Alex Center meets up with The Reflex Blue Show while at the 2024 HOW Design Live conference in Denver, Colorado (I should mention that his company Center did the branding for this year’s event as well). We talk about his[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Alex Center: The Reflex Blue Show #262 appeared first on 36 Point.

Aaron Draplin stops by, I mean, more like I crashed his merch booth in the lobby to talk to him about closing down the 2024 HOW Design Live in Denver. And wow, that merch table has grown over the years[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2024, Conference Recap 3 of 3 : Aaron Draplin, Bill Gardner, Stephen Gates, Rick Griffith appeared first on 36 Point.

Amy Conover, HOW Design’s Brand and Content Director; show attendees, and fellow Omaha area designers Anne Hughes and Erin Pille; HOW Ambassadors Keith Smith and Darcy Hinrichs; and Jason Wedekind of Genghis Kern discuss the first two days of another[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2024, Conference Recap 2 of 3 : Amy Conover, Darcy Hinrichs, Anne Hughes, Erin Pille, Keith Smith, Jason Wedekind appeared first on 36 Point.

Debbie Millman joined me backstage just as the 2024 HOW Design Live was starting up. We talk about The Shop at Matter, her upcoming book, “Love Letter to a Garden“, breaking the elevator at the San Francisco Sterling Brands office[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2024, Conference Recap 1 of 3 : Debbie Millman appeared first on 36 Point.

Liz Hunt, CEO of DayCloud Studios, sits down with me in the DayCloud penthouse suite located in The Blackstone District of Omaha, Nebraska to talk about the advice she gives to those starting up their own creative business. We also[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Liz Hunt: The Reflex Blue Show #261 appeared first on 36 Point.

Tessa Porter, a candy scientist and founder of Sprinkk, was the closing keynote speaker at the 2024 OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 25, we spoke just before her closing the event and handing out[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Tessa Porter: The Reflex Blue Show #260 appeared first on 36 Point.

Kathleen Riessen, the business manager at Applied Art & Technology in Des Moines, was the opening keynote speaker at the 2024 OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 25, we spoke just after her opening the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Kathleen Riessen: The Reflex Blue Show #259 appeared first on 36 Point.

Todd Coats & Elliot Strunk, the hosts of Two Designers Walk Into a Bar (a podcast about iconic design and popular culture), well, walk into The Reflex Blue Show. We talk about their influences in the design field, pop culture, listening[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Todd Coats & Elliot Strunk: The Reflex Blue Show #258 appeared first on 36 Point.

Katrina Torrijos, an Adobe Express Evangelist, was in Omaha a couple of weeks ago for Adobe Create Now. We recorded this episode in a green room / nuclear bunker / hidden lounge below The Durham Museum just hours before Katrina[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Katrina Torrijos: The Reflex Blue Show #257 appeared first on 36 Point.

I met up with Tad Carpenter in the green room at The Funny Bone Omaha of all places. That’s right, AAF Nebraska’s annual Meet the Pros upped their game on the location and went full-on comedy club! Tad was just[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Tad Carpenter: The Reflex Blue Show #256 appeared first on 36 Point.

Kit Hinrichs! Any time I see design I consider good, and then see Kit’s work…well he’s just at a different level than everyone else. And in case you think he’s not, check out his new book, NARRATIVE DESIGN: A Fifty[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Kit Hinrichs: The Reflex Blue Show #255 appeared first on 36 Point.

Clement Mok, who was just awarded a Cooper Hewitt 2023 National Design Award for Digital Design, stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his path into the design field, and finding his way to Apple to work on[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Clement Mok: The Reflex Blue Show #254 appeared first on 36 Point.

Mike Schnaidt stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his new book – Creative Endurance: 56 Rules for Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Your Goals. A practical sort of self-help guide for graphic designers. We also talk about his[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Mike Schnaidt: The Reflex Blue Show #253 appeared first on 36 Point.

Katie Risch McAdams, the Chief Marketing Officer at Basis Technologies, was the lunchtime keynote speaker at this year’s OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 13, just after the taco bar had been put away and[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Katie Risch McAdams: The Reflex Blue Show #252 appeared first on 36 Point.

Ross Asdourian was the closing keynote speaker at this year’s OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 13, right next to where the taco bar was now being taken down, Ross and I discuss the importance of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ross Asdourian: The Reflex Blue Show #251 appeared first on 36 Point.

Whitney Warne was the opening keynote of this year’s OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 13, right next to where the taco bar was being set-up, Whitney and I discuss her coaching and consulting business,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Whitney Warne: The Reflex Blue Show #250 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Dauer, who is no stranger to The Reflex Blue Show, and author of Cultivating a Creative Culture and it’s second edition, Creative Culture: Human-Centered Interaction, Design, & Inspiration, joins me to discuss his new book, in fulfillment:
the designer’s journey.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Justin Dauer: The Reflex Blue Show #249 appeared first on 36 Point.

As the last of this year’s HOW Design Live podcast interviews, Jada Britto joins me to discuss her talk on, ‘Reigniting Hope: Breaking Out of the Checkbox Mentality.’ I had met Jada the day before at the conference, and immediately[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jada Britto: The Reflex Blue Show #248 appeared first on 36 Point.

Emily Mills was at the HOW Design Live conference in Nashville to talk about transition as a creative professional. And as the founder of Sketch Academy, she was also spending quite a bit of time sketch noting the event itself[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Emily Mills: The Reflex Blue Show #247 appeared first on 36 Point.

Carl Gerhards was at the HOW Design Live conference in Nashville to talk about the rebrand, I mean, ‘the next generation of the Pepsi logo‘. It’s rare to have such a large company make a shift in their identity in[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Carl Gerhards: The Reflex Blue Show #246 appeared first on 36 Point.

Shayna Kulik was at the HOW Design Live conference in Nashville this year to talk about how art and culture affect pattern and color. Just a look around any room immediately makes me realize how many patterns I see during[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Shayna Kulik: The Reflex Blue Show #245 appeared first on 36 Point.

Ben Greengrass and Jessie McGuire of ThoughtMatter seemed to be everywhere at this year’s HOW Design Live conference in Nashville. They gave a talk titled, “Creative Bravery: The Importance of Friendship, Humanity and Embracing Vulnerability to Break Creative Boundaries”; ran a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ben Greengrass & Jessie McGuire: The Reflex Blue Show #244 appeared first on 36 Point.

One of the Highlights of last years’ (2022) HOW Design Live event in Boston, for me anyway, was the chance to sit in the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile, and to speak with one of the Hotdoggers. But, as part of what[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Alice Waterman & Rebecca Williams: The Reflex Blue Show #243 appeared first on 36 Point.

Bill Gardner once again gave his Logo Trend Report live at HOW Design Live in Nashville (his 21st! logo trend report). The energy he brings on stage is unmatched. Because of my recording schedule this year, I walked into his[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Bill Gardner: The Reflex Blue Show #242 appeared first on 36 Point.

Jenn Lederer (Comedian/Keynote Speaker), was at HOW Design Live in Nashville giving a talk/workshop titled “Perfect Pitch – HOW To Talk About What You Do”. We talk about her path into comedy, being a keynote speaker, how to talk about[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jenn Lederer: The Reflex Blue Show #241 appeared first on 36 Point.

Steve Gibbs, Shayna Kulik, Karen Larson, Jamie Saunders, and Keith Smith discuss the final day of 2023’s HOW Design Live in Nashville, Tennessee. There is always that weird time about a week out from HOW Design Live where you feel[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2023, Conference Recap 3 of 3 : Steve Gibbs, Shayna Kulik, Karen Larson, Jamie Saunders, Keith Smith appeared first on 36 Point.

Bill Gardner, Stephen Gates, Emily Mills, Jessica Neblett, Jenny Reed, and Stefan Sagmeister discuss the second day of 2023’s HOW Design Live in Nashville, Tennessee. I last spoke to Stefan Sagmeister in Boston about Environment Design, so I had to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2023, Conference Recap 2 of 3 : Bill Gardner, Stephen Gates, Emily Mills, Jessica Neblett, Jenny Reed, Stefan Sagmeister appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens, David C. Baker, Michael Bierut, Bill Gardner, Darcy Hinrichs, Gary Kopervas, Emily Mills, Stefan Mumaw, and Calvin Ng discuss the first day of 2023’s HOW Design Live in Nashville, Tennessee. This HOW had an energy I missed. It[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2023, Conference Recap 1 of 3 : Justin Ahrens, David C. Baker, Michael Bierut, Bill Gardner, Darcy Hinrichs, Gary Kopervas, Emily Mills, Stefan Mumaw, Calvin Ng appeared first on 36 Point.

Desmond LaVelle and Jennifer Martindale were the keynote speaker of AAF Nebraska‘s Meet the pros this year. Well, unlike most years where each keynote speaks over one of the two lunches, they simply did a back-to-back, or as they called it,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Desmond LaVelle & Jennifer Martindale: The Reflex Blue Show #240 appeared first on 36 Point.

I first met Petre Spassov at the 2011 AIGA Conference in Phoenix, and since then have been fortunate enough to receive a few of his promotional pieces for PS Design. As he has created some of the best self-promotional design[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Petre Spassov: The Reflex Blue Show #239 appeared first on 36 Point.

Christopher Cox stopped by (well, virtually anyway) The Reflex Blue Show to talk about the weather and snow accumulation in Fort Collins and Omaha (this makes us officially old?). We then speak about his previous work under Change the Thought,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Christopher Cox: The Reflex Blue Show #238 appeared first on 36 Point.

We last spoke with Jen Landis back in 2019, at the OnBrand Conference, where she was speaking, along with other things, about her Pin Curl Girls. Since then, she has continued to promote creativity and positivity to girls age 8-13 with[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jen Landis: The Reflex Blue Show #237 appeared first on 36 Point.

George Garrastegui, Jr. was in Omaha to drop the mic at the end of the 2022 On Brand Conference. Once again, big thanks goes out to AAF Nebraska, AIGA Nebraska, AMA Omaha, and PRSA Nebraska for once again hosting the SOLD[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post George Garrastegui, Jr.: The Reflex Blue Show #236 appeared first on 36 Point.

Keni Thacker was in Omaha to kick off the On Brand Conference just blocks from my office a couple of weeks ago. First off, big thanks goes out to AAF Nebraska, AIGA Nebraska, AMA Omaha, and PRSA Nebraska for once[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Keni Thacker: The Reflex Blue Show #235 appeared first on 36 Point.

My final podcast from HOW Design Live in Boston this year was with Danielle Hughes. She discusses her talk on “Personality Brand” (instead of what people usually use, which is their personal brand). We also discuss differentiating yourself through how you go[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Danielle Hughes: The Reflex Blue Show #234 appeared first on 36 Point.

Fonz Morris, a ‘deadass SMART effing product designer,’ stopped by to chat during the HOW Design Live in Boston this year. We talk about his journey to becoming a Lead Product Designer at Netflix; giving back through launching a mentorship program that[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Fonz Morris: The Reflex Blue Show #233 appeared first on 36 Point.

Zipeng Zhu stopped by to chat during the HOW Design Live in Boston this year. He was spending the previous days changing a lot of the talk he would give, still called “Rainbow”, which he describes as using as a metaphor about the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Zipeng Zhu: The Reflex Blue Show #232 appeared first on 36 Point.

So much happened during HOW Design Live in Boston this year, that I barely left the convention center at all. On the middle day though, I did make my way the three blocks to Johnny Cupcakes, and then across the street to[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Stefan Mumaw and Nate Voss: The Reflex Blue Show #231 appeared first on 36 Point.

Robyn Kanner met with me at HOW Design Live in Boston to talk about her talk on the last ‘6 Novembers’. We also talk about her love of New Wave film, her work as the Senior Creative Advisor at Biden for President, her[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Robyn Kanner: The Reflex Blue Show #230 appeared first on 36 Point.

Gary Kopervas (Syndicated Cartoonist, and SVP Creative Strategy at Finch Brands), met with me at HOW Design Live in Boston. We discuss his ‘Doodle or Die’ workshop focusing on getting the ideas out of the the back of your brain, and onto paper[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Gary Kopervas: The Reflex Blue Show #229 appeared first on 36 Point.

Rania Svoronou (Executive Design Director at IBM), was at HOW Design Live in Boston, and sat down to talk about how to be a resilient leader. We also discuss why and how designers are, by nature, very resilient – and how we[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Rania Svoronou: The Reflex Blue Show #228 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens, Jeff Bloom, Michele Pistone, and Kelly Wang discuss the last day of 2022’s HOW Design Live in Boston. What a great event, and one that feels way too short. That being said, HOW once again packed in more sessions than[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2022, Conference Recap 3 of 3 : Justin Ahrens, Jeff Bloom, Michele Pistone, Kelly Wang appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens, Ti Chang, Stephen Gates, Jamie Saunders, Ahbleza Sellars, and Nicole Slaw discuss the second day of 2022’s HOW Design Live in Boston. Every conference has many things you remember, but always that one thing that you remember first. Sometimes[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2022, Conference Recap 2 of 3 : Justin Ahrens, Ti Chang, Stephen Gates, Jamie Saunders, Ahbleza Sellars, Nicole Slaw appeared first on 36 Point.

Bill Gardner, Andrew Gibbs, Patty Lennon, Michael Roderick, and Terri Trespicio discuss the first day of 2022’s HOW Design Live in Boston. It was great to be back among so many creatives at the HOW Conference. The event, as usual, went[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2022, Conference Recap 1 of 3 : Bill Gardner, Andrew Gibbs, Patty Lennon, Michael Roderick, Terri Trespicio appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Kemerling stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his new book, In the Middle of Everything. Written 10 years after opening Justin Kemerling Design Co., the book does a great job of capturing a design career in, well,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Justin Kemerling: The Reflex Blue Show #227 appeared first on 36 Point.

Karen Torok gave the closing day keynote at AAF Nebraska’s Meet the Pros—a student event that I wish all markets had something similar to. AAF Nebraska does an amazing job on this event (disclosure: I served on the committee this[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Karen Torok: The Reflex Blue Show #226 appeared first on 36 Point.

Nikki Villagomez stopped through Omaha, Nebraska to give the opening day keynote at AAF Nebraska’s Meet the Pros—a fantastic student event that’s been going on for quite a while (like, well over 60 years now). She does a great talk[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Nikki Villagomez: The Reflex Blue Show #225 appeared first on 36 Point.

Great design books are still being made, it just feels like you have to look a bit harder to find them. Snails & Monkey Tails : A Visual Guide to Punctuation & Symbols, by Michael Arndt is one of them.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Michael Arndt: The Reflex Blue Show #224 appeared first on 36 Point.

Omaha designer and illustrator Amanda Walla stopped by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about what got her into lettering, and the 100 day challenge she did. Well, we do talk about this at first, but the real reason she[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Amanda Walla: The Reflex Blue Show #223 appeared first on 36 Point.

Tim Lapetino, stops by The Reflex Blue Show to discuss his upcoming book, Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon. And also, what a huge cultural phenomenon Pac-Man was / is. We also discuss how his interest in journalism and design has[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Tim Lapetino: The Reflex Blue Show #222 appeared first on 36 Point.

Archie Boston stopped by The Reflex Blue Show to discuss what it was that brought him into a career in Graphic Design and Advertising in the 1960s. We also discuss his book, Fly In The Buttermilk: Memoirs of an African American[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Archie Boston: The Reflex Blue Show #221 appeared first on 36 Point.

Susan Augenbraun (Events Manager at the national office of AIGA) and Paul Mendoza (who leads a digital design team at UCLA) stop by to talk about the 2nd (does this make it annual?) AIGA Portfolio Festival. Of course, no portfolio[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Susan Augenbraun and Paul Mendoza: The Reflex Blue Show #220 appeared first on 36 Point.

Christina Falzano, Managing Director of Conran Design Group stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about getting into branding, changes over the years in phone bills, how people interact with brands now, working in branding for the pharmaceutical and health spaces,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Christina Falzano: The Reflex Blue Show #219 appeared first on 36 Point.

I feel like I’ve known Prescott Perez-Fox for close to 20 years, but I think it’s all been online with the exception of a lunch we had like a decade ago at a conference. Even this podcast was remote, but[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Prescott Perez-Fox: The Reflex Blue Show #218 appeared first on 36 Point.

Michael Schwab! This week we welcome illustrator/designer / artist Michael Schwab to The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his process, the tools he uses, his influences, and more. Ben Lueders, who co-hosted for most of seasons 5 and 6[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Michael Schwab: The Reflex Blue Show #217 appeared first on 36 Point.

Ken Barber, of House Industries, joins The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his journey into lettering. We also talk about what it’s like working with JJ Abrams and Jimmy Kimmel. Oh yeah, and that time in Omaha where I[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ken Barber: The Reflex Blue Show #216 appeared first on 36 Point.

Valerie Aurilio, General Manager of Landor & Fitch, has been working on a project with a soon-to-be 250 year history – America. We discuss working with the America 250 Foundation to brand the country’s semiquin. I can only imagine what goes[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Valerie Aurilio: The Reflex Blue Show #215 appeared first on 36 Point.

Owen Davey visits The Reflex Blue Show (remotely, via the UK) and we discuss starting a career as an illustrator, the changes in the field over the years, and doing illustrations for social media. We also spend a bit of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Owen Davey: The Reflex Blue Show #214 appeared first on 36 Point.

Lauren Hom visits The Reflex Blue Show (remotely, via Detroit, Michigan) to discuss how she got into lettering. This has led to murals, starting her own online classes, and working for some rather well-known brands. We also discuss her current[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Lauren Hom: The Reflex Blue Show #213 appeared first on 36 Point.

Brooke Robinson stops by The Reflex Blue Show (well, remotely, via Austin, Texas) to talk about her journey from graphic designer, to fine artist, to bicycling the West coast, to founding Goodtype. We also talk about the wildly popular @goodtype Instagram page;[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Brooke Robinson: The Reflex Blue Show #212 appeared first on 36 Point.

Nate Voss! Just over 15(?!) years ago, Nate watched Steve Jobs talk about bringing podcasts into iTunes and immediately went to thoughts that he should be podcasting about design and invited Tom Nemitz to help (my typed recap from 5[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Nate Voss: The Reflex Blue Show #211 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Dauer – who I last spoke to and interviewed in 2017 while promoting his book “Cultivating a Creative Culture”, returns to discuss the book’s 2nd Edition: “Creative Culture: Human-Centered Interaction, Design, & Inspiration“. Well, more than just a second edition,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Justin Dauer: The Reflex Blue Show #210 appeared first on 36 Point.

Fredrik Öst – of Snask, visits the show (remotely from Sweden) to talk about starting a record label for VÄG, starting up a studio with basically zero experience, playing Badminton against a chicken, new merchandise, and more. Oh yeah, we[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Fredrik Öst: The Reflex Blue Show #209 appeared first on 36 Point.

Ashleigh Axios – of &Partners, incoming President of AIGA, and former Creative Director of the Obama White House – stopped by my office the first week of March, 2020 to record an episode of The Reflex Blue Show. We spoke[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ashleigh Axios: The Reflex Blue Show #208 appeared first on 36 Point.

Omaha designer Jill Rizzo, and website developer Brian Wetjen, were looking for studio space when they stumbled upon a gallery instead. We talk about their new Split Gallery, hosting events (including one last night for AIGA Nebraska), getting into design[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jill Rizzo & Brian Wetjen: The Reflex Blue Show #207 appeared first on 36 Point.

John Gawley, the current President of AIGA Nebraska, talks about something that we don’t get a lot of here in Nebraska – being a full-time designer for a professional sports organization. John’s first job consisted of being part of the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post John Gawley: The Reflex Blue Show #206 appeared first on 36 Point.

Geoff Silverstein of Friendly Design Co. stopped by the studio to kick off season 13 of The Reflex Blue Show. We speak about how the logical location for any businesses second location is in Omaha, Nebraska (the other Friendly Design Co.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Geoff Silverstein: The Reflex Blue Show #205 appeared first on 36 Point.

Jen Landis (VP and Executive Creative Director at KidGlov; and Founder of Pincurl Girls) met with me after her breakout session at the OnBrand Conference in Omaha – a collaboration of the local AAF, AIGA, AMA, IABC, and PRSA chapters. We speak[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jen Landis: The Reflex Blue Show #204 appeared first on 36 Point.

Stefan Mumaw is always good with a story. He’s also an amazing presenter – so it’s no shock that he was brought in to do the luncheon keynote at the OnBrand Conference in Omaha – a collaboration of the local AAF, AIGA,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Stefan Mumaw: The Reflex Blue Show #203 appeared first on 36 Point.

Daryl Anderson, Creative Director at Clark Creative Group, sits down to talk about working with local clients, Visit Omaha, and his own path into the design field. We end the show on some student advice. This is the first (of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Daryl Anderson: The Reflex Blue Show #202 appeared first on 36 Point.

Illustrator Greg Paprocki joins The Reflex Blue Show to discuss how he got into illustration, working on Curious George, his ABC books (starting with V is for Vittles), and so many more books. We also talk about a an article Greg wrote for[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Greg Paprocki: The Reflex Blue Show #201 appeared first on 36 Point.

Mary Allen returns to The Reflex Blue Show to talk about mental health awareness, and her greeting cards for those who want a way to explain their mental health issue. We also speak about living walls, environmental design, and more. Big thanks[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Mary Allen: The Reflex Blue Show #200 appeared first on 36 Point.

Andrea Trew stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about her new company, Trew Creative. Andrea spent the past three years as the sole designer at Flywheel (36 Point has been hosted at Flywheel since 2017), and before that[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Andrea Trew: The Reflex Blue Show #199 appeared first on 36 Point.

Emily Cohen returns to the show to discuss her book Brutally Honest (she was last on the show a year ago, before the book shipped, and after an amazing Kickstarter promotion). The book has really taken off, and is now[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Emily Cohen: The Reflex Blue Show #198 appeared first on 36 Point.

Omaha-based designer Dani Donovan stopped by the Eleven19 office to discuss a design project that went huge – and fast. In mid-December (of 2018), just two short months before we recorded this podcast, she posted a flowchart/comic showing ADHD storytelling.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Dani Donovan: The Reflex Blue Show #197 appeared first on 36 Point.

Grain & Mortar has been an award-winning branding and web development studio in Omaha, Nebraska since 2011, but 2018 brought them into the business of selling pants as well. Kristin DeKay, Eric Downs, and Jesse Harding stop by The Reflex[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Grain & Mortar: The Reflex Blue Show #196 appeared first on 36 Point.

John Sayles (of J. Sayles Design in Des Moines, Iowa) stopped by the Eleven19 studio to talk about being in the design industry for over three decades. But first things first – pork chops and vodka! For those who have[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post John Sayles: The Reflex Blue Show #195 appeared first on 36 Point.

Steve Gordon and Paul Meyer stop by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about the current things going on in the design world. We recorded this a day or two after Apple’s announcements of a new phone line – and a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Steve Gordon & Paul Meyer: The Reflex Blue Show #194 appeared first on 36 Point.

Elizabeth Edwards (Volume PR and 11th Octave) joins The Reflex Blue Show to talk PR and psychology. Once again, recorded in the hallway (and still very obviously between sessions at the event) at the OnBrand Conference in Omaha – a collaboration[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Elizabeth Edwards: The Reflex Blue Show #193 appeared first on 36 Point.

Nicole Frantz (Senior Vice President, Creative Services at Capital Music Group) joins The Reflex Blue Show to talk about working in the music business. We talk about working in a super-creative (in this case, music) field, working with Annie Lennox,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Nicole Frantz: The Reflex Blue Show #192 appeared first on 36 Point.

John Henry Müller (Design Director at Hudl) returns to the show after last having his work go to the dogs over five years ago. We meet up in the hallway (I love recording at conferences (the energy, the people, the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post John Henry Müller: The Reflex Blue Show #191 appeared first on 36 Point.

Dan Rhatigan (Senior Manager of Adobe‘s type team) was at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston to talk about what’s next in the type world. Software does have a lifespan, and with Open Type being over two decades old,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Dan Rhatigan: The Reflex Blue Show #190 appeared first on 36 Point.

Grace Dawson and Tosh Hall of Jones Knowles Ritchie (JKR / JKR Global / some random law firm) were at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston to give a presentation about how we haven’t changed – the world has. And[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Grace Dawson & Tosh Hall: The Reflex Blue Show #189 appeared first on 36 Point.

Josh Silverman was at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston to give a presentation about working at the layer of people. So, we talk about The People Layer and why it’s so important. We also discuss things that constantly change (was the[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Josh Silverman: The Reflex Blue Show #188 appeared first on 36 Point.

Allan Espiritu and Kevin Kernan of GDLOFT were at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston to celebrate winning the Print Magazine Regional Design Award, Grand Prize with their poster designs for AIGA Philadelphia’s 35th Anniversary. They were also signing[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Allan Espiritu & Kevin Kernan: The Reflex Blue Show #187 appeared first on 36 Point.

Emily Chohen was at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston to speak about “The Power of Saying No.” I said yes to a podcast though, and we speak a lot about no. Well, the power of saying no. And[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Emily Cohen: The Reflex Blue Show #186 appeared first on 36 Point.

Bill Gardner was presenting the 2018 Logo Trend Report (not quite online yet, but it will be soon) at the HOW Design Live design conference in Boston. We ended up taking a bit of time to discuss logos, the difference between[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Bill Gardner: The Reflex Blue Show #185 appeared first on 36 Point.

Julie Goldsberry and Cami Travis-Groves discuss the third day of 2018’s HOW Design Live in Boston. Between this recap, and the Day 1 / Day 2 recaps, I was happy to get 5 of this year’s 10 HOW Ambassadors on the podcast. The[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2018, Conference Recap 3 of 3 : Julie Goldsberry, Cami Travis-Groves appeared first on 36 Point.

Dallas Franklin, Jennifer Lemerand, Thanh Nguyen, and Alex Withers discuss the second day of 2018’s HOW Design Live in Boston. Listen to Day 1’s recap here. Wait around until tomorrow-ish to hear about day 3. Or, if you are viewing this page[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2018, Conference Recap 2 of 3 : Dallas Franklin, Jennifer Lemerand, Thanh Nguyen, Alex Withers appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens, Saana Hellsten, Karen Larson, Lillian Ling, Nicholas Nawroth, Calvin Ng, Jamie Saunders, and David Sherwin  discuss the first day of 2018’s HOW Design Live in Boston. Boston was great. I even spent a bit of time blogging for Neenah Paper while[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2018, Conference Recap 1 of 3 : Justin Ahrens, Saana Hellsten, Karen Larson, Lillian Ling, Nicholas Nawroth, Calvin Ng, Jamie Saunders, David Sherwin appeared first on 36 Point.

Stefan G. Bucher of 344 stopped by the day after a fantastic presentation to AIGA Nebraska in support of his new book, Letterheads : An Eccentric Alphabet. A lot has happened since we last had Stefan on the show. Well,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Stefan G. Bucher: The Reflex Blue Show #184 appeared first on 36 Point.

Amanda Hoklin and Megan Timanus stop by to speak about design portfolios. Megan is an instructor at University of Nebraska Omaha, while Amanda has been teaching the portfolio class at Metropolitan Community College for the past seven years or so.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Amanda Hoklin & Megan Timanus: The Reflex Blue Show #183 appeared first on 36 Point.

Bre Phelan is starting up a cat cafe in Omaha! In just a few months, Felius opens in downtown Omaha, and we talk about opening a cat cafe, starting up a non-profit, and of course her current day job of[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Bre Phelan: The Reflex Blue Show #182 appeared first on 36 Point.

Robin Fitzgerald, CCO at BBDO Atlanta, was back in Nebraska to speak at AAF Omaha’s Meet the Pros. I stopped by a couple hours before her presentation, and we discussed both of us actually attending Meet the Pros while in school, her[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Robin Fitzgerald: The Reflex Blue Show #181 appeared first on 36 Point.

Luke Bolin, Coban Rudish, and Dillion Wheelock of Edison Creative have been doing animation for a while – but nothing like The Axiom Chronicles. After years of telling stories for others (which they are still doing), they decided to also take[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Luke Bolin & Coban Rudish & Dillon Wheelock: The Reflex Blue Show #180 appeared first on 36 Point.

Ben Lueders and Erin Pille of Fruitful Design stopped by to discuss something or another about design – but my attendance at an SEGD Omaha event ended with a free MTN Dew ICE – and thus plans had to change.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Ben Lueders & Erin Pille: The Reflex Blue Show #179 appeared first on 36 Point.

Mary Allen kicks off the start of season 11 on The Reflex Blue Show. We chat about going back to school for design, what may be new in 2018, and the sad news of PRINT and HOW no longer being printed[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Mary Allen: The Reflex Blue Show #178 appeared first on 36 Point.

Michael Bierut, David Carson, Keith Ellis, Carlos Estrada, Keith Gasch, Ben Levitz, and Joe Isaak discuss the final day of the 2017 AIGA Design Conference in Minneapolis with me. Enjoy. The Reflex Blue Show The post 2017 AIGA Design Conference, Recap 3 of 3 : Michael Bierut, David Carson, Keith Ellis, Carlos Estrada, Keith Gasch, Ben Levitz, Joe Isaak appeared first on 36 Point.

Julie Anixter (AIGA), Marian Bantjes, Bob Dixon (USPS), Adam Turman, and Betsy Vardell (Design Observer) discuss the second day of the 2017 AIGA Design Conference in Minneapolis with me. Enjoy. The Reflex Blue Show The post 2017 AIGA Design Conference, Recap 2 of 3 : Julie Anixter, Marian Bantjes, Bob Dixon, Adam Turman, Betsy Vardell appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens (Rule29 and Wheels4Water), Aaron Draplin (The DDC), Dallas Franklin (Neenah), Bill Moran (Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum), Brian Singer (Someguy), and Christine Taylor (Hallmark and POPMinded) discuss the first day of the 2017 AIGA Design Conference in Minneapolis.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post 2017 AIGA Design Conference, Recap 1 of 3 : Justin Ahrens, Aaron Draplin, Dallas Franklin, Bill Moran, Brian Singer, Christine Taylor appeared first on 36 Point.

Dana Arnett of VSA Partners met with me at the HOW Design Live Conference conference this year in Chicago. We speak 30+ years of VSA Partners, Harley Davidson, how I am not named after Donovan Leitch, our first design jobs, Dana being the incoming AIGA[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Dana Arnett: The Reflex Blue Show #177 appeared first on 36 Point.

Julie Anixter (AIGA Executive Director) and Andrew La Monica (Ande & Partners) met with me at the HOW Design Live Conference conference this year in Chicago. We speak AIGA, the AIGA National Conference, the AIGA Eye on Design Conference, the future roles[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Julie Anixter & Andrew La Monica: The Reflex Blue Show #176 appeared first on 36 Point.

Brian Wood was at the HOW Design Live Conference conference this year talking about (and doing demonstrations in the Adobe booth of) Adobe Stock and Adobe Experience Design (XD, now in beta). We speak Adobe Stock, Adobe XD, the many books he[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Brian Wood: The Reflex Blue Show #175 appeared first on 36 Point.

Jason Tselentis chats about all of the important topics with me – artificial intelligence (and how it may affect design), James Cameron, Papyrus, and student portfolios. Recorded at this year’s HOW Design Live Conference, we also briefly mention that Jason has written a[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jason Tselentis: The Reflex Blue Show #174 appeared first on 36 Point.

LogoLounge and the LogoLounge books may have only been around since 2001, but they have left such a large mark on the industry, they feel like they’ve been with us forever. At this year’s HOW Design Live Conference, I once again got to speak with[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Bill Gardner: The Reflex Blue Show #173 appeared first on 36 Point.

Nikita Prokhorov was attending this year’s HOW Design Live Conference, and I knew immediately that I wanted to have him on the show. His ambigram work, as well as his book, Ambigrams Revealed: A Graphic Designer’s Guide To Creating Typographic Art Using Optical Illusions,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Nikita Prokhorov: The Reflex Blue Show #172 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Dauer met with me just before the HOW Design Live Conference got kicked into full-gear in Chicago two weeks ago. In 2015, Justin wrote an article on “Resetting Agency Culture” for A List Apart. Like a lot of great creative[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Justin Dauer: The Reflex Blue Show #171 appeared first on 36 Point.

Amy Reyes, Cami Travis-Groves, and Emily Potts discuss the final full day of 2017’s HOW Design Live in Chicago. No week seems to go by quicker than the one spent at HOW Design Live. Seeing that many graphic designers / website designers[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2017, Conference Recap 4 of 4 : Amy Reyes, Cami Travis-Groves, Emily Potts appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens, David Carson, Aaron Draplin, and Doug Grever discuss the third day of 2017’s HOW Design Live in Chicago. This was the final day of the exhibit hall, and I made the most of it by spending a few minutes with Aaron Draplin[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2017, Conference Recap 3 of 4 : Justin Ahrens, David Carson, Aaron Draplin, Doug Grever appeared first on 36 Point.

Wills Francis (Rule29 and Wheels4Water), Dallas Franklin (Neenah Paper), Adam Halon, Dan Smolinski (LinkedIn), and Lloyd Wilkinson (Real Thread) discuss the second day of 2017’s HOW Design Live in Chicago. HOW, as far as I know, is the largest yearly gathering of graphic designers /[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2017, Conference Recap 2 of 4 : Wills Francis, Dallas Franklin, Adam Halon, Dan Smolinski, Lloyd Wilkinson appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens (Rule29 and Wheels4Water), Mike Joosse (Designation Labs), Sabine Lenz (PaperSpecs), Mike Miller, and Christine Taylor (Hallmark and POPMinded) discuss the first day of 2017’s HOW Design Live in Chicago. I still can’t believe this was recorded six days ago. For[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2017, Conference Recap 1 of 4 : Justin Ahrens, Mike Joosse, Sabine Lenz, Mike Miller, Christine Taylor appeared first on 36 Point.

Omaha’s Emspace Group (located just a few blocks, and across Pacific Street, from my office at Eleven19), got rid of their internship program around five years ago. Why? FORGE. In an effort to find a different way to give back[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post FORGE: The Reflex Blue Show #170 appeared first on 36 Point.

Antionette Carroll (founder of AIGA National’s Diversity+Inclusion Initiative | founder of Creative Reaction Lab) and Cathy Solarana (AIGA Nebraska Director of Diversity & Inclusion | Owner of Wheelhouse Collective) stop by the show to discuss design, social change, diversity, inclusion, and how failure is not a bad[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Antionette Carroll & Cathy Solarana: The Reflex Blue Show #169 appeared first on 36 Point.

Carlos Estrada (AIGA West Michigan Diversity+Inclusion Director | Design Consultant at Herman Miller) and Cathy Solarana (AIGA Nebraska Director of Diversity & Inclusion | Owner of Wheelhouse Collective) stop by to talk about diversity in design, AIGA’s Diversity & Inclusion Initiative, and more. Cody Fenske once[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Carlos Estrada & Cathy Solarana: The Reflex Blue Show #168 appeared first on 36 Point.

Amy Schwartz (Design Director at Cards Against Humanity) joins us to talk about, well, Cards Against Humanity. Recorded during AAF Omaha‘s Meet the Pros, we also chat about getting that first job in design and other advice for recent graduates. Cody Fenske once again[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Amy Schwartz: The Reflex Blue Show #167 appeared first on 36 Point.

It’s our ninth (twelfth (xii!) for those hanging around since the BADCast days) yearly check out of some ads during the football game. Cody Fenske, Steve Gordon, Chris Kelly, and Tom Nemitz (who once again runs the special) discuss our favorites. Enjoy. The Reflex[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Superb Owl Spectacular IX appeared first on 36 Point.

Cody Fenske (who did the Season 10 graphics for The Reflex Blue Show) and Steve Gordon (who is no strange to The Reflex Blue Show) stop by to chat about finding a job, the importance of friends, and more. Enjoy.[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Cody Fenske & Steve Gordon: The Reflex Blue Show #166 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Ahrens of Rule29, one of my favorite guests, joins the Reflex Blue Show to discuss his Design Of podcast, Wheels 4 Water, Designing for Good, AIGA (Justin just joined the National Board), and the coming up way too soon and yet[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Justin Ahrens: The Reflex Blue Show #165 appeared first on 36 Point.

Justin Kemerling, Jake Welchert, and Adam Casey may each have their own design studios, but they operate out of the same co-working space in Omaha, Nebraska – Round and Round. We speak co-working while working for yourself, how many rounds form a round[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Round and Round: The Reflex Blue Show #164 appeared first on 36 Point.

Cathy Solarana gave a very well received workshop on Brand Therapy at the 2015 AIGA National Conference in New Orleans. Since then, she’s built on it, and we speak of how Brand Therapy has grown. We also talk about concepting, her own Wheelhouse Collective,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Cathy Solarana: The Reflex Blue Show #163 appeared first on 36 Point.

David Sherwin joins me for the last of the six interviews recorded at HOW Design Live in Atlanta. As one half of the newly formed The Sherwins LLC, we talk about building teams, working with teams, and going out on[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post David Sherwin: The Reflex Blue Show #162 appeared first on 36 Point.

Sean Adams was the AIGA President, twice. He received the AIGA Medal in 2014 with Noreen Morioka for over 20 years of work with AdamsMorioka. Now? We catch up with Sean to discuss a bit of the past – as well[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Sean Adams: The Reflex Blue Show #161 appeared first on 36 Point.

Bill Gardner of Gardner Design specializes in logos. Well, that’s an understatement. Bill is the man behind the site with over 240,000 logos – LogoLounge.com, co-authored 14 LogoLounge books, has does yearly Logo Trends Reports since 2003, and records logo courses at Lynda.com. I[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Bill Gardner: The Reflex Blue Show #160 appeared first on 36 Point.

AIGA Medalist Kit Hinrichs was speaking at HOW Design Live in Atlanta, and I took the opportunity to sit down and chat with him about many of the things he’s been up to – Sappi’s The Standard, his flag collection (now known[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Kit Hinrichs: The Reflex Blue Show #159 appeared first on 36 Point.

Terri Trespicio has appeared many times on Martha Stewart’s Show, gave an amazing TEDxKC talk on why you should stop searching for your passion, and was speaking at HOW Design Live in Atlanta – obviously it was only a matter of time[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Terri Trespicio: The Reflex Blue Show #158 appeared first on 36 Point.

  Jim Krause and Cami Travis-Groves join me for the first (of six) full episodes of The Reflex Blue Show I recorded at HOW Design Live in Atlanta, Georgia. We talk about roasting coffee beans in your backyard, taking your own pictures,[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post Jim Krause & Cami Travis-Groves: The Reflex Blue Show #157 appeared first on 36 Point.

Our final recap of HOW Design Live in Atlanta (has it already been two weeks since the event kicked off?), brings us Stephanie Carpenter of Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum and Alex Cohen. We’ll be back next week with the first (of six) podcast[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2016, Recap 4 of 4: The Reflex Blue Show Conference Special appeared first on 36 Point.

Aaron Draplin, Von Glitschka, Damien Golden, Karen Larson, Debbie Millman, Crystal Reynolds, and Jamie Saunders recap day three of HOW Design Live in Atlanta with me. And the coloring book I discuss briefly with Karen? A page illustrated by Darcy Hinrichs (shown above), includes[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry... The post HOW Design Live 2016, Recap 3 of 4: The Reflex Blue Show Conference Special appeared first on 36 Point.