Design Different

In this episode of Design Different, Jake dives deep into why truly effective design sometimes requires making decisions that aren't immediately popular. He explores why the most valuable insights ar…

Hitting that quiet plateau where the work keeps rolling but the spark feels dim? In this episode, Jake dissects why mid-career designers and founders drift into creative inertia, and why the usual pr…

AI is rapidly swallowing up the repetitive parts of design work—wireframes, layout tweaks, content variants. So where does that leave you as a designer?

In this solo episode, Jake breaks down what des…

Design is at a pivotal crossroads in 2025. AI is dramatically reshaping our tools, redefining our roles, and transforming our industry. In this deeply reflective and extensive episode, I'll explore i…

In this episode, I explore a big shift in how I think about design leadership. It's not just about having great taste or a strong creative vision. Those things matter, but they don't scale. What does…

In this episode of Design Different, I talk with Matt Turnbull. A thoughtful product designer and former freelance colleague, Matt and I chat about about navigating change in the creative world. We e…

In this episode, we unravel one of the biggest myths in design: that creativity means total freedom. Drawing on lessons from traditional graphic design, UX strategy, and two decades of real-world pra…

In this episode, we dig into a problem no one talks about enough: the lack of decision clarity in modern design teams. It’s not that we don’t collaborate. It’s that no one knows who’s making the fina…

Speed looks productive. It flatters the roadmap. It makes teams feel like they’re moving. But what if all that motion isn’t getting you anywhere?

In this episode, Jake unpacks the critical difference …

Design can be the strongest growth lever in your business—if you know how to prove it. In this episode Jake breaks down the concrete framework he uses with founders to translate pixels into profit. Y…

Most design systems launch in a blaze of excitement, then fade into cluttered folders and copy-pasted code. In this episode of Design Different I explain why that slow decay happens, how to run a des…

Designers are brilliant at starting things, but finishing? That’s where everything stalls. In this episode, Jake unpacks why so many creative projects die unfinished, and what indie hackers get right…

Why do great designers struggle to sell themselves, and why do polished brands fall apart the moment they go online? In this episode, we explore the deeper systems failure at the heart of both proble…

Creative work often feels chaotic, and design systems often get mistaken for rigid templates. In this episode, we explore what’s really behind the friction, and how the right systems can transform no…

Design isn’t about visuals, and strategy isn’t a deliverable. In this special episode, we explore how thinking like a designer and making strategy a core leadership practice helps founders, creative …

Design isn't just about how something looks — it's about what it enables. In this episode, we unpack why clarity is the most undervalued skill in modern design and explore how real design impact is m…

Most designers focus on the screen in front of them. Great designers focus on the flow between them. In this episode, we unpack why designing in sequences — not just snapshots — separates real experi…

There’s a persistent myth in the design industry that success depends on being relentlessly original. In this episode, we challenge that belief and explore why the most successful designers are often…

Usability makes something easy to use. But habit is what brings people back. In this episode, we go beyond clicks and clean UI to explore how designers can align with real human behaviour. Learn how …

Design systems aren’t just for big teams. In this episode, we break down how solo designers can build lightweight, practical systems that save time, reduce errors, and bring structure to their work. …