I’m chatting with my lovely pal Darren Meredith about something we’ve both been asked about quite a lot, our experience working with Canva and Adobe as creators.

And just to say this right at the start, this isn’t a “which design tool is better” episode. This is much more about what it’s actually like behind the scenes when you create content, build an audience, get invited into brand programmes, and then start realising that the shiny outside of a brand partnership doesn’t always tell you what it’s going to feel like once you’re in it.

We talk about what it was like being Canva Experts, why parts of that experience became frustrating, and how things changed when Adobe reached out to us. We get into unpaid creator work, brand expectations, embargoes, contracts, exclusivity clauses, audience trust, and the uncomfortable moment when you realise a brand might be getting a lot of value from you, but you’re not necessarily getting the same value back.

Chapters

00:00 Intro and how Darren and I met through Canva
03:08 Darren’s route into Canva tutorials
06:27 How I accidentally fell into Canva content
10:51 What it was like inside the Canva Verified Expert programme
18:15 Talking honestly about unpaid creator work
19:26 Canva’s reaction to us being approached by Adobe
21:16 Exclusivity clauses and why they became a problem
25:54 The difference in the Adobe Ambassador community
31:48 Creator contracts, paid work and reading the small print
33:38 Why creators need to price their time properly
36:47 Darren’s advice for creators who want to work with brands
39:54 Confidence crashes, imposter feelings and creator comments
41:54 Content creation in your 50s and what might come next

Find Darren

Website: http://bettercontentcreators.com
Instagram: instagram.com/bettercontentcreators
YouTube: Darren Meredith

Find me

Instagram: instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries
TikTok: tiktok.com/@thehonestdesignerdiaries
The Creative Room: designerinyourpocket.co/thecreativeroom

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, like the video, leave a comment, or share it with another designer or creator who needs to hear this one. It really does help more people find the podcast, and it means I can keep having these honest conversations with brilliant creatives.

And if you’ve had your own weird, brilliant, disappointing or eye-opening experience with a brand partnership, I would genuinely love to hear about it.