...on being a designy illustrator. Mikey Burton is a part time designer and a part time illustrator doing work for clients including Converse, ESPN, Target The New York Times and Last Week Tonight. Yet Mikey still claims to be ‘still figuring it out,’ and on this week’s episode Mikey and Ryan talk about having a personal style, the pace of design in social media and using drawing to inspire weight loss.

…on where you are supposed to be. Chris Cashdollar is an award-winning multidisciplinary-trained graphic designer, creating beautiful, user-centric digital experiences. Chris joins the show to discuss being prepared to go freelance, creating a dialogue between branding and digital, keeping your design skills sharp and “Voltroning” projects.

...on the artistry in motorsports. Johnny Bilotta returns to the show for a bonus episode this week to talk about his motorsport-inspired poster series as well as his passion for racing, how the series has evolved from his initial concept and keeping his design skills fresh. #branding #logodesign #lettering #handlettering #copywriting #graphicdesign #design #illustration #photography #Philadelphia #PHLDesign #HiRes #HighRes #artdirection #creativedirection #agencylife #freelance #typography #podcast #poster #designer

...on designing out of necessity. Rodney Ibarra is an Associate Art Director with One Trick Pony as well as a talented calligraphic artist and the frontman for the band Surefire Broadcast, an indie rock trio from South Jersey. After Ryan geeks out on Rodney, he sticks around to talk about his origins in graffiti art, the importance of knowing letterforms and what inspires him to experiment. Plus, check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/hirespod for bonus content with Rodney!

...on having trust in the process. Alina Wheeler is a branding consultant and author. Her business is managing perception, her service is strategic imagination and her passion is branding. On the final episode of 2017, Alina sits down with Ryan to talk about the fifth edition of her book Designing Brand Identity as well as her fascination about how people express who they are, what the spoken word means for branding in the near future and color coding your soul. Plus, Dan Gneiding stops by the Submarine to talk about his new font, Lehigh.

...on the mysteries of design and illustration. Scotty Reifsnyder is an illustrator and designer who has created work for Disney, GQ, Time Magazine, The New York Times and more. He talks about his passion project Hotel Detective, as well as the ethics of of doing freelance while employed, '80's movies and why his students get him excited about his own work.

…on being able to design from anywhere. Monica O is an art director and illustrator who's embraced freelance and makes it work with her traveler's spirit. Along with her freelance work, she’s a gifted artist with a talent for pyrography. Monica joins the show for a chat about the importance of not burning bridges, growing up with your fellow designers and doing your own tattoos.

...on story, typography and bad ideas. Los Angeles-based designer, illustrator and sex positivity advocate Jillian Adel joins the show for a chat on the eve of her talk at H$TL House on Tuesday, November 21: “The Good Rule: An Evening of Story, Typography and Bad Ideas.” Jillian talks about her early days exploring design in Philadelphia, sharing the unglamorous side of freelance life and the importance of self discovery.

...on defining the American landscape. Gibbs Connors is a traditional sign painter whose work you've undoubtedly seen around town. He specializes in hand-lettering, carving, surface gilding, glass gilding, fabrication and screen-printing on site for businesses, museums, restaurants and more. He sits down with Ryan for a chat about blue collar graphic design, passing style down through generations and “flicking out of the book.”

...on the fundamentals of a good idea. Any story about graphic design in Philadelphia would be incomplete without talking about Joe Scorscone and Alice Drueding. They have been designing award-winning posters since 1986 and — as professors at Tyler School of Art — have influenced a generation of designers. They join the show for a chat about looking at issues from a different way, being challenged artistically by something new and how they encourage one another creatively.