In the Making

Teresa Au chats with Emmy-winning design superstar Chris Do about his pivot from design to teaching, his education platform The Futur, and all the things he didn’t learn in design school. You’ll hear all about how Chris’ 2M+ social followers inspire his content, and Chris answers questions from design students. Plus, Chris opens up about why now is the time for him to share his personal story as a refugee, what really fuels his work, and how he recharges.

We want to hear from YOU, our listeners, so we put together a brief survey as we look ahead to season two: https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

To thank you for your feedback, we’re giving away two 12-month memberships to Creative Cloud (valued at $659.88 each). Enter for your chance to win one of the two Creative Cloud licenses by completing the survey form from December 7 at 9pm PT to November 30 at 5pm PT. Winners will be drawn at random and notified at December 14 at noon PT. Valid one license per winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see Terms and Conditions on our website for full details. 

https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• How Chris’ company The Futur is making education equitable for students and teachers
• The breakthroughs that came with teaching
• Learning how to really read
• What you don’t learn in design school about business
• The Futur’s business model
• Creating content to market a product vs creating content to help people
• Community and Chris’ cult-like following of design fans
• Why Chris spends 6 hours a day talking with his online community
• Why now is the time for Chris to share his story of coming to the US as a refugee from Vietnam
• A little inspiration from Aaron Draplin
• Personality tests and what it means to be an ambivert
• How Chris recharges
• Why Chris gets his inspiration from friction with his audience
• Conflict becomes content
• The story behind Chris Do is a Fraud, featuring Beeple
• Chris answers questions from students at the Adobe Creative Retreat
• Is design exploitation?
• Should your first job out of design school be in-person or remote?
• Why Chris started his own firm–the short answer and the real answer.
• Chris’ One Word for 2024

Chris Do is an Emmy award-winning designer and director, and the founder of The Futur—an online education platform with the mission of teaching 1 billion people how to make a living doing what they love. In his near-30-year career, he has served on boards for organizations such as the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, AIGA Los Angeles, and the Emmys Motion & Title Design Peer Group. He taught Sequential Design for over 15 years at ArtCenter College of Design as well as Otis College of Art and Design. Chris has lectured at universities and conferences worldwide, including Adobe MAX. His firm’s work has been recognized by industry organizations such as the Emmys, the Clio awards, and numerous design publications. 

Teresa Au is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Find transcripts and links at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud.

Inspiration is on tap as Teresa Au speaks to graphic designer, entrepreneur, and author Aaron Draplin. Known as much for his warm and direct personality as for his signature thick lines design style and ample use of Pantone Orange 21, Aaron is beloved by designers everywhere. Aaron shares lessons gleaned from his midwestern upbringing, nearly 20 years in business on his own, and creating his Field Notes and DDC branded merchandise.

We want to hear from YOU, our listeners, so we put together a brief survey as we look ahead to season two: https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

To thank you for your feedback, we’re giving away two 12-month memberships to Creative Cloud (valued at $659.88 each). Enter for your chance to win one of the two Creative Cloud licenses by completing the survey form from November 7 at 9pm PT to November 30 at 5pm PT. Winners will be drawn at random and notified at December 1 at noon PT. Valid one license per winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see Terms and Conditions on our website for full details. https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• What Aaron wishes he knew when he went out on his own
• Be professional on your way out of a role or project
• Why you should take every job that comes your way
• Lessons learned from challenging jobs and people
• How to control your own time
• The value of keeping your word
• What you can learn from your clients that can help you in your own business
• Use merchandise to make your business look as big–or as small–as you wish
• How Aaron started the Field Notes brand
• When it’s time to bring in a team
• Is passive income actually passive?
• Taking on big jobs allows Aaron to do little things to help his friend and family
• Corporate clients don’t have to mean endless meetings and emails
• A big client can also be a passion job
• Give clients what they need, not necessarily what they think they want
• Which design students make the best audiences
• What Aaron learned from his Dad
• The importance of appreciating the people who help you get your work done
• Aaron’s dream gig
• Aaron’s list of words for 2024

Aaron Draplin is founder of the Draplin Design Co. a shop specializing in Print, Identity and Illustration.  He co-created Field Notes brand with Jim Coudal, and their memo books are sold the world over. He is the author of eight Skillshare classes, and the book Pretty Much Everything . His DDC Merch line is a cult favorite, featuring 300+ products. You’ll find Aaron in his backyard studio in Portland, Oregon, or crossing the US in his orange van, putting on “speaking fiascos” for audiences ranging from Adobe MAX to vocational school students.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

What’s it like to pay off $50,000 in debt, ditch your 9-to-5, travel the world, create educational content, and build community in the process? Teresa Au speaks to Financial Hype Woman and content creator Berna Anat about how she did all that and how she’s planning for tomorrow. Berna also shares how our emotional relationship with money impacts our decisions, her strategies for budgeting, saving and retirement, and what to do when the creator life doesn’t love you back.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Learn why Berna told the world she was $50,000 in debt
• Shame about debt
• Why Berna decided in 6th grade not to be self-conscious
• Berna’s background as a child of immigrants
• Why DMs are like a secret
• The age at which our emotional relationship to money is formed
• Ways in which we indirectly understand our family’s finances
• The paradox of the Frugal-Flex mentality
• Why Berna wanted to write a fun book about money
• How your emotional relationship to money shapes your behavior today
• Financial basics vs social media buzz
• Berna’s leap to becoming a solopreneur, via Zanzibar 
• How Berna found her sweet spot as a content creator
• Finances as a means of activism and empowerment
• Budgeting on an unpredictable income 
• Retirement planning  for creators
• Who’s on your money squad?
• Getting the most out of working with an accountant
• What an agent can do for you
• A fun trick to help you negotiate better deals
• The traditional dead season for brand partnerships
• Financial worry and the creator life
• Recent changes in the creator economy
• Measuring your impact rather than your income
• Why it’s so important to celebrate your money wins
• Berna’s One Word for 2023

Berna Anat is an author, producer, Rich Auntie in Training, and award-winning Financial Hype Woman, which is her made-up way of saying she creates financial education media that lives at @HeyBerna all over the Internet. After slaying her $50,000 debt, she saved up to quit her 9-to-5 and has been traveling the world trying to make money fun again ever since. Berna’s 2023 debut book MONEY OUT LOUD: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us, is a Bookshop.org Bestseller and has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. 

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Whether it’s leaving the comfort of a steady paycheck to pursue photography, or checking out the possibilities of AI, sometimes the greatest rewards lie on the other side of fear. Teresa Au speaks to photographer Tobi Shinobi about his first career in law, making a name on Instagram, and why drone photography is so peaceful. Tobi also shares his perspectives as a brand strategist, advising the same types of corporate clients who hire him for their shoots.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Learn about Tobi’s upbringing in East London
• Why practicing law and photography are so opposite
• The importance of being exposed to the arts
• How the shift from law to photography was both a jump and a push
• There’s no time for fear when you’re so busy
• Growth and progress are not linear
• Professionalism as a means to creativity
• Listening to clients
• What Tobi loves about photography
• The best way to shake a bad mood
• How the AI revolution is like the Industrial Revolution
• The difference between fear and respect
• Controversy over AI use in photography
• The AI we’re already using without realizing it
• Tobi’s “real life” Photoshop technique
• What makes you more or less of an artist?
• The thing that makes both AI and photography exciting
• How creative strategy is like storytelling
• Why storytelling is so essential to human beings
• Are you cut out for working with brands?
• Brand safety and authenticity
• Tobi’s one word for 2023 (and 2024)

Tobi Shinobi is an award winning photographer and videographer based between London and Chicago who was just named one of Adobe’s 2023 Firefly Creators to Watch. His work encompasses high profile events, product photography, architecture, and interviews. An early Instagram star, he has over 200,000 followers across online platforms. Tobi finds beauty in often gritty urban landscapes and his distinctive focus on detail, perspective, geometry, and symmetry allows for a new appreciation of architecture. 

Tobi provides social strategies for an array of digital content from video to photos for brands. He regularly works for clients such as Audi, Adidas, Coca-Cola and Samsung. He is an alumnus Adobe Lightroom Ambassador and Sony Global Imaging Ambassador. His first solo photo book, Equilibrium, is available now, and he starred in the award-winning documentary, I Take Photos. He is currently showing work in Brazil and in Chicago, some of which was recently selected as part of the 2023 MvVO awards. 

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

When is it better to keep your side hustle on the side, and stay with your day job? Teresa Au speaks to UX designer-by-day, illustrator-by-night Miranda Wong about the pros and cons of working a second shift in a creative field. Miranda shares her strategies for time management, why her illustration business makes her better at her day job, and the hidden rewards of meeting customers and vendors in real life. 

What you’ll hear on this episode:

• How Miranda’s creative process has changed since graduating college and starting a job
• Her thoughts on how to be creative in a time crunch
• Use your body to inspire your creativity–take a walk or dance to a song
• The interplay between UX design and having your own business
• Miranda’s new confidence at her day job
• A professional breakthrough from speaking her mind
• Gaining support at work from early-career colleagues
• The benefits of finding a mentor
• Why time management is also about attitude
• Creativity flows at night
• Prioritizing self care and rest
• Why she started Mando’s Bake Shop in the pandemic
• Giving to worthy causes is part of the business, not an afterthought
• Responding to Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate
• Should Miranda take Mando’s Bake Shop full-time?
• Thoughts on future expansion and employee number one: her mom
• Breaking down creative vs. administrative time
• How Miranda learns from her vendors by visiting them in person
• Posting on social shouldn’t be a chore
• The importance of creating a consistent brand online
• What are the most successful posts?
• Choosing self-expression over what’s popular with your followers
• The popularity of fan art
• Inspiration from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way and Tiffany Tan aka Apple Cheeks
• Work/life balance? Be sure to know your purpose
• Do your co-workers know about your side hustle?
• What success looks like
• Miranda’s One Word for 2023

Miranda Wong is a Chinese-Filipino American illustrator and designer based in California. Her illustrations are inspired by everyday life, memories, food and desserts, or anything that celebrates her Asian background and culture. She sells illustrated stationery and decor products online at Mando's Bake Shop.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

For small business owners and creators, building your brand is the way to show the world what makes you great and why they should care. Teresa Au speaks to personal branding expert and content creator Phil Pallen about developing an authentic and consistent brand that will help you reach your goals. Phil explains why branding isn’t just about looking pretty on the internet, how your brand can help you stand out in a crowded marketplace, and the best reason to build a branded website. Plus, Phil gives tips on all things Instagram, from what you shouldn’t worry about when you post, practical tips for efficient posting, and how to make posting a growth experience.

• How Phil got his start in brand marketing thanks to a controversial Hollywood star
• Thinking about what your audience is getting out of your social posts
• What is a brand?
• The importance of consistency
• Defining and positioning your brand
• Logos and brand identity
• Is there a difference between marketing companies and people?
• The power of strategic distraction
• Branding vs marketing
• What makes for great photos for your personal brand
• Phil’s advice to the camera-shy creator
• How Phil went from brand strategist to content creator
• The nuts and bolts of brand partnerships
• Selling via social media is a rapidly growing market segment
• Do you need a website if you do business on social media?
• What building a website really does for you
• All things Instagram–how much should we post, when should we post, and why should we post
• Timesaving tools for Instagram–Adobe Express templates and Adobe Express Scheduler
• Why content creation is a learning opportunity
• Surprising information about when it’s best to post
• Instagram hashtags vs SEO terms
• Getting caught up chasing likes can be bad for business
• Practical tips for growing your social media audience
• Gen AI ideas for small businesses
• Phil’s One Word for 2023

Phil Pallen is a brand strategist and keynote speaker who helps people and companies position, build, and promote their brands. He founded Phil Pallen Collective in 2011 and has worked with hundreds of brands across all industries, including a Shark on Shark Tank, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, politicians, and some of the most important names in entertainment. He frequently speaks at conferences in cities all over the globe, including London, Tokyo, Dubai, São Paulo, Medellín, Auckland, Helsinki, and Los Angeles. Phil’s insights have been featured in media outlets around the world, including CNN, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, and The Daily Mail, to name a few.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. 

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

When a new creative venture is percolating in your mind, it might make sense to move to a more affordable or more nurturing area. Teresa Au speaks to Shannon Maldonado, who quit fashion design and New York to head home to Philadelphia and start her business YOWIE–it began as an online shop, and is now a design studio, store, and hotel. Shannon shares her strategies for finding and fostering community while you grow your creative business.

What you’ll hear on this episode:

• Why Shannon named her company YOWIE
• The beginnings of YOWIE: pop-up shops and unique merchandise
• Creating YOWIE vs. working in corporate fashion
• The dream of a gift shop
• How Shannon quit her 9-to-5
• Serendipity and Pinterest
• Lessons from fashion on building a brand
• How Shannon researched her new business venture
• Philadelphia vs New York City for creative businesses
• Why a sense of place is so important to Shannon
• The connection between community and design
• Humility as a brand ethos
• How to surprise your customer but also establish a recognizable brand
• Thinking of how you do business as an additional creative outlet
• Planning ahead vs taking one decision at a time
• How big dreams can turn into reality, even if it’s not exactly what you’ve hoped for
• Social connections can lead to new opportunities
• Imagining a new life for a historic property
• Brand extension ideas
• How being part of a team helps Shannon take on new projects
• The importance of nurturing employees to take ownership of different aspects of the business
• Why Shannon started her web TV show Small Enough
• Thoughts on finding personal time and work/life balance when you love your creative business
• How social media can lead to in-person community
• The role of AI at YOWIE
• How Shannon defines success
• Shannon’s One Word of 2023

Shannon Maldonado (@helloyowie) is Founder and Creative Director of YOWIE, a creative platform, storefront and design studio based in Philadelphia. After over a decade working in design for brands like Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Urban Outfitters and Tommy Hilfiger she moved back to Philadelphia to launch YOWIE. Since 2016 YOWIE has been a brand built on community and one-of-a-kind products, events and service. 

YOWIE is a hotel, shop, and cafe located in Philadelphia. Founded in 2016 and named “The Coolest Shop in Philadelphia” by Bon Appétit in 2019, the YOWIE brand has extended its outreach to include interactive design workshops, creative/art direction, product design, and interior design consulting for hospitality clients that include Ethel’s Club in Brooklyn, NY and The Deacon in Philadelphia and Dye House in Providence, RI.

With the recent launch of its hotel, YOWIE is cementing itself as a design destination in Philadelphia and beyond. Nestled on a sunny corner of South Street, a block rich in the history of music, art, and makers, YOWIE is a new place to shop, eat, stay and explore the city of Brotherly Love from an insider’s point of view. Philadelphia native and co-founder Shannon Maldonado hopes guests will venture to the different neighborhoods and cultural spaces across the city and feel grounded in the space when they return at the end of their day.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Whether you want to score brand influencer deals or promote a small business, a successful social media strategy needs to reach your audience in their favorite places. Teresa Au speaks to marketing expert and creator Jon Youshaei for tips on making social media content creation pay off for you. Jon shares insights from his years working for YouTube and Instagram and now running his own new media studio. Hear what Jon says is most important for creators to focus on, where the algorithm can help you, and the power of engaging your following. And if you want to go viral, Jon tells you how to plan for it–and what to do before and after.

What you’ll hear on this episode:

• How the pandemic made Jon question his career plan
• The importance of taking your destiny into your own hands
• The definition of “influencer”--and knowing what you can and cannot influence
• Jon’s goal: to create the best educational content on YouTube
• What Jon learned at YouTube and Instagram that he can finally share
• How to manage social media in 2023
• Yes, you can plan to go viral–but should you?
• The importance of also making content that is not meant to go viral
• The best way to grow your audience is to poll your audience
• Your audience is your focus group
• Why it’s so powerful to bring your audience along with you as you create
• Create goals based on what you can control, not what you hope will happen 
• Tips on how not to get caught up in chasing “likes”
• What makes metrics most meaningful
• Behind every great creator is a great partner
• How Jon diversifies his revenue stream
• The difference between Stephen Colbert and James Corden on YouTube
• The importance of trying new things
• Putting the algorithm to work for you
• How to determine the best platforms for your content
• The hot features within Instagram and YouTube
• Being realistic about how much content you can produce
• Looking outside your feed for inspiration
• On creating the viral “24 Hours with Danny Duncan” YouTube video
• What makes for the best interviews with famous and not-so-famous people
• Knowing exactly what your goals are vs. not knowing how high your ceiling is
• Jon’s unexpected next big project
• How Jon is using Gen AI via Adobe Photoshop’s Generative Fill feature to streamline his workflow
• The best ways to use AI
• Jon’s One Word for 2023

Jon Youshaei

One of few marketers to work at both YouTube and Instagram, Jon Youshaei has been featured in Business Insider, Time, and Inc Magazine for "cracking the code to going viral.” During five years at YouTube, Jon was Head of Creator Product Marketing where he worked with YouTube's top creators and brands to grow their audience and their incomes. During his three years at Instagram, Jon helped build their creator team to empower even more creators to grow and monetize.

Now a creator himself, Jon has garnered 500K+ followers, 300M+ views, and has interviewed Logan Paul, Paris Hilton, Terry Crews, Charli D'Amelio, Danny Duncan, Mark Rober, and more. He is also a sought-after advisor, investor, and speaker who serves as a Head Creator Advisor for TubeBuddy (analytics platform used by 9M creators), and was recognized by NPR as one of the best commencement speakers since 1774 alongside Steve Jobs, Oprah and John F. Kennedy. He has also been Forbes 30 Under 30 and LinkedIn named him as one of their Top Voices on the platform.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

As a creator, sometimes you can be your own worst enemy! Perfectionism, negative self-talk, and fear block the creative process and keep you from doing your best work. Teresa Au speaks to writer and illustrator Misha Blaise, author of the books This Phenomenal Life and Breathe Deep, for guidance on how to keep perfectionism at bay. Misha shares how an unexpected crash course in the fundamentals of breathing helped her learn to control her nervous system and create a space for creativity. Misha’s practical advice for shifting your attitude, making room for play, and tapping into the power of your breath can help you access your most creative self.

What you’ll hear on this episode:

• Misha’s unconventional career path and the Chicago arts scene
• Who designs the wall art sold in big box stores?
• Misha’s transition to writing books and finding an agent and publisher
• A hybrid workflow, combining painting and Adobe Photoshop
• Rainn Wilson says Misha’s books are filled with wonder and curiosity
• A family health crisis leads to an unexpected deep dive on breathing
• The problem with mouth breathing and how to overcome it
• Why the breath is so fascinating
• How breathing is the key to your nervous system
• Breath as a symbol
• The connection between breathing and creativity
• How “fight or flight” mode physically affects the body
• Why it’s impossible to create and play in “fight or flight” mode 
• The importance of play for adults
• A guided breathing exercise: The Physiological Sigh
• Teresa and Misha bond over the burden of perfectionism
• “Regular” perfectionism vs. moral perfectionism
• How breath and nervous system work can help in troubling times
• Why perfectionist energy is at odds with creativity
• Redefining success in your career
• Misha is inspired by the musician Anthony Vincent
• What it felt like to go viral, and will it happen again?
• The advantages of having a smaller online following
• How Misha is experimenting with AI in her workflow
• Misha’s One Word for 2023

Misha Blaise (@mishablaise) is an author-illustrator of several books related to the theme of our interconnection with the universe. Her book This Phenomenal Life which was translated into six languages and was a bestseller in China. She served as a jury member for the 2017 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition in

Shanghai and her work can be seen on the walls of the acclaimed Austin Central Public Library. She lives in Northwest Arkansas.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. 

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

When it’s time to make a change in your creative career, how do you figure out what you want to do next? Can you start your own business? What are your deal breakers and dealmakers? Use the principles of design to create a career you love. Teresa Au speaks to Puno, a web designer, content creator, and the founder of online education platform ilovecreatives, for guidance. Puno shares her journey from working on the Call of Duty video game, to taking a “gap year” to explore her creative muse, to building both a design studio and a trade school for digital design. Puno’s practical advice for taking a thoughtful, iterative approach to career building can help you take your next step.

What you’ll hear on this episode:

• Why Teresa loves Puno’s Webby Award Honoree reel “Compressed PDF - Even Cat Can Do It"
• Puno’s marketing degree leads to her first, failed business attempt–which then leads to her first job
• A peek at Puno’s work at Activision on Call of Duty
• What burnout looks like
• The financial aspect of quitting your job before you find a new one
• Why it’s OK not to know what you want to do, and not have a plan
• Analysis paralysis–why thinking is no substitute for doing
• What Puno did on her creative “gap year”
• The importance of skill-building
• Turning your most personal and creative projects into income
• What is a slashie? And how was Benjamin Franklin the first slashie?
• The power of iterative thinking
• Three questions to ask yourself each day
• Puno describes what inspired her to start ilovecreatives, an educational and community platform for digital creatives
• The mistakes people make when quitting a job
• Designing a new career with intention
• How Puno defines success now
• Puno’s one word for 2023

Puno (@punodostres) is the Founder of ilovecreatives (@ilovecreatives), an online trade school where designers, illustrators, and animators can build their skills and find community. She is also Executive Creative Director of ilovecreatives.studio, a boutique design agency. She loves writing and directing funny videos and doing photoshoots with her Persian cat, the Instagram starlet Muad’Dib (Muad'Dib).

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs. 

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Khoi Vinh, host of Wireframe, hands over the Adobe podcast feed to Teresa Au, host of the new podcast In the Making. Khoi and Teresa talk about finding great stories in design, the rise of the creator economy, and what even is a slashie?

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud. 

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance. 

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. 

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Mickaela Allison-Aliifua has big plans to grow her brand beyond just pet collars. Check out her work on Facebook and Instagram, and watch how she evolves her design and product line from “Avie Daisy Designs” to “Keiki’s Collection”.

We pair Mickaela with Deja Foxx, a fierce and inspiring online activist, strategist and influencer. Deja talks about her own rebranding efforts for GenZ Girl Gang, an online community of young women. Deja talks about the value of engaging customers in Mickaela’s rebranding work, and encourages her to be fearless in expressing her heritage, her pride, and her voice in rebranding Avie Daisy. Follow Deja on Instagram, TikTok.

Then, designer and creative director Carly Ayres guides Mickaela through a core values exercise to help her find design inspirations for her rebrand. Carly draws from her experience supporting the redesign of Google’s logo.

This season of Wireframe is supported by Adobe Express, a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about this podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

Natalie Ma and Melody Jung are roommates-turned-business partners who founded Hangover Coffee. Find the brand on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

They’re big fans of Philip Wang, so we bring him in to offer advice. He’s the co-founder of Wong Fu Productions and owner of Bopomofo, a bubble tea cafe in San Gabriel, California. They talk about the benefits of bringing the co-founders’ personality into their brand content, and about how to own their power as AAPI creators. 

Karlei Ayers is the designer-at-large in this episode. She borrows from her decade-long experience of working as a designer at coffee shops, and suggests exercises to draw out Hangover Coffee’s brand voice and personality. Find Karlei on Instagram.

This season of Wireframe is supported by Adobe Express, a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about this podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

This episode profiles Jon Perdomo, co-founder of Plant Man P, as he tries to marry his two seemingly disparate passions and audiences: street wear and houseplants. You can find Jon on Instagram and YouTube. 

Jon is paired with his hero in the plant styling space: Hilton Carter. Hilton talks about his own journey of starting out, and how he navigates the challenge of engaging two distinct audiences: those interested in interior decor, and those craving houseplant content. Hilton also impresses upon Jon the importance of auditing the design of other brands, like Supreme. Find Hilton on Instagram and TikTok.

Adobe designer Kyle Webster encourages Jon to take risks and experimentat in his design work. Kyle references his own experience designing for streetwear brand The Hundreds, and uses some of those lessons to guide Plant Man P’s branding and messaging. Find Kyle on Twitter and Instagram.

This season of Wireframe is supported by Adobe Express, a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about this podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

Adriana Alejandre is a therapist working to break the stigma of mental health in the Latinx community by making mental health services more accessible. Find her on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok or listen to her podcast. 

We pair Adriana with Ellen Marie Bennett of Hedley & Bennett, an apron & cookware company known for their iconic ampersand logo. Ellen shares the story behind how she chose to represent her own heritage through her brand.

Designer Schessa Garbutt of Firebrand Creative House helps Adriana harness the simple power of symbols to inspire her new look, and they talk about the potential of using the Quetzal bird as a design inspiration for her refresh. Schessa references work she’s done with “Mindfulness For The People”, a queer Black-woman-owned non-profit that used symbolism from African culture in their branding. 

This season ofWireframe is supported by Adobe Express, a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about this podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

For some content design tips, we pair Juliana with Chris Do. He’s a podcaster, and the founder of The Futur Academy—an online education platform with the mission of ‘teaching 1 billion people how to make a living doing what they love.’ Watch his videos on YouTube, and find him on Instagram and Twitter. 

Elaine Lopez brings pro designer knowledge to the episode too. She’s a designer, researcher and educator in the faculty of Communication Design at Pratt Institute School of Design. Elaine talks about how typeface, color and composition can help Juliana cut through clutter and design educational content that’s simple, accessible and consistent. You can check out Elaine’s work on her website. 

And you can follow Juliana’s design journey on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

This season of Wireframe is supported by Adobe Express, a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about this podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

This episode pairs Will with Courtney Quinn - a prolific online content producer you might know as Color Me Courtney. Find her on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Courtney used her own website as inspiration to help Will think through color theory, and how different tones and shades could prompt consumer behavior on the merch page.

For a professional designer’s perspective on web design, we connect with Brandon Groce. He’s a designer, speaker, content creator and friend of Adobe. You can check out Brandon’s design portfolio here. And check out Will’s website as he continues to think through some design choices and try out new ideas.

This season is supported by Adobe Express - a new web and mobile app that helps anyone create great content from thousands of templates. Learn more about the podcast at adobe.ly/wireframe. (Most of the guests appearing in this season are part of Adobe’s CoCreate program.)

Find a transcript of this episode here.

Design plays a big role in shaping how we buy, how we sell, and how we support the businesses we believe in. Meet six young entrepreneurs struggling to brand their small business. We pair them with successful creators who share secrets to designing content that gets noticed. Then we meet a professional designer who offers design tips and advice to empower our entrepreneurs and listeners level-up their design chops.

If Comic Sans showed up at a house party, would it be welcome or shown the door? In this episode, the Wireframe team parties down with a wild array of fonts, good and bad, to learn about the rise of novelty typefaces like Comic Sans and the proliferation of the now all-too-familiar geometric sans serif typeface. They’ll find out what the popularity of these fonts says about how we think about the role of typography in today’s world. And they’ll also talk to some exciting new type designers who think that it’s time for a new chapter in the story of type, one that reflects a richer, more diverse set of voices. Join host Khoi Vinh, and producers Pippa Johnstone and Dominic Girard as they explore the personalities of the typefaces we know and love and ideas that are influencing what we’ll see next.

Emma Tucker is a Comic Sans apologist. She’s a senior writer and deputy editor at Creative Review, and believes there’s a time and a place for this font. Though she’s noticing how its “time and place” has become more subversive and cynical than before. 

Next, Stephen Coles is a major expert on type. He’s the co-publisher of Fonts in Use and Typographica and editorial director at Letterform Archive. He explains how Comic Sans’s rise made sense, and follows up with an argument for why design is ready to embrace more expressive fonts, and not fear personality so much.

Then, young independent type designers introduce us to a pair of fonts they’ve created that embrace personality and expression in very personal ways. Tré Seals is the founder of Vocal Type - and we hear about how he made his Martin font, and its connection to the American Civil Rights era. Lynne Yun, of Space Type Continuum, introduces us to her “earthy and bold” font, Ampersandist. Both of these designers explain how they find creative reward, and liberty, in type design.

Other fonts mentioned in this episode: Times New Roman, Impact, Arial, Comic Sans, Calibri, Garamond, Windsor, Cooper Black, Roboto and Wingdings. And here's an excellent resource of comic book style alternatives to the font we love to hate. 

Find a transcript to this episode here.

Do you know what “flatten the curve” means? If so it’s likely in part due to the hard work by data visualization designers over the last year. Our society is now more data driven than ever; as everything is quantified, counted, and dumped into spreadsheets, and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by numbers. Data visualization designers work to sort through the numbers using both science and creativity to find the stories they have to tell, and help us understand the world a little better. But what goes into designing an effective data visualization, and how do you balance the art and the science of it? In this episode of Wireframe, host Khoi Vinh, and producers Dominic Girard and Pippa Johnstone, learn how designers are building charts, games, and more to take the numb out of numbers.

If you’ve been fighting over housework during lock down, you’re not alone. Designer Amy Cesal and her husband, Zander Furnas used data visualization to clean up the messy business of their own household chores, and made the invisible, visible, along the way. 

Shirley Wu, worried that people weren’t taking the pandemic seriously enough. Her data visualization game, People of the Pandemic, helps us understand the consequences of defying stay at home orders. 

And Alberto Cairo outlines the responsibilities data visualization designers must balance when designing with data. He’s the author of How Charts Lie, and the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the School of Communication of the University of Miami.

The New York Times visualization we referenced is here. The Washington Post’s most read article is a data visualization that you can see here. Listen to NASA’s X-ray sonification here, the sonification of American COVID deaths here, and Jordan Wirfs-Brock’s sonification of last year’s stock market volatility here (it happens at 4:18). 

Find a transcript to this episode here.