What is Toy Design? - Creative Director Reis O'Brien

Take a listen and get into the world of the client in our talk with Fred Knapp of Maximus Real Estate Partners as we talk about the development of the murals at Parkmerced, painted by the students of Academy of Art. Fred Knapp drives the strategy and execution for Maximus’ operations. He joined the company in 2019, and brings considerable restructuring, asset-management, and organizational improvement capabilities honed over a 30-year long career in real estate. Fred's strong customer service orientation is instrumental in the creation of an Active Service Culture across our portfolio. Prior to Maximus, Fred was the Executive Director of Related Hudson Yards. In this position, Fred was the operational leader responsible for managing 1,000 employees serving the new $20 billion New York City neighborhood. His responsibilities in this role included P&L financial management, organizational construct, security, general management, operations, and technology infrastructure. Fred also served as Interim President of Related Management Company, where he implemented restructuring and organizational improvements for the 2,000-person company overseeing 52,000 residential units and 10 MM SF of commercial space.

Go behind the scenes of the 10-year journey to create the graphic novel - White Faced Lies - as it went from the spark of an idea to the Sundance Writers Lab to now available on Kindle and Amazon. Book Synopsis - In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as "face jobs", are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where "face" is paramount. When veteran "face-jobber" Stanley hires a new assistant who thinks Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley attempts to pull off the con of a lifetime by pretending to be his assistant's dad. A darkly humorous critique of the post-truth world that explores questions of race, systemic fraud, and personal greed, "White Faced Lies" is ultimately about how easily lies become truth. Check out the book here - mybook.to/WhiteFacedLies

Go behind the scenes of the 10-year journey to create the graphic novel - White Faced Lies - as it went from the spark of an idea to the Sundance Writers Lab to now available on Kindle and Amazon. Book Synopsis - In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as "face jobs", are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where "face" is paramount. When veteran "face-jobber" Stanley hires a new assistant who thinks Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley attempts to pull off the con of a lifetime by pretending to be his assistant's dad. A darkly humorous critique of the post-truth world that explores questions of race, systemic fraud, and personal greed, "White Faced Lies" is ultimately about how easily lies become truth. Check out the book here - https://www.amazon.com/White-Faced-Lies-Eric-Flanagan-ebook/dp/B09N6W8HYQ

Violetta Gonzalez is based out of San Francisco, California, and fell in love with photography 6 years ago playing in the darkroom at the City College of San Francisco. She found that photography was the most efficient way to explore & share stories of all the diverse beauty she explores. With her BFA from the Academy of Art University, she uses photography as a tool to capture social-political issues that target the social norm all the while capturing its true beauty & essence of every subject matter. In expanding her portfolio & traveling to other cities that also experience similar social issues, she hopes to educate you through her lens while bringing you a new point of view. Her project, We All Need Safety, explores the world of cam models and sex workers from the inside and is fascinating look into modern sexuality in our technological age. You can view her work here - https://www.violetagphotography.com/

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN LEADER, INVENTOR, and EDUCATOR Perpetually inspired concept ideation, development, direction, education, and realization. Mark Garcia is helping to advance our world by sharing my experiences, perspective, and techniques of industrial design with aspiring creative problem solvers and future game-changers. Instructing junior and senior-level industrial design majors in a course that I have evolved to become more invention/entrepreneurial in its problem solving and design approach. Check out Mark's work here - https://www.rogue-id.com/ And of course check out more Creative Mind on our blog, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Got a question? Let us know!

Forest Stearns is the Principal Artist at DRAWEVERYWHERE where he produces uniques artworks and leads collaborations connecting artists and institutions. He has a passion for founding Artist in Residence programs that connect art, science, and technology. Currently, he is the Creative Innovation Consultant and Artist in Residence co-founder at Google Quantum AI  in Santa Barbara Ca. Collaboration with artists is a huge part of Stearns’ creative adventure. As an art director, producer, facilitator, and public speaker. Always leaning in to bring other artists into unique situations to share creative permission in the common conversation. Stearns is an academically trained prolific illustrator, an arts educator, creative facilitator, and community builder. Also an engaged father and supportive partner. Earning a very technical Masters of Fine Art in Illustration in 2010 and a more conceptual BFA for Painting in 2005. This Academic achievement is matched by an empirical practice of daily art-making. An avid illustrator for over 20 years. Forest Stearns has been creating illuminated drawings and hand-lettered scripts on every surface available from art gallery walls to spaceships, there is nothing the artist won’t draw upon. His artistic portfolio radically spans media and substrate from endless sketchbooks of organic characters, laser-etched drawings covering hundreds of satellites that orbit the Earth, art on Quantum Computers, and giant murals on surfaces ranging from buildings, radomes, and rocket ships.

Top-rated speaker, best-selling author, and consultant Dr. Cindy is on a mission to empower people and companies to get what they want … through sales! Yep, “sales,” that icky word that makes people cringe. How did she learn to embrace that dreaded activity? After years of consulting companies and helping them grow their business, she had an epiphany: every job really is a sales job.  And every person is a salesperson. Throughout her career as a college professor, a salesperson, and a consultant, Dr. Cindy realized that people can get more of what they want in work AND in life by using the skills of sales professionals. She is in fact a doctor – although not the medical kind! – with her master’s in Communication and doctorate in Organizational Communication with an Emphasis in Organizational Leadership and Ethics. Today she focuses on bringing companies and people together to grow their businesses and get what they want in life and in work. Because, believe it or not: you were born with sales skills, and Dr. Cindy wants to help you embrace your inner salesperson to get what you want and deserve. And it’s not tough, she uses a simple five-step formula that’s easy to remember, easy to stick to, and easy to achieve. But it’s so revolutionary that once she redefines the concept of sales, the world will need a new word for it! Want to find out her secrets? Easy–she’s written a book about them! It’s called Every Job is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work, released in September 2019 by McGraw Hill Professional. You can find out more about Dr. Cindy here - https://drcindy.com And of course check out more Creative Mind on our blog, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Got a question? Let us know!

“A good picture book should be able to be read by anybody,” says Taylor Norman, editor at Chronicle Books in San Francisco and our guest on the podcast this week. As an editor it is Taylor’s job to find the right manuscript and shepherd it through the process from acquisition to print. No small feat as creating picture books is a multimillion-dollar industry creating memories that last a lifetime. Getting you book in front of a publisher like Taylor requires you as the author/illustrator to become immersed in the field. This is not a quick output, or one-off idea to try. The work you create can fill libraries and enter the world of “literature”. Talking to parents is the first step if you think you have a good idea. “I think as a parent, you want the right book for the right moment at all of your moments. And there's tons of melodrama in one day in a kid's life. And ideally, the picture books that get published address those types of moments in a kid's life,” Taylor says. As far as the books she is looking, “I'm interested in books that have a purpose because they're authentic and they tell a true story that a kid will respond to.”

Do you ever wonder who gets to be in charge of making the Pops and toys you love? Well, on this episode we tear open the vinyl to feast on the creative goo that is Funko Creative Director, Reis O'Brien. Fresh off his recent creation of the Grogu Ballon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Reis walks us through his career from slaving away in the world of illustration to creating toys and vinyl pops that we all know and love. Along the way, Reis gives us some of the best advice on how to look at yourself as an artist, find the spark that you need to move forward with an idea, and be comfortable in your own designs. A great episode for everyone looking to find a bit of mentorship along the way. And of course check out more Creative Mind on our blog, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Got a question? Let us know!

Fluxco Design was founded in 2012 by Zachary Calev. As a professional sculptor with an Industrial Design degree in Transportation Design, Zach has carried forth his skills in surfacing and volume experimentation in the automotive world to furniture. Just as important is the ability to fluidly evolve an idea from a two-dimensional sketch to the third dimension of a usable product, is an attention to detail so that no screw, joinery, or tie go unnoticed. You can find more of Zach's work here - https://www.fluxcodesign.com And of course check out more Creative Mind on our blog, Instagram, and YouTube pages. Got a question? Let us know!