10 Comments

This rules, Carly. I love these actionable steps and visual representations of value. My 2025 theme is Ideas Need Colonies, which translates to the value of shared knowledge and connection.

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I agree with you Tom! Your theme sounds really interesting, but I think it is worth suggesting further exploration of the use of the word 'Colony', which historically has caused a lot of oppression globally, the effects of which are still felt and seen today. Perhaps synonyms for sharing, community, are some good alternatives.

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The graphs are perfection!! 🤯🙏

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Came here to say I loved this post, super honest, useful and as Tom says, actionable. I really need to do this for myself.

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Absolutely love this.

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Thank you for sharing this post Carly! The career asymptote and decision tree around projects...brilliant. These reminders are so helpful and increasingly important as the world and tech as an industry makes shifts that in all honesty have me reeling a bit and questioning how to genuinely make a positive impact through design.

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Your text resonates a lot with me. I would say I have quite a few values and I’m doing my best sticking to them within my work as a brand designer. But at the same time, these values definitely sometimes seem like a burden too. If you’re true to them (and thus true to yourself), you don’t bend, which can mean less work, less popularity, etc. Three of my main values are Aesthetics (I’d always go the extra mile to create something that’s 100% pleasing to me), Spirituality (while I’m working strategically, I’m also heavily relying on something like higher guidance & practice yoga, meditation, use essential oils etc.), and Community/Education (I believe in sharing experiences with others, want to help (younger) designers and educate them as well as potential clients on the value of design).

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J'adore!, merci , je vais prendre le temps d'y travailler.

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This is so valuable, Carly (no pun intended)! Thanks for sharing!

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Loved this Carly. The concept of the career asymptote is chef's kiss. I think there's also something about gaining more skills to get paid for what you like doing vs what you're good at that I've found has grown with my career that also fits that model.

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