SOLOPRENEUR OG Today on Obsessed Show I’m chatting in person with one of my best friends of all time, Torrey Dawley. This is my second in-person interview in a row, as well as another amazing creative professional from Indianapolis. Torrey started his own brand and design business back in 2006 called Sandpaper Studio. Today he’s scaling down client work with the aim of helping others harness the power of solopreneurship. Torrey and I discuss the early challenges we both faced with scaling...

Today on Obsessed Show we have a long-overdue part II episode with my friend, Sam Vázquez. You may remember Sam from Episode 15 of the show. Seven years later, we’re catching up with Sam about his work in graphic design, fine art, music, and now, teaching. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Sam Vázquez.   (I was trying a new thing on this episode, recording in-person with a multi-camera setup… If you tune into the YouTube version you’ll notice my camera dies after...

Today on Obsessed Show, I’m excited to chat with the Principal Designer of Focus Lighting, Brett Andersen. Focus Lighting is an award-winning professional architectural lighting design firm located in New York City. The Focus Lighting team’s creative process is informed by a combined experience in theater, architecture, and design and they create lighting design solutions for hotels, resorts, retail, restaurants, museums, nightclubs, offices, and private residences around the world. I’m...

Today on Obsessed Show, I’m excited to chat with the CEO and Co-owner of Mancini Duffy, Bill Mandara, Jr, AIA. If that firm sounds familiar, it’s probably because we interviewed the other co-owner and “anti-architect” Christian Giordano & Jessica Mann Amato. I’m excited to learn more about Bill’s role in the firm, a massive project they’re working on in the heart of Times Square, and his music. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Bill Mandara Jr., AIA.

CARLOS MUSQUEZ, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, CATALYST MARKETING AGENCY Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with  Carlos Musquez, Executive Creative Director at Catalyst Marketing Agency bringing his brand of creative excellence to the B2B branding space, something that is near and dear to my heart…  You may remember Carlos from episode 143, when Carlos was the Executive Creative Director of ELA. Since then a lot has changed… we’re going to catch up on what’s new, what’s the same, and what...

On January 13th, 2018 at 8:08 am, an alert was issued to the 1.4 million citizens of Hawai'i, ‍BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Today on Obsessed Show, I’m excited to chat with the creative team behind the immersive and creative new VR film, “On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World).” On the Morning You Wake uses innovative documentary storytelling and virtual production techniques to viscerally recreate the lived experiences...

Fredrik Öst & Erik Kockum Today on Obsessed Show, I’m excited to chat with the founders of creative agency, SNASK, Fredrik Öst & Erik Kockum. "Freddie" was adopted from South Korea and raised in Northern Sweden after being found outside a police station. Erik is a confused and misunderstood misfit genius who believes that the feeling of freedom and allowance of making mistakes is the key to creativity. Today we’re going to talk about how they formed SNASK 14 years ago, in the face of...

Today on Obsessed Show, I’m excited to chat with the president and co-owner of NYC tech-first architecture and design firm Mancini Duffy, Christian Giordano and co-owner and design principal, Jessica Mann-Amato. Christian has dubbed himself and his podcast "The Anti-Architect" and I’m excited to dig into that statement alone…and learn more about the 105-year-old firm. Drawing inspiration from some of the tech-forward companies Mancini works with—like Peloton, Disney, and Soho House—Christian...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with interior designer, writer, and TV personality, Kimberley Seldon. Based in Los Angeles and Toronto, she founded Kimberley Seldon Design Group in 1991. Kimberley is also the Founder of Business of Design - an online learning platform for independent designers, as well as a recurring on-air design expert for Cityline, previous Host on the HGTV series Design for Living with Kimberley Seldon. As you may well be aware, a new trend emerged in 2020 amidst...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with the founders of modern home furnishings and design brand, Blu Dot: John Christakos & Maurice Blanks. Based in Minneapolis, Blu Dot has 12 locations across the US (with new stores in Miami, San Francisco, and more on the way). You may know Blu Dot from their gorgeous mod pieces that are all over Instagram, or if you’re like me and don’t have a Blu Dot location in your backyard, Blu Dot may occasionally grace your mailbox with a catalog. In 2020...

Today on Obsessed Show, we’re continuing an unexpected trend of interviewing another lead singer. Today I’m chatting with A/J Jackson; songwriter, director, and perhaps best known as the lead singer of the international platinum-selling rock band Saint Motel… they’ve played Coachella and toured with Imagine Dragons, but imagine my surprise that their song “just my type” has nothing to do with typography. A/J is also the founder of AVIEW, a new sunglasses brand, and the role color theory...

Today on Obsessed Show I’m honored to be chatting with John Flansburgh, ½ of the dynamic duo that is They Might Be Giants. As you can only imagine my response when I received the email… “Hey, this is John F. from TMBG, and we’d like to share our Book with you in hopes that we can figure out a chat on your podcast.” Well spoiler alert, I was pretty excited to make that happen. Of course I said yes! Like I, many of you may know them from songs such as Istanbul (Not Constantinople), I Palindrome...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with industrial designer, Vikkal Parikh. Influenced by his unique background in architecture, Vikkal has spearheaded breathtaking, mixed media narratives for some of the world's top-tier brands. These include the likes of Facebook, Adidas, HBO, Microsoft, White Castle, and more. With the increasing surge in animation due to the limitations and inaccessibility of live-action filming, he predicts that COVID may have signaled the end of what he calls...

We’re back with Vigor Branding principal, host of the Forktales podcast, and author of the new book, The Bullhearted Brand, Joseph Szala. If you’re a long-time listener, you may recall Joseph from all the way back in season one. Today we talk about his latest evolutions, including how the Grits & Grids podcast led to his new show, Forktales, and what led his to launch his latest book, The Bullhearted Brand on Kickstarter. So without further ado, please enjoy the latest conversation with...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with greeting card designer and founder of the Kate Smith Company… you guessed it, Kate Smith. According to her website, Kate and her husband Ryan launched their first company, From Frank, together in 2012. We quickly grew the line of 50 greeting cards into a full-fledged character brand — which we won’t spoil all the details in the introduction. In 2018, they decided to expand their repertoire of fart jokes and created Kate Smith Company — making From...

Today on Obsessed Show, we’ve got a special treat. This episode is supported by Wireframe, a podcast all about creativity and design. I checked out an episode of Wireframe, and today I get to share this episode with you in its entirety. Like our show, Wireframe is a show made for creative professionals: graphic designers, UX designers, illustrators, and typographers. Wireframe is hosted by Khoi Vinh, Principal Designer at Adobe and one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business. ...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with industrial designer, Neil Ferrier. Neil Ferrier (who previously worked in advanced product development at Oakley) is a mechanical engineer by degree and the owner of industrial design firm DISCOMMON, which specializes in left of center bespoke goods. Aside from reinventing classic accessories like impact protectant watch wallets made with space-grade foam that hardens upon impact, to fully machined aluminum whisky tumblers, Neil's company was...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with the founders of Artifox, Dan and Sarah Mirth. You may know Artifox from their Instagram drool-worthy workspace furniture and clever artifacts, perfect for a world where so many of us are struggling to find inspiration, while working from home. According to their website, Artifox was born from their founders’ needs for a desk that was both aesthetically pleasing and provided a more functional and efficient work environment. And it turns out, they...

Theron Skees—Designer’s Creative Studio Nate Naversen—Themedattraction.com Jason Surrell—Author Josh Polk Lecturer, Department of Computer Information & Graphics Technology Chris Rogers, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Computer Information & Graphics Technology

No, not that Snowden… also, we’ve had a ton of snowfall at Obsessed Show HQ this week… coincidentally, not that “snowed-in” either. #dadjoke Eric Snowden is driving the future of mobile creativity by leading a global team of designers to bring to life powerful new tools like Illustrator on the iPad. I’m curious to hear why he believes mobility is the key to the future of design, as well as his perspective on where mobile is headed for professional and amateur creatives alike. I’m very...

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with co-founder of Handsome, John Roescher. John Roescher is a former military vet who started the company because of a passion for the potential of the internet to explore new ideas and make connections - a similar urge that originally led him to join the military right out of high school. Once COVID hit, though they had worked with major global brands, they had somewhat lost that love. Looking down the barrel of the pandemic and on the verge of closing,...

Today on Obsessed Show we've got our first ever (I mean, I think it's the first-ever... once you're past 150 episodes, you have the right to forget stuff) - so I THINK it's the first-ever letterpress designer and printer, and his name is James Lewis Tucker. You guys may not know this, but I got my start with very print-oriented design roles, and I've had the pleasure of producing a few letterpress projects, and it's just one of my favorite design touches. Today we're gonna nerd out with...

Prescott Perez-Fox is an art director, brand strategist, speaker, podcaster, and teacher, recently transplanted to Phoenix, AZ. Now a Lecturer at Arizona State University, he brings his knowledge, passion, and a few hard-fought lessons to the next generation of multidisciplinary designers. In addition to his brand-focused design work, Prescott is the founder and host of The Busy Creator Podcast, a popular discussion show dedicated to creative productivity, workflow, culture, and technology....

Valerie Aurilio, General Manager, and Phyllis Murphy, Executive Creative Director Today on Obsessed Show it's a two for one sale... I'm chatting with Valerie Aurilio, General Manager at Landor & Fitch, and Phyllis Murphy, Executive Creative Director, at Landor & Fitch. If you're doing any design work in the branding space, there's very little chance you haven't heard of Landor, and as we record today on the evening of November 3... spoiler alert, we didn't know who won yet. But...