Inside Marketing Design

In this episode, Charli talks with Carra Sykes, Design Manager at PLANOLY. Carra talks about the evolution of social media, and how the shift toward video has impacted her team and the need for marketing designers with a broader skillset. She also talks about marketing design challenges, and how she balances her desire for high quality and the need to iterate quickly. PLANOLY is a social media content management and scheduling tool designed to simplify the social marketing process.Key Takeaways02:05 - How does the Marketing Design Team fit into PLANOLY’s overall structure?02:52 - Carra’s day-to-day responsibilities as a Design Manager04:27 - What the Marketing Design Team is responsible for07:08 - How Carra describes the PLANOLY brand08:59 - How PLANOLY maintains brand consistency12:02 - How social media design has evolved15:41 - Carra’s process for creating video ads17:31 - Designing for video vs still graphics24:24 - Marketing a product or feature that doesn’t exist yet27:03 - How marketing and product collaborate at PLANOLY29:01 - Carra’s approach to product imagery in design35:24 - How Carra works through ideas that didn’t work37:00 - Who owns and manages the marketing site at PLANOLY41:18 - Working with contractors and agencies50:02 - The biggest challenges Carra is currently facing53:03 - Carra’s proudest moment Links PLANOLY.comCarra on LinkedInHubSpotFigmaAdobeConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, Charli talks with Monika Pawlik, Lead Marketing Designer at Funding Circle. Monika talks about how she and her team have collaborated and stayed a tight-knit group through lots of change, working with external agencies, and how Funding Circle’s most successful campaign came to fruition.Funding Circle is a UK-based lending platform that offers specialized funding options for small businesses. Key Takeaways02:14 - Monika’s role as Lead Marketing Designer04:35 - Where the design team sits in the larger org structure06:24 - How designers collaborate at Funding Circle09:22 - How Monika describes the Funding Circle brand13:01 - How Funding Circle produces TV commercials17:56 - Working with external agencies20:46 - The neon campaign25:43 - The impact of Funding Circle’s most successful campaign28:57 - How much of Monika’s work is print vs digital30:02 - The differences between print and digital design33:03 - How Funding Circle measures the success of print campaigns35:28 - Monika’s biggest challenges37:39 - What’s next for Monika38:23 - Monika’s proudest design moment Links FundingCircle.comMonika on LinkedInMarketing Design DispatchInside Marketing Design at Monday.comConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, Charli talks with Justin Rands, Director of Brand at Oyster. Justin talks about the company’s fast growth, and their commitment to design from the very beginning. Justin also discusses how they have evolved the Oyster brand in a way that helps them stand out in a crowded space, and what they love about Webflow.Oyster is an employment and HR platform that makes it easy for companies to hire people from anywhere in the world.Key Takeaways02:14 - Justin’s role as Director of Brand05:18 - Why Oyster uses Webflow for the marketing website07:17 - How brand and product collaborate at Oyster10:24 - How design and marketing work together14:47 - How Justin build out the Oyster’s brand studio team18:21 - How Justin decides what to outsource23:58 - How Justin would describe the Oyster brand25:59 - Goals for redesigning the home page27:33 - How Oyster uses data in design32:08 - Working with time constraints36:05 - Development and project management tools at Oyster38:42 - How Brand Producers function at Oyster42:17 - How the new home page has performed44:41 - Justin’s biggest challenges47:44 - Areas where Justin wants to grow51:34 - The project Justin is most proud of Links OysterHR.comJustin on LinkedInJustin on TwitterLoomInside Marketing Design at LoomWebflowFreigeistConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, Charli talks with Tomi Odusanya, Design Lead on the Growth Design Team at Paystack. Tomi has a lot of experience as a designer and developer, so he brings real knowledge to the issues of speed and performance when building marketing websites for people with slower internet access. In addition to those metrics, Tomi talks about how Paystack uses data, the importance of understanding your users, and how to iterate on a live project when it’s not performing well enough. Tomi also talks about the design culture at Paystack and the things they do to foster that.Paystack is a payment platform for businesses in Africa. They were the first Nigerian company to be accepted into Y Combinator back in 2015, and they are now a remote-friendly team of about 250 people with offices in Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.

In this episode, Charli talks with Sketch CMO, Carly Marsh, and Digital Designer, Osvaldas Poviliunas, about Sketch’s new website, how they incorporated the brand’s personality into the new design, and why it’s so important that product design informs every aspect of marketing design.Carly and Oz talk very openly about their take on competition, how they think through and design competitor comparison pages, and Sketch’s place in the market. And, yes, they absolutely talk about the fact that their biggest competitor, Figma, has just been acquired by Adobe, and what that means for them.Sketch is a design tool launched in 2010, and was one of the first tools truly built for digital design.Links Sketch.comOz on LinkedInCarly on LinkedInSketch’s developer handoff pageConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, Michael Jeter, Creative Director at Zapier, talks with Charli about Zapier’s recent rebrand and some surprising challenges they faced throughout the process. Michael is a fantastic storyteller, and he digs into his ideas about the philosophy behind design and how to communicate its true value. From the use of data and user research to process techniques and effectively managing a team, Michael shares so many valuable insights. You don’t want to miss this one! Zapier is an automation platform that helps you connect different apps to each other without code.Key Takeaways02:23 - Michael’s responsibilities as Creative Director03:30 - Zapier’s Brand Studio team05:59 - How to maintain consistency between Brand and Product06:49 - How a fully remote design team stays connected08:43 - Zapier’s recent rebrand16:32 - The red cord21:02 - Rebranding a rebrand32:56 - When processes need to adapt38:20 - Handling the emotional side of a rebrand42:21 - Redesigning the Zapier homepage44:57 - Getting buy-in on change and dealing with “design baggage”48:54 - Connecting the product to the homepage51:11 - Why quality and impact must be the same for design58:13 - Challenges the Zapier team is currently facing65:15 - What Michael is most proud ofLinks Zapier.comMichael on LinkedInMichael on TwitterInstrumentConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, Austin Couillard, Senior Brand Designer at Auth0, talks with Charli about how the internal brand team works with external agencies to manage all the brand design needs, as well as the internal relationship-building that Austin considers vital to his work. Auth0 is an authentication and authorization platform that companies can use to make their users' signup and login process really smooth and, most of all, very secure.Key Takeaways03:48 - Austin’s responsibilities as a Senior Brand Designer05:38 - What brand designers do at Auth007:50 - Auth0’s creative process09:01 - How brand design works with product design11:43 - How feedback works at Auth014:30 - Working with external agencies21:56 - Merging two brands after an acquisition24:46 - How Auth0 maintains brand consistency27:40 - How template helps deal with change35:02 - How Austin sets goals36:45 - What kind of assets does the marketing team produce?38:45 - How Austin divides his time among many responsibilities41:01 - Challenges Austin is currently facing44:02 - Austin's plans for growth in his career47:50 - The project Austin is most proud ofLinks Auth0.comOtka.comAustin on LinkedInConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

In this episode, monday.com’s Noga Grinberg and Danielle Hassan talk about how large teams are able to function and succeed using data, collaboration, and ownership. They also go behind the scenes of how they created and launched a massive multi-channel marketing campaign (including a Super Bowl ad). Monday offers workflow management tools that help teams collaborate on projects and stay productive.Key Takeaways02:37 - Noga’s and Danielle’s roles at monday05:53 - What it means to “own a channel”08:48 - How feedback works at monday11:25 - How Noga and Danielle  ensure brand consistency14:02 - How design decisions are made at monday18:37 - How data fits into the day-to-day 20:44 - Measuring the success of brand awareness campaigns26:36 - Embracing a “data-driven” approach28:00 - Behind the scenes of creating a Super Bowl ad33:56 - Working with external agencies35:31 - What Noga and Danielle learned from making a Super Bowl ad39:19 - When (and how) to revamp a home page42:55 - A/B testing at monday47:06 - How a home page revamp affects the rest of the website49:57 - The main challenges Noga and Danielle are currently facing51:36 - What’s next for Noga and Danielle as creative marketing designers53:20 - Noga and Danielle’s proudest moments at mondayLinks monday.comNoga Grinberg on LinkedInDanielle Hassan on LinkedInConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

Pitch aims to help teams collaborate on creating beautiful presentations. It was started in 2018 by the co-founders of Wunderlist, including today’s guest, Jan Martin. Jan is both a co-founder and a brand designer, which makes him unique in the SaaS space.In this episode, Jan talks about how the design-centric DNA of Pitch came from learnings he had at Wunderlist, the importance of design systems that everyone can use, why he’s not a fan of wireframes, and much more. Key Takeaways00:15 - Jan’s responsibilities and day-to-day at Pitch04:58 - Marketing and brand design at Pitch10:43 - The creative studio team12:51 - The Pitch brand14:55 - How 3D illustration became a big part of the Pitch brand17:35 - How 3D happens at Pitch19:20 - The symbiotic relationship between brand design and product design22:40 - How to ensure consistency between marketing and product23:58 - Getting your team to follow guidelines26:52 - How creative studio collaborates with marketing and growth29:15 - A design system for the marketing tech team35:50 - How to make a design system “fool-proof”37:49 - Design iteration at Pitch41:45 - Individual and team challenges at Pitch46:08 - Jan’s proudest moments at PitchLinks PitchJan Martin on LinkedInPitch on TwitterChristian ReberDribbbleFigmaAsanaSpecifyConnect with CharliCharliMarie.comCharli on TwitterCharli on InstagramInsideMarketingDesign.comSubscribe and stay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsYouTubeWebflowThis season is brought to you by WebflowTry the no-code website builder used by designers and marketing design teams (and by this show, for the site you're on now!) – Get started for free

Reflection is an important part of the learning process. It’s not enough to just consume great insights from industry leaders, we need to think about how we’ll apply what we’re learning too! That’s what I’m doing in this episode. Tune in to hear my key takeaways from the season, and some from IMD listeners as well.LINKSCatch up on any episodes you missed:SendibleHelpScoutStripeNotionBufferInstacartLoomDropboxHelloSignShopifyFigmaTIMESTAMPS0:00 - Why taking time to reflect helps you learn2:45 - Treating the marketing site as a product4:25 - Making templates for brand assets6:00 - There's no time for testing6:45 - End-to-end branding9:50 - Learning about team structures11:25 - Design team culture12:50 - Small company hustle14:15 - Brands and sub-brands16:30 - Learning from a design crush18:45 - Listener takeaways