Students of Design

Adam Vicarel – Near-Death Experiences, Chasing the Fog, and The Real Housewives of Dallas – Ep35

Episode Summary

Adam is the Principal and Creative Director of Vicarel Studios, an artful branding and graphic design studio in Denver, Colorado. He loves avocados, even though he was willing to cut them (and feta) out of his diet early on in his career to be more frugal. RESPECT. Adam has worked with notable clients like NBC, lululemon, New Belgium Brewing, SYFY, and Native Roots Cannabis Co., and he believes "If you're thinking about doing a thing, you probably should have already done it." We hung out in Austin earlier this year, had some drinks, I told him about the biological father I can't find, and then he snuck off to the restroom to take a sip of whiskey from his flask—frugal. I'm kidding, the flask part didn't happen, but it's 100% believable. One of my favorite questions I asked him in this interview was about how our work expands to fill the available time we allot it. Tune in for a talk about four near-death experiences in four years, why he rebranded and repositioned his studio in 2020, and the most significant amount of money he billed for a single project. Follow Adam on Instagram @adamvicarel, connect with him on LinkedIn, and subscribe to his almost weekly newsletter at vicarelstudios.com/newsletter. Yeah, dawgie!

Episode Notes

Adam is the Principal and Creative Director of Vicarel Studios, an artful branding and graphic design studio in Denver, Colorado. He loves avocados, even though he was willing to cut them (and feta) out of his diet early on in his career to be more frugal. RESPECT. Adam has worked with notable clients like NBC, lululemon, New Belgium Brewing, SYFY, and Native Roots Cannabis Co., and he believes "If you're thinking about doing a thing, you probably should have already done it." We hung out in Austin earlier this year, had some drinks, I told him about the biological father I can't find, and then he snuck off to the restroom to take a sip of whiskey from his flask—frugal. I'm kidding, the flask part didn't happen, but it's 100% believable. One of my favorite questions I asked him in this interview was about how our work expands to fill the available time we allot it.

Tune in for a talk about four near-death experiences in four years, why he rebranded and repositioned his studio in 2020, and the most significant amount of money he billed for a single project. Follow Adam on Instagram @adamvicarel, connect with him on LinkedIn, and subscribe to his almost weekly newsletter at vicarelstudios.com/newsletter. Yeah, dawgie!

Questions for this interview.

• Can you tell us why someone held you up at gunpoint and how you felt in that moment?
• You were involved in a car wreck. How would you rate the safety of your 2019 Kia?
• Could you explain Parkinson's Law and share your thoughts on it?
• There was a time you described your work as an artful implementation of strategic design. Why did you decide that wasn't working, and how have you refined the way you talk about your studio since then?
• Can you share why you felt the need to rebrand in the first place and what your objectives were in trying to reposition yourself?
• Which templates or practices would you implement sooner if you could go back in time?
• If you think back on your life and your career, what are some of the reasons you were resistant to taking action?
• What's the budget or dollar range you hope a majority of the projects you accept fall within?
• How fearful have you been that you'll present finished ideas to a client and they respond in a way that makes you believe they feel like they're not getting their money's worth?
• Will you share the most money you've made on a single project?
• What does the phrase "chasing the fog" mean to you?
• Why do you view perfectionism as a form of procrastination and ultimately an excuse that many creatives use?
• Can you think of a time when giving first (without expectations) came back to you in an unexpected way?
• Can you tell the story of how you fucked up on The Real Housewives of Dallas, and talk about what you wanted to do on the show, but you didn't do?