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PODCAST

The Honest Designer Diaries

Designer in your Pocket | Juls Christie-Clark

The Honest Designer Diaries is a podcast about what it actually feels like to work in design.Hosted by Juls Christie-Clark (Designer in your Pocket) a brand designer and design educator based in Glasgow with over 30 years in the industry, each episode is a chat with a designer about a real experience or situation from their career.Sometimes it might be difficult, sometimes career-changing, sometimes funny, and sometimes it’s the kind of thing you only talk about properly once you’ve found another

arts design

All Episodes

00:57:11

Are designers born creative, or do they learn it?...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/30

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m just not creative”? In this episode, I’m chatting with Scott Gordon, a brand designer who also teaches in secondary school, about whether creativity is something you’re born with or something you can learn.We talk about what happens when a student is convinced they can’t come up with ideas, why being brilliant with design software doesn’t necessarily mean the ideas will follow, and how much of brand design starts with being curious enough to really listen to a

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00:46:30

From £5 logos to a global design business: becoming a...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/23

Courtney started designing £5 logos on her phone during lockdown, while still thinking graphic design would probably remain something she did at weekends alongside her retail job.Six years later, she’s running Funky Enough, working with branding and website clients around the world, building a small freelance team and creating the bold, colourful work she’s now known for.In this episode, we chat about becoming a self-taught designer, learning as you go and why not having a design degree doesn’t make

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00:42:51

How do you keep your business going while grieving?...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/16

In this episode, I’m chatting with brand designer Abi Lee about something we don’t hear discussed very often, how you keep a freelance business going when you’re grieving.Two years ago, Abi lost her dad very suddenly. While trying to process what had happened and support her family, she was also dealing with the reality of working for herself, where there’s no compassionate leave and nobody else automatically steps in to manage the clients, deadlines and bills.We chat about the guilt of trying to be

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01:01:39

Being a great designer isn't enough with Kieron Lewis...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/09

This week I’m chatting with editorial designer, speaker, host and Adobe mentor Kieron Lewis about all the different skills that can shape a creative career. We talk about why being a great designer will only take you so far, how important it is to communicate your ideas and why Kieron considers his people skills to be one of his biggest strengths.We also get into some of the more difficult parts of the design industry, from bullying and hierarchy in creative workplaces to imposter syndrome and being

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00:46:40

Bonus: Chatty Diaries | The accountability pact we...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/04

Chloe from The Chatty Freelancer and I have a habit of sitting in the car talking for ages whenever we meet up, usually after one of us has offered the other a lift home. We always end up saying we should have recorded the conversation, so this time we actually did.So we've set ourselves some big audacious goals we want to reach in the next few months and sharing our progress in this bonus series the Chatty Diaries.Follow along with us as we keep each other accountable where we'll be meeting up

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01:03:49

When designers become their clients therapists with...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/09/02

When you’re good at listening, asking the right questions and understanding what really matters to a client, it usually makes you a better designer. It can also mean that somewhere between the brand strategy and the logo concepts, you accidentally become their therapist as well.This week, I’m chatting with art director, brand designer and content creator Wayne Fick about the client relationships that become far more personal than either of you expected.In this episode, we chat about:How designers

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01:02:22

From fashion designer in New York to content creator...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/08/26

Hannah Walker didn’t set out to become a content creator. She studied fashion design, worked in London and New York, then found herself back in the UK wondering what the next version of her career might look like.Hannah also shares how she plans content around big events without spending the entire trip staring at her phone, why she hasn’t forced herself into one very specific niche and how she’s attracting collaborations through the content she already enjoys making.There’s also plenty about

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00:45:58

Why do creatives wait for permission to make...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/08/19

In this episode I’m chatting with Robin, brand and graphic designer and host of Creative Confessions, about the fear of growth and why we can make a decision in our own head, sit with it for ages, then still feel like we need somebody else to tell us it’s a good idea.We talk about overthinking, changing direction, working on your own without other creatives around to bounce ideas off, and why starting something new can feel so much harder when you’ve already built something that’s working.We also

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00:50:56

How Morgan Hastie built a design career before...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/08/12

What happens when you graduate from design school and realise you’ve technically already been working as a designer for a few years?This week I’m chatting with graphic designer Morgan Hastie, aka The Logo Lassie, who had graduated just two weeks before we recorded this episode. But while she might be a brand new graduate on paper, Morgan has already been freelancing since 2023 and has worked with brands including Adobe, Uniqlo, Aardman Animations, GF Smith and First Bus.And, naturally, we somehow

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00:53:52

Sexism in Graphic Design: Why are women still...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/08/05

This week I’m joined by brand designer, speaker and Building Your Brand podcast host Liz Mosley for a chat about sexism in the graphic design industry, and why women are still having to work harder to be trusted, heard and taken seriously.We talk about toxic agency culture, unconscious bias and the lack of women in senior creative roles. We also get into ageism, motherhood, caring responsibilities, the pressure to sacrifice everything for your work and why seeing women at different ages and stages

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00:11:43

Bonus episode: The Saturday night SOS client

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/08/03

In this bonus episode, I’m sharing the story of the Saturday Night SOS client, who also happened to be a friend, which made saying no even harder. What was meant to be a quick emergency job turned into hours of designs, feedback and changes.This episode follows on from my conversation with Bhavini in Episode 5, Bad clients and blurry boundaries, where we had plenty to say about red flag clients, people-pleasing and the situations designers somehow find themselves agreeing to.Have you ever had your

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00:39:36

Slow sales and quiet months: The reality of running a...

The Honest Designer Diaries ·

2026/07/29

What do you do when business goes quiet, orders slow down and everyone else online still looks suspiciously busy?In this episode, I’m joined by Scottish designer and maker Nikki McWilliams, whose wonderfully niche world includes biscuit cushions, stationery and a loyal community that has grown with her business over the past 15 years.In this episode, we chat about:Why quiet spells feel so difficult to talk aboutThe pressure to always look busy and successful onlineHow Nikki built several income

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