Overshare: Honest Conversations with Creatives

It’s funny how there are some things you don’t know about your friends until you interview them for a podcast. Overshare host Justin Gignac has known Jonathan Jackson since 2006 after they both won the ADC Young Guns, but Justin learned a lot about his friend during this conversation that he never knew. Hopefully you listeners will learn a lot from this interview as well, and then go get to know Jonathan’s work.

Jonathan Jackson is the co-founder and partner at Bushwick design studio WeShouldDoItAll, which he started with his wife Sarah Nelson Jackson. The name is born out of a simple intention, that designers should not be confined to a singular expertise. In the words of Robert A. Heinlein, “specialization is for insects.”

WSDIA has dabbled in everything, including branding, spatial, environmental, interactive, and print projects. They’ve collaborated with Nike, The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Spotify, Samsung, and ESPN. "I think it's human nature that people want to put a title on you or put you in a box in a certain way. We are constantly trying to fight that. Constantly trying to hold a mirror to ourselves and see how the world sees us and try to combat that."

In this episode, you will learn the power of not having a self-limiting mindset, and how important it is to have diverse voices in the room when creating design and culture.

Follow @OvershareTalks on Instagram.

SHOW NOTES:
Jonathan Jackson Instagram
WeShouldDoItAll ( website / Instagram )
Usher's "U Don’t Have to Call" music video
Sol Lewitt “Structures”
Michael Sorkin ( Wiki / Sorkin Studio )
Archea
Frank Lloyd Wright
Le Corbusier
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Adrien Menard WSDIA's first hire
Former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder
Kendrick’s Control verse
Men of Change, The Smithsonian traveling exhibition
The National Museum of African American History & Culture
Scope of Work ( website / Instagram )
Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Studio Lin
PLAYLAB, INC.
OK-RM London
OMA
Herzog & De Meuron
Peterson Rich Office
So-iL

Sophia Chang hails from the borough of Queens, New York and in less than a decade managed to champion a name for herself in the art, design, and streetwear community worldwide. With her BFA from Parsons School of Design coupled with a natural acumen for business, she has collaborated with A-list names across multiple fields such as Samsung, Nike, Refinery29, Adidas, Apple, Footlocker, HBO, and the NBA.

During this conversation with host Justin Gignac, Sophia describes herself as a skill hoarder. As she explains, “Teach a man how to fish and they’ll eat for the rest of their lives.” It's an approach that has prepared Sophia for evolving in an ever-shifting creative industry, and she is already considering how to draw from that well in the current climate. There’s something really refreshing about how forthright Sophia is in her creative mindset. Not only does that help her frame her own practice; that decisiveness translates easily for potential business partners and clients.

In this episode, you will learn to assess and repurpose your skills in new ways for people who may need them. And you’ll learn ways to be proactive when work starts getting slow.

Follow @OvershareTalks on Instagram.

SHOW NOTES:

Sophia Chang (Instagram / website)
Sophia’s Skillshare classes
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (There's free versions you can find online)
The 5 Love Languages
Gallup StrengthsFinder
UNDO-Ordinary
UNDO Lab
Common Ace
Jim Kwik (website / podcast)

London-based illustrator, art director, director and designer Kate Moross is the latest in the Overshare hot seat. Working Not Working co-founder Justin Gignac interviewed Kate on a rainy, London night in front of a live audience. Opening up about how she doesn't view herself as a creative person, the struggles of owning and running a non-capitalistic design studio, how to hire the right people ("It's better to have a hole in your team than an asshole") and how she is watching absolutely everything on TV.

Kate is also the author of Make Your Own Luck: A DIY Attitude to Graphic Design and Illustration.

In the season 3 finale of Overshare, host Justin Gignac sits down with Brooklyn-based photographer Jeremy Cohen, who has received A LOT of attention recently. Like most of us, Jeremy has had a lot of time on his hands these past couple of months. He’s used this time to think, to look out his window, to cook naked, and to cook up a quarantine record for the most romantic gesture.

From his balcony, Jeremy could see his neighbors’ roofs. He started photographing and filming all of the activity: yoga, working out, kite flying, book reading, and dancing. But one neighbor stood out. He waved to her from his balcony. She waved back. He then taped his phone number to his drone and flew it across the street to her. That meet-cute has snowballed into "The Quarantine Cutie" romance, which has since taken over the internet. Millions of people have watched videos of him sending the drone, asking her out, and showing up to their date in a human-sized bubble to practice proper social distancing.

Jeremy has offered not only a great distraction for all of us, but a reminder of our shared humanity. He has a great perspective on these times, as well as the personal and professional effects that come with suddenly having half a million Instagram followers.

In this conversation, Jeremy discusses the whirlwind nature of these past couple months, which included landing his first magazine cover for New York Magazine. And well-timed with Mother’s Day, Jeremy also discusses the impact that his mother, a Stage IV cancer survivor, has had on his work as well as his positive outlook on life. This episode will help you keep your head up in these times, which makes it a great finale to this season.

Follow Overshare (@oversharetalks) and Working Not Working (@wnotw) on Instagram.

SHOW NOTES:
Jeremy Cohen ( Working Not Working / Instagram / website )
Jeremy's first drone flirtation to Tori across the street
Bubble Boy date with Tori
Jeremy's cover of New York Magazine
Roof Culture During Quarantine (Part 1 & Part 2)
Enema of the State by Blink 182
Deja and Entendu by Brand New
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver

Dr. Vivienne Ming is a theoretical neuroscientist, entrepreneur, author, and self-described mad scientist. She's been named as one of the BBC 100 Women in 2017, and as one of the Financial Times' "LGBT leaders and allies today". Dr. Ming co-founded Socos, her fifth company, an independent institute exploring the future of human potential. In her free time, she has invented AI systems to help treat her diabetic son, predict manic episodes in bipolar sufferers weeks in advance, and reunited orphan refugees with extended family members. Dr. Ming also speaks frequently on issues of LGBT inclusion and gender in technology.

In this conversation with host Justin Gignac., Dr. Ming talks about choosing a college major based on a coin toss, how her ultimate goal is to give the key note at Comic-Con, and why Dr. Ming sees creatives and the creative economy as an integral part of the future of work. Coming from someone who creates AI and Robotics, that’s pretty reassuring.

In this episode, you will learn that the scientifically proven secret to a more successful and rich life is living with a sense of purpose, and in order to future-proof your career, one of the biggest skills you need is resiliency and a growth mindset. You'll also be armed with a whole lot of knowledge that you can drop in your next Zoom call with friends, family, or coworkers.

Follow Overshare (@oversharetalks) and Working Not Working (@wnotw) on Instagram.

SHOW NOTES:
Socos Labs
Dr. Ming's 99U Talk "Share Your Vision With the World"
NOVA on PBS
Dr. Ming's home town of Monterey, CA captured in The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
Roy Batty's final monologue in Blade Runner
Westworld on HBO
Some of Dr. Ming's favorite cartoons: Bojack Horseman, Venture Brothers, and Rick and Morty
Dr. Ming's new entrance music: You Haven’t Done Nothin' by Stevie Wonder
"I Built a Superpower to Treat My Son's Diabetes" article by Dr. Ming
"There is a Tax on Being Different" article by Dr. Ming
James J. Heckman - University of Chicago
Article on the "Lost Einsteins" research by Raj Chetty
Meta learning
Socos.org - Socos Academy