Design Life
by Charli Prangley, Femke Van Schoonhoven
Latest episode
327: Having to be creative on cue
327: Having to be creative on cue
About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 327 episodes
- 327: Having to be creative on cue · 32 min · Episode 327Femke and Charli discuss how to be creative on demand and under time pressure.
- 326: From creators to conductors in the age of AI · 36 min · Episode 326Femke and Charli explore how AI is reshaping design and product roles.
- 325: Goals and creative aspirations for 2026 · 31 min · Episode 325Charli and Femke talk about their goals for 2026
- 324: Collaborating with other design creators on a side project · 35 min · Episode 324Femke and Charli discuss how to collaborate effectively with other design creators on side projects.
- 323: How to land a promotion · 36 min · Episode 323Femke and Charli talk about how to secure a promotion.
- 322: Our approach to side projects in 2026 · 37 min · Episode 322Charli and Femke discuss their evolving perspectives on side projects
- 321: Knowledge-sharing in a design team (the wins and the failures) · 34 min · Episode 321Femke and Charli discuss how to foster a culture of knowledge sharing at a workplace.
- 320: The struggle with staying up-to-date with new design tools · 30 min · Episode 320Femke and Charli discuss strategies for staying up-to-date with the latest AI tools and integrating them into your workflow.
- 319: Balancing speed and quality in design work · 39 min · Episode 319Femke and Charli discuss whether to optimize for speed or quality when building new features.
- 318: Revealing our performance reviews as design leaders · 37 min · Episode 318Charli and Femke share their experiences with performance reviews and the feedback they received.
- 317: What it's like to take part in a hackathon · 30 min · Episode 317Femke and Charli share their experiences with hackathons.
- 316: The art of giving useful feedback · 32 min · Episode 316Charli and Femke talk about how to give good design feedback.
- 315: How to hire (and get hired) in a brand design role · 32 min · Episode 315Femke and Charli talk about how to hire for a brand design role
- 314: Coaching ICs as a design manager · 29 min · Episode 314Femke and Charli explore their coaching experiences, the importance of active listening, and navigating coaching challenges from both coach and coachee perspectives.
- 313: Building relationships with PM's & Product Marketers · 30 min · Episode 313Femke and Charli delve into the relationship between a designer and a product manager, exploring perspectives on role responsibilities, skill overlaps, relationship-building…
- 312: Design vision work and how to have a strategic impact · 30 min · Episode 312Femke 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…
- 311: Hot takes on Config 2025 and new Figma features · 38 min · Episode 311Femke and Charli share their insights on the Figma Config event and Figma's new features.
- 310: Going back to work after an extended break · 32 min · Episode 310Femke shares her experience returning to work, exploring team dynamics, personal impacts, surprises, challenges, and positive aspects of re-entering the workplace after maternity…
- 309: Become a design manager or stay an IC? How to make the choice. · 30 min · Episode 309Femke and Charli talk about how to choose between pursuing the individual contributor (IC) path and a managerial career trajectory.
- 308: Making the jump from mid to senior · 27 min · Episode 308Femke and Charli talk about the shift in responsibilities when moving from mid-level to senior roles.
- 307: Will AI take your design job? (Hot takes from later adopters) · 30 min · Episode 307Charli and Femke discuss practical ways for designers to integrate AI tools into their workflows and current prevalence of AI in the industry.
- 306: Building a team for your side projects · 31 min · Episode 306Femke and Charl reflect on their experiences with outsourcing for their side projects, discussing strategies for finding the right talent, assessing current tasks suitable for…
- 305: If we started our side projects all over again... · 31 min · Episode 305Femke and Charli discuss the evolution of their side projects and reflect on what they’ve learned and how they would approach them differently if they were to start over.
- 304: Setting our goals and intentions for 2025 · 36 min · Episode 304In this episode Femke and Charli share their goals for 2025.
- 303: Changes in the design industry (specialists vs generalists?) · 29 min · Episode 303Femke and Charli delve into a discussion on the benefits of being a generalist versus a specialist, exploring the types of skill sets that are essential for career development.
- 302: Design maturity and culture in a company (and how to influence it) · 28 min · Episode 302Femke and Charli discuss design maturity and the importance of design culture.
- 301: Learning management skills as a design manager · 30 min · Episode 301Femke and Charli discuss how to transition from individual contributor to design manager.
- 300: Live Q&A - Answering Your Top Design Questions on Air · 43 min · Episode 300Charli and Femke are hosting a live Q&A session for their listeners.
- 299: How to get better at collaborating with cross-functional partners · 30 min · Episode 299Charli and Femke explore the challenges and best practices in cross-functional collaboration.
- 298: Behind the scenes of launching ConvertKit's rebrand to Kit · 28 min · Episode 298Femke and Charli dive into the experience of rebranding ConvertKit into Kit.
- 297: What it's really like to go on parental leave as a designer · 27 min · Episode 297Femke shares her experience navigating the challenges of parental leave.
- 296: How to land a promotion · 30 min · Episode 296Charli and Femke discuss Charli's promotion journey, the importance of owning your professional growth, key steps in the promotion process, and offer advice on handling promotion…
- 295: The perks and pitfalls of working with a freelancer · 30 min · Episode 295Charli and Femke discuss their experiences working with freelancers and agencies, covering topics like choosing the right collaborators, managing the process, and deciding when…
- 294: Behind the scenes of a company rebrand · 31 min · Episode 294Femke and Charli dive into the exciting world of rebranding Convert Kit.
- 293: Why you need to understand the impact of your work · 26 min · Episode 293Femke and Charli dive deep into the topic of the business impact of design decisions. We discuss whether impact is expected in the product design world and if it is an integral…
- 292: Config 2024 Figma release reactions · 31 min · Episode 292Femke and Charli are gonna discuss and break down the recent announcements from Figma Config 2024 conference that took place on June 26-27 in San Francisco, California.
- 291: When a side project totally fails · 27 min · Episode 291Femke and Charli talk about managing the challenges when your side project isn't succeeding.
- 290: Landing a new design job in 2024 · 29 min · Episode 290Femke and Charli share tips on navigating today's selective job market. From tailoring applications to networking effectively, they provide expert advice to help you secure your…
- 289: How to know when it's time to move on from a job · 30 min · Episode 289Charli and Femke explore the dynamics of staying and leaving roles, discuss the importance of difficult conversations, internal reputation, personal growth and there is also a…
- 288: Making the most of team retreats and offsites · 29 min · Episode 287Femke and Charli are going to talk about how to make the most out of time with your team whether it is a retreat or an offsite.
- 287: Why your personal brand matters · 26 min · Episode 287Femke and Charli will delve into the importance of creating a personal brand, explore approaches to building it and the benefits personal brand can unlock for you.
- 286: Should you take deadlines seriously? · 32 min · Episode 286Charli and Femke share their person experience on how they approached deadlines, how it has changed as they took up different roles within the project.
- 285: The truth about burnout (and recovery) · 28 min · Episode 285Femke and Charli are going to talk about how to recognise you are burned out, how to handle it and the importance of defining what is healthy balance for you.
- 284: Our Career and Personal Goals for 2024 · 29 min · Episode 284Welcome to the first episode of 2024. In this episode we are going to share our goals for the year ahead when it comes to our careers, side projects and a bit of personal stuff.
- 283: Our copywriting process · 26 min · Episode 283In this episode of the Design Life podcast we chat about all things copywriting!
- 282: Reliving our Config experience · 29 min · Episode 282Thank you Config for a fantastic conference! In this episode we recap our highlights and chat all about our meetup.
- 281: How to make the most of a design conference · 32 min · Episode 281Are you attending a design conference this summer? In this episode we share our favourite tips for making the most of the conference experience to maximise learning, connection…
- 280: Preparing for a feature launch as a designer · 28 min · Episode 280Preparing for a feature launch as a designer is such an exciting time! To see your work come to fruition brings with it a fantastic feeling, but it's not always plain sailing. In…
- 279: Validating design solutions · 33 min · Episode 279Today on the Design Life podcast we are answering a listener question from an engineer, who is looking for advice on how to validate a design and communicate this with the…
- 278: Are you on the right path in your design career? · 30 min · Episode 278Wondering if you are on the right path in your design career? Fear not, we have a very reassuring conversation this week on the podcast! Hear all about how we've used the design…
