The Design Diaries

Apr 07 2025 48 ep. 21 mins 3

The Design Diaries Podcast artwork

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 39: How to Start Offering Web Design with Olive St. Studio

Apr 07 2025 47 mins

If you're a brand designer that wants to start offering web design but doesn't know where to start, just press play—we got you! I sat down with Olivia from Olive St. Studio, the creator of Slayin' Showit (a course I just joined) and website wizard! In this episode, we talk how to start, choosing a platform, mistakes to avoid, pricing, and more!Check out Olivia's s

Ep 38: How to Use Instagram to Book More Design Clients in 2025

Feb 10 2025 24 mins

Instagram is always changing, and it feels like as soon as we figure it out, it's been updatedagain. But fear not —I’ve got you covered! The Design Diaries is BACK — In this episode, I’m breaking down thesix key strategies you need to know to grow your brand, connect with your audience, and actually enjoy the content creation process, all based on what’s worked for me

Ep 37: 3 Ways I Started Booking Clients Again

Dec 14 2023 16 mins

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.

Ep 36: Business Insurance for Designers

Dec 07 2023 13 mins

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.

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

Nov 20 2023 17 mins

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.

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

Oct 12 2023 28 mins

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 relationsh

Ep 33: Design Portfolio Tips (What to Include)

Sep 14 2023 14 mins

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.

Ep 32: Red Flags in Clients, Coaches & Contractors

Sep 07 2023 20 mins

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.

Ep 31: How I Found my Design Style

Aug 31 2023 18 mins

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.

Ep 30: Finding Community & Fighting Loneliness

Jul 27 2023 21 mins

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!