In this week’s episode, we discuss how to make your clients happier. A happy client often equals a happy designer, yet so many designers aren’t proactive enough into thinking about how to delight their clients. We share a ton of tips in this episode about how to foster your client relationships, so this is a good one folks.

In this week’s episode we weigh out working for a creative agency vs. going alone as a freelancer. Your hosts have spent time on both sides of the fence, so we aim to bring some real perspective for the pros and cons of each.

In this week’s episode we chat with Dustin and Lisa about their ongoing daily creative challenges. Both of your hosts have been putting out a piece of design every single day for the past few months on social media, and the results have been surprising and inspiring. On this show we talk a lot about consistency, practice and the best ways to find your creative styles. This episode shows you the nuts and bolts of exactly how to do that.

In this week’s episode we are really excited to welcome a very very special guest to the show. Today we are joined by Mr. Aaron Draplin, who is one of the most respected designers in the industry, a bit of a personal hero for all four of your hosts and undeniably a super engaging character too.  Aaron drops some incredible knowledge throughput this episode, so we hope you get a tone of value from it, wherever you are listening.

In this week's episode we talk about how to define your brand as a designer. If your brand is how the world perceives you, then defining it can involve some big questions and though decisions, however a solid brand can be a huge catalyst to success as a creative.

In this week’s episode we talk discuss how often the work of design becomes just work. Are you losing the initial passion for you design work because other stuff is taking over? Is it starting to feel like just a job? If so, then this is the episode for you.  

In this week’s episode we discuss design trends. It can often feel like design trends are changing constantly, making it pretty hard to keep up. After all, how do you keep your work feeling current and original, all while standing out against all the noise happening in your industry?

In this week’s episode, we discuss how to be more assertive as a designer. Often it doesn’t come natural to stand up to clients, put our foot down and get what we really want. However, respecting your time and profession can pay dividends for any designer.  We hope this episode will help you find that balance.

In this week’s episode we discuss how to take a vacation when you’re a self-employed creative. It can be really stressful to feel like you’re abandoning your creative business, clients and customers whenever you want to take some time off, but this is obviously not the healthiest mind set. Today we discuss how all four of us have worked to combat this, and talk about some effective steps you can take to have a guilt free vacation this year.

In this week's episode we take a question from listener Andy Thompson, about how to get paid on time by your clients. There is literally nothing worse than a client holding out on you. At best it can be frustrating and at worst it can be financially devastating. We talk about how to take back some of the power and ensure you get paid in full and on time by your design clients in the future.

In this week’s episode we take a question from Lisa of Lisa’s Balcony, a super talented designer and regular listener of the show. Lisa asked us about how to plan ahead for your creative business, in particular how to create an effective annual plan that you can actually stick too. We dig into a ton of actionable tips in this episode, which we hope you’ll find very useful. 

In this week’s episode we talk about how to best sell physical products as a designer. From posters to t-shirts, this is an in-depth look at how to bring in some additional income by utilising your creative skill set.  Just to caveat that none of your hosts are experts, but we do come at this from the same perspective as many of our listeners, trying to just figure out, brainstorm and work out the best course of action for selling physical products. 

In this week’s episode we take another listener question, this time from Meg who’s asking whether she should follow her true passion or stick with what she knows. This is a great discussion that hopefully every designer at home can learn something from.  

In this week’s episode we talk all about competition in the design industry. There will always be other designers bidding for the attention of your current and potential clients, and it can be really easy to let this stress you out. However, it can also be empowering to realise that you’re ultimately in control of how much competition you encounter and how you react to this.

In this week’s episode we talk about the serious issue of people stealing your work. From Lisa’s terrible experience with a big corporation illegally sharing her work to the day to day theft that occurs in the design industry, we discuss how to keep a positive mind set, how to avoid losing your motivation and what legal steps you may have on your side.

In this week’s episode we answer a question from regular listener Dave Clayton. Dave wants to better understand what makes a winning design product. Whilst we dig deep into our experiences selling design resources and the nitty-gritty of what’s behind a best-seller, there’s plenty of food for thought when it comes to selling virtually anything with the aid of good design.

In this week’s episode we look at bearing your soul and putting your true authentic self into your design work. This is of course much easier said than done, but when you start being truly unfiltered in your creative work it can lead to some pretty amazing stuff happening.

In this week’s episode we look at how external stresses can impact your design work mindset and even your creative business. From depression to recession, there is a ton going on in your world and the wider world, and it’s important not to underestimate the impact this can have upon your creativity.

In this week’s episode we discuss how to get out of your own head and see the wider picture. In design, it can be really easy to get blinked in your work, but it’s so crucial to get inside the head of your clients and those people experiencing your design work. This week we look exactly at how to do that, and ultimately how to make yourself a better designer in the process.

In this week’s episode we chat again about creative burnout. This is a serious issue we’ve covered right about at the start of this podcast and it’s something that still impacts all of us today. We share what has been working for us as well as sharing our ongoing struggles with creative burnout, to try and help all of you out listening at home.

In this week’s episode we chat about sticking with your creative endeavours. Consistency is so important to improving as a designer, but often life and our own mind set can get in our way. Today we dig into the best ways to ensure that you keep going and practice your skills on a consistent basis.  

In today's episode Dustin asks his co-hosts about his struggles learning a new creative skill (illustration). Our answers shed some light on the best ways to explore new creative mediums.

In this week’s episode we chat all about how to hire if you’re working in the creative industry. So many of our listeners are looking to start growing their creative businesses beyond themselves, and whether you’re looking to build a team or just to delegate some of those jobs that don’t inspire you so much, this episode is a guide on how to do it. We also help our very own Lisa Glanz with her fear of delegation and try to work around the problems she currently is struggling with in growing her operation beyond just herself. 

In this week’s episode we share some embarrassing stories about when things have gone seriously wrong for us as designers. From bizarre looking safari animals to a gorilla design that looks more like a pineapple - stay tuned to find out some of our biggest failures over the years. We really don’t hold back in this episode, and we hope you enjoy the honesty.

In this week’s episode we chat some more about how to start a freelance design business. We look at how to make that initial rocky road into freelancing freedom a little bit more steady. If you’re looking to build a solid foundation for your creative business and freelancing efforts, then today’s episode is for you.