Podcast Awesome

About the Guest:Dave Gandy is Font Awesome's Founder and an MIT alumnus who hails from Carl Junction, Missouri, and reflects on his experience transitioning from a small-town environment to the competitive halls of MIT. With a background rooted in both art and technology, Dave specialized in human-centric product design and has a strong belief in the interplay between creativity, empathy, and engineering. Detailing his educational journey, he conveys a profound understanding of personal growth through adversity, emphasizing how integral unique talents are to individual success.Episode Summary:In this profound discussion, Dave Gandy delves into the multifaceted experience of attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), providing a unique perspective that intertwines struggle, growth, and the eventual recognition of one's strengths. The conversation unveils the cultural nuances of MIT, the infamous acronym 'IHTFP', and the myriad emotions associated with the academic pressure cooker that is this renowned institution.Dave candidly shares his journey from a small town to the rigorous academic world of MIT, including the realities of cultural shift and academic preparedness. He discusses the intensity of the coursework, MIT's famous hacking culture, and the pivotal moments that led to self-discovery and personal growth. Filled with engaging anecdotes, Dave also illustrates the communal encounters and extracurricular exploits that colored his time at the institute.Key Takeaways:The acronym 'IHTFP' at MIT can stand for both 'I Hate This F***ing Place' and 'I Have Truly Found Paradise', reflecting the duality of the MIT experience.MIT pushes students to their limits, uncovering their limitations and potential, a crucial part of personal development that Dave attests can come with "good, healthy pain."Dave's unique combination of interests in art, technology, and human-centric design became his niche, setting him apart and allowing him to excel in areas beyond traditional academics.Experiences such as "roof and tunnel hacking" not only serve as a rite of passage but enforce creative problem-solving and ethical boundary-pushing among students.MIT's competitive atmosphere can induce significant stress and emotional upheaval, highlighting the importance of a solid personal identity and a supportive community.Notable Quotes:"Any real significant personal growth will not be had in life without a good bit of healthy kind of pain.""A company is really nothing more than a lie that people believe long enough until it becomes the truth.""The real challenge in life, a lot of times is, yeah, but what can I do about it? What are the solutions?"Timestamp0:02:14 | MIT experiences involve pain and questioning if it's worth it.0:05:10 | A teacher's encouragement made Dave consider MIT.0:08:07 | MIT experiences include dangerous and fun activities.0:11:31 | Hacking in relation to roof and tunnel hacking0:15:44 | The practical problem-solving skills gained from hacking0:19:52 | Dave reflects on discovering his own strengths and finding his sweet spot0:22:26 | Dave reflects on his experience at MIT and how it shaped him0:23:22 | The negative outcomes of being driven by emptiness0:26:39 | Embrace the right kind of pain for growth0:30:01 | Don't climb someone else's ladder of success0:32:07 | Dave reflects on their personal growth and values during their time at MIT0:34:07 | The brutal workload at MIT.Show Notes: The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

In the tech industry, the dynamic between developers and designers looms large - and their collaboration (or lack thereof) influences the outcome of a project. These two distinct disciplines with their specialized terminologies and ways of thinking, often find the need to bridge the gap, to ensure a cohesive and functional deliverable. In this podcast we chat with Cory LaViska, Jory Raphael, and Noah Jacobus to discuss the challenges and experiences they've faced while collaborating as developers and designers. Key Takeaways:Communication is key in the collaboration between designers and developers.Working together from the beginning of a project leads to better outcomes.Having a shared understanding of each other's roles and constraints is crucial.Pairing designers and developers on projects fosters collaboration and creativity.Design systems like Shoelace provide a common ground for designers and developers.Quotes:"Communication is key. I think that's number one." - Cory"Devs and designers, we always have a dev and a designer paired together on a project." - Jory"Designers ask for the impossible a lot more than might be necessary." - Jory"Shoelace provides a common ground for both designers and developers to work from." - CoryShow Notes: Font Awesome websiteFont Awesome YouTube channelFigma pluginThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

Episode Summary:In this episode of Podcast Awesome, we chat with Jory Raphael and Rob Madole from the Font Awesome team. They discuss the various projects and updates that Font Awesome has worked on in 2023, including the launch of Font Awesome Sharp, the creation of a Figma plugin, and improvements to Font Awesome's Kits and release process. They also touch on their partnership with Shoelace and hint at exciting things to come in the future. The episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into creating and maintaining Font Awesome, as well as insights into the world of icon design and web development.Key Takeaways:Font Awesome Sharp: Font Awesome Sharp is a new icon family introduced by Font Awesome. It features sharp, edgy icons that provide a different aesthetic compared to the classic Font Awesome icons with rounded corners.YouTube Channel and Podcast Awesome: Font Awesome has launched a YouTube channel where users can find screencasts and promotional videos related to Font Awesome. The team has also created Podcast Awesome, a podcast where they discuss icons, design, tech business, and more.Improvements to Kits: Font Awesome has made significant improvements to its kits, allowing users to customize and subset the icons they want to use. This helps improve performance and load times, making it easier for users to integrate Font Awesome into their projects.Partnership with Shoelace: Font Awesome has partnered with Shoelace, a popular web component library, to further enhance their offerings. The collaboration aims to provide users with even more awesome features and improvements.Future Work: Font Awesome has exciting projects in the pipeline, including integrated work with the Shoelace team and the development of new features and updates. The team is constantly working to improve Font Awesome and provide users with the best possible experience.Notable Quotes:"Font Awesome Sharp brings a new aesthetic to our icon library, with sharp and edgy icons that provide a different look and feel compared to our classic icons." - Jory Raphael"We've made significant improvements to our kits, allowing users to customize and subset the icons they want to use. This helps improve performance and load times, making it easier for users to integrate Font Awesome into their projects." - Rob Madole"Our partnership with Shoelace has been a game-changer. We're excited to work together and take Font Awesome to the next level, providing users with even more awesome features and improvements." - Jory RaphaelShow Notes:Font Awesome websiteFont Awesome YouTube channelFigma pluginThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsRetro video game sweep 8-bit coin soundTaking out a sword sound effect Intense 8-bit game music DJ airhorn sound effect Chiptune #5 interstitial Time stamps0:00:09Introduction to Podcast Awesome0:04:11Launch of Podcast Awesome0:04:31Launch Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

In this podcast Matt and Travis discuss Shape Up, a project management philosophy created by 37 Signals, the makers of Basecamp, and how it helps Font Awesome stay on track. Instead of trying to build everything at once, Font Awesome ships complete features. By using the Shape Up method, Font Awesome has been able to deliver products efficiently and effectively, which reduces the risk of delivering an unsatisfactory product.The traditional waterfall process, by contrast, can take a very long time to build a product that is often out of date by the time it is completed. During his career, Travis has worked with a variety of project management methodologies, including Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. In the end, the Font Awesome team has found that Shape Up works best, allowing them to ship consistently and at a pace that aligns with their philosophy of business and life. —-----------------------------------------------HIGHLIGHTS: "One of the surprising things and sort of a takeaway I took from reading Shape Up is that it's okay — It might even be expected that certain work gets abandoned and that shipping really is the highest priority and that backlogs kill productivity. And that kind of goes along with the philosophy, too, of work, that you have to have constraints and limits to actually allow creativity to flow. And you can't do everything. So you do have to have constraints. You do have to be able to say no. ""Dave and I take a lot of inspiration from the books that 37Signals put out like Rework and It Doesn't Have to be Crazy at Work. Those kinds of things. And trying to maybe do business differently, do our own spin on it, see what works for us based on all the places we've worked. And kind of how we would try to change things. And one of those things that I ran into — and I'll speak for me — ran into my career is you might get a solution to find we need this feature X and the software and we're going to give you three weeks to develop it."--------------------------------------------------TIMESTAMPS: 0:00:09 Shape Up Method and How Font Awesome Uses It0:02:41 Discussion on Traditional Waterfall and Agile Methodologies0:04:22 Agile and Kanban Methodologies for Software Development0:07:51 Product Development Lifecycle Using Shape Up Methodology0:09:15 Exploring the Benefits of Six-Week Splits and Two-Week Cooldowns for Software Delivery0:11:18 How Two Week Cooldowns Allow For Side-projects like “Space Awesome”. 0:12:39 An Overview of the Shape Up Workflow Process0:15:39 Shape Up and Font Awesome's Business Philosophy0:19:16 The Benefits of a 40-Hour Work Week and Embracing the Whole Person0:20:51 The Benefits of Allowing Creativity and Autonomy in the Workplace0:22:39 Exploring the Benefits of Font-Building Engine "Haunt Forge"0:23:56 The Icon Wizard and Building with Creative Constraints0:27:35 Iterative Development and the 37 Signals BaseCamp Methodology0:29:41 Summary of Discussion on Software Development Methodologies and Project Management Methodologies------------------NotesShape Up (Book) Always Be Shipping (and On Time for Dinner): Why We Use Shape Up The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

On this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt chats with Font Awesome founder Dave Gandy about Patrick Lencioni's ideas behind Working Genius. They discuss how the six types of Working Genius help identify working strengths and weaknesses, creating more effective teams and getting more done efficiently. Dave explains how their company got introduced to Lencioni's ideas and how they started doing leadership training. They emphasize the importance of work culture and how it affects a company's success.TIME STAMPS —-------------------------[00:06:19] Six types of working genius.[00:09:53] Remote work relationships.[00:16:57] Wonder and innovation.[00:19:12] Taking the time for work.[00:23:09] Importance of being a domain expert.[00:24:55] Tenacity in the workplace.[00:27:58] Ideation process and meetings.[00:30:43] Working geniuses and efficiency.[00:33:59] Organizational health and satisfaction.—------------------------------------------NOTESThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsThe 6 Types of Working Genius Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

In this episode of Podcast Awesome, we chat with software engineer Jason Otero about his recent work on Font Awesome Kits, the benefits of working on six-week splits, and his love for playing guitar in two different bands. Tune in for an engaging discussion on tech, business, and nerdery.------------------------Time Stamps [00:00:36] Six week splits vs two week sprints.[00:05:57] New method of loading Kits.[00:07:18] CSS-only web font Kits.[00:09:47] Project management methods.[00:12:41] Full benefits of 'cool down' time.[00:18:33] WebAssembly and Rust technology.[00:19:09] Programming language preferences.[00:22:14] Favorite icons and hobbies.[00:26:33] Guitar gear obsession.[00:31:38] Music and Band Promotion.--------------------------Show Notes The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsBlister Soul (Jason's band) Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

Dive into the minds of Font Awesome's Jory Raphael and Noah Jacobus as they discuss their unique approach to design process. Discover how they balance structure and creativity in the ever-evolving world of icon design.---------------TIMESTAMPS[00:01:23] Design process. [00:05:01] High level sketching. [00:07:45] Figma for interface design. [00:10:39] Designing dinosaur icons. [00:14:08] Messy creative process. [00:17:13] Creative process and productivity. [00:20:31] Brain science in music. [00:23:38] Creating a new schedule. [00:26:52] Creative process and pressure.--------------------NOTESThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

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 More0:02:43 Kelsey's Former Job at Waco Media as a Developer/Designer0:04:28 Exploring the Connection Between Drawing and Design0:07:29 Refining and Standardizing a Design System at Font Awesome0:11:57 Design System Consistency and Compliance0:13:27 Web Components, Machine Learning AI, and Content Creation0:15:34 Kelsey's Horror Movie Icon Wish-List 0:17:32 B-Grade Horror and Crappy Job Experiences0:22:07 Reflections on Working at a Car Wash and Assisting with Disaster Relief0:27:49 Conversation on Spirits, Sneakers, and Celebratory Bottles of Bourbon at the Bi-Annual Snuggles0:29:47  Cooking Steak and Mixing Tiki Drinks0:31:25 Conversation About Hulu Series "The Bear"0:33:29 Maddie Matheson's Foodie Comedy 0:35:18 Resources For Learning About Design Systems ---------------------Notes The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon ProductionsAtomic Design by Brad Frost Nielsen Norman GroupThe Bear Matty Matheson Killer Klowns from Outer Space Some of the places Kelsey goes for cooking inspiration Sam the Cooking GuyBabish Culinary UniverseJoshua WeissmanStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

In this episode of Podcast Awesome, we sit down for a little chat with Noah Jacobus and Jory Raphael and discuss the benefits of using Figma for collaborative design and icon design. They highlight Figma's unique features, such as its Boolean operations and non-destructive vector editing, and compare it to other design software like Adobe Illustrator. We also touch on the recent acquisition of Figma by Adobe and the possibility of creating a Font Awesome plugin for Figma. ----------------TIMESTAMPS00:05:56 Tools don't always matter.00:12:12 Adobe owns Figma now.00:12:31 Adobe acquisitions can be good (and sometimes bad).00:24:22 Linking Font Awesome Pro accounts.00:27:09 Figma has rainbow magic.-------------------HIGHLIGHTS"So Figma has rainbow magic." (00:26:57-00:27:19)"Figma is a central place where we can both work in the same file at the same time. If I make a change, he sees it." (00:20:52-00:23:44)"Noah is entirely responsible for us moving to Figma." (00:00:00-00:03:29)"And the ability to easily test things in the context of digital products is kind of where it found its place for me." (00:03:23-00:06:24)"Being able to identify each of those, you know, every element of a stroke shape or path and make adjustments to it that way is pretty cool." (00:17:58-00:20:57)"Boolean operations are one of the biggest ones... it's kind of a unique way of treating stroked objects like their actual shapes at the same time... that is something that it can't do. So it's a nice more unique feature." (00:15:08-00:18:08)"I think that Figma is enough of a powerhouse kind of on its own that that's not going to happen with the employees there and the community, especially as such a huge force with a lot of momentum behind it that helps support the product and keeps it moving." (00:11:51-00:15:16)"There are just tons of things that are out there that if you run into an issue, someone else likely has run into it already and there's probably a plugin that exists to fix it or address it, which is awesome." (00:23:38-00:27:07)"But what started to become really appealing to me about Figma was, as Noah said, some of the, well, number one, the simplicity of collaboration, which is now super important because we have multiple icon designers at Fawn Awesome, but also some of their unique takes on doing things with vectors." (00:06:17-00:09:04)"We made a slight tactical mistake of announcing our new Sharp icons before they were completely done...I put the call out to some icon designers that I knew and admired to see if they could help us with the project of getting the sharp icons out the door...And he shared a Figma file...I took them and I looked at them and it was so fun to be able to manipulate them...I was able to trick Noah into spending some more time on the sharp icons...I had been starting work on a personal project for myself that was sharp icon based...And so I was already kind of very much ingrained in sharp, chunky icon world." (00:08:59-00:11:56)---------------------------------------NOTESThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon Productions10 Reasons We Switched to Figma for Icon DesignStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

In this episode, we chat with Joey Henson, the Controller at Font Awesome. Throughout his career, Joey has been working in the startup world, which has lasted most of his time, but he has found himself feeling the strain of burnout since the birth of his son. According to Joey, there can be a lot of pressure in the finance world. Everyone works long hours in an effort to justify their existence in a world that's pretty stressful. Font Awesome, on the other hand, is not like that at all. Joey has noticed a difference in the work culture between Font Awesome and other startups, as the environment at Font Awesome is more relaxed and supportive. This is largely due to the founders' approach to work-life balance and that management understands the effects of burnout and wants to prioritize the well-being of their employees. Having a good work-life balance has enabled Joey to have time for his family and to enjoy a reasonable work-life balance. Although Joey currently works at Font Awesome in a role that isn't tech-oriented, in his spare time, he enjoys learning SQL, Ruby programming, and Ruby on Rails in addition to his regular job at Font Awesome. Joey also shares how  he helped find a Harry Potter themed metaphor to help explain Font Awesome Kits, how he has lobbied for the development of a Harry Potter themed icon set, his obsession with nutrition, fitness, and his journey towards better health over the past few years.---------------------------TIMESTAMPS 0:03:50   Reflection on the Challenges of Working Long Hours0:05:27    Self-Development and Quality of Life at Font Awesome0:08:43  Tech, Finance, and Harry Potter Icon Pack at Font Awesome0:11:13   Exploring Harry Potter Lore to Explain the Functionality of Kits0:18:34   Dungeons & Dragons and Nutrition Habits0:20:20   Counting Macros for Optimal Health and Fitness-----------------------HIGHLIGHTS In a previous Snuggle, we were talking about metaphors or some way to describe how a kit works. And I seem to remember an allusion to Harry Potter lore would maybe be a good way to explain it. I think we discovered that there was confusion among folks between whether a kit is populated like it's a container that's full of something, or if it's empty and you add to it. And what we came around to say was more accurate is that a kit comes fully loaded with everything you might want to use.Yeah, it is. So Hermione, the beaded bag, it had an undetectable extension charm on it. They used that multiple times in the books and the movies. And it is it's kind of like the DND bag of holding where you can pull out a lot of stuff if you know what's in there. And it comes pre loaded. That works. So, like with Hermiones, the best analogy I could think of was they needed a ton of books and they needed clothes, and when they needed that, Hermione said, oh, let me grab that. Let me just get that out of this bag here. And that's kind of how the kits work, too. You're 100% right. I remember that conversation now where it's, hey, you don't have to worry about it. We've already got it handled for you, and we're going to make it super easy for you to get that out of there.-------------------------------NOTESA Beginner's Guide to Counting MacrosThe Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie MartinAudio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon ProductionsStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!