"It gets better. You maintain, you improve, you just do you." (Mat Voyce bonus episode)

0:00Radim Malinic:Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creative D Podcast. This is episode number 50, which means this is the last bonus episode of the season. However, I've got a couple of surprises for next week. Normally with these episodes, as you might know, I come back to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation, pulling out those moments that deserve a second look and dig deeper in what makes them special. This week I spoke to Matt Voice, a type animator who trained in graphic design, taught himself motion and built a career most freelancers only dream about. He did it entirely in the hours nobody was watching.

0:33Radim Malinic:In our conversation, we talked about the long game of sampling everything, knowing which jobs to turn down and why one public post about his anxiety gave him more real answers than years of therapy ever had. The episode published a few days ago was titled Dare to be honest about the life behind work and I believe the title really says it all. If you haven't checked out a full episode yet, let me share with you these four standout moments. And then as time progressed, motion soon became part of that like mass toolkit of mine. And as I got into the industry and got myself into design roles within teams and started learning more about the programs, I always felt like I would put my all into those kind of day jobs and to really apply myself, to put myself forward and try and do the very best each day.

1:23But then I'd get home after doing like a full day's worth of work and I just would feel there was more to get, there was more to have. So I would just sit on the sofa next to my girlfriend, who's my wife now, and just start making something. It started off as just like single letter designs and that then progressed into words and phrases, which I would essentially try and sell online to fund like a side hustle so trying to use those like day skills but then make something of it for myself and I don't know I've never really fully known why type was the thing that I chose in those first instances I think it felt like it was the most organic thing for me to create and I loved putting the words together and designing the letter forms and it just felt very natural and that kind of then slowly progressed and snowballed as I moved along my career and to different agency

2:14Radim Malinic:roles really there's always something so reassuring when i hear these people's stories because it resembles one of mine it might even resemble one of yours where you go and do six seven eight hours for somebody else only to come home and wanting to do more because i believe where the true passion lies i'm always conflicted about you know the word passion because it's a long-term commitment into something but even in matt's situation he wasn't unhappy in his day job he was good at it he gave it everything but as soon as he came home the creative engine was still running that relentlessness wasn't a dissatisfaction per se it was a signal when you think about it so many creatives mistake that feeling for burnout or greed when actually it's just the clearest possible sign that they haven't found their real work yet matt didn't fight it or feel guilty about it.

3:09Radim Malinic:He just sat down and made something, night after night. And that quiet and glamorous habit, no audience, no brief, no guarantee, is what's built his entire career that followed. And it's one of the most original stories you will ever hear. I can talk about it in my head, but then I can just be triggered or I can think about something and my mind switches again. So it just never helped. And I don't really know where I heard about medicine before, but I just, I talked to my GP and tried me on, on one medication and I started in October and it's been like a long process. And the great thing about saying it publicly was that you can Google things all you want.

3:49You can Google like how long it's going to take to kick in, how would it make me feel? But this Google and most of the time now it's, you're getting given like the AI answers, which summaries of web pages. And it wasn't real information that I felt was like palpable or information that I could almost count on. So when I put it publicly and I got real advice and real information from more so creatives who were designers, who had similar thought processes to me or who were creative individuals, when I had that information, that felt like it was a game changer. And I'm so glad that I released that out and put that out there because I would have just been Googling stuff and just going down those rabbit holes instead of getting real information from real people that i respect and care for and know and can rely on so it was an absolute game changer for almost like self-medication in a way

4:45Radim Malinic:you don't have to be on social media for too long to stumble across posts that show in some way information about mental health some of it's really helpful some of it is a bit scary some of it you can always question why do people post it but not in matt's case when his entire public identity is built around beautiful joyful technicolor type animation is a real act of vulnerability what came back surprised him because designers he admired people he'd follow for years quietly going through the same thing the internet is a full of curated highlights matt punched a hole in that and found a community on the other side.

5:28Radim Malinic:It's been a practical reminder that Google and AI summaries can't replace lived experience from people who think like you. Real information from real people who've been there is irreplaceable and the only way to get it is when you're brave enough to ask. Yeah it's definitely better. I definitely feel more optimistic. I'm a massive overthinker like that kind of ties in with the whole anxiety and going down rabbit holes not when things have maybe triggered me in the past like if they're happening now I might think about it for a second but I'm not then going oh what if this happens what if this happens so it's definitely almost quiet and that part of my personality or my brain which has then helped and I have found it's made me a bit more assertive as well which is nice because I was never assertive before and now if something's in my head it comes out of my mouth easier whereas before I would just be so damn quiet and I if I had a thought it just stay in my mind whereas now if there's something there it comes out which is nice so it has changed aspects of my personality for the better I think I really do think it is for the better overall good place and from what I've heard from the community outpouring is it just gets better you just maintain and you just constantly improve and just do you and keep positive.

6:44Radim Malinic:Simple words but coming from someone who spent years in an anxious spiral catastrophizing overthinking watching patches of his hair fall out from stress they learn differently. Matt isn't offering a cure or a framework he's offering something more useful and that is and that is evidence. He went through it found something that helped was honest about it and came out on the other side more assertive more optimistic and more himself than ever before for anyone sitting with anxiety and wondering if it ever actually shifts this is the answer not a dramatic transformation just a quieter reminder just a quieter mind and a little more confidence and a slow realization and the slow realization that you are always going to be okay i think i have not a system but i have sometimes red flags that pop up on certain jobs and I normally get that from I guess the conversations I have with the designers or the design directors or whoever it is that's briefing on the job and it's normally if it's certain aspects of doing type design and making it move that are really lending to my style and it's why I normally get brought on to jobs but there's been some briefings and jobs in the past where it's been a bit of type design but then they've also started to shoehorn in other things that I know I'm really not comfortable doing and that's the point where I could probably do this and it's going to be really tough like to do and I might learn some things about it but I don't want to be doing this for every job I want to stick to the type design and the type motion and that's what I'm interested in the passion they have for it and the ideas they have involved it's just not right for me basically as the previous moment mentioned uh Matt's learned to be more assertive more looking after himself because even though these are simple words in matt's case he's built such a clear picture of what he does and why he's good at it and that he can feel a wrong job come in before the brief is even finished that's not of course that's not arrogance that's a hard worn self-knowledge knowing your limits isn't the same thing as limiting yourself it's how you protect the quality of the work you actually care about for anyone who's ever taken on job that slowly drained them, Matt's red flag system is something worth building for yourself.

9:05Radim Malinic:Thank you for joining me on this 50th bonus episode of the Daring Creativity podcast. I would normally say thank you for joining me and I'll see you next week. There is a couple of surprises, but yeah, see you then. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle including an e-book and audio book to make the content accessible wherever you are and whatever you do.

9:40Radim Malinic:To get 10 % of your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the code PODCAST. Have a look around and start living daringly.