I used to be a freelance designer. Now I’m an employee. One of the things I love about working in a studio is that people other than me see my work before it goes to the client. The folks in Client Services challenge my choices when they think the work isn’t good enough yet. They make me think harder. They bring new perspectives to the project. The result is almost always that the work gets stronger. Stronger work makes me happy because I believe in my craft.
Show your work to people who will challenge you to make it stronger.
It can be a little rough on the ego, but would you rather have your ego stroked or do good work?
—Jeff
I bring you the NPR tiny desk winners of 2026.
Being challenged is a chance to improve. Take the challenges.
Grow slowly
Skyler