Underscore

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 Company, where he leads teams focused on creating powerful experiences rooted in research, design, and strategy. In this episode, Sieren speaks with host Christian Solorzano about growing up in Milwaukee, being raised by a painter and designer, moving to Chicago, design education, culture, history, and much more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 product development and brand incubation agency. In this episode, Byrnes speaks with hosts  Christian Solorzano and Jaime Cisneros about starting projects from scratch, building design culture, AI, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 paved the way for African American graphic designers to obtain familiarity and exposure to the creative field through representation and inspiration by celebrating and highlighting African American creatives working today. In this episode, Lashun speaks with host  Christian Solorzano about growing up in Chicago, high school, the power of finding your “creative tribe,” Emory Douglas, diversity and inclusion, leadership, mentorship, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 visualize their clients' narratives.  In this episode, Dan and Sofya speak with host Christian Solorzano about their Chicago roots, creative inspiration, the meaning of community, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 host Christian Solorzano about her introduction to lettering, starting a design business at 16, studying graphic design in Iowa, her faith, the meaning of community, Chicago, and more.  Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 supporters throughout the year — everyone that rolled up their sleeves and contributed their time and energy to what we do; you're what makes this club possible.  Happy New Year! Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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, graphic design curriculums, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 Designer at Google. In this episode, Champayne speaks with host Christian Solorzano about her introduction to art as a child, the internet, memes, motherhood, speculative design, humor, the creative process, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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. An epic tale told on multiple levels — a dark global organization waging war on science, a rogue professor with unbelievable technology, angels sacrificing heavenly status, and the super-dimensional force coming to oppose them...and one dude caught up in it all, just trying to lead a Dope Life. Currently, he runs Seven Studio, which expands minds via space and time through work in arts, entertainment, and metacognition. In addition, he has a Master’s in Design Methods from the Institute of Design. In this episode, White speaks with host Christian Solorzano about his early introductions to storytelling, the discipline of following your creative aspirations, writing graphic novels, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.

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 episode, Morris speaks with host Christian Solorzano about his introduction to creativity, giving himself a tattoo when he was eight, leaving a job to pursue his passions, NFTs, artificial intelligence, and more. Music by the band Eighties Slang.