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The Design Diaries

The Design Diaries

By Alyssa Nguyen (@atnndesign)

The Brand Designer's Podcast Diary: self-taught brand designer Alyssa Nguyen (of @atnndesign studio) shares advice and tips for fellow creatives, freelancers, and business owners along with honest experiences to help you learn from her mistakes. No gatekeeping here—Alyssa creates episodes on all topics, ranging from design projects to client management to marketing and finance with the aim of helping other creatives reach their goals.
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Ep 37: 3 Ways I Started Booking Clients Again

The Design DiariesDec 14, 2023

00:00
16:30
Ep 37: 3 Ways I Started Booking Clients Again

Ep 37: 3 Ways I Started Booking Clients Again

Brand designer Alyssa Nguyen shares 3 strategies for booking clients after a slow period in your business that helped her go from slow quarters to booked out 2 months in advance.

Dec 14, 202316:30
Ep 36: Business Insurance for Designers

Ep 36: Business Insurance for Designers

Brand design studio owner & designer Alyssa Nguyen shares why professional liability insurance is essential for creatives and some tips on how to get it and what to look for.

Dec 07, 202313:46
Ep 35: How to Consistently Grow Your Business (Without Burnout)

Ep 35: How to Consistently Grow Your Business (Without Burnout)

Brand designer Alyssa Nguyen talks 3 key things to consider when approaching growth strategies for any part of your design or creative business. These tips will allow you to make actionable steps towards building a sustainable growth plan that won't overwhelm you.

Nov 20, 202317:44
Ep 34: Avoiding Legal Issues & Hiring a Lawyer with Guest Attorney Ivy McNeill

Ep 34: Avoiding Legal Issues & Hiring a Lawyer with Guest Attorney Ivy McNeill

Guest speaker and Business & IP Lawyer Ivy McNeill joins us to discuss legal strategies for assessing legal risk and avoiding legal issues. We discuss questions to ask your clients to minimize your chances of trouble and questions to ask a lawyer when considering hiring representation as a brand designer. This episode will help you understand what a designer-attorney relationship can do for you and how to take the first steps with forming one.


You can sign up for the FREE questionnaires that Ivy has provided us by opt-ing in to our mailing lists here!

You'll get:

  • The Legal Checklist for Brand Designers: 8 Key Questions to Ask Your Clients
  • Lawyer Up: The Brand Designer's Guide to Hiring an Attorney

These resources are only free and available to our listeners for a limited time, so sign up now before it's over!


Make sure to follow @legallyivy on Instagram and our studio profile @atnndesign for updates on our upcoming workshop: The (Must-Have) Legal Workshop for Creatives


Check out more of Ivy below:


Oct 12, 202328:55
Ep 33: Design Portfolio Tips (What to Include)

Ep 33: Design Portfolio Tips (What to Include)

What types of projects should I put in my portfolio? How many? What do I put on my about page? What do I put in the case studies? I'll answer all of these questions and more to help you build the best graphic design portfolio possible.

Sep 14, 202314:54
Ep 32: Red Flags in Clients, Coaches & Contractors

Ep 32: Red Flags in Clients, Coaches & Contractors

Figuring out if a client will be hard to work wit, if a contractor will be reliable, and if a coach will be worth it is hard! Here are 3 red flags that I look out for in each to maximize my chances of a good match.

Sep 07, 202320:18
Ep 31: How I Found my Design Style

Ep 31: How I Found my Design Style

Let's talk about finding a design style! In this episode, I break down the difference between a design style and a design aesthetic and then share my journey with finding my own. I'll tell you all about my strategies for figuring out your signature and give you 3 tips to start.

Aug 31, 202318:25
Ep 30: Finding Community & Fighting Loneliness

Ep 30: Finding Community & Fighting Loneliness

Let's talk about how lonely it is to be a self-employed creative...and then let me give some tips for finding community when you work by yourself! It's so important to take the time to connect with people in our industry, but it can be hard to figure out when, where, and how to do it. My best tips are in this episode!

Jul 27, 202321:35
Ep 29: The End-of-Year Checklist for Creatives

Ep 29: The End-of-Year Checklist for Creatives

"What am I missing???"
I know it's stressful leaving for the holidays not knowing if you've done *everything* you were supposed to, so here's a checklist of things I recommend doing at the end of the year to help you prep for the new year! In this episode, I'm talking accounting, improvement, planning, marketing, and more, so give it a listen and let me know what you think!

This is the last episode of season 2, so leave us a review and DM us on Instagram to let us know what you're thinking of the podcast so far!

Dec 27, 202222:37
Ep 28: My Annual Budget as a Creative

Ep 28: My Annual Budget as a Creative

I spent HOW MUCH?? I spent almost 40k this year, and in this episode, I break down all the categories for my expenses and tell you exactly how much I spent and on what!

Dec 20, 202221:17
Diary Entry: My 2023 Business Goals

Diary Entry: My 2023 Business Goals

It's a little early, but I'm sharing some of the goals that I have for the new year!

Dec 13, 202218:08
Ep 27: TikTok for Creatives

Ep 27: TikTok for Creatives

In this episode, I'm giving you my top 5 tips for optimizing your content for TikTok because YES it's completely different from Instagram.

Dec 06, 202215:20
Ep 26: Avoiding Burnout (Especially During Q4)

Ep 26: Avoiding Burnout (Especially During Q4)

In this episode, I'm sharing my best 3 tips for avoiding burnout to plan your year more intuitively and give yourself a break.

Nov 29, 202221:21
Ep 25: Budgeting 101 - Self Employed Edition

Ep 25: Budgeting 101 - Self Employed Edition

I'm covering my tips for figuring out how to budget yourself as a self-employed freelancer or creative! I discuss tracking expenses and income and figuring out how to pay yourself!

Nov 15, 202219:46
Ep 24: Courses & Coaching: Are They Worth It & How to Pick the Right One for You

Ep 24: Courses & Coaching: Are They Worth It & How to Pick the Right One for You

In this episode, I cover how to decide if a course is going to be worth your time and money and how to go about deciding if one is right for you!

Nov 08, 202222:22
Ep 23: Dear Diary... (Declining Work with Family, Feeling Unprepared for Business, and Work-Life Balance)

Ep 23: Dear Diary... (Declining Work with Family, Feeling Unprepared for Business, and Work-Life Balance)

In this episode, I asked you, my listeners, to submit some struggles that you need help with for this new advice column-style episode "Dear Diary." I'm giving advice to 3 different submitted situations: saying no to working with friends and family; holding yourself back from starting a business; and struggling to balance work and life as a freelancer without a formal schedule.

Nov 01, 202233:46
Ep 22: Contract Must-Haves for Creatives

Ep 22: Contract Must-Haves for Creatives

I'm listing the top 5 sections that I always look for in a contract that I highly recommend you have in yours!

Oct 24, 202218:02
Ep 21: Legal Mistakes that Freelancers Make!

Ep 21: Legal Mistakes that Freelancers Make!

I'm talking through 4 major legal mistakes I've made in my business and giving you the tips and honesty to help you avoid making the same ones!

Oct 18, 202220:07
Diary Entry - Healing my Relationship to Productivity & Success

Diary Entry - Healing my Relationship to Productivity & Success

I'm talking about the progress I've made with self-perception, productivity, self-worth, and achievement as someone who struggles with feeling satisfied!

Oct 11, 202219:03
Ep 20: The Process of Rebranding My Studio & Things I Would Do Differently

Ep 20: The Process of Rebranding My Studio & Things I Would Do Differently

I'm talking all about the steps I took to rebrand my studio and tips for making it *easier* for you!

Oct 05, 202220:31
 Ep 19: 3 Tips for Making Big Business Changes

Ep 19: 3 Tips for Making Big Business Changes

I'm sharing my biggest 3 tips for how to approach large business changes like restructuring, scaling, etc! We're talking figuring out what to change, how to find a solution, and how to approach executing it.

May 17, 202215:24
Ep 18: Taking Mental Health Breaks & What Comes After

Ep 18: Taking Mental Health Breaks & What Comes After

I'm talking all about what it's been like taking a mental health break from the business and how I'm approaching getting back into the swing of things!

May 10, 202218:11
Diary Entry - Am I Sharing Too Much?

Diary Entry - Am I Sharing Too Much?

With all the content I've been putting out recently over Instagram, Close Friends, TikTok, this Podcast, and now my YouTube, I've been struggling with the question of whether or not I'm sharing too much and how to deal with that uncertainty.

Jan 18, 202218:05
Ep 17: 3 Things I Regret in my Business

Ep 17: 3 Things I Regret in my Business

I give a lot of advice on what to DO, but now I'm trying to show you what NOT to do through sharing my regrets and things I wish I knew when I was growing and starting out.

Jan 11, 202218:30
Ep 16: How to End a Project Early

Ep 16: How to End a Project Early

I'm covering early termination as both a client and a creative: when to know, how to do it, and how to cope!

Nov 16, 202120:11
Ep 15: Designer Talk — Juicy Q&A with Matthew, Wilda, and Mackenzie

Ep 15: Designer Talk — Juicy Q&A with Matthew, Wilda, and Mackenzie

What brands do you hate? Do you have anything cringey to admit? I ask my friends @bymatthewmiller, @helloimwilda, and @m.b.i.r.d some juicy questions that you sent us in a long, candid, and fun conversation!

Nov 09, 202101:12:43
Diary Entry: Imposter Syndrome & How I Deal

Diary Entry: Imposter Syndrome & How I Deal

In this episode I'm talking Imposter Syndrome and some tips on how I've dealt with it over the years!

Jul 27, 202114:26
Ep 14: Tips for Raising Your Prices

Ep 14: Tips for Raising Your Prices

This episode covers some tips for what to do once you've decided to increase your rates!

Jul 21, 202112:45
Diary Entry: We're Back + An Update!

Diary Entry: We're Back + An Update!

It's time for season 2! We're officially back and ready for a whole ton of exciting episodes!

Jul 13, 202116:30
Ep 13: Let's Talk Passive Income Streams

Ep 13: Let's Talk Passive Income Streams

In this episode, I cover key things you need to consider when starting to develop passive income streams and how to make them with minimal extra effort from you!

Apr 20, 202112:53
Diary Entry: Toxic Trends I'm Over

Diary Entry: Toxic Trends I'm Over

I'm getting a lil juicy today and talking about 4 trends that I think are TOXIC in the creative community!

Apr 03, 202118:51
Ep 12: Client Red Flags to Avoid

Ep 12: Client Red Flags to Avoid

I cover my top 5 things that I keep on the lookout for when meeting potential clients to avoid possible nightmare situations!

Mar 30, 202118:39
Ep 11: How I Handle Client Feedback

Ep 11: How I Handle Client Feedback

In this episode I share my best tips for managing client feedback like how to disagree with feedback & how to get the best feedback possible!

Mar 26, 202119:19
Ep 10: Handling Difficult Clients and Situations

Ep 10: Handling Difficult Clients and Situations

In this episode I cover my best advice for approaching tense or awkward client situations and I go through 5 client scenarios, talking you through my recommended approach for dealing with them: 1. Client Trust Issues, 2: Scope Creep, 3: Late Payments/Feedback, 4: Mismatched Vision or Negative Interactions (aka Terminating a Project), 5: Working with a Friend

Mar 23, 202130:39
Diary Entry: Copying Designs vs. Being Inspired

Diary Entry: Copying Designs vs. Being Inspired

WTF do you do when you feel like someone has copied your designs? In this diary entry I tell you about my experience with people taking my work and how I feel about the debate between copying and inspiration + a mini rant on the "be original" narrative!

Mar 20, 202126:18
Ep 9: Instagram Marketing 101

Ep 9: Instagram Marketing 101

I share my tips and methods for using Instagram in a sustainable and natural way to grow your business! Instead of giving you the classic algorithm tips, I'm sharing ways to view Instagram as a community tool to help you grow without the extra effort.

Mar 16, 202120:11
Ep 8: The Essentials for a Great Client Experience

Ep 8: The Essentials for a Great Client Experience

I'm sharing my top 5 things to consider and implement into your project experience to maximize client satisfaction and get you some good reviews! I talk systems, strategies, and things to consider when building your workflow.

Mar 12, 202120:50
Ep 7: Finding Clients & Attracting Your Target Audience

Ep 7: Finding Clients & Attracting Your Target Audience

We're talking strategies and methods for attracting clients that align with your business! I'm sharing some tips and things to consider that will help you attract your dream clients sustainably over time.

Mar 10, 202117:46
Diary Entry: Marketing Anxiety & Putting Yourself Out There

Diary Entry: Marketing Anxiety & Putting Yourself Out There

In this episode I talk about the scary moment when you decide to start being the spokesperson for your business on social media and how it's not all rainbows and butterflies! I talk about being anxious about hate, becoming an influencer, and how to balance marketing with personal comfort.

Mar 05, 202117:55
Ep 6: All About Pricing & Charging What's Right for You

Ep 6: All About Pricing & Charging What's Right for You

We're talking about how to price yourself in a way that's right for you and what's comfortable! I discuss how I go about pricing my services and suggest ways to think about how to structure yours. I don't cover any particular numbers, but rather I talk about how to think about your own comfort level to customize your pricing structure in a way that makes sense for you!

Mar 02, 202124:06
Ep 5: My Best Advice for New Creatives

Ep 5: My Best Advice for New Creatives

In this episode I cover my best advice, like real advice!, that I wish I had been told when I first starting out. I cover a variety of topics like pricing, service offerings, passion projects, and more!

Feb 26, 202121:49
Ep 4: Balancing Mental Health & Running a Biz

Ep 4: Balancing Mental Health & Running a Biz

In this episode I share realistic and simple steps to improve your rest-work balance! Instead of just telling you to rest and practice self-care (like what does that even mean these days?), I give you my actual tips that I use to help relieve anxiety, burnout, and more.

Feb 23, 202124:12
Ep 3: Finding your Niche & Target Audience

Ep 3: Finding your Niche & Target Audience

Your niche and target audience are one of the main pillars of your business' foundation! In this episode I cover ways to thoughtfully find your niche and strategically find your audience while also having a bit of fun!

Feb 19, 202115:54
Diary Entry: Breaking Up with a Client & Being Talked Down to...

Diary Entry: Breaking Up with a Client & Being Talked Down to...

In this episode I get vulnerable and talk about an unpleasant but real experience that I had in my week...breaking up with a client and getting talked down to in a meeting. I talk about the experiences of dealing with both and what I learned from them!

Feb 17, 202123:16
Ep 1: Who I Am & My Story

Ep 1: Who I Am & My Story

Welcome! Get to know me, your humble host, by learning about my unconventional journey into design and how I started freelancing, designing, and opening my own studio. I share my experience going through a MAJOR career change and following my passion. It's nice to meet you!

Feb 13, 202119:53
Ep 2: How to Start Freelancing or Your Own Biz

Ep 2: How to Start Freelancing or Your Own Biz

In this episode I outline my best tips for starting a creative freelancing career or business! I include tips for laying the foundation of your business to set you up for success and I also cover my top 5 admin essentials to get the ball rolling!

Feb 13, 202120:14