News & Thoughts #9

Lately I’ve felt frustrated.

I’m trying to balance everything as a freelancer and indie creator – fulfilment, expectation, plus a solid income.

Do you ever feel the same? I’ve written a bit about it, and I’d love to know your thoughts and experiences too.

Now, let’s dive into what’s new and interesting in my world. There’s some interesting news on side project experiments, as well as an update on my freelance work.

My Deck of Carrd project turned 3 🎉 

In 2020, I started a very small side project – a niche inspiration gallery. At the time, it was just something I threw together as an experiment. It continues to surprise me, even now it’s 3 years old. I recently shared these interesting stats on Twitter:

Figma Community file

Another experiment of mine is a free Figma template I launched about a year ago. This one has surprised me too – recently passing the dual milestones of 500 copies and 1000 views 📈

The end of Google Analytics

Were you affected by Google’s Universal Analytics closing recently? I wrote an article about why I think it’s a good time to switch to Fathom Analytics instead of trying to deal with GA4, Google’s even-more-complicated replacement:

Update on my blog post that blew up

You may recall that I wrote a short thought piece on my personal blog in March. Normally I’ll get 10-50 reads on a post, but not this one, which got picked up by HeyDesigner's daily links roundup. Since my last newsletter views have continued to grow:

Creating a design course

Over the summer, I’m going to finish off a course I’m creating. It’s called Design Fundamentals, and it’s an expanded version of a guide I wrote for the 100daysofnocode Bootcamp. Pre-orders are open, at less than 50% of launch price.

Freelance work update

I’ve settled into a new routine in 2023, where I split my time between 2-3 main roles.

One of them is on-going website design + support work for WordPress and Webflow clients. I’ve been going this for about 7 years in WordPress, and have now got about 20 websites I support. I’ve slowly added Webflow clients too, which I’m finding really enjoyable.

My other role is contract UX design. Since April I’ve been working part-time as a senior UX designer for an enterprise SaaS platform. I’m really enjoying this style of work, which includes a lot of wireframing, plus deep thinking and discussion on user workflows, for a platform MVP.

That’s all for now,

See you again soon,

Mark