Obsessed Show

Today on Obsessed Show, we're continuing an unexpected trend of interviewing another lead singer. Today I'm chatting with A/J Jackson; songwriter, director, and perhaps best known as the lead singer of the international platinum-selling rock band Saint Motel… they've played Coachella and toured with Imagine Dragons, but imagine my surprise that their song "just my type" has nothing to do with typography.

A/J is also the founder of AVIEW, a new sunglasses brand, and the role color theory plays in his product line.

I'm excited to explore the thread from film to songwriting, to launching a product.

So without further ado, here's my conversation with A/J Jackson.

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Today's episode is brought to you by The Perfect Match—a game where designers submit mood boards created with Adobe Stock assets and earn the chance to play on a live game show to win big.

As designers, we pitch great ideas through visuals, all day, every day. But how well does our design communicate? Do clients and higher-ups really understand the work we put in front of them?

Well, let's find out.

Test your skills by assembling a brand-inspired mood board with Adobe Stock images to The Perfect Match, and if your skillful project is chosen, you could be featured on Adobe's monthly live streaming game show with other groovy designers, art directors, and creatives, where the winner goes home with $750.

It's free to participate in The Perfect Match, and just submitting an entry gets you a coffee for your time. Visit https://theperfectmatch.co/obsessed to learn more, and get ready to bring your design skills to win.

Thanks Again to The Perfect Match for sponsoring today's episode.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm honored to be chatting with John Flansburgh, ½ of the dynamic duo that is They Might Be Giants. As you can only imagine my response when I received the email… "Hey, this is John F. from TMBG, and we'd like to share our Book with you in hopes that we can figure out a chat on your podcast." Well spoiler alert, I was pretty excited to make that happen. Of course I said yes! Like I, many of you may know them from songs such as Istanbul (Not Constantinople), I Palindrome I, Particle Man, Birdhouse in your Soul, or even the theme song to Malcolm in the Middle… but today we're talking to John about their latest project. Their new book & album, which is fittingly entitled, "BOOK," is a collaboration between the band, past Obsessed Show guest and Designer Paul Sahre, and photographer Brian Karlsson. I was lucky enough to get a preview copy a few days ago, and as I understand, this is only one of two copies of this gorgeous book that exists… so far! I'm excited to learn more about John, the book, and They Might be Giants. So without further ado, here's my conversation with John Flansburgh.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with industrial designer, Vikkal Parikh.

Influenced by his unique background in architecture, Vikkal has spearheaded breathtaking, mixed media narratives for some of the world's top-tier brands. These include the likes of Facebook, Adidas, HBO, Microsoft, White Castle, and more.

With the increasing surge in animation due to the limitations and inaccessibility of live-action filming, he predicts that COVID may have signaled the end of what he calls "hipster content" -- expensively produced imagery designed with an ironically bad or archaic aesthetic -- and the return of more character and storytelling-driven compositions. He's most excited about the potential for the tight integration of real-time CG with live-action.

In his free time, Vikkal can be found playing for the Hoboken Cricket Club, goofing around with his three kids, and listening to some high-energy Bollywood music.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Vikkal Parikh.

We're back with Vigor Branding principal, host of the Forktales podcast, and author of the new book, The Bullhearted Brand, Joseph Szala. If you're a long-time listener, you may recall Joseph from all the way back in season one.

Today we talk about his latest evolutions, including how the Grits & Grids podcast led to his new show, Forktales, and what led his to launch his latest book, The Bullhearted Brand on Kickstarter.

So without further ado, please enjoy the latest conversation with Joseph Szala.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with greeting card designer and founder of the Kate Smith Company… you guessed it, Kate Smith.

According to her website, Kate and her husband Ryan launched their first company, From Frank, together in 2012. We quickly grew the line of 50 greeting cards into a full-fledged character brand — which we won't spoil all the details in the introduction.

In 2018, they decided to expand their repertoire of fart jokes and created Kate Smith Company — making From Frank the official animal arm, or paw if you will, of the brand.

But that's not all… Kate was the very first intern candidate I ever met with in my first business, so we've got some catching up to do.

So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Kate Smith.

Today on Obsessed Show, we've got a special treat. This episode is supported by Wireframe, a podcast all about creativity and design.

I checked out an episode of Wireframe, and today I get to share this episode with you in its entirety. Like our show, Wireframe is a show made for creative professionals: graphic designers, UX designers, illustrators, and typographers.

Wireframe is hosted by Khoi Vinh, Principal Designer at Adobe and one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business.

Today's episode touches on the small world of design, through the lens of package design. We'll go from Adobe, to Twitter, to iPhone boxes, to olive oil, and our old friend Stefan Ango, who joined us for season One of Obsessed Show.

So without further ado, please enjoy this full season 4, episode four, of Wireframe.

Search for Wireframe in your podcast app (like the one you're using right now). We'll also include a link in the show notes. My thanks again to Wireframe for their support.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with industrial designer, Neil Ferrier.

Neil Ferrier (who previously worked in advanced product development at Oakley) is a mechanical engineer by degree and the owner of industrial design firm DISCOMMON, which specializes in left of center bespoke goods. Aside from reinventing classic accessories like impact protectant watch wallets made with space-grade foam that hardens upon impact, to fully machined aluminum whisky tumblers, Neil's company was responsible for securing a Boeing cargo plane to land in Hong Kong, pick up millions of PPE masks and deliver them to the healthcare system in South Carolina.

His portfolio of projects ranges in both scale and industry; he's designing custom Air Jordans in collaboration with BOA and The Shoe Surgeon one day, and building portable iPhone-powered ultrasound carrying cases + accessories the next. Dynamic is an understatement.

As a fan of Jordan 1, I'm curious to hear more about these and other projects, and of course, to get to know Neil better.

Okay kids, all the way from Greenville, SC, please welcome, Neil Ferrier.

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with the founders of Artifox, Dan and Sarah Mirth.

You may know Artifox from their Instagram drool-worthy workspace furniture and clever artifacts, perfect for a world where so many of us are struggling to find inspiration, while working from home.

According to their website, Artifox was born from their founders' needs for a desk that was both aesthetically pleasing and provided a more functional and efficient work environment. And it turns out, they weren't alone.

If you aren't familiar with their products, you should definitely check them out, because they are gorgeous.

I'm curious to hear more about their company and what's next for them, so without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Dan and Sarah Mirth.

Theron Skees—Designer's Creative Studio

Nate Naversen—Themedattraction.com

Jason Surrell—Author

Josh Polk Lecturer, Department of Computer Information & Graphics Technology

Chris Rogers, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Computer Information & Graphics Technology

No, not that Snowden… also, we've had a ton of snowfall at Obsessed Show HQ this week… coincidentally, not that "snowed-in" either. #dadjoke

Eric Snowden is driving the future of mobile creativity by leading a global team of designers to bring to life powerful new tools like Illustrator on the iPad. I'm curious to hear why he believes mobility is the key to the future of design, as well as his perspective on where mobile is headed for professional and amateur creatives alike.

I'm very curious about this topic of bringing our core design tools to our mobile devices, so without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Eric Snowden.