S02/E29 - Luis Mendo on Finding Your Value, Mundo Mendo & Why Social Media Is Dry Disgusting Bread
28/04/2026 | 1h 11 mins.
He grew up in Salamanca. Spent 20 years as an art director in Amsterdam. His father died. He boarded a plane to Japan for a sabbatical — and 14 years later, he's still there. Luis Mendo is a Spanish illustrator and the founder of Mundo Mendo — a personal membership project built on illustrated stories, shipped directly to readers with no algorithm in between. This is a conversation about finding your value, choosing happiness, and refusing to make salami for Zuckerberg. What we cover: His father's death and why it led him to Japan 20 years in Amsterdam — and why he finally chose to leave Almost Perfect — six years of welcoming artists into his Tokyo home Why social media is dry disgusting bread — and the salami analogy Building Mundo Mendo on Ghost, the anti-Substack platform Biking numbered, signed books to the post office himself Why he's building something that survives him Finding the value in your work — advice for young illustrators Japan's exploding independent print and zine scene AI is for laundry — and what he actually uses it for What he wrote in a letter to his daughter growing up in Japan
Connect with Luis Mendo: Website: https://www.luismendo.com/ Mundo Mendo: https://www.mundomendo.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luismendo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luismendo/
Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5
More from Captn OffScript: Website: https://captnoffscript.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captnoffscript Newsletter: https://captn.myflodesk.com/newsletter
If you liked this episode, listen to: Elliot Jay Stocks (S02/E25) — on building a direct relationship with your audience through newsletters, why human connection matters more than algorithms, and creating work that lasts.
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S02/E28 - Temi Coker: Put the Work You Want to Be Hired For & Everything Else Follows
21/04/2026 | 1h 5 mins.
He wakes up at 4:30am. Two kids under two. Three hours of work before the house comes alive. This is how one of the most sought-after artists in America currently operates. Temi Coker is a Nigerian-American artist and creative director based in Dallas, Texas. His work has appeared in campaigns for Adobe, Apple, ESPN, AT&T, and the Oscars. He launched a home collection with Walmart in 2025. And he will tell you, clearly and without drama, that none of it happened by accident — it happened because he kept making the work he wanted to be hired for, long before anyone asked him to. What we cover: Growing up in Lagos — limitations, bottle-cap football, and a love of colour Moving to Canada and then Texas at 12, navigating two Black identities at once Leaving biomedical engineering to pursue design — and why he doesn't regret either Seven years of head-down work before the Adobe Creative Residency changed everything How a pillow he made for fun led to the Walmart home collection Apple said no four or five times — he now has 20+ collaborations with them Financial literacy for creatives — the conversation nobody is having Running a photography studio, a clothing brand, and raising two kids under two Learning to actually accept a compliment
Connect with Temi Coker: Website: https://temicoker.co Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/temi.coker
Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5
More from Captn OffScript: Website: https://captnoffscript.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captnoffscript Newsletter: https://captn.myflodesk.com/newsletter
S02/E27 — Ingrid Picanyol: I'm a Designer, But Other Things Too — Poetry, Punk & Philosophy
14/04/2026 | 59 mins.
She chose graphic design over photography because she couldn't afford a camera. She chose it over philosophy because her teacher said get work first, study ideas later. Now she runs a studio of exactly three people, plays guitar in an all-women punk band with no expectations, writes articles on the bus, and has just started her philosophy degree. Ingrid Picanyol is a Catalan graphic designer based in Barcelona — and one of the most quietly profound conversations of the season. What we cover: Growing up in the "Catalan Liverpool" — small town, punk band, leaving home at 16 $12 a day in New York, sleeping on couches, investing in a career Why she keeps her studio to exactly three people — and why that matters How a developer noticed her design process is basically poetry Writing articles on the bus — and the Set Margins book coming from it Why design can't satisfy every creative need — and what to do about it Sending voice messages to ChatGPT asking what Plato thinks about difficult clients Studying philosophy in her forties — and why now is finally the right moment What she'd say to her 8-year-old self, who always felt like a stranger
Connect with Ingrid Picanyol: Website: https://ingridpicanyol.com/ Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/ingridpicanyol Instagram (studio): https://www.instagram.com/ingridpicanyolstudio/ Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5 More from Captn OffScript: Website: https://captnoffscript.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captnoffscript Newsletter: https://captn.myflodesk.com/newsletter If you liked this episode, listen to: Marta Cerdà Alimbau (S02/E26) — another deeply personal conversation with a Catalan designer about creative identity, surviving the hard years, and why the work is worth fighting for.
S02/E26 - Marta Cerdà Alimbau: Vogue, Nike, Bats in the House & Why Design Is Worth Fighting For
07/04/2026 | 1h 1 mins.
She designed a Vogue cover during COVID while riding her motorcycle through Barcelona without a helmet. She made over 300 logos before landing on the one for a Nike Haaland campaign. She survived a pandemic across two countries paying two rents simultaneously — and ended up in a farmhouse with bats, eagles, and rats for four months. Marta Cerdà Alimbau is a Catalan graphic designer, AGI member, and author of Surviving Design. This is one of the most honest, funny, and deeply personal conversations of the season. What we cover: Studying psychology before design — and what it gave her The Vogue Spain cover created from chaos and a deep need for resilience Designing Barcelona's Christmas street lights from the iconic panot tile Over 300 logos for a Nike Haaland campaign — and the hidden arrow COVID across two countries, two rents, and four months in a farmhouse with bats Surviving Design — what the book is really about and why it's actually optimistic Comic Sans, context, and what Vincent Connare taught her in 2004 The tobacco brief, karma, and the projects she wishes she hadn't taken What she'd say to her 10-year-old self
Connect with Marta Cerdà Alimbau: Website: https://martacerda.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martacerda/
Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5
More from Captn OffScript: Website: https://captnoffscript.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captnoffscript Newsletter: https://captn.myflodesk.com/newsletter
If you liked this episode, listen to: Sophia Yeshi (S02/E22) — another deeply personal conversation about identity, building a creative career against the odds, and staying true to yourself through everything.
S02/E25 - Elliot Jay Stocks on Books, Newsletters & Why Human Connection Is Everything
31/03/2026 | 58 mins.
He's back. And this time we accidentally planned a Madrid book event live on air. Elliot Jay Stocks is a designer, writer, editor, and the person behind Fine Specimens — a brand new book showcasing contemporary type design from 69 foundries, including three of mine. We talked about the book, the five-stop tour, joining Adobe after 18.5 years of freelancing, the love-hate relationship with Instagram every creative recognises, and why newsletters and human connection might be the most important things a creative can invest in right now. What we cover: Fine Specimens — from failed Kickstarter to published book with 69 foundries How typefaces were curated and the challenge of classifying type The love-hate relationship with Instagram and why the algorithm is broken for creators Why he prefers newsletters — and the pop-up newsletter concept you need to know about Joining Adobe full-time after 18.5 years of freelancing The 5-stop book tour — and the accidental Madrid plan that happened live on air Music on hold, guitar is back, and a new book idea on the horizon Why human connection in creative industries matters more now than ever
Connect with Elliot Jay Stocks: Website: https://elliotjaystocks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elliotjaystocks/ Newsletter: https://elliotjaystocks.com/newsletter Fine Specimens: https://elliotjaystocks.com/books#fine-specimens Listen and subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/captn-offscript/id1837469433 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7nJ5dKTP2dQN5OwICKjTY5
More from Captn OffScript: Website: https://captnoffscript.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CAPTNOffScript Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/captnoffscript Newsletter: https://captn.myflodesk.com/newsletter If you liked this episode, listen to: Jessica Hische (S02/E21) — on serial entrepreneurship, creative reinvention, and building a life entirely on your own terms.
Cover photo by Norman Posselt: https://normanposselt.com/
There's a version of the creative career conversation that almost never gets recorded.
Not the award acceptance. Not the process breakdown. Not the polished origin story where every setback was secretly a setup. That version exists everywhere. This isn't that.
CAPTN OffScript is where designers, founders, illustrators, and makers sit down and talk about what's actually going on — the fear before the pivot, the year where the work dried up, the identity crisis that came with success, the moment they almost stopped, and what kept them moving. The messy, honest, deeply human side of building a creative life.
I'm Alen. I run a one-person type foundry called SilverStag Type, and I've been working in and around the design industry long enough to know what gets edited out of most interviews. I started this show because I was tired of highlight reels dressed up as conversations. I wanted to hear what creative people actually think — about money and meaning, about burnout and reinvention, about imposter syndrome and identity and the thousand invisible decisions that quietly add up to a career.
So that's what we do here. We go long. We go deep. We don't rush to the takeaway. And because I'm not just a host — I'm a working designer who's navigated a lot of the same terrain — the conversations tend to go places most interviews don't reach.
Guests have included Jessica Hische, Elliot Jay Stocks, Sophia Yeshi, Kieron Anthony Lewis, Philipp Louven, and Sergio del Puerto. What they share isn't a follower count or a famous client list. It's that they showed up willing to say something real — something I hadn't heard them say before, in any interview, anywhere. That's the bar.
The show runs in two formats. The long-form Conversations are the main event — unscripted, one-on-one, unhurried. The kind of interview where we're still discovering things an hour in. Then there are the Monday Break(Through) episodes: shorter solo pieces from me, working through ideas and observations as a creative founder. Less polished. More honest.
No five-step frameworks. No sponsor reads dressed up as advice. No artificial urgency. Just two people taking creativity seriously, and seeing where that leads.
CAPTN OffScript started as The Type Convo — a typography-focused show — and evolved into something bigger when I realised the conversations I most needed to hear weren't about fonts. They were about what it actually costs to build something on your own terms, and what it means to keep going when the path stops being clear.
If the "official" version of a creative career has never quite matched the one you're actually living — the doubt, the detours, the days when you're not sure what you're building or why — this show was made for you.
New episodes drop regularly. Come in anywhere. Stay for the honesty.