I think that might be oversimplifying it a little. You definitely need to be able to show your chops to book identity work, but you can do that through a portfolio. Thinking about someone like Mackey Saturday who hasn't invested particularly heavily in his own identity.

On the other side of that, branding yourself can be a differentiator/positioning tool for all kinds of design professionals, regardless of discipline. Of course, you'll be judged more as a specialist (see web designers and their websites).

Agree that they are unnecessary (is any logo "necessary"?) but respectfully disagree with the rest, at least as a matter of course. There are definitely tacky ones but I don't think that's by definition.

I've seen loads that I absolutely adore and think are incredibly tasteful. Especially when the designer does something that would never work as a corporate mark.

As examples, I think James White and Malika Favre's marks really distil their practices into one small, visceral form. Shyama Golden's sadly defunct llama was a perfect calling card for her. Raku Inoue's riff on a traditional Japanese stamp speaks to his heritage, aesthetic and values. Not to mention the people who come from lettering or street art and bring those traditions into their marks.

I think anybody who is telling you agency life is awful either had a terrible personal experience with one (like I did), or doesn't know what s/he is talking about and is just toeing the line.

The truth is just as all designers are different, so are all companies. You might find agency life extremely to your liking, or not. The only real way to find out is to try.

It gets you to talk about Hillary Clinton. More specifically, it gets you to patronise Hillary Clinton.

The more I see how nuts people (and particularly designers) are going over her campaign, the more I begin to think some evil genius schemed this up knowing how much designerfolk like to talk.

Also, because that last comment was incredibly ungracious and unbalanced, I really enjoy the rapport you "folks" build with your guests, and the back and forth flow of conversation. Thanks for providing such a great resource.

I always say fashion concerns itself with what you wear, style concerns itself with how.

Ultimately, a resume probably doesn't need to be either fashionable or stylish to be successful.

I'd consider her more of a letterer/illustrator (and I think she does too). Although her typography chops are definitely on point, most of her work is more concerned with letterforms than type systems.

She makes this distinction in a few of her talks (for sure in her Skillshare class), and talks about why these distinctions matter when referring to typography, typeface design, calligraphy and lettering.

I know this might be awfully pedantic, but I think it's also somewhat relevant.

I've only been listening for a few days, but I've heard a few mentions of this whole "design vs art" business. I have some views that are quite different to those being expressed on the podcast, that I hope to be able to properly articulate one day soon.

I'm not sure “normal” people care either way. More importantly, not sure if it improves their experience.

There's a James Victore quote I can't quite remember, but basically, if we're agonising over minutiae nobody notices, let's at least agonise over things that make a difference.

I used to work in video games, where part of my job was often to develop the overall "metaphor" - the concept behind how menus and interactions would occur.

Sound design would often come out of that metaphor. I know for certain cases it won't be as easy as with games, but I like to think every app lives inside a sort of "ecosystem", which can help you create a general vibe in which elements like sound live.