Makers Of Sport Podcast

What really differentiates you as a professional or business? If all you are selling is your service, you are losing in the big picture. There is a lot of parity in the creative services industry. Talent is at an all-time high it seems if one takes a look at places such as Dribbble, Behance or Instagram. We have to find a way to stand out fromt the crowd. In this episode of Halftime, Adam discusses the benefits of positioning, focusing on vertical markets versus horizontal markets and gives a few pointers on how to make yourself stand out from the talented crowd by writing a positioning statement. Mentions Include: Dan Simon, Studio Simon Joe Bosack & Co. Joe Bosack's episode Tyson Beck Posterizes.com Positioning for Professionals Win Without Pitching Teehan+Lax Our next guest is TJ Harley, founder of Harley Creative. Before founding his own design company, TJ was a creative director at the Collegiate Licensing Company, a division of IMG, where he lead branding and creative on over 200 I

"People think I'm being critical but I (often) talk about what I call the 'echo chamber' of the sneakerhead world in that a shoe/brand/event is bounced back and forth inside this 'echo chamber' and it makes it seem like it's a really loud voice, but when you look around the big world outside, most people don't even know that it's going on. So very many of the hot sneakerhead shoes are just not commercial in units sold." This week, Sneakerologist Matt Powell joins the show. Matt is a prominent voice in the sneaker industry and is a vice president and sports industry analyst for NPD Group where he covers the business of sports retail, wearables and especially sneakers. Matt has been covering the sneaker industry for more than 20 years and also is a contributor to the Forbes Sneakernomics blog. On this episode, we take a deep dive into the business and culture of sneakers — how did the industry get so large over the past 30 years? Matt shares some numbers in market shares, compares trends vs. sales, discusses

Should you incorporate if you are taking on freelance or contract work? In this episode of Halftime, Adam discusses the benefits of setting up an LLC to freelance and touches on the differences between LLCs, Partnerships, S-Corporations and C-Corporations. There are some complex topics discussed in this episode and of course, Adam isn't an accountant or attorney so you will definitely want to consult with one for legal advice. However, this episode may help you figure out ahead of time what questions you need to ask to that legal consultant or at least not appear ignorant to business structures as you pursue entrepreneurship. Mentions and Helpful Links Include: Freelancing? Consider Forming an LLC by ShakeLaw.com Should You Incorporate Your Freelance or Consulting Business by U.S. Small Business Administration 5 Reasons Why an LLC is the Right Structure for Your Startup by INC Magazine The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business The

"I've interviewed at sports places and I've gotten the vibe, 'you're gonna get used up a little bit here but you're gonna put up with it because you want to be able to say that you work here.' That's never been appealing to me. Nobody is going to sell me on that...I value my freetime...I don't want to be taken advantage of." This week the mega-talented Bethany Heck joins the podcast to talk about her independent project, The Eephus League; a website geared towards passionate baseball fans with an appreciation for aesthetics and minutiae of "America's pastime". Most recently, Bethany was a product designer at IBM's Mobile Innovation Lab in Austin, TX before taking a gig with Microsoft in Seattle as a creative lead on one of their products. Bethany, a die-hard Auburn Tigers fan and alumnae, founded The Eephus League while attending college for a senior project and the brand eventually grew into a Kickstarter campaign that successfully raised nearly $30,000 for a beautifully designed and printed score book cal

People that create for a living often get freelance inquiries – be it from friends, colleagues, family or random clients; opportunities to make a little extra money occasionally arrive. In this episode of Halftime, Adam touches on the infamous topic of pricing for freelancers. Having been involved as a business owner for nearly 10 years, Adam shares some of his knowledge about pricing strategies and offers some solutions that may work for you. The show touches on 3 strategies: hourly rate, retainers and fixed-fee pricing. Mentions and valuable links: The Case Against Paying Designers by the Hour via Fast Company Let's Kill the Billable Hour by Jon Lax of TeehanLax Your rate (hourly rate calculator) Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator Pentagram Paula Scher New York Jets Identity by Pentagram College Football Playoff Identity by Pentagram The Business Side of Creativity book Our next guest is Bethany Heck. Bethany is the designer founder of Eephus League, a baseball website dedicated to the game and i

"Designers are a dime a dozen. There are tons of designers in the world. Who's the best designer in the world? We probably can't name one because there are [1000s] that are about the same level...the way that we distinguish ourselves is through our personalities, our world view and also our skillsets. But how comfortable can you make the person you are working with in regards to them being able to trust you and executing something that is going to be good for them." Former guest and renown sports branding designer, Joe Bosack returns to the show for milestone Episode 25 in order intercept the mic and interview Makers of Sport founder & host, Adam Martin. In this episode, Joe gives Adam the opportunity to tell his story beginning in his grade school days drawing fake movie posters all through falling in love with graphic design, business and the eventual founding of Makers of Sport. Through his backstory, Adam touches on things like being an average student, becoming passionate about something after on

"If you are a good designer, part of your job is to find (visual) solutions in a varied part of storytelling." Chin Wang, Creative Director of ESPN The Magazine joins the show this week to discuss editorial design, managing a team of designers, photo editors and art directors, as well as the inner workings of creating one of world's most popular sports publications. Chin has been an editorial designer much of her career and on this episode we go behind-the-scenes of how ESPN The Magazine is created. We touch on everything from their process, the differenes between design directors and creative directors, and how Chin and team search for new talent on places like Dribbble. Chin also tells some behind-the-scene stories about working with JJ Watt, Rob Gronkowski and the laying out the infamous Body Issue. Lastly, we talk about how tough freelancing is and what we can do to support one creative to another. Chin also just might reveal one of the athletes she has a strong admiration (or maybe crush?) for. Me

You've been grinding away, posting work to Dribbble and still not getting project inquiries. You know you have the chops to produce great work, but why is no one hiring you? In this episode of Halftime, Adam talks about getting discovered. He touches on topics ranging from self-promotion, avoiding humble brags, and being a jerk. Mentions include: Fraser Davidson, Episode 22 Fraser Davidson, Skillshare South by Southwest Creative South Darrin Crescenzi, Episode 8 Darrin Crescenzi GoT poster Matt Stevens, Episode 15 MAX100 Project Tobias van Schneider, Spotify Jim Bankoff, CEO, Vox Media ENFP My next guest is Chin Wang. Chin is the creative director of ESPN the Magazine. Check out her work. Be sure to follow Adam and the podcast on twitter, as well as Dribbble.

"It's about doing the kind of work you want to be producing. If you want to be working in the sports design industry, you just produce work as if you've been doing it." Fraser Davidson is our guest this week. He is a multi-talented Englishman focusing on animation, design and sports branding. He is a founding partner at the London (U.K.) animation shop, Cub Studio and sports branding consultancy, Field Theory. Major brands such as the NFL, ESPN, GE, Twitter, Fox Sports and more have called on Fraser Davidson for creative work. On this episode we discuss Fraser's path from full-time employee at London-based production and VFX company Mainframe, to Cub Studio and everything in between – including working with Nike, Joe Bosack & Co. and getting discovered on Dribbble. Adamant about putting out work consistently and staying on people's minds, Fraser discusses how this can aid in discovery and lead to better clients and work. We touch on how one can keep at the top of their game if they are interested in differ

Do you ever feel like you are not good enough? That your accomplishments will soon get found and you will be exposed as a fraud? In this episode of Halftime, Adam talks about impostor syndrome, how to use it as motivation and how to overcome it. Mentions include: Gary Vaynerchuck VaynerMedia Stop Trying to Figure Out if You've "Made It" Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook Ira Glass, NPR The Gap, Ira Glass Our next guest is Fraser Davidson, co-founder of Cub Studio and founder of Field Theory Sports Branding. Be sure to follow Adam on Twitter (@TAdamMartin) orDribbble, as well as the show (@MakersofSport).

"If you are fundamentally strong in [typography, composition, grids, layout, etc.] it will translate back the digital space." Ted Irvine, Senior Design Director at Vox Media – the digital media company that includes SB Nation, The Verge, Polygon, Curbed, Eater and more – joins the show this week to tell the story of SB Nation and its eventual growth into Vox Media. SB Nation is a sports site that has grown from fan-run blogs to a technology company that includes many other verticals producing fantastic content in the sports, food, technology, gaming and other industries. In this episode we discuss Ted's path to SB Nation, the challenges of rebranding 300+ websites, and the advertising model of Vox Media which includes a talented in-house production/advertising agency. We also discuss the difference between design directors and creative directors, as well as what Ted is looking for when hiring designers for Vox Media. Lastly, Ted sheds some light on how designers can fight for a seat at the table instead

The first episode of Halftime launches as host Adam Martin talks about what Halftime is and why Makers of Sport Podcast is integrating this series into the show along with the interviews. He reveals the goals for the series and a few future topics including impostor syndrome, freelance pricing, the “like” drug and more. Mentions include: Tyson Beck, Episode 16 Host Communications Jim Host, Sports Business Entrepreneur Arnie, The Documentary IMG College Octagon Sports Eastern Kentucky Colonels Roy Kidd, Former Football Coach of EKU Sports Business Journal 3d Lacrosse USA Today Great State Showdown JMI Sports Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink The latest interview show was supposed to be Aaron Masik, however, he recently moved from the San Antonio Spurs to the San Diego Padres so his interview will be postponed until later in the spring. Therefore the next guest on Episode 20 will be Ted Irvine, Design Director of Vox Media. Be sure to follow Adam on twitter (

"A well activated brand is more successful than a great brand that is not activated very well...the execution is such an important part of it. It makes or breaks a great program" This week, New Jersey sports branding agency Fanbrandz joins the show. Principal and creative director Bill Frederick, as well as senior designer and new media director Michael Raisch come aboard to talk about creating brands for the MLB and the NHL. Fanbrandz began as the sports and entertainment design agency, Frederick & Froberg. On the 25th anniversary of the business, Bill Frederick and Thomas Froberg split the company into sister companies to serve specific niches, with Fanbrandz serving the sports industry and Styleworks serving the entertainment niche. On this episode, we discuss what makes a good branding style guide and specifically touch on what Fanbrandz includes in their style guides – including brand activation and asset management in this digital era versus the olden days of print. Fanbrandz has worked with the

"The number one thing that we have to do in life, is be humble and learn that we have so much we can improve on...if you take off a little small thing here and there that you probably can improve, that's where you make the big gains. It's not one thing, it's always a number of little things. You scrape away, you scrape away, you scrape away – next you thing you know, you made a big dent." Matt Walker of Walk Design joins the show this week to talk about designing for the multi-million dollar fantasy sports industry. You may know him for his work on the Fantasy Sports line at ESPN, including the ESPN Tournament Challenge app, as well as the ESPN Fantasy Football iPad app. Matt's been working in interactive design since its infancy and up until mid-2014 was lead creative for ESPN's Fantasy Sports division. In this interview, we jump right in discussing digital design and the things that accompany it – including designing in code vs. designing in Photoshop, idea execution, wireframing, staying up-to-date with

"Location is not a barrier...it doesn't matter where you live, whether you are in a more rural destination or New York, if your work's good, you're going to get noticed." Our first international guest joins the show this week as Aussie, Tyson Beck comes aboard the podcast. Tyson is the founder of Posterizes, an international digital design collective that creates digital art for the NBA. Posterizes has launched the design careers of many independent designers, including Tyson himself, who just wrapped up a project with Topps trading card company. We discuss how Tyson got started in design and the importance of social media (expecially Instagram) when it comes to getting discovered and landing your dream clients. Controversially, we touch on the difference between inspiration and stealing the work of others – why one can be a good thing and the other a disaster; as well as debating the merits of going to school for design versus just starting working. Tyson's work can be found at Posterizes, Instagram and

"Do you what you love, it will lead to great things, but it better be good." Independent Designer & Illustrator Matt Stevens joins the show this week to discuss personal projects and how they can help us get better at our craft and possibly even lead to work from our dream clients. Since joining the freelance world, Matt has worked with brands such as Facebook, Pinterest, NBA, WWE, Dunkin Donuts, Nike and more. We discuss his transition from employment as an unknown Charlotte, North Carolina agency creative director to making the jump into independence and becoming "Internet famous". Matt also touches on the troubles of learning how to price for big brand work and how making side projects for fun lead to some of his dream clients such as Nike. We do a deep dive on his successfully funded Kickstarter project, the MAX100 Project, a book with 100 profile illustrations of the Nike Airmax 1 in different visual styles. A golden nugget is shared about a fantastic email that the renown Nike sneaker designer

This week, John Trotter joins the podcast. John is the founder and creative director of Forty Forty Agency, a San Francisco brand consultancy and creative agency that has worked with both consumer and team sports brands such as the Washington Nationals, DC United, NFL Players Association, Keen Footwear and more. Prior to founding Forty Forty Agency, John was a senior designer at Nike and design director at Landor. The interview takes a deep dive into the strategic side of sports branding discussing sponsorship and the cross-pollination of consumer brands with sports brands, as well defining the vision and identifying core values of a brand. The two also talk about a few great examples of branding and design work aiding in the recruiting side of college athletics. Discussion includes the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Nike's ambush marketing campaign behind it. With Forty Forty Agency being headquartered in downtown San Francisco, of course conversation cannot avoid the s

"If I can contribute to the design world, something that might exist long after I'm gone, that's a win for me...Sports Fonts was a part of that". This week I'm speaking with typeface and logo designer, Kristopher Bazen. Kris is currently a senior apparel designer at J. America. He also recently founded Sports Font Foundry, an online store and typeface foundry targeting the sports industry. From getting kicked out of high school to battling cancer, Kris has a very inspiring story of perseverance and overcoming obstacles in life to get where you want to be professionally and approaching your career from a different mindset. Before founding Sports Font Foundry, Kris spent time at Reebok, Adidas - Sports Licensed Division and Old Hat Creative honing his branding and illustration skills. In this interview, Kris shares advice for getting starting from scratch in the sports industry, diversifying your skillset, learning to sell good design to clients, the importance of sketching and more. Kris also touches on h

“This was an opportunity for us as designers to have no limits on what we wanted to do…we are the editors and designers. There was nobody’s opinion we were seeking other than our own…to do whatever we wanted to do on every single page. And that’s a privilege really..." Eight by Eight Magazine founders Robert Priest and Grace Lee join the show this week, as well as marketing director, Cooper Lemon. Both Grace and Robert come from very successful and award-winning backgrounds in editorial design having worked on publications for O Magazine, Esquire, Newsweek, Condé Nast Portfolio, GQ, Esquire and more. Currently they run their own NYC design studio, Priest+Grace. On this episode we discuss the founding of Eight by Eight Magazine, the departure from Howler Magazine (another soccer magazine they helped found), and starting a print publication in a time when many magazines are folding due to the digital world. We also touch on soccer’s growth in the U.S., cultural implications behind the growth of proper footba

"My goal isn't to please the (blogs and internet) audience. Our goal isn't to make everyone happy. It's really to tell the story that the school wants to tell. It's about those athletes. It's about that school, at that time." This week, I'm joined by Adam Clement. Adam is the Team Sports Creative Director at Under Armour where he leads a team of designers creating highly conceptual, functional uniforms for many different professional and college athletic teams. We discuss Adam's path to Under Armour, one in which he initially didn't get a job he applied for. His persistence and passion for sport eventually landed him a gig as a Senior Men's Graphic Designer which also happened to be the seventh designer in the entire company (now there are more than 150). Throughout Adam's 12+ years at the company, he has helped to create and grow the Team Sports department from outfitting three teams to over 500 per season and has lead some of the brand's most iconic and sometimes infamous designs. Designers often make m