DESIGNERS ON FILM

Matt Stevens, designer and illustrator, talks about The Batman, a unique take on the Bruce Wayne and Batman mythology brought to life by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, and Andy Serkis. This 2022 version has less of the comic-y qualities that Joel Schumacher instilled in the 90s versions, but has a gritty, frightening ambiance close...

Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, turns 50 this month. Chief Brody, played by Roy Scheider, is pulled in multiple directions after a fatal shark attack, and subsequent murders, none of which the town's local leaders take seriously. When Hooper, played by Richard Dreyfuss, comes into the picture, the two of them unite with the hope of getting to the bottom of the situation, with factual, scientif...

Erin Prus, a design leader living in the heart of the Midwest, focuses on the ways words, and their systems and styles, shape design, along with UI design elements, accessibility, and more. Erin shares more thoughts about Challengers, starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor, analyzing its romance, conflicts, parenting scenes, memorable action on the tennis court, compression of time and fl...

The HBO Original two-part documentary Pee-wee as Himself, directed by Matt Wolf, debuts Friday, May 23 (8pm ET) with both parts airing back-to-back on HBO and available to stream on Max. - for more Pee-wee listen to the DESIGNERS ON FILM interview with Ben Shown, available on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon podcasts https://www.designersonfilm.com/podcast/pee-wees-big-adventure-1985-with-ben-shown - ht...

Erin Prus is a design leader living in the heart of the Midwest, focuses on the ways words (and their systems and styles) shape design, and impact UI design elements, accessibility, and more. She returns to the show to talk about Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes, starring Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor. Is Challengers the horniest tennis movies ever?...

Pump Up the Volume stars Christian Slater as a high schooler who moonlights as an underground radio personality. In addition to the movie, Ian Smile talks about music, media, craft, and the importance of messaging and content. - After over 15 years building his career in the New York City design community, Ian Smile chased his dreams of designing skateboards, following the sunset west for the skat...

Throughout his career, Ian Smile has been a graphic designer, creative director, community builder, and is currently a principal UX designer building digital products for media management and distribution for pro sports & entertainment industries. Ian and I discuss Pump Up the Volume, starring Christian Slater as a high schooler who moonlights as an underground radio personality, he's a voice...

HBO's trailer for Pee-wee as Himself recently debuted, a walk down memory lane, full of familiar faces, funny stories, and some hard truths. The two-part TV series debuts May 2025. - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14419140/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090500/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089791/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081915/

Ben Shown is equal parts design nerd and creative mentor, bringing a playful curiosity to complex challenges and a love of user-centered everything. As Head of Design at Blink UX, he helps shape the vision for industry giants like Amazon, Expedia, Microsoft, NASA, and The New York Times. When it comes to movies, Ben considers Pee-wee's Big Adventure a North Star, a pillar, and for all the right re...

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote, "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." When it comes to movies about taxes, finance, banking, scheming, lying, cheating, and selling, here are a few of my favorites, from comedies to dramas, to the completely outrageous and obscene. - American Psycho (2000) The Big Short (2015) Boiler Room (2000) Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) The...

Accomplished marketing leader Bill Childs comes back to the show. After thirty years of working as a graphic designer, copywriter, art director, illustrator, marketing director, and creative director, Bill shares his insights in the book Childs Play which serves as a field guide for anyone who works creatively. Bill talks about why the high-octane comedy Midnight Run is a perfect movie, from Grodi...

Thankful for Val Kilmer and all the wonderful work he did, especially 2010's MacGruber which helped me get through some dark times during 2020's COVID lockdown. - Val Kilmer, so much range, such a phenomenal artist. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000174/ - MacGruber (2010) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470023/ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/05/an-oral-history-of-macgruber https://www.yout...

Noah Smith is a multidisciplinary visual storyteller specializing in UX design. With a background in film, Noah's also a big, big fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the 1986 comedy that's also full of action, drama, and sprawling musical numbers. Ferris, an extremely popular teenager, skips school and with his best friend Cameron and his girlfriend Sloane, they embark on a series of adventures. What...

Based in Los Angeles, California, F. Ron Miller has designed numerous movie posters and title sequences, as well as an impressive number of covers for The Criterion Collection, who releases important classic and contemporary films. Ron's always been a big fan of The Bad and the Beautiful, starring Kirk Douglas, Lana Turner, and Elaine Stewart. It tells the story of a ruthless producer played by Ki...

Erin Prus recorded the initial Anora episode, Part 1, January 2025 when the movie had already earned plenty of accolades. Weeks later, in February 2025 with even more news swirling about the movie and Oscar buzz, this follow-up episode was recorded. Is the controversy surrounding the movie, which did not have an intimacy coordinator on set, worth debating over? Does it make the movie better, or wo...

Erin Prus is a design leader living in the heart of the Midwest, focused on the ways words (and their systems and styles) shape design, along with UI design elements, accessibility, and more. Her experience spans copywriting in advertising; short and long form in publishing; editorial, brand-building, and big healthcare. She sees her love of language at the center of many design experiences. Erin...

Mónica Malavé is a marketing and branding strategist, and CEO of Elevate It Now. Originally from Puerto Rico, she has a passion for design, marketing, and all things creative and is a big believer in "people helping people." Her specialties include branding, social media management, technical and creative marketing, and innovative marketing strategies. She's an Adobe Express Ambassador and also a...

Tony Best directs a media and communication arts program exploring how marketing, design, and archives shape audience engagement. Tony suggested a couple of movies to discuss, but ultimately landed on Purple Rain. Prince is The Kid, a young musician facing challenges at home who strives to be the best artist, the best possible musician that he can, no matter the distractions. If you grew up in the...

Silas Munro and I had a lot to talk about when we discussed 2016's Moonlight, and this bonus episode has even more. Family, friends, spending time together, enjoying a meal together, and preparing a meal, as well as swimming, all play a pivotal role in the movie. In this short bonus episode, Silas talks about the importance of food and family in his own life.

Silas Munro is a designer, artist, writer, researcher, curator, and surfer. He founded the design studio Polymode, based in Los Angeles and Raleigh, that works with clients across cultural spheres. He's also curator and author of Strikethrough: Typographic Messages of Protest at Letterform Archive in 2022-2023 and contributor to W. E. B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America. He co-a...

Danu Ardhata believes that living in two completely different worlds has always fueled his creative ventures. Born in Chicago and raised in Jakarta, the Indonesian-American graphic designer and brand strategist recently earned his master's degree at ArtCenter College of Design, California. He talks about his upbringing, learning software on his own, and why The Intern is such a special movie. - Da...

Some thoughts on David Lynch, plus what's coming in early 2025.

Jessica Barness, design scholar and scholarly designer, recently began exploring a new design sci-fi writing project that deals with blacklisted visual tools and biopreferences. When Jessica was last on the show, we discussed the Wim Wenders science fiction, dystopian movie Until the End of the World. In this episode, we talk about (what is far from a 2024 Christmas Holiday Special) Nosferatu from...

Steven Heller has spent a lifetime in design, publishing, and education with accolades including but not limited to the AIGA Medal for Lifetime Achievement, Art Directors Club Hall of Fame Special Educators Award, The Pratt Institute Herschel Levitt Award, the Society of Illustrators Richard Gangel Award for Art Direction, and the Smithsonian National Design Award. Steven authored, co-authored, an...

Aldo Juraidini Zorrilla is a Design Director at Studio Rodrigo. He has worked in fintech, healthcare, and the nonprofit sector, with clients including (but not limited) to Barclays, Peacock, Google, Make the Road NY, and more. Plus! Aldo leads Cinema Rodrigo once a month, when everyone is welcome to watch a film and chat about it over drinks and food. Y tu mamá también made an impact on Aldo at a...