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How Client Work Experience Impacts the Growth of the Design Student
As a design major finishing my last semester of college, it's sort of hard to know exactly what to expect when my formal design training meets real-world design needs.

Thi Bui
Dec 10, 20252 min read


Triannual Planning: Thinking Thrice About Quarterly Business Strategy
Quarterly planning may not be suited for every business or professional. Breaking your year into three periods of four months provides more flexibility and allows for more synergistic, cohesive, and focused goals.

Joel Mattern
Sep 15, 20255 min read


Terrible Twos: Dispelling Common Entrepreneurial Myths and Folktales
When you leave the corporate grind for the loose, unstructured entrepreneurial life, you leave behind the need to show up anywhere in person, report to anyone, get dressed for the day, or plan for vacations—because every day is a vacation.

Joel Mattern
Jul 29, 20257 min read


The 90-90-30-30: Obeying Your Ultradian Rhythms
Research shows that our bodies obey what are known as ultradian rhythms: ninety-minute periods of focus at the end of which we cease to operate at our highest ability.

Joel Mattern
Apr 15, 20256 min read


Midnight in the Garden of Divergent Thinking
A quiet mind is much like an inviting garden: it must be prepared with the proper balance of nutritious mental energy, a sprawling and seren

Joel Mattern
Aug 28, 20245 min read


3 Out of 4 is Winning: Reflections on my First Three Quarters as a Solopreneur
Going into business as a solopreneur can be intimidating. Here are some things I’ve discovered over the last nine months of my journey.

Joel Mattern
Aug 1, 20243 min read


Great Design Lies in the Hands of the Designer: Thoughts on DIY Marketing
In a world of AI and self-service solutions, marketing design should not be one of them.

Joel Mattern
Jul 24, 20242 min read


The Hunger Artist: Avoiding the Kafkaesque in the Design Process
In what ways are you a hunger artist? How do you interpret the need for perfection and admiration at seemingly nonsensical costs?

Joel Mattern
Mar 6, 20242 min read


Lessons Learned From Jumping Off a Cliff: My First 3 Months as a Business Owner and Solo Designer
On November 1, 2023, I did something most people would consider to be quite risky: I left my stable office job to work for myself.

Joel Mattern
Feb 26, 20245 min read
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