Episode 381: Steven Christian

Steven Christian is the multitalented creator behind Iltopia Studios, which is located in Portland, OR.
Steven Christian

Steven Christian’s motto is “create and conquer”, and that’s exactly what he’s managed to do with his career. While he started out as an athlete, a sports injury cause him to discover visual art, and he has reinvented himself as a multitalented cartoonist, podcaster, animator, and AR mobile developer. Oh, and he’s studying to apply to medical school. Talk about Black excellence!

Steven shared with me how he balances all of this, and talked about how the current times helped kickstart his career. We also talked about some of his projects — including the popular Pokémon Twerk Team — and he reminisced on growing up in northern California and detailed how his injury helped open his eyes to the worlds of art, design, and tech. Steven also talked about his Skillshare courses, listed some of his inspirations, and spoke about his dream collab and the hope of building more of a community around his work. Steven is a prime example of turning what could be seen as a tragedy into an amazing triumph!

Episode 380: Nichelle Pace

Nichelle Pace is the president and founder of Brand Enchanting Media in Camden, New Jersey.
Nichelle Pace

It’s the start of a new year, and I think we could probably all use something to make us feel more resilient and motivated. Well lucky for you, I’ve got just the thing — our conversation with the dynamic and talented Nichelle Pace. As the president and founder of Brand Enchanting Media, Nichelle brings over 20 years of experience to the table to help her clients with a variety of creative services.

After a brief 2020 recap, Nichelle talked about her process for working with clients, and we spoke about why she started the consultancy and how the market has changed as culture changes. She also spoke on growing up in New Jersey, as well as her previous careers in film and video production and advertising. We even talked about her popular blog Stylemom and how Black bloggers from the early 2000s grew into some of the cultural trendsetters we know today. Kick off the year with some great inspiring talk from Nichelle!

Episode 379: Kristy Tillman

Kristy Tillman is a designer, investor, futurist, and the founder of the Made in the Future fellowship.
Kristy Tillman

I’m closing out this unprecedented year by talking with the one and only Kristy Tillman. Longtime listeners of the show may remember her first appearance back in 2015, but since then, Kristy has become one of the leading design voices in our community. As for what’s next for Kristy? Well, let’s just say that tomorrow looks bright.

Kristy shared how her year has went so far, including departing from Slack, becoming an investor through indie.vc and The Designer Fund, and creating the Made in the Future Fellowship, a program for helping underrepresented emerging design professionals. Kristy also spoke on what success looks like for her now at this stage in her career, talked about making time for joy, and dove into the hard-won lessons she’s learned this year. If there’s one thing to take from Kristy’s journey and her career, it’s the knowledge that there are many opportunities available to grow your design career if you stay patient and chart your course.

Quite a fitting way to end off 2020, right?

Episode 378: Donald Burlock, Jr.

Donald Burlock, Jr. is the creative technologist lead for the physical experience design team at Capital One.
Donald Burlock

2020 has been one hell of a year. What if you could go into 2021 being superhuman? Then you should meet Donald Burlock, Jr.! By day, he serves as the creative technologist lead for the physical experience design team at Capital One. But by night, he’s the author of the brand new book Superhuman by Design: Keys to Unlocking Your Creativity for Life-Changing Results.

We started off talking about his work at Capital One, and from there Donald talked about his time working as an entrepreneur, growing up in the Midwest, and his times studying at Kettering and Georgia Tech. He also spoke on the inspiration behind his book, and shared how he’s helping to build an equitable future through unlocking people’s creativity. If you need a boost, then I hope this interview gets you inspired to take action!

Happy Holidays!

Episode 377: Brandon Viney

Brandon Viney is group creative lead for Google Brand Studio in Portland, Oregon.
brandon Viney

If you’ve seen either the the “Black Girl Magic” video or the Black History Month video this year from Google, then you’re already intimately acquainted with the work of Brandon Viney, group creative lead at Google Brand Studio. He heads up the creative agency inside Google that uses data from the search engine to produce powerful ad spots like these (and many more).

Brandon gave a peek behind the curtain on his creative process when starting new projects, and talked about the Google Brand Studios Fellowship Program and shared what Google looks for when bringing on new talent. He also shared growing up in the Blue Ridge Appalachian mountains of Virginia, attending VCU’s world-renowned Brandcenter, and reflected back on his time working in advertising at Wieden + Kennedy. Brandon is definitely one of the most down-to-earth and humble guests I’ve had on the show in some time, and I hope his story inspires you to push the boundaries of your creativity!