A content series is a named, repeatable format that talks directly to the one person. It's the public-facing wrapper an audience learns to recognise and follow, the thing they can name to a colleague. It sits under a pillar: the pillar decides the subject, the series makes it recognisable and repeatable. Every series gets a file of its own in docs/series/ - a paragraph here, the full treatment on its own page.
The layers, so nothing gets confused
| Layer | What it is | Where it lives | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pillar / theme | The subject lane content lives in, numbered 01 to 04 | docs/foundation/content-pillars.md |
01 Interactive Experiences, 02 Building a Studio |
| Owned idea | THE phrase you plant and want your name on, said in as many pieces as possible across every pillar | docs/foundation/content-pillars.md |
designed participation (the only one) |
| Content series | The named, recurring wrapper you deliver a pillar in | here, docs/series/ |
Behind the Screen, Watch List |
| Structure + Format | How each piece is built (structure) and delivered (format) | 02 Skills/Structures.md, docs/foundation/formats.md |
Breakdown as Slides · Take as Video |
So "designed participation" stays your idea, planted inside the work. "Behind the Screen" is the series that carries it. You don't choose between them.
The rule every series obeys
The spine is lead-gen for By Default, the engine is you as an industry figure. A series that only earns reach isn't finished. Every episode leaves the one person (a creative leader or budget-holder) with something they can use, and at least one screenshotable line.
Selected
The series being made. Not all of them carry the same weight: some are established, some are experiments earning their place by performing. Each one needs a paragraph here and its own page at minimum - the roster grows and shrinks with what works.
Behind the Screen (
01 Behind the Screen.md) - I take apart the digital experiences you scroll past every day and show what they're designed to make you do. Pillar 01, the lead-gen spine, and where designed participation gets planted hardest. Video, with a saveable carousel format built in.Building By Default (
02 Building By Default.md) - the bootstrapped studio, built in real time: the creative work, the systems and standards underneath it, and the journey of putting myself out there. Pillar 02, the curiosity engine. Talking-head video.Conversation Design (
03 Conversation Design.md) - design the outcome, not the prompt. The Systems Thinking series with AI as its biggest arena, teaching the skill of articulating what you want. Pillar 03, reach plus thought leadership. Teaching video.Watch List (
04 Watch List.md) - the films and shows worth watching twice, read as a designer. Pillar 04, the light reach lane: personality and followers, not conversion. Light video.Design Therapy (
06 Design Therapy.md) - founders' real design and brand problems, diagnosed and prescribed with the tone and structure of a therapy session. Pillar 01 with the studio voice on show; educate first, prove second. Split-scene video: patient on the sofa, fix at the desk, prescription to close. Experiment.Playground (
07 Playground.md) - the "just ship it" home for experiments, sketches, and MVPs. Visible evidence the studio is always making. Pillar 02, speed over polish, any format goes. Experiment.First Impressions (
08 First Impressions.md) - curated carousels celebrating the digital experiences and campaigns worth pointing at: taste, demonstrated in public. Pillar 01, LinkedIn-first slides. Where Behind the Screen dissects, this celebrates. Experiment.
Ideas
The remaining ideas, not currently being made. Kept here so nothing gets lost; if one gets picked up, it moves to Selected and gets a file of its own.
- The Brand Operating System - documenting the studio's systems and standards. Lives as a theme inside Building By Default; could stand alone if it takes off.
- Tales from the Rescue - anonymised project-rescue war stories, told as proof of how you think under pressure. A story format any series can use.
- Systems Saved Me - the dyslexia origin beats: building systems around yourself before it was a business skill. Surfaces inside Building By Default and Conversation Design.
- Invisible Design - the best design goes unnoticed. One video exists; one line to own, with room to grow if it pops off.
- Interactive Branding - editable brand assets that export the correct treatment. A single video idea that fits Behind the Screen or Building By Default.
- The Hot Take Bench - one sharp take per piece. A format droppable into any series.
- How Do I…? - one audience question answered per piece. A format, ready when the questions start arriving.
- Get Ahead, Stay Ahead - the urgency language, banked; available if a series ever needs the banner.
Formats, and how a series earns its place
- Structure + format: every piece is one structure (
02 Skills/Structures.md) in one format (docs/foundation/formats.md); the common pieces are decoded on the formats page. - Series earn their keep. A series can start as an experiment: a paragraph in Selected, a file here, a repeatable structure. Ship it, watch it, let the results decide. The successful ones stay; the rest move back to Ideas without ceremony.