Front and Center

Happy Valentine's Day! We love love! We are happy to welcome Jackie DeJesu Center to the pod to break down the best and worst of the Super Bowl and Valentines Day! The brands are wildin out! We talk about Mountain Dew, Nike, Bud Light, Jesus, Coke, Totinos, Dunkin’, Liquid Death, Coca-Cola, Grillos, Skimms, Laneige, Sweethearts, MSCHF, Outback, Stonyfield, Denny’s Hormel, White Castle, and more!

Take a Gander, and give it a listen! We've got Katie Levy and Mike McVicar in the house! Katie and Mike are the creative duo behind Gander, a design shop in Brooklyn that creates thoughtful experiences for humans and propels brands with soul and substance. They are the studio behind some of the hottest CPG brands like: Graza, Yellow Bird, Pop Up Grocer, Magic Spoon, Behave, Gotham Greens, Banza, June Wine Bar, and many other bangers! Katie and Mike bring the energy as they advocate for the 4 day work week, rally for studios to come together and charge the same amount for work, plead for designers to come and work on their case studies, and shock Alex and Kevin with an on-air Magic trick! Check out their new website, which conveniently coincides with the episode launch! TAKE A GANDER! WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!

Happy New Year! We’re back, and we’re totally new and different! Nah, just kidding, we’re the same. We’ve got some goals, some things to improve, and a change to the show’s release schedule. We talk about our breaks, Brian Johnson, The Aaron Rodgers Doc, Ladder x Stavros, The Sandisk rebrand, the Walmart rebrand, RX Bar cutting out the BS, Halo Top Dry January flavor drop, Breaking News, The Pizza Hut Pizza Report, and more!

In the last episode of 2024, Alex and Kevin break out the Haterade and dole out awards for the worst of the year. Find out who wins Story Of The Year, Story Of The Year (Number 2), Brand Of The Year, Launch Of The Year, Bozo Of The Year, Snackflation Of The Year, Beef Of The Year, Misprint Of The Year, Mispronouncian Of The Year, Brand Partnership Of The Year, (Not Good) Person Of The Year, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, And Good Thing We Didn't Buy This. Thanks for a great year! Cya next year!

IT’S THE END OF THE YEAR, AND YOU KNOW THE DRILL! It’s time for your favorite end-of-the-year design award show: The Fronties! Alex and Kevin recap and celebrate the year in design, branding, and culture! They give out awards for Person Of The Year, Team Of The Year, Brand Of The Year, Story Of The Year, Rebrand Of The Year, Good Job, Thumbs Up, You Tried, Refreshing Refresh, Renegade Of The Year, Comeback Of The Year, Zuck Of The Year, and Egg Champs.

Alex and Kevin break down this week's hottest topics in design and culture! They discuss Enron's comeback, Crumbl x Dove, The Rizler x Grillos, Jaguar, Tropicana, Bologna, and more!

GOBBLE GOBBLE! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We hope you have a fantastic holiday, and get to spend time with those you’re thankful for! On this episode, we provide some topical topics that you can share with your friends or family around the dinner table!  We talk about the Martha Stewart doc, John Stamos’ solidarity, the Funyuns Princess Bag, the Guggenheim rebrand, Screwball x Yung Gravy, Hellman’s Mayo Blanc, Popeyes Cajun Turkey, Reynolds Wrap "Espresso Turkey-tini”, Hard Mountain Dew Ditch Your Family, Brown Friday, Z-Pain, and more! Keep it light and bright!

*this episode was recorded before the Jaguar rebrand... Review to come (:

We are stoked to welcome Jen and Amy Hood to the program! They are the Cofounders & Principals of Hoodzpah, a brand identity and type design studio out of Southern California. Hoodzpah creates brand identities that people root for and help legacy brands shine on. The vibes are high as we learn about their background, how they started their studio, how they approach work, and so much more! 

Alex and Kevin are at it again as they break it down this week! They talk about the Prospect Park fire, Mark Wahlberg's Municipal Gym, the A&W Rebrand, Nike NYC Marathon OOH, a Wicked mistake, Grillo's Pickle Toothpaste, Sega Emojam, and more!

Today, we are stoked to welcome Mike Perry to the show! Mike is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of TAVERN, a Brooklyn-based creative agency with a focus on food, beverage, cannabis & hospitality brands. We discuss his career journey, starting at NBC Sports in Philadelphia, getting into spirits and beverage design, and taking a quick detour at TikTok before starting his studio. Mike teaches us about Tavern’s philosophy of creating timeless brands driven by modern heritage, gives us a deep dive into the Sizzler rebrand, and more!

Check out Tavern's work: https://tavern.agency/
Follow Tavern on Instagram: @tavern.agency
Follow Mike on Instagram: @mike_l_perry