This is the last one ever. Yes it is.

Oh, and Steve Gordon is presenting at the HOW Conference again. Go see that.

–nv–

Right click to download the last ever Be A Design Cast to your computer (36mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

What are we doing next? Rocking your face off, baby.

The best Superbowl commercial recap of all Superbowl commercial recaps. Why? Because of this:

Does that set the tone for you? Are you not entertained? Featuring the return of Tom Nemitz, Design Princess¬Æ Ashley McFeely, Robert “I Can Has Cheeseburger?” Maguire, and Steve RDQlus Gordon, as well as old hats Donovan and I. A full hour of unhinged greatness just for you.

Nate Voss

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast LII to your computer (XXXmb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Last December traveled to the fair city of Boise, Idaho to speak to a group of promising young designers who were soon to enter the workforce as recent graduates. They were a good group, and proved to be a lot of fun, whether it was drinking and dancing with their professors, walking home in the freezing rain barefoot, or having their friends take awkward photos of me from a distance making “gestures” in the foreground. Our 24-hours in Boise was one of the most enjoyable trips I’ve ever taken in relation to graphic design. So what to do but plop down in the middle of the Boise State graphic design department and record our follow-up to Season 2: Season 3! We spend about half this show talking with our faculty friends and the other half taking some long-overdue listener mail. Welcome back!

Nate Voss

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 51 to your computer (14.5mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

I met Steven Heller at a party, in a line at the bar. I knew that in a few days time I would conducting this interview, which I spent a great deal of time preparing for (admittedly unusual for us), and yet that still didn’t keep my knees from shaking or my heartbeat at a reasonable level. It wasn’t fear or anxiety or anything like that. It was just a moment. Make that a Moment, with a capital “M.” I’ll ruminate about meeting my design icons at another time, let me just say that a line at a bar at a party is a fine place to meet Steven Heller.

I won’t spend time here telling you why you should listen to this show, because it’s Steven Heller, for crying out loud. I can tell you this: Steven Heller requires no editing. Even our most savvy and intelligent guests up to this point have occasionally been stumped by our ridiculous lines of questioning, or the impossible Reflex Blue Round trivia, but not Steven. Not a moment’s hesitation, not a breath between thoughts. The man is like a lightning rod for intelligent discussion, and he delivered was is surely our finest show to date. Hats off.

Thank you for listening and please enjoy our 50th show.

Sincerely,

Nate Voss

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 50 to your computer (14mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

As Season 2 comes to an end we took a look through the Be A Design Cast Archives for all of the little bits and pieces we never go to air. So we grabbed our favorites and made a show! Featuring Steve Gordon and Adam Nielsen, Donovan’s letterhead, Nate’s swearing, and a 5-Minute Portfolio Review for one of our listeners and friends from AI in Chicago, who may or may not have been named after the enemies in Top Gun. I dare you not to have fun listening to this show! Dare you!

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 49.5 to your computer (12.5mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Listening back to our interview with Brett Wickens of MetaDesign, Donovan and I were struck by a great number of things. One is how we seem to be able to carry on the BADCast format well enough via iChat with someone we’ve never met who is half a country away (this is our third such long-distance show). Two is how awesome Brett Wickens is and the rest of the numbers fall from that. Just now, trying to fit in all the works of note that Brett has accomplished in his long career into the little interview photo directly above this paragraph seemed impossible. I left a lot out, but do you see those CS1 and CS2 boxes? Do you remember how ugly Adobe packaging was before them? Thank Brett. Do you see The Sopranos logo? Well we didn’t even get to talk to him about that because there was so much else to cover. And we went long. How about a story about spelling the client’s name wrong on a comp? And the client is a Beatle? This interview was amazing to conduct and hope it is as much fun for you to listen to as it was for us to make. Special thanks again to Brett for taking the time to talk to us.

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 49 to your computer (18mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Victor Rodriguez has been a friend of the Be A Design Cast for many a year now. He and Donovan go way back and I’ve had the opportunity to hang with him a handful of times as well. Sadly, every time we get to hang out, we’re somehow not in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. So that sucks, but only for us. Victor (of Eurie Creative) was named Ambassador of the Arts by AIGA Nevada in 2004, and his work has appeared in HOW, PRINT ID, and other pubs the world over. He’s made a living designing for the entertainment industry, but recently has taken more a turn to the pro-bono world, which we cover. Special thanks again to AIGA Nebraska for our last three guests, and especially to Victor, Kilndt, and Jenn for being on the show. Enjoy!

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 48 to your computer (XXmb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Klindt Parker is a man. A Man, I tell you, with capital M. Klindt is the Design Manager for a small coffee shop in Seattle (and the rest of the livable Earth) called Starbucks. Now this fact alone put him into my pantheon of design heroes, but as you’ll note while listening, Klindt is a really great, fun-loving guy. Makes you feel like all of that feel-good design you see when you walk into a Starbucks actually comes from someone’s heart, rather than the soulless mega-corporation giant monster they are often played-out to be (which is another topic we cover). So, if you’re a fan of the ‘Bucks, grab your mocha blatte blatte and relax to the show; if not, grab your emo-indie-coffee shop beverage and let your burning hatred of capitalism simmer as you listen to the newest Be A Design Cast.

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 47 to your computer (14.5mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Welcome back for another exciting episode of the Be A Design Cast! This week we are proud to bring you our interview with Jenn Visocky O’Grady, co-author of A Design’s Research Manual: Succeed in Design by Knowing Your Clients and What They Really Need. Which is an awesome book, no matter what you think of really long subtitles. In addition to the book, we spend a lot of time talking about the finer points of design education (Jenn is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design at Cleveland State), AIGA student chapters, and plenty more. I’ve known Jenn and her husband Ken (do not call them “Kennifer”) for a number of years now and not only are they both brilliantly talented designers, they are also two of the nicest people in the world. So big thanks again to Jenn for taking time for the show, and we hope you all enjoy it out there!

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 46 to your computer (11mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.

Every now and then we like to branch out on the Be A Design Cast and interview people who are not designers, per se, but who have made a great deal of impact on the design world. Shaun Inman is one of those men. When we traveled to Nashville to meet Shaun, I must admit I was expecting him to be older. Instead he was just about my age with the computer wisdom of 75 strong men. He has transitioned from designer to developer and is responsible for Mint, Inman Flash Replacement, and Designologue (a way better form of layer tennis), and turned out to be one hell of a nice guy. Also big into Final Fantasy, which long time BADCast listeners know makes me all kinds of happy/nerdy during shows. Big thanks again to Shaun for being on the show, and we look forward to calling you next time our BADG Mint breaks down —

–nv–

podcast [at] beadesigngroup [dot] com

Right click to download Be A Design Cast 45 to your computer (12.6mb), or subscribe directly from iTunes.