Less noise, more design + Design inspo: retro summer lifestyle ads

Life & business update

I’ve been a little quiet lately 🫢 not because I had nothing to say, but because I needed time to look… and observe. Sometimes I like to pause, not from burnout, but because I want to ask better questions before jumping back in.

Lately, I realized I was hanging in the same online circles for too long. I started feeling small. When everyone’s sharing the same strategies and advice, and start getting catty and guessing people’s characters and abilities, you start second-guessing your own path. Especially when you’re doing something different.

And then came the cult favorite: Threads.

Now don’t get me wrong, you know Threads helped me find my voice. But it can also push people into sharing way too much, too often. Not every insight needs a POV post. I started to feel like I had to talk about everything just to stay visible. My opinions didn’t change, though my outlook did.

My goals are the same. But my approach is different.

Lately I’ve been learning from people who have been running agencies and creative businesses for 5-10+ years.

Less "be loud to get leads", more "know what you’re doing and build real relationships". It’s been refreshing. And for the first time in a long time, my business feels organized. Like actually organized.

Here’s the kicker 😱
I haven’t touched email marketing.
I didn’t post on social.
Definitely limited the scrolling on Threads.
And not consuming just to consume.

Despite all that, I've had more leads in the last month than ever before.

Not from doing what’s trending but by doubling down on the work I love. Not building a personal brand for the sake of it, but doing it with intention.

I also made peace with the fact that I’m just not into digital products or group coaching programs for myself right now. There’s this idea floating around that if you stick to 1:1 services, you’ll burn out or stay broke. That’s just not true.

I’ve talked to people who’ve run everything from boutique to big budget campaigns with some well-known brands you probably follow. I learned what they do with their time and how they form connections and get clients… and it's not necessarily what's the most popular in our little entrepreneur circles.

Taking a step back gave me clarity. Gave me goals.
But without the pressure to burn it all down or scale in a stressful way.

I’ve been focusing on the kind of work I actually enjoy: branding and marketing design. And honestly, I’m wayyy more lit up by it.

OOH and LinkedIn? Hilariously, it’s been the least problematic for me.

I cleaned out my feed of all the LI stereotypes and now it’s full of creatives in startups, tech, agencies, and marketing who are doing cool stuff.

I think that’s part of what turned me off from other platforms. This pressure to have a take on everything. Not everything has to be polarizing. Not every opinion needs to be shared. Sometimes work can just be work.

Oh, this is a convo for another day, but I had a huge shift around sales.
For a while, I thought if I didn’t want to "market" the way everyone else did, that meant I wasn’t good at sales. But sales isn’t content. It isn’t building a funnel. Sales is connection. Understanding. Yep, relationships with real people, not just the next group/cohort.

Stepping back helped me realize what kind of business I actually want and how I show up, not just what I make. And it’s made me a better designer because I’m listening better. I’m noticing more. And I’m not rushing things that don’t need to be rushed.

The future of this newsletter after a year of reflection

If you haven’t noticed, I changed the name and took out CEO because that felt too limiting to people who read this - who are entrepreneurs, designers, creative directors, founders, freelancers, and overall cool people.

I’ll be sharing the good stuff I’ve found in the business and design world. Some inspo, some insights, and a few things I’ve been working on behind the scenes. I’m trying out beehiiv so it’ll be easier to have my emails also on web.

I’m here to listen to see what you like. And we’ll build from there. Iterate. See what sticks. Thanks for being here 🫶

Marketing designs in different categories. This week: Retro lifestyle with 2 organic and 2 paid ad designs.

Retro is everywhere right now but not as a trend since we KNOW it’s become a staple and I’m here for it. This week’s picks are all warm-weather (and feelings) nostalgia: 90s print layouts, old money summers, and vintage ad treatments that feel aspirational and not too out of touch.

More page and interaction explorations on my personal portfolio - built on Framer

Other client projects I’ve been on:

• lots and lots of product launches

• CPG + lifestyle socials

• apparel Meta ads

• websites on Framer

• landing pages on Figma

Hire me for brand, web or marketing design - and I have just a couple of spots for a design retainers!

If your brand feels like it needs more creative breathing room so you open up more opportunities for yourself, hit reply and let’s chat or go to my page and see more.