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Hey Reader,

I recently had an interesting conversation with Ridd from Dive, and let me tell you, it was a game-changer for those interested in a deep dive! We explored strategies to amplify your product thinking skills as a designer, master the art of storytelling, and enhance collaboration with PMs. If you're interested, watch this deep-dive episode!

Ps, there’s more where this came from - join the waitlist for my next cohort!​

In this deep dive, we took a plunge into some captivating topics that will leave you (hopefully) wanting to learn more. Brace yourself for an exciting ride as we discuss:

• The pivotal crossroads that every designer encounters: to stay an IC or walk the management path. Find out how I made my decision and discovered what was right for me.
• The journey of personal growth as a design lead. I spill the beans on the remarkable tips I implemented into my presentations and resume. Plus, get an exclusive peek into my first-time experience leading a team and navigating through layoffs in tech.
• Unveiling the secrets to evaluating the potential of a design team. Discover the key factors you should prioritize to find true fulfillment in your role. And most importantly, finding out if design has a well-deserved seat at the table within organizations.
• Evaluating potential in a design team: finding out what your must-haves are for you to find fulfillment in your role and, and most important to me - does design have a seat at the table in the organization?
• Reclaiming the word “product”: product thinking should include both sides of the double diamond process, It's not just about execution; it's about contributing to strategic conversations from the get-go.

Believe me when I say this deep dive is a treasure trove of insights! If you're as curious as I am about problem-solving processes, mastering the art of "managing up," finding daily inspiration, unravelling the distinction between design and "selling" (if there even is one), and exploring the fascinating role of AI in design, then you definitely don't want to miss this episode!

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How to handle design versions

Working on multiple design versions is an inevitable part of product development. See how Zeplin helps you keep everything in order so you can ship better products, faster.

✨ Find freelance clients & winning work with Grace Walker

Grace has helped launch over 90 marketing sites and has earned a reputation as a client favorite. Interested in jumping into freelance? Ask Grace for tips and tricks during our Q&A session, and listen in for more tried and true ways to land your dream client. Free for all members!

👀 Looking for advice on how to validate a design?

Tip #1: If you are seeking to make improvement but aren’t sure where to start, check what queries are coming in via support. They might be easily fixed but maybe you could solve whatever problem is causing the support queries in the first place. Charli and I have been in lead design roles for a while now—curious on more tips to validate design from our first-hand experience? Listen in!

🏃‍♂️ The business side of freelancing

This course is all about helping freelancers create and refine processes that build confidence, grow client lists, and generally reduce stress and burnout. Not bad, eh? Registration opens Monday! The best part: get a $30 launch day discount.

“Despite doing two creative degrees, I learned very little about business. This class should be a mandatory part of creative curricula!” - Joe Pacal

✨ Join the Talent Collective

Find your dream product design job and stay ahead of the competition with our weekly-updated collection of curated job opportunities! New jobs are added every Friday.

• Early Product Designer @ X1 Card
• Production Design Technical Lead - Apple TV @ Apple
• Senior Product Designer @ Stash

New jobs are added every Friday! Join the talent collective here.​

💎 Gems of the week

Charli Marie @charliprangley If you've ever wondered what I work on as Creative Director aside from design stuff... there's a ton of behind-the-scenes context on the not-so-creative work I do in my latest vlog! youtu.be/DE8i4IHo4zU Hiring a developer, improving our website & othe... Participate in the annual developer survey from Stack Overflow here: https://charli.link/2023devsurv... youtu.be May 10th 2023 0 Retweets 7 Likes

🙌 LOVE this behind the scenes peek into Charli’s job

femke @femkesvs Niche Figma components Q: How do I add a boolean to a variant? I created a boolean (icon left) at the parent component level and it says its not used in any components, yeah cause I can't figure out how to add or assign it to my current variant? pic.twitter.com/inpRuCBwdV May 11th 2023 0 Retweets 7 Likes

🫶Please help?

Frank ☼ Bach @zendadddy @imcatnoone I like what @SinikiweSteph is building with Naaya. @supereasydoesit's IRL (not just online) community building is inspiring. @femkesvs is an incredible designer community. I'll also give myself a nod for the @LADesignDev community IRL/Slack, 4,000 members deep! Cat Noone @imcatnoone Who are your favorite Community-focused folks (individually or at companies)? May 10th 2023 1 Retweets 6 Likes

🥰So many incredible people in the space! Shoutout to Frank Bach

Have a topic you'd like us to chat about? Reply to this email and let me know!

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