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Are you underutilising your skills as a designer?
I have a question for you, Reader: how would you feel if this newsletter switched from weekly to a fortnightly (every other week) cadence? Let me know by clicking on the option above that best fits your answer. I've been struggling to fit in writing time for my book about marketing design recently, and I think redirecting some of the time I spend writing this newsletter to the book project would be beneficial. But I care about this newsletter audience a lot. I'm so grateful you allow me into your inbox, and I know weekly issues is what you signed up for originally. So please, let me know what you think! Thanks in advance :) Now let's get in to the issue. |
Designers are more than a pair of handsMy book is aimed at helping brand and marketing designers to increase the impact they're having in their role and level-up in their careers. I just know that as designers we can do more than show up to move pixels around in a design tool. And yet many designers get stuck doing just that. Sometimes it's because they lack clarity over the ways they can work to increase their influence internally, but sometimes it's because the company itself just doesn't invite designers to step up. This tweet from Jess Rosenberg (who I interviewed earlier this year when she was Director of Brand Design at Webflow) really resonated with me.
I know that earlier in my career I would find myself sitting in meetings hearing about the marketing strategies we were using to reach our audience and having an opinion, but feeling like I'd be stepping on toes if I spoke up. Likewise there were times when I'd be given a super prescriptive brief and while I'd have ideas for a more creative way we could approach solving the problem, I was afraid to act on it for fear of being told I was doing my job wrong. Lucky for me, I had role models on the team of designers who were bold enough to speak up and it gave me the confidence to do so too. I saw that their ideas were taken seriously, that they weren't admonished for having a differing opinion, and that they got to do great work because of it! So I started to be more bold too. I realise now, from the language used in Jess's tweet, that I was underutilising my own skills by not speaking up and by focussing on the pixels on the page. These days, I have strong opinions (that I hold loosely) on many things that aren't design-specific. And I sure as heck speak up about them! Are you underutilising your own skills at the moment? Is your company underutilising designers? What can you do about that? Something to ponder this week as you go about your work. A first-person perspective of ConfigMy Config vlog is finally live! If you're curious about what the event looked and felt like, or maybe if you just want to relive the experience – go watch the vlog I filmed of my time at the event below. You might see some familiar faces in this vlog too, of other designers you follow online! Last chance to get an earlybird ticket for my upcoming workshop
Taking place online on August 22nd at 7pm CEST (that's 1pm ET or 10am PT), the Crafting a Personal Brand workshop is designed to help creative professionals like you to establish a clear and powerful personal brand, fearlessly embrace self-promotion, and take action on building a reputation that will open doors and elevate your career. I'm offering a discount for the people who save their seat now before the full sales page is launched, but as I spent some time writing copy for the page this weekend, let me share a few more details with you if you've been on the fence so that you can take advantage of this earlybird price! Who this workshop is forCrafting a Personal Brand is a workshop is for ambitious creative professionals who want to:
Any designer at any stage of their career can benefit from being intentional about their personal brand! What this workshop will teach youThis 90-minute workshop will give you a practical framework for crafting your personal brand. I’ll lead you through the process of:
You’ll leave the workshop with the clarity and motivation you need to actually take action on achieving your goals. What this workshop won't teach youThis is not a technical design tutorial. You won’t be learning how to design a logo or pick your colour palette or brand font. But you will be able to use your personal brand statement to help you make these decisions on your own. Your reputation is your personal brand.Your brand isn’t your colours or your logo; it’s a perception that’s formed by the experiences and interactions someone has with you. And when you’re intentional about your online (and offline!) presence, you can shape that perception and align it to your goals while being authentically and uniquely you. My personal brand has been a key factor in landing opportunities throughout my design career. Having a clear understanding of what I want to be known for, and taking actions to build that reputation intentionally has helped me to:
Yep, crafting my personal brand has gotten me far. And now I’m passing that knowledge on to you. Convinced?
Got questions still? Hit reply and ask away! Soon I'm heading off on a bucket-list trip to the arctic circle! I'll be visiting the archipelago of Svalbard and exploring an unbelievably beautiful landscape (don't worry, I'll share pics!). So whether this newsletter switches to a fortnightly cadence permanently or not, I'll take a break next Monday for some last minute trip preparations. Hope you have a great week! See you in the next issue, |
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Marketing Design Dispatch
by Charli Marie
Join 17,000+ creatives receiving insider insights about brand and marketing design – featuring landing page and rebrand breakdowns, useful career content, and a behind-the-scenes look at running a Brand Studio team in tech.