Front and Center

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 running the studio, along with plenty of stories about the work and the journey along the way. 

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 Chocolate Pancake, the McDonaldland meal, and more! 

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 @drinkesther, is a head-turner and launches this fall! Enjoy!

Alex and Kevin are coming at you for the 3rd consecutive solo episode! The most consecutive in quite some time, or at least that's how it feels! Kevin discovers some new sounds on the sound board they've been using for years. Then the two fellas go on to discuss the Coldplay Affair, David sells cod, FYRE Festival IP sells on EBAY, the Lyft rebrand, Von Dutch hard soda, J.Crew Pasta, Range Rover's new secondary logo, and more!

Alex and Kevin are back from the long weekend, chomping at the bit to discuss their activities.. Kevin recaps his epic Fourth of July at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, and Alex talks about his relaxing weekend. They go on to talk about the Bear season 4, people complaining about Liquid Glass again, the Stella Artois Wimbledon can, the Tripadvisor rebrand by Koto, Rob McElhenney rebrands to Rob Mac, 50 Cent turns 50, the Indonesian Boat Racing Kid, and more!

Alex and Kevin bring you a solo episode, live from global headquarters in Greenpoint Brooklyn! They discuss the Hot Dog Eating Contest, Buffalo Wild Wings’ Mountain Dew Radler, Micheal Beirut taking a step back at Pentagram, Benson Boone’s Moonbeam Ice Cream Cookie, Linkin Park x Haribo, Heinz Mustard, Drake’s abs, Travis Scott’s Erewhon Smoothie, Subway’s Happy Gilmore mea;, and more! 

Our guest today is a multidisciplinary Creative Director by way of Portland by way of Miami by way of Ecuador, currently working at Nike as Senior Global Design Director.  He is driven by his love for design, a passion for teamwork, and a dedication to fostering vibrant communities. Diego is a maker; he’s always working on projects for the love of the game. Most notably, he had a passion project go viral in 2016 that spurred his career in sports creative. He designed a comprehensive concept for Inter Miami FC, even naming the club well before the official unveiling of...

Alex and Kevin are, once again, back for a solo episode. They catch up on all the stuff they missed since their last solo episode, which has been a while, and all of the new breaking stories happening now. They discuss the shows they are watching (Earnhardt, Tires, Call Her Alex, Paul American, and others), Joey Chestnut back at Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, Justin Bieber popping off at the paparazzi, Sydney Sweeney bath water soap, NBA Finals on court logo debacle, The Orlando Magic rebrand, the death of CosMc’s, Apple’s Liquid Glass. Diet Cherry Coke, The vi...

Wedge is a brand and design studio based in Montreal, Canada. They create distinct brand signatures for the world we live in. Guided by the core belief that "everything can be special." Wedge has earned global recognition, winning Studio of the Year at The Dieline Awards for two consecutive years, among other accolades from D&AD, ADC New York, and more. They've partnered with founders like Matty Matheson and Blake Lively, built iconic brands like Vacation Sunscreen and Paro, and rebranded for iconic brands like Canada Dry and Mott's. We are so excited to welcome the co-founders, Justin Lortie...

Alex and Kevin buss it down from a design and cultural perspective. You know they had to talk about Kincks Mania, The Rizzler still making waves, Mr. Beast’s new look, The Outdoor Boys hanging it up, the new Pope, HBO Max coming back, the Utah Mmmoth brand, White Castle x Heeley’s, Jaguar firing their agency, and more!

Talia Cotton is a designer, coder, and educator who is recognized as a leading specialist in the intersection of design and technology. In 2023 she founded Cotton, a creative agency pursuing purposeful design work with code. Talia also teaches intro and advanced coding at Parsons School of Design. She has been recognized by The One Club, TDC, Fast Company, and It's Nice That, and has inspired audiences around the globe on The Cotton Global worldwide tour.

Talia joins us today to teach us about code and how she and her studio of like-minded designers use it to make...

THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN! Alex is back from Coachella, and Kevin is back from Tulum. The bougie boys are bringing the heat as they talk about what’s going on. Alex recaps Coachella, and the fellas talk about 100 dudes vs 1 gorilla, the kerning on Pope Francis’ tomb, Fyre Fest 2, Khloé Kardashian’s Khloud Protein Popcorn, the Amazon rebrand, the Heinz grill, Sperm Racing, and more!

Today, we are thrilled to welcome Justin Thomas Kay to the program! Justin is a YouTuber, creative director, and graphic designer based in Brooklyn. You may have seen him on GQ Rebranded, an episodic series about sports branding— how it works, the history behind it, and how he would approach it. Justin was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he cut his teeth in designing posters, album art, and other stuff for his band Sincebyman. He then entered the editorial world and worked with like every cool magazine, Complex, Fader, New York Times Magazine, Mass Appeal, and Victory Jo...

We are thrilled to welcome Pete Freeman to the show! Pete, a willing 3rd, is a Center OG, the first employee. We are blessed with his presence this week as he’s in New York on business by way of sunny California! We talk about the rats of Erewhon, Alex is going to Coachella, Paul American, the Rizzler throwing out the first pitch at the Mets game, pool+, the subway footlong nachos, KFC toothpaste, Glen Powell’s Smash Kitchen, and more!

Diego Segura and Eliz Akgun are incredibly talented designers who reside in New York City. They caught Alex’s attention last year with their stunning work on the brand Leggs. Diego worked at COLLINS after dropping out of high school at 18; he runs a progressive studio called Family Office and has aspirations of business beyond branding. Eliz’s talent is boundless, as her artistic vision and learned hotkeys make her an exciting designer to watch for the future (big things to come). The duo joins the podcast this week to go back and forth with high energy, quick banter, lots...

Alex and Kevin are back for a regular episode! The fellas discuss their favorite television shows, Ashton Hall and his morning routine, peak protein, funny baseball hats, Doordash x Klarna, Ordinary Eggs, Pepsi buying Poppi, and more!

Lisa Smith is the queen of the rebrand! She is renowned for her transformative work with some of the world's most cherished brands. Currently the Global Executive Creative Director at JKR, her strategic vision has played a pivotal role in the global rebrand efforts for clients such as Burger King, Nordstrom Rack, Impossible Food, and Manischewitz.

Lisa, a listener of the pod, joins us to share about her life, her career, and her passion for the beach! We are excited to share this episode with you!

It’s been a while since since we’ve podded! We are so back! Back from vacations, back in the studio, back in your ears. We talk about our new favorite shows and their marketing promotions, the Oscars, Sweetgreen Fries, Duo Lingo dying and resurrecting, NikeSKIMS, Dove whole body deo, Dove x Crumbl, Graza Fizzle, Nathan’s canned water, Open AI rebrand, and more!

Happy Valentine's Day! We love love! We are happy to welcome Jackie DeJesu Center to the pod to break down the best and worst of the Super Bowl and Valentines Day! The brands are wildin out! We talk about Mountain Dew, Nike, Bud Light, Jesus, Coke, Totinos, Dunkin’, Liquid Death, Coca-Cola, Grillos, Skimms, Laneige, Sweethearts, MSCHF, Outback, Stonyfield, Denny’s Hormel, White Castle, and more!

Take a Gander, and give it a listen! We've got Katie Levy and Mike McVicar in the house! Katie and Mike are the creative duo behind Gander, a design shop in Brooklyn that creates thoughtful experiences for humans and propels brands with soul and substance. They are the studio behind some of the hottest CPG brands like: Graza, Yellow Bird, Pop Up Grocer, Magic Spoon, Behave, Gotham Greens, Banza, June Wine Bar, and many other bangers! Katie and Mike bring the energy as they advocate for the 4 day work week, rally for studios to come together and charge the...

Happy New Year! We’re back, and we’re totally new and different! Nah, just kidding, we’re the same. We’ve got some goals, some things to improve, and a change to the show’s release schedule. We talk about our breaks, Brian Johnson, The Aaron Rodgers Doc, Ladder x Stavros, The Sandisk rebrand, the Walmart rebrand, RX Bar cutting out the BS, Halo Top Dry January flavor drop, Breaking News, The Pizza Hut Pizza Report, and more!

In the last episode of 2024, Alex and Kevin break out the Haterade and dole out awards for the worst of the year. Find out who wins Story Of The Year, Story Of The Year (Number 2), Brand Of The Year, Launch Of The Year, Bozo Of The Year, Snackflation Of The Year, Beef Of The Year, Misprint Of The Year, Mispronouncian Of The Year, Brand Partnership Of The Year, (Not Good) Person Of The Year, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, And Good Thing We Didn't Buy This. Thanks for a great year! Cya next year!

IT’S THE END OF THE YEAR, AND YOU KNOW THE DRILL! It’s time for your favorite end-of-the-year design award show: The Fronties! Alex and Kevin recap and celebrate the year in design, branding, and culture! They give out awards for Person Of The Year, Team Of The Year, Brand Of The Year, Story Of The Year, Rebrand Of The Year, Good Job, Thumbs Up, You Tried, Refreshing Refresh, Renegade Of The Year, Comeback Of The Year, Zuck Of The Year, and Egg Champs.

Alex and Kevin break down this week's hottest topics in design and culture! They discuss Enron's comeback, Crumbl x Dove, The Rizler x Grillos, Jaguar, Tropicana, Bologna, and more!

GOBBLE GOBBLE! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We hope you have a fantastic holiday, and get to spend time with those you’re thankful for! On this episode, we provide some topical topics that you can share with your friends or family around the dinner table!  We talk about the Martha Stewart doc, John Stamos’ solidarity, the Funyuns Princess Bag, the Guggenheim rebrand, Screwball x Yung Gravy, Hellman’s Mayo Blanc, Popeyes Cajun Turkey, Reynolds Wrap "Espresso Turkey-tini”, Hard Mountain Dew Ditch Your Family, Brown Friday, Z-Pain, and more! Keep it light and bright!

*this episode was recorded before the Jaguar re...

We are stoked to welcome Jen and Amy Hood to the program! They are the Cofounders & Principals of Hoodzpah, a brand identity and type design studio out of Southern California. Hoodzpah creates brand identities that people root for and help legacy brands shine on. The vibes are high as we learn about their background, how they started their studio, how they approach work, and so much more! 

Alex and Kevin are at it again as they break it down this week! They talk about the Prospect Park fire, Mark Wahlberg's Municipal Gym, the A&W Rebrand, Nike NYC Marathon OOH, a Wicked mistake, Grillo's Pickle Toothpaste, Sega Emojam, and more!

Today, we are stoked to welcome Mike Perry to the show! Mike is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of TAVERN, a Brooklyn-based creative agency with a focus on food, beverage, cannabis & hospitality brands. We discuss his career journey, starting at NBC Sports in Philadelphia, getting into spirits and beverage design, and taking a quick detour at TikTok before starting his studio. Mike teaches us about Tavern’s philosophy of creating timeless brands driven by modern heritage, gives us a deep dive into the Sizzler rebrand, and more!

Check out Tavern's work: https://tavern.agency/
Follow Tav...

Alex and Kevin at in the stu talking about this week’s hottest stories. They recap Creative Boom’s Top 25 Most Popular Design Studios, their Halloweens, the Dwayne Wade statue, Lebron and Bronny, a new New York Organ Donor campaign, Vlassic Pickle Balls, V8 x Grillos, Liquid Death Soda Flavors, Gold Fish rebrands to Chilean Sea Bass, Kate Spade x M&M, Doritos Super Bowl Comercial Contest, and more!

This week Alex and Kevin recap the New York Liberty winning the WNBA Championship, EEEEEEATSCON, Alex in Ohio, The Mets (rip), Moldy Lunchly, Brach’s Candoy Corn Data, Airheads feet spray, Ketchup Sprinkles, the Mountain Dew rebrand, the Kleenex rebrand, and more!

It’s a total Freak Off as Alex and Kevin get the Baby Oil out and slide through the news and stories they missed while releasing all of the fire guest eps! They talk about their trips to Europe, Alex turning 40, Diddy, The Mets, David Protein Bars, Michelle Obama’s soda brand Plezi, a fire Michigan I voted sticker, bye bye Better Bagel, Capri Sun in Bottles, Pepsi acquiring Siete,  PSL SZN round-up, Lunchly, The Chicken Big Mac, and more!

Shy Trutwein and Jasmine Gallagher are the dynamic duo who run After Hours, aka “your favorite studio’s favorite studio.” (true) After Hours is a studio that is based nowhere but everywhere. They live a nomadic lifestyle, travling the world together and working on projects in strategy, identity, design, digital, content, and more. They maneuver and coordinate around various global time zones for their worldwide clients. In this energetic episode, Shy and Jasmine tell us about what it’s like living, working, traveling, and eating up to 6 eggs per day (each) as a collaborative coworking creative couple.

Chec...

SATURDAY ON A WEDNESDAY! We are stoked to welcome Mackey Saturday to the program! Mackey has designed some of the most iconic brands of all time. Odds are, you’ve seen at least one of his logos today, if not multiple! Mackey is a highly thoughtful and kind individual with an incredible passion and talent for design. He does a lot of things, and he lives life to the fullest. The world would be a better place if there were more people like Mackey Saturday. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode as much as we enjoyed recording it...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome Coss Marte to the show! 

Coss Marte is an entrepreneur from the Lower East Side of Manhattan. By the age of 19, he was running a multi-million dollar drug dealing operation, which eventually led to his incarceration.

While in prison, he experienced a pivotal moment when doctors warned him about his poor health. Determined to change his life, he developed a fitness routine using only his body weight and the confines of his cell. He lost 70 pounds in six months and helped 20 other inmates improve their fitness.

U...

BA BA BA BA BRAIN ROT! Alex and Kevin update the listeners about the Rizzler and the Costco Guys, Oasis Live 25 reunion tour, Ludacris drinking glacier water in Alaska, McDonald's Big Arch, Hot Wheels x MSCHF Not Weels, Brand x Sority rush videos, Gap Get Loose, and Angel Reese x Reese’s. 
~
“These Work Week TikToks From Fall Rush 2024 Will Get You *So* Hype”
https://www.hercampus.com/culture/work-week-tiktoks-fall-rush-2024/ 

Alex and Kevin are reunited for a solo, in-studio episode! Alex explains demure to Kevin and they catch up on some of the stuff they missed. They discuss Zuck’s sculpture of his wife, parfum de mayonnaise, Coke x Oreo, Saint West designs a bottle for Prime, Kin Picklesecco, Mario Lopez Wipes for Men, and more!

We are bringing you a sweet and better-for-you podcast this week with the founder and CEO of Behave, Mayssa Chehata! Behave is revolutionizing the candy industry with its healthier, low-sugar products. It’s the first candy on the market that both Mayssa and her diabetic dad can enjoy guilt-free! Aside from the phenomenal macros in the gummies, we discuss our guilty pleasures, do a Mount Rushmore of candy, talk about Domino's stock price, learn about the difficulties of starting a CPG brand, and more!  

@eatbehave on instagram

@mayssa on instagram

@may...

LONG ISLAND IS IN THE BUILDING! Alex and Kevin are thrilled to welcome Emmett Shine to the program! Emmett is a designer and entrepreneur working at the intersection of art and commerce. He is renowned for co-founding Gin Lane, Pattern Brands, and his newest venture, Little Plains, a branding and experience design studio for consumer-centric, tech-enabled startups based out of New York. Over the last ten years, he’s cofounded five companies, launched fifty brands, and been a part of seven successful exits. Emmet tells us what it was like growing up in Southampton, New York, about his skate br...