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.

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165 - They Might Be Giants - 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.

164 - 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.

163 - Back With the Bullhearted 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.

162 - Building a Greeting Card Brand 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.

161 - Wireframe with Khoi Vinh

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.

160 - From Off the Deep End of Oakley, to Disrupting Design with Discommon

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.

159 - Designing Clever Artifacts with the Founders of Artifox

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

158 - The Future of Themed Entertainment Design

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.

157 - Is Mobile the Future of Design?

Today on Obsessed Show I'm chatting with co-founder of Handsome, John Roescher. John Roescher is a former military vet who started the company because of a passion for the potential of the internet to explore new ideas and make connections - a similar urge that originally led him to join the military right out of high school. Once COVID hit, though they had worked with major global brands, they had somewhat lost that love. Looking down the barrel of the pandemic and on the verge of closing, he made the hard choice to tear Handsome down and rebuild from scratch, culminating in a complete rebrand and restructuring, embracing the weirdness he loves about the web. He brought on R/GA veteran Jennifer Allen as COO to help lead the change. The resulting success was reflected not only in his renewed love for the digital but growth even during the pandemic: We’re going to dig into John’s story of 2020, and more, so without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with John Roescher. Okay kids, all the way from Austin, Texas, please welcome John Roescher.

156 - A Handsome Take on Humans

Today on Obsessed Show we've got our first ever (I mean, I think it's the first-ever... once you're past 150 episodes, you have the right to forget stuff) - so I THINK it's the first-ever letterpress designer and printer, and his name is James Lewis Tucker. You guys may not know this, but I got my start with very print-oriented design roles, and I've had the pleasure of producing a few letterpress projects, and it's just one of my favorite design touches. Today we're gonna nerd out with James about all things letterpress, and why we might still be thinking about letterpress going into 2021. Side note: I was (strangely) about to lose my voice during this recording, so apologies in advance for when my voice gets all wonky. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with James Lewis Tucker.

155 - Letterpress Designer James Lewis Tucker

Prescott Perez-Fox is an art director, brand strategist, speaker, podcaster, and teacher, recently transplanted to Phoenix, AZ. Now a Lecturer at Arizona State University, he brings his knowledge, passion, and a few hard-fought lessons to the next generation of multidisciplinary designers. In addition to his brand-focused design work, Prescott is the founder and host of The Busy Creator Podcast, a popular discussion show dedicated to creative productivity, workflow, culture, and technology. He speaks at workshops and conferences on topics relating to creativity and workplace dynamics, and regularly consults with agencies and teams on improving their practice and work systems. Prescott completed his BS in Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University before heading to England's University for the Creative Arts for an MA in Graphic Communication. Prescott is also the founder of the NYC Podcast Meetup, an avid swing dancer, and veteran rugby player. Without further ado, please welcome our third conversation with Prescott Perez-Fox.

154 - Zoom Design Education & Life After NYC

Valerie Aurilio, General Manager, and Phyllis Murphy, Executive Creative Director Today on Obsessed Show it's a two for one sale... I'm chatting with Valerie Aurilio, General Manager at Landor & Fitch, and Phyllis Murphy, Executive Creative Director, at Landor & Fitch. If you're doing any design work in the branding space, there's very little chance you haven't heard of Landor, and as we record today on the evening of November 3... spoiler alert, we didn't know who won yet. But Valerie and Phyllis are literally branding America’s future. Together, they are leading a partnership with the America 250 Foundation to execute a multi-year campaign that builds Americans’ awareness and understanding of the nation’s 250thanniversary in 2026. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Valerie Aurilio and Phyllis Murphy.

153 - Branding America's Future with Landor

Throughout his career, Gomez has regularly shifted between live-action, animation and graphic design, cross-pollinating between the mediums to inform his design aesthetic with outside influences. While it may be common practice in the design space to stick to one lane and perfect a given discipline, Jose has found the most growth as an artist by switching it up. He's worked for some impressive clients such Gatorade, HBO, Mountain Dew, Ford, Adidas, Slack, Mercedes, Cleveland Cavaliers and AT&T. So without further ado, please enjoy this conversation with Jose Gomez.

152-Live Action + Animation = ATK PLN

Howard has a unique design point of view. Over the past 25 years, he has served scores of Fortune 500 companies, including Pfizer, CVS/Caremark, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, and SAP, by leveraging the concept of simplicity to activate customers and employees. He challenges design teams across the world to bring humanity to brands. You could say Howard was born to design. Maybe we'll dig into that story in a moment.  After founding a NYC-based design company at the age of 28, which was purchased by Omnicom in 2001, Howard joined Siegel+Gale in 2004. Since then he’s brought simplicity, a global perspective and systems thinking to designing brand programs for some of the largest companies on the planet. As many of you may know, I'm a total branding geek at heart, so I'm incredibly excited to chat with Howard about the future of branding, and to learn more about Siegel+Gale.

151—The Future of Brand Experience

Obsessed Show host Josh Miles interviews some of the hottest designers—from branding and illustration, to industrial design and architecture, to learn what makes them tick.

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