…on the twisted history of horror paperbacks. Grady Hendrix is an inventive author responsible for some of the most original horror novels in recent history and he’s chronicled the history of the horror paperback publishing boom of the seventies and eighties, celebrating the authors and artists that brought tales of horny Bigfoots, Nazi Leprechauns and KGB demons to drugstores and supermarket paperback shelves across the country. Grady talks about why writing is the loneliest art form, zombie stress dreams and why horror is a woman’s genre.

…on why it’s important to step back. James Heimer is an illustrator, printmaker and educator who loves blotted lines, hardboiled crime and sci-fi paperbacks and the grit and grime of handprinting. His clients include the Boston Globe, The LA Times, Live Nation, the National Constitution Center and The New York Times, just to name a few. He joins the show for a conversation about one of his first memories of Halloween, how screen printing influences his work and why taking walks around his neighborhood helps his creative process.

…on embracing imperfection. Jay Roeder is a freelance illustrator and designer with a focus on hand lettering. His work has been featured by Nike, TV Land, Gap and Monster.com, as well as various magazines, newspapers and books, including his own: “100 Days of Hand Lettering, A Complete Creative Lettering Course.” Jay joins the show for a conversation about how he promoted his work before Instagram, where he gets his inspiration for the phrases he hand-letters and being a Minnesota fan at the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia.

…on reflecting your life through your work. Illustrator and designer Margo Hurst describes her hours as “9 to 5 and 6 to 10,” working in-house at Design Science by day and creating posters and art by night. Her work is a visual diary, reflecting her life with an honest, distinctive style. She joins the podcast for a conversation about letting go of perfection, the challenge of drawing hands and finding the pinkest pink.

…on being brutally honest about your design business. As a business consultant to many leading creative teams, Emily Cohen has developed, tested, and curated key business insights and strategies that have helped creative firms become more effective, profitable, and fun to work at. She now shares her expertise through her new book, “Brutally Honest: No-Bullshit Business Strategies to Evolve Your Creative Business. Emily and Ryan talk about growing up in a book store, why it’s important to be a specialist and not a generalist and what opportunities and pervasive evils are plaguing the design community.

...on the pursuit of the next challenge. Sean Martorana is a passionate artist whose work reveals the energy that lies beneath the surface of his subjects and shows how it connects to all things and beings. He joins the show for a conversation about creating experiences people can connect to, the rules for collaboration (spoiler: there are none) and why it’s important to pay artists what they’re worth.

…on shifting the perspective of how things work. Mikey Ilagan is an Accessibility Specialist at Think Company, working full-time as part of the Comcast Accessibility Team. He's spent the past decade building digital experiences using a lifetime of passion for technology. Today, he uses a diverse background to work with product teams to ensure Xfinity's offerings are usable and well-designed for customers using assistive technology. He joins Ryan in the Indy Hall Studios for a conversation about what fascinates him about the way people interact with the internet, the misconceptions about accessibility and who’s doing it well. Plus, Ryan and Mikey do a deep dive on his Twitter feed.

…on the importance of being humble. André W.Y.Z.E. Davis is the mind behind Humble Genius, helping people with “save the world” mentalities broadcast their message and build a community around it. He joins the show for a chat about becoming a published poet at the age of 12, his love for translating people’s passion into their brand and a fateful trip to California.

…on finding inner peace. Christine Sheller is the Vice President of Design at FS Investments, as well as the president of AIGA Philadelphia. She has over 20 years of experience managing in-house brands and brings her unique perspective to today’s episode for a conversation about the misconceptions of in-house departments, how we can give back through design and the importance of yoga in her life.

…on the ingredients for a life in design. Dustin Kemper is a product designer whose recent work has been focused on user experience, empathy, product strategy and information architecture. He joins the show for a conversation on his days working in the restaurant industry in Philly, how cooking parallels design and horror movies.