Matthew Gallagher
Designer, Designer Artist, Artist, Creative Professional
About
Creative director and product designer working as designoMatt. His practice includes enterprise applications, illustration and digital experiences.
SourceIn their own words
Ask all the 'stupid' questions. Avoid digital comms in favour of face-to-face interactions that build real relationships, which may lead to mentoring opportunities.
Being able to look someone in the eye and apologise, without equivocation, is an important but hopefully infrequently needed skill for any working professional.
You become indispensable to a client when you build that relationship beyond the service-provider role and transition to a trusted counsellor.
Providing feedback or guidance to a new designer is a series of small steps for little victories that build to larger ones over time.
That drive for 24/7 productivity is entirely destructive. It wrecks your health, relationships, and craft; I've lived it.
In this day and age, it is important for creatives to make sure their eggs aren't in one basket.
Tell a story about you, your craft, and progression in your career overall.
I understand that it will be harder to survive solely on the design consultancy model since so many companies are moving to AI tools and all-in-one solutions like Canva.
Design is the answer to a question.
Once you start out, especially if you are running your own studio, trust is paramount. Your business is now 'selling'—selling your company, its vision, and its ability to solve problems.
Articles & interviews
- Monzo’s Creative Leaders Discuss Design-Driven Growth Into the Mainstream
Tom May compiles six pieces of community advice for junior creatives during their first month in a role. Contributors stress reliability, asking questions, having real-life conversations, defending design decisions, networking and managing imposter syndrome; the article argues that these lessons also apply to senior creatives.
- Have your views on AI changed? Here's what our creative community had to say
Creative Boom’s Tom May surveys members of its private community, The Studio, to explore how creative professionals’ attitudes toward AI have evolved by May 2026. The article reveals a nuanced mix of skepticism, cautious experimentation, and pragmatic adoption across designers, illustrators, and copywriters. While some creatives reject generative AI on ethical or quality grounds, others find value in using it for repetitive or administrative tasks.
- 6 hard lessons creatives only learn when things go wrong
Written by Tom May for Creative Boom, this article gathers insights from several creative professionals about the lessons learned from failure. Through candid stories of health crises, failed collaborations, and embarrassing mistakes, the piece explores how setbacks can lead to growth, resilience, and better creative judgment. Each contributor shares a personal experience that reshaped their approach to work and life.