I met up with Tad Carpenter in the green room at The Funny Bone Omaha of all places. That’s right, AAF Nebraska’s annual Meet the Pros upped their game on the location and went full-on comedy club! Tad was just hours away from being the main keynote speaker at the area’s best design / advertising / marketing student event, and we crammed into the coat closet / janitorial supplies storage / green room to talk about his brand-centric design company, Carpenter Collective.

We talk a bit about doing cup designs for Sonic, and knowing how many people have thrown your work away, designing a book cover for Wonder (which then went on to be a huge deal), and more.

We also talk about the importance of play, and finding joy in the design we do – something that Tad has found over the past (almost) 9 years by creating a sun every Sunday in his Sunday Suns.

Thanks again to AAF Nebraska for hosting an amazing event. I still have great memories of attending when I was a student, and always encourage others in the area to find a way to make this one. Once again, I also served as one of the many portfolio reviewers (the ‘Pros’ in the Meet the Pros I suppose), which I am happy to see the local market once again stepping up to support the event with their presence.

Enjoy.

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Clement Mok, who was just awarded a Cooper Hewitt 2023 National Design Award for Digital Design, stops by The Reflex Blue Show to talk about his path into the design field, and finding his way to Apple to work on the original Macintosh team.

We also talk about his restaurants, including sugarFISH, and what’s next in technology.

Enjoy.

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Katie Risch McAdams, the Chief Marketing Officer at Basis Technologies, was the lunchtime keynote speaker at this year’s OnBrand Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Recorded from the event on July 13, just after the taco bar had been put away and all of the churros had been consumed.

Her talk, ‘Advertising Through Uncertainty’, is one that is especially timely, as we discuss the last three years (checks calendar, it still says three, although it feels like ten) of changes in the world, and how it affects how companies feel about advertising, and what they should really be thinking about it. We also talk about Basis Technologies, and using technology to reach the intended audience. As Katie’s major was in English, I ask about how this helped in getting into this advertising world, and her path to Basis technologies.

Thanks again to the AAF Nebraska, AMA Lincoln, AMA Omaha, and PRSA Nebraska on a wonderful conference.

And huge thanks to all of the listeners – this is the end of our planned Season 16 of The Reflex Blue Show. I’ll be back sometime in 2024 with Season 17.

Enjoy.

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