At some point in your career, you’ll face a choice: agency or in-house? Here’s what I’ve learned from my time in both. — Caught in the decision-making dilemma of your next career move? Can’t decide between an agency gig or an in-house role? Having seen both sides (typically I’m an agency designer but recently have done a 9-month startup role) here are my learnings from both. The Pace: Same Beat, Different Rhythm

Stop the endless scrolling of job boards and find what truly works to find that next design job. — Finding your next role can often feel like a job in itself. As a designer with a decade’s experience and countless roles under my belt, I’ve navigated this process more than a few times. …

Are you feeling trapped by long-term career plans that don’t resonate with you anymore? Ditch the conventional wisdom of a five-year plan and discover a more fulfilling approach to career success. — Ever been stumped when someone asks, “Where do you want to be in 5 years?” Yep, me too. We’re all used to being grilled about our future roles, long-term goals, and what ‘success’ means to us in job interviews. If you’re a designer like me, fretting over your career choices…

As summer is drawing to a close, and my current contract is wrapping up I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learnt over the last 9 months. — Ever considered a role as the solo design star in a tech startup? You’re not alone. That’s the gig I accidentally snagged. When signing the contract I was thinking about how exciting it was going to be, being part of a dynamic designer duo. But spoiler alert: It ended up…

Getting feedback early and often saves you time in the long run — Getting feedback early may feel unintuitive. Most of the time we focus on perfecting our work before showing it to the world. As who wants to show something half finished. But here’s the thing, showing your work early in the design process can help you save time later on. …

Online retailer ASOS is nailing the product features of their app. Here are my top 3 features e-commerce stores should copy. — Online shopping has been around since the mid-90s. Over that time, we’ve seen huge improvements in the online shopping experience, with whole product teams dedicated to ensuring incremental improvements that convert OKRs to cash. When you didn’t think there could be much more for industry-changing features, ASOS, the British online…

Recently a friend told me that they were nervous about applying for a new job because it had senior in the title and they weren’t called a senior in their existing role. Designers are obsessed with labels This fixation with the senior title in the design industry seems to have become more apparent in recent…

Demystifying the art of asking questions that adds value to your meetings. — Twice this week, I’ve heard from a developer and a designer with the same concern when moving into a senior position: “How do I contribute to a meeting? I just don’t know what to say”. …

Have you become a freelance designer and found it’s different from what you imagined? Or maybe you’ve noticed you’ve picked up some bad habits. You’re not the only one! — In October 2022, I quit my permanent job as a Design Director to work as a freelance designer. This wasn't the first time I had worked for myself. …