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Carving a path that gives back: Jolene Delisle on the Design Next podcast

How can you carve out a creative career that truly gives back?

Not just ‘giving back’ in terms of paying off… but in giving back to society, creating a career that is rewarding, gives you energy, and meets your goals? Jolene Delisle is a woman who has designed a career that ticks all of those boxes, and then some.

Having started The Working Assembly while pregnant with her first child, and while working a very desirable full-time role at Meta, clearly Jolene wasn’t going to let anything stop her meet her ambition.

In this episode of Design Next, we cover all of the ups, downs, extras, emotions and wisdom that come with such an interesting career.

A few of our favourite Working Assembly projects

The Working Assembly is an agency that amplifies brands from strategy to execution. Boutique quality at scale with an integrated approach, they’ve worked with businesses such as Amazon, Spotify, Evian, Klarna, and the Museum of Ice Cream.

“It’s just it’s a good thing to check ourselves sometimes and think about what we really enjoy and what we get energy from.”

On the much-loved ‘work-life balance’ topic, Jolene has her own take: “work-life blend”. Want to work on that deck while watching TV? Go for it. Got to leave early, but will hop back online later? Of course.

Regarding giving back to society, we here more about The Working Assembly’s amazing Local Works initiative, founded to help small, emerging and not for profit businesses thrive in NYC. Every quarter, they work pro-bono for a unique local business or non-profit organisation, supporting the community around them.

Did we mention Jolene also owns an ice cream shop? Further testament to a life built on passion and where she gets her energy! What else can we learn from Jolene?

  • When you start a business, there can be a feeling of “us and them” – but you can work through this
  • “Being on screen all day gave me depression” – How to answer what you want to do, versus what’s good for you
  • How her company is getting sharper and smarter
  • The values that lead her to found her own agency

A fascinating conversation with lots to learn from Jolene, both practical advice and attitudinal vibes; we hope you enjoy this episode!