Sam Anvari (Associate Professor of Graphic Design at California State University Long Beach) sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as loose (but heavily redacted) Juice, ice cream socials, and BlackBerry measuring.

In two weeks time on November 26, listen in for the second part of our conversation, covering Sam’s time in grad school and beyond working with Erik Spiekermann, learning linguistics, and finding his footing in teaching… while also covering a lot of other silly things in the process.

ABOUT THE GUEST: Sam Anvari is an interdisciplinary graphic and intera...

Adam JK (AKA Adam J. Kurtz) sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as parking scams, bootleg Barts, and Advanced Macaroni. It’s the episode that will make you ask, “is this for the podcast?” over and over as someone tries and fails to describe the plot of Back to the Future to you (and somehow the answer remains yes).

ABOUT THE GUEST: Adam J. Kurtz ("Adam JK") is a Toronto-born, Honolulu-based artist whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humor, and a little bit of darkness. His books and journals including Things A...

Welcome to the Port Authority Bus Terminal! Would you like a hot towel? AIGA Portland President and NBC ArtWorks Studio Creative Director Ventura Castro sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as Bleeding Cowboys, the many attractions of Secaucus, New Jersey, and Moby’s failed fact checking career.

As Ventura mentioned, Portland Design Month is indeed happening now, and if you’re listening from the Portland area, you still have the rest of October to see all there is to see, including lectures tonight (as this goes out) at PSU with Spotify’s Tina S...

Illustrator and artist Allie Yacina sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as Good Friends, ways to keep a cool head during a job interview, and summiting the Rockies in a Miata. It’s the episode that’ll make you do the shuffling-your-hands-back-and-forth dance that’s sweeping the nation, which is called the… uh…?

Allie Yacina is an artist, illustrator, teacher and designer residing in Portland, OR since 2016. Her work explores color and sense of place through traditional and digital media. Her paintings have been shown in local galleries and her illustrations have been pu...

This is not Casual Encounters! We’re trying to do design here! The great Dave Pabellon (Assistant Professor of Design at University of Notre Dame) sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as the Costanza Maneuver, Scantron aesthetics, and the Rivers that run through it (it being multiple Chicago neighborhoods in very different parts of town).

ABOUT THE GUEST: Dave Pabellon is a design educator, researcher, and practitioner under the moniker It Is Just Dave LLC, with over 25 years of experience. Pabellon’s studio work has been recognized by Sappi’s Ideas That Mat...

Did I Do That? is back with a new live show direct from the mainstage of Seattle Design Festival 2026! Listen as the great Colby Nichols (Art Director, Print Innovation for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast) and Sean Bucknam (Senior Designer at Starbucks) square off with their most regrettable past work to see whose is bad enough for Seattle's favorite mythical raccoon to want to fish it out of the dumpster.

Want to see the slides (and work) we shared on stage? Check out all our images here as a slide deck, or see the...

I’m away this week, so rather than giving a summer update backed by the soothingly persistent rumble of a hotel air conditioner, I thought I’d share a straight-up rerun—though one inspired by our sister Portland art school (and, of course, hated rivals) PNCA hosting her for a recent talk as part of their Design Lecture Series.

Way back in 2022 as part of season 3, Olivia Johnson (then an Associate Design Director at Instrument, now a Senior Product Designer at eBay) joined Sean to talk challenging Barbies, Neopets Black Friday, and what Elvis had been up to...

With our fourth Design Confessional event happening the night this episode is released, we're this week pairing our event news with a rehashed version of the show's very first confessional event four years ago! How can you find peace when faced with cross crossworders, ghost(ed) cookbooks, and duck pornography? There’s only one way to find out! (To be clear: the way is listening; you must listen to find out.)

Upcoming Events

The Design Confessional at Future Fonts & Friends

Thursday, August 6 from 6–9pm (that's the night this episode is rele...

What’s been happening behind the scenes during this summer break? A LOT! Sean is here to talk events, squirrel infestations, construction, the secret value of gambling, and the changes coming in Season 9!

Upcoming Events:

The Design Confessional at Future Fonts & Friends

Thursday, August 6 from 6–9pm

Outlet, 2500 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland OR

Presented by Future Fonts as part of TypeCon 2026!

Free and open to all!

Did I Do That? doesn’t have a studio anymore!? Whatever! We don't need a studio, we need a tuxedo, because it might well be the last episode of season 8 as well!* Jack-of-all trades creative Scrappers sits down with Sean one last time in the Rat’s Nest to talk about his design mistakes… as well as professional papier-mâché, the Scarlett Pushpin, and knives: the perfect job interview gift. Grab a sandwich from your lifetime supply and settle in—this one is a wild ride!

Justin “Scrappers” Morrison is a creative human pocketknife. He's capable of handling all s...

Legendary educator and detail-oriented designer for good Precious Bugarin sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as John Cage’s call-in show, clothing tags, and the challenges of “Illustrating” a 200-page book. Plus, help fund our smash-hit sequel to Backrooms: Creepy Hallway Is The Portal (To Creativity) (And Also There’s Tiny Locked Room In The Room That Has A Sink).

Precious Burgarin comes from a family of immigrants, migrant farmers, veterans, journalists, artists and teachers. She’s a first generation Filipino American; born in San Francisco and raised in Stockton, California. Over the spa...

While I’m busy packing up the last bits of the Rat’s Nest and closing out a busy school year, I thought I’d share a feed drop from one of my favorite podcasts, Weird Medieval Guys! It’s a great time, and folks who like a heavy dose of silly alongside their design talk will definitely enjoy it.

While it’s not normally a design-specific show, this episode covers a large swath of the evolution of western type history, starting way before the inception of modern western movable type and culminating in World War II—with ample G...

We can’t go too crazy, but we try to get close! Gianni Scarpino Candy (AIGA Portland Mentorship Program co-chair and Senior Visual Design Lead on the Player Experience Editorial and Loyalty Team for XBox) sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as cemetery parties, Shoemaker’s Lung, and Icy Hot for galas.

Gianni Scarpino Candy is a visual design leader with a passion for exploring the intersections of design, communication, and culture. Throughout her career, she has had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of clients and industries. Her object...

In the confusingly-named conclusion to our first-ever two parter, Jelly Helm continues sitting down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes at Wieden+Kennedy and beyond… as well as the Season 6 cast of Saturday Night Live, Zip plus-fours, and bean basements. What can we say: it’s a freaky time and we’re feeling freaky!

Miss part 1 with Jelly? This episode should be fairly self-contained, but if you want the full story on Jelly’s early career, go back and give part 1 a listen here.

Jelly Helm is a creative director, brand advisor, and educator...

In our the first half of our first-ever two-parter, the legendary Jelly Helm sits down with Sean to talk about his early career design mistakes… as well as urinal content, slowly becoming the big gray bean cube, and the worst conversations you can have on a long flight. This is interesting to other people—we swear!

Since we recorded more than 3 hours together in studio, I broke our conversation in two to give you as much of the good stuff we talked about without needing to lose any of it. Listen in two weeks for part 2, where we’ll...

This might be the first you’re hearing of it, but we feel very strongly you should listen to a new episode of Did I Do That?! Rinee Shah (Executive Creative Director at Hatch) sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as chinchilla celebrations, ceremonial cream cheese tastings, and Sleepytime satanic panics.

Rinee Shah is a creative director and illustrator, based in Portland, Oregon. She is a 2023 Ad Age 40 Under 40 honoree and is currently Executive Creative Director at Hatch. In the last few years, she’s led creative for Oatly in North America...

A new Did I Do That?!? Holy cow, we don't even know how to attack it! Neven Mrgan (Creative Lead at Panic) sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as German dub Darth Vader, turning your company’s office into a mad scientist’s lab, and the Seinfeld Presidential Library.

Neven Mrgan is the Creative Lead at Portland very own Panic. Born in Croatia, he moved to the US in the 1990s, where he has pursued a career in design, software development, videogame design, and occasional writing and event production. His personal interes...

Put on your biggest, fuzziest Jamiroquai hat because this Did I Do That? is virtually insane! Illustrator, art director, set designer, game maker, and more Emily Suvanvej (AKA Emy Su) sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as comforting crustaceans, “gardening,” and The Backrooms at the mall.

Emily Suvanvej is an award-winning, Thai-American designer & illustrator who lives at the crossroads of visual mischief and lovingly-crafted imperfection. Formerly an Art Director at BUCK, she’s worked with top brands like Spotify, Nike, YouTube, and The New Yorker, and was recently a core creative force beh...

Why not make a new Did I Do That? All the listeners could say is no! Katie McHugh (Group Design Director at Wieden+Kennedy) sits down with Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as pledge drive phone banks, magical janitors, and Spartacus’ bulk aisle.

Katie McHugh is a Design Director at Wieden and Kennedy. She has also played strategist, senior art director, 3D space and experiential designer, digital designer, stylist, painter, and sculptor. She has worked for brands including Nike, Old Spice, KFC, Coca-Cola, Weight Watchers, GoPuff, Trolli candy, Laika movies, EA Games, Velveeta, Trave...

Did I Do That? is back again, even though every time someone says that, it presages a disaster. Globetrotting art director, father, and genuine jack-of-all-trades Sam O’Leary sits down with Sean for our season 8 premiere to talk about his creative missteps… as well as the “good” stuff “kids” go for, woofing, and North America: where everybody knows your name.

Sam O’Leary is a maker, storyteller, and professional tinkerer who has been making a glorious mess since 1986 — in art, life, work, and in all the places they overlap. Whether it’s a large-scale identity system or a one-off handmade...

Did I Do That? is back, because failure is the best design teacher.

Starting next Thursday, we’re cramming for a lecture hall-sized eighth season that’ll drop new episodes through ‘til August, summer school be damned. This season’s curriculum will be jam-packed with guests hailing from all over the map (specifically, that big one on the pull-down screen above the chalkboard). We’ll have new mediums to explore, new territories to cover, and plenty of new mistakes to laugh about. Want an A… or at least the C- you need to get by? All you have to do i...

Season 8 is on our doorstep, with the next thing you hear here being the season 8 trailer! In the mean time, though, we've got another awesome all-timer from the archives to share—the great Eason Yang (founder and design director of NED: Not Entirely Dead, and more recently of AIGA New York's board) made the trek down from Seattle on St. Patrick’s Day 2023 to talk with Sean about looking for Lebron (in all the wrong places), working for dinosaurs, and resume hacking.

You can find Eason on his website, eason.design, or on LinkedIn.

Whether you’r...

Season 8 is drawing closer, but in the meantime, we're sharing yet another past favorite, this time from the amazing Kristin Rogers Brown, now full Professor, Chair of Graphic Design, and Director of the Center for Design at Pacific Northwest College of Art). Way back in September 2023 as part of season 3, Kristin joined Sean to talk nightmarish mascots, the corporate handshake aesthetic, and pencils that say stuff.

You can find Kristin’s work—including some of the work at Bitch Magazine and Bear Deluxe— online at krbee.com, or on Instagram @krbee! You can find even more of Kristin...

It’s a new year, and to celebrate while I dive deep into prep mode for season 8, I’ve picked out one of my past favorites to share again—freelance designer, grad student, and fellow Portland Institute for Contemporary Art design alum Mallary Wilson joined me way back in June of 2023 to talk inadvertently inappropriate imagery, erasers shaped like food items, and hoarding AOL hours. It’s an episode that’s unforgivably uncool, but we can dig it!

You can find Mallary on the web at mallarydesigns.com or @mallarydesigns on Instagram—if you work at an agency and a...

What’s the worst project you’ve ever made—the one you almost cringe to think about sharing with the world? It’s a feeling every designer can identity. But what if you had a chance to fish it out of the proverbial trash can and pit it toe-to-toe against some of your peers’ worst-ever work live on stage, with the hope of having it named “Worst in Show?”

Did I Do That? Scrapes the Bottom of the Barrel did just that this past summer at Seattle Design Festival with special guests Isabella Medina and Maxwell Miller—and now you can...

Canadian/Australian illustrator and designer Mariah Barnaby-Norris joins Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as school photo backdrops, choosing graphic design over a promising career as a rural road work flagger, and THE DID I DO THAT? 2026 TREND REPORT (based entirely on the out-of-date trade and specialty magazines available in downtown Los Angeles’ Central Library).

You can keep up with Mariah’s work on Instagram at @mariah_bn, or see her portfolio over at her website, mariahbn.com. As I mentioned in the show, prints of Mariah’s piece from the recent A Sometimes Gallery...

We’re letting our freak flags fly! Product designer and “edgelord of sculpture” Ryan Swedenborg joins Sean to talk about her design mistakes… as well as New York’s hottest club, the future of art galleries, and where the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl ends.

You can find both Ryan’s design and art practice at her website, rswedenborg.com. You can also find her on the ‘gram at @rswedenborg. If you’re in Portland as this goes out, you can find Ryan’s work on view through December 1 in the former Compound Gallery space at NW 5th and Couch Street, conv...

Fast X your seatbelts! The only graphic designer in Los Angeles, Andrei Dominiq (better known as James Junk), sits down with Sean to talk about his design mistakes… as well as inspirational Photoshop tools, getting trapped in a box of your own creation, and Los Angeles’ angels and demons.

You can find Andrei’s work all over Instagram, where the James Junk account originated, at @jamesjunk.co. The James Junk account started with writing about mental health, and I was particularly taken with Andrei’s recent visual essay from early September, “Is It Too Late to Reclaim the Intern...

This week, the show is hitting the road, and we’re stepping back into the design confessional with a bevy of anonymous guests. But when the rubber meets the road, will our guests get absolution for all the trouble they’ve been cookin’? There’s only one place to find out.

CONFESSIONS:

This episode was recorded Thursday, August 7, 2025 at Future Fonts & Friends, organized for Type...

Ron Bronson (Former Head of Design at 18F, the federal government’s digital services office, as well as champion tennis coach, professor of practice at University of Michigan, radio host, and accidental footwear entrepreneur) joins Sean to talk about his design mistakes, as well as the magical land of Wisconsin, Apple’s thinnest new product, and the dangerous allure of ribbon cuttings.

You can find Ron online by searching his name (in your engine of choice) or by going the direct route: visiting ronbronson.com. There, you can find links to Ron’s podcast with Joel Goodman Future...

Type designer Chris Skillern joins Sean to talk about his design mistakes, as well as forgotten Saturday morning kids shows, circle drawing, and Italic character sets.

You can find Chris’ work on the web at tulseytype.com, or on Instagram as @tulseytype. There, you can find links to Chokecherry, Chris’ blend of midcentury-modern whimsy with Cherokee syllabary support, at FutureFonts. You can see the Cherokee syllabary families Chris has been working on most recently—November Cherokee, November Stencil Cherokee, October Cherokee, and Lava Cherokee—over at Typotheque’s website. If you’re interested in more of the process that...

It’s our season 7 premiere! Illustrator, cartoonist, and author Gemma Correll joins Sean to talk about her design mistakes, as well as Beano’s "Attitude" era, copying the Old Masters, and Patience & Fortitude.

You can find all of Gemma’s work, including her books and other merch, on the web at gemmacorrell.com! The Worrier’s Guide to Life is the perfect companion to this episode, and a great gift for any Starfleet officers in your life who also happen to be Klingon. You can also follow Gemma as @gemmacorrell on Instagram, Facebook, and tons more platforms to see h...

With summer drawing to a close, First Steps is taking its last steps! Gabe and Sean are joined by our show art’s illustrator, Joel Williams, to talk through Xzibit’s fascination with aquariums, ripping off mother nature, and childhood crush comics. Plus: Gabe’s Gauntlet and Design Student Confessions!

You can find Joel on Instagram as @joelmadethis, or on LinkedIn as Joel Williams. As mentioned above, Joel did indeed do our First Steps show art, and if you want to see more work, the best place to go is joelmadethis.myportfolio.com.

You can find a...

First Steps is turning 3?! Where does the time go? Gabe and Sean are joined by our favorite Texan, Mycah Brandley, to talk through where emo meets oil, Taco Bell pastels, and prosciutto posters. Plus: Gabe’s Gauntlet and Design Student Confessions!

You can find Mycah Brandley on Instagram as @_imagine.nation for his design and @mycahdevin.pdf for his memes. You can also watch Mycah’s Rodeo Roundtable series, which unpacks a little bit more about the class that birthed this project and many others, on the Rodeo Instagram, as @psugdrodeo.

You can find about Gabe...

Gabe and Sean are joined by the show’s musical director, Nica Mork, to talk through puppet-making, the aesthetics of Korean skincare, and how Bruce Wayne lost his fortune. Plus: Gabe’s Gauntlet and Design Student Confessions!

You can find Nica Mork as Veronica Mork on LinkedIn, or on Instagram as @slumptownn. You can also hear the music Nica has been putting out throughout this and every episode!

You can find about Gabe Bidney as @gabe_bidney on Instagram, or as Gabriel Bidney on LinkedIn. Gabe leads PSUGD Design Club, which you can find about on I...

Co-hosts Gabe and Sean take their first steps into Did I Do That?: First Steps to talk through Airbnb’s Frutiger Aero, the BREATHTAKING geometry behind the Pepsi Smile, and Prince’s font floppies. Plus: Gabe’s Gauntlet and Design Student Confessions!

You can find about Gabe Bidney as @gabe_bidney on Instagram, or on LinkedIn as Gabriel Bidney. Gabe leads PSUGD Design Club, which you can find about on Instagram as @psudesignclub. You can also find Gabe here all throughout summer as co-host of Did I Do That?: First Steps, so check back in this feed or the...

Starting out in design can be like taking your first steps. To learn how to walk, you have to do a lot of falling down, too.

That’s why we made Did I Do That?: First Steps, a miniseries about designers who are just starting out, and the things we stumble through while learning what this field is all about. It’s hosted by Sean Schumacher, a design teacher, and Gabe Bidney, a design student. On each episode, Gabe, Sean, and a special student guest talk through what’s inspiring us—and what's making us sweat—as we figure...

Could it be? Did I Do That?’s season 6 finale is also our especially nice 69th episode?! In this world, it’s possible! Illustrator, art director, and soft-spoken metal-hardcore singer Colin Strandberg joins Sean to talk about his design mistakes, as well as vehicle wraps, The Family, and Sonic’s wallet woes.

You can find all kinds of Colin’s design and illustration work up on his website, colinstrandbergdesign.com, including some to buy through his shop on Imprnt! You can also follow him on Instagram as @colinstrandbergdesign.

That’s not all! Though this is the finale...

Say goodbye to solvable problems because Did I Do That? is back! Thom Hines (Professor of Interaction Design at Portland State University) joins Sean on the pogcast to talk about early 2000s burner culture, fake search engines, and the tireless Tom Hanks.

You can stream Happy Ending on either Prime Video and Fandango starting on June 27, so keep your eyes on both of those services to see it, or follow the movie on Instagram (@happyending.movie) for the latest—it’s a great fun time! Thom teaches interaction design with me at PSUGD, and the best way to k...

Let a new Did I Do That? light a fire under your ass! Legendary illustrator Lisa Congdon joins Sean to talk about what’s in teachers’ dreams, poetry awards, and hamster wheels.

You can find Lisa’s work all over the internet, but why not visit her website at lisacongdon.com first! There, you can find her work, classes, and more. Lisa is on Instagram as the one and only @lisacongdon. If you happen to be in Portland, you can also find Lisa’s shop at Cargo Emporium—it’s a massive space full of work from Lisa and a f...