Obsessed Show

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, he made the hard choice to tear Handsome down and rebuild from scratch, culminating in a complete rebrand and restructuring, embracing the weirdness he loves about the web. He brought on R/GA veteran Jennifer Allen as COO to help lead the change. The resulting success was reflected not only in his renewed love for the digital but growth even during the pandemic:

We’re going to dig into John’s story of 2020, and more, so without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with John Roescher.

Okay kids, all the way from Austin, Texas, please welcome John Roescher.

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 James about all things letterpress, and why we might still be thinking about letterpress going into 2021.

Side note: I was (strangely) about to lose my voice during this recording, so apologies in advance for when my voice gets all wonky.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with James Lewis Tucker.

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. He speaks at workshops and conferences on topics relating to creativity and workplace dynamics, and regularly consults with agencies and teams on improving their practice and work systems.

Prescott completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University before heading to England's University for the Creative Arts for an MA in Graphic Communication. Prescott is also the founder of the NYC Podcast Meetup, an avid swing dancer, and veteran rugby player.

Without further ado, please welcome our third conversation with Prescott Perez-Fox.

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 Valerie and Phyllis are literally branding America’s future. Together, they are leading a partnership with the America 250 Foundation to execute a multi-year campaign that builds Americans’ awareness and understanding of the nation’s 250thanniversary in 2026.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Valerie Aurilio and Phyllis Murphy.

Throughout his career, Gomez has regularly shifted between live-action, animation and graphic design, cross-pollinating between the mediums to inform his design aesthetic with outside influences. While it may be common practice in the design space to stick to one lane and perfect a given discipline, Jose has found the most growth as an artist by switching it up.

He's worked for some impressive clients such Gatorade, HBO, Mountain Dew, Ford, Adidas, Slack, Mercedes, Cleveland Cavaliers and AT&T.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Jose Gomez.

Howard has a unique design point of view. Over the past 25 years, he has served scores of Fortune 500 companies, including Pfizer, CVS/Caremark, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and SAP, by leveraging the concept of simplicity to activate customers and employees. He challenges design teams across the world to bring humanity to brands.

You could say Howard was born to design. Maybe we'll dig into that story in a moment.  After founding a NYC-based design company at the age of 28, which was purchased by Omnicom in 2001, Howard joined Siegel+Gale in 2004. Since then he’s brought simplicity, a global perspective and systems thinking to designing brand programs for some of the largest companies on the planet.

As many of you may know, I'm a total branding geek at heart, so I'm incredibly excited to chat with Howard about the future of branding, and to learn more about Siegel+Gale.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with Illustrator & Package Designer, Abraham Lule.

Born and raised in Mexico, Abraham Lule describes his body of illustration, typography and packaging work as design with a human touch. His spectrum of skills is flexible and ever-changing, bringing a truly unique crafted flair that is undeniable in his work. He has worked for clients such as Facebook, Capitol Records, Jose Cuervo, and Diageo. He is also a Typography Excellence Medallist and the Type Directors Club recently chose him to be an Ascender.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Abraham Lule.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with Ben Solomon, Creative Director of Conran Design Group U.S.

Ben brings over a decade of brand-building experience to the Conran team. From full identity development, socialization, and activation, Ben has helped brands develop their own unique, impactful expressions. Prior to joining Conran, Ben was a Creative Director with Interbrand Health in New York and a Design Director with Interbrand in Shanghai. Ben holds a BA from Lehigh University and an MS from Pratt Institute.

Ben and I are going to dig into his story and talk about branding in the healthcare and wellness branding space.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Ben Solomon.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with Pinar Guvenc Managing Partner of SOUR studio, which stands for Social + Urban.

She and her company have helped companies like Twitter, Google, P&G, Lego, Mercedes-Benz, the UN and many others solve problems through the power of workshops.

SOUR is the recently rebranded name of the former Eray/Carbajo, an international award-winning architecture and design firm.

We talk to lots of graphic designers and creative directors in the commercial design and ad world, so I'm excited to chat with someone on the architectural side today.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Pinar Guvenc.

Show I'm chatting with Jonathan Courtney, the CEO & Founder of one of the most well-known innovation agencies in the world, AJ&Smart, and author of the Workshopper Playbook.

He and his company have helped companies like Twitter, Google, P&G, Lego, Mercedes-Benz, the UN and many others solve problems through the power of workshops.

So here to tell us about his secret to better design projects, and his journey from the classical agency to AJ& Smart, please enjoy this conversation with Jonathan Courtney.

Today on Obsessed Show we have a bit of a part two, with just one of the co-hosts of the Biz Buds podcast, Michael Janda

Mike Janda on the line, who is not only the co-host of the Biz Buds Podcast, but is also a coach, and the author of Burn Your Portfolio and The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing.

So without further ado, please enjoy this part two conversation with Mike Janda:

Thank you to Yellow Images for sponsoring today’s episode: https://bit.ly/obsessed30 

More on Yellow Images:

Hey guys, I’m really excited to share with you our latest sponsor, Yellow images.

There are a ton of places on the web right now to find ready-to-use solutions, but let me tell you why I’m excited to be the first to introduce you to Yellow Images:

It's the number-one marketplace with more than 40 thousand premium mockups, fonts, 360 images, and a ton of other graphic assets to make your job EASIER. Not to mention all of the textures, patterns, presets, and UX/UI kits… 

But there are two things I’m REALLY excited about.

#1 are their mockups… you know how some clients are “I’ll believe it when I see it?” Well, Yellow Images mockups are high resolution with great lighting and shadows that will really help you sell your latest design or branding pitch, by helping your clients really see what it’s going to look like. 

#2 is, Yellow isn’t just here to provide you with amazing assets... They want to help you out too. If you are seeking to create some passive income, become an Author, put your work up for sale at Yellow Images, and start getting paid for your own mockups, Images 360, and fonts!  

Lastly, like any good podcast sponsor, Yellow Images has come through with a great offer.

Get the discount now, https://bit.ly/obsessed30, use my promo OBSESSED to get a 30% discount on your purchase. Don’t miss out! These coupons are limited, so first come, first served.

Become an Author! Make your artistic talent work for you. Do what you love, put up your work for sale at Yellow Images, and convert your skills and connections into a monetary value https://bit.ly/osauthors

So head over to yellow images.com today and show them some love. I think you’re gonna dig what they’re up to. 

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with the co-hosts of the Biz Buds podcast, Tom Ross and Mike Janda

For those of you long time listeners, Tom Ross may sound familiar, because he's amongst the small number of guests who have been on the show more than once, and today is #3 for Mr. Ross, who is a coach & cheerleader for creative entrepreneurs and the CEO of Design Cuts, and incredibly popular Design Inspiration site with digital resources for designers. And he's also one of the hosts of the Honest Designer's Podcast who we featured two years ago on our list of the best design podcasts.

And we also have Mike Janda on the line, who is not only the co-host of the Biz Buds Podcast, but is also a coach, and the author of Burn Your Portfolio and The Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Tom Ross and Mike Janda:

::::: This episode is sponsored by the new season of Wireframe, from Adobe XD. :::::

If you’re listening to Obsessed Show, there’s a pretty great chance that you love design and technology too, so I think you’re really going to dig Wireframe. It’s a show about how UX can help technology fit our lives.

You may remember when I interviewed Khoi Vinh, Senior Director of Design at Adobe a few years back. Well, Khoi is one smart dude, and he’s the host of Wireframe.

This season, Wireframe digs into how the pandemic has changed our habits and lives, and how design intersects with these changes.

I got a sneak preview into a few upcoming episodes, and I loved how they were digging into real-life design issues, like why can’t dad unmute himself on Zoom, and how COVID-19 is changing how designers think and solve problems.

Also, they’re going to be featuring design leaders who have built UX and UI experiences for companies like Headspace, Patreon, Kickstarter, and more...

So check it out! Search for Wireframe in your favorite podcast app.

Subscribe here: https://link.chtbl.com/wireframe?sid=podcast.obsessedshow 

Thanks again to Wireframe from Adobe XD for sponsoring today’s episode.

Mentioned in today’s episode:
Subscribe to Wireframe here: https://link.chtbl.com/wireframe?sid=podcast.obsessedshow 

Tom’s first episode of Obsessed Show: https://www.obsessedshow.com/episodes/tom-ross-part-one

Part II: https://www.obsessedshow.com/episodes/tom-ross-design-cuts-episode2

https://www.instagram.com/tomrossmedia/

https://mailchi.mp/842e03392c0a/ultimateguidetoniching

https://www.designcuts.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/biz-buds/id1496156524

https://www.instagram.com/morejanda/

http://michaeljanda.com/

Today on Obsessed Show, we're chatting with Brett Zucker.

::::: This episode is brought to you by Yellow Images. :::::

Brett Zucker, CMO of Monotype shares how brands can best champion creativity to navigate and succeed during and coming out of a crisis. Specializing in design, tech and expertise, Monotype has helped strategize branding for Southwest Airlines, Alibaba, Google, Dominos and many others.

• How a creative identity will better equip brands for the shift from shareholder value to social value
• Why investing in branding and advertising is needed now—especially for those brands deemed outside of “essential goods” categories like auto and beauty 
• The power of design and visual communication in authentically building brand trust as we look at what comes next

Today's episode is brought to you by the new season of Wireframe, from Adobe XD.

Be sure to subscribe to Wireframe here:

https://link.chtbl.com/wireframe?sid=podcast.obsessedshow 

Today on Obsessed Show we’re chatting with Carlos Musquez.

::::: This episode is brought to you by Yellow Images. :::::

Carlos Musquez, Executive Creative Director of ELA, is the creative lead for the agency. His deep agency roots at Omnicom under Alcone Marketing, saw him developing and designing best-in-class campaigns for major brands such as The California Lottery, Warner Music Group, Nestle, Logitech, LG Mobile, eBay, Sony, Diageo, and Coca-Cola to name a few. Carlos lives by the philosophy that an idea is only as good as its execution, and passion and craft are what turn good ideas into award-winning ideas. 

His work has been recognized by the Addy’s, Creativity, Effie’s, New York Festivals, Communication Arts, Art Director’s Club, and the Clio’s. In his free time, Carlos extends his love of craft to the world of homebrewing, crafting ales, and designing labels.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Carlos Musquez.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with Daniel Scrivner, CEO at Flow. Investor at Blackletter. Creative Director at Made by Scrivner.

Daniel was previously the Head of Design at Digit and Square. He's worked for some of the most respected brands in the world including Apple, Nike, Disney, and Target.

Daniel advises world-class teams at companies like LendingHome, Empower, TrustToken, Designer Fund, and Notation Capital. He’s an early-stage investor in businesses like Superhuman, MixMax, Notion, Good Eggs, Burrow, Madison Reed, Stance, Almanac Brewing, and many more.

He's a designer turned CEO, investor, and creative director... and I can't wait to dig into all of those roles. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Daniel Scrivner.

Not sponsored, but…
Daniel offered 25% off their first year with Flow – on any plan (monthly or annual). Sign up for free at https://www.getflow.com/ObsessedShow and use promo code OBSESSED to get 25% off when you subscribe.

Join the Obsessed Show Community here: https://apple.co/3d3rr5x

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with Steffen Christiansen, creative director at design and experience agency, Jam3.

Steffen was born and raised in Denmark and is currently based in Toronto. He specializes in Digital Products & Experiences, as well as Branding & Illustration across all platforms.

Steffen strongly believes Great work should always be well made, have that human touch, and hopefully, make you smile.

So without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Steffen Christiansen.

Today on Obsessed Show I’m chatting with Jessie McGuire.

Jessie McGuire is the Managing Director at brand design studio ThoughtMatter, leading a team of artists, writers and strategists to create daring designs and identities for everything from art museums, communities and brands to a range of institutions and organizations. She has been integral in shaping the purpose and creative vision of ThoughtMatter, spearheading projects and campaigns that reflect the agency’s culture and mission, including protest posters for the 2017 Women’s March, a modern redesign of the U.S. Constitution and the recently launched For The People docuseries. Jessie has also worked to raise awareness and support for socially progressive causes such as March for Our Lives, Girls Write Now and The Joyful Heart Foundation as well as on community-minded projects for The New-York Historical Society, Downtown Staten Island and The Center for Arts Education.

Jessie holds a BFA in Communications Design and Advertising Art Direction from Pratt Institute and a MPS in Branding from The School of Visual Arts. Before joining ThoughtMatter, she managed and worked on projects for billion-dollar brands owned by Kimberly-Clark, P&G and Colgate Palmolive. In addition, Jessie formerly served as the Advocacy Chair on the board of directors of the New York chapter of AIGA, and is a regular speaker at conferences across NYC.

When Jessie is not designing, she can be found running in Brooklyn—alone, in a race or after her two kids.

Eric Thoelke, President, TOKY

Eric Thoelke (pronounced “toky”) brings more than 30 years of real-world experience in brand strategy and design of complex projects. Eric is responsible for leading a team of designers and brand strategists who create new names and visual brand identities, design print and online experiences, and solve branding challenges. His work has been recognized by Communication Arts magazine, won platinum and gold awards in Graphis, has been featured in design annuals from the AIGA, the Type Directors Club, Print magazine, HOW magazine, Brand New, and many others.

Eric has served as a judge for design competitions across the country, including the Communication Arts Design Annual, and has presented ideas on design and culture at conferences from San Diego to Pittsburgh. Eric was selected as one of St. Louis Magazine’s “Great Minds” of St. Louis, and a “Buzz List” recipient from ALIVE magazine for co-founding the Midtown Alley Design District. Eric is a co-founder of St. Louis Design Week and co-led it for its first two years.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with principal consultant at Illig, Ed Illig.
 
Ed is a Marketing & Brand Design Strategist + Outsourced Fractional Marketing Lead | Problem solver, revenue driver, creative leader, experience creator, strategist, marketer, integrator, designer, inventor, thinker, writer, director, illustrator, producteer, adventurer. Dreamer.
 
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, Please enjoy my conversation with Ed Illig.