Thank you to our sponsor, Framer . Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Start free today at framer.link/femke Femke and Charli delve into the relationship between a designer and a product manager, exploring perspectives on role responsibilities, skill overlaps, relationship-building advice and distinctions between product marketing and brand design roles. Timestamps: 01:27 Episode starts 02:22 Framer sponsorship 04:00 Typical relationship between a designer and...
Jun 30, 2025•30 min•Ep. 313
Thank you to our sponsor, Workflow. As a listener, you can experience the Workflow too with an exclusive 30-day trial (instead of the usual 14) — so you can see the magic for yourself. Head to workflow.design/designlife to start your extended trial today. Femke 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 criteria they use to prioritize ideas from vision presentations. Time...
Jun 10, 2025•30 min•Ep. 312
Thank you to our sponsor, Workflow. As a listener, you can experience the Workflow too with an exclusive 30-day trial (instead of the usual 14) — so you can see the magic for yourself. Head to workflow.design/designlife to start your extended trial today. Femke and Charli reflect on the Figma Config event, exploring exciting new features like Figma Make and Draw, and sharing their thoughts on potential future innovations such as AI-powered tools and conversational interfaces. Timestamps: 01:04 E...
May 26, 2025•38 min•Ep. 311
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! Femke shares her experience returning to work, exploring team dynamics, personal impacts, surprises, challenges, and positive aspects of re-entering the workplace after maternity leave. Timestamps: 0:49 Episode intro 01:39 Mobbin sponsorship 06:...
May 12, 2025•32 min•Ep. 310
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! Femke and Charli respond to a listener's question about how to choose between pursuing a career as a design manager or an individual contributor (IC). They share their personal experiences navigating their career paths, discuss the factors they ...
Apr 28, 2025•30 min•Ep. 309
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! Femke and Charli explore the transition from mid-level to senior roles and touch upon the changes in responsibilities. They delve into practical tactics for boosting confidence and understanding workload expectations, as well as strategies to he...
Apr 14, 2025•27 min•Ep. 308
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! Femke and Charli explore effective ways for designers to incorporate AI into their everyday workflows, sharing practical insights on how they use AI tools in their own work. They also tackle the question of whether AI will replace designers and ...
Mar 31, 2025•30 min•Ep. 307
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! Femke and Charl share their insights gained from their experiences with outsourcing for their side projects. They discuss the strategies they employed to find the right talent. Charli elaborates on potential hires she would consider for her upco...
Mar 17, 2025•31 min•Ep. 306
This episode is sponsored by Mobbin , which is the largest design reference library for mobile and web, offering practical inspiration from real apps that address diverse design challenges. Don’t forget to mention Design Life when you register at Mobbin! In this episode, Femke 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. Femke and Charli share their personal side project journe...
Mar 03, 2025•31 min•Ep. 305
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! In this episode, Femke and Charli share their goals for 2025, including how Femke plans to approach her return...
Jan 13, 2025•36 min•Ep. 304
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! Femke and Charli engage in a conversation about the advantages of being a generalist versus a specialist, expl...
Dec 30, 2024•29 min•Ep. 303
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! In this episode, Femke and Charli discuss design maturity within organizations, the importance of establishing...
Dec 16, 2024•28 min•Ep. 302
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! In this episode, Femke and Charli delve into the journey of transitioning from an individual contributor to a ...
Dec 03, 2024•30 min•Ep. 301
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! In this live Q&A session, Femke and Charli dive into key topics for designers, including staying relevant ...
Nov 11, 2024•43 min•Ep. 300
This episode is sponsored by Playbook , which is a collaborative platform for creatives to store, organize, and share their work. It features AI-powered search and integrates seamlessly with design tools, making it a great space to manage all your files and projects. Join the "30 Days of 30 Projects" Challenge with Playbook to elevate your creative skills and unlock your full potential! Charli and Femke explore the challenges and best practices in cross-functional collaboration, including naviga...
Oct 28, 2024•30 min•Ep. 299
Femke and Charli dive into the experience of rebranding ConvertKit into Kit . Charli shares a behind-the-scenes look at launch day and the rebranding process, including what didn’t make it into the final launch but is on the roadmap, as well as key lessons learned and what could have been done differently. Timestamps: 0:33 - Intro & Life Update 3:32 - How did it feel when the rebrand was finally complete? 5:26 - What was the public’s reaction? Walk us through the launch day—how did it unfold...
Oct 14, 2024•28 min•Ep. 298
Femke shares her experience navigating the challenges of parental leave, including her decision to take extended time off supported by her employer and Canadian government benefits. She reflects on the challenges of staying connected with the design industry while on parental leave and the potential motivations for returning to work earlier than planned. Femke also discusses how her perspective on work-life balance has evolved over time as she adjusts to her new routine. Timestamps: 01:42 - Life...
Sep 30, 2024•27 min•Ep. 297
Charli and Femke talk about Charli’s recent promotion and how she approached this process. They explore the importance of taking ownership of your professional growth, including how proactively seeking feedback and showing initiative can help advance your career. They also cover important questions like when to bring up a promotion, what the promotion process entails, and how tools like a promotion matrix and self-evaluation can help you in that process. Femke shares her past experiences with pr...
Sep 09, 2024•30 min•Ep. 296
Charli and Femke dive into their experiences working with freelancers and agencies in their side projects and day jobs. Charli shares the decision-making process behind choosing an agency for a recent rebrand at Convert Kit, the challenges they encountered, and how involved they were in the collaboration. The hosts also offer practical advice for anyone deciding whether to keep a project in-house or outsource it to freelancers or agencies. Show Timestamps: 0:46 - Episode introduction 1:38 - Char...
Aug 26, 2024•30 min•Ep. 295
Femke and Charli dive into the exciting world of rebranding Convert Kit. We explore the origins of the rebrand, discussing whether it began with a name change or a complete repositioning. Charli explains why they decided to make the rebranding process public instead of opting for a big splashy launch. Given the scale of the project, we delve into the various roles and responsibilities that are crucial for the rebrand’s success. Charli shares surprising challenges they've encountered so far, as w...
Jul 29, 2024•31 min•Ep. 294
Femke 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 part of the design process. We also cover how to measure success and incorporate metrics into the design process. Additionally, we highlight the importance of sharing real experiences, including conflicts with PMs, design failures, and working without data. We discuss why it is important for designers to share stories of ...
Jul 08, 2024•26 min•Ep. 293
In today’s episode, we 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. We are going to talk about Figma's UI3 redesign, new features such as Figma Slides, Code Connect, new AI features, project transfers, connected workspaces, and many more. Show Timestamps: 0:45 Intro 01:16 Is it “cOnfig” or “confIg”? 02:04 Update to the Autolayout 04:25 Figma’s redesign - new UI3 07:19 Project transfers and ...
Jul 02, 2024•31 min•Ep. 292
Femke and Charli delve into the difficulties of managing a side project that isn't going well. Charli shares her personal experience of trying to organize a live workshop in New Zealand and not managing to attract enough participants. The hosts discuss what Charli learned from this experience and how the situation could have been handled better. Show Timestamps: 2:03 Update from Femke’s side 4:14 Update from Charli’s side 6:23 Background of the situation 12:18 What is your reflection on this sit...
May 21, 2024•27 min•Ep. 291
Femke and Charli share their insights on how to approach the application process in the 2024 design job market. The hosts share strategies on how to optimize your application, stand out from the crowd, and increase your chances of securing your desired position. As competition intensifies and hiring standards rise, it is important to excel in every aspect of your application, whether it's a case study, website, or resume. Tune in to discover how to effectively showcase your design expertise and ...
May 06, 2024•29 min•Ep. 290
Charli reflects on her 7-year journey at her current workplace, emphasizing the importance of difficult conversations in clarifying issues such as salary and job satisfaction. Femke talks about the struggles she experienced of leaving behind internal reputation and connections when transitioning roles, highlighting the value of established relationships within a company. They discuss the concept of "golden handcuffs" and the need to see if current job aligns with personal growth and challenges. ...
Apr 22, 2024•30 min•Ep. 289
Charli and Femke talk about their experience of having retreats with their teams, how retreats should be structured, what is their purpose and how to make the best out of in-person time with your teammates. As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent and we usually do not get the chance to see our co-workers’ faces outside of video-calls, team offsites can greatly improve the team dynamic and subsequently enhance communication between team members. Changing scenery and experiencing new things ...
Apr 08, 2024•29 min•Ep. 287
Femke and Charli delve into the concept of personal branding. They discuss whether personal branding requires strategic planning and the level of intentionality one should have regarding their personal brand. Femke and Charli explore the distinction between personal and company brands, the objectives personal branding can help achieve and whether individuals can truly control others' perceptions of them through personal branding. Femke and Charli also touch upon the importance of personal brandi...
Mar 26, 2024•26 min•Ep. 287
Charli and Femke give an elaborate reply to one of the listener's requests: whether deadlines should be taken seriously. The hosts share real stories of how they approached deadlines in different projects, how unrealistic deadlines should be handled, what to do in situations when a deadline cannot be met, how to discuss deadlines and set reasonable expectations, and how one's perspective on them changes depending on their role in the project. Show Timestamps: 01:13 Intro 02:34 Charli’s workshop ...
Mar 11, 2024•32 min•Ep. 286
Charli shares her personal experience of how she got burned out from her side projects. She talks about the subtle signs and symptoms that indicate burnout and how to confront them. Charli decided to drop her side projects and restructured her life to recover from burnout. Charli and Femke touch upon how burn out can affect your career choices, the importance of diversifying your daily activities and hobbies, why burnout is so prevalent in creative professions and the importance of defining what...
Feb 27, 2024•28 min•Ep. 285
Welcome back, design enthusiasts! We're kicking off 2024 by bring you up to speed on our latest adventures and aspirations. 🌟 Life Updates: Tune in as we share the latest updates from our lives – from career milestones to more personal things, we're laying it all on the table. 💼 Career and Side Project Plans: Get ready to dive into our ambitious plans for the year ahead. We're talking side gigs, big dreams, and everything in between. Charlie is sharing her plans to organise an in-person meet u...
Feb 12, 2024•29 min•Ep. 284
