In the Making

Latest Episodes:

Say Yes to Yes with Shantell Martin Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Teresa Au chats with artist Shantell Martin about how not fitting in–growing up in London, going to art school, and living in Japan–forced her to really know herself and launched her creative career. Shantell’s trademark continuous line art represents her quest to understand what makes us each unique, and to find ways for us to connect to one another. Her thoughtful and confident reflections, her spirit of sharing, and her sense of adventure will inspire you in your creative journey.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Shantell’s upbringing in working-class London shaped her identity
Why saying Yes to Yes and No to No is harder than it sounds
Shantell’s roundabout journey to art school and how it opened up her world
Why Japan felt more liberating to Shantell than London ever did
Shantell’s coming out story
The importance of being uncomfortable if you want to be creative
How Shantell came to live in New York
Reflections on big breaks vs. a slowly building career
Creating community amongst artists
Why LINES and PATHS are so important to Shantell
Mentors and mentoring
Shantell’s What’s the Point? Podcast
The connections between creativity and mental health

Shantell Martin is a public speaker, intuitive philosopher, cultural facilitator, curator, choreographer, songwriter, performer, and more. From fashion and celebrity collaborations to adjunct professor positions at MIT Media Lab, NYU Tisch ITP, Columbia University’s Brown Institute, and choreographing a ballet at the Boston Ballet, Shantell’s LINE constantly evolves.Creating new connections between fine art, education, design, philosophy, and technology, Shantell explores themes such as intersectionality, identity, and play.

Download Shantell’s font, Shantell Sans and make something creative. Check out Shantell’s What’s the Point? podcast to hear her interviews with Los Angeles-based artists.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement at Adobe, where she focuses on empowering creatives and students via workshops, panels, and podcasts. On creating In the Making, Teresa says “I knew I wanted to amplify the incredible personal stories of the talented and unique humans I’ve been meeting online and at our Create Now events across the world.”

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Design flyers, TikToks, resumes, and Reels with the new, all-in-one Adobe Express. Create video, marketing, and social content. Edit photos and PDFs. Make it all in one app, including generative AI tools from Adobe Firefly and easy, one-click tasks like removing backgrounds.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

BONUS: Live from Adobe MAX London with Margot Bowman and Rachel Sale Jun 12, 2024

Show notes

For this bonus episode, host Teresa Au shares talks from Adobe MAX London, Adobe’s flagship event in Europe for learning and inspiration. First we hear from Rachel Sale, a UK-based illustrator who is currently an Adobe Creative Resident at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. Rachel shares what it’s like to actually work in a museum, have access to museum resources, and display her work there. Next, filmmaker Margot Bowman shares her artist's journey with the concept of permission--who needs to ask for permission to be creative? Who has the power in that dynamic? Margot’s conclusions are both empowering and surprising.

Rachel Sale is a London-based artist who focuses on collective making. Since 2019, she has been leading F.A.T. Studio CIC, a nonprofit arts organization that runs collaborative art projects from a storefront on Old Kent Road, southeast London. This year, she is the Adobe Creative Resident for Illustration at the V&A Museum, where she is exploring map making as a method for building self-compassion, community and visions of the future.

Margot Bowman, born and raised in London, uses the medium of film in all its forms as a creative vehicle for telling powerful human stories, centered on emotional truths. While she has primarily directed documentaries and commercials, she recently co-directed Amazon Prime’s The Tour ‘23, a feature documentary about the relaunch of Victoria Secret’s iconic fashion show as reimagined by 20 diverse women artists. Her documentary Coming Home, which premiered at SXSW 2022, was awarded Best Short at the prestigious Palestine Cinema Days, and was shortlisted for the International Documentary Association’s films of the year. She is now at work on her first feature film.

Shamima Begum leads Adobe Corporate Communications in EMEA, managing corporate reputation and brand purpose programs.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

The Thrill of Half-Baked Ideas with Kelli Anderson May 29, 2024

Show notes

Tell us a little bit about yourself so we know who we're serving and what you're looking for from In the Making: adobe.ly/itmsurvey

Teresa Au chats with artist and designer Kelli Anderson on all the things transformation, from Kelli’s paper engineering work that turns paper into a record or a camera to the shifting revenue streams she’s embraced over her career. Her passion for fusing the digital and the analog, her commitment to process, and her delight in sharing what she’s learned, will inspire you to run with your own half-baked ideas.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Kelli creates animation with the Risograph machine
Why writing about you work can lead you to your next project
Kelli’s take on the difference between being an artist and a designer
The joys of connecting with people via Instagram, Patreon and even the mailbox
Pricing creative work
The benefits of teaching
Instagram strategies
The feeling that Kelli’s always chasing

Need a place to keep your good ideas? Remix this template in Adobe Express: https://adobe.ly/ITM-Kelli

Kelli Anderson is an artist, designer, animator, and tinkerer who pushes the limits of ordinary materials by seeking out possibilities hidden in plain view. Her books and projects have included This Book Is a Planetarium (which houses a tiny planetarium and other scientific contraptions), a book that transforms into a pinhole camera called This Book Is a Camera, and a working paper record. Intentionally lo-fi, she believes that humble materials can make the complexity and magic of our world accessible.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Be Kind to Your Mind with Psychotherapist Sarah Ahmed May 15, 2024

Show notes

We want to hear from YOU, our listeners, so we put together a brief survey. We'd appreciate your thoughts: https://adobe.ly/itmsurvey

To thank you for your feedback, we’re giving away two 12-month memberships to Creative Cloud (valued at $659.88 each). Enter for your chance to win one of the two Creative Cloud licenses by completing the survey form from Wednesday, May 15 at 12:01am PT to Wednesday, May 29 at 12:01am PT. Winners will be drawn at random and notified on Friday, May 31 at noon PT. Valid one license per winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see Terms and Conditions on our website for full details. https://adobe.ly/itmsurvey

Teresa Au talks to psychotherapist Sarah Ahmed, aka Tiktok’s @the.poc.therapist, about how creatives can navigate the emotional side of putting yourself, and your work, online. Sarah is beloved by her followers for dispensing advice on relationships and self-love, so she knows first-hand how hard it can be to weather social media’s nasty comments and unpredictable algorithms, plus our own insecurities. Her strategies for protecting your mental fitness will help you enjoy all the best aspects of sharing your creativity with the world.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Sarah faced her fears and embraced social media as a platform for mental health advocacy.
The ups and downs of Sarah’s audience growth on TikTok
How to deal with criticism and personal attacks on social
Strategies for combating stress and burnout with adaptation and resilience
The importance of mental fitness
When it's beneficial to seek therapy and how to take the first step
Finding community
Practical tips for managing and setting boundaries on social media usage
Where Sarah finds joy

Check out an Adobe Express template on these topics at https://adobe.ly/ITM-Sarah

Sarah Ahmed, founder and CEO of Leena, is a pioneer in culturally sensitive mental health care. As a seasoned psychotherapist with a heart for the BIPOC community, her journey from the University of Toronto to the forefront of mental wellness advocacy blends creativity and entrepreneurial spirit with deep compassion. Known widely as @the.poc.therapist, Sarah's vibrant advocacy illuminates the path to healing, making her a guiding light for inclusive support and resilience.

In the Making is made possible by Adobe Express, the all-in-one content creation app included in your Creative Cloud membership.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Want to leave us a voicemail? Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/inthemaking

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Empathy at Work with Michael Ventura May 01, 2024

Show notes

Teresa Au chats with author, speaker, and entrepreneur Michael Ventura about what empathy really is and how it can help your design work and your business. Michael describes applied empathy–the idea that empathy isn’t just putting yourself in someone else’s shoes–it’s about better understanding what it’s like to be someone else in their own shoes. They also discuss how car designers rely on somatic empathy, strategies for time-strapped solopreneurs, and an easy way to shake up your video meetings.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Michael’s brand and strategy used empathy to improve their work
Somatic empathy as a way to understand your clients’ physical experiences
The importance of reflecting on the impact of your work
A quick trick for learning about the people you meet
Why working more hours is not working better
A tool for comparing competing priorities
How empathy and self-knowledge can help you find your purpose

Remix a template created by Michael Ventura in Adobe Express: https://adobe.ly/ITM-Michael

Michael Ventura founded the strategy and design consultancy Sub Rosa, where he advised clients such as ACLU, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, Nike, The United Nations and the Obama-Biden Administration. His book, Applied Empathy (Simon & Schuster 2018) explores the intersectionality of business and personal development through the practice of empathy for the self, and for others. Michael has served as a board member and advisor to organizations including Behance, The Burning Man Project, The Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, and the United Nations' affiliated Tribal Link Foundation. He is a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and the United States Military Academy at West Point. An ardent steward of personal and professional development, Michael is frequently engaged as an advisor to individuals, leaders, teams, and corporate boards at moments of transformation and change.

In the Making is made possible by Adobe Express, the all-in-one content creation app included in your Creative Cloud membership.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Want to leave us a voicemail? Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/inthemaking

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Making Magic Happen with Vanessa Rivera Apr 17, 2024

Show notes

In the Making kicks off season two with Teresa Au interviewing Vanessa Rivera of The Life of AIVAX about her whimsical Photoshop art and how she balances a time-consuming creative career with a family as a working mom. Vanessa talks about creative tools that save her time in her work, how she and her family left their home to travel in Europe for an extended period, how to set limits on her work life, and how to find joy and connection in a lonely world as a creative.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How to manage burnout
Balancing creative work and a family
How to make it work to sell everything and travel abroad
AI as a timesaver for creatives
Finding joy and community
How to combat isolation
What the Adobe MAX community means to Vanessa
Work/life balance
Childrens’ book illustration
Small steps on the way to a big dream

Remix a fun template from Vanessa on Adobe Express: https://adobe.ly/ITM-Vanessa

Vanessa Rivera (Life of AIVAX) is a digital artist who creates nostalgic, magical images of her kids. Her work is whimsical and joyful, and she shares her style and process through Photoshop tutorials, custom assets, and brush library at Life of AIVAX.

In the Making is made possible by Adobe Express, the all-in-one content creation app included in your Creative Cloud membership.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Want to leave us a voicemail? Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/inthemaking

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more. Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

In the Making Returns April 17! Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Season 2 is almost here! In the Making explores the challenges and rewards of working in the creator economy. Subscribe now to join host Teresa Au as she talks to creatives, soloprenuers, and experts to find out how they thrive at work–and how you can, too!

In the Making is made possible by Adobe Express, the all-in-one content creation app included in your Creative Cloud membership.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Want to leave us a voicemail? Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/inthemaking

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

Impatience is a Virtue with Chris Do Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

Teresa Au chats with Emmy-winning design superstar Chris Do about his pivot from design to teaching, his education platform The Futur, and all the things he didn’t learn in design school. You’ll hear all about how Chris’ 2M+ social followers inspire his content, and Chris answers questions from design students. Plus, Chris opens up about why now is the time for him to share his personal story as a refugee, what really fuels his work, and how he recharges.

We want to hear from YOU, our listeners, so we put together a brief survey as we look ahead to season two: https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

To thank you for your feedback, we’re giving away two 12-month memberships to Creative Cloud (valued at $659.88 each). Enter for your chance to win one of the two Creative Cloud licenses by completing the survey form from December 7 at 9pm PT to November 30 at 5pm PT. Winners will be drawn at random and notified at December 14 at noon PT. Valid one license per winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see Terms and Conditions on our website for full details.

https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

What you’ll hear in this episode:

How Chris’ company The Futur is making education equitable for students and teachers
The breakthroughs that came with teaching
Learning how to really read
What you don’t learn in design school about business
The Futur’s business model
Creating content to market a product vs creating content to help people
Community and Chris’ cult-like following of design fans
Why Chris spends 6 hours a day talking with his online community
Why now is the time for Chris to share his story of coming to the US as a refugee from Vietnam
A little inspiration from Aaron Draplin
Personality tests and what it means to be an ambivert
How Chris recharges
Why Chris gets his inspiration from friction with his audience
Conflict becomes content
The story behind Chris Do is a Fraud, featuring Beeple
Chris answers questions from students at the Adobe Creative Retreat
Is design exploitation?
Should your first job out of design school be in-person or remote?
Why Chris started his own firm–the short answer and the real answer.
Chris’ One Word for 2024

Chris Do is an Emmy award-winning designer and director, and the founder of The Futur—an online education platform with the mission of teaching 1 billion people how to make a living doing what they love. In his near-30-year career, he has served on boards for organizations such as the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, AIGA Los Angeles, and the Emmys Motion & Title Design Peer Group. He taught Sequential Design for over 15 years at ArtCenter College of Design as well as Otis College of Art and Design. Chris has lectured at universities and conferences worldwide, including Adobe MAX. His firm’s work has been recognized by industry organizations such as the Emmys, the Clio awards, and numerous design publications.

Teresa Au is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs.

Find transcripts and links at adobe.ly/inthemaking. Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Notes from the Field with Aaron Draplin Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

Inspiration is on tap as Teresa Au speaks to graphic designer, entrepreneur, and author Aaron Draplin. Known as much for his warm and direct personality as for his signature thick lines design style and ample use of Pantone Orange 21, Aaron is beloved by designers everywhere. Aaron shares lessons gleaned from his midwestern upbringing, nearly 20 years in business on his own, and creating his Field Notes and DDC branded merchandise.

We want to hear from YOU, our listeners, so we put together a brief survey as we look ahead to season two: https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

To thank you for your feedback, we’re giving away two 12-month memberships to Creative Cloud (valued at $659.88 each). Enter for your chance to win one of the two Creative Cloud licenses by completing the survey form from November 7 at 9pm PT to November 30 at 5pm PT. Winners will be drawn at random and notified at December 1 at noon PT. Valid one license per winner. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Please see Terms and Conditions on our website for full details. https://adobe.ly/podcastsurvey

What you’ll hear in this episode:

What Aaron wishes he knew when he went out on his own
Be professional on your way out of a role or project
Why you should take every job that comes your way
Lessons learned from challenging jobs and people
How to control your own time
The value of keeping your word
What you can learn from your clients that can help you in your own business
Use merchandise to make your business look as big–or as small–as you wish
How Aaron started the Field Notes brand
When it’s time to bring in a team
Is passive income actually passive?
Taking on big jobs allows Aaron to do little things to help his friend and family
Corporate clients don’t have to mean endless meetings and emails
A big client can also be a passion job
Give clients what they need, not necessarily what they think they want
Which design students make the best audiences
What Aaron learned from his Dad
The importance of appreciating the people who help you get your work done
Aaron’s dream gig
Aaron’s list of words for 2024

Aaron Draplin is founder of the Draplin Design Co. a shop specializing in Print, Identity and Illustration. He co-created Field Notes brand with Jim Coudal, and their memo books are sold the world over. He is the author of eight Skillshare classes, and the book Pretty Much Everything . His DDC Merch line is a cult favorite, featuring 300+ products. You’ll find Aaron in his backyard studio in Portland, Oregon, or crossing the US in his orange van, putting on “speaking fiascos” for audiences ranging from Adobe MAX to vocational school students.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking.

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Unfolding Your Money Story with Berna Anat Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

What’s it like to pay off $50,000 in debt, ditch your 9-to-5, travel the world, create educational content, and build community in the process? Teresa Au speaks to Financial Hype Woman and content creator Berna Anat about how she did all that and how she’s planning for tomorrow. Berna also shares how our emotional relationship with money impacts our decisions, her strategies for budgeting, saving and retirement, and what to do when the creator life doesn’t love you back.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Learn why Berna told the world she was $50,000 in debt
Shame about debt
Why Berna decided in 6th grade not to be self-conscious
Berna’s background as a child of immigrants
Why DMs are like a secret
The age at which our emotional relationship to money is formed
Ways in which we indirectly understand our family’s finances
The paradox of the Frugal-Flex mentality
Why Berna wanted to write a fun book about money
How your emotional relationship to money shapes your behavior today
Financial basics vs social media buzz
Berna’s leap to becoming a solopreneur, via Zanzibar
How Berna found her sweet spot as a content creator
Finances as a means of activism and empowerment
Budgeting on an unpredictable income
Retirement planning for creators
Who’s on your money squad?
Getting the most out of working with an accountant
What an agent can do for you
A fun trick to help you negotiate better deals
The traditional dead season for brand partnerships
Financial worry and the creator life
Recent changes in the creator economy
Measuring your impact rather than your income
Why it’s so important to celebrate your money wins
Berna’s One Word for 2023

Berna Anat is an author, producer, Rich Auntie in Training, and award-winning Financial Hype Woman, which is her made-up way of saying she creates financial education media that lives at @HeyBerna all over the Internet. After slaying her $50,000 debt, she saved up to quit her 9-to-5 and has been traveling the world trying to make money fun again ever since. Berna’s 2023 debut book MONEY OUT LOUD: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us, is a Bookshop.org Bestseller and has received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist.

Teresa Au (@tautastic) is an executive for community engagement and driving customer empathy at Adobe. Her career spans diverse creative fields, primarily in New York’s fashion industry, as well as architecture firms, and now Silicon Valley tech companies. She has always prized working with distinctive design and the interesting people behind it–from designer Elie Tahari to start-up CEOs.

Learn more about this podcast, and find transcripts and links, at adobe.ly/inthemaking. In the Making is brought you by Adobe Express and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Past episodes of Wireframe can still be found in the show archive within this feed, or online on Behance.

Adobe Creative Cloud provides apps, web services, and resources for all your creative projects — photography, graphic design, video editing, UX design, drawing and painting, social media, and more.

Learn more about the apps in Creative Cloud

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