This week Ashley Gutierrez, a junior producer at Fresh Tape, a sports media production company based in Denver, walks us through her role in a recent project between Twitter, HBCUs, and the NBA. She sees her role as the blueprint to everything – from the pitch, to planning, finding the right people to execute her idea, managing the talent and clients, and even picking up a camera or editing when necessary. Living in the “we just have to make it happen” world, she makes sure the projects get...

This week, Patrick Drake, a product designer for Dealerware, an automotive tech company located in Austin, discusses how you can’t separate UI from UX because they inherently enhance each other towards a product’s overall goals. He discusses why demonstrating sound problem solving in your work and the ability to walk someone through your thought process is the most effective skill a designer can develop. Patrick shares his process for usability testing, downplaying biometric eye tracking in...

This week, Corey Zucco (@czooksmedia), a recent graduate from the spring of 2021, talks about moving back to her hometown and how she landed her first full-time job as a digital designer at Red Ventures. We tackle mental health breaks, personal branding and network utilization. Corey also shares her journey through the virtual interview process, her fears about never landing a job, and her relatable disdain for LinkedIn. Lastly, Corey gives her tips for navigating the job market, including...

This week Dan Liu, director for TV shows like AMC's The Walking Dead and Netflix's Shadow & Bone, discusses how his job is to get everyone on board with his vision while still being respectful to each department by never forcing his technical knowledge on them. We talk about capturing the moments he is happy with on film while creating a space for the actors to give the ones he did not expect and how it is more important to capture the intention and tone of a scene even when it's not...

This week Sara Lowe, Art Director at BBDO in Atlanta, talks about how art direction is more than just design; it's a concept with big ideas and making them come to life as a way to get someone to like something. We discuss being creative within the restrictions of a client brief and using Instagram as a morning design scroll for daily inspiration. She digs into working with a copywriter and how it’s more than just a partnership; it’s a relationship that you work on all the time. We attempt to...

This week Justin Law (@TweetJustinLaw), a Senior Producer for South Carolina Athletics, talks about how content creation is more than just fan engagement but primarily used as a recruitment tool for 16-18 year-olds considering playing for the University...

This week Autumn Moore, editor at Trailer Park in Los Angeles, talks about the full scope of what it takes to get a trailer on screen and how she loves that her ideas are the first thing you see on a project. We discuss how you can edit the beats of a...

This week Adam Johnson, a Senior Graphic Designer at Nike, talks about the balance between branding and appeal in apparel graphic design and how that ties into the overall narrative story. We discuss working two years ahead of real-life and how he designs outside of trend while using the combination of cyclical fashion and innovating performance technology to be on-trend in the future. He explains the collaborative ecosystem between the roles that make a piece of apparel happen and how he...

This week Chelsea Lee, Art Director for Brand and Purpose Communications at Square, talks about the holistic nature of art direction and how the story you tell is impacted, not defined by the medium chosen to tell it; taste and style can translate across any medium. We discuss the future (not death) of print, and the cultural shift in our relationship with physical things - all while acknowledging that most, if not all, current print projects have a digital aspect to them. Chelsea breaks down...

This week, Jessica (@jessicahische), lettering artist, author, and professional procrastiworker, talks about knowing when your freelance job is your full-time job. We get in the weeds with artist reps and making connections to people at places that want to hire you and, more importantly, work that people know how to hire for in the future. In the end, we agree to not worry about having your shit together in five years; it’s not a race to the top.

This week Tori Richman, Team Photographer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, talks about the trust she’s developed with the players, coaches, and content team to photograph past the helmets and numbers on the field to better humanize their experience. We discuss shooting Super Bowls for the Bucs and NFL, game day routines and the comfort of being nervous. As one of 3 female team photographers in the NFL, Tori speaks to the importance of representation in a male prevalent field and getting over...

This week Alex Lang, Augmented Reality expert and Director of Visual Propaganda at Liquid Death, and I nerd out about the future of Augmented Reality and how it involves flipping your camera around to augment the world instead of our faces. We discuss how the technology is in its creative infancy and we need to move past the “fart app” stage of AR where we produce the first thing that comes to our mind. Alex explains the idea behind being a Creative Technologist, someone who can translate...

This week Lauren Jonas, a Charleston-based Wedding Photographer, breaks down what it means to be a hybrid photographer and breaks down what she loves about shooting on film. We discuss being a third shooter to build up your skills and how being a second shooter has the same level of responsibility (and pressure) as the first shooter. Lauren fondly remembers her mentors and how you can’t be afraid to ask them ALL the questions; they only want to help make you better. We dive into building a...

This week, Leigh Rubin, creator of the daily comic RUBES, talks about the challenge of creating something new every day and how you can’t wait for inspiration when your mortgage is dependent on it. He breaks down his process of daily action which he says is necessary to deliberately develop a creative practice. We discuss constructing an idea to achieve maximum impact and minimum verbiage: a balance between keeping an idea fresh and working it to death. To stand out amount the noise, Leigh...

 IS PORTFOLIO SCHOOL WORTH IT? Myka Betts, 2020 Miami Ad School NY grad and Art Director at The Bam Connection in Brooklyn, Beth Hughes, 2017 VCU Brandcenter grad and Senior Art Director for Capitol One in Richmond, VA, Rachel Carlson, 2011 The Creative Circus grad and Creative Director at Mekanism in Seattle, and I figure it out. We talk about choosing a portfolio school and why the wash out rates are so high. They discuss the importance of having a specific end goal before starting and...

This week, Lousia Lawler (@weezyweasley), Background Artist for animated TV shows discusses how no one just “makes it” in their career and details her year long journey from of moving across the country to landing at Bojack Horseman. We talk about the idea of “Lie and Learn It Later” while laughing about the promises we’ve all made in an interview in order to get the job. She shares her thoughts on getting involved in your professional community and using networking, no matter how awkward, to...

This week Adam Hale, branding expert and Director of Visual Design at Enlisted in Salt Lake City, explains what he hears when a brand says they want to be the Apple of something and how to interpret that request. He speaks to the importance of research and strategy when developing a brand, and how you need to articulate your design choices in terms of the problem and solution instead of font and color choices. We discuss the differences between an Ad Agency and Design Boutique in terms of...

This week, Megan (greydanusdesign.com), a graphic designer for TV and Film (This Is Us, The OA, Real Steel, Fast & Furious 8 ), explains her ability to mimic any style by being an expert in faking expertise, and how her work is like putting the design frosting on the production cake. She and I discuss the speed and versatility required to created props while discussing the all important question - will the camera see it? She details her strategy for breaking into the industry when you...

This week Kim Smith talks about why architectural and interiors photography is the most difficult of the photography niches. She digs into the big issues that separate the good from the amateur and offers some clever tips for building your portfolio. We discuss the importance of supplemental light and that you’d better have some post production tricks up your sleeve without it. She shares her love for contemporary and vernacular design and the philosophy behind it while also examining into...

Nem (@nemperez) talks about awards, making your own opportunity, putting out the work you want to create, using the equipment you have on hand, the importance of pivoting, and getting comfortable talking about money. http://nemperez.com Show Notes:  Medium article about hacking SnapChat to create the first game experience using Spectacles COMPLEXCON video #1COMPLEXCON video #2Disney project

This week Anna Wiederkehr, Senior Visual Journalist for FiveThirtyEight, discusses finding the balance of data visualization and written word by letting the numbers reveal the how or why of a story. Being a visual person, Anna breaks down how she learned to love code while taking us through a career roadmap for those who aren’t technically minded. We dig into how data journalism benefits from long format reporting over the noise of the 24-hour news cycle and discuss a future where we can...

This week Adi Goodrich (@adigoodrich) and Sean Pecknold (@seanpecknold) of Sing-Sing (@singsingstudio) discuss finding balance in their own lanes while supporting each other’s creative expertise. When looking for a creative collaborator, Adi talks about the importance of finding a partner with the same work ethic as you. We examine the importance of having dedicated time to yourself; when you can slow down and be intentional with what you create. It’s this work that will last longer than a...

This week Carolina Guerrero, Photo Editor for Habitat for Humanity International, discusses capturing the humanity behind a story and the responsibility of giving voice to lesser known photographers to tell that story. She speaks to the excitement of working with new photographers; there’s a temptation to control as much as you can by being as close as you can to a project, but that you need to leave room for collaborative surprises to provide perspective. We dig through the differences in...

This week, Shana Wanco, owner of Iris & Marie Letterpress, talks about being specific about the type of work you want to do and finding the type of client that wants to work with what you want to do; you don’t have to say yes to everything. We discuss how she finds design inspiration in her client’s engagement story and honeymoon plans, as well as creating complimentary design details to provide texture to a client’s personal story and style. Shana breaks down the difficulty of starting...