Design Life

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Design Life is a podcast about design and side projects for motivated creators. It was born after your hosts, two serial side project addicts, saw a gap in the podcast market for a conversational show about design and the issues young creatives face, that was hosted by two females. This show aims to tackle the big issues designers face like getting paid, overcoming a creative block or managing time, to name a few. We want to open up discussion about things we wish we heard people talk about when we were studying, and we want to chat to you about the joys and the frustrations of working in the tech industry by day, and on our passion projects in the rest of our waking hours. We hope that by doing so, Design Life will give you a dose of motivation or inspiration when you need it.

Recent Episodes
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Recent Reviews
  • Toasts&Tea
    My Design Role Models
    I am learning SO MUCH from this. I just discovered this podcast, so I’m basically picking 2-5 and binge-listening while on my “pandemic therapy walks.” As a junior designer, this is gold.
  • animallover🦄🐴🐨🐶🐹🐰🦔🐲
    Love all around! 10 Stars
    This is the most amazing podcast I have ever found! I get more motivation to design from these two then I have from any other podcast or even person. They are realistic than most Artists even when asked questions.
  • Dan.Pham01
    Perfect mix of motivation and inspiration
    This has been my go-to podcast for motivation and inspiration for a couple years now. I'm just starting out my career as an iOS developer, but this podcast has introduced me to the wonderful world of design and inspired me to learn more about it. Now I spend half my time learning about iOS development and the other half learning about design. Charli and Femke are amazing hosts who have many insightful conversations, and listeners can learn a lot from their experiences (engineers included!). I highly recommend this to anyone looking to add some intellectual stimulation to their day!
  • LunaGitgood
    Couldn’t recommend a better design podcast
    I’ve listened to this podcast for almost 2 years and I feel so happy every time there is a new episode. Being a female designer, it’s great to listen to 2 females talk about the things I want to talk about. I appreciate their perspectives and their discussions and I will continue to be a listener as long as the podcast continues.
  • obacker19
    Empowering, insightful and actionable! 🔥
    Whether you’re well established as someone who can translate creative energy into the impact you want to have on the world, or just getting started as a designer - this is a must-listen podcast for you! Charli and Femke do an incredible job leading conversations that cover a huge breadth of topics related to the ins and outs of navigating the shifting landscape of design, freelancing and tech culture - while building a life you're proud of. Highly recommend listening and subscribing!
  • Emily Nickel
    Informative + Real!
    As a freelance designer, this podcast has given me incredible insight for how to approach different situations, such as meeting with clients, the handoff process, and more. I really appreciate you both for bringing our community together with your podcast. I highly recommend!
  • D. Gold
    Thank You
    Thank you for continuing to put out helpful content. Just know there are people out here grateful for your thoughts and advice.
  • Ashemev — Ashley
    Commuting isn’t so bad...
    Fem and Charli’s Design Life Podcast is such a delight! I find listening to them on my commute to be captivating, inspiring, and over all refreshing in every aspect. Fem and Charli are open and transparent about their experiences, future goals, and are truly just figuring it out with their audiences. It’s a conversation that fully utilizes connectivity in every possible way. Ive learned so much from these two inspiring ladies that share their work, passions, perspectives, lives, and all of the bits in between. An amazing job done by a couple of design professionals helping shape the future of our industry. Can’t wait to see more successes, and be apart of some great conversations to come. Thank you Fem and Charli for putting in your time, attention, and teaching me so so much.
  • TivyBBy
    Awesome Awesome Awesome!
    I came upon this podcast because I found Charli’s YouTube and absolutely fell in love with her videos. I realized she had a podcast and now I just can’t put it down. I’m catching up on episodes so I listen to them everyday while I’m coding and designing. Their attitude and positive energy is so infectious and I get so motivated each time I listen to them. Great job ladies! You are such an inspiration!
  • Shaloha91
    These girls are awesome
    As a noob product designer I absolutely love this podcast. Charlie and Femke have wonderful chemistry together and produce a superb podcast covering so many important topics about the practice of design. Thank you and keep up the good work!
  • jav094
    How to be a designer — as told by actual people
    I always look forward to Design Life episodes! You can count on relevant topics in the industry and genuinely insightful feedback from Charli and Femke. Plus they’re regular people like you and me; I appreciate their honesty and willingness to share the highs and lows of working as a designer.
  • kid_nickels
    incredibly useful for learning about the design industry
    Thank you Charli & Femke for sharing your organized & approachable insights into the design field. This podcast has been exactly what I need to get a better feel for what the different elements of working in design are and figuring out what I want to pursue for my own career. Keep up the amazing work!
  • Amiegrrl
    One of my go-to design podcasts
    Design life is so refreshing and energizing - most design podcasts are constantly telling you to quit your day job, and leave you feeling less than. Design Life celebrates the combination of enjoying your day job + how to balance that with your side hustles and the rest of your life. Charli and Femke are humble and honest and you feel like you're going on their journey along with them.
  • Fern H. Silva
    Vividly living design
    It has been more than a year that I decided to give this podcast a try and I can positively say it was one of the best choices I've ever done. The hosts, Charli and Femke, have such a charismatic way of approaching each and every intricate topic and challenges that Design Life covers weekly. This is the place where I get most of the insights that enlighten my journey as a design student, which ended up sparkling my crescent love for tech. They are open to sharing their feelings and struggles throughout their career and, most importantly, showing the entire process and not just the fancy highlights. It's worth mentioning that these inspiring women have got a lovely kiwi accent that makes the listening experience even more enjoyable. lol
  • hunterrams
    Fan of Charli and Femke!
    I been a active follower of Charli’s YouTube channel and Femke’s Medium posts and I was so amazed to see a Design podcast they both created! It’s addicting and interesting!
  • KNOwL3Dg3
    Open & Honest
    I found this podcast a few years ago, and I have stopped listening sense. There is something to be said about how open and honest Femke and Charli are about sharing their struggles and success as designers. This is a counter-cultural move in a world where we only see and hear about the finished product or design. The general public doesn't get to hear about all of the failed attempts, the countless hours spent on a project, and then you kill it in its infancy phase. Becuase the artist felt like it wasn't good enough. The emotional roller coaster all Designers and Artists go through. Keep it up.
  • Brahman830
    The keyword is Life.
    If what you want is to listen to a podcast that functions as a replacement to Design School, then you might not find value in this show. Go listen to something else. However, if what you're after is career advice delivered via casual conversation from two talented, down to earth, ambitious, and generous designers that want to share their experiences for the benefit of others, then welcome to the party! What someone can easily miss about this show is that the keyword in the title is LIFE. The greatness of this show and the community that surrounds it, does not come from turning on the podcast and getting a lecture from a Design School professor. It comes from turning the episode on and feeling like you're immediately in the company of beloved friends and peers discussing the topics that matter to your life as a designer. Charli and Fem are people that I relate to and am highly motivated by because while hearing them discuss their challenges and experiences in the design world, I am reminded that I can tackle my own. The fact that listeners feel like Charli and Fem are our friends isn't a weakness, it's actually what makes this show so special.
  • designerxx
    Waste of time, amateur content
    There are lots of reviews by Charli and Femke’s friends, so this critical review will not get a lot of appreciation. However, seeing that the podcast has been running for 2 years and nothing has improved, these two need some constructive criticism. The elephant in the room is that this podcast is a product of motivational content marketing, at best. Femke and Charli are both junior designers, Femke wasn’t even doing design when they started the podcast, yet they are teaching others as if they have years of experience. If you look at their articles and talks, they’re not about design either. Charli speaks about how to market yourself, and Femke speaks about self-care. Is this a design podcast when the content isn’t about design? The podcast is full of self-advertising and their content is full of cross-promotion. If you look at the show notes, it’s always Femke and Charli’s stuff (articles, portfolios, products and so on). Femke interviews Charli in her creative series and Charli invites Femke in her Youtube videos. Aside from that Charli and Femke has a lot of friends, I am uncertain why you people tolerate self-promotion in online content. Thirdly, this podcast is free, but it’s produced with a goal in mind—to make money! (Surprise, surprise.) The community which they started is charging 9 dollars a month and there are more than 100 people in the community, that means they’re earning 900+/m, not to mention the stickers they’re selling (50x£10). What kind of setup do they have that requires 900/m? Charli ran a Patreon campaign to raise money, Femke listed her articles on Medium only for paying members. All of this is to earn money, not to "produce valuable content for creatives." My advice (which is the word that these two juniors looooove to use) for them is — focus on growing and improving yourself to be in a position that you can teach others. You are still learning and you don’t have that much experience. Will you be responsible if you taught others the wrong way, due to your lack of experience and knowledge? Femke just started her first design job a few months ago, and she is now making a course to teach others product design. What's up with that?! Charli has been running her YT channel since 2013, but the level of content has not increased at all. It's still about wireframes, critique, coding a simple website as if she just started being a designer. Currently, she's collaborating with other well-known Youtubers to get the views up, because she doesn't have other new insights to share. My advice for listeners—there are plenty of podcasts that invites seasoned designers, with years of industry experience. If you want to succeed, you should look up to people that are successful, who worked hard to get there, not content marketers who are “giving advice” just to make a name for themselves.
  • BrendaFarias
    Love the openness and honesty
    I've been listening to this podcast since it first started (and i've been a fan of both hosts before it launched!) The information and experiences they share are so valuable and always take a weight of my shoulder. It's relieving to hear that other designers and successful designers like these two struggle just as much as us "regular" folks. We were all beginners at some point. Such a humble podcast <3
  • graphic desing student
    good talks
    I just started listening and I agree with what Brent says, glad I found it
  • Quinn K
    My favorite creativity & side project podcast
    I'm not a designer, but there are a few sort of creative side projects that I'm interested in pursuing. And I've been inspired by Charli and Femke's work ethic to finally push myself to get started! The tone of the podcast is really refreshing. It's very conversational and never feels just like one big sales pitch for their own products and services. Instead, they draw upon their own experiences and work to provide advice that's actionable and incredibly helpful. Definitely recommend for anyone interested in creating things, design-based or not!
  • Nick123214323
    Love The Podcast!
    Hello, my name is Nickolans. I love the podcast and the topics you talk about. I am a programmer/developer who also loves design. I think that no matter how good you can program, the software is nothing if it doesn't look good and doesn't have a well designed UI. This podcast has really motivated me in multiple ways to do things such as to surround myself with better people and has taught me what it really means to be a designer! Not many people can make a podcast as entertaining and captivating as you guys!
  • ohgoodgravi.tumblr
    My favorite motivation boost
    I'm a graphic design student and my aunt sent me this podcast at the beginning of this year and I'm so glad she did!! I'm always coming up with different side project ideas that I'm never really sure how to put into place, but I can feel myself forming clearer plans for them as I listen more and more to Femke and Charli. It's so great to hear from designers closer to my own age, because it definitely was intimidating to look forward at the Real World and not really knowing what it's like for someone fresh out of college. I love hearing the design experience as told by women and am always excited to hear what these two have to save about the various topics surrounding graphic design and side projects.
  • tarynattheseams
    Love Design Life!
    Charli and Fem have such a great podcast with Design Life! It's something I look forward to it every week. I'm very creative and motivated in both my career as a designer and other endeavors I take on aside with my day job. It's so refreshing to hear people with similar mindsets AND interests talk about their experiences in the same field of work. Both ladies offer great advice and I've taken note of many bits of information shared in all episodes. They also make great hosts and listening to this podcast almost feels like grabbing coffee and catching up with friends. I advise anyone who is passionate about design to take a listen to Design Life!
  • kickinthehead
    Great not just for designers, but creatives and freelancers!
    Great podcast that's well produced, and highly recommended for anyone working in a creative field! My work is in video editing not design, but Charli and Femke's conversations about day jobs, client work, and side projects are universally applicable. Even though I've been working professionally for 10+ years, I've already learned some great tips! Episode 44 especially has a ton of great ideas about ending client projects, that I'm going to incorporate for my future work.
  • Monika Glowacka
    Motivating and inspiring!
    I'm studying at university and I became familiar with this podcast through Charli's YouTube channel. I'm hooked! It's so inspiring and it motivates me to move forward with projects during my last semester. The topics discussed are actual important topics that people entering the design work world need to know and I'm amazed about how much I actually never considered. Definitely count this podcast as a creditable place to learn about the mechanics of design.
  • Bobbie_A
    Not just for graphic designers
    A lot of fun to listen to. I'm a landscape architect not graphic designer but find the content & casual conversation fun to listen too. I've come away w something new each episode.
  • Mmmmik643
    My Current Fave - & I'm not even a designer
    I came across their podcast searching for any episode with tips and tricks on "How To Wake Up Early". That episode is still my favorite and has been so inspiring to me! Their voices & accents are incredibly soothing and pleasant and I love the way they relate to each other. It's also very well edited and they do a very good job of keeping on point. And the consistency is amazing. Thank you! Also--another incredible thing, there is absolutely -no- promotion here. These podcasters are doing it for the love of the content. I so appreciate you! One way to keep improving would be to make your advice/thoughts more concise and talk less in general terms/platitudes, perhaps giving a bit more anecdotes and data to make it more concrete and specific. Also-please record extra episodes haha, I'm all caught up and am re-listening. As I said I'm not even a designer. I'm a motivated creator though, and now even more so thanks to Femke and Charli! Please keep talking about your routines, hard work, and early mornings hustle. Thank you for putting this out there, it's quite unique.
  • Steffen Spreng
    Great Podcast for Freelancers and Designers
    Femke and Charli are great at bringing helpful and relevant discussions to an area I'm new in - design and freelancing. I really look forward to listening to each new episode and hearing what they have to share for the week. I definitely recommend giving this podcast a listen if you want to hear some inspiration and relatable advice to help with your freelance journey!
  • vosco_
    Fantastic design discussion
    I love this podcast. Femke and Charli both generously open up their process and thinking on the practice and craft of design and creative side-projects. If you are new to design or at all interested in creative endeavours, this is a must listen. Also make sure to join the conversation as both hosts and the show are fully engaging on twitter.
  • TMarcS
    "Super Cool"
    This podcast is "super cool"! It's fun, entertaining, and highly motivational. I enjoy each episode as these two designers discuss the challenges and enjoyment of living a design life. - Marc, Architect in Atlanta
  • danielletyler91
    So motivating!
    I love listening to y'all! I'm always so motivated after. I look forward to the episodes every week 😁
  • Neil Vilppu
    An essential podcast for any designer
    Design life is a great podcast for designers of any level. In the early episodes Charli and Femnke discuss a lot about getting their start in design and how they came to that career path which was very interesting and gave insights that would be valuable to anyone on the road to being a designer. The majority of the episodes really focus on the daily things that are a part of being a designer. Whether it's talking about the confidence in your own work or balancing the in-house gig, side projects and personal life (even though those lines are extremely blurry for most of us designers :) I give it one giant (but well designed) stamp of approval! Can't wait for the next episode!
  • zachgrosser
    Best Podcast Ever
    I love Design Life. Charli and Femke are such great hosts! It's awesome to hear them cover a range of topics that are so relatable and real. As a twenty-something designer, I feel every struggle and success that they discuss. It's amazing that they remain active on Twitter too, so they can get episode ideas, questions, and clarity. And it's so refreshing to hear from strong women designers, when unfortunately most design podcasts are male dominant. Keep up the amazing work Charli and Femke!
  • SarahSarahSarahjane
    Inspiring in more ways than one
    I'm a young professional (instructional) designer in Chicago, and this is one of my most favorite podcasts. Charli and Femke talk about topics that are both inspiring AND relatable. Podcasts can quickly get preachy or redundant, but these episodes feel more like candid conversation with close friends. And as a note, the New Zealand accents are fantastic and probably part of the reason I find this podcast so charming! I highly recommend this podcast to any young professional in a creative field who wants to better themselves or make a difference in the industry.
  • Ccbrelsmal
    So encouraging
    I enjoy listening to you ladies so much even though I'm not a designer, so much of what you talk about is very real for me as a creative person who just started two new and very demanding jobs as a high school teacher and as a mother. Listening to y'all has been helping me stay motivated to keep up with work and home, and still make time to work on creative projects for myself. Thanks for bringing some much needed inspiration back into my life!
  • kylechallancin
    Fantastic!
    As someone with a lot of side projects, Design Life is a fantastic podcast to listen to. I love that Charli and Femke talk about their struggles and give advice to each other—and the listener. Every Monday when I listen, I get a new wave of motivation for the week. You have to add this to your weekly listening rotation!
  • Mattkandler
    Pleasure to listen!
    I'm not a typical podcast listener but I stumbled across this on a product site. I'm already hooked! What really makes this different than a lot of the other design conversations or advice out there is that both of these woman still haven't "made it". It's fun listening to their dynamic as they work through their own projects and discuss things that matter to developing designers. Too much of the other stuff out there is dull retrospective thinking. Please keep it going!
  • Cydneykay
    Get Inspired to make your side projects happen
    Charli and Femke are only 4 episodes in and Design Life is already chocked full of great design references and conversations to help get motivated to do more with your passion. I highly recommend this podcast to hard-working and motivated creatives.
  • Austin the Saylor Man
    On my ‘must listen’ list!
    Charli and Femke are great. I love listening to their conversations and gleaning insight about all things design. They are both super talented designers who are worth subscribing to and listening to every week!
  • brentgalloway
    A Refreshing Podcast For The Design World
    Charli and Femke are a breath of fresh air in the noisy market of design podcasts. They aren’t here to flex their design muscles, rather, they’re sharing their experiences and growing as designers alongside their audience. I find this is what sets their podcast apart from the rest and why it’s so enjoyable. You can relate to their past experiences, their failures, and aspirations. It’s very conversational, to the point where I just want to jump in on the conversation too at times! Give the Design Life podcast a listen. You won’t regret it!
  • Garrett mickley
    Already Hooked
    There’s only too episodes and I’m already hooked. I really identified with the Side Project episode and it’s something everyone should listen to.
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