Claim OwnershipBetter: The Brand Designer Podcast
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© 2026 Better: The Brand Designer Podcast
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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.
245 Episodes
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*Learn more about The Brief Collective's Scaling Summit happening May 3-6, 2026 and reserve your ticket now to attend! --- In this week’s episode I have on a past Minimind student and friend of mine, Meg Burk, who is a multipassionate brand designer, font designer, and soon launching her own clothing active wear line as well. We're chatting all things fonts, creativity, and what it really looks like to build a business that holds space for more than one passion. Guest Name: Meg Burk G...
*Get your ticket for The Brief Collective's Scaling Summit happening May 3rd-May 6th, 2026! --- This week, I welcome Kenzi and Marisa, the founders of The Brief Collective, back on the pod for a conversation about the power of getting together with like-minded creatives in person. They share all the details about their upcoming designers retreat, Scaling Summit, happening May 3rd–6th, 2026 in Asheville, NC. Guest Names: Kenzi Green & Marisa Burgett Guest’s Website: thebriefcollective.co...
*Learn more about The Brief Collective's Scaling Summit happening May 3rd-May 6th, 2026 and reserve your spot! --- This week I chatted with Matt Ellis, who is the Executive Director of Brand at Metalab in the UK. We talk about how he spotted a gap at MetaLab to bring in more brand services that actually enhance product development, and what makes a brand stand the test of time. He also shares his take on AI—experimenting with new tools while keeping your craft sharp, using AI to explore ideas...
In this episode, I chat with Gina Knox, a financial coach who helps small business owners craft strategic financial plans. She shares her journey from art school to QuickBooks to financial coaching, and dives into the unique financial challenges small businesses face and how to get better at managing your finances. Gina is on a mission to help business owners thrive financially, and I took so much goodness away from our conversation and I hope you do too! Guest Name: Gina Knox Guest Website...
In this episode, I chat with Vidya, a leadership catalyzer, strategy consultant, and founder of Warrier Strategy. We talk about the challenges of monetizing your passion, especially in creative fields, which can often lead to burnout. Vidya also shares her personal journey from a seemingly fulfilling life to experiencing burnout, what led her to make major life changes, and how she ultimately transitioned into coaching other business owners and creatives. Guest Name: Vidya Ramachandran Gues...
In this episode, I read and chat about some of the wild client feedback you have received as designers that you guys submitted, plus share a few stories of my own. *Download my FREE Creative Direction Figma Template Links: The Design Minimind - My 1:1 coaching program for designers Download my FREE Creative Direction Figma Template (includes 4 audio trainings as well) Get 30% off of your HoneyBook subscription - The CRM I use in my studio.* Enjoy 1 month of Showit FREE with my code “HelloJu...
Happy New Year listeners! In this solo episode, I'm breaking down what an ideal day and weekly schedule looks like for me as a mom of two, wife, and business owner working 24 hours a week. I'm also chat a bit about Scale with Confidence, my new sister offer to The Design Minimind. Links: The Design Minimind - My 1:1 coaching program for designers Download my FREE Creative Direction Figma Template (includes 4 audio trainings as well) Get 30% off of your HoneyBook subscription - The CRM I use...
*Learn more about The Brief Collective's Scaling Summit happening May 3rd-May 6th, 2026 and reserve your spot! --- In this episode, I chat with Jennifer, VP of Strategy & Innovation at creative agency Marks. She shares her journey from traditional advertising to becoming a leader in brand strategy, and how her autism diagnosis helped many of her ways of thinking finally make sense. We talk about the power of emotional detachment and truth-telling in creative work, plus why adaptability an...
Enjoy this episode from the archives while we're on our Holiday break! We will be back with season 13 next week! In this solo episode, I’ll be chatting about ways to improve your efficiency and get faster at brand and web design, allowing you to scale back on your working hours. Inbox Question: “What's an appropriate amount of time spent on choosing brand colors (initially)?” - Shelby Reed Links: The Design Minimind - My 1:1 coaching program for designers Download my FREE Creative Directi...
Enjoy this episode from the archives while we're on our Holiday break! We will be back with season 13 on Jan 13th! I chat with Emmanuel Probst, Global Lead of Brand Thought-Leadership at Ipsos, a global market research company. We dive into all things market research and brand transformation. Emmanuel gives insights into the skills and empathies independent designers can offer clients that larger agencies can’t, as well as ways to find unique inspiration outside of social media. There are so ...
Enjoy this episode from the archives while we're on our Holiday break! We will be back with season 13 on Jan 13th! I interview Chris Misterek from Showit! As you all know I am a huge fan of Showit and we talk everything from Chris' own design journey, to the Showit design community, to creating websites that convert. Guest Name: Chris Misterek Guest Business Name: Showit Guest Website: showit.com Links Mentioned: Sign up for Showit - First month FREE using “hellojune” Spark Conference for...
Enjoy this episode from the archives while we're on our Holiday break! We will be back with season 13 on Jan 13th! Adrienne Johnston joins Jen to talk all about how she generates 5+ leads per week WITHOUT doing active content marketing! This was such an interesting and insightful conversation all about using the power of simple, effortless SEO shifts to start capturing leads that may not have been aware of you. Guest Name: Adrienne Johnston Guest Business Name: Adrienne Johnston Guest Web...
We’re wrapping up Season 12, which means it’s inbox question time! I’m answering questions submitted by you guys, mainly from those hopping into our podcast Facebook group. And if you’re not a part of the group yet, go join—you can submit your own question, and it might be featured on a future episode! Links Mentioned: Apply to be a guest! Claude Ai S5 E14: Iterating on the One Concept Method S5 E23: Using Intuition in Your Design Process with Alex McGinness Past Inbox Question episodes: ...
In this solo episode, I'm recapping my 2025 business year and answering some questions about what worked, lessons learned, and things I'm leaving behind in 2025 and what I am taking into 2026. Mentions in Episode: My Bookkeeper: Balanced Roots Bookkeeping / @balacnedrootsbookkeeping Brand Shoot: Lynette Ortiz Photography / @lynetteortiz.photo Shopify Developer: Jenuine Creative / @jenuinecreative My Episode with Bethany: The Part-Time Breadwinner: Working Less, Earning More, Living Fully My...
This week, we are back with another branding bestie episode with my design bestie, Lauren. We chat about the benefits and strategies of trading design services, how Lauren recently did trades with vendors for her wedding, and some past and current trades we’ve both done. We also talk about the importance of choosing the right trade partners, times when trades are appropriate, and making sure you don’t skip the contract just because it’s a trade. *Don’t forget to drop a post in the podcast FB ...
✨ The Design Minimind - Apply Here (applications open until Nov 20th — limited spots are filling fast!) Episode Description: In this solo episode, I chat about some common mistakes brand and web design studio owners frequently make that are interfering with the growth and profitability as a business owner. Drawing from years of experience and observing patterns among my students in The Design Minimind as a mentor. Episode Mentioned: S5 E14: Iterating on the One-Concept Method Links: The...
The Design Minimind - Accepting Applications NOW OPEN! - Apply Here. ___ This week, I had a past Design Minimind student Shani of Shani Jay Creative on to talk about her experience in the program and how much of an impact it had on her business and the revenue goals she hit and surpassed! We talk about the importance of confidence, going all in, proper mindset, and strategic investments in building a sustainable and profitable design & web business. Guest Name: Shani Josefovits Guest We...
I’m back with another spooky client story episode in celebration of Halloween, with Audrey who is my production designer here at Hello June. We read your spooky stories that you submitted anonymously and Jen shares a spooky(kinda) lead that reached out to her as well! Guest Name: Audrey Humphreys (HJC's production designer!) Guest Website: audaciouscreativestudio.com Guest IG: @audaciouscreativestudio Episodes Mentioned: S8 E12 | Spooooky Client Stories (Round 2) with Lauren Bra...
In this episode, I chat with Katie of Katie Creative Co, who is a social media strategist. We dive into the nuances of using social media effectively—focusing on a people-first approach that prioritizes genuine relationships over algorithmic approval. Katie shares her tactical breakdown of growth, nurture, and connection content, the power of vulnerability and personal storytelling, and practical ways to avoid burnout. This episode is perfect for those looking to enhance their social media pr...
*Pre-order Octavo on Amazon* Episode Description: In this week’s episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with one of my design icons, Marty Neumeier, who is an accomplished designer and author. We chat about his new design-thriller book, The Scarlett Files/Octavo, his shift from non-fiction to fiction, and how he integrates design and writing within his work. Marty also shares how his early experiences shaped his career and why storytelling plays such an essential role in branding, design,...
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I used the top brand designers blog article https://clay.global/blog/top-branding-agencies to improve my business. This material helped me better understand current trends in brand design and identify the key elements of successful design solutions. Inspired by ideas, I was able to modernize the logos and visual elements of my projects, which had a positive impact on clients' perception of the brand. As a result, the updated design attracted more attention, increased trust and increased loyalty to my products and services.