Creative Career Starter

In the spirit of bringing a deeper understanding of the NFT space as a skill for your job search, a conversation with Ryan Haigh (@HeyHaigh) and Martin Bekerman (@MySavageDogs) that will help you understand the key principles for success in the NFT world.  These guys get it.

A conversation with Ryan Haigh, my friend and cryptocurrency shaman. We will be discussing the rapidly growing, incredibly complex world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). It's a place where he has become an influential voice and content expert. He's so good at this that he got me into the marketplace on Foundation.app.  Good stuff here. Follow him on Twitter @heyhaigh

Part 2 of my conversation with Frank DiPinto - who is a Creative Director at Electronic Arts,  the computer games giant. Frank, who calls himself a “creative athlete”,  moved from Adidas to Electronic Arts and has parlayed his passion for sports and gaming into a unique and interesting position at EA. He has great advice for young designers with a love for sports and design.

A conversation with Frank DiPinto, Creative Director at Electronic Arts - the computer games giant located in Redwood, California. Frank has had quite an amazing career for someone just 10 years out of design school - starting at VF Imagewear in Tampa,  then moving to Adidas in Portland - and now Electronic Arts. In Part 1 of our conversation, we will discuss his experience at Adidas.

A conversation with David Nardone, a Creative Director and Designer serving a diverse family of state-legal cannabis goods committed to helping people & pets in their everyday lives. David has spent the last 5 years primarily in the cannabis and CBD-infused product sector creating branding and packaging and making information more accessible in a rapidly expanding and sometimes confusing category. We'll talk about what he does, how he got where he is, and what he looks for in young talent when he's reviewing a portfolio. To see David's work, visit: www.davidnardone.com

A conversation with John Sinsabaugh, Senior Lead, Product Design at The Athletic -- a subscription-based media publisher of really smart sports coverage for die-hard fans. John started his career at HUGE in NYC as a visual designer, then moved to Elephant in San Francisco before moving to his current position at The Athletic just over 2 years agoWe'll talk to John about what he does, how he got where he is, and what he looks for in young talent when he's reviewing portfolios. 

A conversation with with Mike McDougall - the parent of a talented young artist who needed a bit of help figuring out how to translate his love of “art” into a career.  Mike will discuss the range of feelings and concerns a parent has when hearing your young HS student wants to go to art school.

In this podcast, I'll be talking with Jared Unger, Senior UX Designer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland about what he does, how he got where he is, and what he looks for in young talent when he's reviewing a portfolio.

In this episode I talk with Phil Czapla, a Brand Designer at Pinterest in San Francisco, about what he does, how he got where he is, and what he looks for in young talent when he's reviewing portfolios. Phil has lots of great advice around how to impress during the interview: "When designers come with perspective and they have an opinion...it's really good”. Have a listen!

Today I’ll be talking with young designer Cam Chatt - who just accepted a graphic design position at OddsChecker - the UK’s #1 sports betting odds comparison site. The perseverance and single-mindedness that Cam showed during his 18 month job search is like nothing I’ve seen. He’s going to tell us how he dealt with the pandemic, a tight job market, the canceling of all professional sports, and worst of all...coming in second for 2 sports design positions he really wanted - before sticking the landing and getting hired at OddsChecker.To see Cam's work visit: cameronjchatt.comInstagram: @camjoey

A conversation with Illustrator/Designer Emilio Serrano - who just accepted a position with a wonderful creative firm. We’ll learn about his story and all the things he did to realize his creative dream of working at Moxie SozoTo view Emilio's work:  https://semilioc.com

A conversation with Abby Dye, Digital Designer at Digital Hive in Syracuse, NY. Abby talks about sticking to the process with a single-minded focus until she got that first job. Encouraging and helpful advice for young creative job seekersYou can see her work at dye-designs.com

A conversation with Teysia Parks, full-time Designer/Art Director at Partners & Napier and owner of Studio T. She talks about how she manages her time and creativity with such a demanding schedule and busy life.

A conversation with Ben Picard, a Product Designer at The Action Network in San Francisco. Ben reviews the work of a lot of young designers as part of his day-to-day and we’re going to dig into - among other things - his thoughts about what makes young job seekers stand out. He’s got a lot of tips and strategies for how to be more effective as you begin the job search process.

Part 2 of our conversation with Chris Petescia.Chris gives us his insights as to where he thinks the creative industry is headed and how young creative talent can position themselves to take full advantage of it. He is so smart and so thoughtful - don't miss this one.

Chris Petescia discusses starting a successful creative firm right out of school and how he emphasized an inspiring and rare creative culture at Carrot Creative. In Part 1 of our conversation, Chris talks about how to present yourself to a creative director who looks beyond your portfolio.

A conversation with Sarah Jane Casale, Motion Graphic Artist at Optic Sky in Rochester, NY. Sarah began her career as a Designer at ESPN but found herself longing for a more intimate creative setting with broader creative challenges. Hear how this change has allowed her to grow in ways she never anticipated.

A conversation with Anna Wisbey, a recent graduate of Alfred University with a BFA in Graphic Design who found herself a bit unsure about what it was that she wanted to do as a creative professional, and as a result, how to identify her next move. We’ll discuss the steps we took to move from that point in her life to her newfound confidence in a focused portfolio and a career plan that has her excited and ready to get after it!To see Anna’s work, visit: www.annawisbey.com

On this Podcast we’ll be talking with Jessica Cook. Jess graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in May 2017 and started out as a UX/UI designer at Frog Design in Brooklyn NY. She’s now a Product Designer for Open Innovation at Mozilla in Brooklyn NY. Jess talks about recognizing the need for more mentoring and greater, in-depth projects to help her skillset evolve and grow - and the moves she made to find her first "next job". Jess considers herself a Hybrid designer with UX/UI skillset, focusing on design systems and building digital products for a variety of diverse clients.

On this podcast, I speak with Samson Rapp, Illustrator and Concept Artist. Samson and I discuss the path he’s taking as he looks to break into the world of game design as a Concept Artist. Samson is a recent art school grad and is now doing the hard work to elevate his illustration skills and his portfolio.

A conversation with Ben McDougall, a high school senior and a talented designer and illustrator. We’ll discuss how Ben learned about potential careers, shaped a portfolio to apply to the right colleges and now has begun to imagine life as a professional creative.

A conversation with Greg Cunneyworth, the creative director and founding partner of Makeway—a digital design agency in Columbus, OH and Rochester, NY. Greg talks about the many ways young designers can get his attention and make the shortlist as he considers expanding his team.Visit makeway.is to get a look at their work.

A conversation with Claire Cianca, product design illustrator at Flexport in San Francisco. Claire has found success as an Illustrator in the agency world in NYC and LA and now in the corporate world in San Francisco. Claire talks about developing her skills as an illustrator and a business person and also talks about the challenges she faced figuring out her creative life as a high school art student.To see her work visit: clairecianca.com

A conversation with Michaela Sansouci, graphic designer at Cloud Health in Boston Mass. Michaela leveraged her numerous internships to land multiple job offers. Hear how she leveraged them and ultimately decided to sign on with Cloud Health.You can see Michaela’s work at: http://michaelasan.com/projects

A conversation with Andrea (Shaver) Carpenter, Digital Art Director at Karsh Hagan in Denver CO. Andrea made the most of her networking skills in securing her first job as a Junior Art Director at Karsh Hagen. Having moved to a completely new market to start her creative career, Andrea talks about her networking strategies and what she did to connect and find opportunities. To see her work visit: andreashaver.com

A conversation with Lauren Mays, Designer/Illustrator at Chase Design in Skaneateles, NY. Lauren, a self-proclaimed shy person, shares how she overcame challenges like networking, reaching out with cover letters and interviewing during her job search. Lauren has a wonderful range of skills as a designer/illustrator and you can see them on display at: lauren-mays.com

A conversation with Ilana Griffo, Graphic Designer and Illustrator, who has had anything but a traditional career path. She talks about her journey fueled by a desire to do the work she loves to do!Ilana creates surface design and hand-lettering for licensing as well as illustrations for brands including Party City, Pier 1 and Michaels stores. Her work graces home decor, stationery, publications and more. Her work, her book and her online courses can be found at ilanagriffo.com

I know a lot of you are feeling anxious and unsure of how to proceed with your job search in this age of COVID-19, so I’ve asked Jeremy Schwartz to come on and give us his thoughts on the process. Jeremy is the Chief Creative Officer and one of the founders of Truth Collective, an innovative and nimble agency that relies on young creative talent to help deliver smart and disruptive work to their broad range of clients. Jeremy has a lot of really solid insights to help you navigate these uncharted waters, so have a listen. You can check out their work at www.truthcollective.com

A conversation with Mike Burpoe, lead UI/UX Designer at Punchmark in Charlotte, NC. Mike talks about finding success in the design world when you are not necessarily the most talented visual designer. So many other talents matter, and he has them. In a wide-ranging conversation, Mike discusses being in high school and wanting to work in the creative industry as well as what it takes to impress him during an interview!

Episode 2: Relationships and Your First Job +Telling Your Creative StoryA conversation with Margaret Sommers, Product Designer at LendingClub in San Francisco, CA. Margaret discusses managing her personal life and her new professional life while relocating for that first job. She also discusses focusing your portfolio AND your story as a way to win an interview. Margaret graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in May 2018 and after a few interviews at various design firms, chose to become a product designer in the financial technology (FinTech) industry.To see her work visit: margaretsommers.com

A conversation with Liz Wells, Senior UX Designer, Stink Studios in Brooklyn NY. Liz gives us an overview of the UX Design world and discusses the skills she looks for in the young designers she interviews. Liz also shares advice about preparing your portfolio, the interview process and surviving the first couple months on a new job.Liz Wells graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in May 2015 and in 4 short years has risen from UX intern to Senior User Experience Designer. She has been recognized by The One Show, The Webbys, Communication Arts and was a was a finalist for Young Guns 15 by the The One Club for Creativity. You can check her work out at https://www.lizvwells.com/