Letters From Dallas Type

The Dallas Type interviews Arturo Torres. In our chat, he shares how he got started, the struggles he faced growing up, and the surprisingly mature and heartfelt perspective he has that empowers his art, his inspirations and his outlook on working hard and making people happy.

The Dallas Type interviews Arturo Torres: an incredibly talented and thoughtful young illustrator and community lover. For the 14th type set, I’m happy to share the interview with this talented young man, who despite still being in his early 20’s, not only has a a book with his name on it gracing the New York Times and Washington Post Best Seller lists — but who can also openly share about the struggles he faced growing up, and the surprisingly mature and heartfelt perspective he has on how that empowers his art, and his interactions with the people around him. From his illustrations and writing for The Track List series features for Central Track to his pretty dope illustrations for the best selling book, The Rap Yearbook, Arturo and his work reveal a confidence, charm and vulnerability you don’t expect. As does our chat, where he shares how he got started, the unexpected path to success, his inspirations and his outlook on working hard and making people happy. It’s a conversation that’s full of heart, and incredibly powerful. Enjoy.

Today’s Dallas Type interviews Tim Langford: executive creative director, business owner and devoted-to-family-man. In our chat, Tim shares his thoughts about teleportation, his love for solving puzzles, how restraint is necessary for the “a-ha,” and ambition.

Today’s Dallas Type interviews Tim Langford: executive creative director, business owner and devoted-to-family-man. And for this 13th installment (we're halfway through!), I’m a bit more nervous and excited to share the interview with my boss and mentor, Tim Langford. Nervous, because, damnit, he’s my boss. Excited because, he’s one of my favorite mentors and cheerleaders. He was my podcast guinea pig and the coach I went to when I first thought of the Dallas Type. Like all the other ideas I’ve had over the past few years, he nonchalantly helped hone it into being better with his art of suggestion. And he’s been completing the big picture with his creativity and insight for the last 20-plus years: from his false start into medical illustration, to a career rooted in graphic design and problem solving, to his role in shaping designers and their ideas. In our chat, Tim shares his thoughts about teleportation, his love for Helvetica and solving puzzles, how restraint is necessary for the “a-ha,” and the word, "ambition".

The Dallas Type interviews Lauren Shafer: designer, photographer, hat-juggler and future mad-beats mixer. For the 12th Dallas Type set, I’m happy to share an interview that shines a mustard-tinted light on another source of inspiration for creatives, which is music. Having started off in high school, hustling Homecoming couples with her photos from Eckerd’s, to sowing her oats doing photography and design for bands, to “settling down” to herd the myriad of graphic design needed to run Eastfield Community College — Lauren has taken a colorful path that involves playlists, bullet points and confrontations with old teachers. In our chat, Lauren weaves music into her history and inspirations, and how it might groove into her goals for the future. And a “boop.”

The Dallas Type interviews Lauren Shafer. In our chat, she shares her love for bullet points, how music weaves into her history and inspirations, and how it might groove into her goals for the future.

The Dallas Type interviews im Foronda: writer, creative director and voice actor. In this short, Jim shares his thoughts on story arcs, creativity as puzzle solving and characters that sometimes die.

The Dallas Type interviews Jim Foronda: writer, creative director and voice actor. The past 10 Dallas Type interviews have been with visual storytellers, so I’m excited to share this interview because it’s pretty damn colorful in a different way. Jim pursued an education in film-making, then followed the intrigue of fake ice cream into advertising, and somehow made his way into voice acting for commercials, animated films and video games. In our chat, Jim shares his thoughts on story arcs, creativity as puzzle solving and characters that sometimes die — in the most lighthearted way you could ever talk about that type of subject.

The Dallas Type interviews Zack Davis, designer-slash-developer-slash-business-man. In this short, Zack shares his unique perspective on finding mentors, Saul Bass, sci-fi, book stores and robots.