Podcast Awesome

🎧 Episode Summary: Design Systems, B-Grade Horror, and a Splash of Rum with Kelsey JacksonIn this episode of Nerd Show and Tell, Matt kicks back with Font Awesome’s (now a part of the Web Awesome team) Designer and Front-End Developer, Kelsey Jackson. If you’ve admired how snappy and stylish the Font Awesome site looks lately — yep, that’s Kelsey’s handiwork. From refining a slick internal design system to mixing tiki drinks and geeking out over B-horror classics, this convo serves up career insights and cult movie nerdery with a twist.You'll hear how Kelsey conned "convinced" Dave Gandy to bring him onboard the FA crew, his high school art teacher’s pivotal advice, and why middle-shelf rum might just be the real MVP of mixology. Oh, and if you're into “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” buckle up.🔍 What We Cover in This Episode🎨 Creating an internal design system that doesn’t suck 🍿 Kelsey’s wishlist for horror-themed icons 🧪 Drawing-to-design transitions and nerdy career pivots 👟 Bourbon, sneakers, and the legend of the Snuggle swag 🍔 Cooking inspo from The Bear and YouTube foodies 🍹 Why expensive rum is a scam (probably)⏱️ Timestamps00:00:16 – Creating an Internal Design System and More 00:02:43 – Kelsey’s Job at Waco Media as Developer/Designer 00:04:28 – Drawing vs. Design: The OG Connection 00:07:29 – Refining Font Awesome’s Design System 00:11:57 – Why Design System Consistency Matters 00:13:27 – Web Components, AI, and the Content Creation Game 00:15:34 – Horror Movie Icon Wishlist 00:17:32 – B-Horror and Bad Job Flashbacks 00:22:07 – Car Wash Reflections + Disaster Relief Vibes 00:27:49 – Bourbon at the Snuggle, Kicks, and Spirits 00:29:47 – Cooking Steak & Mixing Tiki Drinks 00:31:25 – Thoughts on The Bear 00:33:29 – Matty Matheson’s Culinary Comedy 00:35:18 – Resources for Building Design Systems🎤 Noteworthy Quotes 🎨 On Becoming a Designer“If you want to sort of stay connected to the art world and not be broke, you might want to look into design.” — on advice from his high school art teacher🤝 On Meeting Dave Gandy“It's weird how people were just afraid to walk up to the man and introduce themselves, and I was one of the few that did that... I’ve kind of been working that angle up since I met the guy. I wanted to work at Font Awesome.”🛠️ On Building a Design System“A design system is a set of standards to help manage design at scale. It reduces redundancy and creates a shared visual language.”📚 On Learning Design Systems“I just jumped in... I landed on Brad Frost and his Atomic Design, and that helped me figure it out.”🔗 Links & ResourcesAtomic Design by Brad FrostNielsen Norman GroupThe Bear – HuluMatty MathesonKiller Klowns from Outer Space – IMDBSam the Cooking Guy – YouTubeBabish Culinary UniverseJoshua Weissman – YouTubeStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

Why Font Awesome Switched to Figma: Boolean Magic, Sharp Icons & Real-Time Design 🚀In this fun and vector-loving episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt catches up with icon design duo Noah Jacobus and Jory Raphael to chat all things Figma. They unpack what makes Figma such a killer tool for collaborative design — hello, real-time editing and Boolean wizardry! We also peek into how it compares to Adobe Illustrator, get the scoop on Adobe’s acquisition of Figma, and daydream about a possible Font Awesome plugin in the future. Whether you're a vector nerd or just Fig-curious, there’s plenty to love here.✨ What We Cover in This Episode🌈 “Figma has rainbow magic.” (For real, it does.)🤝 Real-time collab and why it rocks for icon design🧮 Boolean operations and non-destructive editing, aka vector sorcery🏢 Adobe's acquisition of Figma: friend or foe?🧩 Plugins, problems, and finding fixes with the Figma community💡 How Sharp icons + Figma = the dream team⏱️ Timestamps00:05:56 Tools don’t always matter (but sometimes they really do)00:12:12 Adobe owns Figma now00:12:31 Adobe acquisitions: the good, the bad, the ugly00:24:22 Linking Font Awesome Pro accounts00:27:09 Figma has rainbow magic 🌈✨🔗 Links & ResourcesThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon Productions10 Reasons We Switched to Figma for Icon Design-------------------HIGHLIGHTS"So Figma has rainbow magic." (00:26:57-00:27:19)"Figma is a central place where we can both work in the same file at the same time. If I make a change, he sees it." (00:20:52-00:23:44)"Noah is entirely responsible for us moving to Figma." (00:00:00-00:03:29)"And the ability to easily test things in the context of digital products is kind of where it found its place for me." (00:03:23-00:06:24)"Being able to identify each of those, you know, every element of a stroke shape or path and make adjustments to it that way is pretty cool." (00:17:58-00:20:57)"Boolean operations are one of the biggest ones... it's kind of a unique way of treating stroked objects like their actual shapes at the same time... that is something that it can't do. So it's a nice more unique feature." (00:15:08-00:18:08)"I think that Figma is enough of a powerhouse kind of on its own that that's not going to happen with the employees there and the community, especially as such a huge force with a lot of momentum behind it that helps support the product and keeps it moving." (00:11:51-00:15:16)"There are just tons of things that are out there that if you run into an issue, someone else likely has run into it already and there's probably a plugin that exists to fix it or address it, which is awesome." (00:23:38-00:27:07)"But what started to become really appealing to me about Figma was, as Noah said, some of the, well, number one, the simplicity of collaboration, which is now super important because we have multiple icon designers at Fawn Awesome, but also some of their unique takes on doing things with vectors." (00:06:17-00:09:04)Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

🎧 Episode Summary: Finance Wizards & Fitness Quests with Joey HensonIn this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt sits down with Joey Henson, Controller at Font Awesome and low-key wizard of spreadsheets, startup survival, and Hogwarts-worthy metaphors. Joey opens up about his journey through the high-pressure world of startup finance, what burnout looked like after becoming a parent, and how Font Awesome’s uniquely human work culture has helped him reclaim balance and joy in his career.We dive into how Font Awesome’s values around work-life balance, empathy, and thoughtful leadership created space for Joey to rediscover what matters: family, fitness, and—yes—fandom. From conjuring Harry Potter analogies to explain how Kits work, to lobbying for a wizarding icon set, Joey brings humor and heart to everything he does. He also talks about his recent health transformation, the joys of counting macros, and his budding love affair with Ruby on Rails.Whether you're a finance pro, a budding dev, or a wand-wielding D&D nerd, this episode’s got something magical for you.✨ What We Cover in This Episode💼 Burnout in the startup finance world🧘 Work-life balance at Font Awesome🧙 A Harry Potter metaphor for Kits (Hermione’s bag FTW!)🧮 Learning SQL, Ruby, and Rails for fun🍳 Why Joey counts macros and how it changed his life🧙‍♂️ Dungeons & Dragons meets nutrition tracking🕒 Timestamps00:03:50 Reflection on the Challenges of Working Long Hours00:05:27 Self-Development and Quality of Life at Font Awesome00:08:43 Tech, Finance, and Harry Potter Icon Pack at Font Awesome00:11:13 Exploring Harry Potter Lore to Explain Kits00:18:34 Dungeons & Dragons and Nutrition Habits00:20:20 Counting Macros for Optimal Health and Fitness🔗 Links & ResourcesA Beginner's Guide to Counting MacrosThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions-----------------------HIGHLIGHTS In a previous Snuggle, we were talking about metaphors or some way to describe how a kit works. And I seem to remember an allusion to Harry Potter lore would maybe be a good way to explain it. I think we discovered that there was confusion among folks between whether a kit is populated like it's a container that's full of something, or if it's empty and you add to it. And what we came around to say was more accurate is that a kit comes fully loaded with everything you might want to use.Yeah, it is. So Hermione, the beaded bag, it had an undetectable extension charm on it. They used that multiple times in the books and the movies. And it is it's kind of like the DND bag of holding where you can pull out a lot of stuff if you know what's in there. And it comes pre loaded. That works. So, like with Hermiones, the best analogy I could think of was they needed a ton of books and they needed clothes, and when they needed that, Hermione said, oh, let me grab that. Let me just get that out of this bag here. And that's kind of how the kits work, too. You're 100% right. I remember that conversation now where it's, hey, you don't have to worry about it. We've already got it handled for you, and we're going to make it super easy for you to get that out of there.Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

Behind the Scenes at Config: Icon Design, Figma Variables, and Public Speaking Tips | Podcast AwesomeIn this episode of Podcast Awesome, host Matt Johnson gets the post-Config download from Font Awesome’s resident icon heroes, Jory Raphael and Noah Jacobus. They dish on their experiences at the legendary Config design conference, spill the beans on what it’s like to speak in front of a crowd (or an empty room 😅), and reflect on the power of Figma’s tools—especially variables. They also talk about Adobe’s acquisition of Figma and why designer-led storytelling still reigns supreme. Whether you’re a Figma fanatic or just love a good nerdy confab, this one’s for you.Spoiler: They also reveal the secret sauce behind prepping a slick design talk... and it’s not just coffee. ☕💬 What We Cover in This Episode✨ Figma’s future post-Adobe acquisition🇮🇸 Insights from Halli Thorleifsson’s keynote (and that viral Elon moment)🎤 What it’s really like to speak at Config🧠 How structure helps defeat public speaking nerves💻 Variables in Figma—big win or major whoa?🎨 Icon design wisdom from the stage to your screen⏱️ Timestamps00:02:23 — Figma's acquisition by Adobe00:06:06 — Keynote by Icelandic entrepreneur Halli Thorleifsson00:10:28 — The awkwardness of speaking to an empty room00:14:14 — Structuring a conference talk (with some serious prep tips)00:17:25 — Virtual presentations & why feedback matters00:22:07 — Exploring variables in Figma (🎉 design nerd gold!)00:24:18 — Outro & reflection🎤 Quotable Highlights from the EpisodeOn Conference Impressions“It’s kind of poop-your-pants big.” – Jory RaphaelOn Speaking Prep“We got a couple little tee-hees out of our stage manager… we’re hoping for some good guffaws and chortles when we actually get people in the room.” – Jory RaphaelOn the Power of Good Talks“The ability to explain these concepts… and make it understandable and clear and funny and silly and memorable… it lingers.” – Bonnie Kate WolfOn Conference Support“They gave us a designer advocate, Miggy, who was our support throughout the whole process… it made the process a lot less scary.” – Jory RaphaelOn Audience Energy“By the 10th time through it… you wonder if any of it still makes sense. Actually being able to receive that validation from the crowd… was amazing.” – Noah Jacobus🔗 Links & ResourcesThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions"Pixel Perfect" by Lesiakower"Legends" by Kim Lightyear "8-Bit-Space" by Purrsahfef"Retrorace" by WolfBeat"Victory Screen" by Lesiakower"Elixir of Life" by 23843807Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

Icon designers Jory Raphael and Noah Jacobus discuss the history and future of Font Awesome icons. Topics include designer crushes, creating a video for Kickstarter, designing niche icons, the power of icons, creativity with constraints, icon design tips, developing artistic taste, and constantly improving design quality.

Matt talks with Mike Wilkerson, lead programmer at Font Awesome, about his love for coding, the design tool used by Font Awesome's designers, and his fandom for the Marble Machine X music project. They also discuss the importance of appreciating good curves and circles, finding motivation in mundane work, and the virtuous cycle of nerdery in building community.

🎙️ The Beautiful Catastrophe: Lessons from Failing Forward with Dave GandyWhat if failure wasn’t the end — but the beginning of something awesome?In this introspective and surprisingly funny episode of Podcast Awesome, host Matt Johnson sits down with Font Awesome founder Dave Gandy to get real about the stumbles, scrapes, and hard-earned wisdom that came from flunking out of MIT — twice. Yep, twice.From crashing through academia to launching one of the most successful tech Kickstarters of all time, Dave opens up about the not-so-straight path to building something meaningful, and the strange truth that sometimes... believing the lie is part of what makes it real.This one’s a goldmine for startup dreamers, believers in second (and third) chances, and anyone who’s failed their way into something better.🔹 What We Cover in This Episode🎓 Dave’s two-time flunk from MIT and what it taught him🔄 How failure can be rebranded as feedback🚀 Behind-the-scenes chaos (and hope!) of the Font Awesome 5 Kickstarter🔮 The psychology of self-fulfilling prophecies🤝 Finding the right co-founders and learning to trust again🧠 Why doing hard things is the ultimate learning machine⏱️ Timestamps00:04:54 Failure is not final.00:07:30 Embrace reality and grow.00:10:06 Failure is an opportunity for growth.00:18:56 Nothing is ever truly failure.00:23:25 Find trustworthy partners for success.00:27:05 Trust your teammates.00:29:09 Try hard things and learn.🎙️ Noteworthy Quotes from Dave Gandy on Failure, Reality, and Resilience"A startup is nothing more than believing a lie long enough that it becomes the truth.""Failure is really nothing more than reality attempting to introduce itself to us.""Most companies don’t ever recognize that this will almost certainly not be the last place you ever work. Climbing somebody else’s ladder is always a form of failure.""The only real failure is giving up, giving in… not making a conscious choice.""Nothing is ever failure if you’ve done it the right way — the way you think is right and healthy.""If we're only ever succeeding in life, that means we're never trying anything hard enough that truly challenges us.""Humility is one of the things we look for most in people we hire.""I can always come up with a reason why something is somebody else's fault. That’s why humility is such a key component.""Try hard things and find the right person to do them alongside.""There are two kinds of successful failures: choosing to stop because it’s wise, and choosing to go on because it’s wise. The only truly awful one is stopping without making the choice."📎 Links & ResourcesY CombinatorMITMake Some People Want: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Font Awesome's 2017 KickstarterThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

Font Awesome founders, Dave Gandy and Travis Chase, discuss building a strong company culture through hiring the right people. They challenge the idea of hiring 'rock stars' or 'A players' and instead prioritize humility and character fit. The podcast explores the impact of the rock star mentality, flawed evaluation processes, and the importance of communication, dignity, and continuous learning in business.

☕ From Junior High Principal to Pixels: Trevor “The Real Human Technical Support™ Guy” Chase Talks Career Pivots, Debugging Joy & Coffee ObsessionIn this Podcast Awesome episode, host Matt Johnson chats with Trevor Chase, Font Awesome’s Real Human Technical Support™ Guy. Once a junior high assistant principal, Trevor made the leap from school hallways to tech tickets — and along the way, discovered a love for debugging... and roasting the perfect cup of Ethiopian coffee.Trevor opens up about:How he transitioned from education into tech supportThe most common licensing and icon questions he fields dailyWhy learning new things is at the heart of his Font Awesome journeyHis grassroots coffee roasting business that started with a popcorn popperA once-in-a-lifetime Ethiopian coffee ceremony that sparked a lifelong obsessionAnd what it means to reconnect with remote teammates at our beloved team SnugglesThis one’s got 🔧 troubleshooting tips, ☕ artisan-level coffee takes, and ❤️ all the warm fuzzies of working on a remote team that actually gets along.⏱️ Timestamps01:03 – Trevor's Career Shift from Education to Tech Support03:39 – The Emotional Toll of Being an Assistant Principal06:16 – Joining Font Awesome and Learning On-the-Go06:19 – Most Common Tech Support and Licensing Questions08:14 – Hands-On Learning and Font Awesome’s Education Culture09:32 – Debugging and QA: The Joy of Finding Problems10:53 – Trevor’s Coffee Roasting Journey (From Popcorn Popper to Pro Roaster)13:33 – Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony: A Life-Changing Experience17:10 – Remote Culture and the Importance of the Font Awesome “Snuggle”🎙️ Highlights"If I’m ever bored in this job, it’s my own fault — there’s always something to learn." – Trevor Chase“I started roasting coffee in a popcorn popper... and now my dad and I have a little side business roasting beans from around the world.”“You roast it over hot coals, and they serve you two shots of the strongest, best coffee you’ve ever had. That Ethiopian ceremony? Changed everything.”“I love debugging. It’s kind of like putting out fires, which I weirdly enjoyed even as an assistant principal.”“Remote work can get isolating, so I really look forward to our team Snuggles. Getting to know everyone more deeply matters.”🔗 Links & Credits🔧 Font Awesome Support & Licensing🎬 Mill City Roasters on YouTube🎵 Theme song by Ronnie Martin🎛️ Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness! 

Cory LaViska, founder of Shoelace, and the hosts discuss the partnership between Shoelace and Font Awesome, benefits of using web components, challenges of modern web standards, and the power of open source technology. They also touch on the importance of keeping up with industry trends and the joy of solving problems with technology.