Our freelance listeners are furious – and maybe they have a right to be.Cancelled bookings. Late payments. Chaotic onboarding. Loneliness. But with nearly half of the creative industry being self-employed and studios relying on freelancers to bolster their teams, what’s going wrong?This week, we talk to two experts in all things freelance. Sadia Noor, Creative Partner at Small World shares what it’s like to run an entirely freelance model. Matthew Knight, Chief Freelance Officer at The Independency Co. discusses the issues his community encounters time and time again.They discuss the benefits of hiring freelance talent, the biggest frustrations, and what we need to do to help change the way the industry looks after its largest talent pool.— Stats: https://www.leapers.co/research/2024/#chapter-headlineshttps://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2025/03/report-finds-creative-freelancers-hit-by-loss-of-work-late-pay-and-rise-of-ai/#https://www.thedoers.co.uk/blog/are-freelancers-more-productive-than-employeesLeapers: https://www.leapers.co/ Freelancing support: https://www.freelancing.support/resources/guide-to/dealing-with-late-payments/at-a-glance/WithJack: https://withjack.co.uk/South West Freelancers: Kerry WheelerStories: Sam Edwards / Tarn / Ellen / Chris Greenwood / Miltos Bottis / Jack Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Designer Dads
With the rise in conversations around ‘working mums’, we wondered, why don’t we call fathers ‘working dads’?As we strive for equal parenting, Dads are picking up more of the mental, emotional and physical load of raising children. Juggling being hands-on both at home and in the studio. All with less parental leave, less support and less opportunity to share how they’re coping.Our two guests are fathers of children, teenagers and creative teams, Ali Ozden (Universal Favourite) & Jamie Ellul (Supple Studio)We asked them how becoming Designer Dads has impacted their careers, creativity and mental health (and if they want their children to follow in their footsteps)–Stats: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/70-of-dads-who-didnt-take-their-full-paternity-leave-entitlement-had-to-cut-it-short-due-to-cost/https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2019https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/why-we-are-campaigning-for-6-weeks-paid-paternity-leave/Dadwell & Co: https://dadwell.co/Fathercraft: https://fathercraft.com/fathers-ed/Mind: https://www.mind.org.uk/Calm: https://www.thecalmzone.net/Andys Man Club: https://andysmanclub.co.uk/groups/Tommys: https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/dads-and-partners/looking-after-your-mental-health-after-baby-bornStories: Samuel / Lee Davies / Jack Trotman / Sam / Adam Ding–The NDA Podcast is created by Lucky Dip. Hosted by Katie Cadwell & produced by Hatty Wytton.Edited by James from Be Heard. Original music 'The Theme from NDA' by Jamie Ellul & Toby McLaren. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Cultural Mis-fit
It is a fact that multicultural teams outperform homogeneous ones.But roughly 9% of the design industry is made up of people in minority groups, whereas the wider workforce is 17%. And that’s not factoring in how many of those are in junior positions.So why are we taking so long to catch up?Our guests in this episode think there’s too much talk, and not enough action. So join us, Andy Khatouli & Priyjah Paramasivam as we ask them –How they’re perceived in studios and whether they feel the need to mask their authentic selves?What it’s like being the only voice in the room calling things out, or being pushed into the role of ’spokesperson’ for diversity?And ultimately, what is our industry missing out on by not welcoming different cultures with open arms.–There are some brilliant orgs really doing the work to rebalance our industry. Make sure you check them out.Stats: https://www.cipd.org/uk/about/news/managing-multicultural-teams/Andy’s article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/other-0-andrew-khatouli-7sqkc/Ahmed Abokor’s article: https://www.itsnicethat.com/news/ahmed-abokor-on-being-a-black-creative-in-a-homogenous-industry-opinion-240620Samar Maakaroun intervew: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/typography-expression-language-identity-dad-jury-president-samar-grnde/ POCC: https://www.instagram.com/wearepocc/?hl=enOtherbox: https://otherbox.co/Stories: Kay / Agata Gray / Sibin –The NDA Podcast is created by Lucky Dip. Hosted by Katie Cadwell & produced by Hatty Wytton.Edited by James from Be Heard. Original music 'The Theme from NDA' by Jamie Ellul & Toby McLaren. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Creativity & Cashflow
80% of our listeners are only just managing financially. The creative industry has taken a pummelling over the past few years. From an unstable economy, unpredictable politics, a rise in the cost of living and staffing costs… It’s harder than ever to make money as a creative business.But how are the ‘big’ studios really doing? From their LinkedIn feeds, all seems well – but we wanted to ask them about the reality of their accounts.In this episode, Cashflow & Creativity, we speak to studio founders Caterina Bianchini (Studio NARI) & Max Ottignon (Ragged Edge) about how they’re managing in such an unstable climate. Are the budgets shrinking? How do they pay their staff a fair wage? And, perhaps most importantly, are they making a profit?Don’t miss this unprecedented peek into their P&Ls.–Stats: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1454650/number-advertising-agencies-worldwide/https://www.creativementornetwork.org/news/cost-of-living-surveyhttps://www.itsnicethat.com/features/ones-to-watch-new-views-a-gen-z-outlook-on-the-creative-industry-050625Scott Galloway podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moIfa0IqlO0Nils Leonard talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzER-_odM30Stories: Lucie Kim / Michu–The NDA Podcast is created by Lucky Dip. Hosted by Katie Cadwell & produced by Hatty Wytton.Edited by James from Be Heard. Original music 'The Theme from NDA' by Jamie Ellul & Toby McLaren. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Season Three Trailer
We're back with Season Three.Debating and debunking all the biggest secrets in the creative industry. Joined by leaders from all the best design and advertising agencies, we'll be talking about the issues usually kept under NDA – and hearing from our listeners with anonymous stories, to really hear what's going on in our studios.Tune in every Wednesday.–The NDA Podcast is created by Lucky Dip. Hosted by Katie Cadwell & produced by Hatty Wytton.Edited by James from Be Heard. Original music 'The Theme from NDA' by Jamie Ellul & Toby McLaren. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The creative podcast that breaks all the NDAs. Each week host Katie Cadwell (founder & creative director of Lucky Dip) brings you unfiltered conversation with creative leaders and legends, lifting the lid on the biggest issues we face in the creative industry. We dissect topics often kept under waiver, in an effort to uncover ways we can make the industry a healthier, happier, more accessible place to work. A space for debate, discussion, and disagreement. Where all opinions are welcome and no topic is off limits, no matter how controversial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
New Zealand