Design Futures

In this episode, 2012 graduate of The Sage Colleges, Jordan McClendon, discusses his role as Manager of Digital Communications at the ARRIVE center at the State University of New York (SUNY), his celebrated collection of animated shorts titled “Albany Shorts,” and passion for making his own projects that led him to his current success in the design field. He also talks about spending countless peaceful hours at the Cintiq workstation at Sage working on illustration and animation projects even though years before, during a portfolio entrance review, he was told to consider a different career. We talk about film-making, including the exciting and humbling experience of getting into film festivals the Dolly Zoom in-camera effect, even though we can‘t recall the name of it. Grab some popcorn. It’s time to start the show.

Show Links

• Facebook Profile
• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• NYC Independent Film Festival
• FlickFair Film Festival
• Cintiq
• Washington Park, Albany, NY
• The Sage Colleges
• The ARRIVE Center

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

In episode 7, Whitney Dobladillo brings her signature energy and smile to the conversation as she shares her passion for community building and stories about the communities she’s created and led. Her most recent projects include Type Thursday; Ladies, Wine & Design; and Peruvian Sisters, a community she started with, you guessed it, her sister. We also discuss her design position at the book publisher, Scholastic, where she works on projects for students, parents, and teachers. Whitney talks about learning of the company book club from the Scholastic librarian, yes they have a librarian. How cool is that. And finally we discuss our time together at the College of Saint Rose. It’s time to get involved and join us for the conversation.

Show Links

• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• Instagram (Peruvian Sisters)
• YouTube (Peruvian Sisters)
• Type Thursday
• Ladies, Wine & Design
• Scholastic
• The College of Saint Rose

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

In this first episode of 2022, Deb Levison, 2012 graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design, talks to me about the importance of getting a routine when working remotely, the design process at Maark where she is a senior digital designer, using Figma for almost all her work, and showing or not showing high fidelity prototypes to clients. We discuss the realities of moving into a design leader role and Deb gives students some soul-crushing advice. She also tells us about her journey that inlcudes getting her degree in art history and that Saturday morning Photoshop course that got her hooked on design. And it wouldn’t be a conversation about Ringling without talking about the Time-Life book project.

Show Links

• LinkedIn Profile
• Maark
• Figma
• Baugasm
• Deep Focus Playlist (Spotify)
• Ringling College of Art & Design

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

Vegas, baby, Vegas. That’s right. In this episode I interview 2014 graduate of the The College of Saint Rose, Kim Szkudlarek, who quit her design job in Miami, took a road trip, and ended up in Las Vegas. Kim talks about not wanting to sit at a computer all day and instead pursued a career that consists of constructing three-dimensional objects, mixing paint to get just the right color match, and using her designer’s eye to fine tune the details. And who cares about those hot glue gun burns. In this conversation she educates me on faux marble finishes, what a box-out is, and creating art for private high-roller events and conferences. Brown, Izenour, and Venturi would be proud. I’m definitely learning from Las Vegas.

Show Links

• Kim’s Etsy Shop
• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• The Neon Museum
• Rocket League
• MGM Resorts
• The College of Saint Rose

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

Put away the sketchbooks and open up your spreadsheets, calendars, and digital notepad. You’ll need those tools to take some notes on my conversation with Jibran Kutik, Product Design Manager for new customer experience at Twitter. We talk at length about user testing, product design, and all the details in an interface that help you find value in a digital product. Jibran also discusses his passion for being a manager,  how Sarasota beaches ruined L.A. beaches for him, and that one time when he was right about a text input field – dropdowns are horrible! The magic hour, or at least 40 minutes, is about to start.

Show Links

• Jibran on Twitter
• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• Dantley Davis (Twitter)
• House of Highlights (Twitter)
• Bradley Brownell (Twitter)
• Figma
• Siesta Key, Florida
• Ringling College of Art + Design

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

In this episode, Glen Carlson of Metabolon, discusses designing user experiences for scientists, starting the AIGA student group at the University of Denver, and growing up in Silicon Valley. Glen shares his no-interface design philosophy, advocating for the kind of work you want to do, and learning to embrace ambiguity. Join us for a fascinating conversation that also includes pop-culture references to Jurassic Park, the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie, and Steve Jobs’ garage. Hold onto your butts, it’s going be a ride.

Show Links

• Glen’s portfolio
• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• Instagram Profile (Fine Art)
• Metabolon
• Metabolomics
• Sik Oheso (Spotify)
• Steve Jobs’ Garage

Designer Oj Wilson of Teal Media and the College of Saint Rose joins me for a discussion about designing for agency clients, not-for-profit, and political campaigns. That’s right, all those door hangers, lawn signs, and bumper stickers you’ve been seeing the last few months were created by designers like Oj. She shares her involvement with social impact that started with working with her mom’s not-for-profit, the Southern Children’s Network. We also talk about Oj’s passion for soccer, whether it’s playing for the women’s team at Saint Rose or playing in two adult leagues in Georgia. In the spirit of campaigning, show your support by downloading this episode.

Show Links

• Oj’s portfolio
• LinkedIn Profile
• Instagram Profile
• Teal Media
• The Ringer-Verse
• You’ll be in my heart by Phil Collins

In this first episode of season two, Saint Rose graduate and art director at TracyLocke, Susi Cadena talks about working and living in New York City, designing for big brands like Pepsi and Godiva, navigating the process of corporate sponsorship for foreign nationals working in the U.S., and TracyLocke’s Design Collective. She also shares her academic story of starting college as a business administration major that ends with her graduating with a B.F.A. in graphic design and that one drawing class that changed her life. Susi also schools me in agency jargon such as “Out of Home,” “O.N.D.,” and “A.M.J.” Grab a bag of Lays or a box of Godiva and press play.

Show Links

• Susi’s portfolio
• Instagram profile
• LinkedIn profile
• TracyLocke
• 99% Invisible Ep. 140: Vexillonaire
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Dia de los Muertos
• Pepsi
• Purely Patricia

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)

It’s time to put on the flannel, get back to school, and learn something

Welcome to the best season of the year.

It’s Autumn. And you know what’s going to make it even better?

Yea, you know because you’re listening to this trailer.

It’s time for Season 2 of Design Futures.

This past summer I had the pleasure of talking with a group of amazing alumni and I’m super excited to share their diverse stories of life after school. In Season 2 we’ll hear  from designers who work in the areas of biotech, social impact, animation & motion graphics, social media, exhibition & events, and agencies.

If you haven’t subscribed do it now and catch up with Season 1 because Season 2 starts in October.

As always, thanks for listening.

See ya

In this final episode of Season 1 Melike Turgut, 2011 graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design, discusses the career path that started with a company-supplied apartment in Brooklyn and led her to the current role as Design Manager of Web Expressibility at Squarespace. We talk about challenging school projects, machine learning, principle designers, and documenting design process with diagrams. Melike also talks about what it’s like to be an adjunct professor of interaction design at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Show Links

• Melike’s portfolio
• Ringling College of Art & Design
• Squarespace
• “Designing for Millions of Websites at Once”
• School of Visual Arts
• Machine Learning

The Intro Music

• Synergistic Effect by morgantj (copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.)