Working File
26 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 6 years ago - ★★★★★ - 31 ratingsA panel show about design featuring Andy Mangold, Matt McInerney, and friends.
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Episodes
26 — Shows That Could Have Been
November 14, 2017 01:50 - 55 minutes - 51.3 MBThis is our last episode of Working File, at least for a little while. Linda and Maurice join Matt and Andy to go down the list of possible topics for shows that we never got to make. It's a Working File lightning round! Thanks to all of our contributors over the past year who helped make the show a reality. Links Discussed Wrist Robot Machine Learning Material Design Bootstrap Wordpress Abstract Git Frank Chimero Frank's Rowhome Illustration Official Objectified Poster Andy's Rip...
25 — What the Future Holds
November 01, 2017 03:10 - 55 minutes - 50.9 MBThis episode features Matt and Andy having a one-on-one conversation about the future of Working File and the difference between expressive and functional design projects. Links Discussed On the Grid Numerology The Beginning of Infinity David Cole Waterfall Model
24 — Too Short to Scoop the Ice Cream
October 17, 2017 00:27 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBMatt is back for a lively discussion with Victoria and new contributor Daisy Sun about self-esteem and how to get a job when the world tells you that you're underqualified. Should you apply for a job if you don't meet the posted requirements? How do you break into an industry that feels elite and inaccessible to you? Is getting fired from Ben & Jerry's for being too short to scoop the ice cream technically discrimitation? Links Discussed Lord of the Rings "Cave" SnapApp Wayfair Wayfair J...
23 — Location, Location, Location
October 03, 2017 01:34 - 59 minutes - 54.9 MBMatt and Andy take an episode off and Maurice wrangles three new contributors from all over the country to discuss how geography influences design community. Richard Wade Morgan, Kim Green, and Jamal Collins call in from Atlanta, Boseman, and Clevenland, respectively, and compare their experiences as a designer in different locales. Links Discussed Studio WadeSarah LawrenceWeapons of Mass CreationAdventures in Design PodcastMontana State UniversityBora ShehuUniversity of GeorgiaLiving Walls ...
22 — Something to Say
September 19, 2017 03:31 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBLong time contributor Maurice Cherry organized this episode where Andy, Matt, and new contributor Jon Lewis discuss what it's like starting your own business as a designer. What are the reasons to start something new instead of getting a normal, stable job? What are the most difficult parts that no one ever tells you about? Links Discussed Lunch MetaLab Bakken & Bæck Million Dollar Matchmaker Elevate App Mike Monteiro
21 — Don’t Hug your Phone
September 05, 2017 03:09 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBWe take a break from our normal topical panel shows this week for something different. Prompted by an interview with Simon Sinek, Andy and Linda have a one-on-one discussion about our generation's attitudes towards work and social media. How does our approach to our careers differ from our parents'? Are connections made through social media less meaningful, or at least different, than those made in real life? Links Discussed Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace Maslow's Hierarchy of...
20 — Lessons Learned
August 22, 2017 02:01 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBThis episode is all about education. Andy, Matt, Meg, and Maurice share their origin stories as we discuss the differences between being self-taught and learning about design through a formal, paid program. How do you find your voice when you begin your career working for others? How do you learn humility after you've spent four years and tens of thousands of dollars becoming an expert in something? Links Discussed Working File Episode 2 — The Artist and the Problem Solver Morehouse Colleg...
19 — A Human Podcast
August 08, 2017 02:46 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBAnnie and Jon join us for a speculative discussion about the future of design. Will artificial intelligence and machine learning replace us in the future? How will we develop taste in automated systems? What will become of our industry when capitalism finally implodes? Links Discussed “Merlin Manndroid” AirBNB Design Artificial Intelligence Assembly Line Twitterbot Algorithm Pun Machine Learning Word Embedding Pupper2Vec: Analyzing Internet Dog Slang with Machine Learning Anthony ...
18 — Maturity and Experience
July 25, 2017 02:26 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBOn this episode, Matt, Andy, and Kristy are joined by new contributor Sabrina Majeed to discuss what it means to be senior in any field. Find out what potential employers think of your years of experience and what it means to be a mature designer. Links Discussed On Being a Senior Engineer Buzzfeed Slack Bill O'Reilly Kate Arnonwitz Hire Sabrina
17 — Back and Forth Forever
July 11, 2017 01:19 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBThis episode reunites Matt and Andy with Dan Auer, cohost of On the Grid, the podcast that eventually led to the creation of Working File. We get caught up on developments in Dan's life and discuss how we've grown and changed in the five years since we recorded the first episode of On the Grid. Links Discussed On the Grid My Brother, My Brother, and Me Andy's Garden on Instagram Cyberbullying Dreamcast Pentagram Hedonic Treadmill Burning Man Sagmeister & Walsh
16 — I do Squiggles and Gradients
June 27, 2017 03:20 - 1 hour - 68.8 MBRobyn and Chappell join us for an episode all about the presence or absence of “weird” sensibility in graphic design. We start off talking about the new art direction of Bloomberg Businessweek but end up discussing capitalism, Snapchat, and the SR-71 Blackbird. Links Discussed Bloomberg Businessweek Adobe Acrobat Vectors Conference Laverne and Shirley Intro Etsy PageRank Bloomberg Businessweek Tim Cook Cover Comparison️ Time Magazine Newsweek Richard Turley Snapchat Allison McCan...
15 — Listener Questions
June 13, 2017 02:07 - 1 hour - 57.8 MBAndy and Matt are joined by Lola and Kara to answer listener questions about design managers, creative staffing agencies, how user choice affects modern product design, and of course, whether or not design can change the world. Links On a team, what do you look for in a leader/design director? How is design changing as consumers of creative content are more empowered than ever before? Skipping titles/filtering content/blocking ads Netflix is testing a button for skipping the opening credi...
14 — A Room Full of Strangers
May 30, 2017 01:22 - 1 hour - 64.3 MBAndy and Matt are joined by Cap and Maurice to talk about our relationship with conferences and other design events. Even though all four of us have spoken at events before, why is it that we almost never attend them ourselves? What responsibility do conference organizers and speakers have to the greater community? Links Unconference Design Thinkers (Event) Background on Maurice’s Speaking South by Southwest Psychogenic Amnesia XOXO Blacklisting Thought Leader Tokenism MacGuffin Y...
13 — Money Talks
May 16, 2017 03:12 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBOn this episode we’re tackling a potentially sensitive subject: money. Linda and Annie join Matt and Andy for a candid discussion about their past jobs and how much money they made doing them. When is it appropriate to negotiate for a higher salary, and how do you do it? Is there a difference between how much we deserve to be paid and what we’re actually paid? Links Emily Post AIGA Design Census Working File Episode 10 New York City Passes Law Banning Prior Salary Questions in Hiring to ...
12 — Verbal Design
May 02, 2017 03:22 - 1 hour - 66 MBChappell and Robyn join us for a lively episode wherein we discuss the language we use to describe ourselves and our work. With her recent transition to the private sector, Chappell gives us her take on agency life and the vernacular associated with it. Find out why the words we use matter, even just internally. Links Sidecar Communication Studies Product Requirements Document (PRD) Huge Business Requirements Linguistic Relativity Telephone Line World of Warcraft Chicken or the Egg ...
11 — Comparing Notes
April 18, 2017 02:39 - 1 hour - 58.7 MBMatt and Andy are on their own this week having a practical discussion about proposals and how we communicate with potential clients. What is the right amount of information to provide and the best way to provide it? Why do we keep sending 8.5″ by 11″ pdfs when no one is printing them out? Links Motel Friends of The Web Pentagram Adobe Creative Cloud Boilerplate Engagement Letter Google Webmaster Guidelines Responsive Design Minimum Viable Product User Story Git Screen Reader
10 — Institutional Value, Individual Agency
April 04, 2017 02:33 - 1 hour - 58 MBThis episode is all about our relationship with the AIGA and more general feelings about design community and discourse. Annie, Matt, and Andy are joined by new contributor Nicole Killian to discuss our relationship with the AIGA and centralized representation of our industry. Why do so many of us feel distanced from our de facto professional organization? Links AIGA 2016 Design Census The AIGA AIGA Member Benefits MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design) Walker Insights Design Lect...
9 — A System for Others to Succeed
March 21, 2017 01:38 - 1 hour - 61.2 MBMatt and Andy are joined by Kristy Tillman and new contributor Cap Watkins to discuss design management. We learn about some of the traits of bad managers and discuss how to advocate for design within an organization. Should design work be diversified and spread throughout a company, or is specialization valuabale? Links The Seed of this Episode Soceity of Grownups Skunk Works Managing Humans by Michael Lopp George Costanza Sabrina Majeed IDEO “Stand-Up” Design Thinking Sonic Drive-In High-...
8 — Proving Yourself to Yourself
March 07, 2017 01:30 - 57 minutes - 52.7 MBKara Haupt and Victoria Rushton join us on the eve of Matt’s wedding and the first day of Kara’s new job for a candid discussion about our confidence and sense of self-worth. As designers, our value is constantly measured against other designers, other industies, and our own unforgiving standards. How do we come to terms with having a creative job in a world that often feels like it’s falling apart around us? How do we know if we are doing enough? Links The New Yorker Impostor Syndrome Vi...
7 — Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic
February 21, 2017 03:16 - 1 hour - 66.8 MBThis marks the beginning of a conversation that we’ll be continuing in the future: the relationship between design and politics. Maurice Cherry and Robyn Kanner join us to talk about whether or not design is inherently political, turning down jobs for ethical reasons, and practical ways we can have a positive impact on the world around us. Links MyTransHealth Consulting Bias Sunk Cost RFP (Request for Proposal) Dear Design Student: How to Fight Fascism Developing Citizen Designers Vot...
6 — Using Yourself as a Constraint
February 06, 2017 23:48 - 55 minutes - 51 MBThis episode, featuring Linda Eliasen and Jon Gold, addresses the relationship between the design process and production. Does an understanding of the materials and techniques used to manufacture your designs make you a better designer, or hold you back from doing truly innovative work? When should we push limitations of production and when should we just stick with a tried-and-true, established solution? Links Ueno Designer News Stranger Things MailChimp Dropbox Impostor Syndrome Tro...
5 — Who Gets to Say No
January 24, 2017 02:24 - 56 minutes - 52.1 MBVictoria Rushton and Annie Yiling-Wang join us to discuss criticism in a professional context. For many of us, what was once formal critiques with peers during our education has been replaced by a confusing array of criticism from a variety of people. How does feedback differ when it comes from our clients, our peers, or our superiors? Links Orange is the New Black Font Bureau IDEO Telephone (aka “Chinese Whispers”) User Research Rule of Thumb Clients from Hell Fan Fiction
4 — Making Something that’s Missing
January 10, 2017 02:52 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBAndy and Matt are joined by Kristy Tillman and Lola Landekic for a conversation about side projects and the culture that surrounds them. We talk about the virtues and pitfalls of pursuing a self-initiated projects and whether we should hold people accountable for the things that they make. What role should side projects play in your portfolio, and how should we regard them when we’re hiring a designer? Links Art of the Title Model View Culture Side Project Culture: Opportunities and Obsta...
3 — A Thing to be Seen
December 27, 2016 01:09 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBOn this episode of Working File, which is actually the first one we ever recorded, we’re joined by Satchell Drakes and Jen Mussari to discuss being a designer in the public eye. How is being a famous designer different than being a famous dentist? Is one particular personality type or kind of design work rewarded by social media? What are we saying when we only show our polished, perfect selves online? Links Satchell’s Video on That Dragon, Cancer Charity Water Small City — Jen's Studio i...
2 — The Artist and the Problem Solver
December 13, 2016 03:08 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBThis episode is all about the distinction between working individually and working collaboratively. Gitamba Saila-Ngita and Meg Lewis join us for a discussion where we talk about our preferred work environments, the difference between design education and practicing design professionally, and conflict resolution amongst coworkers and clients. When should we compromise and when should we stand up for our ourselves? Links Ghostly Ferns Sagmeister & Walsh Louise Fili Experimental Jetset St...
1 — An Industry Inside of Every Industry
November 28, 2016 22:25 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBOur inaugural show is all about the state of the design community, design journalism, and what Working File should be. Chappell Ellison and Maurice Cherry join us for a conversation about the difference between design discourse in public and private spaces. We find out that Andy has high expectations for designers and discuss the nature of criticism across different creative industries. Is there a distinction between criticsm for consumers and criticism for creators? Is the internet even an a...