Works But Makes Noises

21 Episodes

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Over-optimizing the creative process and designing your way out of the Valley of Sh*t

2026-11-0957:28

Everyone creative person has been in the Valley, the miserable stretch in a project where nothing works. In this episode, we talk about some of the tricks we use to get to the other side: sleep, sneak attacks, talking it out, word-association games. But we also ask: are we optimizing creativity out of the design process? We weigh efficiency against good work, the value of the Valley, and whether it's a phase that you can skip or just have to work through. Plus handwritten type experiments, ba...

Not-so-graphic design: Dueling product launches, why EV form factors are stuck, and the custom stack powering David’s new www

2026-10-1901:00:55

Jacob’s back from Indonesia and Japan to find that David didn’t, in fact, burn the house down. We compare two very different product launches – Apple’s new HomeView and Tesla’s dream car (if you're a 12-year-old boy). Then we go full car talk: why electric vehicles can’t break out of car-design convention, some good and bad Porsche sightings, and the new Volvo XC60 hybrid. We also dig into the insane custom software stack powering David’s [very beautiful] new website. Plus we reflect on the f...

With Nick Pattison: Pentagram Boot Camp, Productizing Design, the Birth of Brand Sprints, and What AI Still Can’t Replace

2026-10-0255:17

This week, Jacob’s somewhere in rural Singapore (I think?), so David sits down with Nick Pattison, founder of Primary Studio, to trace his path from Pentagram and Milton Glaser’s studio to building a productized design practice around the two-week brand sprint. They get into earning your stripes, going from solo designer to studio owner, hiring your first employee, why design services should be easier to buy, and Nick’s ongoing obsession with making creative work more scalable. Plus, how a $2...

Sell-Out Culture, the Other 95% of Building Products, to Monetize or Not, and Where the Online Design Community Went

2026-09-0956:12

This week, we talk about the lost art of *not* selling out, whether or not to turn an idea into a business (plus David's released the beta of his app Archiv), and the forgotten 95% that goes into releasing a product. We get into the evolution of self-promotion and get nostalgic for when the design community had Twitter as a public space. David's off to pick up some original Karen Mobring-designed IKEA chairs and Jacob's going to the beach (surprise!). And does anyone know why there are parrot...

Design Portfolios: Thinking Like a Business, Why Good Work Isn’t Enough, and the Crystal Goblet Mindset

2026-08-1001:03:47

Recording from an NYC visit (David) and peak California beach season (Jacob), this week we dig into the design portfolio and how to present yourself effectively – whether you’re at the beginning of your career or revamping your agency’s website. We talk about how work quality gets you in the door but it’s the positioning that gets you hired, why designers obsess over their projects instead of thinking like a business, how writing might be what actually sells you, the red flag that can scuttle...

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