Canva vs Adobe our honest experience as creators with Darren Meredith | EP 004

I’m chatting with my lovely pal Darren Meredith about something we’ve both been asked about quite a lot, our experience working with Canva and Adobe as creators. And just to say this right at the start, this isn’t a “which design tool is better” episode. This is much more about what it’s actually like behind the scenes when you create content, build an audience, get invited into brand programmes, and then start realising that the shiny outside of a brand partnership doesn’t always tell you what it’s going to feel like once you’re in it. We talk about what it was like being Canva Experts, why parts of that experience became frustrating, and how things changed when Adobe reached out to us. We get into unpaid creator work, brand expectations, embargoes, contracts, exclusivity clauses, audience trust, and the uncomfortable moment when you realise a brand might be getting a lot of value from you, but you’re not necessarily getting the same value back. Chapters 00:00 Intro and how Darren and I met through Canva 03:08 Darren’s route into Canva tutorials 06:27 How I accidentally fell into Canva content 10:51 What it was like inside the Canva Verified Expert programme 18:15 Talking honestly about unpaid creator work 19:26 Canva’s reaction to us being approached by Adobe 21:16 Exclusivity clauses and why they became a problem 25:54 The difference in the Adobe Ambassador community 31:48 Creator contracts, paid work and reading the small print 33:38 Why creators need to price their time properly 36:47 Darren’s advice for creators who want to work with brands 39:54 Confidence crashes, imposter feelings and creator comments 41:54 Content creation in your 50s and what might come next Find Darren Website: http://bettercontentcreators.com Instagram: instagram.com/bettercontentcreators YouTube: Darren Meredith Find me Instagram: instagram.com/thehonestdesignerdiaries TikTok: tiktok.com/@thehonestdesignerdiaries The Creative Room: designerinyourpocket.co/thecreativeroom If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, like the video, leave a comment, or share it with another designer or creator who needs to hear this one. It really does help more people find the podcast, and it means I can keep having these honest conversations with brilliant creatives. And if you’ve had your own weird, brilliant, disappointing or eye-opening experience with a brand partnership, I would genuinely love to hear about it.