The Honest Designer Diaries

You start a design business because you love designing, then realise how much of your week goes into everything else that comes with it. Finding clients, sending proposals, chasing feedback and trying to remember when you last posted on Instagram, all while fitting in the work you actually get paid to do.

This week I’m joined by Tanya LeClair, the brand and web designer behind SoSwell Studio in Brisbane, Australia. We chat about the business side of being a freelance designer and the things we’ve both changed along the way to make working with clients a little easier.

From contracts that get updated after a difficult project to that anxious wait after sending a concept, this is a very honest chat about what goes on behind the finished designs.

We get into:

• Making time for design alongside marketing and admin
• Finding clients without constantly posting on social media
• Contracts, deposits and projects that stall when you’re waiting to get paid
• Why we both moved to presenting one logo concept
• Getting useful feedback beyond “I don’t like it”
• Clients asking family, Facebook groups and AI for opinions on their branding
• Figuring out what we actually want our businesses to look like

Connect with Tanya:
Website: https://soswellstudio.com.au
Instagram: @soswell_studio

If any of this sounds familiar, I’d love to hear how you handle it in your own business. Send me a DM at: https://instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries

And if you’re enjoying The Honest Designer Diaries, please leave a rating and review wherever you listen, it really does help other designers find the podcast.

You started a business to do the work you love, but does that mean you now have to become a content creator too? And how much of yourself are you actually expected to share?

This week I’m chatting with Hannah Seycell, founder of creative marketing agency Social Folk, about building a personal brand when being visible doesn’t always come naturally.

If you’ve ever thought, “Can I just get on with my work without having to put myself out there?”, there’s plenty in this conversation you’ll recognise.

Connect with Hannah

Instagram and TikTok: @hannahsocialfolk
LinkedIn: Hannah Seycell
Website: https://socialfolkdigital.com

Chapters

00:11 Meet Hannah and how Social Folk began
01:30 How COVID changed our career paths
02:54 How influencer marketing has changed
06:12 Do businesses need a personal brand?
08:51 Moving away from perfect content
15:30 What makes people connect with you?
17:30 Showing more of yourself online
22:52 Juggling client work and your own content
28:34 Sharing your journey without sharing everything
34:45 Deciding what you’re comfortable talking about
35:56 Grief and keeping a business going
38:38 What people don’t see behind the content
40:54 Sharing the good things when life is difficult
44:56 Dealing with criticism and trolls
48:20 Getting started with your personal brand

If this conversation sounds familiar, I’d love to hear your thoughts DM me on IG @thehonestdesignerdiaries. And if you’re enjoying The Honest Designer Diaries, please leave a rating or review, it helps other people find the podcast.

Juls

You share your knowledge, help people find work and put time into building something useful, but the minute you charge for it, suddenly you’re a gatekeeper. When did helping other creatives mean you had to do it all for nothing?

This week I’m chatting with live event illustrator Katie Chappell, who created a jobs board to share the client enquiries she couldn’t take on herself. People were getting work through it, but alongside the lovely feedback came accusations and personal attacks. And when she made it free, the complaints didn’t stop.

Katie also talks about the difficult start to her design career, finding her way into live illustration and changing how she works to fit around life with her daughter.

If you’ve ever felt guilty for charging for your knowledge, or found yourself dreading the notifications on your phone, there’s plenty in this chat you might recognise.

Find Katie: @katiedraws on Instagram

I’d love to hear what you think. Have you felt pressure to keep giving more for free? Leave a comment or come and chat with me on Instagram: instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe on YouTube or follow The Honest Designer Diaries wherever you listen. A five-star rating or a wee review would be very much appreciated too.

Till next time, Juls

You can go to an event knowing exactly who you want to meet, but sometimes the conversation that leads to something brilliant is with the person you hadn’t expected to speak to at all.

This week I’m chatting with graphic designer, instructor, speaker and author of 'How do I do that in InDesign' Dave Clayton about the creative connections that have shaped his career, including an awkward moment at Adobe MAX that eventually led to him creating tutorials for Adobe Learn.

Dave says his last ten years, between 50 and 60, have been the most exciting of his career, and he’s now gone freelance for the first time. We chat about finding your people, getting work through relationships and why being an introvert doesn’t mean you can’t make those connections.

Have you ever had a chance conversation that led to work or something completely unexpected? I’d love to hear about it in the comments or send me a DM on Insta. Instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries

Connect with Dave:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdaveclayton/
Website: https://www.itsdaveclayton.com/

And if you’re enjoying The Honest Designer Diaries, please leave a rating and review on your podcast app, or subscribe on YouTube so you can join me for the next chat.

Juls x

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m just not creative”? In this episode, I’m chatting with Scott Gordon, a brand designer who also teaches in secondary school, about whether creativity is something you’re born with or something you can learn.

We talk about what happens when a student is convinced they can’t come up with ideas, why being brilliant with design software doesn’t necessarily mean the ideas will follow, and how much of brand design starts with being curious enough to really listen to a client.

Scott also shares what it’s been like building Pure Good Graphics alongside teaching. If you’ve ever wondered where other designers get their ideas, or worried that yours aren’t coming quickly enough, come and join us for this one.

Find Scott and his work at Pure Good Graphics or search for Scott Gordon on LinkedIn.

If you enjoy the episode, I’d love to hear what you think, you can drop me a message on IG - instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries

And if you have a moment to leave a rating or review on your podcast app, it really helps more designers find The Honest Designer Diaries.

Juls

Courtney started designing £5 logos on her phone during lockdown, while still thinking graphic design would probably remain something she did at weekends alongside her retail job.

Six years later, she’s running Funky Enough, working with branding and website clients around the world, building a small freelance team and creating the bold, colourful work she’s now known for.

In this episode, we chat about becoming a self-taught designer, learning as you go and why not having a design degree doesn’t make you any less legitimate. We also get into the snobbery that still exists around Canva, Adobe Express and the software designers are “supposed” to use.

You can find Courtney on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest at @funkyenoughh.

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode, send me a message on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/.

Till next time
Juls

In this episode, I’m chatting with brand designer Abi Lee about something we don’t hear discussed very often, how you keep a freelance business going when you’re grieving.

Two years ago, Abi lost her dad very suddenly. While trying to process what had happened and support her family, she was also dealing with the reality of working for herself, where there’s no compassionate leave and nobody else automatically steps in to manage the clients, deadlines and bills.

We chat about the guilt of trying to be everywhere at once, how Abi slowly found her way back into work and the impact the experience had on the way she now thinks about her business and what she wants from it.

It’s a very open and personal conversation about grief, freelancing and trying to keep going when life changes overnight.

You can find Abi and see more of her work on Instagram at @abileedesigns.

Please be aware that this episode includes a conversation about the sudden illness and death of a parent, intensive care and bereavement.

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Abi's chat resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designerinyourpocket_juls/ or https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/.

Take care

Juls

This week I’m chatting with editorial designer, speaker, host and Adobe mentor Kieron Lewis about all the different skills that can shape a creative career. We talk about why being a great designer will only take you so far, how important it is to communicate your ideas and why Kieron considers his people skills to be one of his biggest strengths.

We also get into some of the more difficult parts of the design industry, from bullying and hierarchy in creative workplaces to imposter syndrome and being the only person in the room who looks or sounds like you. Kieron shares how voluntary work helped build his confidence, why junior designers need better support and how he created new opportunities for himself, including taking a chance and asking D&AD if he could host one of their events.

And because we’re both print designers at heart, we finish with a very serious discussion about the correct way to greet a newly delivered book, which obviously includes inspecting the binding and smelling the paper.

Connect with Kieron on IG:

http://www.instagram.com/kieronanthonyl

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Hannah’s story resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designerinyourpocket_juls/ or https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/.

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

Juls

Chloe from The Chatty Freelancer and I have a habit of sitting in the car talking for ages whenever we meet up, usually after one of us has offered the other a lift home. We always end up saying we should have recorded the conversation, so this time we actually did.

So we've set ourselves some big audacious goals we want to reach in the next few months and sharing our progress in this bonus series the Chatty Diaries.

Follow along with us as we keep each other accountable where we'll be meeting up again to find out whether either of us has actually done what we said we would, which may be exactly why making this public was a terrible idea.

Listen to Chloe's podcast on Spotify

Connect with Chloe on IG

I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. Send me a message on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designerinyourpocket_juls/ or https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/ .

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

Juls

When you’re good at listening, asking the right questions and understanding what really matters to a client, it usually makes you a better designer. It can also mean that somewhere between the brand strategy and the logo concepts, you accidentally become their therapist as well.

This week, I’m chatting with art director, brand designer and content creator Wayne Fick about the client relationships that become far more personal than either of you expected.

In this episode, we chat about:

• How designers can unintentionally become emotional support for their clients
• Why being sensitive and intuitive can be both useful and exhausting
• What happens when you introduce a boundary after a client has become used to constant access
• Why skills swaps need an agreed value on both sides
• Pricing work when you’re worried about where the next project is coming from
• Dealing with micromanagement and clients who question every design decision
• Becoming a content creator and YouTuber later in your career
• Staying open to new technology without pretending every new tool is wonderful
• Finding thoughtful, practical uses for AI while still questioning its effect on creative work

You can find Wayne under Created by Wayne on
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@createdbywayne
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createdbywayne/

visit http://createdbywayne.com, and subscribe to his weekly Meaningful Creationist newsletter.

Hannah Walker didn’t set out to become a content creator. She studied fashion design, worked in London and New York, then found herself back in the UK wondering what the next version of her career might look like.

Hannah also shares how she plans content around big events without spending the entire trip staring at her phone, why she hasn’t forced herself into one very specific niche and how she’s attracting collaborations through the content she already enjoys making.

There’s also plenty about procrastination, late-night working, filming yourself in public and the reality of having to give yourself all the encouragement and validation you once got from a creative team.

You can find Hannah on Instagram and TikTok at @htwcreative, or connect with her on LinkedIn by searching Hannah Walker.

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

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

Juls

In this episode I’m chatting with Robin, brand and graphic designer and host of Creative Confessions, about the fear of growth and why we can make a decision in our own head, sit with it for ages, then still feel like we need somebody else to tell us it’s a good idea.

We talk about overthinking, changing direction, working on your own without other creatives around to bounce ideas off, and why starting something new can feel so much harder when you’ve already built something that’s working.

We also get into creative careers, confidence, getting older in design and that point where staying where you are can start to feel more uncomfortable than actually making the change.

You can find Robin at:

http://instagram.com/brandsbyrobin

http://brandsbyrobin.com

Listen to Creative Confessions wherever you get your podcasts.

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

I really hope you enjoy the chat.

Juls

What happens when you graduate from design school and realise you’ve technically already been working as a designer for a few years?

This week I’m chatting with graphic designer Morgan Hastie, aka The Logo Lassie, who had graduated just two weeks before we recorded this episode. But while she might be a brand new graduate on paper, Morgan has already been freelancing since 2023 and has worked with brands including Adobe, Uniqlo, Aardman Animations, GF Smith and First Bus.

And, naturally, we somehow end up deep in a conversation about print, packaging, dielines, CMYK and why sending a printer a file they can actually use is quite important. Who knew.

Connect with Morgan
https://thelogolassie.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/thelogolassie/

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

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.

This week I’m joined by brand designer, speaker and Building Your Brand podcast host Liz Mosley for a chat about sexism in the graphic design industry, and why women are still having to work harder to be trusted, heard and taken seriously.

We talk about toxic agency culture, unconscious bias and the lack of women in senior creative roles. We also get into ageism, motherhood, caring responsibilities, the pressure to sacrifice everything for your work and why seeing women at different ages and stages of their careers matters.

Episode Highlights

06:25 Experiences of sexism in the design industry
09:03 The gender disparity in design leadership
11:47 Navigating career challenges as women
17:06 Social media and gender dynamics
20:11 Feedback and perceptions in professional settings
30:39 Navigating personal and professional feedback
33:02 Toxic work environments in design
35:45 The importance of supportive allies
37:35 Representation and diversity in design
39:01 Challenges of work-life balance for women
42:13 The cost of passion in creative industries
44:45 Visibility and mentorship in design

Find Liz
Website: http://www.lizmosley.net

Instagram: http://instagram.com/lizmosley

Podcast: http://www.buildingyourbrand.net

I would love to hear what you think of this episode, so come and have a wee chat with me over on Instagram @thehonestdesignerdiaries.

And if you enjoyed listening, I’d really appreciate it if you could leave the podcast a 5*r rating and a wee review, as it helps more people find the show.

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: https://www.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: https://www.tiktok.com/@thehonestdesignerdiaries
The Creative Room: https://www.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.