QC#

81 :

Use the fraud feeling

Liv Strawbridge

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Min Read

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November 18, 2025

Prompt #1

Use the fraud feeling

I shared some thoughts from St Vincent's masterclass in the last issue, and there was one more gold nugget I want to pass on. She said:

"I think that everybody feels like a fraud at some point. And I think feeling like a fraud is actually kind of helpful and healthy in ways. There's the Dunning-Kruger test and the people who did the worst thought they did the best. And the people [that] did the best [thought they bombed it]. So feeling like a fraud is all these things can just be motivators to want to work harder."

This flips the whole fraud feeling on its head, eh? Because there's no way to get good at something without being bad at it first. I look at my previous work – even stuff I've done recently – to see how far I've come. And honestly, that fraud feeling does make me work harder. It keeps me sharp. It stops me from getting a big head.

Maybe feeling like a fraud just means you actually care about doing good work. What do you think?

Prompt #2

Testing Out Affinity

Affinity was bought by Canva last year, and they've done something pretty bold. They've combined all three separate apps – Photo, Designer, and Publisher – into one application. And it's now 100% free. (Read more here)

This is exciting. Adobe has dominated the design tool space forever, and it's my most expensive monthly software. So having a real competitor level the playing field? Yeah, I'm interested. I downloaded Affinity today and tested it out. It definitely has potential, but for me, the reality is that I have decades of client InDesign files that I'd need to convert to INDD format, then relink any linked Photoshop files in each document. For the time that would take, plus the learning curve of a new tool, I'm not ready to jump ship… yet.

Things I loved though – the 'switch' tool from vector to pixel to layout is a pretty nifty. No more having three apps open at once. And making professional design tools free and accessible? That's how it should be. So here's where I'm at: great tool, could be a game changer, probably a no-brainer for designers starting out. I'll definitely give it more of a test for vectorising logos and photo editing. But for now, my InDesign muscle memory is what gets the large client document projects done fast.

Have you given Affinity a go yet? Thoughts? Let me know.

Prompt #3

Check Your Contrast

I've been using Colour Contrast Checker a lot lately when creating colour combos for brands. It helps me make sure the colours are accessible – meaning enough contrast so they're legible for everyone, including people with visual impairments, colour blindness, or low vision.

I've seen some beautiful designs lately with contrast so bad I can barely read them. And if I'm struggling, someone with accessibility needs doesn't stand a chance. Getting this right from the start means your work actually works – everywhere.

Check out my Instagram video for a preview of how it works, or to colourcontrast.cc (it's also in my Designer's Toolkit under Colour).

Note – I'm in the middle of writing a guide to share my process for choosing brand colours, so keep a lookout for that in the future.

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