This is not Casual Encounters! We’re trying to do design here! The great Dave Pabellon (Assistant Professor of Design at University of Notre Dame) sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as the Costanza Maneuver, Scantron aesthetics, and the Rivers that run through it (it being multiple Chicago neighborhoods in very different parts of town).

ABOUT THE GUEST: Dave Pabellon is a design educator, researcher, and practitioner under the moniker It Is Just Dave LLC, with over 25 years of experience. Pabellon’s studio work has been recognized by Sappi’s Ideas That Matter, the STA 100, the Chicago Design Archive, the Typeforce Annual, and Communication Arts. Pabellon’s research centers on the history and practice of graphic design labor as a means of building solidarity among communities of color and activist spaces. Specifically, he studies and researches how BIPOC designers have worked with and alongside liberation movements in the past and explores/experiments with contemporary models. In addition to his professional and academic practice, Pabellon is a Core Organizer for the Design As Protest (DAP) Collective, a Mobile Makers Chicago board member, and is an active member of the Dark Matter U. roster. You can find Dave’s work on the web (itisjustdave.com), Instagram (@it_is_just_dave), or by going to Notre Dame’s website (artdept.nd.edu/people/dave-pabellon).

You can find the Anti-Racist Design Justice Index, a tool for architects, designers, planners, policymakers, and community activists committed to taking action towards identifying and dismantling systemic racism within our practices, organizations, academic institutions, and local governments, at dapcollective.com/index. If you want to get a copy of the newspaper, you can order a copy (or 50) at dapcollective.com/newspaper.

This episode was recorded Saturday, August 8, 2026 during TypeCon 2026.

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Did I Do That? is back with a new live show direct from the mainstage of Seattle Design Festival 2026! Listen as the great Colby Nichols (Art Director, Print Innovation for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast) and Sean Bucknam (Senior Designer at Starbucks) square off with their most regrettable past work to see whose is bad enough for Seattle's favorite mythical raccoon to want to fish it out of the dumpster.

Want to see the slides (and work) we shared on stage? Check out all our images here as a slide deck, or see the full video on the SDF YouTube channel!

Colby Nichols is a creative leader who dreams big, supports others, and brings a bright spark to teams and projects. His approach to work and creative management is heart-forward with a focus on collaboration. He spent the last 12 years co-running the collaboration-focused design and illustration studio, Jolby. During that time he co-founded an award-winning space of inclusivity, put to use his unique approach to leading projects and solving big problems, directed projects across multiple teams for global entertainment and consumer brands with a focus on storytelling, recruited, cultivated, and inspired creative teams, led artists in commissions including the creation of artwork, voice over, music, animation, design, writing, editing, and coding, maintained meaningful client and vendor partnerships, did the hard thing, shared the spotlight, and made people smile. Currently, Colby serves as Art Director, Print Innovation for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast.

Sean Bucknam is a designer and maker of things working in the Seattle area. Los Angeles born and raised, PNW local by choice. He can see the bigger picture in any simple brief while concepting and creating designs that stand out from the crowd. He always aims to provide an elevated, imaginative, and fresh way of thinking through pictures rather than words. He has collected a wealth of knowledge while honing his design and art direction with companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, REI, and Brooks Running. A problem solver at heart, Sean is skilled in Typography, Branding and Identity Design, Illustration, and Art Direction. Currently, Sean serves as a Senior Designer at Starbucks.

Back to the Bottom of the Barrel was presented live on stage at Seattle Design Festival in Lake Union Park on Saturday, August 15, 2026. Thanks to our competitors Sean and Colby, to Seattle Design Festival for hosting us once again, and special thanks again to Adrian Pacheco and all our incredible SDF volunteers for helping to make this show happen once again!

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I’m away this week, so rather than giving a summer update backed by the soothingly persistent rumble of a hotel air conditioner, I thought I’d share a straight-up rerun—though one inspired by our sister Portland art school (and, of course, hated rivals) PNCA hosting her for a recent talk as part of their Design Lecture Series.

Way back in 2022 as part of season 3, Olivia Johnson (then an Associate Design Director at Instrument, now a Senior Product Designer at eBay) joined Sean to talk challenging Barbies, Neopets Black Friday, and what Elvis had been up to.

If you want to watch Olivia’s talk, you can find it on the PNCA Live Video YouTube channel (for your convenience, I’ve linked straight to her introduction a few minutes into the video). You can find Olivia’s work on Instagram @o_j.co, for just her handcrafted data viz work (mentioned both here and in the PNCA talk) onto its own Instagram @handcharted. If you want to learn how to make your own textile-based data visualizations, Olivia’s self-paced online course “Data Visualization with Alternative Mediums” is available on Domestica. Too, if textile work is new to you, the course also includes an introduction to cross-stitch! Give it a download!

This episode was originally published July 27, 2023.

Thank you to all who came out to share stories at our Design Confessional at the Future Fonts & Friends event in Portland, and who attended our live "Bottom of the Barrel" event at Seattle Design Festival! Special shout out to the great Colby Nichols and Sean Bucknam for being a part of it. Both those recordings will hit this feed in the near future, so keep eyes out for it! If you'd rather experience the latter in video, though, your wait is already over: Seattle Design Festival has posted the full thing, slides and all, for you to view on their YouTube channel! Please feel free to pause and marvel my Tiger Beat cover—I put so much more time into it than I should've that maybe I should be directed to a medical professional.

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With our fourth Design Confessional event happening the night this episode is released, we're this week pairing our event news with a rehashed version of the show's very first confessional event four years ago! How can you find peace when faced with cross crossworders, ghost(ed) cookbooks, and duck pornography? There’s only one way to find out! (To be clear: the way is listening; you must listen to find out.)

Thursday, August 6 from 6–9pm (that's the night this episode is released!)

Outlet, 2500 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland OR

Presented by Future Fonts as part of TypeCon 2026!

Free and open to all! Featuring: DJ Music by @keanunarciso_, Drinks by @baerlicbrewing & (past guest Andy McMillan’s) @heckbrewing, food by @astralpdx, and snacks by @ordertypefoundry. Artwork/Design by @colbybrooksstudio using the Future Fonts Grenat by @theoguillard, Zetkin by @ingaploennigs, and a little HEX Franklin by @hex_projects. Promo sounds (on the Future Fonts IG post) by Klaxlorq aka @travis.kochel.

Wanna get a taste of the event? Here our previous Design Confessional episodes here: Confessional #3, Confessional #2, or Confessional #1 by listening through to the end of this episode!

‍

Saturday, August 15 at 5:30pm

Seattle Design Festival Mainstage at Lake Union Park, Seattle WA

Did I Do That?: Back to the Bottom of the Barrel gives the Seattle design community a chance to dig into their archives and share that shame with the world live on stage, defanging it with laughter in the process. A panel of Seattle’s best graphic designers will talk through their most hilariously regrettable projects live on stage.

Together, we’ll reflect on what made that work the way it the way it is and how making it has helped them grow. Then, you’ll help decide whose work is bad enough to win our trophy made out of a trash can. It’s a funny, irreverent chance to unpack the fear of feedback while celebrating something that rarely gets to be at center stage—the messy work you have to make to get to somewhere better.

• Colby Nichols is a creative leader who dreams big, supports others, and brings a bright spark to teams and projects. His approach to work and creative management is heart-forward with a focus on collaboration. He spent the last 12 years co-running the collaboration-focused design and illustration studio, Jolby. During that time he co-founded an award-winning space of inclusivity, put to use his unique approach to leading projects and solving big problems, directed projects across multiple teams for global entertainment and consumer brands with a focus on storytelling, recruited, cultivated, and inspired creative teams, led artists in commissions including the creation of artwork, voice over, music, animation, design, writing, editing, and coding, maintained meaningful client and vendor partnerships, did the hard thing, shared the spotlight, and made people smile. Currently, Colby serves as Art Director, Print Innovation for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast.
• Sean Bucknam is a Designer and Maker of things working in the Seattle area. Los Angeles born and raised, PNW local by choice. He can see the bigger picture in any simple brief while concepting and creating designs that stand out from the crowd. He always aims to provide an elevated, imaginative, and fresh way of thinking through pictures rather than words. He has collected a wealth of knowledge while honing his design and art direction with companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Nike, REI, and Brooks Running. A problem solver at heart, Sean is skilled in Typography, Branding and Identity Design, Illustration, and Art Direction. Currently, Sean serves as a Senior Designer at Starbucks.

Thanks again to Seattle Design Festival and to Travis & Lizy at Future Fonts for including this silly show in your events!

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What’s been happening behind the scenes during this summer break? A LOT! Sean is here to talk events, squirrel infestations, construction, the secret value of gambling, and the changes coming in Season 9!

Presented by Future Fonts as part of TypeCon 2026!

Free and open to all!

Wanna get a taste of the event? Here our previous Design Confessional episodes here: Confessional #3, Confessional #2, Confessional #1

Wanna hear last year’s to get a sense of the event? You can find it in audio form on the Did I Do That? website, or in video on YouTube.

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Did I Do That? doesn’t have a studio anymore!? Whatever! We don't need a studio, we need a tuxedo, because it might well be the last episode of season 8 as well!* Jack-of-all trades creative Scrappers sits down with Sean one last time in the Rat’s Nest to talk about his design mistakes… as well as professional papier-mâché, the Scarlett Pushpin, and knives: the perfect job interview gift. Grab a sandwich from your lifetime supply and settle in—this one is a wild ride!

Justin “Scrappers” Morrison is a creative human pocketknife. He's capable of handling all sorts of work from art direction, illustration, copy writing, creative team assembling and making dreams come to life. He’s been handy at Wieden+Kennedy, the Portland Mercury, North, and Stay Wild Magazine. Scrappers is currently the Brand Creative Director at Danner boots in Portland, Oregon. He’s worn many hats, but now he wears many boots. See his art, read his stories, and learn more about his work at humanpocketknife.com. You can also follow Scrappers on Instagram at @scrappers.

This episode was recorded Saturday, April 18, 2026 in the Rat’s Nest.

* while I do hope that’s not the case, expect a bit of a programming gap either way while I get the move sorted out and take some much needed recovery time off. Sorry about that!

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Legendary educator and detail-oriented designer for good Precious Bugarin sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as John Cage’s call-in show, clothing tags, and the challenges of “Illustrating” a 200-page book. Plus, help fund our smash-hit sequel to Backrooms: Creepy Hallway Is The Portal (To Creativity) (And Also There’s Tiny Locked Room In The Room That Has A Sink).

Precious Burgarin comes from a family of immigrants, migrant farmers, veterans, journalists, artists and teachers. She’s a first generation Filipino American; born in San Francisco and raised in Stockton, California. Over the span of two decades, she’s been a designer and design educator. Her studio amplifies the work of nonprofits and helps businesses grow through thoughtful branding. She was a senior adjunct professor at Portland State University in the School of Art + Design (2003-2023), teaching students about type details and branding for social good. Previously, she was Art Director at Mercy Corps and currently serves as Graphic Design Manager at Toole Design Group.

This episode was recorded Saturday, April 25, 4 A.R. (AKA 2026) in the Rat’s Nest.

While this is our final episode recorded from the Rat’s Nest, it isn’t the last episode that will be published from it! Come back in two weeks for that last recording from the weekend before, and what might be our final episode of season 8 (unless I can figure out some interim recording space in the mean time—talk about a cliffhanger to end the season on!).

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While I’m busy packing up the last bits of the Rat’s Nest and closing out a busy school year, I thought I’d share a feed drop from one of my favorite podcasts, Weird Medieval Guys! It’s a great time, and folks who like a heavy dose of silly alongside their design talk will definitely enjoy it.

While it’s not normally a design-specific show, this episode covers a large swath of the evolution of western type history, starting way before the inception of modern western movable type and culminating in World War II—with ample Gothic distractions along the way. Olivia and Aran are excellent researchers and genuinely joyful to listen to. Fontroversy fans, I think you’re going to like this one!

You can find more episodes of the Weird Medieval Guys Podcast and subscribe at: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / Overcast / Castro / RSS

Subscribe to the Weird Medieval Guys Substack

Read the Weird Medieval Guys book at: Bookshop.org / Amazon / Waterstones

Come back in two weeks for the continuation of Did I Do That? Season 8—see you there!

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We can’t go too crazy, but we try to get close! Gianni Scarpino Candy (AIGA Portland Mentorship Program co-chair and Senior Visual Design Lead on the Player Experience Editorial and Loyalty Team for XBox) sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as cemetery parties, Shoemaker’s Lung, and Icy Hot for galas.

Gianni Scarpino Candy is a visual design leader with a passion for exploring the intersections of design, communication, and culture. Throughout her career, she has had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of clients and industries. Her objective has always been to design experiences that are interesting, have aesthetic appeal, be easy to understand, and bring impact. Bonus points if she can wiggle in humor and delight.

This episode was recorded on Saturday, April 11, 2026 in the Rat’s Nest.

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In the confusingly-named conclusion to our first-ever two parter, Jelly Helm continues sitting down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes at Wieden+Kennedy and beyond… as well as the Season 6 cast of Saturday Night Live, Zip plus-fours, and bean basements. What can we say: it’s a freaky time and we’re feeling freaky!

Miss part 1 with Jelly? This episode should be fairly self-contained, but if you want the full story on Jelly’s early career, go back and give part 1 a listen here.

Jelly Helm is a creative director, brand advisor, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. As founder of Studio Jelly, he provides thoughtful creative leadership and trusted brand partnership to organizations seeking to powerfully express who they are and what they are about. Previously, Jelly served as Executive Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy, Group Creative Director at The Martin Agency, and Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. He was also founding faculty at VCU Brandcenter and founder/director of Wieden+Kennedy 12, the agency’s experimental in-house school.

CW: the latter part of this episode includes discussion around self-harm that some might find distressing.

This episode was also recorded on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in the Rat’s Nest.

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