Today we look at if it’s ever too late to get into design. We tackle two listeners questions around this topic and give our best tips for how to break into the creative industry at any age. Without further ado, let’s get into the show.  

Today we talk about the danger of blending in as a designer. Your four hosts take an in-depth look at the best ways to stand out and get your work noticed more. Without further ado, let’s get into the show.  

Today we’re super excited to welcome designer, illustrator and longtime listener Meg Sayers to the show.  Meg was one of the first daily challenges to come from the podcast and her illustration work has started to really take off.  So much so that she is feeling overworked and completely burned out. We try to rally around Meg today to figure out the best solution and discuss at length effective ways for how she can increase her prices.

In this week’s episode, we try something a little different and invent a design agency live, unscripted and with no rehearsal. We thought it would be fun for the four of us to brainstorm the steps we would take if we were actually starting our own design company together. You’ll learn how Dustin is really all about the money, and how we plan on landing our first few clients with Lisa’s sweet talking.  Hopefully amidst all the silliness you will find some actionable frameworks for steps that you can apply to your own creative endeavours.

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Allie Toney - a super talented young designer who actually works with us here at Design Cuts.  Allie brings a great perspective to the show in terms of what it’s like to be a young designer fresh out of college. It was fascinating to hear what graduates are feeling as they find their way in the creative industry, as well as getting a first-hand look at the creative college experience.

In this week’s episode, we try to help regular listener Teresa McGregor with her design business. Teresa is currently feeling totally lost. Her clients are underpaying her, she doesn’t know how to attract a higher quality of client and she doesn’t know how to focus her website and brand in order to move her business forward. There was a lot to discuss in this episode, but we hope that our suggestions not only help provide clarity for Teresa, but for many listening at home going through similar thing. 

In this week’s episode we talk all about how to get your clients more excited about your design work. Let’s face it, clients are not going to geek out about design the same way as we do. However, getting your clients more involved in the process and more engaged in your outcome, can make your life as a designer a whole lot easier.  

In this week’s episode, we talk all about how to use design to sell stuff effectively. Dustin believes that design is simply art intended to help sell, and we tend to agree with him. With that in mind how do we ensure that our design work is effective as well as simply being aesthetically pleasing? Without further ado, let’s get into the show!

In this week’s episode we’re doing something a little different. We’ve had a couple of design topics lined up to chat about, but ended up getting totally lost in a discussion amongst ourselves about social media – how to build a loyal following around your creations and a mindset around chasing likes and followers. It’s a little on the marketing side of things, but so relevant for so many creatives out there.  

In this week’s episode we’re incredibly excited to welcome world renowned animator and digital artist Aaron Blaise to the show. We’ll introduce Aaron properly in a second, but suffice to say he’s one of our most fascinating guests ever and all of us had an absolute blast recording this episode with him.

In this week’s episode, we’re going to be your personal cheerleaders, talking all about how to find your confidence as a designer. Confidence can have such a profoundly positive impact on your creative work, your client relationships and even your mental health.

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.