Makers of Sport® Podcast

“The Internet is a great tool but you can only learn so much. Actually going to a place physically where you have someone that has [designed] at the highest level, you learn so much more…that experience is invaluable.”

FYI: Sneakers are a passion of mine. It's no secret. This episode is quite nerdy on the sneaker talk.

Xavier Jones, footwear designer at Reebok, joined the podcast to discuss the footwear design industry and his path to designing for athletes like Shaq and Allen Iverson.

Xavier's story begins in the Michigan basketball mecca of Flint. He let's us in on his story and how SLAM Magazine, And One and Ballislife inspired and led him to pursue a dream of designing sneakers for a living.

We chat about some of our favorite kicks, discuss the evolution of the Jordan Brand, reminisce about the prime of the And One Mixtape and discuss how sport influences mainstream culture and hence sneaker culture.

Xavier and I also discuss the unfortunate topic of violence which often happens at rare sneaker releases and how scarcity mindset and poverty effect the violent aspect of these events.

Xavier also chats about some of the design processes as a sneaker designer; including what software designers use, why attending Pensole is vital, the collaboration dynamics of teams working on footwear products & more.

Mentions Include:

• Xavier Jones on Instagram
• Pensole Footwear Design Academy
• D'Wayne Edwards, Pensole Footwear Design Academy
• Jason Mayden, Co-Founder, SuperHeroic
• Jordan XXI commmercial by W+K
• Wieden + Kennedy
• Bob's Classic Kicks
• Kith NYC
• Ronnie Fieg, founder of Kith
• And One Mixtapes
• Alex Bogusky, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
• Hot Sauce, And 1
• Lace Up: The Ultimate Sneaker Challenge
• Suzette Henry, Pensole
• Reebok Classic
• Rbk Aliens Project
• the Reebok S. Carter

My next guest is Chris Do, founder and CEO of Blind Studio, a brand strategy and motion design firm and TheFutur, an online business education platform for designers.

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You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

"Share your story, share your process; there might be somebody out there who's like you trying to find out where to start and you might have some insight they can use. Don't be afraid."

Britt Davis, senior designer for AMB Sports + Entertainment (i.e. Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Utd. F.C., Mercedes-Benz Stadium, joined the show to discuss her quick climb to being one of sports design's most notable designers.

Her story begins with a creative childhood, supportive family and an undergraduate degree at NC State in industrial design; which, due to my own curiosity about industrial design leads to a conversation about our shared interest in sneakers, as well as how design, even though it has many disciplines, has very similar principles that translate well to one another.

A 6-year stint as a marketing designer at UNC Charlotte eventually influenced Britt to obtain a graduate design degree from SCAD; which led to an internship at Viacom's SpikeTV, a repositioning of her work as a sports designer, a mentorship with Todd Radom and a senior thesis honoring the 100th anniversary of baseball's Negro Leagues called "Heritage on the Move")

We reminisce about one of our first interactions together as Britt voluntarily experienced an intimidating critique environment at an Irish pub in Columbia, Ga. while attending Creative South, where some of sports design's top designers discussed her thesis project and offered feedback on her sketches for Heritage on the Move.

Britt also discusses how she landed a gig with the Atlanta Falcons and AMB Sports + Entertainment as we opine about our mutual love of the city of Atlanta and how it was ready and in a unique place culturally to embrace a professional soccer team such as Atlanta United FC.

Lastly, we end with quite a bit of soccer talk.

Mentions Include:

• Britt Davis on Twitter
• Britt Davis on Instagram
• Britt Davis on Dribbble
• Britt Davis on LinkedIn
• Falcons Creative
• Heritage on the Move)
• Todd Radom
• All Def Digital
• Kith NYC
• Episode 87: Oliva Brestal, Sporting KC

My next guest is Xavier Jones, a graduate of Pensole Footwear Design Academy and a current sneaker designer at Reebok.

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You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

On this episode, we have a crossover episode of sorts as I bring you the raw and uncut audio from a Q&A on SportsLogos.net I conducted with Brian Gundell of Brian Gundell Graphic Design Co. and Brandon Moore of the Miami Dolphins regarding their open branding freelance project for Baseball New Zealand.

We discuss how the idea came about to publish a public log of process work for branding a sports organization like Baseball NZ, as well as chat about the challenges of working across 3 timezones, including one that is 18 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

We also chat about how the designers are compensating for the cultural knowledge and differences in having never been to New Zealand or being intimately familiar with NZ heritage.

In addition, we discuss how the designers plan to veer from New Zealand's biggest sports brand, the All Blacks, in order to build a brand of its own for baseball.

Mentions Include:

• Baseball New Zealand
• SportsLogos.net Open Branding Project The Open Branding Project Q&A with Makers of Sport
• Chris Creamer, SportsLogos.net
• Māori people

My next guest is Britt Davis, senior designer for the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United F.C. at AMB Sports + Entertainment.

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You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

"I think that the best design is design you don't notice most of the time, so I have no problem just putting up a beautiful photo if it's a beautiful photo."

Marissa McClain, Sr. Designer/Brand Specialist for the Boston Red Sox joined this episode to discuss her passion for fine art & photography, and how it led to a gig with the Red Sox.

We discuss her past as a student photographer for the Michigan Wolverines and an intern at Complex Media; as well as how she ended up shooting the Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series win which led to an art-loving, non-sports-liking kid to end up working full-time for one of baseball's historic teams.

Marissa touches on why she pushes herself and her creative team to make things with intent, why we should let photography do its job sometimes and go easy on the textures and filters, and how design principles are the same no matter the discipline (i.e. motion, graphic design, etc.)

We also discuss the fear of being a "jack of all trades, master of none" and how having an inherent curiously is good for creativity.

Marissa touches on how the Red Sox incorporate motion, GIFs and animation into their social media, as well as their strategies for Instagram stories and when to balance very produced work with raw, candid images.

Lastly, Marissa discusses her "34 x 34" project for Big Papi's retirement and her creative friendship with NFL tight end and The Imagination Agency owner, Martellus Bennett.

Mentions Include:

• Red Sox Creative Services
• Marissa McClain Twitter
• Marissa McClain Instagram
• Complex Media
• Four Pins
• MLC Connect
• Episode 24: Chin Wang
• T-shaped skills, IDEO
• Episode 62: Michelle Cruz, NY Red Bulls
• Font Review Journal
• 34 x 34 Big Papi
• Martellus Bennett, The Imagination Agency
• "A Whole New Mind" book
• Refinery29

My next guest is tentative right now but hoping to interview Tom Bookwalter, designer of the Kansas State "powercat" logo.

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You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

"The main job of a typeface is obviously to convey some information; but the second part of that is that it has to convey information with a specific tone or a voice."

Tal Lemming, the designer of the sports industry's favorite typeface, joins the podcast to talk typography, designing fonts and type's role in sports design.

Having got his start as a graphic designer in the agency scene in Baton Rouge after gradating from LSU, Tal eventually moved to Delaware to become a print designer at renown type foundry, House Industries, where he designed print collateral by day and refined his type design skills at night.

He shares a few stories from his House Industries tenure; including working long hours, receiving blunt art direction from a House Industries co-founder and creative director, as well as the tough job of making things for graphic designers. Oftentimes which result marked up work being mailed back or vitriolic comments and unsolicited feedback.

Needless to say, resiliency is something Tal has built up throughout his career. We discuss how designers' need to build thick skin and remain resilient in this day of keyboard critique, especially sports designers.

Tal touches on how typefaces convey different meanings and how brands may use the same typeface; however, the pairing of images and color can make them feel very different.

Lastly, Tal gives some of his thoughts on the infamous United typeface and how it led to a project with the US Soccer as he discusses 90 Minutes, the custom typeface he built for the US Soccer Federation.

Mentions Include:

• Type Supply website
• Type Supply Twitter
• Type Supply Instagram
• House Industries
• Ken Barber, letterer
• Andy Cruz, Co-Founder, House Industries
• University of Kentucky rebrand with Nike GIG
• FedEx logo by Landor
• Gretel branding for Viceland
• 2014 US Soccer World Cup Identity using United
• United typeface
• Stone Ward, US Soccer's agency of record
• US Soccer's 90 Minutes

My next guest is Marissa McClain, brand specialist and senior designer for the Boston Red Sox creative services group.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

"At the end of the day, I consider myself a creative person. I've taken the time to grow these skills slowly over time and I want to have as much fun as I can on all aspects of a project—whether that's design, animation, etc., to me it's all fun. That is what is going to stop me from burning out."

Shane Seminole Mielke does many things—from coaching big-time high school football, to being a Crossfit athlete, to being a designer, developer & animator; he is a jack of all trades. Shane is not, however, a master of none as the cliché states; instead, he uses his time effectively to master his many different interests which includes building websites and animations for movies such as "Suicide Squad", "Dunkirk", "Kong" and more; as well as working with Lucasfilm (on the "Star Wars" franchise), Blizzard Ent. and Riot Games.

He has won numerous awards which include: 6 Adobe Sites of the Day, 2 Awwwards, 36 FWA Sites of the Day, 4 FWA Mobile Sites of the Day, 2 FWA Sites of the Month and 3 Adobe Cutting Edge Awards.

In this episode, Shane discusses the value of time and how he balances personal life with growing in his many creative skillsets, as well as how we should deeply focus on one thing in order to master that thing before pivoting to the next.

We discuss the early days of the web and some interactive shops that were pushing the limits of technology. We also touch on how today interactive design has become very stale with a lot of the same stuff being created over and over and how at one point in time, the work made you famous, not your writing, tweets or Dribbble/Behance networking skills.

Lastly, we discuss Shane's book, "Launch It: 300+ things I've learned as a Designer, Developer and Creative Director". The book includes so much wisdom from Shane's career and we go in depth on some of that wisdom including discussing college degrees and if they are worth the time and money.

Mentions Include:

• Shane Mielke's website
• Shane's Twitter
• 2advanced Studios
• Eric Jordan, 2advanced founder
• Firstborn Interactive
• Gmunk
• Julie Zhou, VP of Design at Facebook
• "A Season of Satudays: A Brief History of College Football"
• "Launch It: 300+ things I've learned as a Designer, Developer and Creative Director. A Handbook for Digital Creatives"

My next guest is Tal Lemming, a type designer working under his own foundry, Type Supply. He is also the creator of the typeface, United, an LSU alumnus and creator of many custom typefaces in sports & entertainment.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

On this week's episode, I bring you a front seat at MLC Connect 2017 for "The Future of Sports Design" panel with Chin Wang (Creative Director, ESPN the Magazine), Todd Radom (Designer/Illustrator, Todd Radom Design), Joe Bosack (Creative Director, Joe Bosack & Co.) and Jon Contino (Creative Director, Jon Contino Studio)—all former guests of Makers of Sport.

The panel is short (about 30 min.), but a lot of knowledge and experience is shared as the panelists touch on how they build relationships, manage collaborating with creatives in multiple disciplines, mistakes they've made and more.

You'll hear Joe Bosack mention Tom O'Grady of Gameplan Creative and Bill Frederick of Fanbrandz who were in the audience.

Enjoy.

Mentions Include:

• MLC Connect
• Chin Wang's Mos Episode
• Todd Radom's MoS Episode
• Joe Bosack's MoS Episode
• Jon Contino's MoS Episode
• Tom O'Grady's MoS Episode
• Bill Frederick's MoS Episode

My next guest is Shane Mielke, an independent creative director and interactive designer in Southern California. Shane is a bit of legend in the interactive design space. Once a creative director for renown interactive firm of the early 2000s, 2Advanced Studios, Shane now freelances full-time, is a high school football coach at a prominent SoCal school and world-class Crossfit athlete. More on Shane can be found at his site.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

*Correction: I mentioned Todd's episode in this podcast as episode 3, it's actually episode 4.

"In the past designers were thought of as craftsmen only and were the 'make it pretty department'. We have an uphill battle to convince other people...I think our job and obligation is to showcase the fact that we can be involved in much more than the 'make it pretty' projects. That involves us having different tools in our toolbox and craft shouldn't be the only one."

As design director at The Coca-Cola Co., Alex Center has had quite an interesting journey.

His story begins with passing up an internship at renown design legend's studio, Milton Glaser, to intern for the New York Knicks; and eventually, led him to Glacéau to design for vitaminwater where he had an interesting run-in with 50 Cent.

Glacéau was later acquired by by The Coca-Cola Co. and Alex worked his way up to Design Director for the brands vitaminwater, Powerade and smartwater where he is today.

He shares a few stories about art directing professional athelete photoshoots, including challenging Big Papi to a cannonball contest at his pool and waiting 9 hours for Kobe Bryant to show up to a shoot.

A champion for in-house design—something many sports designers are familiar with working for teams—Alex elaborates on design's role in business and brands; as well as discusses some tips on how designers can get a seat at the decision-making table.

Lastly, Alex touches on how sport & hip-hop (he's a big Kanye fan) influence his work and discusses some of his side projects which include working on the "ESPN 30 for 30: When the Garden was Eden" with Michael Rapaport.

Mentions Include:

• Alex Center's website
• Debbie Millman, Design Matters
• Milton Glaser
• Clinton Shaner, Nike Art Director
• Bethany Heck, The Eeqhus League
• Victory Journal
• David Butler, former Coca-Cola VP of Design
• Turner Duckworth
• Viceland branding by Gretel

My next guest is Shane Mielke, an independent creative director and interactive designer in Southern California. Shane is a bit of legend in the interactive design space. Once a creative director for renown interactive firm of the early 2000s, 2Advanced Studios, Shane now freelances full-time, is a high school football coach at a prominent SoCal school and world-class Crossfit athlete. More on Shane can be found at his site.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

"It's a right of passage to know that you're good at executing, but also challenge yourself to understand that at the very root of what we do as designers—whether our medium is physical, digital, websites, billboards or t-shirts—at the end of the day, design is a method of communication, and the design is a manifestation of that communication."

riCardo Crespo is a world-class creative director and he is very secretive online. In fact, you won't find much on him at all and he prefers it that way.

Referring to himself as a "creative ninja" (he is an MMA fighter), riCardo has worked at global agencies Saatchi & Saatchi, McCann Erickson, Chiat/Day; and he was the global chief creative for Mattel and 20th Century Fox before starting his own shop, Th13teen.

riCardo enightens us in this episode with his incredible experience on the differences between branding, marketing & advertising and where they fit together as a part of a venn diagram; as well as why it all starts with brand & purpose.

Crespo has an interesting take on portfolios and he doesn't put much weight in them as he touches on subjectivity, explaining & communicating your work.

He also discusses being courageous as a creative and how sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone, making a decision on your environment and whether you can find a diplomatic, respectful voice with marketing execs or if you need to find a new environment to collaborate & thrive.

Lastly, we discuss the democratic culture of design today, why change for change's sake is bad and why if change is a good strategy then the brands need to suffer through the online criticism.

Truthfully, this episode is so jam-packed with value it's hard to find quotes for. Get out your notepad & pen.

Mentions Include:

• riCardo on Twitter
• Avatar movie
• Juventus FC rebrand by Interbrand
• "Designing Brand Identity"
• University of Cal logo controversy
• Miami Ad School talks
• "1000 True Fans" by Kevin Kelly
• EP45: MLC Panel '15

My next guest is Alex Center. Alex is a design director at Coca-Cola Co. working on Powerade, Vitamin Water & Smart Water. Checkout of some of Alex's work.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin & @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.

ORDER NOW: Sports Designers United t-shirt.

"As a designer, we think as a brand...so I always try to make myself a brand."

Olivia Brestal is a multi-talented midwestern creative that grew up in the soccer capitol of the U.S., so it's only fitting she has spent the entirety of her post-grad career creating for professional soccer clubs.

As a sr. designer & photographer for Sporting KC, Olivia joins the podcast to discuss how she developed her work's aesthetic, her inspirations in illustration and sports photography, and her move to Texas where she worked for FC Dallas.

We touch on the unfortunate practice of stealing fonts, the sameness of visual aesthetic in sports, design criticism and the needless sensitivity most sports designers have with their work being critiqued.

Olivia also gives us some insight into how they are faciliating a creative culture among their creative team including their office environmental decoration.

Lastly, we go deep into the world of soccer (football for non-U.S. listeners) discussing everything from the growth of soccer in the U.S., our favorite boots, youth development programs and how the visual aesthtetic of soccer leagues like the MLS and Premier League are the best top-to-bottom aesthetically in the world of sport.

Mentions Include:

• Olivia Brestal on Twitter
• Olivia Brestal on Instagram
• Olivia Brestal on Behance
• Sporting Kansas City
• Mikey Burton, illustrator
• Jeremy Darlow, Brands Win Championships
• Episode 66: Jeremy Darlow, adidas
• Wolff Olins
• Landor & Associates
• Erik Davila, former FC Dallas, current Advocare
• FC Dallas Scarf of the Month
• Hatch Show Print
• Men in Blazers
• Generation adidas
• Episode 85: Samir Gole, VP Digital, MLS
• DixonBaxi
• Premier League branding
• Manchester City FC hackathon

My next guest is RiCardo Crespo. RiCardo is best known as a creative ninja. You find much about him online and he prefers it that way as he consults with Nike and many other global brands. He has been global creative director for Mattel, 20th Century Fox and has spent time agencies like McCann Erickson, Saatchi & Saatchi & more.

Sign up for the weekly email newsletter for updates, discounts on future products and exclusive content for subscribers.

You can also show your support for the podcast by joining the community and keeping it sponsor-free.

Did you enjoy this episode? Then please rate and/or write a review of the show on iTunes. Also, be sure to follow show host, @TAdamMartin and @MakersofSport on twitter and Dribbble.