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The Futur
The Futur Podcast is a show that explores the interesting overlap between design, marketing, and business. Our host (and CEO of The Futur), Chris Do, hold candid conversations with inspirational people from the worlds of design, technology, marketing, business, philosophy and personal development. These conversations go deep. With the aim of understanding who these incredible people are, what drives them to do what they do, and what can we--the listener--learn from it all. Visit thefutur.com/podcast for show notes and additional information from each episode.
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072 - Introducing Deep Dive: After Hours with the Pro Group
Welcome to a new series on The Futur podcast called Deep Dive. In this first episode, Chris talks with several members of The Futur Pro Group about their troubles communicating with clients. The conversation winds in and out of advice for learning how to speak clearly, stories from the community and candid role play between Chris and “the client.”
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03:44:1302/03/2020
071 - Interior Designer, True Entrepreneur, Queen of Taupe — with Kelly Hoppen
Ever wondered what it’s like to design for David and Victoria Beckham? And how do you go about designing a private jet or personal yacht? Well, todays guest has done all those things and then some. In this episode, Chris talks with acclaimed interior designer, Kelly Hoppen. Kelly is a world-renowned designer and prolific author of nine design books. She and Chris discuss her creative path, the blessing of growing up without the internet, and what it takes to be a true entrepreneur.
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38:0624/02/2020
070 - Don’t Be Afraid, Just Try — with Adam J. Kurtz (adamjk)
You’ve probably seen one of his handwritten Instagram posts at some point, and that’s because Brooklyn based artist, Adam J. Kurtz (aka adamjk), has a lot to say. In this week’s episode, Chris talks with Adam about why he calls himself an artist and how channeling emotion into both his illustrative work and captivating lectures will leave you smiling and feeling empowered.
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01:39:3517/02/2020
069 - How to Make Money Teaching Online — with Daniel Scott
In this episode, Chris talks with entrepreneur and educator, Daniel Scott, about why teaching not only brings him joy, but how lucrative it can be for anyone willing to put in the work. They get deep into the inner workings of Daniel’s online teaching business, how he got started and even how much revenue he earns from it all.
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01:03:1210/02/2020
068 - Why Curiosity is the Key to a Successful Career — with Philip Van Dusen
Is there a tried and true path to creative success? Some say follow your passion, but that’s not what worked for this week’s guest. In this episode, Chris talks with YouTube design trend forecaster, Philip Van Dusen, about how following his curiosity led him to where to he needed to be.
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01:01:1803/02/2020
067 - How to Find Work-Life Balance in the Creative Industry — with Robert Hranitzky
Can there be a balance between your work, your family and your life? If you work in the creative industry and struggle with work/life balance you are not alone. Motion design veteran, Robert Hranitzky, talks with Chris about the perks and perils of striking a balance between your love of work and your love for life and family.
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01:10:0227/01/2020
066 - The Difference Between Inclusion and Belonging — with Hank Washington
In episode 66, Chris Do talks with art director, illustrator and public speaker, Hank Washington. They talk about their experience and feelings about public speaking, finding your voice when giving talks, and how to feel at home in the design world as a person of color. Hank Washington - https://www.hankdesigns.com/ Creative South - https://www.creativesouth.com/
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43:0820/12/2019
065 - Stealing Like an Artist — with Austin Kleon (Pt. 2)
This is part two of our conversation with acclaimed author, Austin Kleon. If you missed part one, go give that a listen first. You can find it at - https://thefutur.com/podcast/dont-call-it-a-side-hustle-austin-kleon. In this episode, Chris and Austin discuss cultivating passions, why Austin considers himself a multi-hyphenate (not a polymath), and the most common misconceptions about his renowned book, Steal Like An Artist.
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34:3031/10/2019
064 - Don’t Call it a Side Hustle — with Austin Kleon (Pt. 1)
In this episode, Chris Do talks with acclaimed author, Austin Kleon. They discuss two of his most interesting and popular books—Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work. This conversation is so jam packed with stories and opinions on what it means to be creative that we broke it up into two parts. In part one, Austin and Chris discuss his background, what changed the game for him, and why he hates the term “side hustle.”
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38:3025/10/2019
062 - Giving Back to the Design Community — with Martha Murray & Heather Crank
What motivates someone to start a design conference? Why give your free time away to help facilitate the development of others? With little to no financial reward, why do this?
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01:01:0209/10/2019
063 - A Coding School that Invests in You — with Austen Allred
Higher earning. Lambda is designed for student success. They don't get paid until you do, so they’re in this together, from your first day of classes to your first day on the job — and beyond. At first it sounded crazy—a school without tuition. But when you dig deeper into how Austen Allred structures the Lambda School, you start wonder why all schools aren't structured this way. Shouldn't schools make an investment in students? Well, that's the premise. If Lambda guesses incorrectly, they lose their investment in their students.
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47:1914/09/2019
061 - Marketing vs. Branding — with Fabian Geyrhalter
What is marketing? What is branding? Is one more important than the other? What's the difference and where are the overlaps?
This conversation with sparked by a controversial post by Story Brand author, Donald Miller, who states that branding isn't necessary unless you are doing more than $50m in revenue.
Melinda Livsey and Fabian Geyrhalter join the podcast to share their thoughts.
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01:12:2314/09/2019
060 - Contagious Selling — with Errol Gerson
The Entrepreneurial Spirit and How To Stand Out w/ ArtCenter legend Errol Gerson.
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01:34:2712/08/2019
059 - Believe You Can — with Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart
Co-Founder of AJ&Smart, a Digital Product Design agency and self described nerdy-looking Irish guy has a remarkable story to share about nearly calling it quits to finding his focus.
How did he do it? How did he become synonymous with "Design Sprints" and wind up co-creating a course with one of his mentors?
Jonathan's energy, enthusiasm and transparency is truly inspiring.
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01:34:5210/08/2019
058 - A.I. and Creativity — with Jamie Myrold
As Vice President of Adobe Design, Jamie Myrold has led large-scale design efforts at Adobe for more than ten years, leading the company’s development of the next generation of design tools. Her experience goes beyond restructuring and redesigning applications, but to redefining Adobe’s design business as well. In her role, Jamie aims to inspire the next wave of design leaders, encouraging her teams to push boundaries and develop leadership skills to define guidelines that help with all aspects of business strategy and product creation.
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43:2820/06/2019
057 - Taking the Big Risks — with Joey Cofone
This episode of The Futur was sponsored by the all-new Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card.
Joey Cofone is the CEO and Co-Founder of Baron Fig, a company that has succeeded by perfecting a simple tool crucial to the creative entrepreneur: the notebook. Launched in 2013 with a massively successful Kickstarter campaign, Baron Fig has gone on to expand its offerings and its business, but simplicity remains a common theme in both Joey’s business and his life. Joey spoke with Chris from his home in New York to let us in on what keeps him going.
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01:07:5903/12/2018
056 - Staying Productive in Silicon Valley — with Elay Cohen
This episode of The Futur was sponsored by the all-new Chase Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card.
When Elay Cohen moved to Silicon Valley from his hometown of Toronto, he had dreams of starting his own successful company. It would be fifteen years until that dream came true, but it’s safe to say that it was worth the wait. SalesHood is changing the face of sales culture. During those first fifteen years, Elay became an expert in his field and became known in the tech world as one of the main players who helped grow Salesforce into the multi-billion-dollar enterprise it is today.
Chris got a chance to sit down and chat with his client and friend to find out how Elay stays productive while he’s busy running a fast-growing company and writing his second book.
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01:04:5114/11/2018
055 - Business Problems in the VFX Industry — Ryan Summers
Originally planned to be a chemical engineer until I was hit by the double-punch combo of Jurassic Park and Toy Story - and then it was animation from there on. I've worked as an character animator on children's videos, created the visuals for industry-leading slot machines, and designed the opening titles for some of the highest rated shows on TV.
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01:10:4411/11/2018
054 - The Struggle of Being — with Lilian Darmono (Pt. 2)
Lilian Darmono is a Creative and Art Director specialising in character-driven animated and illustrative pieces. Her expertise is helping clients communicate their brand message, through a diverse range of aesthetic and medium.
Her spare time is dedicated to helping the creative community flourish through journalism, mentorship and public speaking engagements. This has included being a speaker at Faux Images Berlin, a guest lecturer at Maryland Institute College of Art, and many more.
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01:01:0609/09/2018
053 - Character Driven Animation — with Lilian Darmono (Pt. 1)
Lilian Darmono is a Creative and Art Director specialising in character-driven animated and illustrative pieces. Her expertise is helping clients communicate their brand message, through a diverse range of aesthetic and medium. Her spare time is dedicated to helping the creative community flourish through journalism, mentorship and public speaking engagements. This has included being a speaker at Faux Images Berlin, a guest lecturer at Maryland Institute College of Art, and many more.
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01:05:0014/08/2018
052 - Gender in the Design Industry — with Diane Gibbs (Pt. 2)
Recently, Chris went looking for some answers regarding gender inequality issues in design and opened himself up to the internet community. Needless to say, it went about as well as can be expected on the internet, BUT, through that experience, he did meet someone who was interested in helping him to find answers. Diane Gibbs, a designer and podcaster from Alabama reached out with an open heart and mind, and now she's on the podcast to talk about these issues. This is the second half of this series.
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01:33:4510/05/2018
051 - Gender and the Design Industry — with Diane Gibbs (Pt. 1)
Recently, Chris went looking for some answers regarding gender inequality issues in design and opened himself up to the internet community. Needless to say, it went about as well as can be expected on the internet, BUT, through that experience, he did meet someone who was interested in helping him to find answers. Diane Gibbs, a designer and podcaster from Alabama reached out with an open heart and mind, and now she's on the podcast to talk about these issues. This is part 1 of a 2 part series.
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01:01:1230/04/2018
050 - Walking Your Own Creative Path — with Handel Eugene
Being the child of an immigrant makes the creative path a difficult one. A lot of sacrifices have been made, and, often times, families don't want to accept any career path outside of the Doctor/Lawyer safe zone. Chris has walked this path himself, so that gave him an instant connection with his guest, Handel Eugene, the son of Haitian immigrants. Handel has proven his talent to his parents, though, by creating a successful career for himself, most recently working on films like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther. Chris and Eugene discuss the path from being a dreamer to being a successful artist, to becoming a teacher, and how that has positively effected his own work.
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01:27:0212/04/2018
049 - Creative Strategy — with Douglas Davis
Douglas Davis was the kid who was drawing when the teacher was lecturing, creating when others were just coasting. With the help of a nurturing mother, and a lot of talent and hustle, Douglas worked his way into a design career, but always wanted more. He had spent a lot of his life creating, but came to a point where he wanted to explore the business side, as well, and moved into strategy. In this week's conversation, Chris talks to Douglas about growing up and going to school with very few resources, moving into the world of strategy and the value it has provided both for Douglas's clients and himself, and Douglas's hustle as a teacher, bringing up a new generation.
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01:23:1308/03/2018
048 - Content Marketing Consultant — with Ryan Robinson
How do more people find you? How do you get more clients? They make business possible, so we all want more of them, right? But clients tend to go with who they know. So, how do you get clients to know and trust you? Chris talks to Ryan Robinson, a Content Marketing Consultant, whose job is to help you gain that trust and those customers.
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01:07:0529/01/2018
047 - The Importance of a Name — with Eli Altman
The first time you meet someone, there are several things you judge them on. When you come into contact with a company or a product, though, their name is, almost universally, the first thing you judge them on, so a name is no small thing. In this episode, Chris talks with Eli Altman, who runs A Hundred Monkeys, the naming company started by his dad. Their mission is to jump through all of the hoops for a company to get them just the right name for their service or product.
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01:54:5221/12/2017
046 - Logo Inspirations — with Jonathan Rudolph
Jonathan Rudolph had been working as a graphic design for years, in different countries, when he decided to use his Instagram account as a public database for some of the work that inspired him the most. The account, Logo Inspirations, has grown to half a million followers, and Jonathan is now responsible for a community of design lovers. In this episode, we're going to talk about his journey, what it's like to run a popular Instagram account, day to day, and how he navigates the online business world.
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58:1408/12/2017
045 - The Knowledgeable Outsider — with RevThink
As a creative entrepreneur, you may find yourself at a crossroads. It may be a small one, or it may be a big one. One of the most valuable tools to have in your kit, in this situation, is the Knowledgeable Outsider - a person, or team of people, that have lived the same situations you're going through, and want to see you succeed. In this weeks conversation, Chris talks to Tim Thompson and Joel Pilger of RevThink, a consulting agency that specializes in being that Knowledgeable Outsider for the creative entrepreneur.
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01:23:5422/11/2017
044 - The Cinematography Database — with Matthew Workman
Matthew Workman might be best known for his popular YouTube channel Cinematography Database, which he started building after years in the industry shooting music videos, films, and commercials. He's been working on a Cinema4D plug in called Cine Designer for a while now, and, in this episode, Chris talks to Matthew about YouTube, using his channel as a jumping off point for business, and trying to balance multiple projects with the demands of every day life.
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01:24:0321/11/2017
043 - Facing Your Fears with Logo Geek — with Ian Paget
Ian Paget admits to not being very motivated as a kid, but when he became enthralled with design, as a teenager, nothing could stop him. In this episode, Chris talks to Ian about growing up without support for his dreams, how he uses his fears to motivate him to do better, and mastering the technology around him to bring in more clients.
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01:27:5714/11/2017
042 - How to Get Work on Behance — with Melinda Livsey
Is it true you can actually get work using Behance? How are people using Behance to get work? Do portfolio sites like Behance work? Is Behance better than Dribble for getting work? What do you need to do?
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32:3130/08/2017
041 - First Client Meeting Sales Call — with Melinda Livsey
How to talk to a potential client during the first sales call or new business inquiry. How can you improve your client on-boarding process? What do you do when a client calls and asks "How Much?". How should you respond to new business inquiries?
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58:4630/08/2017
040 - Feeling Overwhelmed, Information Overload — with Melinda Livsey
Many people feel overwhelmed with consuming content and don't know what to do with it. How do you prioritize what to read, what to save for later, and what to do right now? Design therapy with Chris Do.
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38:4829/08/2017
039 - How to Grow Your Business — with Melinda Livsey
What steps do you need to take to achieve your business goals? How do you grow your creative business? Melinda Livsey is back for another deep dive into breaking down her goals as a creative entrepreneur.
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47:0729/08/2017
038 - How to Charge More for a Logo — with Melinda Livsey
Is it possible to charge more for a logo? How is it possible that some designers can charge tens of thousands of dollars more for essentially the same work? Chris and Melinda talk about the details of the logo.
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50:0629/08/2017
037 - Where to Start with Social Media — with Melinda Livsey
Chris and Melinda discuss social media. Should you use personal or business accounts when posting on social media? Keep it separate? What should you post? How can I not let negative feedback affect me?
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39:5829/08/2017
036 - Can You Charge to Diagnose? — with Melinda Livsey
Chris discusses whether you're able to charge to diagnose problems with co-host Melinda Livsey. Where to begin? Try mapping out something in your life where a professional has charged you to diagnose a problem.
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18:0128/08/2017
035 - Running a Creative Business — with Melinda Livsey
Join Chris, and co-host Melinda Livsey, as he coaches her on how to run her creative business to achieve focus, raise her rates and delegate work to others. This is an in-depth breakdown especially for freelancers who want to start their own business.
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49:5328/08/2017
034 - The Driving Force — with Ash Thorp
Ash Thorp has built his career in design and film from the ground up, succeeding while surrounded by a family of talented artists that were not able to reach the level that he has. In this episode Chris talks to Ash about the sacrifices he had to make to get where he is, including a year of work that would give him his biggest break while, simultaneously, being one of his biggest challenges, the online education company, Learn Squared, that he helped found, and the inner workings that have led him to success.
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01:47:4223/08/2017
033 - Making It In the Little Leagues — with Aaron Draplin
Chris talks with the people's champion, Aaron Draplin, about having a following among your peers, honoring your parents, and managing success. Aaron talks about his philosophy of working small, and the joy he is able to pull out of the world he has created around himself.
http://draplin.com
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01:44:4514/08/2017
032 - The Story of Motionographer — with Justin Cone
What does it mean to be a "King Maker"? With great power comes great responsibility. Chris talks to Justin Cone about how industry favorite website, Motionographer.com, came together, the ripple effect of being on their "Cream Of The Crop" list, and the landscape of revenue creation and usefulness for sites like his have changed over the last decade.
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01:15:2805/08/2017
031 - School of Motion — with Joey Korenman
Chris sits down with Joey Korenman to talk about his journey from designer to educator, and opening the online education platform School Of Motion. They also discuss what it means to know what you're worth, and the fine art of discovering what a client needs, versus what they want.
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01:06:0525/07/2017
030 - The State of Design Education — with Nick Campbell (Pt. 3)
In this episode, Chris and Nick chat about the differences between a fully scalable product oriented model (Greyscalegorilla) vs. mentorship approach (MoGraph Mentor) and everything in between.
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01:12:0730/06/2017
029 - Learning, Collaboration, and Critique — with Nick Campbell (Pt. 2)
In the follow up to our first episode with Greyscalegorilla founder Nick Campbell, Chris and Stewart discuss mindset and working with clients. When is the right time to ask questions? What kind of questions should you ask? What is the right approach when trying to develop a concept with your client?
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43:3120/06/2017
028 - Founding Greyscalegorilla — with Nick Campbell (Pt. 1)
The way we learn is changing, and Nick Campbell is one of the trail blazers. His website, Greyscalegorilla, not only sells suites to help you make better work, it also provides invaluable educational content. After meeting at NAB this year, Chris had to sit down with Nick and talk more about his history, how Grey Scale Gorilla came to be, and what the future of online education might look like. This is part one of a two part series.
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01:58:2214/06/2017
027 - Staying Persistent Despite Failure — with Stewart Schuster
99 No's, 1 Yes. Persistence was something that was brought up in the last episode, and Chris and Stewart take the conversation farther. What does it mean to keep going? Should you? How can you turn defeat and failure into a learning moment?
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01:05:3405/06/2017
026 - Determination and Persistence — with Chris Edwards
In October 2004, Chris Edwards spearheaded the founding of THE THIRD FLOOR, Inc. in Los Angeles. Since then, the company has become the most prolific previs studio in the world, contributing to Hollywood projects from Avatar to Gravity with credits on wide-ranging film and television projects such as Game of Thrones, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Marvel’s Iron Man, Captain America,Thor and Avengers franchises.
In this episode, the two Chris's meet and discuss the long road from being a dreamer to being a creator.
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01:20:0624/05/2017
025 - The Importance of Mentors — with Stewart Schuster
Chris and Stewart follow up the last episode with a discussion about Mentors - What it means to have one, what it means to be one, and how to get one. Being a mentor can actually be more beneficial than finding one.
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01:16:4016/05/2017
024 - Online Mentorship — with Michael Jones
Chris talks with the creator of Mograph Mentor, Michael Jones, about building the online education platform, the future of education, and what it means to have people who believe in you and your goals.
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01:00:0702/05/2017
023 - Say What You Think — with Stewart Schuster
Chris and Stewart follow up last week's conversation with Blair Enn's, with a discussion about one of the rules of "Blair-topia" - Say What You Mean.
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57:3427/04/2017