Thunder Nerds

In this episode we get to speak with Senior UX Designer and host of the User Defenders podcast, Jason Ogle. We focus on the state of the show and why Jason had to take a one-way flight to Chicago so he could sleep in a van outside of a Walmart parking lot. Jason took a pause on the podcast so he could purchase a new home, but now he’s back with a new season and an impressive first guest: “CSS Man” Chris Coyier. We also explore lessons learned about being flexible and our desire as humans to have normalcy in the seasons of our lives… yet all we really need to do is be more of who we already are.

Jason Ogle has been designing digital experiences and fighting for the users since 1996. He’s a designer at NCM in Denver, CO and the host of the User Defenders podcast all about inspiring interviews with UX superheroes. He’s also a husband, father of 6, and craft coffee roaster. He has a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.

Show Notes

* Guest: Jason Ogle

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonogle

* Twitter: @jasonogle

* Podcast: http://userdefenders.com/

* Designer at @NCMNews http://www.ncm.com/

In this episode we get to speak with Entrepreneur, Developer & Director, Shane Thomas. We discuss his introduction to code in a high school class for programing Java and how he almost dropped it to take gym. Then the conversation jumps into Shane’s passion for technology and creating business in his community as a co-founder of several companies. We then dive into the details of his newest venture, Learn Create Build Academy which is educating and inspiring the next generation of innovators via technology camps for children. We also review the future of Code Karate, and all the new exciting tutorials coming out in 2017.

Show Notes

* Guest: Entrepreneur, Developer & Director, Shane Thomas

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-thomas-428123a

* Twitter: @smthomas3

* Technology Camps for Children | Learn Create Build Academy: http://LearnCreateBuild.com

* Drupal video training, Drupal tutorials and website development tips by Shane Thomas | Code Karate: http://codekarate.com

In this episode we get to speak with Web designer, developer, consultant, speaker and writer: Brad Frost. We discuss Brad’s passion for music and review his new Behringer X32 RACK Digital Mixer. Brad also shares the story behind the iconic space helmet, and reveals the future friendly connection.

Brad is a web designer, speaker, writer, and consultant located in beautiful Pittsburgh, PA. He’s passionate about creating Web experiences that look and function beautifully on a never-ending stream of connected devices, and is constantly tweeting, writing and speaking about it. He’s the author of Atomic Design, and has also helped create several tools and resources for web designers, including This Is Responsive, Pattern Lab, Styleguides.io, WTF Mobile Web, and Mobile Web Best Practices.

Show Notes

* Guest: Brad Frost

* Brad’s Music

* This Is Responsive

* Blog

* Speaking

* Pattern Lab

* Styleguides.io

* WTF Mobile Web

* Death to bullshit

* Twitter: http://twitter.com/brad_frost

* http://futurefriendlyweb.com/

* https://medium.com/ge-design/ges-predix-design-system-8236d47b0891#.2cteg3uda

* https://chromeunboxed.com/samusng-chromebook-pro-companion-device-with-higher-end-specs-possible/

* https://chromeunboxed.com/kevin-is-the-samsung-chromebook-pro-up-for-pre-order/

* What is something that you’ve discovered recently:

* Brad:

* DRYLOK Waterproof Paint

* Behringer X32RACK

* Brian:

* Touch-action CSS property

* Frederick:

*

In this episode we get to speak with Designer Kevin Lynagh. We review his beginnings from studying physics in university, to his newest creation Subform. Subform is a CAD-inspired design tool focused on the unique constraints of UX/UI design. It empowers designers to create responsive layouts, enforce consistent styles, build stateful components, and work with real content—all inside of a familiar, desktop-based visual design environment. Back Subform on Kickstarter.

Show Notes

* Guest: Kevin Lynagh

* Twitter: @lynaghk

* Github: @lynaghk

* Websites:

* Kevinlynagh.com

* Keming Labs: software/design consulting firm https://keminglabs.com

* We build data-driven interfaces

* Kevin’s newsletter: https://tinyletter.com/kevinlynagh

* Subform is a modern tool for digital product designers https://subformapp.com/

* Subform Kickstarter: https://goo.gl/g8gLv3

* ClojureScript

* http://variancecharts.com

* Build powerful data visualizations for the web without writing JavaScript.

* Weathertron iOS weather app

* What is something interesting that you discovered this week?

* Penny Dreadful

* Facebook Work

* IAMX

* New design tool from MS: MS Paint

* Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

* Mean Girls

In this episode we get to speak with Senior Brand Strategist at BrandYourself, Ryan Erskine. We explore his career journey and discuss how and why he is now on a mission to help people manage their brands. We also go into the details of Ryan’s new eBook: Online Reputation Management: The 28 Day Challenge: Get your personal brand in shape.

Ryan Erskine is a Brand Strategist at BrandYourself and a leading expert in personal branding and online reputation management. He empowers individuals and businesses to develop their personal and corporate brands, take control of their search results, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industries. Erskine is also an active contributor to Entrepreneur, Social Media Today, and Huffington Post, where he writes about personal branding and online

Show Notes

* Guest: Ryan Erskine

* @ryanerskineNY

* VIP Brand Strategist @BrandYourself, helping people take control of their search results & personal brands. Author at @HuffingtonPost and @Entrepreneur

* Website: RyanErskine.com

* Ryan’s new eBook: Online Reputation Management: The 28 Day Challenge: Get your personal brand in shape.

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erskineryan

* SVG2: https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG2/

* Referenced article on Huffington Post: Companies, Clients and Colleges Are Googling You. Now What?

* Nir and This Blog: http://www.nirandfar.com/hooked

* Headspace THE HEADSPACE APP

In this episode we get to speak with Author and Web/UI animation expert for hire Val Head. We discuss Val’s childhood phobia of Mr. Rogers and the eerie coincidence of becoming a citizen of his hometown of Pittsburgh. We also talk about her musician days in the punk scene, and disclose her secret inspiration behind her Tom Cruise screencast: All The Right Moves.

Val is a web animation expert with a talent for getting designers and developers alike excited about the power of animation. She is the author of CSS Animation on lynda.com, and Designing Interface Animation published by Rosenfeld Media. Val shares her passion for web animation as the host of the All The Right Moves screencast,  co-host of the Motion and Meaning podcast, and curator of the weekly UI Animation Newsletter. A proud supporter of the web community, she co-founded the Web Design Day conference and runs Pittsburgh’s Girl Develop It Chapter. Val leads workshops at companies and conferences around the world on motion design for the web and loves every minute of it.

Show Notes

* Guest: Val Head

* Website: http://valhead.com

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/vlh

* Book: Designing Interface Animation: Meaningful Motion for User Experience, By Val Head

* Screencast: All The Right Moves

* Movie: All The Right Moves: Tom Cruise

* CSS Animation on lynda.com

* Motion and Meaning podcast

* Weekly UI Animation Newsletter

* Web Design Day conference

* Pittsburgh’s Girl Develop It

* Tools of the trade

* FramerJS

* Codepen

* Adobe Animate CC

* After Effects

* Principle

* Flinto

* Keynote

In this episode we talk with returning champion to the show, Principal Product Designer and co-founder of Front: Ben Peck.  Ben talks about his work, and the challenges he faces as a Product Designer at Needle. Then we talk about the last time Ben was on the show, why he started Front, and what has happened with Front since then, and what the future plans are for the conference.

Show Notes

* Guest: Ben Peck

* Sr. Product Designer at Needle

* Husband & Father of 4. Principal Product Designer at Needle. Cofounder of Front Product Design Conference. Codirector of the Product Design Association.

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/benpeck

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpeck

* Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/benpeck

* Blog: https://medium.com/@benpeck

* About: https://about.me/benpeck

* Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/frontutah

* Principal Product Designer Needle – needle.com

* Cofounder of Front Product Design Conference – frontutah.com

* Codirector of Product Design Association – productdesignutah.org

* Prevoius Episode – https://thundernerds.io/2016/03/16-attend-front-the-product-design-conference-with-cofounder-ben-peck/

* Clippy

* Dog version of Clippy

* Front vimeo link https://vimeo.com/frontutah

* Gmail and Inbox added media queries

* Atom

* Atom package pigments

* Atom package minimap

* Atom package Emmet

* Emmet

* Atom tutorials

* PhpStorm IDE

* Variable Fonts http://alistapart.com/blog/post/variable-fonts-for-responsive-design

In this episode we have Developer, Entrepreneur, Author and Meteor.js Expert: Josh Owens. We review Josh’s love story with technology and examine the fuel that ignited his passions… from his Atari 800XL and dual 5.25 inch floppy drives, to Rails, and now fighting karate battles in the dojo of space on Meteors. Josh spends his days working full time in the Meteor.js framework and trying to build an open sourced empire for it. Josh is also a podcaster and producer of past shows including Web 2.0 Show and WebPulp.tv; he is presently producing the Meteor.js Podcast and running the Meteor News website, Crater.

Show Notes

* Guest: Josh Owens

* #meteorjs/#reactjs dev, devops, father, husband to a wonderful wife – @wendylowens. Creator of @thespacedojo, @craterio, and @craterpodcast.

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshowens

* Crater Podcast: http://podcast.crater.io/

* Website: http://joshowens.me/

* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaowens

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshjowens/

* YouTube, Josh Owens: https://www.youtube.com/c/joshowens98

* Brave the Code

In this episode we GET IN THE VAN with hosts of “Late Nights with Trav and Los”, Travis Neilson and Carlos Montoya. We get to know the guys: learning how they became BFFs and the how-and-why they began their podcast. We also discuss the ins and outs of their show, and all the behind the scenes serendipitous textures… meow meow meow. #TreeCat

Show Notes

* Guest: Trav and Los

* Travis Neilson

* Twitter: @travisneilson

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/devtipsfordesigners

* Website: http://travisneilson.com

* Vine: https://vine.co/JustTheTips

* Carlos Montoya

* Twitter: @losmontoya_

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/losmontoya/

* Website: http://www.travandlos.com

* Twitter: @TravAndLos

* Atlassian

* Execute Podcast – Josh Long

* https://www.designdisruptors.com

* Heroes of the Storm

In this episode we talk with Projects Visualization Editor and “Vector Vixen”, Jennifer Borresen. We explore her journey from her beginnings at Ringling College of Art and Design, to her freelance illustration work at Fresh Roasted Graphics, and then her role at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. We discuss several life-hack topics on time management and the challenges of being passionate in one’s career yet still successfully balancing a work/life harmony.

Show Notes

* Guest: Projects Visualization Editor and “Vector Vixen”, Jennifer Borresen

* Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jenniferborresen

* Role: Projects Visualization Editor, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

* Education: Ringling College of Art and Design

* Twitter: @jennart

* Website: http://freshroastedgraphics.com

* Pockets full of soup

* Santa list: iPad pro

* The Illustration Conference

* Tate’s Comics

* Big Trouble in Little China comic book series

* Penny Dreadful