Design Is a Job

By: Mike Monteiro

Narrated by: Mike Monteiro

Length: 4 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Co-founder of Mule Design and raconteur Mike Monteiro wants to help you do your job better. From contracts to selling design, from working with clients to working with each other, this brief book is packed with knowledge you can't afford not to know.

©2012 Mike Monteiro (P)2014 Mike Monteiro

Good except the lip smacking

Sorry Mike Monteiro, you really should have hired a professional to read your book for you. You also need better recording equipment. It was difficult to listen to this book when the narrator is constantly making lip smacking and spit slurping noises while monotonously droning through their own words.

That said, the book is a must have for all designers, art directors, creatives, or anyone who works with any of the above. Highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Brilliant, bright and extremely useful.

Mike tells it like it is. Here's how to sport a healthy web / design business. His advice is sound and valid. I agree a 100% with him, as it's the way I've run my own business and dealt with clients since I started in 2009. It's what has made my business profitable and stable while some of my "best" competitors have burnt their noses on bad clients, big projects that drag on forever, doing too much free work due to lack of clear scope at project initiation etc etc etc.

He gives great advice on how to deal with problematic clients, how to charge, what to charge, what to look out for, how to work with freelancers, and more. Well, basically it's how to deal with all the stuff most web / designers struggle with.

I have already recommended this book to three people, all of whom I know will benefit greatly from it. One of them has already praised it as much as I do.

It's extremely useful and to the point.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A must read for all designers

Great take always.
The most importants ones for me today:
- When the budget is low: meet the budget by narrowing the scope, not changing your processes (e.g. Dropping research)
- When writing a client contract: Intellectual Property transfers on full payment
- When hiring: tell them honestly where you think their skills are today and where they should be in 6 months

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not what I thought it was, not what I needed

This was probably on me. I wanted a book that would introduce me to the principles of design. I am not a designer, but I am interested in how principles of design can shape my thinking and approach in other areas such as strategic development, project management, innovation, or change management. So I intended to find a book that provided an intro into design thinking and methods generically.

This book seemed great for a designer who needs to learn how to sell his or her product and craft. It is full of great sales advice for perhaps temperamental or just inexperienced designers who need to make money. I have known several who could benefit from the clear, candid, almost fatherly way tge author presents the advice. But that is not me. I am still searching for the right book.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

a must have!

a must-have for designers of every kind! Priceless insight and years of experience at your fingertips. great narration!

Great stuff

super useful content for designers and design students, recording volume was too low, hard to hear when you commute. but it is still a great book, so do what you need to be able to hear it. useful!!

Great for Junior Designers

This book is filled with good advice while remaining short, enjoyable, and to-the-point. Beginning designers can learn a lot from this book. I imagine veterans designers will have learnt a lot of the lessons in the book but might still learn about blindspots they have. The book is short and not too demanding time-wise so it won't be a loss to almost anyone.

Essential reading

I truly wish I read this book years ago. Listening to your repeated mistakes is hard.

Already recommended to many fellow designers, young and seasoned.

Mike Monteiro's own delivery is also priceless. Sounds sincere, serious and humorous at the same time. Thanks Mike, hope to meet you one day:)

amazing

as real as it gets. spectacular book. thank you for sharing your wisdom and life

Pure gold

If you're a designer, stop whatever you're doing and read/listen to this book.
Thanks Mike, for putting the effort to write and read this!!

How all audio books should be

Great advice for all designers new and not so new. Narrated in a very entertaining and enjoyable way

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Essential reading for designers and design managers

Absolutely essential reading for anyone working in design - a life of lessons learnt so you don't have to do it the hard way too

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This will make you cry

Solid, honest and entertaining.
Good read for newbies and veterans :-)

( Probably something you should give to your boss to read )

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good book for anyone who is a designer

A good source of information on being or becoming a successful designer. A nice short book that doesn't waffle on with all that pointless stuff.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A book worth reading by everyone

Really useful and well written, content of the book addresses issues from work with people to giving life to you as a designer

A true reflection of a Designers journey

So many resources can be found online about what it takes to be a great designer, to design great work and boy, don’t they paint a great picture.

The only thing missing is the stories, experiences and the hardship you’ll go through to get there: and this book gives you just that.

In an industry where people have such high expectations of the designer they hope to become, Mike sheds light on the experiences good and bad, as a way of mentoring you for what’s ahead.

A brilliant short listen.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with others.

not bad

the book is great with it content.. but the performance is poor .. u hear Mike swallowing .. and is way of reading is so disturbing

Awesome guide for freelancers and agency owners

Every designer, account manager, agency owner and client should listen to this book. Consider it a bible and listen carefully ... It is written about you!

inspirational

best book I've read/listened to in a long time highly reccomand to any designer 🤞

Great advice for designers and creatives

enjoyable listen with good tangible real world advice for creatives for evolving business or career's