Joanne Chan

I’ve been gardening for as long as I’ve had an outdoor space to grow something in. When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, gardening was really easy. I had strawberries that were taking over the beds within the first year of planting. Prolific tomato plants. So many zucchinis and pumpkins and butternut squash that I was giving them to neighbors. I foolishly assumed I would have the same success when we bought a little house in the high desert. I was ready to be growing 40% of our produce at home. Our new yard took one look at me and laughed. Gardening here has been largely unsuccessful. Everything is thirsty. The wind rips small plants out of the ground. Deer clamber onto the porch to eat whatever they want - after they’ve decimated the veggie garden. There are ground squirrels - which are a horrible combination of a squirrel and a prairie dog - that just rip stuff up and leave it on the ground FOR FUN. Ahead of this summer I grew a total of three strawberries, one cherry and perhaps 5 tomatoes. But I finally grew this garlic. It took adjusting the soil. It took building fences. It took co-planting. But it’s a win. And one thing I’ve learned from burning out and clawing my way out of that burnout its to celebrate your wins. This little piece of advice has likely followed you around your career for a while. I hear it often. Though I hear this piece of advice all the time, the times I actually listen and apply the advice are few and far between. In short, it’s easier said than done. Our brains are wired to look for the negative. Negativity bias shows up in almost all aspects of our life - it’s why we dwell on the one nasty thing someone said to us in elementary school and don’t tend to think about all nice things people did for us. It’s why we feel like our entire day was terrible when one person at work said one annoying thing. It makes sense for humans to bias toward the negative, because our bodies are constantly trying to keep us safe. Our systems are wired to sense danger, to learn from negative experiences, and create memories that have us making different choices in the future. Though there are evolutionary reasons negativity bias can be useful, getting stuck in negative thought patterns can have a profound effect on multiple aspects of our life. For me, especially in periods when I’ve felt drained in other parts of my life, negativity bias creeps into work. Despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, negative thought patterns can have me convinced that I suck at my job and everyone hates me. Good news is, one of the ways you can work with your body to dial back the negative thought spiral is by….surprise….celebrating your wins. Consistently pointing out to yourself the things that have gone well (and giving yourself a moment to celebrate them) teaches our brains to seek out more examples of positive outcomes. So, I invite you to feast your eyes upon my garlic harvest and celebrate this win with me.

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A great video from design icons Pentagram on using AI in design The design is for Performance.gov website (a government initiative to document strategic goals and make them understandable to the public). The video outlines using crafty (paper, paint) inputs to create a large library of consistent illustrations for online use. Ps. There's no sound.

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For 10 years, I grew my educational toy store alongside my design career. Scaling wasn’t just about growth—it was about sustainability. Foundational systems, understanding finances, and tracking progress were key. More importantly, we nurtured a culture of support and creativity, without rigid hierarchies, ensuring everyone had what they needed to thrive. Growth has its twists, but with solid systems and a strong culture, the journey is truly rewarding. No siloes, pure team work. Because as they same "team work, makes the dreams work." #BusinessGrowth #Scaling #CreativeCulture #Efficiency

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YES! Robert Fabricant, great Fast Company follow-up article. Stoked has been on this train for many years and I deeply believe it is the model of the future.  Last year, ⅓ of our projects were completely designed, staffed, and led by contract design talent and ¾ of all projects had collective team members on the project (collective = contractor). The future of design and innovation talent must recognize that there are incredible innovation leaders out there who don’t want to be full-time employees.  But, being independent comes with some challenges: 1. It can be lonely.  2. By nature, design leaders are obsessive learners. As an independent wearing many hats, seeking inspiration can fall to the bottom of this list. 3. Biz dev is a unique skill that many creatives don’t love. Cultivating our Collective meant solving these challenges while also creating consistency and reliability in what it means to deliver a Stoked experience.  The 50 or so projects we lead each year allow us to see emerging needs (e.g. design leaders must be skilled at complex problem-solving, take a systems perspective, and know how to measure innovation) and cultivate a community of leaders who can do these things with confidence and consistency. But, closest to my heart, and regardless of whether someone is an employee or a contractor - design leaders know how to create a human-centered environment. When big-business gets caught up in automation, optimization, and risk-mitigation they can look to design leaders to find a humanized work experience.  #innovation #design #culture #systemsdesign https://lnkd.in/eBh8hcu8

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You've likely heard "pets are the new kids." But it's more nuanced than that, says Senior Creative Director Meredith Post: "We're noticing how pets are treated differently than children: they are an idyllic extension of a person's identity. We treat them better than we treat ourselves and use them as a signal of who we are and want to be.” It means pet CPG is extending into realms like personalized nutrition and luxurious self-care. For more insights from Meredith Post, Carina Sandoval and Kyle Schutte, head here: https://okt.to/fA9oNI #petbrands #petcpg #consumerstrategy #petcare

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Have you listened to The Design Imposter Podcast? Monique and I have some remarkable guests in the coming weeks and the conversations are 🔥 Actually, our pre-recording vibe checks have been 🔥🔥🔥 We really need to start recording the vibe checks for b-roll. ---- Here's one of my favorite episodes which discusses the benefits of working in a corporate environment over freelancing and entrepreneurship. https://lnkd.in/eYKW3sTA

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Calling everyone who's ever sat through an awkward creative presentation. Over the last decade, we’ve made a shift at Mortar that’s changed the game for our creative process. Instead of starting with "big ideas" and treating creative briefs as launching pads, we’ve adopted a framework focused on imagining what we want our target audience to say--that singular Aha moment of delight and surprise—and it’s paid off. I don’t remember one creative presentation that has missed its mark since we adopted this framework. The difference? Aha briefs aren’t about blasting off into the creative unknown. They’re landing zones. They’re about aligning the team and the client around a clear, shared vision of how we want customers to respond. This focus keeps the creative work sharp, purposeful, and, most importantly, effective. So, while big ideas can be exciting and captivating, we’ve found that aiming for that Aha moment—with a disciplined, collaborative approach—consistently delivers results that hit the bullseye. See www.mortaragency.com for more. #CreativeStrategy #AhaMoments #MarketingInnovation #ClientCollaboration #BreakthroughThinking #MarketingFramework #OriginalIdeas #TargetedCreativity #MarketingSuccess #BrandDevelopment

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Here goes Scott Berkun on Jorge Arango's podcast. Scott's latest book, co-authored with Bryan Zug is a must-read for designers and for all those who think design is easy. ;-) Give it a listen. Gems from Why Design is Hard "On the first day of design school, and in the first page of every design book, there should be a clarifying lesson about human nature. Decision-making in the real world is a social process, not a solitary one. This means design is usually a social process too, even if it’s just between a visionary solo designer and their fancy client.” and another … “Designers often say “they just don’t get it” about organizational leaders, as if “getting it” is a realistic expectation for people who are currently rewarded not to get it. It’s like being angry at a rock for being so quiet and unmoving.” cc: Dave Gray Anthony Lopez Lloyd Mathias Ken Gordon https://lnkd.in/gSKV4XDt

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I never do this, but… DM me with a slide deck or presentation you’re working on, and I’ll give you a free design audit. As the founder of a presentation design agency with over a thousand clients globally (including many Fortune 100s like Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Meta, Microsoft, and PepsiCo), I don’t normally offer this kind of help without charging hundreds of dollars. But, I’m happy to give you a few pointers… All I ask is you 1. Like this post.  2. Follow me if you aren’t already.  3. Repost so others in your network can benefit as well. Then, comment below and DM me with a deck you’re working on and I’ll help as many people as I can! Hurry up before I change my mind, though. 😄

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Hard to keep up with the amazing Doug Powell and his podcast This Is A Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast with Print Magazine. I will admit, that while it is always fun to record these interview, I dont generally relish listening to the recordings after the fact. Yet, the first episode of my discussion with the amazing Kate Aronowitz from GV (Google Ventures) held up pretty well. I finally had a minute, after my younger daughter’s college graduation, to listen to Part 1 of our discussion. Totally inspired by so many of the themes that Kate touched on in: •   I really appreciate her challenging some of my recent Fast Company series on design leadership for centering the voices of folks of a certain level of tenure, history and privilege and calling out the need to engage and invest in the next generation of design leadership, particularly the folks working at startups who “probably dont look like” us. At Dalberg Design we have invested in a robust leadership development model for this very reason as we cultivate diverse talent in markets like Dakar, Mexico City, Mumbai and Nairobi. •   Related, Kate and Doug speak passionately about the design field becoming less territorial and find ways to better support the next generation as we go through our next evolution, which Kate is at the front lines of in her role as GV’s design guru. We dont “have to compete with one another. we could help move talent around and build the discipline together.” It is also one of the reasons I took my practice to the public sector. There is a refreshing openness among designers working in this field that was missing in my days in corporate design at frog. We have a collective responsibility to grow the field and establish the valuable role that design can play in social movements and systems change. •   I was also so inspired by Kate's commitment to building and nurturing communities that brings more senior and up-and-coming talent together. Many designers at early-stage startups are still working largely on their own and lacking community, which is something Kate is working tirelessly to build. I see our global as similarly inspiring and in need of community that is culturally relevant to them. It is a generation of diverse talent who are developing a powerful voice as they navigate their parallel journeys. One of the reasons we started our design practice at Dalberg was to give them a home and community. I hope that you will find these and other messages from the podcast equally inspiring. Please tune in for Part II, which launched last week and share your thoughts and reflections. Listen now 🎧 https://apple.co/3QVHJnM

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This post from Seth Godin resonated—not just because of my continual evolution of Lucid but also for the clients I work with every day: https://lnkd.in/e-RD-aag. I think I’ve always used a wordmark for Lucid—because I never wanted to waste headspace coming up with a symbol that isn’t clear or doesn’t really matter. And, now more than ever before, the word Lucid encapsulates an approach to everything I do. It’s more than a logo or mark, it’s an ethos. I hope as I mature into this next chapter of my journey, I’m able to continue leaning into that and find deeper clarity, focus, and direction.

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I don't have the aesthetics conversation as much anymore with clients, but I do on the impact side. Meaning, design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful strategic asset that can propel business growth and foster innovation. Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how design and design thinking can transform organizations. I see it most initially in these two areas: 🔍 #1: Empathize with Your Users - Understanding your customers' needs and pain points is crucial. In one campaign, I conducted extensive field research to grasp the challenges faced by the target community. This empathy-driven approach allowed me to "see" the challenge more clearly and helped me create a more impactful campaign, raising awareness and support effectively. 💡 #2: Foster Collaboration - Innovation thrives in a collaborative environment. I believe in the power of diverse perspectives. Whether it's brainstorming sessions or workshops, fostering a culture of collaboration leads to creative solutions that drive business success. Not sure where to start? Here are some of the basic steps: Empathize: Conduct user interviews and research to understand your audience’s needs and pain points. Define: Clearly outline the problems you want to solve. Ideate: Brainstorm and collaborate with diverse teams to generate creative solutions. Prototype: Develop prototypes and test them with real users. Test and Iterate: Use feedback to refine your solutions continually. By leveraging design as a strategic asset, you can unlock new opportunities, drive business growth, and create meaningful impact. #DesignThinking #BusinessGrowth #EmpathyInDesign #Branding

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💭 Is consensus and over-collaboration killing brave, inspired, and game-changing creative work? This question stemming from from Tobias van Schneider's piece has been banging around my head for the last two weeks. For my fellow designers and creatives and brand leaders, give it a read and a ponder → https://lnkd.in/gdtgjrTm #branding #designcollaboration #branddesign

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Why does nostalgia in design feel so good? In this episode, we explore the resurgence of retro in branding and packaging and why it’s capturing the hearts (and wallets) of consumers today. From the psychology behind nostalgia to standout examples like Chobani’s earthy, vintage look and Burger King’s playful retro rebrand, we dive deep into how brands are using the past to shape their future. We’ll also share tips for experimenting with nostalgia in your own work, the risks of overdoing it, and when retro just isn’t the right fit. Whether you’re a designer curious about this trend or a brand strategist looking to connect more meaningfully with your audience, this episode is packed with insights and inspiration. Tune in to discover how to make nostalgia work for you! https://lnkd.in/gXAwJdFw

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✨ What’s your signature hallmark as a designer? Share it below. Design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about originality, integrity, and innovation. And as designers, we walk a fine line between being inspired and staying uniquely ourselves. In today’s episode (114) of the Design Business Freedom Podcast, we explore what it truly means to be inspired versus what it means to copy. 🎙️Here’s what’s inside: ✔️ What is the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism? ✔️ Why defining your design hallmarks is essential. ✔️ How to bring originality to every project without losing your signature style. This episode is your reminder to dig deeper, push creative boundaries, and honor the privilege of designing something truly one-of-a-kind! 🎧 Tap the link below to listen now, or catch it on your favorite podcast platform! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dtxG-xRx . . . #interiordesignstyle #interiordesignerlife #designhallmark #designbusinessfreedom

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We are absolutely seeing a trend toward a more intentional design program across all markets, but especially among GenX adults 55+. Rendering beautiful spaces means more than just creating an appealing aesthetic - it means paying attention to the proven aspects of neuroscience and biology as they relate to how people interact with the spaces we create, and contribute to a sense of overall well-being. In new developments, aging adults are seeking access to health and wellness amenities, like hiking trails, swimming pools and pickle ball or tennis courts, as well as opting for thoughtful home features like showers instead of bathtubs, modified cabinetry, and the latest technology to help them as they age. https://lnkd.in/epcpaSVY

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Explore key insights from my latest book, "Psycho-Aesthetics 2.0," which delves into the transformative power of design: 1️⃣ The Evolution of Psycho-Aesthetics®: Innovation that keeps evolving. 2️⃣ Practical Applications: Real-world industry transformations. 3️⃣ Emotional Connections: Creating powerful bonds through design. Combining aesthetics and psychology, our approach creates deeply resonant products. Whether you're a designer, innovator, or business leader, this book is your gateway to a new era of design. #idsa #hbr #dmi #wdo #CEO #productdesign #entrepreneur #psychoaesthetics #medtech

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