In this bonus episode, I’m sharing the story of the Saturday Night SOS client, who also happened to be a friend, which made saying no even harder. What was meant to be a quick emergency job turned into hours of designs, feedback and changes.

This episode follows on from my conversation with Bhavini in Episode 5, Bad clients and blurry boundaries, where we had plenty to say about red flag clients, people-pleasing and the situations designers somehow find themselves agreeing to.

Have you ever had your own Saturday Night SOS client? Come and tell me on Instagram, where I’m @thehonestdesignerdiaries

Subscribe to The Honest Designer Diaries for more conversations and bonus episodes about what working in design is really like. If you’ve been enjoying the podcast, I’d also really appreciate a five-star rating and review, as it helps more designers find the show.

Chat soon

Juls

What do you do when business goes quiet, orders slow down and everyone else online still looks suspiciously busy?

In this episode, I’m joined by Scottish designer and maker Nikki McWilliams, whose wonderfully niche world includes biscuit cushions, stationery and a loyal community that has grown with her business over the past 15 years.

In this episode, we chat about:

• Why quiet spells feel so difficult to talk about
• The pressure to always look busy and successful online
• How Nikki built several income streams across products and content
• Why faster growth is not always better growth
• The reality of working with large retailers and long payment terms
• Using pre-orders to reduce the risk of launching new products
• Why email marketing still matters
• How social media has changed for small businesses
• The post-Covid slowdown many creative businesses are feeling

About Nikki McWilliams

Nikki is a Scottish designer and maker known for her playful biscuit-inspired homeware and her stationery brand, Nikki Supply Store. Her work is inspired by nostalgia, everyday objects and the things she genuinely loves, which has helped her build a brilliantly distinctive business and community over the past 15 years.

Connect with Nikki
https://nikkimcwilliams.com/
Nikki’s Supply Store: http://www.nikkissupplystore.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/nikkimcwilliams/
IG: http://instagram.com/nikkissupplystore

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Nikki’s story resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at @‌designerinyourpocket_juls or @‌thehonestdesignerdiaries.

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

Juls

The Honest Designer Diaries is still a brand new podcast, it would really help if you could follow, subscribe or leave a 5* rating and review wherever you’re listening. If you’re watching on YouTube, liking the video and leaving a comment helps more designers find these conversations too.

And if you know another designer, creative pal, student, graduate or freelancer who might enjoy this chat, please send it their way.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to ask the questions that are harder to post publicly, get support with a difficult client or talk things through with other creatives who understand the day-to-day of working in this industry, come and join us inside The Creative Room.

Aseil Amgheib started out in interior architecture, moved into production design, then found her way into branding almost by accident during lockdown. A few cold emails, one very determined 100-day design challenge and a lot of figuring things out as she went eventually led to her building Design Wolf, her London-based branding and web design studio.

We chat about changing direction when the career you worked towards no longer feels right, building a creative business without a clear roadmap, and the confidence wobble that can still show up even when you have a studio, a team and successful client work behind you.

We also get into creative routines, setting better boundaries with clients, learning that most design emergencies can wait until Monday, and what Aseil wants the next stage of Design Wolf to look like.

Find Aseil on Instagram at @‌designwolfldn.

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to The Honest Designer Diaries, leave a rating or comment and share it with another designer who might need to hear this conversation.

You can also message me on Instagram at @‌designerinyourpocket_juls or @‌thehonestdesignerdiaries.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to ask the questions that are harder to post publicly, get support with a difficult client or talk things through with other creatives who understand the day-to-day of working in this industry, come and join us inside The Creative Room.

Ross Grubb didn’t plan on becoming a freelance graphic designer. After four design jobs and being put at risk of redundancy four times, three of which ended with him losing his job, freelance started to feel less like the risky option.

Ross is also one of the co-hosts of the Scottish Creative Network, a monthly Glasgow networking event created to help designers, photographers, marketers and other creatives meet without the usual awkward business networking routine.

Find Ross

Instagram: Grubb Creative
LinkedIn: Ross Grubb

Find Scottish Creative Network on Instagram and LinkedIn for details of upcoming Glasgow events.

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe to The Honest Designer Diaries, leave a rating or comment and share it with another designer who might need to hear this conversation.

You can also message me on Instagram at @‌designerinyourpocket_juls or @‌thehonestdesignerdiaries.

And if you’re looking for somewhere to ask the questions that are harder to post publicly, get support with a difficult client or talk things through with other creatives who understand the day-to-day of working in this industry, come and join us inside The Creative Room.

I’m chatting with graphic designer Bhavini Lakhani about the client red flags we really should trust sooner, especially when we’re freelancing and trying to keep everyone happy.

We talk about what happens when a project starts feeling off before it has even properly begun, from scope changes and last-minute timelines to contracts that are definitely not the NDA they were meant to be. Bhavini shares a story about walking away from a chunky project after a few too many warning signs, and we get into why saying no can feel weirdly terrifying, even when your gut has already packed a bag and left the building.

We also chat about the freelance design situations so many of us recognise, like clients wanting instant access, projects that creep beyond the original agreement, being asked to work at ridiculous times, mates rates becoming a problem, and the guilt that kicks in when you try to hold a boundary.

Guest

Bhavini Lakhani is a freelance graphic designer and the founder of B81 Designs. She works on brand identity and marketing collateral for mid-sized businesses, and has been freelancing for almost 15 years.

Find Bhavini here:
Website: https://www.b81designs.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b81designs
LinkedIn: Bhavini Lakhani

Connect with me on

Instagram

TikTok

LinkedIn

YouTube

Substack

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Bhavini’s story resonated with you.

The Creative Room is my private community for designers and creatives who want somewhere to ask the awkward questions, get support with tricky client situations and talk about the real side of running a creative business.

Join The Creative Room here: designerinyourpocket.co/thecreativeroom

I’m chatting with my lovely pal Darren Meredith about something we’ve both been asked about quite a lot, our experience working with Canva and Adobe as creators.

And just to say this right at the start, this isn’t a “which design tool is better” episode. This is much more about what it’s actually like behind the scenes when you create content, build an audience, get invited into brand programmes, and then start realising that the shiny outside of a brand partnership doesn’t always tell you what it’s going to feel like once you’re in it.

We talk about what it was like being Canva Experts, why parts of that experience became frustrating, and how things changed when Adobe reached out to us. We get into unpaid creator work, brand expectations, embargoes, contracts, exclusivity clauses, audience trust, and the uncomfortable moment when you realise a brand might be getting a lot of value from you, but you’re not necessarily getting the same value back.

Chapters

00:00 Intro and how Darren and I met through Canva
03:08 Darren’s route into Canva tutorials
06:27 How I accidentally fell into Canva content
10:51 What it was like inside the Canva Verified Expert programme
18:15 Talking honestly about unpaid creator work
19:26 Canva’s reaction to us being approached by Adobe
21:16 Exclusivity clauses and why they became a problem
25:54 The difference in the Adobe Ambassador community
31:48 Creator contracts, paid work and reading the small print
33:38 Why creators need to price their time properly
36:47 Darren’s advice for creators who want to work with brands
39:54 Confidence crashes, imposter feelings and creator comments
41:54 Content creation in your 50s and what might come next

Find Darren

Website: http://bettercontentcreators.com
Instagram: instagram.com/bettercontentcreators
YouTube: Darren Meredith

Find me

Instagram: instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thehonestdesignerdiaries
The Creative Room: designerinyourpocket.co/thecreativeroom

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, like the video, leave a comment, or share it with another designer or creator who needs to hear this one. It really does help more people find the podcast, and it means I can keep having these honest conversations with brilliant creatives.

And if you’ve had your own weird, brilliant, disappointing or eye-opening experience with a brand partnership, I would genuinely love to hear about it.

In this episode of The Honest Designer Diaries, I’m chatting with Teresa Ferreira, founder of Ferrrgood Studio, about leaving her role as Head of Design at the Financial Times and building something of her own.

Teresa had what many designers would probably see as the big, impressive, “you’ve made it” kind of job. But after seven years at the FT, and a pandemic-induced bit of rethinking, she started to realise she was craving more creative fulfilment.

So she condensed her full-time role into four days and used her Fridays to test freelance life. Eight months later, burnout hit, and the Friday freelance experiment became the start of a much bigger exit plan.

If you’ve ever sat in a role that looks brilliant from the outside but doesn’t feel right anymore, this one might hit a wee nerve.

Juls x

Find Teresa online:
Instagram: @‌teresaferrgoodstudio
LinkedIn: Teresa Ferreira
Website: ferrgoodstudio.com

Connect with me on Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | YouTube | Substack

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Rachel’s story resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at @‌designerinyourpocket_juls or @‌thehonestdesignerdiaries.

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

And because The Honest Designer Diaries is still a brand new podcast, it would really help if you could follow, subscribe or leave a 5* rating and review wherever you’re listening. If you’re watching on YouTube, liking the video and leaving a comment helps more designers find these conversations too.

And if you know another designer, creative pal, student, graduate or freelancer who might enjoy this chat, please send it their way.

I have a private community called The Creative Room, where creatives can chat about the real day-to-day stuff that comes with working in the industry or running your own creative business.

In this episode of The Honest Designer Diaries, I’m chatting to Rachel Cartlidge, a freelance graphic designer and illustrator based in Edinburgh.

Rachel left university thinking she had her next step sorted. She had a junior designer role lined up, had signed for a flat, and was away travelling before she was due to start. Then, two weeks before her start date, the role fell through.

So we chat about what happened when she came home and had to start figuring things out quickly. Rachel talks about reaching out to agencies, studios, small businesses and creative directors, trying to find freelance work while still applying for junior roles, and slowly building confidence as she went.

This is such a good chat for new designers, recent graduates, freelancers, design students, and anyone trying to work out where they fit in the design industry, especially when the route they thought they were meant to follow doesn’t quite go to plan.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to The Honest Designer Diaries
01:45 Meet Rachel Cartlidge
05:32 When the junior designer role fell through
10:00 Finding those first freelance projects
11:57 Building a personal brand as a new designer
16:08 Passion projects, film-inspired branding and finding your style
23:21 The reality behind the opportunities people see online
27:57 Rejection, comparison and putting yourself out there
32:05 Advice for new designers and graduates
34:54 Where to find Rachel online

Find Rachel online:

Instagram: @‌rachcartdesign
LinkedIn: Rachel Cartlidge

Connect with me on Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | YouTube | Substack

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Rachel’s story resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at @designerinyourpocket_juls or @thehonestdesignerdiaries.

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

And because The Honest Designer Diaries is still a brand new podcast, it would really help if you could follow, subscribe or leave a 5* rating and review wherever you’re listening. If you’re watching on YouTube, liking the video and leaving a comment helps more designers find these conversations too.

And if you know another designer, creative pal, student, graduate or freelancer who might enjoy this chat, please send it their way.

Episode 1: Why I’m Starting The Honest Designer Diaries

The Honest Designer Diaries is a podcast about what it’s actually like to build a life and career as a designer, beyond the nice work we share online.

Hosted by Juls, a brand designer and design educator from Glasgow with over 30 years in the industry, each episode is a real chat with designers about the situations, decisions and wobbles that shape a creative career. We’ll talk about going freelance before you feel ready, dealing with quiet spells in business, moving from in-house work into running your own creative business, working with brands like Canva and Adobe, handling tricky clients, confidence, comparison and all the bits designers usually talk about in DMs, over tea, or after a glass of wine.

It’s honest, useful and reassuring, for designers at every stage who are still figuring it out as they go.

• Read The Honest Designer Diaries on Substack
• Find The Honest Designer Diaries on Instagram
• Find The Honest Designer Diaries on TikTok
• Watch The Honest Designer Diaries on YouTube
• Join The Creative Room

Got a topic you’d love me to chat about?

Send me a message on Instagram, I’d genuinely love to hear what you’d like covered in future episodes.