The Honest Designer Diaries

About The Honest Designer Diaries

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 designer who gets it. Guests will include designers at all different stages of their careers, from new designers just coming into the industry, to designers who are 10+ years in, to the lifers who have been doing this for decades. We’ll talk about agency life, in-house roles, freelance work, clients, confidence, pricing, rejection, comparison, personal branding, building a design career online, building one completely offline, and all the bits of the industry that don’t always get shared very openly. Each guest brings one experience or story from their own career, then we chat about what happened, how they handled it, what they might do differently now, and what they’d say to another designer going through something similar. The Honest Designer Diaries is for graphic designers, brand designers, freelancers, students, creative business owners, and anyone trying to find their place in the design industry without pretending they’ve got it all figured out.

Publisher

Designer in your Pocket | Juls Christie-Clark

Category

arts · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Jun 2026

Latest episode

7 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Serendipity and the conversations that shape a design career with Dave Clayton | EP018

   You can go to an event knowing exactly who you want to meet, but sometimes the conversation that leads to something brilliant is with the person you hadn’t expected to speak to at all. This week I’m chatting with graphic designer, instructor, speaker and author of 'How do I do that in InDesign' Dave Clayton about the creative connections that have shaped his career, including an awkward moment at Adobe MAX that eventually led to him creating tutorials for Adobe Learn. Dave says his last ten years, between 50 and 60, have been the most exciting of his career, and he’s now gone freelance for the first time. We chat about finding your people, getting work through relationships and why being an introvert doesn’t mean you can’t make those connections. Have you ever had a chance conversation that led to work or something completely unexpected? I’d love to hear about it in the comments or send me a DM on Insta. Instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries Connect with Dave: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsdaveclayton/ (https://www.instagram.com/itsdaveclayton/) Website: https://www.itsdaveclayton.com/ (https://www.itsdaveclayton.com/) And if you’re enjoying The Honest Designer Diaries, please leave a rating and review on your podcast app, or subscribe on YouTube so you can join me for the next chat. Juls x

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   Are designers born creative, or do they learn it? with Scott Gordon | EP017

   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 client. Scott also shares what it’s been like building Pure Good Graphics alongside teaching. If you’ve ever wondered where other designers get their ideas, or worried that yours aren’t coming quickly enough, come and join us for this one. Find Scott and his work at Pure Good Graphics (https://puregoodgraphics.co.uk/) or search for Scott Gordon on LinkedIn. If you enjoy the episode, I’d love to hear what you think, you can drop me a message on IG - instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries And if you have a moment to leave a rating or review on your podcast app, it really helps more designers find The Honest Designer Diaries. Juls

3. 

   23 Sept 2026

   From £5 logos to a global design business: becoming a self-taught designer with Courtney Wood EP016

   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 you any less legitimate. We also get into the snobbery that still exists around Canva, Adobe Express and the software designers are “supposed” to use. You can find Courtney on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest at @funkyenoughh. I’d love to hear what you think of this episode, send me a message on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/ (https://www.instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries/). Till next time Juls

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.