Low-Key Legends

AI has creative professionals split between fear and fascination. "Is this an opportunity or a threat?" This question has been on every creative's mind, so I wanted to chat with someone on the forefront of this conversation. Today on Low-Key Legends, I sit down with Sara Vienna, Chief Design Officer of MetaLab, a design firm that since 2006 has been helping some of the most innovative startups and...

In this special episode of Low-Key Legends, we distill the most powerful insights from our Season 2 conversations with design industry titans. Discover Christian Helms' (Helms Workshop) strategies for creating unfair business advantages through branding, Studio 28K's storytelling methodology, Simon Dixon's perspective on creativity as humanity's essential fuel, and Bryan James'...

On this episode of Low-Key Legends Bryan James and I explore the challenges creatives face in staying relevant and true to their personal taste. We discuss the impact of social media on creative work, the importance of maintaining one's unique taste, and how personal experiences can influence design. We explore how to overcome creative blocks, the balance between client needs and personal vision,...

Ever wonder how a logo becomes a legend? This week, we're diving deep with Christian Helms — the brand king of Austin, Texas, and founder of Helms Workshop . The man who's turned branding into an art form that's part strategy, part storytelling, and 100% pure Texas magic helping to create an unfair advantage for the brands they work with. From crafting killer brands for Howler Brothers to leaving...

This week on Low-Key Legends, I sit down with Mick Champayne. Mick is a visual designer by day, working on Google's Search, Doodle, & Delight team and moonlighting as an illustrator. We explore how "delight" permeates all of Mick's work & life and helps to make effective brands, illustrations, and products. Interjecting personality and her unique brand of humor into everything she crafts -...

In this conversation, Britton Stipetic sits down with Jonas and Steffen, the founders of Studio 28K , to explore the intersection of storytelling and design. They discuss how their philosophy of meaningful living shapes their creative process, the significance of storytelling in web design, and the challenges of capturing attention in a saturated market. The duo also shares insights on their uniqu...

Britton sits down with Ben Huffman, the founder of Contra. Ben shares his journey behind building Contra, a commission-free platform empowering independent creatives. He discusses its origins, driven by frustrations with traditional freelance marketplaces, and highlights the importance of trust, branding, and community. The conversation explores AI's role in creativity, evolving work trends, a...

In this conversation Britton sits down with Simon Dixon, co-founder of DixonBaxi, to discuss the fundamental aspects of creativity and its impact on humanity, and its intersection with branding and culture. Si emphasizes the importance of creativity in problem-solving, the role of flow state in the creative process, and the necessity of fostering an environment that encourages diverse thoughts and...

Welcome, today is an exciting day we are kicking off a new series here called 2x4 where I ask 2 different designers the same 4 questions so we can dive into one specific topic, today we dive into the world of branding and illustration and how they can be used together. So let's meet our guests: Adam Danielson is the founder of Ducktail, a branding & design studio based in Portland Maine. D...

What does it take to make exceptional digital products? How can one product leave us feeling content and keep us on it for hours while others drive us away in just a few clicks? This week on Low-Key Legends we will learn from product veterans Zeke Shore and Ian Lord co-founders of TypeCode. TypeCode designs and builds digital products and experiences, collaborating with ambitious clients like A24,...

The long-awaited interview with the founding team of Smith & Diction is here at last! In this conversation, Mike and Chara Smith discuss their design, copywriting, and branding approach, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and authenticity. They share insights on the role of words in creating effective brands, the benefits of working as a couple, and the value of incorporating outside...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, I interview Nathan Riley, the design director at Unseen Studio to learn how he got started in design and built Unseen Studio with his co-founders. We discuss the early years of the studio, the significance of self-expression and passion projects, and the influence of sharing on Dribbble. We explore Nathan's journey into 3D design and the agency's shift i...

Today we're going to be taking a look back at some of my favorite lessons so far from Season 02 of Low-Key Legends; looking at tactics on turning our weaknesses into strengths with Kirk Wallace, lessons on leadership from Emmet Shine, ways power of transparency in our businesses with Self Aware Studio. practical tips on cultivating an audience from Dan Mall This is your audio buffet to sample...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, I sit down with Alex , Matt , and Jeremy the founders of Study Hall , a collective of curious creatives ready to tinker with norms to build impactful high-craft work for all walks of life, from Fortune 500 companies like Airbnb to small start-ups. We explore how branding has evolved, looking at what elements are timeless and what we can push and explore more of...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, I interview my friend Kirk Wallace to discuss the changing landscape in the creative community. They explore how sharing work in 2024 has evolved and how it has impacted how audiences and clients discover their work. Kirk shares his journey from being an engineer to becoming an illustrator and designer, and how he has grown his audience and built a successful ca...

Today on Low-Key Legends, I am joined by Jenny Heintz and Mike Wagz , the founders of  Self Aware , a design and technology studio based in Philly and established in 2018. Partners in life and business Jenny and Mike focus their synergistic skills on bringing brands to life online, creating fun and dynamic solutions that are both beautiful and performant. They have worked with a variety of organiz...

On this episode of Low-Key Legends Dan Mall shares his journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faced in building and closing his agency, SuperFriendly. He emphasizes the importance of culture, margin, and taking care of people in building a successful business. Dan discusses the factors that led him to shut down his agency after 10 years, including the desire to spend more time with his f...

On this episode of Low-Key Legends, Britt sits down with Tim Evans the Co-founder of Malvah Studio to discuss Tim's wild adventure of getting into design and stumbling into starting Malvah with his business partner Ty. Tim discusses the entrepreneurial journey of starting Malvah Studio and the challenges of running a business in South Africa. He shares how the economic and political climate in...

In this conversation, DJ Javier , the founder of Banyan Surf Club , discusses his career and collaborations with big brands like Billabong, Shake Shack, and the LA Rams. He emphasizes the importance of persistence, checking his ego, and staying humble. DJ shares how working with a manager has allowed him to focus on the creative work while his manager handles the business side. He also talks about...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, we chat with Liz and Gavin founders of Datalands about how they found their unique niche of designing around data for Fortune 500 companies. We learn their unique story and how building their studio wasn't linear and came with its unique challenges and positioning hiccups. If you don't know Datalands is a visual communication and information design studi...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, I chat with Emmett Shine, a designer, and entrepreneur. We discuss the importance of passion and creativity in business. Emmett emphasizes the value of infusing personal delight and creativity at scale and its impact on brands and experiences. We talk in-depth about the insights on the success of Gin Lane and Pattern Brands, highlighting the importance of creati...

An audio buffet-style sampling of the three Low-Key Legends guests from March. This episode features our top lessons and takeaways from each interview. Focusing on the fundamentals of running a design studio, pricing your work, and pushing past creative block. This episode offers a little taste of a much longer episode that you can dive into whenever you have time. Get a feel and vibe for each of...

Mario Šimić is a senior designer at BORNFIGHT STUDIO® a digital design studio in Croatia, crafting masterful websites and user interfaces. Mario went from an engineer to designing masterful websites, paying extreme detail to craft and interactivity. Mario shares his perspective on the power of side projects and how they help you evolve your taste and hard skills. Mario dives deep into how to break...

Sitting down with Rachael Yaeger to chat shop on all things Human and business. We explored what success means to Rachael and how it looks closer to walks in the woods than it does to fat stacks of cash. We discuss the roots of Human and Rachael's profound entrepreneurial spirit. We explore what makes Human's branding, design, and websites so unique, and how Human creates using an Ocean&#3...

In this episode of Low-Key Legends, we chat with Filippo Cipriani head of studio at Adoratorio, Adoratorio is a digital agency based in Brescia Italy working with clients like Netflix, Guicci, Maserati, and more crafting exquisite brand and digital experiences. We dive into the fundamentals of what makes for a successful design studio and great creative work. How the words you use to tell a story...