Get to know us in this episode as we discuss our jobs, passions and paths to becoming the designers we are today. We chat about why we love working in-house as opposed to at an agency, and why it's great that our day jobs aren't too similar to our side projects. You'll hear about our current favourite projects and struggles, and in a slight tangent we also discuss our thoughts on the best way to learn design. Is there something else you'd like to know about us? Let us know by tweeting @DesignLifeFM

“For me going to design school was more about gaining confidence in myself and believing in myself that I can do it.” - Femke

002: Who we are

In this episode we're talking about learning design, and discussing whether designers should get a formal education or teach themselves. 

We go through what we believe are the pros and cons of both learning methods (we both had our share of awkward critique sessions at university...) and talk about how interesting it is that we work in an industry where you don't have to get a degree to find a job, because experience is so valuable. 

As well as some background on our formal educations, you'll also get some links to great online resources we've been using to learn since finishing university. We really want to hear your thoughts on this topic! Tweet us and tell us what you think. 

003: The Self Taught Vs. Formal Education Debate

In this episode we’re talking about the importance of having a personal brand, and how it’s more than just a logo; it’s the essence of everything you do. We chat about how we approached naming and designing our own brands (and the struggle of being your own client) and how building up a personal brand early on when you’re still learning design will give you a head start and help your chances with full time jobs as well as freelance. We’ll give you some names of people with personal brands we love, along with our advice for developing your own.

004:  Should You Have A Personal Brand

We're tackling a hot topic in this episode: doing design work for free in exchange for exposure. It's a big issue in the design industry as it devalues what we do, and the more designers do it, the more clients think exposure is acceptable payment.

Things get a bit fiery as we vent our frustrations over the fact that as design students we were encouraged by our school to enter design contests and do work for companies for free to put in our portfolio. We hope this episode will help you become a little wary of companies offering exposure as payment as we discuss why we believe it's not a good idea.

We offer alternative ways to get good portfolio pieces when you're just starting out and want to encourage you to realize that you need to value yourself and your work! We'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

005: Working For Free In Exchange For Exposure

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.

Design Life Podcast