Emily Sneddon is a former Coles checkout chick, part-time investigative journalist, and a designer so good that, at the age of four, her preschool ripped off one of her drawings and made it their very own logo.

And who says people don’t value real design?

If you know Em, you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say she’s the biggest ray of sunshine. Full of wit, all heart, and fuelled by a genuine passion for making beautiful graphics.

Em’s career journey is about as non-linear as they come.

Without giving too much away, it starts in Newcastle, takes a wild four-month detour to Mexico for an internship, and eventually lands in Sydney, where she found her feet at some of the best studios in the game, including RE and Christopher Doyle & Co.

Then, like a lot of people, Emily lost her job during COVID.

Faced with uncertainty, she found the courage to back herself and take a shot at a role she never thought she’d get a look-in for.

And sure enough, ten interviews later, she landed a Senior Designer role at COLLINS in San Francisco where she rose to Design Director after almost 4 years —an opportunity that changed her life forever. ❤️

In this episode, I sit down with Em to pick her brain about her creative process and the lessons she’s learned from some of the industry’s greats along the way.

We talk about going deep on an idea. Following your curiosity. Getting lost in the work.

And trusting that sometimes you have to disappear into the process to come back with something worth keeping.

We also kick off my new favourite BABIB segment: Hot Chicks Make Fonts™.

A segment I built specifically so we could talk about Em’s first typeface, Fran Sans.

A love letter to San Francisco, Fran Sans started as a simple idea and quickly spiralled into a full-blown investigation of train nerd culture, all because Em wanted to make something that didn’t exist yet.

And that’s what this episode is really about. The beauty of making things. Seeing where they take you. Making your dreams happen.

Because sometimes the thing that changes your life starts as one tiny spark of curiosity.

Thanks for joining me Em x

SHOWNOTES

Follow or get in touch with Emily Sneddon on

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilysneddon/

Website

https://emilysneddon.com/

Fran Sans Font & Journey Essay

https://emilysneddon.com/fran-sans-essay

https://emilysneddon.com/fransans

COLLINS

https://wearecollins.com/

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