Alaysia Brown: So let's go ahead and kick things off. It's so good to see everyone here. Thank you. I'm going to say that a thousand times tonight, because obviously you could be spending your time doing anything, but you are hearing conversation with us. And we really, really appreciate it. I'm Alaysia Brown community lead at diversify by design, and I will be your host for this evening's conversation.

Um, so I know that some of you are here because you know, a lot of, and I'll And that's amazing and know nothing about D by D and that is okay. We will clue you in. Um, so for those of you with no background information, we'd love to tell you more about D by D and why we even decided to develop this AMA series.

And welcome to everyone that's coming in. I hear the little doorbell ringing. So welcome. Welcome. Um, so yeah, just to tell you more about D D diversified by design is a coalition of organizations and individuals that join forces to create. Forces way back in 2021 to create a more racially diverse and inclusive design industry.

One of our critical goals is to create opportunities for historically excluded young people to learn more about design and to connect with successful designers who look like them. And with that, we are so thrilled to welcome you again to our ask me anything event series. D by D's AMA series was developed to provide a platform for designers who champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to answer questions about specific topics, their life, and the things that they've dedicated their careers to creating.

So with that, we are so, so delighted to be joined by Alfredo Weeks. And Lara, also Donnie Weeks, co founders at Fringe 22 Studio. Lara and Alfredo are also a part of the D by D agency working group. And Alfredo serves as a member of the D by D advisory council. So thank you both for joining. Like I said, we're going to say that a thousand times because we are just so appreciative.

Um, so let's just get right because people came here to ask you all anything and we want to give them the time and the space to do that. So lotta and Alfredo to kick things off. We would love to know more about how we even got here. Y'all just started talking about Ohio a little bit, you know, when we had this pandemic.

Prep conversation. I was like, I am so intrigued by this story. Y'all clued me in on a lot. Um, and I left our conversation a couple of weeks ago, super inspired. So clue the rest of everyone else that's here. Um, how do we get here? I know that's like a little bit of a loaded question, but really how did we get here?

When did you all meet where and what was it that drew you both to one another and also to design?

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: Nope, you're going to take that one.

Alaysia Brown: Alfredo's like, you got it. Oh, she always throws it right back at me, right?

Alfredo Weeks: Um, how do we get here? Um, you know, it's, uh, it's interesting. I'll take it back to, um, to what? Maybe like 2008. Yeah, I'll take it back to 2008 and it was just, um, you know, I'm kind of young, early twenties left college already.

Um, you know, I was, I was living far out in Virginia at the time, but I was going back and forth to D. C. And, um, You know, I had this, this job at this, uh, this clothing store that was called up against the wall. Um, and, and it's, um, you know, it's all shut down and everything right now, but, um, you know, I overheard just somebody saying, Hey, you know what, I know this one college, they'll let anybody in anybody who will draw a stick figure.

And I said, That's for me. So I, so the very same day I said, you know what, I think I'm going to, I think I'm going to try this out already tried, uh, silk screen printing and bunch of stuff, but I never really considered myself an artist or a designer or strategist or anything, and you know, for a long time, I was just, um, you know, I, I, I, take some of my weekends off and, and go to FedEx Kinko's.

I didn't have a printer and I'd just take a printer and just go over there with different pictures and different drawings and like, you know, match them together and then print it, print the whole design out and then take it to a print store and then get a bunch of t shirts made. But one thing led to another, started going to art school and, you know, me and Laura, we wind up meeting.

Uh, because of a pair of slippers that I was wearing all of a sudden and, uh, you know, I think, uh, I think maybe a lot of can take it from here and, you know, I'm sure she's going to try to throw it right back at me

Alaysia Brown: lot of we've got to hear more about these slippers.

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I know it's like, it's so interesting that.

We don't usually start with this conversation when we're pitching for a client. Right. So we're used to the conversations of we are French 22, and this is how we started. And this is where we're going, but this is like a whole lot bigger than that. I mean, you know, Alfredo grew up in Saudi Arabia for 10 years.

I'm from Amman, Jordan. So we speak the same language, obviously didn't know that. And we understand the culture. We understand, you know, just the different. Just hits that come with Arab culture. And Alfredo walked into this pool room where everybody was playing pool. He's wearing jeans and a white t shirt and like these very, just cultured slippers that only people from Bedouin culture, like usually wear, like you don't even see them worn in Arab countries anymore, unless you are like.

Really into the culture. And, um, yeah, I mean, that's what drew me in. It was the pair of slippers and I was like, this is it. I need to get to know this person. Um, got to know him. We, you know, We're together for less than a year when we started the business, um, the business kind of flourished from one of his, uh, marketing classes, advertising classes, where he wrote a business and marketing plan that he wanted to create.

And, um, yeah, I mean, like we were just hooked. We were like, this is everything that we want to do. I might. My entrepreneurship is in my genes. It's in Alfredo's genes. So this is something that I mean, my parents are here right now. So they know how much it matters to be an entrepreneur, to run your own business, to, you know, control your money, where you spend it, how you spend it, where it comes from.

So it matters to be able to just have that much control over your life. And we also have three children together. So, you know, there's nothing like owning your life by and running your own business at the same time. And I feel like You know, those slippers are, we, we have like, you have multiple pairs right now.

So these are, we always think about that moment when we, when we met and had that conversation and really started to get to know each other and funny enough, that that same organic flowing conversation is what we use today in our business. We just like to get to know people and know where they're from and how they got here and learn their language and potentially be able to communicate to them.

In ways that feels human. Um, and you know, we just thrive on that as individuals, but also as a business.

Alaysia Brown: Yeah, I love that. And I'm glad that we started that conversation off with how did you all, um, first become connected? Because I think it also kind of goes back to the importance of design and cultural representation in design.

You know what I mean? I don't think it's a coincidence that you saw something that caught your eye that someone designed that was culturally relevant, and it led to so much. Fringe 22, you know what I mean? Um, and so similar to you, I think it's important that we like, start with those, like from ground zero stories, because they kind of always come back full circle, um, and beyond how did you all meet one another?

What led you both to design Alfredo? I loved your point about you overhearing someone's conversation saying anyone can get into this school. We won't talk about my GPA and my. Because I feel you on that one, but I say that to say, I think it's so important that maybe not delivered in the exact same way, but that students hear that message of you can get into this college.

You can get into this program. It is accessible. Um, so I love that you overheard that and that's what led you to the program. Um, but I just love to hear a little bit more about what led each of you into just the design field in general.

Alfredo Weeks: I, I think, um, You know, just to just to, you know, rewind a little bit and, you know, I might begin to tell us tell the story that, you know, most people say, hey, don't say that out loud.

Right. But, you know, a lot of a lot of knows me and anybody who knows me, it's hard to put on that filter. I think, you know, taking off that filter at the same time, I think we had to really double down on that as far as our own growth as a business and individuals and everything and accept those stories.

Um, but, you know, uh, uh, A lot of mentions, you know, I was in Saudi Arabia, uh, lived there for a bunch of years. You know, my mother, she was a science teacher over there at an international school and every year I'm going back and forth, back and forth. So, you know, I'm, uh, it's like these polar, polar opposites in my life.

Um, I'm in DC one, one minute running around doing everything, just, just in it. And then next thing you know, I'm in Saudi Arabia. And so it was always, uh, I was always trying to make sure that I, I stayed connected with myself and, and, and my, my background, my cultural background, because my mother's African American, but also my father's Panamanian.

And so growing up, You know, there were already so many different cultures around me, and so I had to really figure out what's that balance by the time I was back into the United, back in the United States and, and, and, and, and really, you know, I didn't really know exactly what I wanted. Right? I, I, I just knew what I didn't want, right?

And I already got kicked out of a bunch of schools already. I was a high school dropout. I, you know, I got in a bunch of mess and all this stuff, but I kept building my direction based off of what I didn't want. And with that in clear sight and saying, Oh, I don't want to go that way. I don't want to go that way.

And so what ultimately led me to, um, to, uh, uh, art and creativity, it was really something that started from me and my brother when we were kids, right? We were kids and we used to get a new pair of shoes. And then after we, after we got a new pair of shoes, we used to always draw them. And we'd draw the shoes, and we'd color them in, and we'd, uh, um, we'd color them, we'd color them in, and I always used to look at my brother's drawings, they were so much better than mine.

So I always had that instinct, come on, get better, get better, come on, you can do it. And I never considered myself an artist. Right. I never considered. I just looked at it at just something that I enjoy to do until one day fast forward all the way down into when I got accepted in our school. I'm at an internship and I'm an, um, I'm an apprentice for this artist named Hong from the Peace Mule Foundation, and I'm working in the gallery, and one night with clothes on, you know, I'm, I'm leaving out the gallery.

She looks back and she's like, thanks a lot. And then she looks at me and she's like, artist. You know what? You're right. Yeah. You know, like, okay, but I got into the, uh, advertising and advertising field after my major because I saw how broad it was. I saw how so wide open it was. I could get into photography if I wanted to.

I could get into, um, you know, graphic design if I wanted to, and so many other things, even strategy. But, you know, I'll get into the strategy part in a bit, but I'll pass this over to a lot of,

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: the question was to, how did we end up in the design world? Right. That's like, that's the me, you know, same situation for me, ironically that I did not know what I wanted, but I knew that I am an artist.

I think at a certain point in high school, like I claimed that title, um, but I didn't know exactly how Good or how bad I am in each of the things that I was interested in. I really liked fashion design. I drew clothes all through high school, but that was not something that I wanted to get into. Um, I like jewelry.

I dabbled in it in college, but that's not really my passion. Um, But, you know, I think that the main thing that drew me was that they kept saying that graphic designers make the most amount of money and you don't want to be a starving artist. I really, you know, dislike that, that phrase or that statement at this point.

I feel like we're trying to navigate. You know, away from that on how do we phrase what a starving artist is and what does that mean and how that doesn't even just make sense in today's world. But that was the term that kept coming up whenever we spoke about anything that is not designed anything, fine artists, um, you know, illustrator.

Um, you know, a lot of the people that I knew that went to art school didn't end up working in the field that they studied. So, um, You know, my parents were the ones that said, go do whatever you feel passionate about and we'll support you no matter what. And they let me, after two years living in Columbus, Ohio, they were like, yeah, go to DC and study in DC and go and, you know, start a business and we'll come and support, and they're here right now.

So they know how much, you know, they, they're. Input into who I am today. Is it, they made me who I am. I mean, in so many ways. And I feel like their support for me to just explore and experiment is something, um, that is just, you can't put a price on it. So we try to do the same thing with our children is that you go and you explore and experiment and see what you like and what you don't like, and we just throw books at them.

And if you don't like this, maybe you like this. So I feel like. That, um, just their support has really guided me through all of this. Um, Even though they might have not fully understood what I was doing, you know, because you can't really, a lot of people don't know what designers do if they're not in the field.

So, you know, it's, it's, um, and what we do now is even so niche compared to other graphic designers. So, yeah.

Alaysia Brown: Yeah, I love that. The two things that are sticking with me as y'all are talking is. Know what you don't want and then to claim it. I feel like it's so important to know what you don't want. Alfredo.

I love that you said that because people are like, I don't know my passion. It's okay to have a long list of what you're not passionate about, because that's going to guide you in some sort of a direction and I don't know. I think people are kind of like afraid to say, I know what I don't want. Um, but I don't know what I want and I think like you, you're proof that that's okay it's okay to be figuring it out but to be sure about what you don't want.

And then this idea of just like claiming it like Alfredo for you. It was someone saying artist, and you're like, Claiming that, taking that, you only had to set it once and lot of, for you, it was in high school saying, you know what I am that, um, I know personally, I, it took me creating an organization and it being an organization for four years before I said I was a creative and I wish I would have claimed it.

years and years and years before. Um, so I love that background story and kind of like what led you to design because I think it's like a couple of nuggets there and what people can kind of take with them from this conversation. Um, and like I just said, it is a conversation. This isn't just for me to be talking.

I'm going to guide us, but if anyone is on the call, Stephanie and day Ayana, anyone that may have something to say, something to ask questions, comments, or concerns, feel free. This isn't just my conversation. It's for all of us. Um, so definitely send me a little message. If you have a question, we can get you a muted.

Um, and while we were waiting for those questions to come in, a lot of, there's a question I want to ask you, um, as an Arab American designer, how has your cultural background influenced your approach to design and advocacy for inclusivity,

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: you know, the, the very first thing, um, or the thing that I keep holding onto is representation. At this point in my life, I wish we can go past that and like actually thrive and do exactly what we want to do and just love it for no other reason but loving it because of the beauty of it, the work that we do, or just design art, anything that anybody does on this call and in the world.

But at the same time, if you don't see yourself represented, then you don't understand what your potential and what your capacity could become and could be. So I didn't see an Arab like me. Hold Was in this space. None of my professors were women. None of my professors were of color. None of my professors were under the age of 60.

So it was very difficult to, you know, take information from people who knew, knew a lot about this topic, about design and art. But to actually apply it and for them to understand my lived experience and how that impacts the work that I'm doing. So today, all we try to do is even though we didn't have mentors, both me and Alfredo, we were like together trying to figure it out during this entire time of starting and even, you know, building our business and during the, while the business was running, now we seek mentors and then we also seek mentees.

At all time of the year to make sure that, you know, doesn't matter how much you know you have enough to teach. And I think that, you know, having that mentality, even though it's someone that is able to just support emotionally and mentally during a time where it's very hard to. Just navigate, um, life as a, as an artist, it's important to have someone there that is not your family that is not, you know, your friend even, but someone that can have that barrier between you, um, and them to be able to just have that conversation and understand the reality and take the criticism and, and apply it or, you know, whatever that looks like.

So, you know, I mean, representation is always number one for me, but at this point in my life, I want to see, I want to know what's. What's after that? What comes after we have representation? What comes after there's like, you know, equity in, in this world? What comes after, you know, equality and making sure that people are paid the same and people in the design world are, you know, in leadership spaces and they're calling the shots and they're, they're, they're making a difference.

So what comes after? So that's what I'm excited about is just to see as we keep doing this work. I don't want to do this work for the rest of my life. I want to just make art for fun. And I feel like. Um, a lot of people feel the same way who are in this space because it's exhausting and it takes a toll on your body.

And, you know, as an Arab American at this point, I'm taking on a hobby because I don't have that many and Alfredo has, you know, forced me to make time and carve it out of our very busy days to, to, to like really make it happen. And I've always loved. Calligraphy. So I'm taking a class with a designer. His name is Wael Marcos.

He's a Lebanese um, calligraphist and lettering artist and designer that has worked with many major brands. So I can drop a link of the class in here. It's super fun. It's like, go at your own pace, but that has been something that's just keeping me like alive, even though that's not something that we do in the business.

So,

Alaysia Brown: yeah. Yeah. I love that. I love that. You said you have enough to give. It doesn't matter how long you've been in this, you have enough to give. And I'm just like, thank you. I received that because you kind of always feel like you're waiting for this point. I remember like, When I was 21, I was like, I want to be on Forbes 30 under 30.

And it's like, you don't have to wait until you make some lists to give. Um, so I love that you said that. Um, I want to keep going, but I also want to ask, is there anything that anyone wants to add to the conversation? Any questions do let me know. Yeah, Sharon.

Sharon Oiga: Hi, um, this might be random, but I think both of you have interesting prints on the wall, and I'm wondering if, if it's your work or is it work that inspires you.

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I'm going to take this one first, because we're not in our usual office space that has a lot more art in the background that we can really own, but this is Alfredo's piece behind me. Um, I don't know what the year is, but it's, it's so, it's a while back, um, when we probably first met. So maybe 2011, 2010, something like that.

Sharon Oiga: It's so cool.

Alaysia Brown: It's beautiful. And it's like, I know that you're an artist and then you're just like, this is Alfredo's wait, wait a second. It's, it's amazing. It's gorgeous. Um, and Alfredo, what's behind you?

Alfredo Weeks: It's a piece that's, uh, from an artist called, uh, Robin Denny. And I think it was based out of, uh, England and he's, uh, he's actually a designer and, um, you know, I, I think, uh, his inspiration was brought from a lot of, um, architecture.

So, yeah, I saw this piece in a thrift store. And I said, they didn't know what they had, so I bought it.

Alaysia Brown: Do you all collect or now we're kind of going down a Sharon rabbit hole that I completely appreciate. I've got to know. Do y'all collect as

Alfredo Weeks: much as we can because, you know, and I think, you know, some of the, um, best pieces are.

You know, from from a lot of the students that we've taught. Um, so we, we try to make it a point to, you know, if one of us, our former students had a show or have a show, uh, we go, we visit, we, we try to, you know, purchase some of those, uh, some of their artworks and, um, but then also, you know, right within the community.

Um, so, I mean, it's great to collect art and, you know, increase value and all that good stuff. But I also think it's, uh, when you. Purchase within the community. You're adding value right back into it.

Alaysia Brown: Absolutely. And speaking of your students and the students that you support, um, you all on the call may or may not know this, Alfredo is an adjunct professor at the Columbus College of Art and Design.

And so, with that, Alfredo, how do you prepare your students both those who are and aren't of color to navigate a predominantly white work environment post grad.

Alfredo Weeks: So, um. You know, it's, it's real interesting. So, you know, I'm also supposed to very, very soon, um, we've been engaging with, uh, Ohio Wesleyan university as well.

And, um, I think being in the Midwest, it's, it's a, definitely a different rhythm. Right. I had to kind of understand what that rhythm, what that rhythm is here in the Midwest where back in DC. You say it, you mean it, and you keep it, keep it pushing, right? You just, okay. Hey, it is what it is. Let's go. Um, but, you know, oftentimes I engage in a lot of discussions within in the class, right?

And, you know, I try to bring these real world experiences in the classroom about what they're expecting after they graduate, but what no, 1's telling them. Right. What no one's really saying what's on the other side of the wall, right? Like, uh, maybe it can be a conversation about pricing, right? Maybe it can be a conversation about, hey, community artwork.

That's up on a mule because, you know, 1 thing that I really advocate for it or that the students really know their value. Right. If someone wants your work, charge them, charge them for you. Right. Um, but then, because they always find some kind of way, the clients or the customers, they might always find some kind of way to say, you know, this would be great exposure, especially when they're still in college, especially when they're trying to graduate or their recent graduates, you know, Hey, this would be great exposure, or you know what, I'll, I'll send you somebody else in return.

I tell them. No, right. Charge for your work. And, and, and I, I walk them through a couple of our contracts and I show them, you know, what's a good price point for a recent graduate or, or an in school, like a student, right. A student designer. And so I'm giving them these tools. So not. With them waiting, not with the idea of them waiting until they graduate, um, but starting on a lot of these things as they're in school.

So I'll tell them, Hey, you got a contract, you got a project. Bring it over to me. Let's look at it. You know, we work that contract out together and then I'll have you send that back over to the client and let me know if you have any issues. And so I want to give them that resource that I never had while at the same time.

I'm letting. I'm letting a lot of, um, you know, students know that, you know, expect, get ready for these hard conversations. So when, in, in class, right, when it's, uh, maybe about social issues, politics or anything, there's, there's one thing I really try to do. And it's at the, at the very end of the class. So I always give them a chance to pick whatever project.

whatever subject matter actually that they want to work on. And it doesn't matter the issue. It doesn't matter the location. It doesn't matter what it is. That's not up to me to decide. Right. And I tell them that and their, their, their minds are like blown. They're like, wait, what? How did this even happen?

So I'll tell them, you know, Pick any any project you want, but for me, I'm going to be the one to teach you how to, uh, advocate as well as design around that project and how to promote for it, how to design for it, what, what kind of skills you need to make it better into amplify that voice. So, you know, um.

I see people from all walks of life and, you know, you, you, you hear domestic abuse issues, you hear racism, you hear, um, you know, sexism, I mean, so many different, uh, issues that come to the table. And. I'm, I'm standing there in class and they're presenting and they're nervous and they're thinking that I'm about to critique the issue and I have to remind them again, that's not my stance right here.

My stance is, is not to critique you on your lifestyle or your morals, but rather to give you the skills in order to know how to articulate your vision and package it in a way that other people can understand.

Alaysia Brown: Yeah, I mean, it's so important the tools like you said that you're kind of discussing before they even graduate.

And, you know, not it's not even just like a person of color issue, it could be a socio economic issue of when you graduate. And you might be a first gen graduate you're so happy to have graduated and to even be considered for these jobs that when people talk about negotiating you're like what if they take the offer away.

Right. I remember right out of school, I was like, they're offering me 45k. And my mom was like, well, Alaysia, you know. You got to start from the bottom. I'm like, my friends are, are negotiating and it just was, you know, first gen grad, we're just happy to have graduated and have a job offer. You're not, you don't have those mentors and those people that are like, it's okay to say, I think I might need 6K more, you know, to kind of give you that boost to give you the language to use.

Um, it, it makes all the difference. And so that that's super important. Lara, I'm wondering if there's anything you wanted to add to that.

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: No, I mean alfredo just hit everything Right on

Alaysia Brown: the head. So, uh, no, for sure. For sure. All righty. Uh, this question is for both of you and then we're going to go ahead and ask anyone that's in the audience if they have any questions.

Um, Laura and Alfredo, both of you have spoken about the importance of culture in creative strategy. How do you ensure that diverse perspectives are actively integrated into the projects that you undertake? And you started talking about it at the beginning. So I'm excited to really get into this.

You're not, you're not unmuting

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: strategy is his thing and you know, I don't want to lead on this one, but let me take a stab at it and see, and see if I'm, if I'm, if I pass, um, you know, it's, I mean, culture is number one when it comes to strategy. And a lot of the times. As French 22, we don't talk to our clients, we don't talk about culture in a sense of people of color, what's your ethnic background, what is, where do you come from, what is, what are your traditions, from where you come from, like, it's not, a lot of times culture gets bucketed into that, but that's not what we mean, what we mean is, it could be that, but what we mean as French 22 is that, how do you live your life?

What do you do in the morning? Where do you go to? What's your hobby? How do you, you know, lead? If you have children, how do you raise them? What is that culture that you're creating? And I think that that's so much of, because we come from such contrasting backgrounds, culturally, you know, also just geographically, um, When we came together, we said, we want to create our own culture.

And we had no idea what that looked like and, or will look like. And today I know what I want. And that's, you know, Alfredo said, know what you don't want at this point. I know what I want. I know what I don't want. And I've, I've established that, but I want this culture that we've created, that is like a mishmash of.

A bunch of languages and a bunch of, you know, aesthetics and, you know, all different kinds of food and, you know, all that good stuff that you can think of that would at some point, you know, doesn't have a name. So, as a fun example, um, when Alfredo makes coffee, he'll make, he loves espressos, which is like, you know, just American coffee, like the best American coffee that he can find locally.

But then we also drink Arabic coffee. So he makes this thing that he calls East to West. And he'll make American coffee mixed with Arabic coffee. And that is like a no no. You do not do that as an Arab. You don't put Arabic coffee with American coffee. But it tastes amazing. And it's something that you have never even thought about.

Um, but when you experience it, you get that, you know, what does that look like? That mishmash of cultures that come together. So same thing with our clients when they come to us and. We have our visual discovery meeting and we talk about how they're feeling about a certain issue and how some people want to solve it, solve it in a certain way and others want to solve it in a different way, we want to find that balance and kind of create that culture for our clients to be able to tell their audience what they do, how they do it, what is that social stance that they are taking, what, how do they want to benefit the community?

How do they want to serve the world? Um, so I feel like. From a simple of as simple as having an east to west coffee and like that mishmash of ideas and cultures and, and values, um, to just being able to guide people to find that balance with everything that they believe.

Alfredo Weeks: Yeah, I think I think I just want to add to that.

Also, um, you know, I think oftentimes and I'll go back to a lot of the conversations that we'd have with, uh, you know, different clients, different companies that we work with. Um, you know, we, it's amazing sometimes when we, we get on these calls and we hear people just. Or in their hearts out, right? And we, we see them almost like it's like an exhale.

Um, I mean, we, we've gotten on calls before where, where clients have, have actually cried. Um, not once, but multiple times. And, you know, no judgment to them at all, right? If that's what they feel. Hey, you know, we're not going to take that space from you. Um, but, uh, I think I began to realize that. We're not really talking about what they are, right?

What are they, right? What are you? You're an executive or, you know, um, you are, you're, you're black or all of that matters, right? But at the same time, we begin with who, They are right who they are as a person, who they are in this world, right? How do they move throughout this world? And then understanding that it allows us to then make sure that we're asking the right questions.

about what they are, right? Because if we start with the what, it just feels as though it's so generic. It's so surface layer. Um, it's just going through a questionnaire. Um, and I feel like we've all seen that before. Just go through the questionnaire, do what you got to do. What kind of color palette do you like?

Do you like this font? Do you like that font? Okay. You know, or that style of this style. Instead, we, we really want to get to know the people that we're working with. And so, um. You know, I think when it comes down to it, the strategy, a lot of the strategy for for myself, especially, I didn't even know what a creative strategist was early on, right?

I had no idea what that role was. And I would just, I kept looking for the position to, to, uh, to, to name myself. Until I finally realized, hey, I'm a creative strategist because I want to take all these different cultures and put them together and then make sure I maintain this awareness on the big picture.

Alaysia Brown: I love that. And, you know, during our conversation that we had, Prior to this event, the conversations around how you all define culture. It was such a aha moment for me. It's kind of like the Alaysia, because I think I was one of the people that when you hear culture, you're just like, tell me about your background.

And it's like, no, what's the culture of your family? How do you all. Celebrate the holidays, like what, who brings the potato salad? You know what I mean? That is the culture of a community and allowing that to spill over into your work, I think is amazing. Um, and like, I continue to say, I'm like, I don't want this just to be a conversation between us three.

So I'm wondering, does anyone else have any questions or thoughts that they want to add?

Chris, I see you're off mute.

Chris DeSantis: Only because I know that I'm up to ask some questions. Come in from the ether. So shall I, yeah. Why don't we do that? Good. All right. So, um, uh, Laura and Alfredo, we got some questions from the greater D by D community that when we made the announcement that you're all going to be on screen, we got flooded.

So the first one out of the gate is from Stephanie Oliver UX and UI product designer asked, what are your thoughts on a job, the job market outlook for the future for creatives. As we're seeing more and more layoffs and difficulty finding work.

Alfredo Weeks: You mind, Lotta? Oh, go ahead. Go for it. I'll take it.

Chris DeSantis: All you.

Alfredo Weeks: Oh, man. It's like I'm about to get political here. Go big. Go big or go home,

Chris DeSantis: as they say.

Alfredo Weeks: Um, so what did it look like for employees and employers for the future? Um, I think. One of the biggest things that we can give back to people as a company, right? As a, as a, um, As an employer, right? We bring on contractors.

I think one of the biggest things we can give back to people Are is their time And making sure that as we give back that time, that they, whatever contract that we give them and whatever we're paying them, it's fair, or it's even above the going rate. We really believe in that because the days of, you know, going to work and going into this brick and mortar building and sitting there all day and, and, and just, you know, playing like you, Hey, I'm working right.

It's, it's been long gone and we realized that back in 2016 when we had our studio and we shut it down and everybody thought we were crazy. Everyone just like, what are you doing? We, when we still giving out business cards, right? We, we were. You know, everyone was just, uh, wait, where's your address, you know, there's not supposed to be an address, right?

And so once we went completely virtual, um, and, and lo and behold, 2020 happened, right? Everyone's looking at us, you're geniuses. We're like, we're like, no, it's just, it makes sense because if we're able to, uh, for example, get a contractor on, on a project, pay them, maybe let's say it's a big contract and it's an eighth or a quarter of what they will make in a year and they finish it.

Probably in about 60 hours in total, 60 hours out of your whole year to get, to get that amount. It, it just makes, And I think it's, it's a lot of time, basic mathematics, but on the other side, I think the old way of doing things, the, uh, the older way of, of saying, no, sit down in this office and make sure that I can see that you are working.

People aren't believing it anymore. And they know there's something better out there. And the more and more we listen to, especially the younger generation, that's coming up, we're starting to realize they want to make sure that they don't only have, have, uh, you know, financial means, but They have actually equity, right?

Uh, they have equity in their work. They have equity in their time and all of it makes sense and all of it matters. And so when, when we're able to engage a lot of our, uh, contractors, they're, they're, they're kind of like looking at a sideways when we're offering them these contracts, because it's better than what the nine to five is doing for them.

So I think going virtual, I think going virtual it's. It's here to stay and it's, it's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get bigger. And I think companies, they should move for, they should move in that direction a lot quicker because you know, so many other technologies are coming into play.

That's also pulling work from designers. But I think this is just a smart business move.

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I'm like, hi, this is baby Alfredo, everyone, just in case, um, I would add to that. I mean, everything Alfredo said is exactly what I was thinking, but also it's coming from the employer's mindset, right? But what if somebody is. Does it has no, I, you know, can't get a job because nobody is hiring them for whatever reason that is, doesn't matter, you know, what the, the quality of the work is or any of that.

I think that. We need to empower young designers to start their own businesses, give them the power of learning how to freelance in a really good way. Um, and knowing all of the logistics that come through that, because running your own business and you're looking at our, at the core of French 22 right now, and we have contractors, a handful of them that we work with.

Constantly, um, but 75 percent of the work is sometimes just paperwork, so we don't get to the fun stuff until we get all of that taken care of and pitching for proposals and, you know, putting together scopes and all of that good stuff. So once we get to the fun stuff, a lot of it gets passed to the designers and our production designers and the people who are working on our team.

So yeah. I feel like if people learn the business of design, if young designers, young or just recent grads learned the business of design early, they will have the power to do whatever they want. They can run their own firm. Studio agency, whatever you want to call it, be freelancers, contractors, but at the same time, they can go work for someone and have, and have that equity of knowing that if I know the business of design, then I can work my way up the ladder and want to call it that quicker because I know how this functions.

It's not just about my skills on the computer. It's also like my mind and how it thinks. So I think that that's the biggest thing that we advocate for, even if designers come our way that just know the skill and are really good at it. Um, we just want them to learn the business side of things because that's what made us who we are today.

Alaysia Brown: Am I hearing a book on the way? Alfredo and Lara, the business of design? Is that what, I don't know. I just, I heard that. Stephanie, let me know if you heard that. Um, Stephanie has a follow up question though. Stephanie said, where would you recommend finding clients? I love that question.

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I'll take this one real quick.

But you know, I, I don't have a link for you. I don't have a person. We have not, I can't say social media. I can't tell you it's LinkedIn because we have not posted anything on social media since 2020. We have not shared much on LinkedIn in a very long time. It was really hard for me to share the post about this event because I have no idea how to write posts anymore.

Like that's how long it's been, you know, like what do I say to tell people to come and join this call? I don't know. Um, but it's I think it's all about networking in a sense of going to events, meeting people, reaching out on LinkedIn to people. Um, and then that has like a, just an astronomical, if that's the word that I'm looking for, trickle down effects to what it can do as an example.

I used to follow, um, this creative director, designer, just artists. Her name is Ashley Axios. I'm pretty sure that Chris and Andrea, I know that Andrea knows her, but maybe Chris, you do too. She used to be the creative director at the Obama White House during the 2016, um, administration. She was the youngest first woman, longest serving creative director in the digital, like, uh, kind of office, digital design office of the Obama White House.

And. I used to follow her for a while. Just loved the, the, the kind of ethics behind her work and how she approached it. It wasn't anything, you know, it wasn't like the sexiest work or anything that just the trendiest. It wasn't like that. It was just about the mission and the vision behind it. And I was like, I'm gonna reach out because I want her to come and speak at one of the classes that I was teaching.

So, um, I reached out on LinkedIn and I reached out on LinkedIn and she responded and she said yes, and she came to virtually speak at a class at TCAD that I was a part of. And then 24 hours later, she sent us a client. And then that client sent us another client after we closed that agreement with them within probably like six months.

And then that client led us to work with a coalition called the upside coalition, which was a big coalition that ironically enough, Obama, Barack Obama has advised. And then that has led us to work with this new client that we will be launching soon, um, with, you know, just some great work. And I'm not going to say the name of the client yet.

So you'll, you all will see when that comes live, but it's just the way that happened and how. Much impact that has made because I reached out to this Person that I admired who became my mentor and guided us through like some of the work that we were doing politically And um with non profits, so yeah, I mean there's there's nothing like it So i'm sorry that I don't have a link that I can drop in here to tell you this is how you can find work

Alfredo Weeks: I think one point I I would say Um a lot of it that I also realized is is Good character, right?

Um, and, and, and that work ethic, you know, a lot of times people appreciate it when, you know, you say something you do, you do it. Um, or you just send them a letter and just like, Hey, everything. Okay. You were supposed to get back to me on that email and maybe it's an issue. Maybe it's something going on. Um, and they'll just say, you know what?

Hey, uh, Fredo, I really appreciate you reaching out. Um, but also it's just, you know, I hate to use this word because I think it's overused sometimes just, uh, being authentic, right? And, and you don't have to be everyone else. And I had to learn that as far as being in this industry, you don't have to be everyone else.

You just have to be as original, uh, of a person as you are, as you already are, right? And, and if you double down on that, You won't fail, right? And it is, you know, following up with good character work ethics, but now good work and just having real engaging conversations. And I think those are some of the biggest, um, I think almost superpowers or just tools that we've been able to use over the years and just hopping on calls and just, you know, Hey, you know, it's a client.

They might be an exact of some billion dollar company, but. Hey, how you doing? Everything? Hey, good to see you. Not just talking about, hey, the weather outside, but actually getting into conversations, maybe having tough conversations, but just really listening, listening to people and, and, and having a sense of empathy.

Alaysia Brown: You forgot to do this at the end, drop the mic, because that was so good, and you, this is our second official Ask Me Anything, um, conversation, there are many to come, this year, it's no coincidence that second one in a row, someone has said authenticity is your superpower. It's, it, that, that's not a coincidence, it is just plainly the truth.

Um, and so if we don't take anything else, I hope that everyone here takes that with them. I had other questions, but again, the mic just dropped. I feel like that is an excellent place, um, for us to, to put a pin in this conversation. I do want to ask, um, does anyone else have any questions? And we just got a question in the chat.

It says, what is the golden rule of graphic design?

Um,

People,

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I think if you learn how to, or when you learn how to speak to people, um, you're able to guide them and take them on a journey and that journey becomes the experience. That experience is what we're technically trained on, right? So there's so many golden rules that I can talk about it within layout and identity and, you know, website design and all that good stuff and UI UX.

But I feel like. We intentionally do not hire people that only know skills, we hire people that have a mind that can think and have a mind that can understand people and lead with human centered design. So people, that's my answer. Thanks mama for asking that.

Alaysia Brown: Thank you so much. Um, do we have any more questions.

Anyone else. Um, to ask any questions before we hop off. Stephanie, I just want to thank you again so much for for your questions. We've appreciated it. It's added so much to the conversation. Um, final call. Anybody has. Yeah,

Sharon Oiga: question. Yes. So earlier you, you referred to yourselves as both artists and designers.

So are there certain things that you make that, that you, you know, call art and certain things you make, you call design or are using, are you using those terms interchangeably to refer to your work? Is there a dividing line or? You

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: just know. Brought up the big debate in our family, . This is the, this is the, thank you.

This is the, you know, this is the big debate. , right? Like, almost why are we alive? Question . Um, but, um, you know, there. You know, we understand that graphic design, yes, it has to communicate, right? But then we also understand that a lot of time, art wants to almost give you a reflection of that reality or take you to a different reality.

It doesn't have to specifically communicate exactly what it needs to, uh, communicate. It can be something, it's subjective. Right. Um, but I, I think those are the moments that I, I, I just, I search for so much when design and art are crossing paths and they're living together. Right. And then strategy is like the, the, it's almost like the plate that's holding it all.

Right. Um, and I, I'll give you, I'll give you an example. Right. Um, so, like, a lot of she's sitting right behind one of my paintings. Right. And, and, um, but I've also done a series of paintings called plant based. Right. And a lot of these paintings is it's really about, you know, if we had a chance to create a plant in the shape of a plant.

form, smell, a texture that we wanted to, what would it be? What would it look like? What would it smell like? Right? And this was a way to address the 2020 experience. Right. Uh, we took that and we created a creative strategy, uh, an option for creative strategy, because we saw that so many people, they were going back to, uh, nature in 2020, right, during the lockdowns and everything, you saw people in these parks and sitting down in the fields, but to each one of those bubbles, The experience is different, right?

The experience is unique. Someone's smelling something different. Someone's feeling the grass differently is nurturing them or engaging with them in a completely different manner, right? So that's where plant based came from. So we, we, we took that idea, the concept, we built a strategy off of it, but then also we were able to take the aesthetic from the plant based.

Paintings and then inspire the graphic design approach to inspire the artistic and in design direction. And so that whole experience, you know, you can easily see where the strategy lives. You can easily see where the artistic expression lives. And you can also easily see where the graphic design lives.

Once you Take things that were already kind of pre made and you, you put them together on documents or on paper and you're letting them live together. And I think that's one great thing that design does. You're able to bring these things from different sources and, and allow them, allow them to thrive together, but then also allow them to find balance, whether it's art, whether it's strategy, or whatever else it is, and, um, Yeah, I did.

This is my favorite conversation. So, you know, I'll stop there.

Sharon Oiga: Thank you.

Alaysia Brown: I mean, I said earlier that we're going to put a pin in it because I feel like at some point the pin is going to come out and we're going to do part two. Andrea, I saw you just went off of mute. So I want to give you a chance to go ahead.

Andréa Pellegrino: I just wanted to thank Lara and Alfredo. It's been a great journey with you two, and I'm, I am very blessed to have crossed paths with both of you. So, more, more, more, more. That's what I want to say.

Alfredo Weeks: You as well, Andrea. All, all of you all. Yeah, it's been great.

Alaysia Brown: Such a good conversation. So number one, like Andrea said, just want to echo.

Thank you, Lotta. Thank you, Alfredo, for being here tonight, for sharing your experiences with us. Um, because I don't know about everybody else, but I have my notepad and my pen, and I have some things to go home and just, you know, marinate on for a while. So I appreciate you all sharing your experiences and to everyone in attendance.

We can't host these conversations without y'all. So thank you, um, just for being here. And before we go, I do just want to remind everyone to stay connected with D by D. Um, don't hesitate to follow us on Instagram at DXD coalition and also mark your calendars on June 18th at 3 p. m. Eastern. We are having another ask me any.

In conversation featuring Kelly Fulbert, who is the principal operations lead for data informed culture at work day. So I'm definitely looking forward to that. Lotta and Alfredo. How can we remain contact in contact connected with you both?

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: I'll, like I said, social media is not my forte at the moment. I'm going to drop my email in here.

Please email me. I will respond within very

Alaysia Brown: quickly. Amazing. Amazing. Alrighty. Well, again, thank you all for attending. Um, and we look forward to seeing you at the next one. Thank you again, Lauren Alfredo. all. Take

Lara Alsoudani-Weeks: care. Peace.

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