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House of Common Affairs

House of Common Affairs is a journal about fancy utopias of the fourth estate and a publishing imprint.

13/05/2025

Designer habits I outgrew (and you will too, trust me).
Save this for when you need to remind yourself: you’re allowed to evolve. You’re allowed to stop entertaining things that drain your energy or shrink your power.

✨ Saying yes before checking your energy? Out.
✨ Designing to impress, not solve? Out.
✨ Skipping lunch like it’s cute? Out.
✨ Letting vague feedback live in your head? Out.
✨ Tying your worth to a job title? Out.

We’re in our calm but powerful era now.
Your creative brain + your peace = your real flex.

Which habit are YOU outgrowing right now?
Tell me in the comments — let’s normalise quietly leveling up.

08/05/2025

Career anxiety thoughts I no longer give free rent in my brain.
The ones that used to make me overwork, people-please, shrink, spiral…
Now? Muted. Soft-blocked. Shadowbanned from my nervous system.

If you’ve been feeling that lowkey panic about your career lately — this is your sign that it’s not you, it’s the industry conditioning talking. And you’re allowed to unsubscribe.

Save this post for when the spiral tries to make a comeback.
Send it to your work bestie who’s this close to losing it.
Let’s log off from survival mode and log into self-trust instead.

✦ More self-defence tactics for creatives? Link in bio (HOCA podcast + journals)
✦ Only calm, abundant, soft power energy here.

06/05/2025

You’re not “lazy.” You’re done.
Done carrying broken systems on your back.
Done calling burnout “a busy season.”
Done gaslighting yourself into staying small when your body is already screaming get me out.

If you’ve been fantasising about soft quitting (or hard quitting)…
That’s not weakness.
That’s your intuition whispering: “We can do better than this.”

✦ Save this for when you doubt yourself.
✦ Tag a friend who’s secretly plotting their exit.
✦ Drop a “✋🏼” in the comments if this hit too close (because same).

04/05/2025

10 career lessons I learned the hard way… so you don’t have to.
Consider this your delulu detox for surviving (& thriving) in the design world.

✨ Sometimes leaving is the promotion.
✨ If it’s costing your sleep, it’s not the bag.
✨ Gossip? It’ll circle back.
✨ People-pleasing = unpaid labour.
✨ Soft power > survival mode energy.
✨ Quiet wins = real wins.
✨ Wanting calm and abundance isn’t greedy — it’s grown.

Send this to your creative bestie who’s lowkey spiralling at work right now. Or save it for Future You.

Matte finish. Gold lining. Always.

01/05/2025

Deinfluencing you as a chill designer girly who’s survived the ✨ delulu ✨
Because we’ve ALL been there: working late for “the portfolio”, chasing prestige like it’s gonna pay our rent, and thinking rest = weakness.

Spoiler: it’s all a scam.
The real flex? Rested, paid, and slightly unbothered.

Save this carousel for when you feel the hustle demon creeping in.
And if you want more no-sketchy, big-brain-but-chill design chat…
▶️ Listen to No Sketchy Business on Spotify (link in bio)
Rate us 5 stars so I can keep dropping spicy truths like this ✨

08/04/2025

“Graphic Designer Barbie” — 6 Tries Later, She’s Finally Her. After six attempts (because creativity isn’t always linear), she’s here: forest green gym fit, hazel-eyed and bold, armed with a laptop, graphics tablet, color wheel, and a burlesque mask for a little mischief after hours. Equal parts ethical, editorial, and effortlessly extra.

Ethical considerations: Creating AI-generated images of people—especially when aiming to resemble real individuals—raises important ethical considerations around consent, representation, and accuracy. It’s crucial to ensure that the images are respectful, non-exploitative, and do not mislead viewers into thinking they are real photographs or endorsements. When designing playful or stylized versions like action figures or dolls, the intent should be clear (e.g., parody, personal expression) and not used for manipulation, impersonation, or commercial purposes without the person’s permission. Transparency about the use of AI and honoring the subject’s autonomy are key ethical pillars in this space.

03/04/2025

Recreating our memories from Vienna back in 2019 when the first HOCA periodical came out.
… but seriously, AI companies, pay licence fees to artists you’re copying!

07/02/2025

The news, once a tool to unravel truth, now feels like a force tearing at the fabric of reality—a thought that’s lingered with me over the past months. Let’s reimagine how stories are told and reshape our narratives together.

✨ Discover more in The Fourth Estate Utopias—get your hands on one of the last remaining copies. Explore the vision / link in bio.

04/02/2025

Me when someone mentions a new design tool with AI: Oh great, another way for clients to think they can replace years of expertise with a one-click ‘Make It Look Good’ button. Can’t wait to compete with an algorithm that thinks ‘modern and elegant’ means slapping a gradient on everything. Next, they’ll ask me if ChatGPT can design their city’s master plan—because who needs urban designers when AI can generate a soulless, pedestrian-unfriendly dystopia in seconds?

24/01/2025

Design is never neutral. This powerful quote from The Fourth Estate Utopias and discussed in Episode 1 of No Sketchy Business challenges us to think critically about how visual communication shapes narratives—and often, perceptions of power.

In the Journey to Ard Al Amal project, for example, the decision to use cartoon imagery wasn’t just aesthetic—it was a deliberate choice to disrupt the overused, dehumanizing visuals often tied to refugee stories. It’s a reminder that design doesn’t just represent reality; it creates and influences it.

🗣️ What role should designers play in tackling complex social issues? Can visual storytelling truly challenge harmful stereotypes?

🎧 Explore these questions and more in our first journal and podcast episode, where we unpack the responsibilities of critical design and why it’s time to rethink “objectivity” in both design and journalism.

🔗 Link in bio to grab your copy or listen on Spotify.

23/12/2024

🌆 Challenge 🌆
Does your city suffer from blandemic symptoms? Think endless beige buildings, soulless streets, or designs that make you go, “Why though?!” 😩 It’s time to call them out AND show how YOU would fix them!

Here’s how to enter:
1️⃣ Spot a street or urban space that needs saving.
2️⃣ Post your “before” pic (or sketch your dream “after” design).
3️⃣ Tag and .minelgaite.design.
4️⃣ Don’t forget to follow both accounts to be eligible!

🎁 The funniest, most creative, or outrageously brilliant submission wins a FREE copy one of the journals. Let’s make cities better (and funnier) one post at a time! 🏙️✨

12/12/2024

🌆 Christmas Challenge 🌆
Does your city suffer from blandemic symptoms? Think endless beige buildings, soulless streets, or designs that make you go, “Why though?!” 😩 It’s time to call them out AND show how YOU would fix them!

Here’s how to enter:
1️⃣ Spot a street or urban space that needs saving.
2️⃣ Post your “before” pic (or sketch your dream “after” design).
3️⃣ Tag and .minelgaite.design.
4️⃣ Don’t forget to follow both accounts to be eligible!

🎁 The funniest, most creative, or outrageously brilliant submission wins a FREE copy of one of our journals. Let’s make cities better (and funnier) one post at a time! 🏙️✨

Ends 1 January 2025

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