<![CDATA[45 Cat Tales: meditations on delivery]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/s/meditationshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uFAq!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fac0dd3b2-eeb7-4932-aab2-beb4ef8284f9_1280x1280.png45 Cat Tales: meditations on deliveryhttps://francesyllana.substack.com/s/meditationsSubstackSun, 12 Apr 2026 05:11:54 GMT<![CDATA[drawing harm]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/p/drawing-harmhttps://francesyllana.substack.com/p/drawing-harmSun, 05 Apr 2026 20:43:22 GMTwe’ve all drawn harm

we’ve all played our part in where we are today

two and a half decades ago

a peer published a comic

mocking colleagues and clients

stereotypes praised as clever

one caricature has bothered me to this day

a female leader drawn so simply

but so crassly

it made me cringe

but everyone in the city laughed

so i did, too

because it must have been okay

and i wasn’t brave enough to say

talent and praise is no excuse for cruelty

ink fades

the harm leaves a scar

we must repent our own sins to really heal

]]><![CDATA[leading ladders]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/p/leading-laddershttps://francesyllana.substack.com/p/leading-laddersMon, 23 Mar 2026 21:05:01 GMTalmost exactly two decades ago, i became a creative director for the first time.

but not just any CD. a female CD.

one of the few women in Dallas in that role.

back then, that was still a big differentiator. and it made the promotion feel even more meaningful in that far and distant seeming world.

scarcity felt like significance, a weight that bore itself into my bones.

to carry with me up a ladder i climbed at my own risk.

toward something rare.

a responsibility many of us eventually took on.

back then, only-ness felt like both a spotlight and a shield.

at times, a celebration of the spirit.

more often, a quiet suffocation.

until i found sisterhood.

and something superior to ascent.

]]><![CDATA[the design ego]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/p/the-design-egohttps://francesyllana.substack.com/p/the-design-egoMon, 16 Mar 2026 14:02:21 GMTthe design ego speaks of vision

it declares itself holy

it preaches craft above all

certainty is its masquerade

it bows to its own reflection

ego seeks praise for itself

humility reveres all

]]><![CDATA[the designer’s kingdom]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/p/the-designers-kingdomhttps://francesyllana.substack.com/p/the-designers-kingdomMon, 09 Mar 2026 14:02:44 GMTonce upon a time, design centered the universe.

our elders told us design is king.

craft rules everything. confidence earns control.

we demand a seat at the table.

while catering to the purse that sets it.

it’s the pageantry of an old empire.

crowns. medals of honor.

disciplines commanding respect.

experience reveals how nature actually reigns.

the wisdom of the circle.

the stewardship of the village.

the creative might born of the collective.

the best work is not ruled.

it is raised together.

]]><![CDATA[who you sit near]]>https://francesyllana.substack.com/p/who-you-sit-nearhttps://francesyllana.substack.com/p/who-you-sit-nearMon, 02 Mar 2026 21:05:59 GMTearly in your career, you worship proximity.

if you sit near designers, you inherit their sense of heroism.

if you sit near engineers, you inherit their reverence for rigor.

if you sit near researchers, you inherit their craft of curiosity.

if you sit near project managers, you inherit how they champion the whole team.

if you sit near product, you inherit their vision of possibility.

if you sit near executives, you inherit how they narrate the future.

proximity shapes belief before experience does.

wisdom thrives in the overlaps.

]]>