Did I Do That?

Summertime fun-time rerun-time continues, but before it does, some big news: I'm doing a live Did I Do That? in Seattle for Seattle Design Festival on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 4:15pm in Lake Union Park! I'll be joined on stage by the incredible Terry Marks ! Terry Marks is an award-winning designer with laurels from the likes of HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Neenah, Potlatch and more. He had...

Rerun summer continues with another past guest from way back in 2022—lettering designer extraordinaire and Portland flower fan Kyle Letendre joins Sean to talk Minnesota’s missing lakes, misguided entrepreneurial spirit, and rebrands that aren’t quite making the grade. We’re filling in the pixels in that JPEG manually in person while we get to the bottom of a question that’s been on everyone’s min...

Rerun summer continues! In this timely episode from way back in 2022, Future Fonts co-founder and all around rad person Lizy Gershenzon joined Sean to talk pieces of flair, the opposite of missed connections, and The Rainbow Passage. We’re going back to high school and making font magic in an episode that’s got milk—just not in an officially licensed form. Since this episode came out way back in e...

Summer break continues, and we've got big news: we're launching a newsletter! You can hear the latest about Did I Do That?— including some stuff coming later this summer that's still under wraps— first by going to dididothat.design/newsletter to subscribe. We're also turning back the clock to season 2 for one of Sean's favorite episodes! Kate Carter (founder and creative director of Saint Friend)...

Season 4 has wrapped and season 5 is coming in September, so what's happening in the time between? We'll have a few fun "Whoopsies" in the form of experimental episodes to share, maybe hear from some past favorites, and even have some surprises on the horizon! It's going to be a treat, and hopefully this programming note can help tide us over until that schedule starts. Want to hear about the late...

Wake your partner up at 2 in the morning, because it’s all been building to this—our season 4 finale! David DaCosta (designer, illustrator, and writer of both Jokey Jokes: A Collection of Illustrated Dad Jokes and the new Jokier Jokes: Another Illustrated Collection of Dad Jokes ) joins Sean to talk rock and roll accounting, the circular file, and Too Much Good(?) Stuff. You can find and order Jok...

Feeling like your week is lacking a dash of Did I Do That? You could add something—it’s just a suggestion! Freelance brand and identity designer César Sierra joins Sean to talk about gamifying Jiffy Mix, getting lost with Matt, and Busytown careers. Will Sean get rabies before the season is over? There’s only one way to find out! You can find César’s work on their website, cesarsierra.net ! If you...

Mel Larsen Gutierrez (Art Director at the Oregon State Parks & Recreation Department) joins Sean to talk Mr. Sketch, the Man in the Yellow Hat’s job, and The Rachel (or The Rachael?). You can find Mel on the internet over at melerrez.com , where you can see some most of the work we talked about in this episode. Mel can also be found on the ‘gram at @melerrez as well. Too, if you want to see Me...

We do it for the love! Calvin Ross Carl (Creative Director at Parliament) joins Sean to talk about Allen Ludden’s followers, watching the old ways of web design disappear, and drinking hot dog water—finally a platform we can get behind! You can find Calvin’s work all over the ‘net—despite his strong luddite leanings! You can see work from the full spectrum of his career on his website ( calvinross...

Throw away your phones and pick up your oil paints! Rachel Frankel (Senior Brand Designer at Zendesk) joins Sean to talk portfolio lust, Apple allergies, and the weirdest social network’s weirdest pivot yet (and it’s only partially to video). You can find Rachel’s work all over the ‘net (and IRL): You can find Rachel’s portfolio, and more of her work, on her website: rachelevefrankel.com ! Transmu...

OMFGCO Creative Director and author/designer of Rural Kimberly Sutherland joins Sean to talk the horrifying truth about figs, the top ten signs you’re in romcom, and the crowning of Portland’s #1 (vegan) ice cream boi. Why not grab a Gatorade and join the fuuuuuuuuuuuuun! You can find Kimberly’s work all over the ‘net (and IRL): You can find more of Kim’s work—both design and art related—on her we...

Get those offer codes ready! Creative Director Matt Graff joins Sean to talk Pee-Chee folder portfolios, unusual interview questions, and the six quadrants of action sports marketing. You can find Matt’s work on his website, mattgraff.com . He’s currently looking for his next Creative Direction role, so if your studio is looking for someone, reach out! Matt can also be found on LinkedIn at inkedin...

Lena Hall of Fontroversy is on Did I Do That? ! Or Sean Schumacher is on Fontroversy !? We’re all mixed up because it’s a Did I Do That? - Fontroversy acoustic universe crossover spectacular to kick off one of those shows’ fourth season! The two hosts sit down to talk about the process behind getting Fontroversy off the ground, as well as Lena’s Fallout Boy audition outfit, the meltiest car, and t...

To close out our season break, I wanted to share one last feed drop! The creators of Two Designers Walk Into A Bar reached out a few weeks back to connect as fellow creators of media about design that doesn't take design too seriously. They make a really fun show, and this episode comes from the end of their third season covering a subject my students have heard me talk about many times: one of th...

Need to thaw yourself out from this winter freeze? Why not let a reheated episode of Fontroversy—our last of the season break—from last summer warm you back up! When Lena and Sean start fuming about the most famous (and infamous) font there is, guest expert Freya Kargard steps in to modernize their thinking about Helvetica. This might well mark our limited series' finale, but stay tuned as we migh...

When frustration around the meme-iest of meme fonts starts to go viral around the studio, guest expert Sophia Mick bursts in to help set Lena and Sean straight on Impact’s… impact. Segment Producer: Sophia Mick Researcher: Mette Voldengen Story Editor: Milos Dugas "Candy Paper Wrap Crinkling" Sound Effect by Emile99 , licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License. This epis...

Graphic design may be our passion, but everybody needs a break too! While Did I Do That? is off for a few weeks between seasons, enjoy a few episodes of our sister podcast Fontroversy , produced by one of Sean's classes in Spring 2023. If you missed episode 1, no worries—unlike the glut of superhero cinematic universe movies out there, there's nothing there you need to know to enjoy to this one! I...

As both Season 3 and 2023 draw to a close, the time to seek forgiveness is at hand! Earlier this year, Did I Do That? set up a confessional booth—with Sean playing the role as part priest, part Frasier Crane—to collect true stories of design disasters, missteps, failures, and more from anonymous guests who sought to clear their guilty consciences. How can you find peace when faced with cross cross...

Creative Director and Design TikToker Zachary Winterton joins Sean to talk about the people in your (Geocities) neighborhood, bad leadership advice from cheerleaders, and Charlie the Cactus: the supermarket mascot of our dreams? Zachary is probably best found these days on TikTok ( tiktok.com/@zacharywinterton ), Instagram ( instagram.com/zacharywinterton ), and YouTube ( youtube.com/@ZacharyWinte...

Emily Tate (Senior Digital Art Director for Studio A at Adidas) joins Sean to talk about America’s most frightening college mascot, disinterested dogs, and William Shatner's Pandora surprise. You can find Emily’s work on her portfolio work, emilytatedesign.com . You can see more of her design work and giver her a follow on Instagram at instagram.com/emilytatedesign .  In addition to Adidas.co...

Freelance designer, paper crafter extraordinaire, and former student Celestia Caredio joins Sean for a very special not-quite-Halloween-anymore episode to talk about The Haunting of Full House, bookbinding in a hostel, and jewel cases. Plus, is a tech startup possibly planning on sending Sean to the great beyond? There’s only one way to find out—to listen in! (well, okay, or you could just wait an...

Ashod Simonian (co-owner of Imaginary Authors perfume and co-author of both the “Portland Book of Dates” and the brand new “Seattle Book of Dates”) joins Sean to talk roadside attractions, band photo cliches, and the classic dilemma of adulthood: do I get a job at the IRS or work on Scooby Doo? You can find more about Ashod on Instagram @ ashod , or on his website, ashodsimonian.com ! The Portland...

Brandon Hrycyk (illustrator and host of XRAY FM’s “A Century of Slang”) joins Sean to talk about Beautiful Bean Bucket Hats, regionalisms, and the dangers of volunteering for an art project. It’s bizarre and beautiful and so much fun! You can hear “A Century of Slang” every Saturday night from 5-6 pm PST on XRAY FM. If you’re wanting that warm terrestrial radio experience, why not tune your FM dia...

Don your school colors, ‘cause we’re going back to school with this week’s Did I Do That? The amazing Kristin Rogers Brown (Associate Professor, Chair of Graphic Design, and Director of the Center for Design at PNCA) joins Sean to talk nightmarish mascots, the corporate handshake aesthetic, and pencils that say stuff. You can find Kristin’s work—including some of the work at Bitch Magazine and Bea...

Good news, everyone! We just hit 25,000 listens—which is even more impressive considering that it's been less than a year since we hit 5,000! To celebrate (and not at all to cover a production gap caused by my having to move), I'm sharing the first episode of the limited series spin-off I made with my DES 399 class last term, Fontroversy ! It's a really hilarious way to get anyone at all exci...