Marketing Design Dispatch
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.
Back to my roots (but make it Creative Director)
Hey Reader, Remember how in my last email I mentioned wanting to do things differently this year? Well, I've just uploaded my first YouTube video of 2025, and it marks the start of something new (well, actually old – but we'll get to that). While I was taking that three week break in New Zealand over the holidays, I started to get my spark back for creating content ✨ And it came from realising that there was a gap in the content I personally wanted to see: There's just not a lot of folks in...
Taking the scenic route in 2025 🌿
Well hello there, Reader. I know it's already mid-January, but for me it feels like the new year is just starting – I've been in New Zealand for the past three weeks, spending time with my family totally unplugged from work. Check out the views from one hike we did 😍 Duder Regional Park Anyway, I'm getting a bit of a late start to the whole "new year, new me" thing now that I'm home. I've always loved a new year. Just like I honestly love a Monday – there's this 'fresh start' vibe to it that...
The financial cost of burnout (real numbers) 📉
Well Reader, it's that time of year where I pull together the numbers from my various income streams and share them with you. This is my seventh year of writing an annual income report, but it’s the first time that I’m reporting an overall decrease in income from the previous year. In fact, when it comes to my side business this year I’m reporting the lowest level of revenue since I first started writing these reports. Yikes. What you’ll see in these numbers is the financial cost of burnout....
when it's a marathon, not a sprint... but you still have to move really fast
First of all, thank you to every who responded with such enthusiasm to the lo-fi newsletter I sent last week. ❤️ I really loved hearing your wins. Here's just a few things that Marketing Design Dispatch readers are celebrating recently: Increased confidence in their role Taking the bold step of asking for a promotion Landing a meaningful project Landing a new job Making progress in dealing with anxiety All absolutely worthy of celebration 👏 I loved hearing your stories. Second, you know...
when constraints aren't breeding creativity
I know, I know: you're used to receiving prettier, branded emails from me in your inbox in the form of the Marketing Design Dispatch. (Or maybe you're not exactly used to it, since I've only sent about 4 issues in the past year!) When I realised I was burnt out in October last year, I hit pause on pretty much everything related to my side business, including the newsletter. I truly thought I'd take the rest of the year off and then be ready to go again come January. But then January came...
Behind-the-scenes of burnout recovery
Issue #121 Hi Reader, Long time, no newsletter from me. It's been a few months of ups and downs and I've got some honest updates for you in today's issue: What's been going well, and what hasn't been going well with my burnout recovery Filling you in on a side project venture that TOTALLY flopped Let's just get right into it, shall we? Burnout recovery: What's going well and what's not Back in February I uploaded a video sharing that I was going through a period of burnout and had paused my...
What career goals have you set?
Issue #120 I'm curious, Reader: have you got any career goals you're hoping to achieve this year? In this issue I'm reflecting on setting and achieving career goals, announcing my first ever in-person workshop event, sharing a video about burnout and an interesting behind-the-scenes of a Figma feature release motion graphic. Let's jump in! Setting & achieving career goals I'm in a period of growth right now as I tackle a large new-to-me project at work which is setting me up to achieve one of...
I burnt out
Issue #11 Hey Reader, I know it's been a while since I last sent out an issue of this newsletter. Here's the thing: 44% of tech workers experience burnout in their career. And last year, I finally accepted that it had gotten me too. In this issue I want to tell you what the signs were for me, and what I've been doing to try to recover from burnout without quitting my job. Burnout The build up With hindsight, I can see that I was in a period of burnout long before I finally accepted it. I...
How well do you understand marketing strategy?
Issue #118 Well I mean, the question is in the subject line. How well do you understand marketing strategy Reader? In this issue I'm sharing some thoughts on how much attention we should pay to this as brand and marketing designers (as well as a great resource you could use to get a little closer to it!) I'm also sharing a link to a slightly over-sharing video where I reveal exactly what earned in the last 12 months, and the results of a poll I ran in the last issue... let's go! Building your...
I'm a little out of my depth on this task...
Issue #117 How often do you tackle a project that's out of your comfort zone, Reader? Last week I started tackling a project I don't have much experience in: Creating a messaging guide. In this issue I'm sharing: How I'm approaching this messaging project from a brand perspective A real look at how it went the first time I tried Figma's variables feature A podcast episode for you to listen to this week A poll about meetings... Let's jump in! Creating a messaging guide When I became Creative...
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.