April 22, 2026

Blake Spiegel – Crop Conference, Tattoos, and Visual Rhyming – Ep47

1 hour 7 minutes

Blake is a designer and art director in Minneapolis with over 10 years of experience working at the intersection of brand strategy and identity. He's the most heavily tattooed person I've interviewed, and he literally traveled across the world to Australia to get tattooed by one of his tattoo heroes—RESPECT. After growing up with computer games, doing kickflips, and helping his grandfather tap trees for maple syrup, he studied graphic design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. After college, he found himself working in corporate packaging design, and a year later, he took a calculated risk by leaving his full-time job for a design internship at Sussner, a branding firm in Minneapolis.

Like us, Blake's been through burnout, low-paying gigs, and he's sacrificed more of himself along the way than he realized. Thankfully, he has a portfolio of strategic design work that helps offset those sacrifices. Blake's stepfather is a tattoo artist, so tattoos have always been a part of his life, and they are quite literally THE reason he pursued graphic design—more on that in the interview.

Tune in for a talk about Crop Conference, the benefits of using Framer vs. Squarespace to build your portfolio, takeaways from designing brand identities for private clubs and golf courses, and the story behind a logo he designed for a former mobster. Follow Blake on Instagram @blakespiegel and check out his Framer website spiegeldesign.co.

"Deep down, we're all just a bunch of bones. What really makes us different is what we do with them."

Questions for this interview.

Have you ever been to a design conference?

What're you hoping Crop Conference will be like, and what do you want to get out of the experience?

Which National Park was the highlight of the 4,000-mile road trip a few years ago?

During your junior year of high school, your dad said something that changed your career path. Can you tell us what your dad said that day, why you trusted his advice, and why you haven't regretted it since?

Why do you look up to Sam Clark? Then, can you share the story of meeting him, and tell us what you made for him?

You made the jump from Squarespace to Framer. Can you talk about the learning curve, why you made the switch, and the advantages of using Framer over Squarespace?

What is visual rhyming? Can you explain what you mean by that?

Looking back, how did you grow beyond low-paying gigs, and what advice would you give someone experiencing that right now?

Can you give us an overview of your role at Sussner and talk about what you enjoyed most about working in the private club industry?\

I read that the strategy and design for Thunderbird Country Club took 3 months. What did you do during those three months, and how did you balance honoring the club's past while creating its future?

In general, what are some of your biggest takeaways from working at Sussner? Did you learn anything from Derek that you'll remember throughout the rest of your career?

What do you wish you had learned in college that was missing, and what would you add to the program if you had that ability?

You designed a logo for a former mobster, George "Cowboy" Martorano. What's the origin of that relationship? How did you get involved, and what can you tell us about George's story?

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By Joseph Israel Raul Bullard