Design Life
Charli Prangley, Femke Van Schoonhoven
Design Life is a podcast about design and side projects for motivated creators. It was born after your hosts, two serial side project addicts, saw a gap in the podcast market for a conversational show about design and the issues young creatives face, that was hosted by two females.
This show aims to tackle the big issues designers face like getting paid, overcoming a creative block or managing time, to name a few. We want to open up discussion about things we wish we heard people talk about when we were studying, and we want to chat to you about the joys and the frustrations of working in the tech industry by day, and on our passion projects in the rest of our waking hours. We hope that by doing so, Design Life will give you a dose of motivation or inspiration when you need it.
This show aims to tackle the big issues designers face like getting paid, overcoming a creative block or managing time, to name a few. We want to open up discussion about things we wish we heard people talk about when we were studying, and we want to chat to you about the joys and the frustrations of working in the tech industry by day, and on our passion projects in the rest of our waking hours. We hope that by doing so, Design Life will give you a dose of motivation or inspiration when you need it.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 7, 2019 • 38min
147: Goals for 2019
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
Dec 4, 2018 • 39min
146: Design Challenges, is it spec work?
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!
Nov 20, 2018 • 31min
145: Investing in conferences
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.
Nov 13, 2018 • 27min
144: What to look for in a manager
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!
Nov 6, 2018 • 29min
143: 3 Things we recommend right now
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
Oct 29, 2018 • 35min
142: Iteration
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.
Oct 16, 2018 • 27min
141: Confront Conference with Zach Grosser
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.
Oct 8, 2018 • 31min
140: How to switch careers
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.
Oct 1, 2018 • 38min
139: Working with stakeholders
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.
Sep 18, 2018 • 37min
138: Salaries and bonuses
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
