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Lebogang Ditshwene is the owner of Lephutshe Designs, a graphic design studio in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Who wants to be the next Mark Zuckerberg when you could be the next Alaxic Smith? This 18-year-old wunderkind started coding at the age of 12 and has already founded two social networks and is busy building his third — Communly — where he’s working with some of the biggest names in music. Alaxic is a rising star that you’ll definitely want to watch for in the future. Learn more about his tireless drive and work ethic (as well as some of my tips for SXSW!) in this week’s interview.
For the month of January, we have a 3-part “Design Journeys” series — podcast interviews with designers that have been featured on AIGA.org. Rounding out our series here on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is an interview with Emory Douglas, the former Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party from 1960-1981. I think you’ll really enjoy this talk with an American design legend.
For the month of January, we have a 3-part “Design Journeys” series — podcast interviews with designers that have been featured on AIGA.org. This week, we talked with Maurice Woods, former professional basketball player, graphic designer, and executive director of the Inneract Project. His advice for what Black designers can do to help give back to the community rings through very clearly.
If you enjoyed last week’s interview with Andrew Bass, then you’re in luck! This month kicks off our 3-part “Design Journeys” series — podcast interviews with designers that have been featured on AIGA.org. First up is Steve Jones, graphic designer and design professor at San Francisco State University.ย We touched on diversity in the design field, education, typography, and the notion of a Black design aesthetic.
Michael Roach is very future-forward when it comes to his work. As we talked, I kept thinking “hey, so-and-so is doing that now…except Michael was doing it years ago”! Aside from being a graphic designer and web designer, Michael is also a jazz pianist, and we talked a bit on how music influences his design work and on the vibrant design scene in upstate New York.
I first ran across Stephen Topsy online years ago when he was doing iOS design work. Now he’s a programmer, but still dabbles in design as well. We spoke about how Aaliyah helped him get his spark for design, how motivation came from one of his high school teachers, and touched on LA’s diverse tech and design scene.