Better: The Brand Designer Podcast
Better: The Brand Designer Podcast, founded by Giselle Field of Wander Design Co. and Jen Davis, was founded on the belief that designers need community. We find that the branding world often feels secretive, competitive, and sometimes just plain old confusing. When we realized that our honest, soul-chat-level convos could potentially help other designers, we realized a podcast was only natural! Better: The Brand Designer Podcast was officially born.
Giselle passed away during a climbing trip in Peru in summer of 2020. We encourage all listeners of our podcast to listen to our two Celebrating Giselle episodes. Giselle's adventurous, kind, funny, and supportive presence is missed every day—each and every episode that we record is dedicated to her legacy and her vision for this podcast. It is our honor to continue recording episodes in Giselle's memory and we know that she is with us every time we sit down to record.
In winter of 2022, we welcomed Esther Knox-Dekoning from Sereth Design as a new co-host. Esther brought an incredible and fresh perspective to the pod—her transition from agency to design studio as well as her love for web design, sustainability, and world change brought new guests, ideas, and amazing episodes to our listeners. She departed the pod in spring 2023 to dedicate more time to her studio's growth, and will be greatly missed!
Now, Jen runs the podcast solo and is beyond excited to continue interviewing guests, having interesting conversations, and sharing the behind-the-scenes of running her design studio.
Better: The Brand Designer Podcast
S11 E21: Answering Your Inbox Questions
Wrapping up season 11 with a fun one! I’m answering your questions straight from the inbox.
Questions:
5:03: I’m a branding designer currently and I was wondering if you had an episode on pricing brand projects with and without websites?
6:55: How do you professionally incorporate Ai into your process?
12:05: If client "A" offers 10K for a project but you're a little iffy about some portion of the project vs client "B" offers 8K for approximately the same amount of time, which do you choose?
16:39: Creative directing is a role I thought I was ready for this spring and realized quickly that I was not. Can I ask where you get your leads from?
19:39: How do you stay creative when you have multiple projects?
21:44: How can you market yourself as a Brand Designer when you’re too working on your own brand and figuring out how to establish yourself?
22:49: Best places to learn and stay up to date with trends and best practices?
27:16: What must haves should a brand designer have in their contract?
28:20: How do you look for inspiration without comparing yourself to others and making yourself feel small?
29:54: How to help your client keep an open mind during the creative process.
32:00: How to say no when clients ask extra work?
33:35: Does it ever get easy?
35:24: How do we demonstrate our value as designers in an increasingly DIY landscape?
36:47: How people deal with direct competitors to their current client reaching out for branding help in a small market?
Episodes Mentioned:
S10 E7:What Should You Charge? Pricing Survey Results
S1 E10: How to Identify Good Clients and Avoid Red Flag Clients
S10 E1: Our Red Flag List(Avoid These Clients!) with Lauren Braier
S11 E19: 5 Year Update on Motherhood & Business
S10 E5: Why, When, and How to Start an Internship Program
S8 E17: Rethinking Social Media Marketing with Xanthe Appleyard
S8 E 18: How to Launch Your Services with Kelsey McCormick
S6 E19: Turning Your Services Page into a Sales Page with Kelsey McCormick
S5 E2: Finding Creative Inspiration
S11 E11: Branding Bestie Chit Chat: Designing a Life You Love with Lauren
Links:
The Design Minimind • Sign up to be notified - Applications open Nov 1st, 2025
Connect: Facebook Community | Website | Podcast Insta | Hello June Creative Insta | The Design Minimind | The Creative Diaries
