Sharing a simple template we use at Sand Dollar Design to help with stakeholder management, and just better project risk management and communication. Some discipline in keeping this up to date pays off when it comes to heated discussions about "who made that decision" a few months down the line. A spreadsheet cannot build trust, resolve tension or make people take ownership. What it can do is make critical risks, issues and decisions visible. A shared cloud-based log gives everyone access to the same record of: - outstanding risks and issues - decisions awaiting approval - agreed actions and owners - stakeholder responsibilities - important dates and dependencies - That visibility creates clearer accountability and makes it harder for important commitments to disappear between meetings. I created a simple Sand Dollar Design template for designers, Product Owners and leaders, with separate logs for risks, issues and decisions, plus a stakeholder matrix. The spreadsheet does not replace good stakeholder management. It gives the conversations, commitments and decisions somewhere reliable to live. Let me know if you find this useful, or if you have any similar tools in your teams?

Burnout hits designers hard, but why it happens depends heavily on where you work. Freelancers and in-house designers experience creativity, pressure, and exhaustion in totally different ways — and understanding the differences helps us protect our energy, our craft, and our careers. Freelance Designers: Freelancers carry everything on their shoulders: design, marketing, client communication, billing, deadlines, revisions, and boundaries. The freedom is amazing, but the cost can be high. Irregular income creates pressure to say yes to everything. Clients bring unclear briefs, sudden direction changes, and scope creep. And since freelancers often work alone, there’s little feedback or collaboration to recharge inspiration. Burnout shows up as exhaustion, self-doubt, and feeling “on call” 24/7. Autonomy is high — but so is ambiguity. In-House Designers: Company designers have the opposite problem. Work is structured, deadlines are defined, and teams provide stability. But the pace and expectations can drain creative energy fast. Cross-functional pressure, shifting priorities, and the need to support product timelines often lead to overload. Creative direction is shaped by stakeholders, not always designers. Even though there’s more support, meetings, rigid processes, and limited autonomy can make designers feel boxed in. Burnout emerges from repetition, decision fatigue, and not having enough control over the work they’re responsible for. The Core Difference: Freelancers often burn out from too much freedom without structure, while in-house designers burn out from too much structure without freedom. One fights isolation and unpredictability. The other navigates politics and pressure. Burnout isn’t a personal failure — it’s a signal. And when we understand the environment we’re designing in, we can build better habits, boundaries, and systems that support our creativity instead of draining it. I have attached a checklist for you to review.

There's been a lot of discussion on our Community Calls over the past few months about Vibecoding / AI development, and a frequent question or request is for sharing of resources around: 1. Getting started 2. Best practice guidelines Let's use this to share any learnings, useful guidelines or tips about specific tools / agents to use.

Please share the best podcasts to follow (or specific podcast episodes) that you have found most valuable. Tip: Ideally share the YouTube version.

In last week's community call (21 Oct '25) the question was posed "What is the true value of Design?". Chani shared the following resource that can be a valuable reference to answer this: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-business-value-of-design. Exhibits 4a (the value of Design: 4 themes) and 4b (the stats behind the themes) are spot-on. How would you frame the true value of design?