Design, Monkey!

Design, Monkey!

Welcome to Design, Monkey! Talk therapy for graphic designers, by graphic designers. We dive into the real experiences of working designers and the impact it has on their mental health. We know that as designers, we are constantly pushing ourselves to meet deadlines, striving for perfection, and trying to stand out in a highly competitive industry. But all of this can come at a cost to our mental wellbeing. In this pod, we’ll talk about the struggles that we as designers face, from feeling like we’re not good enough to dealing with the stress of juggling multiple projects at once.

Episodes

November 2, 2023 66 mins

In our 11th episode we chat about gaps we've experienced in young designer's skills. Too often we find that young designers are lacking basic skills, making it difficult or impossible to add them to the design team.  The young designer is not always to blame, education institutions not aiming their program at the actual needs of commercial design is. So we ask, what are THEY teaching these kids?

Share your stories with us ...

Mark as Played

Design depression. What is it? How does it happen? How do we deal with it?

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
September 19, 2023 72 mins

In this Real Talk episode we chat with Alli Rico, Social Media Editor at KCTS 9 Seattle. Alli tells us how she got into creative work, she shares her burnout story, and challenges Robert about teasing Canva users.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
August 31, 2023 67 mins

In this episode we take a slight detour and beam the red shirts down to the planet of pressure tribbles. Our design work has been off the charts of late and we take some time to vent about it. Set your phasers to stun and pray your shirt is gold or blue.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
August 15, 2023 66 mins

Another entry in our Real Talk series, we talk with one of our favorite designers, Judy Olsen. 

Judy is an award-winning designer with over 20+ years of experience in branding, package and print design. Eleven of those years were spent in Chicago working for brands like Dean Foods, Kraft, Quaker, Jim Beam Brands and G. Heileman Brewing.

Judy profiles her career as a professional designer, along the way she touches...

Mark as Played
July 30, 2023 59 mins

In this episode of Design, Monkey! Annalise and Robert share their thoughts about AI. Will it take away our jobs, is it ethical to use, is it the beginning of the end for mankind? Come with us if you want live.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played

The first in our interview series, Real Talk. In this series we chat with real people working and surviving in the creative industries. This episode features the CEO of AW Design Studio, Roland Owens. Roland gives us some insight into navigating the ever changing landscape of graphic design and print services. Bonus, we learn a little about what Robert was like as a young designer.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Inst...

Mark as Played
June 30, 2023 73 mins

In this episode Annalise schools Robert on what it's like to be freelance designer in 2023. She explains how she balances her design life, mom life, and her metal health.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
June 15, 2023 51 mins

Robert and Annalise discuss how Covid changed their respective personal & professional lives, and how to avoid future financial fears.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
May 30, 2023 63 mins

In our second episode Annalise and Robert talk about the design grind. How do we balance being constantly busy and make time to care for our mental health?

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played
May 15, 2023 59 mins

In this episode Robert and Annalise tell their burnout stories and what they are doing to fight the burn.

Share your stories with us @designmonkeypod on Instagram and YouTube

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    United States of Kennedy is a podcast about our cultural fascination with the Kennedy dynasty. Every week, hosts Lyra Smith and George Civeris go into one aspect of the Kennedy story.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club

    Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.