
Design Life
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.
Latest episodes

May 25, 2021 • 32min
224: Crafting effective case studies
Today on Design Life we chat about how to craft an effective case study. Sharing a project through a case study should involve telling the reader what you did, how you did it and most importantly why you did it, but often this storytelling is missing from the case studies we see. Join us as we dive deep into how to craft a great case study that shows off not just your project, but your skills too.

May 18, 2021 • 27min
223: Why focusing on your portfolio will pay off
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 Life we share our advice on how to create a unique portfolio that describes your core skillset effectively.

May 10, 2021 • 29min
222: Taking initiative at work
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 further you want to get, the more initiative you need to show. Taking initiative might sound like working harder, but really it means working smarter and coming up with better solutions to the problems you are presented with.

May 3, 2021 • 30min
221: Building design team culture
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 design team culture improves how you get the work done and how you operate as a team, it can also make your team a more enjoyable place to work. We also discuss how Charli's approach to team building has changed since she became a manager.

Apr 19, 2021 • 29min
220: The relationship between design and product
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. Not familiar with these titles? Don’t worry! Listen as we dive deep into how to make the most of the relationship between product and design so you can make your best work.

Apr 13, 2021 • 34min
219: Daily themes to get more work done
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 in a new role and to give your current schedule a productivity boost.

Apr 7, 2021 • 32min
218: Become a manager or stay an IC?
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 discuss why a move into management isn't the best course of action for every designer and what to consider before making the leap.

Mar 27, 2021 • 31min
217: Why you should share your work
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 about how to start sharing your work and some prompts to help you begin.

Mar 15, 2021 • 30min
216: Taking ownership of your career growth
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 this episode we answer a question from a listener about how to discuss career growth with your manager as a junior designer and also as a woman. We share the times that we have succeeded, and failed, at taking that leap in our own careers and what we have learned along the way.

Feb 23, 2021 • 28min
215: Running a hack day
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 your usual work and focus on one project or idea, an opportunity to make progress within a tight time constraint, like one day or a half a day. In this episode Femke shares her experience of running jam days at Uber as Charli prepares to run a hack day for her team at Convertkit.