Design Life

Femke and Charli outline their goals for 2026 and the strategies they plan to implement to achieve them. Femke shares an update about her upcoming baby and how she plans to balance it with her business, while Charli discusses her approach to the book writing process. Timestamps:  01:11 Episode introduction 01:59 Life updates 04:05 Goal setting for 2026: Does Femke set combined business and parenti...

Femke and Charli discuss how to collaborate effectively with other design creators on side projects. Femke shares her experience working with five other designers on the Design Creator's Bundle , including how the collaboration went, how they divided the revenue, and how audience size influenced their choice of collaborators and how Claud helped shape the overall strategy of the product. Timestamp...

Charli and Femke discuss the common challenges people face when pursuing promotions, share strategies to prepare for performance reviews, and explore options for those who perform well but are unable to get promoted. Timestamps: 0:57 Episode start 01:50 Catch up 07:25 What are the main challenged people that you mentored were having around promotions? 10:37 Thinking about promotions as a manager 1...

Charli and Femke discuss their evolving perspectives on side projects, preferred platforms and content formats, and how these have changed throughout their careers, while also sharing their current goals—Charli opening up about her book writing journey and Femke explaining how her approach to her course is continuously evolving. Timestamps:  01:26 - Episode start 03:11 - How are you currently thin...

Femke and Charli discuss how to foster a culture of knowledge sharing at a workplace. They explore how to structure language-sharing sessions, whether these should focus on work-related topics or personal expertise, how to encourage team members to participate, and what roles leaders and team members play in sharing knowledge. Timestamps: 01:25 Episode start 02:27 Catch up 06:52 How did educationa...

Femke and Charli discuss the challenges of staying up-to-date with AI tools, the importance of developing horizontal skills rather than just tool-specific knowledge, integrating AI into your workflow, the financial and environmental impacts of AI and strategies for keeping up with rapid advancements in the tech field. 01:11 Episode introduction 01:53 Catch-up 05:16 How the episode came about: Char...

Femke and Charli discuss how to balance product quality with commitments, deadlines, and the pressure to ship quickly. They explore the best approaches to building MVPs and new features, and consider whether AI is influencing the expected pace of work in design. Timestamps: 01:14 Episode start 02:25 Catch up 07:56 The background of the issue at Femke’s work 10:42 Did Charli experience anything sim...

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 Charli and Femke talk about the challenges of discussing performance reviews and share the actual feedback they received. They discuss how performance reviews work at their companies, including how often they occur, the structure, and the tools used. They...

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 discuss various aspects of hackathons, including team organization and timelines, the motivations behind creating dedicated create weeks, whether projects should go live afterward, the competitive dynamics of hackathons, and provide valua...

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 discuss their perspectives on giving feedback, how their approaches have evolved, the importance of mindful communication, and strategies for providing effective and focused feedback. 01:05 Episode start 02:01 Framer Sponsorship 04:06 How...

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 discuss Gusto's new Creative Director role, including why the company hired for it and what they’re looking for. They talk about whether agency or in-house experience is better, how candidates should prepare for interviews, and what makes...

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 explore their coaching experiences, the importance of active listening, and navigating coaching challenges from both coach and coachee perspectives. 0:47 Episode start 01:59 Framer sponsorship 03:06 What was your coaching workshop experie...

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. Timesta...

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 th...

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 pot...

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-enter...

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...

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...

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...

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 emp...

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 th...

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 ep...

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...

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 ep...

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 ep...