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© 2026 Front and Center
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Each week, award-winning graphic designer Alex Center and co-host Kevin Batory discuss branding, design, pop culture, and more. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
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Alex and Kevin are here with a BANGER. Coming off the long weekend, refreshed and reenergized, the fellas discuss everything going on, which is dominated by fitness and nutrition stories in a sort of new year, new me energy. They talk about the new food pyramid by the National Design Studio, The Sweetgreen Function Menu, Equinox’s question everything but yourself campaign, David’s Bronze campaign, the Prime Protein Shake, The Beyond Protein Drink, Graza's mayo launch, Honda’s updated logo, an...
Today, we are thrilled to welcome Leland Maschmeyer to the show! Leland is the Co-Founder and CEO of COLLINS, the globally renowned design firm. He was formerly the Chief Creative and Brand Officer at Chobani, where he led its brand relaunch, portfolio expansion, and marketing transformation. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum alongside many other impressive people. Leland is also a podcaster, co-hosting Hitmakers with Ana Andjelic. We had an enlightening conversa...
Hello and Happy New Year! 2026 is going to be our year! Let’s go! Excuse me while I break the 4th wall… We recorded this at the end of the day on the first Monday back from 2 weeks off. This was quite possibly the worst day of the year, and still, we deliver! This is going to be such a fire year. Alex and Kevin discuss their breaks, their resolutions, the Jake Paul fight, Marty Supreme, the Critics' Choice Awards, David Bronze, RIP to the NYC Metro Card, the McRib Class-Action Lawsuit,...
It’s the best time of the year to celebrate the worst of the year! The Annual Backies are here once again! This year was quite the doozie! We had stiff competition for many of the awards, and many brands and stories didn't make the cut. SAD! This year we dole out: Brand of the Year, Recession Indicator of the Year, Stunt of the Year, Zuck of the Year, QSR TikTok Trend, Rebrand of the Yea, Infidelity of the Year, Fake Ah of the Year, Back it Backie, Lowest Hanging Fruit, Clanker of the Year, F...
IT’S HERE! THE 2025 FRONTIES! TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE BEST OF THE YEAR, AND BOY WAS IT A GOOD ONE! Today we award Story of the Year, Brand of the Year, Person of the Year, Rebrand of the Year, Brand Moment of the Year, Cream of the Crop Collab, New Brand of the Year, Soooo Back Award, Good Job Thumbs Up You Tried, Clanker of the Year, Qsr Tik Tok Trend, Man of the Year, The Protein Champ, Zuck of the Year, Innovation That Excites Award, and The Refreshing Refresh! What a year!
This week, we are thrilled to welcome Brennan McGrath and Kapono Chung to the show! They are Partners at Combo, a strategic creative agency that uses strategy and design to unlock what's next. Their work spans from deep research and thorough strategy to design and beyond. They've worked with brands like Away, Target, Nike, Aldo, GAP, Instagram, Bed Bath & Beyond, Street Easy, and more! We talk about all things Combo: how they came to be, and how they chose the name when their two companie...
GOBBLE GOBBLE BITCHES! IT'S A TRADITION LIKE NO OTHER - THE FRONT AND CENTER THANKSGIVING EXTRAVAGANZA. WE ARE THANKFUL TO YOU, THE LISTENER, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE READING THIS! SO THANKFUL, THAT I WILL NOT BE USING ANY LOWER CASE LETTERS FOR THIS FIRST PART! We're coming at you this Wednesday with gratitude in our hearts and food on the brain! Alex and Kevin discuss their Thanksgiving plans and talk about the tastiest dishes, hottest brand stories, and releases. They talk about the Ore...
THE MCRIB IS BACK AND SO ARE ALEX AND KEVIN! The two McRib truthers discuss Bubbagate, The Eddie Murphy Doc, Ridiculousness being canceled, Streaming platforms’ greed, Purple Mattresses, REI Soho getting replaced by an Open Ai Office, Beastland opens in Saudi Arabia, the Marty Supreme Zoom call promo, the Starbuck Bearista, Doritos Simply NKD, the Baja Blast Pie, Graza launches a wine, still G.I.N adds a new partner, and more!
Alex ran the New York City Marathon! Everyone, go tell him congratulations! Alex breaks down his experience of his beastly feat, and we break down the current state of branding! Alex and Kevin discuss Erewhon’s new smoothie, Billy McFarland's new venture PHNX, Kim Kardashian's use of Chat GPT, Liquid Death x Feastables, the Mr. Pibb rebrand, the Domino's rebrand, Apple TV dropping the plus, NEO, the Graeters' rebrand, and more!
We have a legend on the program!! She needs no introduction, but here is one anyways… Natasha Jen is an award-winning designer, educator, and partner at Pentagram. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, she joined Pentagram’s New York office in 2012. A six-time National Design Award nominee, Natasha’s work is recognized for its innovative use of graphic, verbal, digital, and spatial interventions that challenge conventional notions of media and cultural contexts. Her work is immediately recogniz...
Alex Adam (3 first names*) is the Founder & Creative Director at Boredom Kills Creative. The studio (not agency) is based in the UK and operates worldwide with the mission to build community and connection through world-class brand identities and storytelling that get products on shelves and butts in seats. You may have seen their work for brands like Churn, New Brew, or Prince St. Pizza. Or you may have seen him talking to you on Reels or TikTok. This dude is a content king, sprea...
Everyone wish Alex a Happy Birthday! On this episode of Front and Center, Kevin compiled a 26-page document featuring stories from the world of design, branding, and other cultural touchpoints (things he came across online on Monday). The two fellas spend the time chatting about Lebron’s Decision 2, The Bird of the Year, a little bit of sports, Guy Fieri getting scammed, Gigantic’s rebrand, Starburst’s rebrand, Pizza Hut’s new logo, Taco Bell x Salt & Straw, Arizona Rizzler berry Iced Tea...
Robyn Kanner is a creative director with a passion for telling urgent human stories. She was the creative director for the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign (shout-out to the infamous fly swatter). After the victory, she went on to collaborate with clients such as Spotify, Showtime, Governor Josh Shapiro, the ACLU, and led the Democratic National Committee’s first major brand refresh. She has also recently redesigned the Pennsylvania license plate. Robyn is incredibly talented, as she reminds ...
Alex and Kevin indulge in a taste test of both the Oreo Reese’s and the Reese’s Oreo! They talk so much about how they’re going to try stuff, and they actually did this time! They also catchup on the latest stories like: Stiller’s Soda, Montauk 7Eleven Merch, Kith Ivy / Erewhon, Limewire acquiring Fyre Fest, Nelly’s Apple Bottom Jeans collaborating with Bubly, and more!
Verònica Fuerte is the Founder and Creative Directress of Hey, the world-renowned studio based in Barcelona. The studio has been at it since 2007, now 18 years, producing some of the most vibrant, lively, and thoughtful work in the entire industry. They specialize in developing creative strategies and visual languages for clients worldwide. Verònica and Hey are doing a lot of cool stuff! They have Hey Studio, Hey Shop (which creates a wide range of products), the Women at Work Podcast, and se...
Today, we welcome David Heasty to the show! David is the co-founder of Triboro, which he founded in 2008 alongside his wife, Stefanie Weigler. They create design solutions for clients in publishing, art, fashion, music, lifestyle, and for cultural institutions. They've made excellent work with partners like Nike, MoMA, Paul McCartney, Prince, Marc Jacobs, and Justin Timberlake's William Rast, to name a few. David sits with us and shares some of the ethos he's developed over 17 years of runnin...
Alex and Kevin are here to bring you their bottom-of-the-barrel takes on the hottest design story we’ve seen since Jaguar: Cracker Barrel. In classic form, Alex is pro-rebrand, and Kevin is against the modernization; the two go back and forth in a spirited debate. They also discuss Caitlyn Clark’s new logo, Notre Dame Football’s new Irishman, America’s first-ever Creative Director, and more!
Alex and Kevin welcome Liliana Soorin Kim from the studio to the podcast! Liliana is currently an intern at CENTER and is in her podcast era! We briefly recap our offsite, talk a little baseball, and discuss Alex's training regimen before diving headfirst into this week's topics (mainly food and beverage related) on empty stomachs (brave). We talk about Man Cereal, Nicotina beverage, Chipotle x Carvel, Oscar Mayer EveryBun Pack, Heinz Ketchup Smoothie, Graza offering glass, IHOP Dubai Chocola...
Alex and Kevin bring the heat as they run through the most exciting stories happening in the world of design and branding. The two dudes talk about Oreo x Reese’s, High Noon x Celsius, the La-Z-Boy rebrand, Not so great Jeans, a new glass bottle designed for the beach, and more!
Nihilo is an award-winning creative agency founded by creative directors Emunah Winer and Margarett (Margy) Kerr-Jarrett, based in Columbus, OH. They create brands that get picked up off the shelf, explored, and talked about. Their clients range from tequila, cannabis, and dog food brands to global fintechs, logistics operators, and healthcare providers. Nihilo is an ever-evolving creative powerhouse that makes and launches its own brands into the world. Their most recent, a rum brand ESTHER ...
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