Discover how design leaders can develop an authentic personal brand that reflects their unique leadership style and values while creating meaningful contributions to the broader design community. Learn strategic approaches to crafting your design leadership story, creating resonant content, and building quality professional relationships that elevate both your career trajectory and the design industry as a whole.

Learn to identify when persistent workplace struggles signal it's time to seek an environment that truly values your contributions, especially for professionals from underrepresented groups.

Discover how identifying and leveraging your core values can provide stability and confidence when navigating the complexities of leadership roles and help maintain your authentic identity during challenging periods.

Your professional reputation is your most valuable career asset, built through consistency, reliability and effective communication with stakeholders.

Collaborate with other designers and developers to build your experience

Discover how to identify influential colleagues, foster mutually beneficial connections, and transform workplace acquaintances into allies who can advocate for you and your team across the organisation, creating a powerful internal network that enhances your career prospects.

Learn how to build an effective professional network that opens doors to new opportunities. Discover why networking isn't just a necessary evil but an intentional relationship-building process that creates valuable connections.

Finding like-minded design communities provides essential support in a challenging industry, with small local groups offering the most relatable connections. These communities create meaningful relationships that help you feel seen and become a better, happier designer throughout your career.

A well-maintained LinkedIn profile with professional photos, clear headlines, and recommendations acts as your digital first impression and complements your CV and portfolio.

Venessa discusses the importance of staying relevant in an ever-evolving design industry

Venessa discusses essential factors to consider before accepting a job offer, including the quality of management, career growth opportunities, alignment with personal values, and the company's commercial health. Venessa emphasises the importance of treating job interviews as a two-way process, where candidates evaluate the company as much as the company evaluates them.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over my career.

I spoke with Penny de Valk last year, and we discussed her tendency to step outside of her comfort zone and how her tribe empowers her.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over my career.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over my career.

One observation I’ve made in my career is that some of the best designers are not necessarily the most talented but the ones that are great at communicating and making the right connections, in short the best hustlers.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over the years.

Receiving negative feedback is not easy - here are my tips on how to deal with negative feedback.

Nessa’s knowledge bombs are a series of short bite-size bombs of advice that I have learned over the years.

I believe you can learn from every situation you go through. Here are my top learnings from 2022.