The Creative Boom Podcast

Known for producing bold and colourful work full of optimism, Robert Lomas is an independent designer working across animation, illustration and branding. Based in Manchester but originally from Blackpool, Robert has just gone freelance after being the lead designer and animator at Design By Day. Passionate about supporting others, spreading positivity and giving back wherever possible, Robert shares plenty of honest insight and reassuring wisdom to help all of us be happier creatives.

Dan Silverstone started out as a graphic designer at a "safe" council job before he found the courage to leave and join GRIN, a creative studio in Birmingham. It was there that he developed his creative skills, becoming senior designer and later, art director. Today, he specialises in motion and loves to indulge in lots of side projects via his venture, Pica. In this episode, we chat about growing up in Birmingham, switching careers to do more of what you love, and his love of video games and cyberpunk.

Sophie Amono is a qualified journalist, marketing specialist, and founder of social media agency, Stuffs. Originally from London, she began her career working at Dazed & Confused and The Times, before moving to Glasgow in 2015. In this episode we chat about her journey, the struggles she's faced, about Covid-19 and the lockdown, feminism, and finding her voice. We talk about Black Lives Matter and how we hope the world is changing for the better. Sophie also shares her views on success and how we need to change its meaning, perhaps learning to slow down, too.

Michael C Place is a Yorkshire-born graphic designer, creative director and founder of the successful design studio, Build. Prior to setting up his own business, he famously worked for Trevor Jackson at Bite It! and with Ian Anderson at The Designers Republic in the 1990s. We chat about those early days, the design industry in general and some of his most memorable projects. He also shares lots of wisdom on running a small studio outside of London. This is an honest and humble chat with one of the biggest names in design.

Graphic designers and friends Eve Warren and Anna Wanczyk have recently joined forces to launch the first chapter in Yorkshire of Kerning the Gap, a community founded in 2015 to get more women into leadership roles in the design industry. Eve is currently working at Robot Food in Leeds while Anna has recently set up her own studio. It was great to hear about their different career paths and see how they navigate the usual roller coaster of being a creative professional. We also talk about being women in the creative industries, share stories of what we've encountered, and what we hope to see change.

Known for his bold and innovative typographic artworks, Craig Black is a Scottish-born designer, lettering artist and typographer whose worked tirelessly over the last five years to build his own design studio near Glasgow. Here, he shares some of the secrets to his success, including some helpful ideas to boost productivity, improve mental wellbeing and achieve your goals. This is an eye-opening, utterly honest treat that will leave you feeling energised and ready to take on anything.

Illustrator Ana Jaks creates work that is full of shape, colour, pattern and inclusivity. Originally from the Isle of Man, she went to Falmouth University to study Illustration and then did a Masters in Visual Communications at Bath Spa before graduating in 2015. She's always worked for herself and has so far picked up clients such as Facebook and Nike. I headed down to Bristol in March to meet Ana and chat about freelancing, work/life balance, and why she's spending more time on her hobbies these days.

Award-winning British designer Craig Oldham is behind Office of Craig, the creative studio based in Manchester. He's also written a few books, notably Oh Shit, What Now to support emerging designers. More recently, he's published They Live, a book that celebrates the sci-fi cult movie by John Carpenter. There was much to discuss when I met Craig in Manchester pre-lockdown, including the state of the creative industries, favourite movies, and where he gets his no-nonsense attitude from.

Lisa Congdon is an artist of many talents. Based in Portland, Oregon, she does everything from fine art to illustration, but is best known for her colourful graphic drawings and hand lettering. With an amazing career so far, Lisa has so much advice to share on building a successful creative business. Here, she talks about getting started, surviving the ups and downs, and reveals helpful marketing tips.

Loz Ives is a Manchester-based graphic designer, typographer and illustrator, and one of the co-founders of Fieldwork – a digital and branding agency which began eight years ago and has gone through many changes. In this episode, we talk about the ups and downs of growing a design studio and why staying "small" isn't such a bad option.