Design Life

Charli Prangley, Femke Van Schoonhoven
  • 4.9 (127)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

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.

  1. 323: How to land a promotion

    DEC 16

    323: How to land a promotion

    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 16:01 Advice to people to whom it is not clear what needs to be done in order to get promoted 22:17 How to set yourself up for success l for the performance review time 28:32 What if you do a good job but you cannot get a promotion? Links: Femke's community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    36 min
  2. 322: Our approach to side projects in 2026

    NOV 10

    322: Our approach to side projects in 2026

    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 thinking about side projects? How do you describe what you do on the side when meeting new people? 05:23 - Perspectives on different platforms and content formats 08:38 - Charli’s main side project at the moment: writing a book 09:42 - Updates on Charli’s YouTube channel 16:00 - How Charli incorporates Claude into her creative process 17:00 - Strategies behind choosing and developing content formats 25:25 - Femke shares her vision for her business   Links:  Femke's community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    37 min
  3. 321: Knowledge-sharing in a design team (the wins and the failures)

    OCT 27

    321: Knowledge-sharing in a design team (the wins and the failures)

    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 educational 'Lunch and Learn' sessions come about at Femke’s work? 08:06 Are these sessions about work topics or personal expertise? 11:26 Does Kit have a format for ICs to sign up or volunteer to share with the team? How is knowledge sharing structured at Charli’s and Femke’s jobs? 21:03 Does sharing come from anyone on the team or mainly leaders? How much do leaders set an example, and how did you get that started? 21:47 How do you protect team members’ time and set expectations for knowledge sharing beyond their regular responsibilities? Do you expect everyone to share knowledge at a certain level, and how much of it is built into their responsibilities? 26:32 How often do you do knowledge sharing? 26:52 Do you encourage your team to consume any of your content? Links:  Femke's community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    34 min
  4. 320: The struggle with staying up-to-date with new design tools

    OCT 13

    320: The struggle with staying up-to-date with new design tools

    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: Charli shares a story from her workplace about integrating AI into their processes 10:17 Challenges in staying up-to-date with AI and design tools 14:01 Is tool-specific knowledge important? The value of learning horizontal skills versus tool-specific skills 16:00 Building AI workflows and exploring what’s possible with AI 17:51 Financial costs of using AI 23:23 Environmental impact of AI 24:58 Goals for keeping up with the rapid pace of AI development Links:  Femke's community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    30 min
  5. 319: Balancing speed and quality in design work

    SEP 29

    319: Balancing speed and quality in design work

    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 similar? 12:56 Has the rebrand and the new systems in place helped your team unlock more velocity, allowing you to work more quickly? 17:19 What does your team think about MVP? 24:45 As a design manager, what’s your role in solving this? 26:07 Any ideas of solutions Femke can share? 32:15 Is AI influencing leadership’s push for speed? Do you think it’s making teams move faster? Links:  Femke's new community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    39 min
  6. 318: Revealing our performance reviews as design leaders

    SEP 15

    318: Revealing our performance reviews as design leaders

    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 also share how AI tools are integrated into the process, explain how promotions are linked to reviews, and highlight key points to keep in mind for the next review cycle. Timestamps: 0:51 Episode start. 01:39 Framer sponsorship. 03:14 What is the structure of the performance review at Femke’s company? 06:39 What tools are used during the performance review? How are performance reviews conducted at Charli’s company? 09:25 How long is your review period? 11:56 How have you incorporated AI into the review process? 14:58 Charli and Femke share the feedback they received during their performance reviews. 18:20 Femke and Charli go into more detail about their feedback. 21:08 How detailed do you prefer your feedback to be? 25:29 Charli and Femke share the feedback they received as managers from direct reports. 29:28 How does your company handle promotions? Are performance reviews and promotions separate processes? 32:20 What key points are you keeping in mind for the next review cycle?? Links:  A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Framer. Make sure to check them out Femke's new community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    37 min
  7. 317: What it's like to take part in a hackathon

    SEP 1

    317: What it's like to take part in a hackathon

    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 valuable advice for companies interested in hosting their own hackathons. Timestamps: 0:47 Episode start 01:27 Framer Sponsorship 02:43 Have you been part of hackathons before? 07:38 How can non-technical team members add value during a hackathon? 10:11 Are hackathons competitive? 11:10 Do hackathon projects typically go live? What are the next steps afterward? 12:03 Do teams intentionally save work for hackathons? Is it part of your roadmap process? 15:17 Have you seen projects die after a hackathon? 18:12 What motivated you to start these hackathons? 22:18 What advice would you give to those wanting to organise a hackathon at their company? Links:  A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Framer. Make sure to check them out Femke's new community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    30 min
  8. 316: The art of giving useful feedback

    AUG 11

    316: The art of giving useful feedback

    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 do you feel about giving feedback? How has your approach evolved throughout your career? 11:24 How do you develop your ability to give effective feedback? Do you choose your words carefully when framing your feedback? 13:45 Femke and Charli’s approaches to giving feedback 18:50 Should you already know the correct approach and solution before providing feedback? 20:38 Methods and strategies for giving feedback 23:08 How do you decide what to focus on when giving feedback?Links:  A huge shoutout to our sponsor for this episode, Framer. Make sure to check them out Femke's new community Femke’s course “Product strategy for designers” Share your topic suggestions for the show with us at hello@designlife.fm

    32 min
See All (323)

4.9
out of 5
127 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Charli Prangley, Femke Van Schoonhoven
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2025
  • Episodes
    323
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2015 - 2020
  • Show Website
    Design Life

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