The CMD-Z Show

On this week's episode of The CMD-Z Show, we sat down with CJ Casciotta to discuss his new book, "The Forgotten Art of Being Ordinary: A Human Manifesto in the Age of the Meteverse." We also dig deeper into AI and what it means to slow down during the creative process.

Aaaaand welcome back to The CMD-Z Show! On this week's epsiode Shelby and I sit down with Founder and Chief Creative Officer Kevin Rapp to talk about some of his "undo's" in his creative career. With topics ranging from overcoming insecurities, building self confidence, delegation, and understanding your worth, this is an episode you can't mess!

Another week, another new episode of The CMD-Z Show. And we're thrilled to share our first guest of this new season. Let's welcome Mack Garrison to the studio!
Mack is the co-founder and director of content at dash. On this epsiode, we chat about learning from mistakes, having confidence to lead as a small studio, williness to ask questions, and handling projects early in a creative career.

Get ready for SEASON FOUR of The CMD-Z Show! We have a new format and we're kicking it off by asking our co-host, Matt Vojacek, what he wishes he could do "undo" about his creative career.

On this episode, Matt and Shelby discuss the value of staying focused on one thing at a time and having "eras" during your career.

Pitching can be hard and timeconsuming for both sides when starting a project. With a lot of unspoken and unwritten rules, we dive deeper into the world of pitching and how we can make the industry better by finding a new alternative. 

Get ready for a special episode of The CMD-Z Show! We invited members of the Make Create Club to ask questions LIVE in the “studio.” ;) We cover everything from developing your skillset to understanding software to getting started in the creative industry. 

And don't forget to join the Make Create Club at makecreateclub.com.

“Art for art’s sake…” or so the old French slogan goes. A topic that’s been debated for centuries, Shelby and I ask the question, “Does art require meaning?” Philosphical and relatable, we dive deeper into what really makes art art and how we can define it in order to find its truth. 

Finding just the right story to encapsulate a client's brand and mission can be a challenge. From understanding your central themes to knowing the story's purpose to discovering how your voice works within the project, there are a lot of working parts to consider. On this week's episode, Matt and Shelby discuss how you can find those stories and, once found, how to tell them well. 

Some seasons are slower that others… And sometimes seasons are impacted by recession and plague. Whatever is happening to make business slow down, you have to be prepared. And beyond just being prepared… How can you use it as an opportunity to grow? 

When you’re just starting out and you finally hire your first employee, it can be daunting. But what does that look like for the person you’re actually hiring? This week, we invited Made By Things’ first hire, Colin van’t Veld, onto the podcast to give his perspective. 

Getting creatives together in one space where they can learn and grow together has always been a challenge, especially once you’re working outside the realm of academia. But at Made By Things, we’ve been creating a place to do just that. In the latest episode of The CMD-Z Show, we chat about creative communities and our new instructional space, the Make Create Club. 

The term “self-promotion” can really make a creative cringe. It’s uncomfortable to just put yourself out there, whether that be on social media, through phone calls and emails, or simply creating demo reels. No one wants to come off as sales-pitchy. So how can a creative effectively promote their work while remaining true to their brand? 

Finding and developing a personal art style is a process every artist goes through. While that process may look a little different for everyone, artists all face the same anxieties, pressure, and cyclical exercise of defining and re-defining what their style looks like. We sat down with Made By Things art director Melissa Lee Johnson to discuss what this process looks like on the latest episode of The CMD-Z Show.

Which came first? The money or the artist? We’ve worked on projects with a wide range of budgets, but it can still be challenging to know when it’s time to get scrappy and when we should really start to push ourselves and our capabilities on a project. In this week’s episode of The CMD-Z Show, Matt and Shelby discuss just how much of an impact finances have on creative projects and creative businesses as a whole. 

You've been on the same track for a long time and it's time for a change. But how? How can you alter the path you’ve been on this whole time? That’s what we asked Nils Root on this week’s episode of The CMD-Z Show.

Matt and Shelby chat with Dylan Menges about his first year back working full-time (as opposed to freelancing).