Self-employment is more than delivering meals or acquiring followers on Instagram. — Why is a freelance career still difficult to describe? Are we so stuck in the 1950’s paradigm of employment that some people can’t fathom alternative career paths? Or, even worse, we lump all freelancers into the same trendy terms of gig workers and content creators? When asked what I do…

There’s only one thing that matters: are both sides happy with the exchange? — Pricing creative services is tricky. You’re always worried you’re not charging enough because you can’t help but compare yourself to others who can command higher rates. Nobody likes leaving money on the table. …

Obsess over process, not outcomes. — As the field of design matures, the weight of responsibility we get from having a “seat at the table” means more pressure to measure the success of design. More metrics, more validation, more proven design outcomes. But the problem with creative work — truly innovative work — is that we…

Mind the gaps for long-term thinking and creative rejuvenation. — White space is a designer’s best friend and most powerful ally. It’s what gives great visual work breathing room. It creates moments of silence that amplify the areas of focus. It forms groupings and builds rhythm. …

One of them is never optional, and sometimes you can’t even pick two. — Surely you’ve heard it before. The iron triangle of service: good, fast, cheap — pick two. You can never have all three, as the saying goes. Cheap + Fast = low quality Good + Cheap = too slow Fast + Good = expensive I have so many problems with…

Mediocre work requires constant sales and marketing to maintain momentum. Exceptional work sells itself. — Would you rather have an average product with excellent marketing or an excellent product with average marketing? Off the top of your head, what would you pick? The perfectionist in me would choose the latter, and I would usually be wrong. The answer to this common business question frequently refers…

It’s time for a radical shift in how we present ourselves as designers. — My website needs some love. The design is showing its age—but even worse — I’ve been too busy to update it so it doesn’t even represent my best work. Sound familiar? Many creatives find themselves in this conundrum. It’s difficult to work on your own website when you’re flat-out designing…

The maturation of UX isn’t making you an uncreative robot or replaceable commodity. — Complaining about the maturation of digital design is all the rage in the UX world right now. Years ago we started noticing how all websites look the same due to the standardizaton of UX best practices and data-driven design. …

What’s holding you back from sprinting your career ahead? — It was more than 20 years ago, but I can still remember it clearly. I was sitting in front of an old cathode ray tube watching a grainy VHS tape of my state’s high school track finals. Kevin, a friend who was one grade above me, had just won the…