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Charli and Femke talk about the challenges of discussing performance reviews and share the actual feedback they received. They discuss how performance reviews work at their companies, including how often they occur, the structure, and the tools used. They also share how AI tools are integrated into the process, explain how promotions are linked to reviews, and highlight key points to keep in mind for the next review cycle.

Timestamps:

0:51 Episode start.

01:39 Framer sponsorship.

03:14 What is the structure of the performance review at Femke’s company?

06:39 What tools are used during the performance review? How are performance reviews conducted at Charli’s company?

09:25 How long is your review period?

11:56 How have you incorporated AI into the review process?

14:58 Charli and Femke share the feedback they received during their performance reviews.

18:20 Femke and Charli go into more detail about their feedback.

21:08 How detailed do you prefer your feedback to be?

25:29 Charli and Femke share the feedback they received as managers from direct reports.

29:28 How does your company handle promotions? Are performance reviews and promotions separate processes?

32:20 What key points are you keeping in mind for the next review cycle??

Links: 

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Femke and Charli discuss various aspects of hackathons, including team organization and timelines, the motivations behind creating dedicated create weeks, whether projects should go live afterward, the competitive dynamics of hackathons, and provide valuable advice for companies interested in hosting their own hackathons.

Timestamps:

0:47 Episode start

01:27 Framer Sponsorship

02:43 Have you been part of hackathons before?

07:38 How can non-technical team members add value during a hackathon?

10:11 Are hackathons competitive?

11:10 Do hackathon projects typically go live? What are the next steps afterward?

12:03 Do teams intentionally save work for hackathons? Is it part of your roadmap process?

15:17 Have you seen projects die after a hackathon?

18:12 What motivated you to start these hackathons?

22:18 What advice would you give to those wanting to organise a hackathon at their company?

Links: 

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Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

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Thank you to our sponsor, Framer. Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Start free today at framer.link/femke

Femke and Charli discuss their perspectives on giving feedback, how their approaches have evolved, the importance of mindful communication, and strategies for providing effective and focused feedback.

01:05 Episode start

02:01 Framer Sponsorship

04:06 How do you feel about giving feedback? How has your approach evolved throughout your career?

11:24 How do you develop your ability to give effective feedback? Do you choose your words carefully when framing your feedback?

13:45 Femke and Charli’s approaches to giving feedback

18:50 Should you already know the correct approach and solution before providing feedback?

20:38 Methods and strategies for giving feedback

23:08 How do you decide what to focus on when giving feedback?Links: 

A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Framer. Make sure to check them out

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Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

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Thank you to our sponsor, Framer. Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Start free today at framer.link/femke

Femke and Charli discuss Gusto's new Creative Director role, including why the company hired for it and what they’re looking for. They talk about whether agency or in-house experience is better, how candidates should prepare for interviews, and what makes a talented brand designer stand out. They also mention whether having a broad or focused portfolio is better, common red flags to watch out for, and offer tips for applying to the brand designer role.

Episode timestamps:

01:02 Episode start

02:16 Framer sponsorship

03:45 How did the need for a Creative Director at Gusto come about, and what is the company looking for in this role?

08:24 When hiring for a brand role in a tech company, do candidates from agency backgrounds bring unique qualities? Or are in-house candidates generally stronger?

11:11 Do you influence the interview questions during the hiring process?

13:44 What type of presentation do you expect from candidates?

15:33 What distinguishes a truly skilled designer from someone with skill gaps?

19:00 How important is breadth of work for a brand designer compared to product design? Do you prefer candidates with diverse experience or specialized expertise?

23:25 What are common red flags to watch out for?

28:52 Any advice for candidates applying for the brand designer IC role?

30:46 Charli's Book Update

Links: 

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Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

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Thank you to our sponsor, Framer. Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Start free today at framer.link/femke

Femke and Charli explore their coaching experiences, the importance of active listening, and navigating coaching challenges from both coach and coachee perspectives.

0:47 Episode start

01:59 Framer sponsorship

03:06 What was your coaching workshop experience?

09:47 How often do you find yourself in a coaching mindset?

15:38 Have you ever used coaching questions to help someone find a solution, only to encounter disagreement or struggle, requiring you to be more directive? How did you handle it?

19:59 How do dynamics change with peers once you become a manager?

21:53 What is active listening, and why is it important?

25:10 What has been your experience as a coachee?

Links: 

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Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

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Thank you to our sponsor, Framer. Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Start free today at framer.link/femke

Femke and Charli delve into the relationship between a designer and a product manager, exploring perspectives on role responsibilities, skill overlaps, relationship-building advice and distinctions between product marketing and brand design roles.

Timestamps: 

01:27 Episode starts

02:22 Framer sponsorship

04:00 Typical relationship between a designer and a PM — what it looks like from Fem’s perspective.

05:26 Is it the PM's responsibility to set the direction of the role, meaning: defining the problem to solve, outlining potential solutions? And then, is it the designer's role to present what they believe is the best solution?

06:55 Is it fair to say that there's a significant overlap in the skill sets of a product manager and a UX designer?

11:55 What advice would you give for building a strong relationship? How can designers foster a good partnership with PMs?

13:47 What are the key differences between a product marketing manager and a brand designer or marketing designer? Specifically, on the product design side.

17:57 Regarding briefs from product marketers — how solution-oriented are they? Are they more focused on campaign goals, or do they also include specific design solutions?

19:58 Since you work in a decentralized manner from the product or feature teams, do product marketers coordinate among themselves? What happens if two campaigns conflict or need to be run simultaneously? How does Charli handle such situations?

22:57 How do you collaborate with a product marketing manager as a UX designer?

Links: 

A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Framer. Make sure to check them out

Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

Thank you to our sponsor, Workflow. As a listener, you can experience the Workflow too with an exclusive 30-day trial (instead of the usual 14) — so you can see the magic for yourself. Head to workflow.design/designlife to start your extended trial today.

Femke and Charli discuss the nature of vision work—whether it’s expected of designers, how their teams create space for it, their approach to the outcomes of pitches, and the criteria they use to prioritize ideas from vision presentations.

Timestamps:

0:30 Episode start

01:23 Workflow sponsorship

02:47 Can you define what vision work is?

04:56 In your company, are you instructed to do vision work, or is it something product designers are expected to do at some point? Are you expected to present the vision?

10:37 Do you think it's important for designers to make time for this work, especially if they haven't been explicitly asked to do it?

12:47 How does Charli's team allocate time for strategic impact work, and what is their approach to it?

17:51 Have any outcomes from those pitches surprised you? For example, did you prioritize an idea that ended up being very successful?

21:53 If several design visions are presented twice a year, how do you decide when to deeply consider the ideas within those visions?

24:36 Did you go through any exercises like vision work prior to your brand redesign?

Links:

A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Workflow Make sure to check them out

Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

Thank you to our sponsor, Workflow. As a listener, you can experience the Workflow too with an exclusive 30-day trial (instead of the usual 14) — so you can see the magic for yourself. Head to workflow.design/designlife to start your extended trial today. 

Femke and Charli reflect on the Figma Config event, exploring exciting new features like Figma Make and Draw, and sharing their thoughts on potential future innovations such as AI-powered tools and conversational interfaces.

Timestamps:

01:04 Episode intro

01:39 Workflow sponsorship

02:59 Figma Config event 2025

6:15 Design leaders were absent from the main stage of the conference.

08:39 Femke co-hosted an event at Figma Config

09:52 Figma’s new products and features: Grid, Figma Sites, Figma Make, Figma Buzz and Figma Draw

10:30 Which new feature excited Femke and Charli the most?

12:59 How do you think these updates will impact market designers' workflows?

19:38 What are your impressions of Figma Make?

23:43 Do you see yourself incorporating Figma Make into your workflow?

24:51 What about Draw? Do you think it will be useful for you?

30:48 Is Figma concerned about cannibalizing its community—balancing features versus plugins? For example, what used to be a plugin is now integrated directly into the tool.

32:55 Do you have any guesses about what might be announced in the future? What features would you like to see? What's currently missing for you?

33:50 Do you think Figma will ever develop a chatbox interface?

35:36 Finally, what do you think they might announce next year?

Links: 

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Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

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This episode is sponsored by Mobbin, which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin!

Femke shares her experience returning to work, exploring team dynamics, personal impacts, surprises, challenges, and positive aspects of re-entering the workplace after maternity leave.

Timestamps:

0:49 Episode intro

01:39 Mobbin sponsorship

06:56 How did your first days back at work go?

10:15 Did it feel like you were joining the same company, or was it a different experience? How did it feel to meet your new team?

11:58 Your team previously had a manager. How do they feel about you joining the team? Were there any steps you took to establish a positive relationship from the start?

13:23 Can you tell me more about what your team does?

14:40 How would you describe your current responsibilities? How do they compare to your responsibilities before your maternity leave?

17:42 When you first joined Gusto as a manager, was your role a backfilled position, or was it a new managerial role?

19:10 What has been the personal impact of returning to work? How was your first week back as a working mom?

21:49 One of the biggest surprises upon your return has been the influence of AI. How has this impacted your work?

25:09 What has been the most surprising and the most challenging aspect of coming back to work?

28:15 And finally, what has been the most rewarding or positive aspect of going back to work?

Links:

A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Mobbin! Make sure to check them out

Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by Mobbin, which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin!

Femke and Charli respond to a listener's question about how to choose between pursuing a career as a design manager or an individual contributor (IC). They share their personal experiences navigating their career paths, discuss the factors they considered in their decision-making, and outline the skill sets required for each role.

Timestamps: 

01:06 Episode starts

04:36 Mobbin sponsorship

06:11 Femke shares her journey in choosing between an individual contributor (IC) role and a managerial position.

07:43 What factors influenced your decision to pursue a career as a design manager?

13:43 Advice on how to determine which career path is right for you.

17:19 Have you ever considered different direction when you were in a design manager role?

23:45 Does Femke envision herself managing people, and what key responsibilities define the role of a design manager?

Links:

A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Mobbin! Make sure to check them out

Charli's latest Youtube video

Femke's livestreams

Femke's new community

Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers”

Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at [email protected]