The Designers Lunch Break - by Designer Duo

Designer Duo's - Kiya & Rach
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Welcome to the designers lunch break! We’re Rach and Kiya, two designers who love everything design and business. This podcast we talk about our dilemmas, nightmare clients, CrossFit (lots of it from Rach 😂), Kiya’s love of animals (especially horses 🐎!) and general life. Disclaimer: we can’t promise we will stay on topic!!!! Follow us on instagram: @designerduo.studio

  1. Episode 16 - Why we think Unlimited holiday and charging hourly for designers is the way forward ⏰🏝

    03/24/2022

    Episode 16 - Why we think Unlimited holiday and charging hourly for designers is the way forward ⏰🏝

    Welcome to our sixteenth podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Designer and Rach is a Senior Designer/Art Director running her own business. Kiya and Rach discuss their working environment and the mammoth to-do lists that they are often faced with 😆 (despite their family members not being convinced that they are very busy 😂). Rach recognises how much is asked of Kiya as a Junior, as she doesn’t have any time to collect her thoughts 💕 Both girls discuss Rach’s unlimited holiday policy. Kiya notes that people are often surprised when she tells them its unlimited 🙊. They discuss larger corporations that might find it difficult to manage, but they find it works for them as they work around each others time off. Both talk about how lucky they are that they feel as though they are on the same wavelength, which makes working together easier for each other. The girls tribute their favourite person P - who is a creative director and a solid port-of-call for overflow and help - they love her lots!! 🥰 Kiya chats around her process of overcoming a creative block and how to navigate it, as well as the art of learning from others that are well established in the design industry. They talk about their triage system and how to prioritise work around deadlines that are often fluffed out by clients. The girls open up the conversation about charging per project vs. per hour - which is your preference? Learn why Rach strongly stands by working per hour. They recognise value based pricing and where this might be more relevant depending on clients and projects. If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    39 min
  2. Episode 15 - Kiya’s holiday and Rach’s dramatic work week, Amsterdam art and how we can help the people of Ukraine 💙💛

    03/15/2022

    Episode 15 - Kiya’s holiday and Rach’s dramatic work week, Amsterdam art and how we can help the people of Ukraine 💙💛

    Welcome to our fifteenth podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Designer and Rach is a Senior Designer/Art Director running her own business. Kiya is back to work after (nearly) a weeks holiday - which Rach is VERY happy about 😆 Rach’ describes how last week was a low point in her design career - which may have been much better had she had an Apple M1 chip in her comp 🤔 can anyone relate to render probs? 🤣 They give an update on the office build (hint: it’s nearly finished, how exciting!) and all the furniture they are due to buy and have bought, ready for the move! Rach did a huge Ikea trip at the weekend and bought the little office kitchen - they discuss how everything is black and beautiful 🖤 Kiya talks about her fantastic holiday to Amsterdam and the cool hotel she stayed in (hello, new working space!) She visited lots of museums and saw everything from Van Gogh paintings, to Anne Franks house and digital NFT’s 🤩 The girls discuss copywriting rules and this impacts the art world and brands in general. Both reminisce on how much they enjoyed art at school, Kiya talks about her style preference being mixed media and ink whilst Rach was more of a classic oil painter. Rach talks about one of her proudest achievements to date - we feel a new Insta bio coming on 😉 After seeing Anne Frank, the girls discuss how this hits harder with what is currently happening in Ukraine 💙💛 They both discuss the feeling of being helpless and how they can help. Rach talks about a friend of a friend, (Karolina) who is helping refugees cross the border from Ukraine to Poland. Each trip for her costs close to £68 and currently, through fundraising they have nearly raised £1000. If you would like to hear more about Karalina’s story and updates, follow Rach’s friends instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sineado_yoga/ Her fund-raising link can be found here: paypal.me/sineadoconnoryoga If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    36 min
  3. Episode 14 - Remote working/WFH transitions, washing our hair in lockdown and our favourite hairdryer, and an exciting new office update for RN Design! 🏢

    03/03/2022

    Episode 14 - Remote working/WFH transitions, washing our hair in lockdown and our favourite hairdryer, and an exciting new office update for RN Design! 🏢

    Welcome to our fourteenth podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Designer and Rach is a Senior Designer/Art Director running her own business. Kiya has been busy learning at University this week, she speaks around they sustainability conversations they had around MAC cosmetics and Air BnB. Meanwhile Rach had a crazy day full of calls! The girls agree the workload always seems to mount when one of them is out 🏔😂 Rach’s client changed the storyboard project she was working on so it’s going to be a crazy week of getting that over the line for the girls! 😵‍💫 Both discuss how working from home impacts day-to-day working life. Rach dreads needing to go into the city a couple of times this week and wonders how she ever did it every.single.day!!! 😴 🚇 Kiya asks Rach what the future plans are for RN Design ahead of the new office build - exciting times! With new space comes new people and co working opportunities for fellow friends/creatives ✨ they discuss the contrast of the new office, compared the current set up they are used to in Rach’s dining room 😆 Stay tuned for new office updates on our Instagram📱 Kiya discuss how she isn't fond of WFH and enjoys the process of her commute (despite it being short as she lives super close to Rach 😂) They discuss WFH and working from bed becoming a dangerous habit. Rach speaks about lockdown and the effect she believes it had on her (including her hair washing schedule and her new fave hair dryer - HINT, it's a game changer 😉) As much as Rach supports WFH, she discusses the ease of learning and working collaboratively when you are in the same room. If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    32 min
  4. Bonus Episode ✨ - Our take on the Matt Hancock & Steven Bartlett interview 🤔

    03/01/2022 · BONUS

    Bonus Episode ✨ - Our take on the Matt Hancock & Steven Bartlett interview 🤔

    ✨ BONUS episode alert ✨ Today the girls discuss their opinion of the Matt Hancock and Steven Bartlett interview (link to podcast below 👇🏽). They talk around Matt describing the testing times of Covid/Lockdown in the UK, as well as his widely publicised affair and consequent divorce ☹️ They also discuss the time Matt broke down on national TV and how crying and emotion needs to be normalised in the political sphere. Have you listened to the interview? Kiya & Rach are keen to hear your thoughts and opinions! 💭🤔 Please also consider that everyone has a right to their own political opinion and everyones could vary! Let’s remember to #bekind all round 💕 ✨ Let's discuss - Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨ Matt Hancock & Steven Bartlett podcast this episode refers to can be found on this link here 👉🏽 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-diary-of-a-ceo-with-steven-bartlett/id1291423644?i=1000552410577

    30 min
  5. Episode 13 - Podcast confidence, Kardashian chit-chat, focus and zone working on busy days with tight deadlines, humble confidence knowing you're great at your job as Graphic Designers ✨

    02/24/2022

    Episode 13 - Podcast confidence, Kardashian chit-chat, focus and zone working on busy days with tight deadlines, humble confidence knowing you're great at your job as Graphic Designers ✨

    Welcome to our thirteenth (our - well Rach’s - lucky number) podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Designer and Rach is a Senior Designer/Art Director running her own business. The girls open with Kiya talking about her initial fear to start a Podcast 😳 Rach is surprised as Kiya generally loves to talk 😂 they both discuss the idea of mental blocks and how this can impact your confidence around certain things 🙅🏽‍♀️ Kiya and Rach appreciate the listeners we have had so far and how much it means to them - they hope they are helping make a difference in your life some way 💕 (let us know!). Both discuss the personable element to Podcasts and how this relates a little to Reality TV. Rach confesses her love and adoration for the Kardashians 🍑 they discuss the relationship between money and being passionate about what you do. They both commend Kim’s level of influence and how this extends to even the president of the United States, as well as having a say on how their show is edited to the public and fundamentally how their image is presented 💁🏻‍♀️. How well thought out are the Kardashian’s business moves? Rach highlights how well they spin a bad PR moment into something great. Both speak about their work ethic and how this mentality filters through to where they are today. They briefly touch on how well she did being married to Kanye West #nothanks ⛔️ The girls discuss how confidence and how Rach would also never see herself doing a Podcast - she’s not a big talker 😆 (thankfully Kiya gets a reply from Rach now 😂). Rach speaks to her hyper-focus and how they both establish a ‘zone’ when they are enjoying their work. Kiya and Rach talk about handling brain fog first thing in the morning and how certain industries need to navigate through this (in the medical industry specifically!) They reminisce about the recent deadline that a client landed on them (a 60 min print-ready job!! 😰) Rach publicly announces how well Kiya handled herself in this stressful situation, whilst Kiya appreciates how far she has come as a junior 🤗. They compare the difference between humble confidence and arrogance and how there is nothing wrong with knowing you are really really great at your job! ✨ If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    27 min
  6. Bonus Episode ✨ - Our take on the BBC's The Apprentice (Episode 7, Season 16) - Driverless Pods - why are they still struggling with branding? 🤔

    02/18/2022 · BONUS

    Bonus Episode ✨ - Our take on the BBC's The Apprentice (Episode 7, Season 16) - Driverless Pods - why are they still struggling with branding? 🤔

    ✨ BONUS episode alert ✨ Today Kiya & Rach discuss last nights episode of The Apprentice on BBC. On the show, the teams were tasked with branding and selling Driverless pods to predominately corporate clients. The girls found the branding particularly offensive 😆 and brainstormed how they would have done the task differently with their design background. Kiya and Rach discuss who they believe to be the strongest candidates left, who do you think is going to win? 😜

    28 min
  7. Episode 12 - CrossFit classes, Kiya's first Infographic design and a deep dive into Ben Francis (Gymshark CEO & Founder) 🏋️‍♀️ 🦈

    02/17/2022

    Episode 12 - CrossFit classes, Kiya's first Infographic design and a deep dive into Ben Francis (Gymshark CEO & Founder) 🏋️‍♀️ 🦈

    Welcome to our twelfth podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Designer and Rach is a Senior Designer/Art Director running her own business. Today was the day Scotland experienced storm Dudley 🌪 the girls discuss this as a name and normal sounding pet names - do you have a dog named Derek? 🤣 🐶 They were fresh from an early morning CrossFit session - Kiya’s new love ❤️🏋️‍♀️ (she’s officially part of the cult). Learn why Rach isn’t a fan of Yoga and how bad she is at running 😆 The girls discuss the importance of community and how this environment is conducive to bettering yourself 💪🏻 This week Kiya completed her first ever Infographic 🙏🏻 Rach commends Kiya on how she established a great journey and flow to her design. Kiya discusses her process of where she started (hint, we L❤️VE Pinterest/Moodboards). They talk about the beauty of simplicity and how sometimes the most simple things can be the more challenging ones. An analogy is drawn between CrossFit and Design in respect to assuming some things look much easier than they end up being 🤭. The girls discuss the mindset of pushing yourself everyday and being the best version of yourself. Kiya and Rach discuss the podcast they listened to with Steven Bartlett and Ben Francis (CEO and Founder of Gymshark). They talk around Ben’s self reflection and his ability to look inward and improve as a person. Both talk around Ben stepping down as a CEO and how his process of continuous development and what Gymshark as a company are REALLY good at (amongst most things as they are very successful haha 😆) The girls were astonished at Ben still working in Pizza Hut whilst he was running Gymshark in the early days and earning 100’s of thousands 😳 what would you do? Both discuss the roles of leadership and how this impacts a business and how they run their company. If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    31 min
  8. Episode 11 - Finding balance as a Junior or Senior Graphic Designer 👩🏻‍💻⚖️🌳

    02/14/2022

    Episode 11 - Finding balance as a Junior or Senior Graphic Designer 👩🏻‍💻⚖️🌳

    Welcome to our eleventh podcast episode! We're so happy you're here ✨This is a podcast from the perspective of two designers, Kiya and Rach 👩🏻‍💻👩🏻‍💻 Kiya is a Junior Graphic Designer and Rach is a Senior Graphic Designer/Art Director running her own business. Today the girls discuss finding balance as a Creative... Do you find your busy days overwhelming? Are you wondering how to balance your work and have a life outside of design 😰 The struggle is real, right? 😆 They chat about their process of booking work in and how to break this down to feel more digestable, protecting your time. Both share techniques to help manage clients and terms on which you work for them, i.e. project by project basis vs. retainer 🤔. Rach talks around her opinion on retainer work and why she isn't a fan 😬 The girls reminisce about getting the train to London and how this led to time to wind-down that we otherwise miss out on now we all WFH. 🚂 Rach gives an idea for how to incorporate this into a mid/post Covid landscape...🚶🏾‍♀️ Kiya & Rach talk about their therapy Cat and how Millie helps them get through busy days 🐱 #milliefanclub If you relate to any of this, or need any advice or support Rach and Kiya are very open to chatting! Drop us a note in the DM's and they would love to help you were they can https://www.instagram.com/designerduo.studio/ 📱✨

    15 min
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About

Welcome to the designers lunch break! We’re Rach and Kiya, two designers who love everything design and business. This podcast we talk about our dilemmas, nightmare clients, CrossFit (lots of it from Rach 😂), Kiya’s love of animals (especially horses 🐎!) and general life. Disclaimer: we can’t promise we will stay on topic!!!! Follow us on instagram: @designerduo.studio

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