I was instantly drawn into Eric Madsen‘s Design Camp presentation by his deep sense of story and self-awareness. At first it was hard to see how his talk had anything to do with design – as it started simply with memories and photographs from his childhood years in Texas. But as his story progressed, I […]

I have to admit, before talking to Matthew Doty (Lifetime Fitness) and Fred Beecher (The Nerdery) – I may not have actually known what “UX” meant. (I may have even mistakenly believed that “UX” was what you call those harmful rays the sun gives off.) Either way – to my surprise, User eXperience design is a […]

When you listen to Ron and Brent of YYES design – you immediately forget that the world of graphic design can often be a stressful and competitive place. As they explain in this interview, Brent and Ron named their unique firm YYES (pronounced “YYYYES!!!”) because of their positive, playful approach to graphic design. Listening to […]

For many design conference attendees, the conference highlight is often the exhibit hall. Hundreds of eager designers flood a large room looking for opportunities to discover sweet design-related products – and fill a giant bag with sweet design–related trinkets that probably won’t fit in their suitcases. At Design Camp 2012 held by AIGA Minnesota, there […]

My first night at AIGA Minnesota’s Design Camp – found me at a table right across from the extraordinary designer, Paula Scher. I was at a special pre-conference dinner for the speakers, sponsors and media for the event. Seated next to me were  Kim Shannon and Jamie Saunders – Neenah Paper reps that had brought […]

Our 7th interview podcast from HOW Live (recorded in Boston), brings us Hatch Design. Talking with Joel Templin and Katie Jain is a true pleasure. I mean, Ben and I were impressed enough with their incredible design work – but they do so much more. We speak about the idea behind Hatch, being an incubator of ideas, and […]

Leaving the AIGA Nebraska board near the end of 2008 was something that was a bit difficult. After 7 years of volunteering though, I knew it was time to move on. I’m happy to see the chapter continue to do a lot of great things, and this week they did one I was very impressed […]

Our 6th interview podcast from HOW Live (recorded in Boston), brings us Jim Krause – and the return of Dyana Valentine. Jim Krause has written many of the books you’ve seen in the profession of graphic design (color index books, the new logo brainstorm book, idea index, and more). Dyana needs no introduction on this show. This is […]

Our 5th interview podcast from HOW Live (recorded in Boston), brings us to Disney, with guest Christopher Chapman. This was a fun one. Christopher Chapman is The Creativity and Innovation Director of Disney – so we basically talk about theme parks, his job at the happiest place on Earth, designing for family entertainment, and telling stories. Sort of like the stories […]

Our 4th interview podcast from HOW Live (recorded in Boston), brings us two wonderful guests – Denise Korn and Joseph Soto. Denise Korn of Korn Design has created a mentoring program for youth in the urban areas of Boston that are interested in design. And I mean, full on mentorships that include giving high school students a seven […]