09: Matt D. Smith: His Course Became His Full-Time Income

(VIDEO PODCAST) Today, I sit down with one of my favorite product designers, freelancer Matt D. Smith. I first ran into Matt at Epicurrence in 2016, and I've admired his career trajectory ever since. Matt is a master at the tools of the trade, often posting inspiring tutorials, walkthroughs, and advanced features of new software platforms within days of their release. His seemingly random posts often have a profound influence on the industry - as he recounts how a side hustle changed the way the majority of us now design form fields - or go viral for their perfectly timed humor (did you see his Marc Jacobs-inspired Twitter shirt?). What we talk about the most though, is how Matt conceptualized and developed his industry-leading UI design course, Shift Nudge (shiftnudge.com). From juggling the uncertainties of a freelance career to working with academic advisors, Matt's choice to invest himself in building a modern curriculum has changed design education. With thousands of users, hundreds of positive reviews, and countless success stories, Shift Nudge allows beginners to earn the chops they need to jump-start their product design careers. And it's allowed Matt to replace his full-time income with a project he's passionate about. It's always a pleasure to sit down with someone as driven as Matt D. Smith. I hope you enjoy the conversation. Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/mds More from the Creative Brief: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-creative-brief-with-brian-athey/id1720613498 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brianathey Instagram: https://instagram.com/brianathey Website: https://brianathey.com