’t necessarily about what you’re doing, but how you’re doing it. You may find yourself going down a path that’s not quite right for you, or perhaps your goal changes and you need to reposition to reflect that. In this episode we talk in detail about some changes we’re making to the content we put out online and why we feel this change is necessary. More at www.designlife.fm

The topic of pricing is often taboo in the design world, but we think it helps everyone to talk more openly about it. In this episode we discuss how we price our work, and how that’s changed from when we started out in design. We also debate the merits of project based vs hourly pricing. More at www.designlife.fm

Harsh critique is something we all encounter, and when you’ve not yet built up a thick skin it can be very hard to deal with. In this episode we give you advice for taking this feedback on board without letting it affect you emotionally. More at www.designlife.fm

Getting a job in the design industry is all about building up experience and making connections. In this episode we talk about how we’ve landed the creative roles we’ve had so far, and share advice for portfolios, job hunting, and nailing an interview. More at www.designlife.fm

With freelance projects, last impressions can have just as much meaning as a first impression; you need to make your wrap-up process count! In this episode you’ll hear advice for finishing up a client project and getting feedback to both improve your process, and use as a testimonial.

Time and energy are precious resources, and in order not to waste them we must be picky with what opportunities we take on, and what ideas we act on. In this episode we discuss our process for deciding what side projects and client briefs we work on, and which we say ‘no’ to. More at www.designlife.fm

Freelancing websites that offer the opportunity to bid for projects or compete to have your logo design chosen by a company are damaging to the way design is valued. In this episode we discuss our thoughts and experiences with these sites and explain why they should be avoided. More at www.designlife.fm

Getting a degree is not a requirement for making it in the design industry, and that means that it is up to us to make the most of our time at design school to get the most value from it. You shouldn’t sit back and do the bare minimum; you should make the most of the opportunities and contacts available to you at your school and push yourself to do more than just get good grades. In this episode we discuss our design school experience and share some things we wish we’d known, or done differently while we were studying. More at www.designlife.fm

A fear of failure can hold us back from going after opportunities, starting new projects, and aiming high. In this episode we talk about how failure is a natural part of the learning and making process, and it’s only an end point if we let it be. In the end the only real failure is giving up, or not even trying it in the first place. You’ll hear advice for pushing through this fear, and hear us talk about the mindset shift you need in order to see the positives in your failures. Find out more at www.designlife.fm

There are three main types of design job: agency/studio (where you work as part of a team who does work for clients), freelance (where you work for yourself and have your own clients) and in-house (where you’re a designer on a team at a single company working on projects for them). They each have their own pros and cons, and we discuss them in this episode. We’ll also give you advice for choosing the path that suits you best. More at www.designlife.fm

In the tech industry especially, there is a lot of pressure on designers to excel at everything involved in the design and development process and be “unicorns”. In this episode we discuss how the phrase ‘Jack of all trades; master of none’ applies to the design industry, and the pitfalls of spreading yourself thin across many different disciplines. We believe in being specialists rather than generalists and we’ll explain why, as well as give you advice for finding out what you’re best at. More at www.designlife.fm

Bringing a new client onboard is the start of a new working relationship, and it’s important to get it started on the right foot. Having an onboarding process in place to streamline this beginning phase can save you time and also set expectations with your potential client. In this episode we discuss our process, and share advice for figuring out your own. More at www.designlife.fm

Do you work to live, or live to work? Often the latter is seen as a negative thing, but we beg to differ. In this episode we talk about our attitude towards work and how we see it as an integrated part of our life; not a necessary evil. You’ll hear tips for finding fulfilment and looking at your job in a positive light, and encouragement to make changes if the way in which you spend the majority of your day is not enriching your life. Work is a part of our identity, and we don’t think that’s a bad thing! More at www.designlife.fm

Defining a niche means targeting a specific audience with your work and content. In this episode we discuss the benefits of this focussed approach and discuss the niche(s) we’re aiming our content at. You’ll hear advice for choosing a niche, and we’ll quell any fears that you’ll find it harder to build an audience or find clients if you don’t appeal to everyone. Trust us; you will! More at www.designlife.fm

Design tools are all the things we use to bring our ideas to life. In this episode we discuss the software we design in, the resources we use, the analogue items we take our workflow offline with, and our top little workflow hacks. While learning design tools doesn’t automatically make you a good designer, it is good to know what tools professional designers use day-to-day to see which ones you should focus your attention on. We use different tools for different tasks and we share them all along with some background on how we learned to use them. More at www.designlife.fm

No one is born knowing how to lead a successful life. That’s something we learn along the way from role models. In this episode we discuss the value and importance we place on role models and share our attitude towards taking inspiration from them while still following our own path. More at www.designlife.fm

Things get philosophical in this episode as we talk about the importance of living in the ‘now’. It’s so easy to look at successful people and feel pressured to hustle more so that you can achieve what they have, but if you don’t enjoy the journey towards your goals and find fulfilment in the process, will you ever feel content? We want you to know it’s okay to have down time! In this episode we share tips for remembering to enjoy your present, and how this works in with your future goals. More at www.designlife.fm

Procrastination is the enemy of productivity. The most important thing to do when you’re procrastinating is to take note of the reasons why you’re doing it and try to learn from them for next time. In this episode we talk about what we do when we procrastinate (and what tasks we procrastinate from) and give you advice for breaking through those low-productivity moments. More at www.designlife.fm

Feedback is essential to your work whether it comes from fellow designers, your audience, your clients, or your own gut! In this episode we talk about different types of feedback and when and how to ask for it. We also give advice on ways to improve the quality of the feedback you get so that it will be more useful to your work. More at www.designlife.fm

Design trends are visual elements or design systems that sweep over the web and start appearing on many different websites. As with most things, there is a time and a place to follow trends and when you’re just starting out in the industry you can feel pressure to make your designs look like the ‘professionals’. In this episode we discuss the impact trends have on our design styles and the level of attention we give to them. More at www.designlife.fm

The process you follow for design projects will vary depending on the type of work and the client, but in this episode we discuss the basic process we follow for designing websites. We give advice for wireframing, dealing with client feedback and revisions. Your design process is something that will evolve over time and it’s a good idea to always be open to learning new techniques and improving on your process. More at www.designlife.fm

Things get deep this week as we discuss a fear that many creatives have: what if nobody notices my work? When you work hard on something, and especially if the result is something that could help people, there’s no shame in wanting that work to be seen and appreciated. A lack of recognition or attention can be hard to deal with, especially if you’re not seeing growth in something you’ve been working on for a while. In this episode we chat about situations where we’ve felt this fear, and give solutions for how to deal with it. More at www.designlife.fm

Being a part of the design community is an important part of being a designer. When designers come together to share ideas and discuss their work it benefits the whole industry because we can stand together against things like working for free. Participating in design communities both online and offline has helped increase our passion for what we do, and has been so valuable. In this episode you’ll hear us discuss the communities we’re a part of and hear advice for joining communities when you’re just starting out in the industry. More at www.designlife.fm