Podcast Awesome Nerd Show and Tell: Meet Kelsey Jackson, Designer and Front-End Developer
In our latest installment of the Nerd Show and Tell, we have the pleasure of chatting with Kelsey Jackson, Font Awesome's Designer and Front End Developer. Maybe you've noticed how slick the Font Awesome site looks these days? Yeah, Kelsey is responsible for quite a bit of that work.
In this episode, Matt chats with Kelsey about his recent chunk of work where he helped create an internal design system, how he met Dave Gandy, won him over, started contracting, and eventually landed a job. (Kelsey called this process a “long con”, but we think it was probably a more virtuous process than that.)
In addition to telling the story of how a high school art teacher convinced him to pursue a career in design and front-end development, Kelsey also discusses his passion for B-grade horror, experimenting in the kitchen at home, as well as his newfound interest in cocktail mixology. (According to Kelsey, middle-of-the-road rum is just as good as top-notch stuff when it comes to mixed drinks.)
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00:16 Creating an Internal Design System and More
0:02:43 Kelsey's Former Job at Waco Media as a Developer/Designer
0:04:28 Exploring the Connection Between Drawing and Design
0:07:29 Refining and Standardizing a Design System at Font Awesome
0:11:57 Design System Consistency and Compliance
0:13:27 Web Components, Machine Learning AI, and Content Creation
0:15:34 Kelsey's Horror Movie Icon Wish-List
0:17:32 B-Grade Horror and Crappy Job Experiences
0:22:07 Reflections on Working at a Car Wash and Assisting with Disaster Relief
0:27:49 Conversation on Spirits, Sneakers, and Celebratory Bottles of Bourbon at the Bi-Annual Snuggles
0:29:47 Cooking Steak and Mixing Tiki Drinks
0:31:25 Conversation About Hulu Series "The Bear"
0:33:29 Maddie Matheson's Foodie Comedy
0:35:18 Resources For Learning About Design Systems
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Notes
- The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie Martin
- Audio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon Productions
- Atomic Design by Brad Frost
- Nielsen Norman Group
- The Bear
- Matty Matheson
- Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Some of the places Kelsey goes for cooking inspiration
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