Works But Makes Noises

How to pay off sleep debt, ancient internships, should designers c*de? design engineers, teaching at RISD and Parsons, experimental branding briefs and constraint-led projects, what design school doesn’t teach, archives versus mood boards, Arena as a second brain, collecting and scanning physical references, folk packaging and diner placemats, obscure illustrators and forgotten ephemera, taste as something you build over time, trend reports and in–out lists, writing as a way of thinking, print, tactility, control, and staying creatively engaged without chasing trends.

Elizabeth Goodspeed is an independent designer, art director, and writer specializing in branding, packaging, and book and editorial design. She’s also the US editor-at-large for It’s Nice That and publishes Casual Archivist, a design history focused newsletter.

https://elizabethgoodspeed.com/

David McGillivray is a designer and creative director in upstate New York, designing for early stage tech companies through his own practice. He also co-founded Offhours and runs Corners, an art and design store in the Catskills.

Jacob Heftman is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer. Currently the Design Director at Grilli Type, he has nearly two decades of experience across studios, in-house roles, and his own practice. Also: big surfer.

Artwork by Pablo Delcan
Music by Mondo Boys

Artwork typeface; GT Standard Mono by Grilli Type
www.worksbutmakesnoises.com

The 52" monitor, home-cooked software, claude code, vibe coding, personal tools, craft, authenticity and imperfection, authorship and taste, designing without scale, having an independent design practice, freelancing vs studios, building a career on your own terms.

Tesla Optimus Fail
https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/1pfzxt0/tesla_optimus/
Dell's Big Boy
https://www.engadget.com/computing/dell-unveils-a-massive-52-inch-6k-ultrawide-curved-monitor-at-ces-2026-140024842.html

People Building with Claude Code
https://x.com/claudeai/status/2009666254815269313?s=20
Ryo Lu's OS 
https://os.ryo.lu/

Gabriel Valdivia's Big Calendar
https://x.com/gabrielvaldivia/status/2008259086614409438?s=20

David McGillivray is a designer and creative director in upstate New York, designing for early stage tech companies through his own practice. He also co-founded Offhours and runs Corners, an art and design store in the Catskills.

Jacob Heftman is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer. Currently the Design Director at Grilli Type, he has nearly two decades of experience across studios, in-house roles, and his own practice. Also: big surfer.

Artwork by Pablo Delcan
Music by Mondo Boys

Artwork typeface; GT Standard Mono by Grilli Type
www.worksbutmakesnoises.com

Snowstorms in the Catskills, Jacob’s month on the North Shore, selling the Audi and becoming a full-time Subaru guy, mechanics doing power slides in your car, talking lamps and unhinged home robots, Terminator bots and the sci-fi week online, Apple entering a new design era, Google’s Nano-Banana and AI faking sketchbooks, Bloom and the rise of brand-asset generators, the new CNBC logo mess, Utah 2034 and the puzzle of future-proof Olympic branding, the icons of Olympic identity from Mexico 68 to Munich 72 and Montreal 76, and why mockups are still the secret weapon in design.

🖼️ Visual Show Notes
https://worksbutmakesnoises.com/episodes/5

David McGillivray is a designer and creative director in upstate New York, designing for early stage tech companies through his own practice. He also co-founded Offhours and runs Corners, an art and design store in the Catskills.

Jacob Heftman is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer. Currently the Design Director at Grilli Type, he has nearly two decades of experience across studios, in-house roles, and his own practice. Also: big surfer.

Artwork by Pablo Delcan
Music by Mondo Boys

Artwork typeface; GT Standard Mono by Grilli Type
www.worksbutmakesnoises.com

Ten foot skeletons, Gen Z nonchalance vs. Millennial effortfulness,  Zohran's campaign design, Al Gore was the worst client.

Links mentioned in the show

Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Logo Looked Nothing Like a Campaign Logo
https://www.curbed.com/article/zohran-mamdani-campaign-logo-graphic-design.html

Fully automated 'private chef'
https://x.com/miyuselene/status/1982517846124192011?s=20

NEO home robot
https://www.1x.tech/neo

David McGillivray is a designer and creative director in upstate New York, designing for early stage tech companies through his own practice. He also co-founded Offhours and runs Corners, an art and design store in the Catskills.

Jacob Heftman is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer. Currently the Design Director at Grilli Type, he has nearly two decades of experience across studios, in-house roles, and his own practice. Also: big surfer.

Artwork by Pablo Delcan
Music by Mondo Boys

Artwork typeface; GT Standard Mono by Grilli Type
www.worksbutmakesnoises.com

Surfing in Mexico, Gap is back, having a personal ‘uniform’, Electric Bikes, NYC Subway design, AI slop (oh no), edible rocks, 90’s ad agency offices, naming things.

David McGillivray is a designer and creative director in upstate New York, designing for early stage tech companies through his own practice. He also co-founded Offhours and runs Corners, an art and design store in the Catskills.

Jacob Heftman is a Los Angeles-based graphic designer. Currently the Design Director at Grilli Type, he has nearly two decades of experience across studios, in-house roles, and his own practice. Also: big surfer.

Artwork by Pablo Delcan
Music by Mondo Boys

Artwork typeface; GT Standard Mono by Grilli Type
www.worksbutmakesnoises.com