Underscore

Our guest is designer and business owner Cheryl Bever . In this episode, Cheryl speaks with host ⁠⁠Christian Solorzano⁠⁠ about her transition from fashion design to graphic design, her thoughts on the pressures of social media, confidence, running a business, working independently, and much more. She shares with us the importance and value that she places on community and belonging, and as a colla...

Our guest is designer and partner at the Chicago-based studio Span John Pobojewski . In this episode, John speaks with host Christian Solorzano about his background and education in music and the ways it influences his approach to his graphic design practice.  From 2003–2019 John was a designer and later partner at Thirst alongside Rick Valicenti — and he shares with us his experiences and lessons...

Our guests are design educators and practitioners Sharon Oiga and Guy Villa . In this episode, Oiga and Villa speak with host ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christian Solorzano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ about their collaborative dynamic , the story of how they met while studying at UIC in the 90s, the emphasis they place and looking for inspiration outside of design, and so much more. As educators, Oiga and Villa both give us a glimpse...

Our guest is educator, typographer, photographer, and interdisciplinary designer Nathan Matteson . In this episode, Matteson speaks with host ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christian Solorzano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ about his approach to graphic design that emphasizes the materiality of what we work with, his focus on typography as a tool of communication, his transition from painting into graphic design, and his skepticism of whether...

Our guests are Design Director Nermin Moufti and Strategic Director Kristin Lueke of the creative studio Field of Practice . In this episode, Nermin and Kristin speak with host ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Christian Solorzano⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ about their studio's ethos, which views the creative process not as a destination but as an ongoing practice. Together, they share the ways in which they are challenging notions of busin...

Our guest is a multi-disciplinary writer, educator, consultant, futurist, and lecturer, Heather Snyder Quinn ⁠. Her work focuses on the future of design, emerging technology, ethics, fiction, interdisciplinary practices, and theory and has been recognized by Nasa, the World Economic Forum, MIT Press, Yale Law School, and the Washington Post. Heather is often found playing in unexpected places, phy...

Our guest is Patrick Smith , designer and founder of C2 Creative Studio. For over two decades, Smith has been working as a designer and calling Chicago his home. Today, in addition to working with clients and running his own studio, he is a contributing committee member of the Chicago Graphic Design Club, where he helps drive our mission and programming. In this episode, Smith speaks with host ⁠ ⁠...

Our guest is ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠iicky⁠ , a Chicago-based artist who works with the concept of impermanence and non-traditional materials. His ethos centered around embracing decay, aging, and his father’s advice of “use what you have” and “there are no mistakes.”  Born in Trinidad but raised in the Virgin Islands, today he resides in Chicago. He was one of the featured in the Chicago Graphic Design Club’s art e...

On this episode of Underscore, host ⁠⁠⁠ Christian Solorzano is joined by committee member John Hatherly⁠⁠⁠⁠ to reflect on the last three years of the Chicago Graphic Design Club. They share their favorite moments and vision for the club's future and respond to community comments. Music by the band  ⁠⁠⁠Eighties Slang⁠⁠⁠ .

Our guest is Nicolette Stosur-Bassett , a business strategist and communications professional working primarily in the social impact space. In 2018, she founded Do It Better Design , a Chicago-based branding and communication studio. She graduated with a BA in Social Enterprise and an MA in Social Innovation and Sustainability from Goddard College.  In 2022, she spoke with the Chicago Graphic Desi...

Our guest is Joseph Michael Essex , someone who has played a pivotal role in the history of Chicago graphic design for the last five decades. Joseph has spent his career asking questions and finding meaning and reason throughout the process. In the 1970s, he started his career as an art director for the station that produced Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood and the National Geographic Specials. Today, he...

Our guest is Grace Hamilton, host of the podcast Design Is Not Neutral , a thesis project created during a design master’s program at the University of Notre Dame. Hamilton focuses on challenging perceptions of design, conversations on the meaning of socially conscious work, design education, and history.  In this episode, Hamilton speaks with host Christian Solorzano about her early introduction...

Our guest is designer and community leader David Sieren . In 2002 he graduated from RISD with a BFA in graphic design. Over the past two decades, he’s been an educator at DePaul University, Spudnik Press, the Chicago Portfolio School, has been Co-President of AIGA Chicago, and Co-Founder of the creative collaborative, The Post Family . Today, he’s a Managing Director and Partner at One Design Comp...

Our guest is entrepreneur, muralist, and designer  Jay Byrnes . In 2010, he founded Fourth is King , a Chicago-based streetwear brand. In 2003, he founded his studio Adapt Studio, where he collaborated with companies such as Avondale Type, Chicago Athetlic Hotel, the Museum of Science and Industry, Google, and Nature Valley. Most recently, he’s the Director of Brand at MNML , described as a p...

Our guest is designer, artist, and community organizer Lashun Tines . Chicago-born, Lashun has been working in design for nearly two decades. Since then, he’s worked at VSA Partners, Leo Burnett, Razorfish, and currently, he’s a Design Director at Wieden + Kennedy. Between 2014–2018, he was the Diversity Lead for AIGA Chicago. His notable work as founder of the project the Art of Blackness has pav...

Our guests are Dan McManus and Sofya Karash, partners in both life and business. Together, they run the design studio, the Narrative . Both as educators and designers, they are committed to contributing to and advancing culture through graphic design. Their expertise lies in storytelling and multidisciplinary visual communication languages — relying heavily on research and collaborations, they vis...

Our guest is Crissy Chahyadi . She is currently in the graduate program at MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), earning a Master’s in Graphic Design. Her connection to Chicago is through the work that she’s done for the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium. Originally from Indonesia, she came to the United States to study design at Dordt University in Iowa. In this episode, Crissy speaks with h...

We're absolutely thrilled about Chicago Graphic Design Club's programming scheduled for 2023, but we also want to take some moment to reflect on 2022. This episode is special because we do just that — some of the Chicago Graphic Design Club's committee members reflect on 2022, discuss the club's future in 2023, and share comments from our community.  As always, thanks to our listeners and sup...

Our guest is educator, designer, and ceramist Richard Zeid . For the last three decades, Zeid has taught design at Columbia College in Chicago and designed for many clients, from not-for-profit theatres to Fortune 500 corporations. In this episode, Zeid speaks with hosts Christian Solorzano and Jaime Cisneros about his perspective on teaching, analog approaches to making, creative practices, graph...

Our guest is illustrator and designer Mick Champayne . She refers to her work as having beauty and brains while being strategic and thoughtful. In addition, Champayne uses illustration as a tool for storytelling that tackles everything from light-hearted memes to serious social commentary — believing that art can be a catalyst for conversation and connection. Currently, Champayne is a Sr. Visual D...

Our guest is master storyteller and creative Steven White . Over the years, he's facilitated innovative creative workshops and sessions with military special forces and thousands of corporate executives and business leaders.  Most recently, he published his first graphic novel, Ancient Futures , a sci-fi fantasy that tells the story of humankind through the lens of afro-cyberpunk assassins. A...

Our guest is designer, illustrator, and artist Brian Morris . For the past 25 years, he’s devoted much of his time to working in digital agencies. Most recently, he held the role of Executive Creative Director at a big four consulting firm. Today, he is a full-time self-employed artist working in the NFT and AI space while collaborating with other artists and perfecting his craft. In this epi...

Our guest is Ashley Lukasik , CEO and founder of the consulting agency Murmuring and longtime collaborator and supporter of the Chicago Graphic Design Club . She has a Master’s in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and spent years at IIT Institute of Design as Director of Corporate Relations, Communications & Marketing. In addition, Ashley was also the co-producer of the 2019 document...

Our guest is Tanner Woodford , Executive Director and Founder of the Design Museum of Chicago . Woodford has been a key figure in Chicago’s design community for over a decade, creating spaces for critical dialogue, connection, and inspiration. He’s an optimist by nature and a believer that design has the capacity to improve the human condition. In addition, he’s an educator, artist, muralist, and...

The designer Francis has deep Chicago roots. Although they are no longer in Chicago, their work continues to be heavily inspired by their relationship to Chicago's 90s design community and culture. Francis is a designer who prioritizes graphic design before anything else. They're unapologetic in their criticism of the design industry. Still, they make an effort to push the boundaries of what is po...