Design Life

223: Why focusing on your portfolio will pay off

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spending time on your portfolio is time well spent when searching for a new job, but how can you maximise your portfolio even further? Today on Design...

222: Taking initiative at work

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode of Design Life we talk about something every designer needs to do in order to progress in their career - take initiative. The fur...

221: Building design team culture

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today on Design Life we chat about building design team culture. A strong culture can help your team to have more impact in your company. Building des...

220: The relationship between design and product

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today on Design Life we tackle a listener question on a topic we haven’t gone in depth on before - how to work with PMs, POs and other stakeholders....

219: Daily themes to get more work done

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Do you use daily themes to get more work done? Today we chat about the challenges and benefits of implementing daily themes to organise your schedule ...

218: Become a manager or stay an IC?

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is becoming a manager the next step in your career? How can you figure out if being a manager will be a good fit for you? In today’s episode we disc...

217: Why you should share your work

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There are many benefits to working in public but sometimes it can be difficult for designers to share their work. This week on Design Life we talk abo...

216: Taking ownership of your career growth

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today on Design Life we discuss taking ownership of your career growth. Pursuing your dream career takes courage but the risk is worth the reward. In ...

215: Running a hack day

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever thought about organising a hack or jam day at your work? A hack, hackathon or jam day is an event for you and your team to put aside you...

214: Our daily routines

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How has your daily routine changed over the past year? Working from home has meant our daily routines have adapted so that we start a little later, sp...

213: Balancing work and side projects

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How do we balance our side projects and our full time jobs? This is a question we get asked a lot! The thing is, time gets filled up very easily. You’...

212: Inside the design hiring process

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week on Design Life we want to talk about hiring from the perspective of the person doing the hiring. In the past we’ve talked a lot about find...

211: Ageism in the tech industry

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode of Design Life we talk about ageing and ageism in the tech industry. This is something we’ve started to think about more recent...

210: Our plans for 2021

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Join the community! 

209: Reflecting on our careers & side hustles in 2020

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This year has been a year like no other, which is all the more reason to look back and reflect on what we have learned and what has changed since the ...

208: Should you use a Notion doc as your portfolio?

15 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

 From the outside it seems like a quick and easy way to share your work and who you are as a designer, with a lower entry level than customising your...

207: Outsourcing work and hiring help for side projects

02 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This can be difficult to do as a creator because you might have the skills to do the work yourself, but not the time.  In this episode we talk about ...

206: How to have productive meetings

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Design Life we discuss how to have a productive meeting, remotely. This year has seen a huge increase in remote working and has cha...

205: How designers could use Facebook ads to get clients

17 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We chat about how to use social media advertising to get in front of clients as a designer, to drive traffic to your site and to remind people of your...

204: Speeding up the design process

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Do you always get the freedom to see your design process through from start to finish? On this episode of Design Life we talk about speeding up the de...

203: Running a design-focused Instagram

20 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

If you listened to our last episode you might have heard that Femke recently launched @femkedotdesign, an online space that focuses solely on design a...

202: Charli gets a promotion!

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Taking on a new role in any company is an exciting time with lots of opportunities to learn and develop your skills but taking on a newly developed ro...

201: Being the only designer on the team

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Get 10% off any new annual Webflow plan using the code “designlife” at http://wfl.io/designlife Join the design life communitySupport the show by...

200: Does using design freebies make you less of a designer?

22 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to Webflow for sponsoring this episode! Webflow gives designers the power of code in a visual interface, and both of your Design Life hosts lov...

199: How direct is TOO direct with feedback?

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to Webflow for sponsoring this episode! Webflow gives designers the power of code in a visual interface, and both of your Design Life hosts lov...

198: Making friends at work

08 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to Webflow for sponsoring this episode! Webflow gives designers the power of code in a visual interface, and both of your Design Life hosts lov...

197: Should you go to design school?

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join the design life communitySupport the show by buying a Pin!Submit a topic

196: Should you have to work nights and weekends to succeed in tech?

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Join the design life communitySupport the show by buying a Pin!Submit a topic

195: Working with freelancers

11 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The inspiration for this topic came from Charli’s new series ‘Inside Marketing Design’ where she speaks with marketing designers working with th...

194: The future of AI/ML in design

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s episode of Design Life we talk about future proofing your skills to help you establish a long lasting career, by leveraging new technolog...

193: Too many meetings

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever felt that you have so many meetings in one week that you don’t have time to get your work done? If this is the case finding focus time...

192: How to reach out for advice

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Charli's new series - Inside Marketing DesignGet Femke's advice through SuperpeerJoin our Patreon!

191: Attaching self worth to your work

30 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We spotted a tweet recently that said instead of working from home we’re living at work, a sentiment we can agree with. If your self worth is attach...

190: Creating design processes and workflows

24 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today on the Design Life podcast, we’re talking about processes and design operations. Writing briefs, developing processes and reviewing workflows ...

189: Why are there so few women in design leadership?

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Design Life we ask the question why are there so few women in design leadership? When Femke tweeted recently wondering why there is...

188: Creating and launching a digital product

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Grayscale - Charli's font!Glyphs font softwareTeela Cunningham font course

187: Launching a big project

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Convert Kit HomepageAngie KwanJoin our Patreon!

186: Design QA Process

19 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Although we work for companies of different sizes and on vastly different kinds of projects, there are more similarities between our QA reviews than t...

185: Facilitating workshops with Jonathan Courtney (AJ&Smart)

05 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan has worked with companies like Lego, Twitter and even the UN, running sprints to make design decision making easier. Following on from our re...

184: Making design decisions

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As designers, we make a lot of decisions. From moving something two pixels to the left to redesigning an entire website, our decisions range in diffic...

183: Design reviews and getting feedback

21 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Design reviews can seem a bit like a holy grail but using them to the designer’s advantage to create a successful project is key. We dive deep into ...

182: Starting a new side project

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On this episode of Design Life we are talking side projects. You might have a few ideas bouncing around in your mind of late, that keep coming back to...

181: Getting through a motivation slump

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode of Design Life, we have a timely discussion about our motivation while working from home. These are unprecedented times we’...

180: Working from home during COVID-19

24 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Many people find themselves working from home at the moment as workplaces play their part in helping to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. For those ...

179: How to build your network

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Design Life we discuss how to build your network. Over the course of your career, how can you build a strong, supportive network? W...

178: Performance reviews

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Giving and receiving feedback can be tricky. In this episode we talk about performance reviews, which is quite timely as both of us have just finished...

177: Keeping your portfolio up to date

19 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As designers we have very high expectations of our own portfolios. Try to take the pressure off. Don’t overthink it. Build a system so you can easil...

176: Tackling implementation issues between design and development

11 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

We have both experienced the frustration of being asked to sign off on our designs only to find that either a small part of the project or a large chu...

175: The other side of design (it's more than pushing pixels)

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 - planni...

174: How to start and grow a design Youtube Channel

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

173: Setting Goals and Intentions in 2020

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 epi...

172: Fulfilling your potential

11 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

171: Learnings from Adobe Max

03 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 Adob...

170: Jumping from junior to senior designer

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

169: Within Design Retreat

22 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 lead...

168: When your ideas aren't considered

08 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

167: Career progression

24 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 st...

166: Having difficult conversations

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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

165: Staying creative during life changes

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 rece...

164: How to get your first design job

24 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 experien...

163: Earning passive income

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 Li...

162: CEO and designer, Helen Tran

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

161: The project kickoff

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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, whic...

160: Every creative feels broken inside

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode comes by way of a talk Charli heard at the How Design Live conference in Chicago. Stephen Gates delivered a thought provoking presentatio...

159: Is your portfolio a lie?

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

158: Job titles, are they important?

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ep...

157: Project retrospectives

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

156: Creating effective design documentation

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Design documentation might not be the most exciting part of the design process but its importance cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately the people w...

155: Done is better than perfect

09 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

154: Goal Setting and OKR's

02 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

153: Creating Design Principles

18 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

152: Navigating office politics

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

151: Running Design Sprints

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

150: Working with design systems

18 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 desig...

149: Weekly Planning

22 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 motiva...

148: Getting the best start at a new job

14 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

147: Goals for 2019

07 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

146: Design Challenges, is it spec work?

04 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Design challenges can prove a controversial topic, specifically the kind you might complete as part of a job application. Some people think they have ...

145: Investing in conferences

20 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

144: What to look for in a manager

13 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 go...

143: 3 Things we recommend right now

06 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ou...

142: Iteration

29 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 De...

141: Confront Conference with Zach Grosser

16 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

140: How to switch careers

08 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

139: Working with stakeholders

01 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

138: Salaries and bonuses

18 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 stag...

137: Personal brand design

10 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Personal branding can feel like an insurmountable task to many designers. Designing a personal brand that communicates personality, style and professi...

136: Sharing unfinished work

03 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 unfinishe...

135: Productivity in the workplace

27 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

134: Why we stopped freelancing

20 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

133: Becoming a hybrid

13 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

132: User Testing in the design process

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

131: Should you fake it till you make it?

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

130: How A/B testing can improve your design

17 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 da...

129: When do you know it’s time to move on?

09 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

128: Making time for new side projects

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 curr...

127: User research in the design process

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

126: The rollercoaster of the creative process

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

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...

125: Travelling for work

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

As designers our jobs can be done from anywhere! Ironically this can often mean that we don’t need to travel for work within a company, but opportun...

124: Getting content for your designs

28 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

There’s often more to a project than just design. As designers we regularly find ourselves working with illustrators, copywriters, photographers and...