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Welcome back after our winter break!  Over the coming months, I have an exciting line up of people I’m speaking to about creativity, collaboration, publishing, typography and design.  Today we are talking about signs that define Toronto! I have with me Kurt Kraler, a registered Architect (OAA) and project manager at ERA Architects, an award-winning architecture and planning firm focused on conservation through reactivation. Kurt completed his Master of Architecture (MArch) degree at the University of Waterloo with a graduate thesis that focused on the history of the themed hotel resort typology in Las Vegas and the broader social implications of the built environment. His thesis work was recognized with the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate. After a visit to the Las Vegas Neon Museum during one of his many research trips, Kurt developed an interest in historic signs. He is the co-editor of “The Signs That Define Toronto”, a 200-plus page book published in partnership with ERA and Spacing that reveals the history, culture, and stories of the city through its unique signage. In this episode you’ll better understand how and why signs can tell us so much about the changing culture of a city, including iconic signs like Honest Ed’s, Tip Top Tailors and Zanzibar (and why the latter is particularly unique). You’ll learn how signs can shape community identities, Queer signage in Toronto, and why signs in Toronto changed after 1911.  You’ll hear Kurt’s big a-ha moment in the final stages of finishing his book, the importance of shifting policy around historical sign preservation, and a San Fransisco advocacy group’s approach to restoring and preserving neon signage within their city. Copies "The Signs That Define Toronto" can be found at the Toronto Public Library or purchased at the Spacing Store in-person or online . As always, this episode isn’t sponsored — I’m just a curious human trying to connect with interesting, creative projects out in the world.  About Our Guest: Kurt Kraler is a registered Architect (OAA) and project manager at ERA Architects, an award-winning architecture and planning firm focused on conservation through reactivation. He completed his Master of Architecture (MArch) degree at the University of Waterloo with a graduate thesis that focused on the history of the themed hotel resort typology in Las Vegas and the broader social implications of the built environment. His thesis work was recognized with the AIA Henry Adams Medal and Certificate. After a visit to the Las Vegas Neon Museum during one of his many research trips, Kurt developed an interest in historic signs. He is the co-editor of “The Signs That Define Toronto”, a 200-plus page book published in partnership with ERA and Spacing that reveals the history, culture, and stories of the city through its unique signage. Follow Kurt on Instagram @signsthatdefine for excerpts from the book and other signs he has come across in his travels. Copies "The Signs That Define Toronto" can be found at the Toronto Public Library or purchased at the Spacing Store in-person or online here: https://spacingstore.ca/products/the-signs-that-define-toronto --- Music: A Kwela Fella - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome to the final stop on our international tour with guests from across the pond (and the final episode of 2024!). We’re headed to Austria to speak with user interface and app designer and fellow type geek, Oliver Schöndorfer. He’s baaaaaack! Pimp My Type in the house! Oliver runs his design business by day, and is a typography YouTuber by night. Oliver’s vision is to make the world more beautiful and diverse through typography. He shares his knowledge and passion in a weekly newsletter, online course, speaks at conferences and podcasts, gives workshops, and most of all on the YouTube channel “Pimp my Type”. In this conversation about web typography, you’ll learn LOTS, including: How Oliver defines web typography Web font hierarchy  The ins and outs of choosing a typeface for the web The difference between ‘web fonts’ and ‘web safe fonts’ A brief history of web typography The crossovers between typography for print and typography for the web The way that screen size plays a role in setting type Why variable fonts are a game-changer for the web, including how optical sizing works Best practices for accessible web typography The difference between absolute and relative units and why this matters Why we shouldn’t trust AI-generated type (yet) Why good typography can’t save you if you don’t first consider hierarchy  And finally, Oliver indulges Diana’s improv game to summarize key takeaways about web typography in to a dessert metaphor (yum!) I encourage you to check out my two previous episodes with Oliver, Episode 134: Pairing Type with Oliver of Pimp My Type and Episode 156: Untapped Typography Potential with Oliver of Pimp My Type . Relevant Links: Are Web-Safe Fonts still relevant? Fix Color Contrast – Web Accessibility for Text & UI Design Six things to consider before changing fonts on a website  (where I show the adjustment of the variable font for high-density screens) Font Review: Newsreader  (Optical sizing) Never Trust AI Type: Fixing a Podcast Cover Font Friday Newsletter Also, as a side note… Just before I hit record Oliver and I were chatting about family life, kids getting older and finding balance in the chaos. Which is why our conversation starts out this way…  Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Oliver Schöndorfer is a typography expert, freelance UI & app designer, and YouTuber. His channel Pimp my Type and weekly Font Friday Newsletter inspire a global audience to leverage the power of typography. Social Handles YouTube: @pimpmytpe Instagram: @pimp_my_type LinkedIn: @Oliver Schöndorfer TikTok: @pimpmytype --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome to the next stop on our international tour with guests from across the pond. This time, we’re headed to the UK to speak with creative director, Radim Malinic .  Radim Malinic is the creative director and designer at the helm of award-winning branding and creative studio Brand Nu Studio and the independent publishing firm Brand Nu Books. Radim’s mantra is “Learn, Do, Share”, and this philosophy has led him to become a bestselling author of titles including ‘Book of Branding’ and ‘Book of Ideas’, as well as ‘Creativity for Sale’ and ‘Mindful Creative’. In this episode, you’ll hear about Radim’s journey and evolution with mindfulness techniques, why Radim is a self-described ‘Eternally Curious Idiot’, what his unbalanced existence used to look like versus what his more balanced existence looks like now. We chat about failure, opportunity and fear. Finally, you’ll hear about Radim’s 7th, forthcoming book, including the book he decided not to write and the one he’s writing instead. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Radim Malinic is the creative director and designer at the helm of award-winning branding and creative studio Brand Nu Studio and the independent publishing firm Brand Nu Books. Radim’s mantra is “Learn, Do, Share”, and this philosophy has led him to become a bestselling author of titles including ‘Book of Branding’ and ‘Book of Ideas’, as well as ‘Creativity for Sale’ and ‘Mindful Creative’. --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

The next (and final 3 episodes of the year) are all recorded with guests from across the pond: France, the UK and Austria, respectively.  First, let’s head to France where I spoke with boundary-pushing typographer, designer and printer, Alec Vivier-Reynaud .  Alec is a french bio-designer and graphic designer . At the intersection of biology and graphic design, his biodesign research propose a new paradigm where images become living entities. In collaboration with the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, he tangibly interacts with and collaborates with the fungal ecosystems surrounding us. Within this new perspective, he notably invents « mycography », a new bio-printing process using biological inks made of micro-fungi. Much like mycelium that interweaves the layers of life, his research in bio design weaves connections between the disciplines of print, biology, and biotechnology, redefining the creation and experience of an image. By using living organisms as a primary material for reflection, he creates collaborative spaces where new visual and material paradigms emerge. In this episode, you’ll hear about Alec’s love of printmaking and how Alec’s proprietary process works. If you think combining cyan, magenta, yellow and black is cool, you’ll be fascinated by what happens when you combine bio inks (think beyond colour to texture, volume, shine and more). Finally, you’ll hear what happens to type when Alec prints letterforms. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Alec Vivier-Reynaud is a french bio-designer and graphic designer. At the intersection of biology and graphic design, his biodesign research propose a new paradigm where images become living entities. In collaboration with the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, he tangibly interacts with and collaborates with the fungal ecosystems surrounding us. Within this new perspective, he notably invents « mycography », a new bio-printing process using biological inks made of micro-fungi. Much like mycelium that interweaves the layers of life, his research in bio design weaves connections between the disciplines of print, biology, and biotechnology, redefining the creation and experience of an image. By using living organisms as a primary material for reflection, he creates collaborative spaces where new visual and material paradigms emerge. --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Today I have with me Jess Goldsmith , founder of Women of Type ! Jess is an internationally recognized and award-winning lettering artist and illustrator in NYC creating bold, eye-catching and colorful work with the ethos of having fun. In this episode, you’ll hear about Jess’ role in the world of type, including the community she’s created, uplifting and amplifying the work of women and non-binary artists in the typography and lettering industry.  You'll also hear about recent features that Jess is jazzed about and ways to get featured on the women of Type page. Finally, Jess shares great advice for creative professionals everywhere. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Jess Goldsmith is an internationally recognized and award-winning lettering artist and illustrator in NYC creating bold, eye-catching and colorful work with the ethos of having fun. She is passionate about creating work to amplify meaningful causes like mental health awareness, breast cancer prevention, and Jewish representation   Jess is also the founder and author of Women of Type; a global community dedicated to uplifting and amplifying the work of women and non-binary artists in the typography and lettering industry.  When she isn’t working, you can find Jess hiking around any given national park, and hanging out with her husband Alex and their two pugs Ruby and Stanley Tucci.  --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Welcome back! This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago while at DesignThinkers Toronto 2024, Canada’s largest graphic design conference. I had the great pleasure of having this conversation shared in real time with a group of typography students, speaking with Toronto-based designer, developer and accessibility specialist, Michael Young . He’s currently pursing his Master of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University and his research involves making technology more accessible, specifically through the expansion of Raleway ; an open source Google font used in communications by the Ontario Government. Since 2010, Michael’s been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives. In this episode you’ll hear more about Michael’s gateway into this work, hear about the Syllabic writing system, and what Unicode is in plain language. You’ll hear what it was like for Michael to embark on a journey of font creation for the first time, including what surprised him the most and what challenged him most in the process. You’ll learn about typographic tofu and hear helpful resources related to typography for Indigenous language support. Two parallel episodes to accompany this one include Episode 115: Font Futures, Indigenous Syllabic Type Revitalization with Kevin King and Episode 169: Fonts for a Connected World with Typotheque’s Peter Bil’ak and Kevin King .  This conversation is part of a guest lecture series in GCM 230 - Typography at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. Let’s do this! Please tell us a bit about yourself, Michael… About Our Guest: Michael Young ( https://youngcreative.ca ) is a Toronto-based designer, developer, and accessibility specialist. Since 2010, he's been with the Ontario Public Service, developing and overseeing branding and marketing campaigns for the province of Ontario in a small but mighty team of creatives. He's currently pursuing his Masters of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. Beyond his professional pursuits, Michael enjoys repairing old Macs, honing his culinary skills, and urban exploration via public transit. --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

This episode was recorded a couple of weeks ago, Live from DesignThinkers Toronto 2024, Canada’s largest graphic design conference. This episode features an in-person conversation with type aficionado, Carl Shura!  Carl is a strategic visual communications and design professional with experience focused on identity and brand management, wayfinding and exhibits, and type design. A graduate of the graphic design program at Winnipeg's Red River College, he's also completed the post-grad type design program at The Cooper Union and a summer residency at the SVA TypeLab in NYC. He’s had the pleasure of learning under some of the best type designers in the world. Carl currently teaches design and production in the SCHOOLOFDESIGN at George Brown College in Toronto. He also runs a newly launched digital font foundry at deptofletters.ca  where you'll find his latest available fonts, including 'Circulation Serif' and 'Mullion Heavy,' both winners of a CA Award of Excellence for Type Design in recent years (2022 and 2025).   He is a member of TDC (Type Director’s Club), RGD (Association of Registered Graphic Designers), RHSC (the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada), and is an ATypI Delegate (Association Typographique Internationale) to represent Canada.  In this episode, you’ll hear LOTS, specifically:  The history of the typeface Cooper Black and the ways it’s connected to Carl as a person The evolution of Carl’s path in design and typography Carl’s type design workshop at DesignThinkers, specifically about legibility and accessibility The idea that letterforms are just ‘blobs with defects’ How Carl worked backwards from a few letters to reconstruct an iconic Toronto building sign How to approach the development of a revival typeface What it’s like to design a text face vs. a display face, as well as the macro and micro decisions Carl made in the design of his most recent, award-wining typeface The ways that tools and our physical human bodies shape our understanding of how type should look Excellent resources and ideas for creating our own typefaces and font files  Finally, you’ll hear Carl’s delightful views on Comic Sans And much more! This conversation is part of a guest lecture series in GCM 230 - Typography at The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Carl Shura is a strategic visual communications and design professional with experience focused on identity and brand management, wayfinding and exhibits, and type design. A graduate of the graphic design program at Winnipeg's Red River College, he's also completed the post-grad type design program at The Cooper Union and a summer residency at the SVA TypeLab in NYC. He’s had the pleasure of learning under some of the best type designers in the world, including Tobias Frere-Jones, Ksenya Samarskaya, Christian Schwartz, Dan Rhatigan, Rod McDonald, Lynne Yun, Erik van Blokland, Maria Doreuli, Tal Leming, Troy Leinster, Hannes Famira, Gen Ramirez, and Zrinka Buljubašić. Carl currently teaches design and production in the SCHOOLOFDESIGN at George Brown College in Toronto. He also runs a newly launched digital font foundry at deptofletters.ca  where you'll find his latest available fonts, including 'Circulation Serif' and 'Mullion Heavy,' both winners of a CA Award of Excellence for Type Design in recent years (2022 and 2025).   He is a member of TDC (Type Director’s Club), RGD (Association of Registered Graphic Designers), RHSC (the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada), and is an ATypI Delegate (Association Typographique Internationale) to represent Canada.  --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

Who doesn’t love delightful, interesting and clever, packaging, especially when it contains beautiful cosmetic goodies? In today’s episode, I have Ali DuHart, a Senior Graphic Designer at Benefit Cosmetics where she’s worked for the last 8 years. You’ll hear about Ali’s role at Benefit Cosmetics including visual merchandising: what it is and how it comes together. We get into some specifics around prototyping for print, the importance of understanding different audiences in different situations/events, and we talk about balancing brand identity with trendiness, and specifically how Benefit Cosmetics achieves this.  Ali talks about her career path getting into design and where she started as a traditional artist. Ali’s also RGD Certified and has attended conferences, judged awards and mentored students within the design hub of the Association of Registered Graphic Designers of Canada. She describes the benefits of being part of this professional organization.  If you like cosmetics, if you like printing, if you like glam… this episode’s for you! Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: My name is Ali , and I’m a Senior Graphic Designer with over 14 years of experience. Prior to post-secondary, I could be found drawing, painting, or cutting up magazines for hours. This passion for creativity lead me to an exciting pursuit of professional development at Sheridan College. I obtained an Art Fundamentals certificate, followed by an honours degree at the world-renowned York / Sheridan Bachelor of Design program. Since graduating, I have worked hard to develop essential skills while keeping myself challenged; doing so with both in-house and agency work.  Over the years, my leadership skills grew by the mentoring and training of Junior designers. As well, an opportunity arose in 2020 to become a part-time instructor at Humber College. I created, designed and taught two online courses for two years. I think it's also important to give back, so I also volunteered on a steering committee for the charity, Look Good Feel Better Canada. I’m RGD Certified and have had the pleasure of attending conferences, judging awards and mentoring students within this design hub - The Registered Graphic Designers Association of Canada.  In my free time, I enjoy exploring the outdoors. I’m inspired by nature and can often be found gardening, camping, or taking a road trip. I’m a people-person who projects a positive attitude and thrives in creative environments. I make others feel welcome and comfortable and enable them to feel engaged in their design projects and part of the entire process. --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

In this episode, I sit down with an incredible type designer to talk about his process, his letters and ultimately, barns, gumbo and scriptoriums. The   Herzberg Design Co  is a New Orleans based studio specializing in type design, brand identity, art direction, and everything related to letters; it’s a one-man operation founded by Dutchman Matthijs Herzberg. He focuses on unconventional and exuberant work, but always with a sharp eye for detail, quality, and purpose (as such, combining the best of New Orleans with the best of The Netherlands). In this episode, you’ll hear why Matthijs loves letters, an analogy about type designers that fundamentally changes the way I understand the profession and what he’s working on now and next. This episode is ripe with metaphor and deep thinking about the role of type and the type designer in the larger realm of visual communications.  Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: The   Herzberg Design Co  is a New Orleans based studio specializing in type design, brand identity, art direction, and everything related to letters; it’s a one-man operation founded by Dutchman Matthijs Herzberg. He focuses on unconventional and exuberant work, but always with a sharp eye for detail, quality, and purpose (as such, combining the best of New Orleans with the best of The Netherlands). --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

If you were anything like me as a teen, cutting and pasting and collaging my walls with 90’s boy bands, colourful products of the day and clippings of all kinds that spoke to me, you’ll enjoy today’s conversation. This episode is all about collage!  Eric Bargenda is seasoned design director with over 20 years of graphic design experience working in Victoria, Toronto, and most recently St. Thomas, Ontario. As the co-founder of strategic creative agency Arable Brand Communications, Eric has taken his love for graphic design, ephemera and all things vintage and applied it to the art of analog collage. Eric’s work is 100% cut, pasted and pressed, avoiding digital and mechanical enhancements and techniques. His work covers a wide range of themes and pulls influences from comic books, pulp and sci-fi novels and magazines as well as commercial and fine art. In this episode, you’ll hear the ways in which collage is a natural extension of graphic design through the piecing together of elements under constraint. You’ll hear Eric describe his collage process and the surprising way community and collaboration has popped into Eric’s artistic work. We talk about the power of getting feedback, explore a reframing of the designer’s role beyond simply being ‘a creative’ and you’ll hear about the bricks and mortar design store Eric and his wife run in St. Thomas, ON called Revival Studio. Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Eric Bargenda is seasoned design director with over 20 years of graphic design experience working in Victoria, Toronto, and most recently St. Thomas, Ontario. As the co-founder of strategic creative agency Arable Brand Communications, Eric has taken his love for graphic design, ephemera and all things vintage and applied it to the art of analog collage. Eric’s work is 100% cut, pasted and pressed, avoiding digital and mechanical enhancements and techniques. His work covers a wide range of themes and pulls influences from comic books, pulp and sci-fi novels and magazines as well as commercial and fine art. To see more of Eric’s work or to inquire about a commission, visit his Instagram page @CutPastePress . --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

I have a special treat for everyone today! I’m chatting with Olympian and author, Micha Powell , about the process for writing and publishing her book, Sprinting Through Setbacks , and the important lessons she’s learned in the process. Micha Jada Powell is a world-class Canadian Olympic sprinter and Commonwealth Games gold medalist. Born in Montreal to three-time Olympian Rosey Edeh and Long Jump World Record Holder Mike Powell, fitness is a part of her DNA. Micha is an world-traveller, avid cook and author motivating anyone who’s ever doubted themselves to “Sprint Through Setbacks” and embrace an Olympic mindset. Micha is currently training for the 2025 World Athletics Championships. In this episode, you’ll hear her inspiring story that changed the trajectory of her track career. Micha speaks about self doubt and imposter syndrome, the ways in which they’ve shown up in her athletic journey, and how writing can be a time machine and therefore relying on AI as a writing tool isn’t the answer. Micha shares the importance of mindset in sport and beyond, including the importance of staying in your own lane (physically and metaphorically). You’ll better understand the ways in which we can all succeed in our own ways, as well as lots of actionable strategies for maintaining focus in a distracted, digital world. I encourage you to also check out my first episode with Micha,  Episode 96: Storytelling & Athletics with Micha Powell.  Let’s listen in… About Our Guest: Micha Jada Powell is a world-class Canadian Olympic sprinter and Commonwealth Games gold medalist. Born in Montreal to three-time Olympian Rosey Edeh and Long Jump World Record Holder Mike Powell, fitness is a part of her DNA. Micha is an world-traveller, avid cook and author motivating anyone who’s ever doubted themselves to “Sprint Through Setbacks” and embrace an Olympic mindset. Micha is currently training for the 2025 World Athletics Championships. --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash

“Collective effervescence is the feeling of energy and harmony when people are engaged in a shared purpose. It is a joie de vivre that manifests when we share moments with others, such as being in a stadium that erupts in simultaneous applause when a musician returns for an encore performance.” This definition comes from online teaching resource, The Core Collaborative , and the term “Collective Effervescence” was defined more than 100 years ago by French sociologist Emile Durkheim.  As I continued scrolling down through the Google search results, I was surprised to see the 3rd hit was a scientific article from the National Institutes of Heath (NIH), one of the world’s foremost medical research centres and an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. I kept scrolling and found additional articles from Harvard, The New York Times, Psychology Today and more. Headlines include “Why Being Part of a Crowd Feels So Good” and “There’s a Specific Kind of Joy We’ve Been Missing”. I’m fascinated by what it means to creative in a collaborative, community environment, in contrast to creating primarily in isolation, like many designers, typographers and other visual creatives work. It’s not to say that one is “good” and one is “bad”; distinct dichotomies are not helpful or necessary here. Rather, finding balance and finding the right moments in the process to engage with a community can elevate our individual creations, elevating everyone’s work. My guest today is Jeff Newberry is a music director, composer, arranger, sound designer, and educator working in theatre, concert, and community spaces. For Mirvish, Jeff is the associate music director of Disney’s The Lion King in Toronto. (Opening night is November 2!) In this conversation, Jeff describes his vision of strong creative leadership — a leader who isn’t afraid to feel stuck, can embrace silence and scrap a plan when needed. We talk about the importance of learning names as a gateway to making others feel seen and the magic to be found in encouraging others to be ‘strong and wrong’.  Jeff describes the importance of reading the room and acting in accordance with what each new situation calls for, recognizing the opportunities in both more extraverted, as well as introverted, creatives in the room. We also dive into education more broadly. The importance of agency, what student-centred learning actually looks like and ways in which traditional hierarchical structures should be re-examined for a truly collaborative process.  Just before we dive into this conversation, I wanted to mention a ‘cousin episode’ to this one, from the podcast Work Life by organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, entitled “Fighting against the status quo with filmmaker Jon M. Chu”.   The episode was released on August 20, 2024 and I listened to it not long after I recorded this episode with Jeff. Both Jon and Jeff echo one another in their approaches to creative leadership and I felt inspired after listening to both share their work. It’s such a great episode and I strongly recommend you listen to it if this one resonates.  Without further adieu, on with the show… About Our Guest: Jeff Newberry is a music director, composer, arranger, sound designer, and educator working in theatre, concert, and community spaces. His choral music is performed by a growing number of school, community, and university ensembles in Canada and the United States.   For Mirvish, Jeff is the associate music director of Disney’s The Lion King in Toronto. As resident music director at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope, his projects have included:  a Year with Frog and Toad , Little Shop of Horrors, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (Music Director);  Christmastown , Prairie Nurse (Composer and Sound Designer); and the ongoing Billboard: In Concert  series (Music Supervisor + Arranger/Orchestrator). Jeff contributes to the development of new musicals through his work as music supervisor and orchestrator/arranger for Rez Gas (Cale Crowe/Genevieve Adam), and as music director for Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang  (Britta Johnson/Anika Johnson),  Blood Ties (Anika Johnson/Barbara Johnston), and  Summerland  (Anika Johnson/Barbara Johnston/Suzy Wilde). ​ Jeff taught high school music at the Toronto District School Board for 10 years and now teaches part-time at York University in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance, and Design. He has won grants from the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and York University. He holds a Bachelor of Music (University of Toronto), a Bachelor of Education (Queen’s University), an Honours Specialist in Vocal Music (OISE) and a Master of Education (York University).  --- Music: Weird Science - John Bartmann licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License Talk Paper Scissors Theme Music:  Retro Quirky Upbeat Funk by Lewis Sound Production via Audio Jungle Boat Origami Photo:  Boat Origami Photo by   Alex  on   Unsplash