Obsessed With Design

Ken and Jenn Visocky O'Grady are designers, educators, speakers, and co-authors of the book The Information Design Handbook. Jenn is an Associate Professor at Cleveland State University. Her design work has been recognized in numerous international publications, including Print and HOW magazines, and several books. Ken is an Assistant Professor at Kent State University. He has won numerous awards in international design competitions. His work has also appeared in several books, and was featured in HOW magazine's Business of Design Annual. You can follow them on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: Jenn's work with the AIGA "Get Out The Vote" campaign Their work within books. Their client work. Their best tips and advice for design students. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Brian Collins is one of the world's leading voices in branding. He is a former professor and international speaker, and today he runs his own branding shop, COLLINS, which has worked with brands such as Coca Cola, Spotify, and FourSquare. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: His origins. How to win every major award. One of the original brands to cut through the clutter. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Stephan Ango is the co-founder and Head of Product at Lumi, a Los Angeles-based company that provides packaging for online brands. He also is the host of the Well Made podcast, and has interviewed several of the same guests as our show.  You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: Cardboard Logistics Charles and Ray Eames You can get show notes at ObsessedShow.com.

Frontify is the software that all designers have thought about creating. Roger is one of the few who actually followed through on the idea. Frontify is a company that focuses on brand management with a Software-as-a-Service business model. Their software helps you easily create brand style guides, design workflows, and visual collaboration projects. In his role as founder and CTO, Roger is passionate about the design, code, and UX of the end product. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: The challenges of creating your first startup. The benefits of being in Switzerland. How FIFA impacts their office culture. You can get show notes at ObsessedShow.com.

Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec are both renowned designers with a penchant for visualizing data. This passion turned a pen-pal project into a full-fledged book, Dear Data. For a year, they exchanged postcards weekly, cataloging their lives using different kinds of data. Some days, they counted the number of doors they walked through. Other days, they recorded their level of indecision. Regardless of the data they collected, they would visualize it differently in each postcard. Dear Data is a collection of these "slow data transmissions," with some color commentary sprinkled in. You can follow them on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How they got their start in design. What inspired their book. What aspects of design and data they're most obsessed with. You can get show notes at ObsessedShow.com.

In anticipation of her presentation at the 2016 MBO Conference in Indianapolis, we're re-releasing our interview with Debbie Millman. And, as a special treat, our listeners have been granted a special discount code to go see Debbie speak! For a $20 discount to this year's MBO Conference in Indianapolis, use the discount code "MH20" The host of one of the top iTunes podcasts of 2015 joins me for a look at the personal side of Debbie Millman that you may not have heard before. Find out what Debbie is most obsessed with. The answer might surprise you. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com

Based in Brooklyn, Douglas never intended to go to college. Today, he's the author of Creative Strategy and the Business of Design and he teaches online courses on design and business strategy. During our interview, we talk about his book, his educational series, and how he went from not intending to go to college to educating college kids himself. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: His inspiration for his book. How he started a digital department at his first agency. What he's most obsessed with now. You can get show notes at ObsessedShow.com.

This is Bob. Bob loves buttons. Bob Ewing is a lettering artist and Art Director based in Indianapolis, but he has a great national presence. Between the popularity of INCH x INCH and posting his work under #HashtagLettering, he's grown a strong following around the country. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How Bob got started in design. How he found his love for buttons and founded INCH x INCH. Where he gets his inspiration when working on lettering projects. A fun fact about Bob - He actually applied to MilesHerndon way back in the day, when we went by "Miles Design." You can find his old resume and show notes at ObsessedShow.com.

It started over a burrito, and now here they are... This week, Josh sits down with Alex Wier and Daniel Stewart, Creative Director and Studio Director of Wier/Stewart in Augusta, Georgia. You can follow them on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: Why they decided to open an agency together. Their approach on design and branding. Why they inject their personality so heavily into every video they produce. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Jonathan Hoffman got his start in traditional advertising. He cut his teeth with Leo Burnett, McCann, and Starcom. Over the years, he's evolved into a leader in the branded video space, with a heavy emphasis on creating dynamic and engaging branded video Today, he's working with Philo Media in Chicago, using modern tools to create authentic, meaningful connections between people and brands. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: The state of traditional advertising. The promise of augmented reality and video-driven apps. The future of consumer-produced content. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Aaron Draplin is a graphic designer, author, and founder of his own design studio, Draplin Design Co. Because of his incredible, inspiring work with some of the world's best brands, you've probably seen him on a million videos and podcasts already. That's why we went out of our way to find some fresh stories and fresh perspectives on his design career. You can follow his design studio on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: The grind of his speaking schedule and book promotion tour What he's learned in the last five years of his career Why he's chosen to keep his agency small and nimble when he could easily grow Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Victor Yocco is a UX researcher and strategist. His objective is to bring the voice of the user to the table when he makes design and strategy decisions, and he does it quite well.  In addition to his UX work, Victor is an author and speaker. He is the author of the book Design for the Mind, as well as a featured writer for several publications. He enjoys speaking on a wide range of topics, from the psychology behind great design to reducing the abuse of alcohol in the design and tech industry. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: UX The joys of parenthood Alcohol in the workplace What it's like writing a book Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Christopher Stuart is an artist and designer based in Carmel, IN.  His personal work explores the area between art and design, challenging the idea of function.  He received his BFA in Furniture Design from Herron School of Art & Design. Chris is also the founder and principal of LUUR, a transdisciplinary design studio and brand, and author of DIY Furniture 1 & DIY Furniture 2, published by Laurence King. You can follow his studio on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: His origin story as a designer. How he defines "transdisciplinary," and why he chose to build a transdisciplinary design studio. His newest obsession, furniture design, and why he loves the DIY furniture movement. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Tad Carpenter is a designer, illustrator, and teacher based in Kansas City. Tad was lucky enough to grow up the son of two artists smack dab in the middle of the midwest. His father is an illustrator and has been a creative director for Hallmark Cards for nearly 40 years. You merely adopted design. Tad was born in it, molded by it. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: His upbringings in the design world. How his father influenced him early on. How Hallmark influences the design community in Kansas City. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

"Jolby" isn't a celebrity couple, it's a design studio committed to collaboration and solving complex problems. Josh and Colby are the co-founders of Jolby & Friends. You can follow them on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How they found their way into the design profession. The beginnings of Jolby & Friends, and how they went from a t-shirt company to a full-blown design studio. Their creative process and how they build a culture of collaboration for both their team and their clients. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Ben designs weapons. Not guns or knives, but high-performance bicycles. Zipp Speed Weaponry serves a select group of elite companies and athletes, globally located and committed to bicycle & wheelchair competition. As a design engineer for Zipp, Ben has taken the technology from IndyCar and other high-performance racing and applied it to high-end, carbon bicycle wheels. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How he got his start in engineering. His favorite projects that he's working on at Zipp. His best advice for young designers. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

If you've paid attention to the world of design and advertising over the past 20 years, you have certainly seen Michael's work. You have undoubtedly read articles from him. You may have even watched a documentary that he was interviewed on. On this special episode of Obsessed With Design, Josh sits down with Michael to learn more about his life, his career, and his inspiration. You can follow him on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How he got his start in the world of design. The founding of Pentagram, and what the world of Pentagram is like today. His favorite projects and stories from the last 30 years. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

As the founder of Vigor Branding and the blog, Grits and Grids, Joseph has found a home in branding for the food and beverage industry. His passion for great design and great food is evident in his blog, as well as our interview. You can follow them on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How his agency found the food industry and turned it into a specialty. The importance of finding your niche. The creation of his blog, Grits and Grids. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

You may not know Kris, but you definitely know his work. He has been a storyboard artist for animated movies and TV shows for 20 years. Recently, he captured a lot of attention in the animation business as the Head of Story for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and as a story artist for Open Season. Kris sat down with us recently to talk about his obsessions and what makes a great animated film work. In this episode, we discuss: How he got his start in animation and story design. The background behind Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, a 5-year project that became a Hollywood blockbuster. His current obsessions and dream projects. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.

Danielle's studio, Marmalade Bleue, is nothing like any design studio you've ever seen. Her design vehicle of choice isn't Illustrator or Photoshop. It's food. As a designer and illustrator, she found her passion for creating typographic art with everything from candy corn to coffee cake. You can follow her on Twitter here. In this episode, we discuss: How she initially found her obsession with typography and illustration. Graduating during the great recession and surviving as a starving designer. Her thoughts on self-promotion and building your business from the ground up. Show notes are available at ObsessedShow.com.