Talk Paper Scissors
Join host, Diana Varma, as she explores the wonderful world of design and printing, typography and branding, books and publishing. Diana loves nothing more than getting creative with Creatives about all things creative. Ready to have some fun? Let's Talk Paper Scissors!
OoO @ DesignThinkers Vancouver 2026
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Happy summer everyone! This marks the final episode of Talk Paper Scissors before I head on my summer/social media sabbatical until September.
Today’s episode contains a compilation of voices from DesignThinkers Vancouver from May 2026. The theme of this year’s DesignThinkers conferences is ‘Out of Office’ and I asked conference attendees their favourite out off office reset, as well as their favourite places to disappear when they’re out of office. Voices featured in today’s episode include: Elana Rudick, James Nguyen, Joanne Chang, Rain Senra-Francois, Tessa Laity...
Iconic Publishing Brands in Digital Spaces with Nicola Ryan of Condé Nast
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We’re having conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world, who are sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in these 4 episodes.
This episode features Nicola Ryan, Vice President of Product Design at Condé Nast.
In this conversation, you’ll hear about Ni...
Building Trust Across Print and Digital with Ojus Jain of Esses Magazine (Formula 1)
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We’re having conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world, who are sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in these 4 episodes.
This episode features Ojus Jain, Founder of Esses, a new publication celebrating global culture and motorsports.
In this conversatio...
Launching a New Magazine with Krupa Patel of TURMERIC Magazine
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Welcome Magazine Makers!
We’re having conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world, who are sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in these 4 episodes.
This episode features Krupa Patel, a Toronto and Ahmedabad-based independent magazine m...
Designing Reading Experiences for Children with Caroline Versteeg of Owl Kids
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It’s magazine time!
Welcome to conversations with magazine-makers— big and small, new and seasoned, independent and commercial—from all over the world sharing what they do and how they do it. This year’s line up includes folks making magazines for kids, art and culture, as well as luxury lifestyle magazines, and a massive global publisher who covers all of this and more. There’s something for everyone in the next 4 episodes.
This first episode features Caroline Versteeg, a Toronto based Art Director, Designer and Artist who brings content to...
The Library Loiterers — Vol. III: The Zine Scene with Izy Iannetta at Toronto Zine Library
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Welcome, dear friends, to The Library Loiterers.
Each episode finds Diana loitering in a library with a special guest in a library location of their choosing. We comb the stacks and have a chat about passions, practices, and possibilities—letting the story unfold as it will. You’re encouraged to read between the lines because it’s going to be a real page turner…
This episode features local creative strategist, performer, and published poet, Izy Iannetta, as the duo explo...
How to Be a Design Student (and How to Teach Them) with Mitch Goldstein
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Design students and design educators — this episode is for YOU! We have Mitch Goldstein, educator and author of How to Be a Design Student (and How to Teach Them), here to share some powerful thoughts and actionable advice.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Mitch’s approach to being “professionally curious” and the difference between “education” and “professional practice”. We dig into grading, what design education does well and what parts of the system needs improvement. We talk phones, distraction, and the power of working with mater...
“Copy, Podcast joy”: NASA’s Artemis II Digital Strategy with Thalia Patrinos
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Today’s conversation is out of this world with Thalia Patrinos who works at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. She is the Artemis Digital Lead within the Office of Communications. She leads and strategizes all digital communications about NASA’s Artemis missions to and around the Moon, including social media, video, audio, web presence, and digital engagements.
In this conversation, you’ll hear Thalia talk about the years of work that goes into digital strategy for communicating a mission around the moon, balancing planning and flexibility to capture sponta...
The Library Loiterers - Vol. II: Compositions, Classification, and Card Catalogs with Carl Shura at Toronto Reference Library
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Welcome, dear friends, to The Library Loiterers.
Each episode finds Diana loitering in a library with a special guest in a library location of their choosing. We comb the stacks and have a chat about passions, practices, and possibilities—letting the story unfold as it will. You’re encouraged to read between the lines because it’s going to be a real page turner…
This episode features type geek and delightful human, Carl Shura, as the duo explores the Toron...
Emerging Typeface Designers: Juliette Bifolchi & Jasmin Gulati
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Meet emerging typeface designers, Juliette Bifolchi and Jasmin Gulati! Juliette designed a typeface called Road Block and Jasmin designed a typeface called Invertia. In the following conversation, you'll get to hear about each typeface. You'll also hear their perfect type pairings, sensory descriptions of each (sight, smell, touch, sound and even taste), as well as what was easy and difficult about the process. Let the type geekery begin!
Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
Evolving Gotham: Sara Soskolne of Monotype on Expanding One of the World’s Most Recognizable Typefaces
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Today’s conversation is with Sara Soskolne, Executive Creative Director at Monotype, sharing her 20-year history of working on one of the world’s most recognizable typefaces: Gotham.
In this conversation, Sara shares her recent contributions to Gotham, working directly with the Obama Foundation for the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago. She gets delightfully technical about Gotham’s letterforms, pulling back the curtain on the decisions made in the expansion of this iconic type family, including for the brand new Gotham variable font. Sara talks...
Fine Specimens with Elliot Jay Stocks of Adobe Fonts
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Today’s guest is Elliot Jay Stocks, designer and author, known in typographic circles for his work as the co-creator of Google Fonts Knowledge, founder of 8 Faces magazine, and creative director of Typekit (now known as Adobe Fonts).
In this conversation, you’ll hear why Elliot wanted to make his new book (Fine Specimens) and what it contains. You’ll hear just how small the type design world actually is (Hi Jamie! Hi Mark!), as well as Elliot’s take on traditional type classification systems. He explains why he chose...
Personal and Peoples Histories Held in Letterforms with Tré Seals of Vocal Type
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This is the third episode in a 4-part guest lecture series, speaking with an incredible range of design and typography pros from across North America!
In this eye opening look into the history of typography, signage, protest, and histories, Tré Seals thoughtfully explains the ways in which type has caused a lot of harm to various communities, but the ways in which it’s also a hopeful gateway to make meaningful change.
You’ll hear Tré’s origin story, back to his early childhood learning c...
First Things First 2020 with Marc O’Brien and Benjamin Gaydos
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This is the second episode in a 4-part guest lecture series, speaking with an incredible range of design and typography pros from across North America!
This episode features 2 of the 3 authors of the First Things First 2020 manifesto, Marc O’Brien and Benjamin Gaydos. (Namita Dharia couldn’t join us but we hope to catch her in conversation again soon!)
In this conversation you’ll hear the tremendous global impact of the original First Things First manifesto in 1964 and what it means to each our guests...
Designing Systems of Type (Mistakes and All!) with James Edmondson of OH no Type Co.
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This is the first episode in a 4-part guest lecture series, speaking with an incredible range of design and typography pros from across North America!
This episode features type designer and founder of OH no Type Co., James Edmondson.
In this conversation you’ll hear James’ typography origin story (he’s still an 8-year-old at heart!), how he uses “Pen Logic” to help construct systems of type, and how he knows when a typeface is complete. You’ll hear some great questions from students asking for al...
The Library Loiterers - Vol. I: Following the Fear with Tim Miller at Robarts Library
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Welcome, dear friends, to The Library Loiterers.
Each episode finds Diana loitering in a library with a special guest in a library location of their choosing. We comb the stacks and have a chat about passions, practices, and possibilities—letting the story unfold as it will. You’re encouraged to read between the lines because it’s going to be a real page turner…
This episode features improv extraordinaire and Diana’s beloved high school drama teacher, Tim Miller, as...
Sabotaging Self-Sabotage with Lauren Hortie of Oasis Skateboard Factory
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It’s a high school experience like no other — Welcome to Oasis Skateboard Factory in Toronto, Canada where students make, design, and sell custom boards for real clients all while receiving high school credits.
This alternative school flips the script on what it means to learn and teach in high school, removing artificial boundaries between “school” and “the outside world”. Themes of equity, access, and cultivating community connections are explored. Guest and teacher, Lauren Hortie, shares how she and her colleagues work to cultivate an environment of experimentation and risk taki...
The Magic of Metaphor with Psychotherapist and Author Kate Robson
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Today’s guest is registered psychotherapist and author, Kate Robson, exploring her new book, Something to Hold Onto: Simple Images, Metaphors, and Practical Tools to Transform Your Life.
Her book is an incredible resource where she shares her ideas about complex human problems through a therapeutic lens to help make challenging moments a little less challenging. You’ll hear about the power of metaphor, through metaphors, to get out of thought ruts. We explore ideas including: failure, happiness, metal flexibility, choice, avoidance, team...
Clarendon: An Incomplete History of Type
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From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 6!)
This episode is guest hosted by Jordan Grey.
Name: Clarendon
Release Date: 1845
Designer: Robert Besley
Classification: Slab Serif (Egyptian)
Owned By: Today its multiple versions are owned by multiple foundries.<...
San Francisco: An Incomplete History of Type
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From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 6!)
This episode is guest hosted by Sheilae Siagian.
Name: San Francisco
Release Date: 2014
Designer: Apple’s Team (based on Helvetica and FF DIN)
Classification: Neo-Grotesque Sans Serif
Owned By: Apple
...Verdana: An Incomplete History of Type
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From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 6!)
This episode is guest hosted by Sol Riquero.
Name: Verdana
Release Date: 1996
Designer: Matthew Carter and Thomas Rickner
Classification: Humanist Sans Serif
Owned By: Microsoft
Claim to...
Garamond: An Incomplete History of Type
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From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 6!)
This episode is guest hosted by Lilly Clements.
Name: Garamond
Release Date: Mid 16th Century
Designer: Claude Garamond
Classification: Old Style Serif Typeface
Owned By: Not owned by one single...
Calibri: An Incomplete History of Type
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From the middle ages to the Middle East, From Futura to Freight, join us on a journey across the type universe and go where no designer has gone before...Welcome to An Incomplete History of Type (Part 6!)
This episode is guest hosted by Emma Pereira.
Name: Calibri
Release Date: 2007
Designer: Lucas de Groot
Classification: Sans Serif
Owned By: Microsoft Corporation
Claim to Fame: ...
Marci Stepak on Walking 300 km Through Grief, Connection, and Library Joy (Every Library TO)
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Meet our guest, Marci Stepak, who grew up using Toronto public libraries in the late 1970s and early 80s. In this conversation, you’ll hear about Marci’s journey, walking 300 km to visit all 100 Toronto Public Library branches on foot over 10 days. She’s calling it Every Library TO and the walk starts today, April 7, 2026. This walk is both a tribute to her Mom (today marks 1 year of her passing) and also to raise to raise funds for the Toronto Public Library Founda...
How to Wrap a Semester-Long Podcast Project
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 6
How do you wrap up a massive, semester-long creative project? Join Instructor Diana, alongside student hosts Shana and Alex, for the MDM class's final reflection and listening party. This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at the creative journey, covering everything the students learned about audience, structure, and distribution while launching their first podcasts.
The conversation explores powerful themes of accountability and class citizenship, celebrating the collective energy and responsibility the students brought to the course. It highlights the real-world...
How to Master Multilingual Podcasting
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 5
What happens when your audience demands a language shift? Multilingual creator Winnie Liao joins host Alex to discuss the reality of launching a content project outside the default English market. Winnie shares the unexpected journey of her show, which started in Mandarin in Taiwan and quickly grew into a bilingual platform driven by listeners who wanted to learn English.
Winnie reveals the core lessons learned from her background in acting and comedy: success in podcasting requires authenticity, patience, and...
How to Optimize Your Podcast for Growth
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 4
Are you optimizing your podcast for the right platforms? Jordan Blair, Podcast Producer at Buzzsprout, breaks down the current reality of podcast growth. Jordan explains why you must stop treating platforms like TikTok or Instagram and start treating them like libraries. You will learn the single most important rule for discoverability: use keyword-rich show and episode titles for SEO, or risk not being found at all.
This episode is packed with practical tips, including how to use the Episode...
How to Build a Millionaire Machine
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 3
Host Alex sits down with Javon Martin to get real about building a podcast that's actually a business in disguise. His show, "100 Ways to Make $100K," isn't just content: it's the front door to something bigger. In this conversation, Javon breaks down how he created the "Millionaire Machine," a guest booking system he developed between episodes 30 and 55 that became the engine for his entire operation.
You'll hear about the difference between planning and adapting (spoiler: you need both), why...
How to Compose an Iconic Podcast Theme (Serial)
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 2
What goes into creating a piece of music that defines a cultural moment? Nick Thorburn, the composer behind Serial's unforgettable theme, sits down with host Shana to tell the story. Spoiler: it all happened in a weekend, and he had no idea the show would become a global phenomenon.
Nick walks through his creative process: how he approached the project as a straightforward freelance job, why he drew inspiration from Twin Peaks, and what it means to wo...
Launching a Podcast From the Ground Up
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Lights! Microphone! Podcast -- Episode 1
Ever wondered what goes wrong behind the scenes of a podcast? The production team from "Ctrl Alt Narrate" is here to tell you everything. Sneesha (creative lead), Alisha (logistics and marketing), and Victoria (design) join host Alex to talk about the reality of collaborative podcasting: the good, the messy, and the lessons that came from nearly derailing the whole thing.
This episode is packed with practical advice for anyone making content with a team. You'll...
Introducing: Lights Microphone Podcast
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Introducing: Lights Microphone Podcast
In Fall 2025, a group of graduate students set out to learn about podcasting from the ground up and Lights Microphone Podcast is the result. Created inside a podcasting special topics course within the Master of Digital Media program at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University, this six-part series explores what it really takes to start and grow a podcast.
The series features conversations with composers, producers, video podcasters, multilingual c...
net.art Pioneer, Olia Lialina
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Down the rabbit hole we go! Each conversation in this series connects in unexpected ways. Every new episode spurring a new line of inquiry, like tunnels turning off in different directions, each with an origin that’s traced back to episodes 273, 276, and 280.
This episode features net.art pioneer, Olia Lialina. She is credited with founding one of the earliest web galleries, Art Teleportacia. She is cofounder and keeper of One Terabyte of Kilobyte Age archive and a professor at Merz Akademie in Stuttgart, Germany. In this conversation, you’ll h...
Olympic Design Joy with Paul Twa
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Happy Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026!
Graphic designer and illustrator, Paul Twa, is here and he’s full of insights and passion for Olympic design joy!
In this conversation, we talk all things design systems at Milano Cortina 2026. Paul shares the importance of human gesture, energy, and motion to this system, the unique public vote that took place for the games’ emblem, as well as AI use and its implications. Paul helps us understand what works beautifully and what works less
Independent Foundry Magic with Libbie Bischoff of Type Du Nord
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This is the third episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!
This episode features the owner of foundry Type Du Nord, Libbie Bischoff.
In this conversation, you’ll hear how Libbie got started in type professionally and what a typical day looks like as a foundry of one. You’ll hear about the way Libbie’s signature may actually be your signature, now or in the future and the storytelling power of...
Design for Social Change and Inclusive City Building with Jay Wall
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This is the second episode in a 3-part guest lecture series, speaking with a diverse range of design and typography pros from across North America!
This episode features a Creative Director dedicated to social change and inclusive city building, Jay Wall.
In this conversation you’ll hear about Jay’s origin story as a designer and the evolution of his path towards designing for social change. You’ll hear about the Design Justice Network (DJN) and learn a less naïve way to frame the quest...
Indigenous Type Perspectives with Leo Vicenti
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This is the first episode in a 3-part guest lecture series in GCM 230 Typography, speaking with design typography pros from across North America!
This episode features type designer and educator at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Leo Vicenti.
In this conversation, you’ll hear how Leo believes typography can support Indigenous language and culture, the ways in which typography isn’t always necessary, Indigenization of digital spaces, and why fixed systems don’t necessarily work (Unicode, for example).
This ep...
Currency and Creativity with David Berry and Raymond Biesinger
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Today’s episode features two authors with two new books on two interrelated topics: David Berry (How Artists Make Money & How Money Makes Artists) and Raymond Biesinger (9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off: An Informal Self-Defence Guide for Independent Creatives).
In this conversation you’ll hear the macro and the micro of economics and art; David and Raymond share history’s most interesting examples, alongside personal examples of the ways in whi...
👉🏽 Manicule 👈🏽
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Allow me to point something out…
From Medieval manuscripts to 19th-century advertising, modern interfaces, and emoji culture, this episode follows the curious history of the iconic pointing hand, commonly referred to as the “manicule”.
Inspired by a letterpress project created for the Canadian Letterpress Alliance, I step back in time to print postcards on a 170-year-old press at Mackenzie House Toronto, using historic wood type found in a cabinet of typographic curiosities.
We explore its origins as a reader’s mark, its...
GeoCities Memory with Jill Blackmore Evans
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Down the rabbit hole we go! Each conversation in this series connects in unexpected ways. Every new episode spurring a new line of inquiry, like tunnels turning off in different directions, each with an origin that’s traced back to episode 273.
This episode features Jill Blackmore Evans who created GeoCities Memory, a personal and scholarly project designed to capture some of the most interesting examples of websites in Web 1.0. In this conversation, you’ll hear well as what Jill has found to be surprisingly similar about the...
Certified Letter Nerds with Alanna Munro of Arcane Type Foundry
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Today’s conversation is with Alanna Munro of Arcane Type Foundry. She is a certified letter nerd, designer, and educator. In this conversation you’ll hear about Alanna’s creative process for designing type, the importance of squinting, and common misconceptions about independent foundries. You’ll also hear helpful, actionable advice about font licensing. And for all students here: listen up! Alanna lets type design students know how they can get professional critique on your type design work.
Let's Connect on the web or via Instagram. :)
