Overview:

Four independent designers meet for lunch. What do they talk about? There are the inevitable complaints about working for clients upfront. But, eventually, they break the surface and start to talk about what they really want to be doing with their lives. It turns out that of the four designers, none of them want to design. Well, at least not in the ordinary sense. The first designer shared that they want to paint with oils. The second hopes to teach start-up clients on how to avoid hiring a designer. The third prefers to think about (and implement) better ways of storing and presenting the documentation of their everyday life. And, finally, the fourth, aspires to write.

That’s a general summation of Designer Lunch: March. Designer Lunch is a monthly small group meeting of designers from the Cincinnati Area. It usually involves a group of designers going around the table, sharing what’s happening in our world of work. We exchange ideas and encouragement. It’s nice.

Here are a few notable topics from lunch:

How does one create multiple streams of revenue so as not to rely upon clients alone?

YouTubing was thrown out there. But none of us is the YouTubing type per se. We’re an introverted crowd. Not so much Yoga Girl types.

Jess had a couple of neat ideas. One idea is to help companies in the start-up phase build a DIY identity. The other is a tutorial for independent designers (who are introverted). It would teach them how to start a design business without having to interface too much with clients. 

Jess also shared that Lauren Hom doubled her income through online courses.

Nick shared about Simon Stålenhag, an illustrator and writer, who gradually releases works via his blog (not Instagram). Talk about multiple streams of income. This guy has an upcoming amazon show, he sells prints, and he has several books. 

What do you do when you don't have client work?

Nick upgrades his office and learns new skills (like oil painting and 3D modeling in Blender). Jess reads mystery novels and listens to an array of podcasts. D.J. writes blog articles to his secret blog. Chris learns how to code on Skillshare.

I suppose one thing we all do is enjoy long lunches... Which is great, because not having work can be a lonely experience.

What do I post online when I don’t have any current work to post?

People may find out about your work because you post on Instagram. It’s also an easy way to remind potential clients and customers that you exist. Either way, posting more regularly can put you more in front of mind when people are making decisions about who to hire. In that way, Instagram’s algorithm is a bit of a broken system because it perpetuates hustle culture. In other words, it’s easy to feel that one has to post continuously to keep a float (and there’s some truth to that feeling). That said, what can one post (that’s a quality use of pixel space) when there’s nothing new to post? We all agreed that process shots of previous projects are a good strategy. Another tactic is to take old projects and reinvent them (hat tip to Lauren Hom via Jess).

Miscellany: 

• Chris and D.J. continue to push Figma. For everything. 

• Nick shared about Rory Kurz and how they stream their work in progress.

• Chris hired “The Brown.” Congrats! (I forget to say that in person.)

• Chris briefly mentioned about his 2016 trip to Japan and the photos he collected.

• Nick spent January in California on the beach (working remotely) with his fiance, and the rest of us are jealous.

• D.J. shared about a few notable students projects from the Capstone course he is teaching. See them all, in progress, here. 

• Jess is not taking any clients until July. Go, Jess!

• Will Covid-19 impact designers? Is it canceled yet?

• We ate at the Gruff, but no one mentioned their food.