We had the good fortune of connecting with Elliot Strunk & Todd Coats and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi, Todd and Elliot. We’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In a nutshell, the Two Designers Walk Into a Bar podcast came about because we were having a conversation about an iconic illustrator named Mort Drucker passing away and the impact his work for MAD Magazine had on both of us. About halfway through the call, Elliot mentioned to Todd it would be great if we could record the conversation to share with other people. And here we are. No master plan.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We are both inspired by so much when it comes to pop culture and, well, life. Design is an applied art where you have to connect with people to deliver a meaningful story. That can be told editorially, visually or in some combination of the two.

We decided to challenge ourselves by creating a podcast, a medium that’s incredibly rich for storytelling but without a visual component. The result has been that the origin stories (and often the characters) behind pop culture artifacts we all know and love are often just as – if not more – interesting than the objects themselves.

We’ve talked about crazy topics like hobo alphabets, a cancelled Olympic Games, product flops and more than a few legal skirmishes behind some very common pop culture items. Who knew so much drama and legal tug-of-wars could be found outside of hip-hop beefs and celebrity romances?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, we both live in North Carolina. Come visit! We’ll show you the mountains on one end of the state and the beaches on the other. And if all that majestic beauty tires you, we’ll show you around our favorite pop culture hot spots and along the way, our dive bar haunts. Well…the ones that have not thrown us out yet.

– Visit the birthplace of Pepsi in New Bern. Ask for a Coke. They love that.
– Check out Mount Airy. Andy Griffith’s hometown and the inspiration for Mayberry. (Say both names out loud.)
– We would do a quick pit stop at the only remaining shell-shaped Shell station in Winston Salem. A cool example of advertising architecture.

And so many other pop culture things you didn’t know about The Tarheel State, like Biggie Smalls’ house he left to start his rap career mere moments before it was raided. Or, the town that was the birthplace of both George Clinton and Dale Earnhardt. Or, that the trumpet Miles Davis used on “Kind of Blue” is on display in Greensboro…

Endless good times, especially with two pop culture junkies like us.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Todd: A friend of ours, Patrick Short, is the reason I have a career at all. He’s been a mentor and friend for 35 years. He makes us challenge the ways we see things. There are so many professors, classmates and co-workers that have pushed be to be better. And the best podcast partner, Elliot, continues to inspire me every time out.

Elliot: There are several mentors I can point to. In fact, I’ll start with Todd. He was one of the first people I worked with as a young designer and he offered both kindness and opportunity. He’s also pretty funny. Hayes Henderson and Troy Tyner are two other friends and former bosses still doing great work. And I’d say Don Adleta, one of my former design professors who helped introduce me to the profession. And there are many, many more.

We will say this, kids. Mentorship is more than just following social media feeds you like. Figure out ways to meet people.

Website: https://www.twodesignerswalkintoabar.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twodesignerswalkintoabar/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/two-designers-walk-into-a-bar

Twitter: http://twitter.com/2deswalkin2abar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twodesignerswalkintoabar

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoDesignersWalkIntoaBar

Other: Patreon: https://patreon.com/twodesignerswalkintoabar

Image Credits
All images provided by Two Designers Walk Into a Bar.

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