In this episode of The Honest Designer Diaries, I’m chatting with Teresa Ferreira, founder of Ferrrgood Studio, about leaving her role as Head of Design at the Financial Times and building something of her own.

Teresa had what many designers would probably see as the big, impressive, “you’ve made it” kind of job. But after seven years at the FT, and a pandemic-induced bit of rethinking, she started to realise she was craving more creative fulfilment.

So she condensed her full-time role into four days and used her Fridays to test freelance life. Eight months later, burnout hit, and the Friday freelance experiment became the start of a much bigger exit plan.

If you’ve ever sat in a role that looks brilliant from the outside but doesn’t feel right anymore, this one might hit a wee nerve.

Juls x

Chapters
00:58 Meet Teresa Ferreira
02:34 Leaving corporate design
07:50 Needing more creative fulfilment
08:32 Freelancing on Fridays
10:00 PowerPoint trauma and being asked to “pretty things up”
21:20 Burnout and knowing something had to change
27:09 Showing up online and getting visible
30:09 Bad clients and confidence knocks
31:18 Deciding to leave
35:30 Imposter syndrome
39:50 Why creative community matters
41:25 Where to find Teresa

Find Teresa online:
Instagram: @‌teresaferrgoodstudio
LinkedIn: Teresa Ferreira
Website: ferrgoodstudio.com

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I’d love to hear what you think of this episode. If you’ve listened and any part of Rachel’s story resonated with you, send me a message on Instagram at @‌designerinyourpocket_juls or @‌thehonestdesignerdiaries.

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