The Genius Of Design

Oxford, UNICEF, to PUMA — Design Guru Paul Boag & Why You Shouldn't Worry About AI

Paul Boag has been on the internet since 1994. He's advised Oxford University, UNICEF, PUMA, and the European Commission. And after thirty years at the front edge of digital, his take on AI is not what you'd expect: stop worrying. In this conversation, we get into why good design fails in the real world — and why it has nothing to do with the quality of the design itself. Paul breaks down the difference between art and design, why perfection is a trap, and what taste actually is beneath all the mystery people wrap around it. We talk about how AI can follow every rule of design perfectly and still never be great — and why that gap is where human designers live. We also get into how Paul's process has completely changed. From wireframes and Figma to orchestrating ideas through Claude and iterating at a speed that wasn't possible three years ago. What it means to be a designer when the tools do the pixel-pushing. Why process can become the enemy of good work. And what thirty years of watching revolutions come and go has actually taught him about how to survive the next one.

Double Your Price… 10x Your Creativity: Christian Brim, The Paradox of Money

What if the thing capping your creativity isn't your talent — it's your price tag? In this episode, CPA and Profit First for Creatives author Christian Brim makes the counterintuitive case that charging more doesn't compromise your art — it frees it. Drawing on 29 years inside the financial engine rooms of small businesses, Christian unpacks why so many creatives confuse suffering with authenticity, effort with value, and humility with good pricing. We get into the Mercedes-Benz move that turned a struggling brand into a luxury icon overnight, why the customer (not your hours) decides what your work is worth, and the quiet beliefs that keep talented people broke. Christian shares the Walt-and-Roy Disney dynamic behind every great creative business, why profit is non-negotiable rather than optional, and how to tell whether a belief is actually serving you — or just running in the background like a bad subroutine. We also look ahead: as AI drives the cost of prediction toward zero, what becomes priceless is human judgment, context, and taste. The creatives who thrive won't be the ones who work hardest — they'll be the ones who solve the right problems and have the nerve to charge for it. If you've ever felt guilty about wanting to make money from your craft, this one's for you.

Life Is Not Safe by Design: Ken Buslay on Analog Film, Adventure, and Trusting the Calling

Ken Buslay is a German photographer whose work blends quiet intimacy with documentary depth, shooting primarily on analog film to explore human connection and memory. In this episode, Ken takes us from his first 3-megapixel camera to years of shooting only black and white on a single 50mm lens, to medium format Hasselblad, and what each stage taught him about himself and the people he photographs. We get into why limiting your tools teaches you more than upgrading them, how slowing down literally changes the energy between photographer and subject, what rainbow gatherings and alternative sailing communities taught him about life, and why AI imagery will never carry the weight of a photograph made by someone who was actually there. Ken also opens up about the fear of losing his creative drive, the moments of doubt that even the greatest artists share, and why the act of making the work matters more than anyone ever seeing it.

The Studio Nike, Netflix and Calvin Klein Call First: Haris Fazlani, The one skill AI can’t replace

Haris Fazlani is the co-founder of WØRKS, the New York creative studio behind campaigns for Nike, Netflix, Fear of God, Converse, Calvin Klein, and more. In this episode, Haris takes us from growing up as a child of immigrants drawing alone in his room, to interning for Ryan Leslie and living on a tour bus, to building a studio that the biggest brands in the world trust to shape their visual identity. We get into what good design actually does to the human body, why WØRKS leads every project with emotion before ever choosing a medium, the real reason people have a visceral rejection of AI imagery, and why Haris believes originality doesn't exist — and why that's freeing.

The Ones Who Finish Are Not More Talented. They Just Understood the Process.

You said you'd start, and yet there you are, staring at a blank page with nothing to show for it. That pain is real, and it has a way of compounding. One day becomes a week, a week becomes a month, and before you know it, the book, the app, the project you swore you'd build never happens. But here's what nobody tells you: that feeling isn't a sign that you're failing. It's actually the process working exactly as it should. The secret is understanding the difference between push and pull. In the beginning, you have to fight for it — one page, one step, one small act of showing up even when it hurts. But if you keep pushing long enough, something shifts. The work stops feeling like a battle and starts whispering to you, pulling you back into its orbit. You stop forcing it and start falling into it. The only thing standing between you and that feeling is the willingness to stay in the pain a little longer.