The Design Break

Rocky Roark

Unlock your path to creative success with the Design Break podcast, hosted by @RockyRoark—owner & design director of Blue Cyclops Design Co. Breaking into the creative world is hard enough. Making it as a freelancer is even more challenging. If you're currently considering jumping into a creative field or looking for freelance opportunities, this podcast is for you. Topics include creative community, design, branding, freelance, job searching, career advice, actionable advice, and more.

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 The Design Break Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Design Break episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Design Break for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Design Break episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

AMA: Is it Possible to Master All Areas of Art & Design? | 012

The Design Break

04/26/19 • 8 min

037 - The Downfall of PFPs: Why I Quit My NFT Project

The Design Break

07/28/23 • 39 min

In this captivating episode, our host Rocky Roark takes us on a profound exploration of the world of NFT PFPs (Non-Fungible Token Profile Pictures). He shares his personal journey of working on an NFT project and the pivotal reasons behind his decision to abandon it.

The episode starts by explaining NFTs and PFPs, clarifying that the focus will be on PFP Artwork within the NFT space. NFTs are digital tokens granting exclusive ownership and royalties to artists. PFPs, on the other hand, are digital collectibles serving as profile pictures, wholly owned by the user. Notable PFP projects like Bored Apes and Doodles are mentioned.

Rocky reflects on his introduction to NFTs and PFPs, giving credit to specific projects they learned about. They then share the journey of creating their own NFT project, "Mewton Island," describing its concept, characters, and the significant effort invested in its artwork.

However, the episode takes a turn as Rocky opens up about his decision to quit the NFT project. The toxic nature of some PFP communities, the immense time commitment required, and the realization of money wasted on PFPs played significant roles in this choice.

Despite his own project's fate, Rocky emphasizes their belief in the broader concept of NFTs. They highlight the various utilities of NFTs, such as proving ownership of digital assets, tokenized music and videos, domain names, event tickets, loyalty programs, patents, and gaming.

In the concluding segment, Rocky urges caution with PFPs, advising those not involved to steer clear of them due to their questionable investment potential. For those already engaged, the advice is to exit before potential losses grow.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

To stay connected with us and be part of our design community, follow us on Twitter @thedesignbreak. Join the conversation, access valuable content, and stay updated on industry insights. If you enjoy this episode, please take a moment to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback not only motivates us but also helps others discover our show and benefit from the discussions we have.
Don't forget to leave a rating and review if you enjoy the episode. Your support means the world to us as we continue to deliver valuable content to our incredible community of design professionals and freelancers.
And be sure to check out these resources:
The Futur Accelerator Program
Hoodzpah — Freelance, and Business, and Stuff
RetroSupply Co. (Code: ROCKY20)

Interview with Brad Woodard | 003

The Design Break

02/15/19 • 44 min

In this episode Rocky Roark interviews the spectacular illustrator and designer, Brad Woodard of Brave the Woods on how he broke through and reached the top of the mountain of creative success.

If you'd like to learn more about this episode please head on over to www.designbreakpodcast.com/episodes/003 to check out the show notes.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

065: 5 Questions to Help You Grow Your Freelance Business

The Design Break

08/02/24 • 24 min

For years, I was blindly running my freelance business, not fully understanding what was working/not working, what wasn’t leading to actual results, and more. Then I started asking myself—daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly—how could I improve or grow my freelancing business?

Here are the 5 questions that helped me do just that.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

016 — AMA: Being Self Taught vs. Going to Art School

The Design Break

06/28/19 • 12 min

In this episode, I answer an AMA (Ask Me Anything) question involving whether it's better to be self-taught or go to art/design school.

The short answer is, in my own personal opinion, you don't need to go to school for design. You should definitely take courses to learn essential art and drawing skills, but when it comes to design, you can easily pick that up on your own accord.

When you go to college, you're spending a large amount of money for a piece of paper at the end of 4-6 years (or more) of taking classes, some of which you'll never need or don't even pertain to your career path. It becomes a trap that has drawn in so many creatives (like myself) into thinking we need a college education to be successful in the creative world.

Nuggets of Wisdom:

1) Is College the Right Answer Decision for You. - Only you can adequately answer that question. I'll be the first to admit that having a college degree is a good fall back in case you decide to switch career paths or have it as a fallback. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have gotten a degree in business or marketing. I even have a dream of when I'm old and retired from getting a degree in history and teaching courses at some university.

Yea that's right, you just read me say that I want to eventually go back to college. The reason I say that is because it's our own choice to go and get degrees and spend tons of money that we may never pay back. Just make sure that you're not going to do it for someone else, that you're going to college for YOU.

2) Learn On Your Own Time & Never Stop Learning! - Whether you go to college or not, spend your own personal time, your free time, learning the craft you want to work in. While I was in school, I realized that my classes weren't teaching me much in what I wanted to do for my career, so I looked elsewhere and found courses, reached out to professionals already in the professions and asked them questions.

Even today, as I'm writing this, I'm 28 years old, graduated from college 6 years ago, and I'm still spending half an hour to 2 hours a day learning something new or reading more to improve my knowledge base. So don't think that just because you're out of school or a "grown adult" that you're done learning. Go out and buy a book and read it this weekend. Plan to learn something new each day (whether it progresses your career or not).

3) It Doesn't Matter Today, It Matters What You Do in the Future. - As you read this or listen to this episode, you could be a ditch digger, working at Staples or working as a bank teller, what you do today is just a means to an end. Its what you do tomorrow that really matters, and the day after that and so on. If you want to become a product designer, but you're currently making change for sweet old ladies for your day job, then spend your nights taking online courses and watching YouTube videos to grow the skill set of what you want to do.

We all start somewhere in our path for knowledge, and you don't have to spend $100,000 to become a success. Sometimes its as cheap as $14.99/mo for a Skillshare subscription or free with YouTube.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

022 — Learning How to Pivot When Dealing with Clients

The Design Break

02/12/21 • 26 min

Today's episode is based on a newsletter I released recently on learning how to roll with the punches and pivoting to client work.

A couple of weeks back, I had an experience with a client that made me really think and reflect on how important pivoting is for creatives. It's something that is talked about quite a bit but still not enough to teach us how to deal with it when it's needed.

There will always be moments when you're working on a project for a client where you'll need to shift gears—usually, it's something small. Other times, it can something major, such as the client not liking anything you've created.

Next, it's what we do; that really defines us and sets us apart from other creatives.

Do you sit there and stare into space for hours, letting the stress of the pivot fester like an open wound? Or do you take action and put together a plan to help lead not only yourself but your client out of whatever situation you're in?

Hopefully, you choose the latter.

So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them on my Instagram account or Twitter, and please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of the podcast! (:

Always remember to stay Passionate, Positive, and Creative!

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

020 — What Should Go Into Your Portfolio

The Design Break

01/20/21 • 25 min

In today's podcast, the first in over a year, we talk about what goes into your portfolio to help you achieve your goals—whether it's to find a job or get freelance work.

This is a continuation of a new series I started on my YouTube channel designed to help you build your portfolio from the ground up. So if you'd like to, please check out those videos and even my first Creative Challenge—designed to help fill your portfolio with an awesome case study.

So if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them on my Instagram account or Twitter, and please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this first new podcast episode of 2021! (:

Always remember to stay Passionate, Positive, and Creative!

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

026 — Part Two | When to Make the Jump to Full-Time Freelance

The Design Break

10/29/21 • 36 min

In today's episode of the Design Break Podcast, we're going to discuss when to make the jump to full-time freelance—the second part of a two-part mini-series on the subject. This second part discusses how to make the jump when you're left with no other choice.

Some of what we cover in this episode includes:

Full-Time Freelance Doesn't Have to be Long-Term, it can be short-term if you want it to be.
You don't have the luxury to slack off or take time off, once you're trusted into the land of self-employment you need to get started yesterday.
Connect with other freelancers, those who have been doing it longer than you that you can get some support from both advice as well as mental support because it's about to get crazy!
Hustle is your mantra and time is both your best friend and enemy.
Don't take on every single project that comes your way, unless you absolutely have to.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

028 — Artificial Intelligence for Freelancers: How to Use it to Your Advantage

The Design Break

03/03/23 • 25 min

In today's episode, your host, Rocky Roark, will discuss how he uses AI in his freelance brand agency and how you can utilize it to level up your freelancing business.Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter! To stay connected with us and be part of our design community, follow us on Twitter @thedesignbreak. Join the conversation, access valuable content, and stay updated on industry insights. If you enjoy this episode, please take a moment to leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback not only motivates us but also helps others discover our show and benefit from the discussions we have. Don't forget to leave a rating and review if you enjoy the episode. Your support means the world to us as we continue to deliver valuable content to our incredible community of design professionals and freelancers. And be sure to check out these resources: The Futur Accelerator Program Hoodzpah — Freelance, and Business, and Stuff RetroSupply Co. (Code: ROCKY20)

048: Turning Clients into Partners: Keys to Successful Freelancing

The Design Break

10/13/23 • 34 min

In this episode, we're delving into the vital world of client relationships for freelancers and design professionals. It's no longer sufficient to be just another freelancer; you need to become a true partner to your clients. We'll guide you through mindset shifts, core principles, and actionable steps to elevate your role from an order-taker to a problem solver. Discover the transformative power of transparency, mutual respect, and shared goals in building fruitful partnerships. Learn strategies for strategic onboarding, regular check-ins, and client retention that go beyond project completion.

We'll also explore how strategic branding and positioning can attract the best clients. Building a portfolio that showcases not only your designs but the business problems you've solved is key. We'll share insights on becoming a go-to resource in the design space through thought leadership. Being a 'partner' is an ongoing commitment to understanding your clients, aligning with their goals, and using your skills to solve their most pressing problems. It's a win-win scenario that cultivates lasting relationships.

Want to level up your freelance business? Check out our newsletter!

Show more best episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Design Break have?

The Design Break currently has 69 episodes available.

What topics does The Design Break cover?

The podcast is about Ux Design, Branding, Graphic Design, Artist, Freelancing, Marketing, Illustration, Career, Art, Interview, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Digital Media, Design, Creative, Portfolio, Drawing, Podcasting, Design Thinking, Career Development, Freelance, Motion Design, Podcasts, Arts, Business, Freelancer and Careers.

What is the most popular episode on The Design Break?

The episode title '020 — What Should Go Into Your Portfolio' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Design Break?

The average episode length on The Design Break is 34 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Design Break released?

Episodes of The Design Break are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of The Design Break?

The first episode of The Design Break was released on Jan 31, 2019.

Show more FAQ

The Design Break

Rocky Roark

Top 10 The Design Break Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Design Break have?

What topics does The Design Break cover?

What is the most popular episode on The Design Break?

What is the average episode length on The Design Break?

How often are episodes of The Design Break released?

When was the first episode of The Design Break?

Comments