David Olusegun

Hi 👋🏿

I’m David. I’m driven by faith and committed to purpose. My work is simple: build and invest in consumer brands that make lives better and leave a positive legacy.

For over a decade, I’ve worked across CPG, entertainment, and media with global players.

I'm also privileged to advise founders and corporations on building products that truly serve people and I speak on faith, entrepreneurship and brand leadership with a focus on real-world impact and integrity.

Honoured to be recognised by Powerful Media, Music Week, KPMG Entrepreneur of the Year, HSBC x Black Business Week Top Entrepreneur and the UK’s Top 100 African Business Leaders, but the mission stays the same: help brands serve people, do good with excellence and integrity and honour God.

Reach My Team👇🏾

📧 Speaking & Commercial: adam@howtobeiconic.co
📧 Press Enquiries: press@howtobeiconic.co

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

CCV is a venture builder that partners with purpose-driven creators to launch global CPG brands. We are a creative-led team with strong end-to-end commercial expertise that provides the complete infrastructure to launch, build and scale these pioneering brands.

Our goal is to give our clients the opportunity to build something bigger than their personal brand, receive ownership rather than just another endorsement deal and leverage their following into a long-term future through building impactful businesses.

Our operating model is to work together with the creator as a co-founding team and enable them with the right infrastructure, tools, support, and capital. We love working with creators to change the world, one brand at a time. We believe it’s time we build businesses that shift the power paradigm to the hands of the creators. It’s what gets us up in the morning, it’s in our DNA and we are irretrievably obsessed with collective success by working with CCV you’ll be working with vested partners committed to global success!

Sometimes it’s hard to trust God, especially when things don’t seem to be going according to plan. 

This is me encouraging you to trust Jesus; He will guide you and set you on the right path. He has good plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5

Building and Investing in Purpose-Driven Consumer Brands | Angel Investor | Keynote Speaker

This is your reminder that this year, God should come first.

Before the plans and before asking everyone else.
Start with God and let Him take the lead.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” — Matthew 6:33

God is good. Always.

Even when we don’t see the full picture, He is working things out for our good. 

As we step into a new month, this is your sign to trust Him and lean on Him. 
He knows where He’s leading you. 


“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
— Jeremiah 29:11

Welcome to February, everyone🤍

Take a moment to think about the fact that Jesus laid down His life knowing you and I might not ever choose Him. What a love.

That sacrifice is exactly why life can only be found in Him.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Have a blessed Sunday.

No matter how impossible the situation seems, remember this: with God, there are no limits. 
 
Mountains move, chains break, and the unseen becomes reality when His power is at work. 

Trust Him, lean on Him and watch the impossible become possible.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Unilever isn’t “testing” India anymore. They’re committing.

Quietly but decisively, Unilever is doubling down on India’s premium beauty market with science-led, clean, founder-driven businesses.

Their VC arm just followed on in Secret Alchemist, a clean fragrance brand they first backed last year. 

At the same time, they joined the Series A for SkinInspired, a science-first skincare brand they initially invested in back in 2024.

Unilever has been clear: beauty and personal care need to drive two-thirds of future revenue. And when you look at where they’re placing bets, two markets keep coming up: the US and India.

India, in particular, is being treated as a premium innovation engine, not just an emerging market.

Since 2023, Unilever has backed or acquired 8 Indian beauty businesses, heavily skewed toward skincare and haircare.

The headline move? The $342m acquisition of Minimalist, often called “India’s The Ordinary.”

The pattern is obvious:
✅ Clinical or science-backed positioning
✅ Clean, credible formulations
✅ Brands that scale digitally first, then retail
✅ Founders who understand modern consumers, not legacy playbooks

As Unilever’s CEO put it, building a future-fit portfolio means going all in on beauty, wellbeing, and growth markets.

This is what that actually looks like in practice. They’re buying the disruption early and in the markets that will define the next decade.

Is it time to stop calling Unilever a consumer goods company?

Unilever Indonesia just sold SariWangi  for $89.5 million (Rp1.5 trillion), a brand that has been a staple in Indonesian homes since the 1970s. 

Just last month, they offloaded their Ice Cream business (The Magnum Ice Cream Company, Ben & Jerry’s). 

This is also the last of Unilever’s traditional tea brands, after selling its global tea unit (ekaterra) in 2022, including LIPTON Teas and Infusions and PG Tips.

The move signals a clear shift toward high-margin Beauty and Wellbeing, leaving legacy commodity businesses behind. 

SariWangi may be iconic, but it only contributed ~2.7% of Unilever Indonesia’s revenue; a sign that focus now outweighs nostalgia.

The Strategy: From “Everything for Everyone” to “Powerhouse Specialisation.”

✅ Fame ≠ Future: Legacy brands are being cut if they don't hit "Power Brand" growth targets.

✅ Margin over Volume: They are exiting "commodity" categories (Tea/Ice Cream) to focus on high-margin Beauty, Wellness and Personal Care.

✅ The 30-Brand Rule: CEO Hein Schumacher is narrowing the global focus to 30 "Power Brands" that drive 75% of turnover.

The question: is this the bold move the market has been waiting for, or is it stripping away what made Unilever Unilever?

The $11B Strategy: How ŌURA Beat Apple and Fitbit Without Competing With Them

It’s easy to look at ŌURA now and call it a huge success. But, back in 2015, they were a tiny Finnish startup trying to break into a highly dominated space. 

On paper, they should’ve been crushed: a sleep-tracking ring sounded kind of weird back then.

Yet here we are: an $11 billion valuation and over $1 billion in revenue in 2025.

Oura’s rise is proof that a clear vision can change how an entire category thinks.

Here are the key takeaways for any founder trying to carve out a space in a crowded market:

 ✅ Don’t Outrun Giants. Redefine your Race.
Apple and Fitbit (now part of Google) were locked in an arms race over "activity tracking." Instead of trying to build a better step counter, Oura focused on recovery and readiness. They realised that while only 5% of people exercise daily, 100% of people sleep every night. 

If you can’t be the biggest player in an existing category, build a new one where you own the narrative.

✅ From Product to Symbol
ŌURA’s decision to build a ring wasn’t just an aesthetic choice; it was a strategic one. They built something footballers, elite athletes and celebrities proudly wear. By turning data into jewellery, they escaped price wars with plastic gadgets and became part of people’s identity. 

When your product signals who someone is, not just what it does, you earn the right to stay premium.

✅ Move from Product to Platform
Oura didn't stay a sleep tracker. They evolved into a health intelligence system. This is a huge lesson for any builder: Don’t just sell a one-off tool. Build something that gets smarter the more a person uses it. 

When your product becomes an essential part of someone’s daily decision-making, you’ve moved from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have."

✅ Master the "Omnichannel" Pivot
For years, Oura was a darling of the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) world. But to hit the $1 billion mark, they knew they couldn't stay on their own website forever. They moved aggressively into Amazon, Target, and Best Buy.  

DTC is great for building a brand, but "Omnichannel" is how you scale to a billion. Go where your customers already are.


The big takeaway? The future won’t be built by brands trying to beat giants at their own game, but by those creating something new. 

When a brand knows who it is for and what it stands for, revenue becomes a result, not the goal.

It's January 2026, and I need you to get this through your skull: This year dies with you either being audacious or being forgotten. 

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened." - Matthew 7:7

You know what your problem is? You're knocking too softly.

Actually, scratch that. You're not even knocking. You're standing outside the door, practising your knock, wondering if it's the right time, the right door, the right knock. 

Meanwhile, someone with half your talent just kicked the door down and took what you've been "preparing" for.

There's no middle ground. There's no "strategic patience." There's no "right timing."  

Let me tell you about the day I stopped being a spiritual coward. I'm sitting in church, and the pastor reads that verse about knocking. 

But then he says something that messed me up: "Some of you are knocking like you're apologising for existing. God doesn't respond to whispers from people who should be roaring."

That same day, I went home and did five things that my "reasonable" self said would ruin me.

You can find this in my newsletter. Link in the comments 🔗

Happy to be featured in Entrepreneur UK where I share the lesson I learnt from spending 6 years learning CPG logistics the hard way.

Late-night calls about stranded inventory. Spreadsheets that stole my weekends. Retail relationships hanging by a thread because of delivery failures.

Nobody warns you about this part.

Everyone wants to talk about the sexy stuff:

→ The packaging design 
→ The influencer partnership 
→ The TikTok moment that goes viral 
→ The big retail meeting where the buyer says yes

But here's what I've learned scaling brands thousands of stores and across many continents:

Logistics isn't the backend of your business. It IS your business.

Get it right? You scale. Get it wrong? The best product in the world won't save you.

I've watched brands die with full warehouses. I've seen founders get their dream listing and then collapse under it. I've made mistakes that cost me months of momentum.

So I wrote everything down. The 6 things I wish someone had told me before I launched my first CPG brand:

1. Why your supply chain partners should be treated like co-founders
2. The lead time math that will either save you or sink you
3. How inventory killed more promising brands than bad products ever did
4. What actually matters when choosing a 3PL (hint: it's not price)
5. The mindset shift from firefighting to system-building
6. Why regional dominance beats national ambition every time

This isn't theory. This is scar tissue.

Full article in Entrepreneur UK 👇🏾

https://lnkd.in/eZb4ES-E

Thank you Patricia Cullen for the feature.

This might sting a little. No one owes you anything.

❌ No one owes you a repost.
❌ No one owes you a loan.
❌ No one owes you a handout.

Not your friends, not your family and not your partner.

YOU are responsible for your own breakthrough.

God has given you the tools, but He won’t do your push-ups for you.

He gave you the vision, now you provide the discipline.

He gave you the talent, now you provide the practice.

He gave you the opportunity, now you provide the courage to say "yes."

The "Handout Mentality" kills more dreams than failure ever will.

Because the moment your success depends on someone else's generosity, they control your limit.

Stop waiting for the perfect connection or the big break.

Pick up the tools you already have. Use the resources currently within your reach. Start where you are, with what you’ve got.

Stop looking for a hand up. Start putting your hands to work.

Your breakthrough is on the other side of your own effort.

This is your reminder to push yourself and open the doors in front of you.

The help you are waiting for will find you while you’re already working, not while you’re waiting.

Who is really funding the "Luxury Powerhouse"? Hint: It’s not just the banks.

The Saks Global Chapter 11 filing just pulled back the curtain on a staggering reality. 

Looking at the Top 30 unsecured creditors list, it’s clear that Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus weren't just struggling with a "luxury slowdown".

They were being floated by their own vendors and service providers.

The numbers are alarming:
➡️ The Brand Dependency
The "Who's Who" of luxury fashion is essentially acting as an interest-free bank for the retailer:
• CHANEL: $136 Million
• Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent): $60 Million
• Capri Holdings Limited (Michael Kors/Jimmy Choo): $33 Million
• LVMH: $26 Million

➡️  The Hidden Cost of Operations
It’s not just about dresses and handbags. The filing reveals the massive "tax" of running a modern digital behemoth. 
Even in a cash crunch, the bills for tech and "strategy" didn't stop:
• PwC (Consulting/Audit): $31 Million
• Meta (Advertising): $12 Million
• Google (Search/Ads): $9.6 Million

When you owe CHANEL $136M and Google nearly $10M simultaneously, the "middleman" model is officially in crisis.

We are watching a permanent power shift. 

Luxury houses are no longer just "partners"; they are major stakeholders in whether this restructuring succeeds.

If they decide to stop shipping inventory to protect their own cash flow, the "turnaround" ends before it begins.

How Kourtney Kardashian Built a $30M Gummy Empire in 16 Months.

Lemme, her supplement brand, went from zero to $30 million in revenue in 16 months.

And here’s what makes it even more impressive: In November 2025 alone, they drove $13 million through TikTok Shop.

In January 2026, Lemme is in 2,000+ Walmart stores nationwide, growing 25% month-over-month. 

The brand has generated 53,000+ creator videos from 13,000+ affiliates who actually wanted to promote the products.

Lemme’s trajectory looks more like a VC-backed startup than a celebrity brand. And that’s exactly the point.

Let me show you what Kourtney Kardashian and her co-founder Simon Huck actually did:

✅ September 2022: Launch
- Three SKUs (gummy supplements)
- DTC + Erewhon (premium positioning)

✅ Month 6 (March 2023):
- Revenue: ~$5M (annualised)
- Expanded to Ulta Beauty, REVOLVE, & Amazon
- Still primarily DTC

✅ Month 12 (September 2023):
- Revenue: ~$20M (annualised)
- Entered Target nationwide
- 25% month-over-month growth rate established

✅ Month 16 (January 2024):
- Revenue: $30M+ total
- Growing 25% MoM consistently

Now, this is where most celebrity brands plateau or decline.

To read the full breakdown and analysis, check out my latest Creators Blueprint newsletter

Link in comments.

Kraft Heinz is splitting in two! Is the era of the "Mega-Conglomerate" officially dead?

Steve Cahillane, former CEO of Kellogg Company, just took the wheel as CEO this month. 

He led Kellogg’s through one of the packaged food industry’s biggest and most successful breakups (and the subsequent $36B sale of Kellanova to Mars).

Now, he is back to run the same play.
By H2 2026, the $26 billion giant will be gone. 

In its place? Two companies with two very different missions.

I call it separating the "Racers" from the "Anchors":

The Racers (Global Taste Elevation Co. ~$15.4B)
• Brands: Heinz, Philadelphia, Kraft Mac & Cheese.
• Mission: High-velocity growth, "Flavour Tech" innovation, and global expansion.

The Anchors (North American Grocery Co. ~$10.4B)
• Brands: OSCAR MAYER FOODS, Kraft Singles, Lunchables.
• Mission: Operational excellence and supply chain efficiency. The "Staples of the American Kitchen."

You can’t run a global condiments engine and a domestic meat/cheese business with the same playbook. 

They need different capital, different leadership, and different speeds.

My Prediction: We are seeing the birth of a new "CPG Blueprint." Kellanova did it. Unilever is doing it. Now Kraft Heinz.

Investors no longer want "The Biggest Company." They want the Most Focused.

Is focus the new scale for 2026? Or will these smaller entities just become easier targets for M&A?

The $32B Question: Why Kevin Hart Just Became a Shareholder in the Company That Owns Elvis, Ali, and Beckham.

Kevin Hart quietly did something that should make every creator, athlete and entertainer rethink how they’re building their business. 

He became a shareholder in Authentic Brands Group, a $32 billion empire that owns the rights to Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Marilyn Monroe, David Beckham, Shaquille O’Neal, Reebok, Champion, and about 50 other iconic brands.

He signed a deal to license his name to ABG and became an owner in the ABG platform.

The structure:

➡️ Hart co-owns and co-manages the “Kevin Hart” brand
➡️ Hart becomes shareholder in ABG (undisclosed stake)
➡️ ABG’s platform: $32 billion in annual retail sales
➡️ ABG’s has 2k+ licensing partners across 150 countries
➡️ ABG’s portfolio: 50+ brands reaching nearly 1 billion followers

Kevin Hart was already winning with:

✅ 292 million social media followers globally
✅ $108 million earned in 2024 alone
✅ HARTBEAT Productions (content empire)
✅ Gran Coramino (tequila brand)
✅ Fabletics (fitness partnership)
✅ VITAHUSTLE (wellness brand)
✅ Hartfelt (premium dog food)
✅ Partnerships w/ Qatar Airways, Netflix, JPMorganChase, DraftKings Inc., Verizon, C4 

So the question you ask is, why would someone already this successful give up control of their name to a licensing company?

The answer reveals something important about how wealth gets built in 2026.

I unpacked it in my newsletter. Link in the comments. 🔗 ⬇️

Welcome to 2026: The Year Beyoncé Became a Billionaire 

The year where AI writes your emails, autonomous cars actually work, and oh yeah Beyoncé officially joined the billionaire club.

Not through a tech exit. Not through a SPAC. Not through crypto or NFTs or any of the other ways people accidentally became billionaires in the 2020s.

Through something far more impressive: Actually building a diversified empire brick by brick over 30 years.

According to Forbes’ latest calculations, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter’s net worth has officially crossed $1.1 billion as of January 2026, making her the first Black woman to achieve billionaire status primarily through music and entertainment ventures.

But here’s what makes this fascinating. Only about $300 million of that came from music.

The other $800 million? That came from Beyoncé treating her career like a business from day one.

Let me show you how a girl from Houston turned vocal cords and strategic genius into a ten-figure fortune and why her playbook might be more valuable than her discography.

Beyoncé’s $1.1 Billion Net Worth Breakdown (2026):

💰 Music & Touring: ~$300M
💰 Parkwood Entertainment: ~$250M
💰 Ivy Park x Adidas: ~$150M
💰 Real Estate Portfolio: ~$180M
💰 Investment Portfolio: ~$120M
💰 Art Collection: ~$100M

Get the full breakdown of how she built and scaled on my newsletter. Link in comments.

Ralph Lauren never went to fashion school, yet he built a $7 Billion empire. 

Ralph Lifshitz was a college dropout from a struggling family in the Bronx.

In his high school yearbook, under "Life Goal," he wrote just one word: Millionaire.

But the path was anything but a straight line.

In 1967, while working as a tie salesman, he pitched a line of wide, colourful ties.

His boss shut him down instantly: “The world isn’t ready for Ralph Lauren.”

He could have listened. He could have played it safe. 

Instead, he:
✅ Started working out of a single drawer in the Empire State Building.
✅ Hand-delivered his ties to small boutiques.
✅ Walked away from Bloomingdale's, his dream client, when they asked him to remove his label.

The result? Six months later, Bloomingdale's called him back. They didn’t just want his ties; they gave him his own shop.

Lifshitz realised something most founders miss: People don't buy products. They buy dreams.

He didn’t just sell a polo shirt; he sold the feeling of a summer in the Hamptons.
He didn’t sell a blazer; he sold the "Old Money" legacy.

Ralph’s story reminds us that vision, persistence, and courage can outweigh credentials. 

If you’re willing to chase your dream on your own terms, you can create a legacy that others said was impossible.

While the world worries about an economic slowdown, Africa is projected to grow by at least 4.3% in 2026.

We’re seeing a fundamental shift in the soul of Africa’s economy. 

The continent is finally moving from the "Era of Extraction" to the "Era of Execution."

The old math never added up:

Export raw cocoa for $3,000/ton and import Belgian or Swiss chocolate for $30,000/ton.

Export crude oil and buy back expensive petrol.

As of January 2026, the script is flipping.

1. Energy: The import paradox is ending. In Nigeria, the Dangote Refinery is already meeting nearly 40% of the country's petrol demand and exporting to other countries, including the US.

2. Value Creation: In Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the cocoa industry is no longer just about harvests; it’s about processing. In 2025, Nigeria’s non-oil exports hit a record $6.1B, driven by finished goods, not just raw materials.

3. Trading within Africa: AfCFTA is finally doing the work. Countries like Kenya, Egypt, and Rwanda are moving industrial goods duty-free across borders. They’re no longer just feeding global supply chains; they’re building continental ones.

4. Local Production at Scale: Nigeria’s "774-Product Strategy" is a game changer. By identifying one exportable product in every single LGA, they are connecting local talent directly to a $3.4 trillion market.

For decades, Africa supplied the world. Now, Africa is supplying itself.

Goods are moving across borders and oceans. Value is staying on the continent, not leaking out of it.

Africa is building internal markets, regional supply chains, and economic muscle.

And for the first time in decades, the continent is finally in control of its own growth.

Africa Doesn’t Need More Fintechs. It Needs Better Infrastructure.

When most people hear “Invest in Africa,” what they really think of is real estate, fintechs and flashy startups.

But Africa is not one market. It is 54 regulatory systems and hundreds of micro-economies.

If I had £1M to deploy in 2026, I wouldn't chase the hype. 

I’d invest in the "Industrialized Rails", the quiet systems that fix the bottlenecks holding the continent back.

Here is the high-conviction roadmap:

✅ Agro-Processing & Value Addition ⇢ Africa produces 70% of the world's cocoa but retains <5% of the chocolate market's value.

The Play: Small-scale processing plants for cocoa, cashew, or grains to turn raw exports into finished goods.

✅ Energy as a Service (B2B) ⇢ National grids can't fuel industrial growth. Manufacturers aren't buying "green energy", they are buying uptime.

The Play: Reliable solar and storage for factories looking to escape diesel volatility and 24/7 power outages.

✅ Pharma Supply Chains ⇢ With the African Medicines Agency (AMA) taking off, the 80% import dependency is a massive opening.

The Play: Tech-enabled distribution hubs connecting local producers to fragmented pharmacies.

✅ Trade Logistics & Warehousing ⇢ Borders are opening, but storage is missing.

The Play: Cold storage and Grade-A warehouses along major trade routes and "dry ports."

✅ Foundational Digital Infrastructure ⇢ The world is building apps; smart money is building what powers them.

The Play: Data centers, fiber optics, and towers; the physical backbone of the digital economy.

My Take: The biggest opportunities are in building the assets the economy actually needs to function.

If you had £1M, which of these five would you back first?

I used to think market research meant decks, data rooms and dashboards. Then I heard a story about Bernard Arnault (CEO of LVMH).

He’s travelling in New York, gets chatting to a taxi driver, and asked if he knew who the president of France was at the time, but the driver replied "I've never heard of Georges Pompidou in my life, but I know what Christian Dior Couture is!"

..and that was the start of LVMH. On my trip to Nigeria I wanted to move through the city normally, talk to the drivers, speak to shop owners, listen to people who weren’t filtered through surveys or incentives, and understand how they actually think about brands, money and value.

So I asked uncomplicated questions, what do you buy again and again, what feels worth the money, what do you trust, what do you avoid, what feels overhyped but everywhere.

What came back wasn’t neat or scalable or easily turned into a slide, but it was honest, and in many ways far more useful than another report. Because people don’t speak in frameworks. They speak in habits, frustrations, shortcuts, pride and emotion, and those things rarely show up cleanly in data.

The reminder for me and maybe for other founders, investors and operators is that markets are human before they are mathematical. Data can tell you what happened, but it almost never tells you why, and the “why” is where brand, loyalty and long-term value are actually built.

If all you ever do is look at screens, you’ll optimise for numbers and miss the truth. 

Sometimes the real work is getting closer, listening longer, and being willing to hear things that don’t immediately fit your strategy.

Markets aren’t charts. They’re people. 

And people will always tell you more than a dashboard ever could, if you take the time to ask and actually listen.

Pavle Lucic

Senior UI/UX Designer @ Toptal | Prototyping, Branding, UI Development

I am a Senior UI/UX Designer at Toptal, a network of the world's top 3% of software engineering, design, and finance talent. With over 10 years of experience in the design industry, I have a proven track record of creating visually engaging and user-friendly interfaces for in-car navigation systems, SaaS apps, and marketing websites.

My background in business and economics gives me a unique perspective on how to design UX and UI that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also functional, efficient, and user-friendly. I am passionate about solving complex problems, collaborating with diverse teams, and learning new skills. I am also Adwords Search Certified, which demonstrates my ability to optimize the online presence and performance of my clients. My goal is to help tech companies increase their revenue by improving the user experience of their products.

Senior UI/UX Desiger

This is how I work now:

1. Think
2. Write
3. Plan
4. Ask
5. Wait
6. Then design

It’s slower. But it works.

Because UX isn’t just what you make.
It’s what you understand first.

(Repost ♻️)

P.S. What is your process?

Senior UI/UX Product Designer | UX Strategy | Figma

No alternative text description for this image

Most designers aren't designers.

(they're technicians who happen to use design tools)

Yesterday I lost 2 hours on a shelf.

Just me obsessing over form and function.
And here's the thing...

That "is" design.

Not the logo you send on Friday.
Not the mockup in your portfolio.
Not the deliverable in your inbox.

Design is how you "think."

- How you can't ignore a bad detail.
- How you see a room and want to fix it.
- How you solve problems no one asked you to solve.

Just think about this:

1. The Bauhaus school understood this.
↳ They didn't teach "tools." They taught living.

2. Japanese carpenters understood this.
↳ No nails. No shortcuts. Every cut is intentional.

Design is form.
Design is function.
Design is creation.

It doesn't "clock in and out."

If you only design when you open your laptop...
And stop when you close it...

You're not a designer.
You're a technician who uses design tools.

Nothing wrong with that.

Just don't confuse the two.

P.S. Agree or disagree? 👇

This might be a controversial post but it's true.

I don't have a formal design degree.

I'm pretty sure a lot of self-taught designers experience this too.

Examples:

Every time I share my work online, someone asks "where did you study?"
I can feel the judgment coming.

Every time I'm in a room with "formally trained" designers.
I hear the whispers: "They probably just watch YouTube tutorials."

Every portfolio review, every job interview, someone implies "you're not a real designer without the credentials."

But then...They see just ONE of my projects and:

That skepticism closes immediately
I get genuine compliments in my DMs
I get referrals + new client inquiries

So...

Why do we judge credentials before we judge the work?
Especially with creative fields? 😊

Fear that talent and hustle might matter more than a piece of paper. 
Which, honestly, they often do.

To my fellow self-taught designers who've "made it work" I love you. 

Keep building. Keep proving that skills speak louder than diplomas.

Keep letting your work change people's minds. It's worth it.

Pavle ❤️

Loading states matter.

Blank screen = user thinks it's broken.

Progress bar = user knows how long.
Spinner = user knows something's happening.
Skeleton screen = user sees structure forming.
Instant feedback = user doesn't notice the wait.
Steps = user knows where they are ("Step 2 of 4").
Active waiting = user is entertained while waiting (tips, facts).

Never leave users guessing.

Show them the system is working.
Even if it takes time, show progress.

(Repost further ♻️)

17 genuine tips for using illustrations to improve UX

(I wish someone told me number 8 sooner)

1. Empty states feel less scary
2. Error messages feel friendlier
3. Users remember visuals 6x better
4. Onboarding completes 40% more
5. They reduce mental effort instantly
6. They help users know where they are
7. You will add illustrations way too soon
8. They reduce support tickets by 30-40%
9. Permission requests make more sense
10. Complex steps feel simpler with visuals
11. They answer questions before users ask
12. Visual metaphors beat long explanations
13. Users understand faster than reading text
14. They build trust during frustrating moments
15. Empty spaces feel intentional instead of broken
16. They guide without overwhelming with instructions
17. Strategic placement turns confusion into confidence

Repost this free value for others ♻️ Thank you!

P.S. Hey, which one (1-17) do you like most?

If there's one thing I'd eliminate in UX design...

It's birthday pickers like this. You know the ones:

1. Scroll wheels flicking through 40+ years to find 1986
2. Calendar grids tapping "previous month" 480 times
3. Three separate dropdowns, praying the order is right

There's a much better way.

It's called "TIF = Text Input First". 
Rooted in real behavior.
Backed by research. 

TIF is simple:

1. Let users type their birthday
2. Auto-format date as they go
3. Offer a picker as backup only

Why it works:

People know their birthday by heart.
Typing takes 2 seconds.

Scrolling through a picker takes 15+ seconds of frustration.

Hope this helps! (Repost if so ♻️)

P.S. Anything worse than a scroll-wheel date picker?

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I was in a meeting last week.

One designer talked for 60 of them.

References to everything. 
"What if we..." on repeat.

Opinions on everything.

Loud. 
Confident. 
Influential.

Everyone nodded along.

Then someone asked:
"So who's going to build this?"

Silence.

The loud one? 
"I'm more of a strategy person."

The quiet one in the corner?

She opened Figma.
Had 3 options ready.
Built while they debated.

That's when I realized:

The best designer in the room?
Often the one who says the least.

Repost this ♻️ if you've seen this happen too.

A client came to me with a "broken" product. 

Here's what happened:

They spent 8 months building an app.

It worked perfectly. But nobody used it.

Refund requests? Daily. 
App store reviews? 2.1 stars.
Support tickets? 200+ per week. 

They thought the product was broken.

It wasn't.
The design was.

I changed 5 things:

1. Moved the main CTA
2. Simplified the onboarding
3. Fixed the mobile navigation
4. Added visual feedback on buttons
5. Reduced the menu from 15 items to 4

4 weeks later?

Retention doubled.
Reviews jumped to 4.4 stars. 
Support tickets dropped 73%. 

Same code. Same product. Same features. 

I didn't "make it pretty."
I made it usable.

That's what designers actually do.

Repost ♻️ if this changed how you see design.

P.S. Have you ever blamed your product when design was the problem? 😊

Good UX is boring.

Users complete tasks without thinking.

They don't notice the design. They just finish.

Bad UX is memorable.
Users remember frustration. Confusion. Friction.

Stop trying to impress users.

The best interfaces are simple.

P.S. When was the last time you noticed good UX?

My first client ever:

"Make the logo bigger."

Quoted Steve Jobs.
I argued for 20 minutes. 
Sent 5 articles about white space. 

They made it bigger themselves in PowerPoint.

My latest client:
"Make the logo bigger."

I said: "Let's test it. I'll send you 2 versions. You pick."
They picked the smaller one.

What changed?

I stopped convincing. 
I started collaborating.

People don't resist ideas. They resist being told what to do.

Give them ownership. 
Watch them choose wisely.

♻️ Repost if you wish you knew this earlier.

Entry-level means no experience.

It's for juniors to begin their careers, learn, and grow.

Yet job posts say:

"Entry-level position"
"Requirements: 3-5 years experience"

That's not entry-level. That's mid-level.

Stop lying in job descriptions.
You're not finding candidates because you're asking for the impossible.

Entry-level = zero experience required.

If you need experience, it's not entry-level.

(Repost for job seekers ♻️)

P.S. Have you seen this contradiction in job posts?

Mini-masterclass on receiving design feedback:

(save this for your next critique)

Well-delivered feedback = great insight
Well-received feedback = great growth

That being said... Let's dive into 5 levels of receiving feedback:

Level 1: Defensive 
↳ "But here's why I did it this way..." 
↳ You're protecting ego, not improving work

Level 2: Silent 
↳ You nod. You take notes. You change nothing. 
↳ Feedback theater. Everyone sees through it.

Level 3: Selective 
↳ You only hear what confirms your choices 
↳ Cherry-picking isn't growth

Level 4: Receptive 
↳ You listen. You ask questions. You implement. 
↳ This is where most good designers live.

Level 5: Hungry 
↳ You seek feedback before anyone offers it 
↳ "What's not working? Where did you struggle?" 
↳ This is where great designers live.

Getting feedback is a skill. Just like giving it.

And most of us never practiced receiving.
We just practiced defending.

Time to switch.

Repost this ♻️ for your design team.

P.S. What level are you at right now (1-5)? No judgment 👇

7 prototyping rules I wish someone told me earlier.

(would've saved me months)

1. Ugly is fine
↳ You're testing the idea, not the aesthetics.

2. Speed beats polish
↳ A prototype in 3 hours > a mockup in 3 weeks.

3. Real users, not teammates
↳ Your team already knows too much.

4. One question per prototype
↳ "Does this solve the problem?" That's it.

5. Kill bad ideas early
↳ A failed prototype costs you a day. A failed product costs you a year.

6. Don't fall in love with version 1
↳ The first prototype is a conversation starter. Not the final answer.

7. Prototype the riskiest part first
↳ Start where you're least certain.

Prototyping isn't a step you "skip."

It's the step that saves everything after it.

Happy building ✌️

P.S. Which rule above hits hardest for you? (1-7)

Old design workflow:

1. Sketch idea
2. Open Figma
3. Design for hours
4. Export and code
5. Test and iterate

New workflow with Claude:

1. Describe idea to Claude
2. Claude codes it fast
3. See design instantly
4. Iterate with prompts
5. Ship faster

I made glass icon effects this way.

No design tools. 
Just conversation.

The bottleneck shifted from execution to clarity of thought.

Can you describe what you want clearly?

That's the new design skill.

(Repost this shift ♻️)

P.S. How has your workflow changed with AI?

I just found out the best color generator for designers.

uicolors. app/generate

Save it for later or repost ♻️

Three reasons Inter dominates:

It's variable

One font file. 
It's optimized.
Multiple widths. 
Multiple weights. 
Smaller load times.

Letter spacing, x-height, character distinction all tuned for screens.

It's free
No legal.
No licensing. 
No procurement. 
Just download and use.

Hard to compete with that combination.

P.S. What font makes your product memorable?

Here's the biggest lesson my son taught me:

Yesterday, I cut my finger.

He saw blood. He didn't freeze. He didn't cry.

He ran to get a napkin. 
Wrapped it around my finger. 
Taped it with whatever he found.

Then he grabbed a pen.

And drew a little stick figure on the bandage.
A tiny man.

"That's you, daddy. So you're not alone."

I looked at this ridiculous napkin-bandage. 
Tape peeling off. 
Little man with "hair".

This is what support actually looks like.

Show up. With what you have. 
And make sure they know they're not alone.

That little stick figure?

Best medicine I ever got.

Repost this ♻️ to spread a good message today.

Feedback feels personal.

It's not.

They're critiquing your design. Not you.

Hard to separate:

"This button is unclear" = design feedback
"You made this unclear" = feels like attack
Same words. Different interpretation.

Train yourself to hear:

"The layout is confusing" not "You're confused"
"This needs work" not "You're not good enough"
"Try another approach" not "You failed"

Your design is separate from your worth.

(Repost if this resonates ♻️)

P.S. Does feedback feel personal to you?

taplio

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David Olusegun

Pavle Lucic

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The Battle

David Olusegun

Pavle Lucic

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}David Olusegun's LinkedIn Performance

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