Ep. 005 – Armin Vit: The Voice Behind Brand New on Risk, Critique & Creative Discipline

Armin Vit is the sharp voice behind Brand New, one of the most widely read blogs on corporate and brand identity redesigns. As co-founder of UnderConsideration, alongside his wife Bryony, he’s spent the last two decades shaping how designers talk about design through writing, conferences, and community-building. 

Now, with their newest venture In-house In-focus, they’re spotlighting the often-overlooked work of in-house creative teams.

In this episode, Brad and Dustin go beyond the critiques and keynotes to explore the real Armin: the former “lazy” student who learned to bet on himself, the introvert who cold-emailed Paula Scher, and the guy who applies design thinking to his grocery cart like it’s a case study.

You’ll hear about:

• Why being willing to sound like a “jerk” helped him build a name in design
• How risk (and rejection) fueled his creative breakthroughs
• The power of structure, systems, and showing up (even without “natural talent”)
• Why in-house designers deserve the spotlight

If you’ve ever felt the tension between staying safe and standing out, or wondered what it really takes to build a voice in the creative industry, this is the inside story.

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Brad Woodard

Brad is an illustrator and designer behind Brave the Woods, a full-service studio working with clients like Nickelodeon, Target, USPS, and NASA. His bold, playful style and heart-led storytelling shine through everything from brand campaigns to children’s books.

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Dustin Lee

Dustin is the founder of RetroSupply, a shop for retro-inspired brushes, textures, and digital tools used by tens of thousands of creatives — from indie artists to major studios. He shares what it’s really like to run a creative business while keeping it small, weird, and intentional.

View RetroSupply

Credits

Audio/video editing: Clara Wright
Cover art: Brad Woodard
Intro animation: Seth Austin
Intro music: “Snakes and Fire” (Instrumental) by Pär Hagström