The Crazy One

Ep 141 Design: A bigger strategy behind Apple’s Liquid Glass?

18 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Stephen finally breaks the seal on AI — not with a prompt tutorial or workflow breakdown (he’s got a YouTube video for that), but with a deeper di...

Ep 140 Keynote: 'Bet on Yourself" BeMore Festival 2025

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates shares the lessons learned from his journey of leaving corporate America to start his own agency. With...

Ep 139 Career: The Hard Truth About Creativity’s Role in Business Today (and Yesterday)

26 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This one’s part wake-up call, part battle cry. After too many sleepless nights and too many same-old conversations, Stephen Gates climbs up on the s...

Ep 138 Creativity: AI Isn’t the Enemy. Complacency Is.

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The AI hype train is moving fast—and it’s already crashing into our creative industry. In this episode, Stephen finally wades into the AI conversa...

Ep 137 Career: The Pros and Cons of Going Out on Your Own

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After decades inside the system—agencies, in-house, and everything in between—Stephen Gates made the leap. No roadmap. No safety net. Just a decis...

Ep 136 Career: Overcoming Fear and Insecurity: Why You Need a Plan, Not the Answers

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You’re stuck. Spinning in circles. Overthinking every move. Sound familiar? In this episode, Stephen breaks down the single most powerful piece of a...

Ep 135 Career: The Hidden Problem of ‘Experience-ism’ in Creative Careers

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the stakes are high—new job, big idea, career leap—most of us freeze. We stall, waiting for the “right” moment, the perfect answer, the f...

Ep 134 Career: Tough Love for Your Portfolio: Stand Out or Stay Stuck

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Most portfolios don’t get rejected for lack of talent. They get rejected because they’re saying the wrong things — or nothing at all. In this ep...

Ep 133 Career: How to get laid off

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s be real — layoffs suck. Whether you saw it coming or it hit you out of nowhere, it’s personal, painful, and way too common in today’s in...

Ep 132 Career: Navigating the Mess: Insights into the 2024 Job Market

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Let’s be honest—this industry is a mess right now. Layoffs are everywhere, leadership roles are disappearing, and even the best of the best are st...

Ep 131 Career: What's stopping you from going out on your own?!?

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After 13 months away, the mic is back on—and we’re starting exactly where too many of us are stuck. In this raw and real return, Stephen unpacks t...

Ep 130: Ending the hiatus. Is this thing still on?

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After a year-long silence, The Crazy One is back — but not the same. In this raw return, Stephen opens up about the real reasons behind the show’s...

Ep 129 Keynote: BeMore Festival 2023 - How to build a breakthrough career

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this powerful episode of The Crazy One podcast, Stephen Gates shares his standout keynote from the 2023 BeMore Festival, the ultimate 24-hour globa...

Ep 128 Career: How to start your studio or freelance business

25 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a long break, Stephen Gates is back with a powerful episode unpacking what it really takes to go out on your own—whether that means freelancin...

Ep 127 Career: How to navigate and succeed in the era of defensive employment

07 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In today’s career landscape, achieving success means taking on more responsibilities and adopting a proactive mindset—a shift Stephen Gates calls ...

Ep 126 Career: Understanding the 2022 job market, a shift is coming

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the job market shifts from a fierce competition for talent to widespread layoffs and uncertainty, the creative industry faces both unprecedented ch...

Ep 125 Value of Design P3: Showing the value and impact of design

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the final episode of this 3-part series, Stephen Gates reveals actionable steps to help your team and organization truly appreciate the value of de...

Ep 124 Value of Design P2: Creating demand for design

12 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this powerful second installment of the 3-part series, Stephen Gates dives deep into strategies for elevating design’s role within your team and ...

Ep 123 Value of Design P1: Understanding the power and stigma of the word 'Design'

08 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the kickoff to this insightful 3-part series, Stephen Gates breaks down essential steps to help your team and company fully appreciate the value of...

Ep 122 Career: How to decide if you should quit your job (or get a promotion)

18 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the challenging crossroads of career decisions, whether you’re aiming for a promo...

Ep 121 Design Thinking: The U.S. Army can teach you a lot about Design Thinking

11 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this unique episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into an unexpected source of inspiration for Design Thinking—the US Army’s Design Met...

Ep 120 Career: Don't apply for your next job (and what to do instead)

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this eye-opening episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates reveals why traditional job applications only have a 5% success rate—and why it’s time...

Back from hiatus

20 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

I'm sure you noticed this show went on an unannounced 7-month hiatus. Before I started recording new episodes, I wanted to take a few minutes to ...

Ep 119 Teamwork: How to become a great meeting and workshop facilitator

22 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the art of facilitation—a crucial yet often overlooked skill that transforms meetings and...

Ep 118 Teamwork: The best remote team building activities

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the top challenges of remote work—unplugging, loneliness, and collaboration—and ...

Ep 117 Teamwork: Understanding your team's cognitive and emotional culture

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates uncovers the deeper layers of company culture beyond team-building events and office perks....

Ep 116 Creativity: Understanding the new imposter syndrome triggers from remote work

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this timely episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into how the pandemic has reshaped our experiences with imposter syndrome in a remote wor...

Ep 115 Leadership: How to write an effective and unbiased job description

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles one of the biggest sources of imposter syndrome: job descriptions. He dives into th...

Ep 114 Career: Overcoming fear and self-doubt

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic has grown and magnified many people's fears and imposter syndrome. We have all been forced into a huge amount of change in a short a...

Ep 113 Career: Understanding the 2021 job market

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this timely episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the unexpected changes and fresh opportunities shaping the 2021 job market. As compani...

Ep 112 #ShareTheMicNow: The Power of Youth in Redesigning Systems by Antionette Carroll

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the fifth episode of the #ShareTheMicNow series on The Crazy One, Antionette Carroll leads an inspiring conversation on “The Power of Youth in Re...

Ep 111 #ShareTheMicNow: Dismantling White Supremacy in Design by Antionette Carroll

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the fourth #ShareTheMicNow episode on The Crazy One, Antionette Carroll leads an impactful conversation with David Clifford, founder of Design Scho...

Ep 110 Creativity: 'Metallica’s rock ‘n roll insights on creativity and leadership’ from HOW Design Live 2020

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this rare and insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates interviews Marc Reiter, the creative force behind Metallica’s legendary projects...

Ep 109 Creativity: ’Hope is not a strategy’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2020

23 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this powerful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates shares his main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2020, following up on his acclaimed 2019 t...

Ep 108 Memorial: The life and lessons of my father, David Gates

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this deeply personal episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates honors the life and legacy of his father, who was not only his dad but also his first ...

Ep 107 Career: How to outsmart the broken recruiting system

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this game-changing episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the common roadblocks of job hunting—frustration, self-doubt, and the strug...

Ep 106 Career: How to build a personal brand people will love to hate

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this must-listen episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the critical importance of building a standout personal brand in today’s competi...

Ep 105 Career: How to negotiate salary and job offers

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this eye-opening episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the essential skills of salary negotiation, a step that most professionals ove...

Ep 104 #ShareTheMicNow: Working in Tech While Black Part 1 by Jackie Velasquez Ross, Dorcie Lovinsky, and Christian Clark

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the third #ShareTheMicNow episode on The Crazy One, Jackie Velasquez Ross (Senior Recruiter), Dorcie Lovinsky (Engineering Manager), and Christian ...

Ep 103 Leadership: Why creating organization and cultural change is so hard

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the challenges of driving meaningful change in a time when people, teams, companies, and en...

Ep 102 #ShareTheMicNow: I Dare You to Care by Sylvia Baffour

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this powerful #ShareTheMicNow episode of The Crazy One, Sylvia Baffour delves into the importance of emotional intelligence in our professional and...

Ep 101 #ShareTheMicNow: Maurice Cherry and Debbie Millman in conversation

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the inaugural #ShareTheMicNow episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates presents an intimate, unfiltered conversation between design legends Maurice ...

Joining #ShareTheMicNow

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Today, more than ever, it is NECESSARY that we all join #ShareTheMicNow to create unifying actions centered around Black, Brown, Indigenous and/or LGB...

Ep 100 Career: Rejecting your life's invisible scripts

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the invisible scripts and societal expectations that often control our lives and careers, s...

Amazing Design People List: Find a job, a mentor, and some hope.

17 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The Amazing Design People list was created as a worldwide, community-led talent base to help those creatives who have recently been laid off or furlou...

Ep 99 Career: The 8 habits of successful people

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates uncovers the 8 powerful characteristics shared by the most successful creatives and leaders...

Ep 98 Career: What to do if you get laid off

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this impactful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the tough topic of layoffs and furloughs—experiences that can be both anxiety-indu...

The Crazy One is now on YouTube

08 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to all this time at home The Crazy One is now on YouTube with the most popular episodes, tutorials, keynotes, interviews, live streams, favorit...

How I'm finding hope in these difficult times.

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

I wanted to quickly share a few insights and perspectives that I've been sharing with friends, co-workers, leaders and other creatives to try and...

Ep 97 Career: How to deal with change.

23 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the impact of constant change on our careers, personal lives, and overall well-being. Chang...

Ep 96 Career: Insights from the Design Imposter Syndrome Crazy One Conversations.

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates recaps his new Crazy One Conversation series, where he spoke with 60 creatives from 10 countries and 2...

Ep 95 Career: How to create a standout portfolio.

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the art and science of crafting a portfolio that truly stands out. Your portfolio is not o...

Ep 94 Creativity: The lost art of boredom.

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this thought-provoking episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the surprising connection between boredom and creativity. Over the past 25 ...

Ep 93 Career: Why you have to build and maintain a personal support system.

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this empowering episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the critical role a strong support system plays in overcoming career challenges....

Ep 92 Career: How to deal with difficult and creativity killing people

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles one of the toughest challenges in creativity: navigating difficult personalities that can dera...

Ep 91 Career: The critical difference between design vs. creativity

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates unpacks the critical differences between design and creativity—two terms often used inter...

Ep 90 Career: The real reason why you aren't getting promoted.

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this powerful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into one of the biggest frustrations in any career: feeling stuck and unable to get pro...

Ep 89 Career: Trends in recruiting, hiring, and retaining the best talent.

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the growing challenge of finding and hiring top creative talent in today’s compet...

Ep 88 Creativity: Trust is the key to everything.

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores why trust is the cornerstone of creativity, teamwork, and effective leadership—an...

Ep 87 Creativity: Supporting and empowering introverts

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates challenges common misconceptions about introverts in the workplace, breaking down why introverted lead...

Ep 86 Career: How to make peace with yourself to improve your creativity.

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the complex relationship between creativity and insecurity, exploring how our un...

Ep 85 Creativity: How to get and give better creative feedback

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the art of giving and receiving feedback—a crucial element that can make or br...

Ep 84 Design: The need for ethical design

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this crucial episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the rising trend of ethical design and why it’s essential for today’s creatives...

Ep 83 Leadership: Your leadership maturity level, persona and communication style

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates goes beyond the basics of leadership to help you assess and elevate your leadership style. Discover co...

Ep 82 Conference talk: ’The Future is Creative’ keynote from HOW Design Live 2019

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this special replay of his main stage keynote from HOW Design Live 2019, Stephen Gates shares powerful insights gained from his work at InVision, p...

Ep 81 Keynote: ‘Why innovation is rarely authorized’ panel from HOW Design 2019

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this dynamic episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates shares an inspiring panel discussion on innovation with two influential voices in the field—...

Ep 80 Emotional intelligence: How to find and restore your confidence

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this empowering episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the elusive nature of confidence—how it’s often faked, easily lost, and freque...

Ep 79 Listener questions: Design operations, start-ups, company “purpose", your career and building a team.

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this engaging Q&A episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles listener questions covering key topics for designers and leaders alike. Disco...

Ep 78 Teamwork: How improv can make your team more creative

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the powerful lessons that improvisational comedy can teach us about enhancing creativity, spo...

Ep 77 Keynote: ‘Building an In-House Design Powerhouse’ keynote from SXSW 2019

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this popular replay from SXSW 2019, The Crazy One podcast features Stephen Gates’ sold-out keynote, “Building an In-House Design Powerhouse.”...

Ep 76 Creativity: Why cognitive bias is the real problem with your work.

08 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates delves into the six key cognitive biases that often create recurring challenges in the work...

Ep 75 Career: How to survive corporate politics with grace and integrity

04 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the challenging world of office politics—a common workplace hurdle that can derail...

Ep 74 Methodologies: Design Thinking isn't bullsh*t. The way you apply it is.

07 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this revealing episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates addresses the rising frustration and criticism around Design Thinking and Design Sprints—m...

Ep 73 Listener questions: Design leadership, office environments, design authority. conflict and sharing.

04 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In this engaging episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates answers listener questions on essential career and team-building topics. Learn how to make th...

Ep 72 Leadership: How to create REAL innovation

31 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates demystifies the overused yet elusive concept of innovation, breaking down why so many companies and te...

Ep 71 Career: How to become a digital product designer

17 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this highly requested episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the top question he receives: how to transition from a marketing, branding, o...

Ep 70 Emotional intelligence: Understanding and improving your emotional intelligence

05 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the essential role of emotional intelligence in leading creative teams effectively. Discove...

Ep 69 Creativity: How to fight imposter syndrome

22 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives deep into the hidden struggle many successful creatives face: design imposter syndrome. This phe...

Ep 68 Career: What's the equation for doing great work?

14 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the key elements that form the foundation of a successful and fulfilling career. From mast...

Ep 67 Creativity: How to give better design feedback

17 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the essential art of giving effective feedback—a crucial skill for anyone in a creative, co...

Ep 66 Originality: What to embrace, fight, stop and start to rediscover your voice and create your best ideas.

20 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this inspiring episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles the challenge of preserving originality in a world that often pushes for conformity....

Ep 65 Listener questions: Branding navigation, hamburger menus, design systems, inspiring change and more.

29 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles listener questions on key topics shaping today’s design world. Explore whether main navigati...

Ep 64 Teamwork: Best practices for remote work

22 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the challenges of thriving in a global, remote work environment. As teams collaborate acros...

Ep 63 Creativity: The good and evil of data, research, and brainstorming

01 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the delicate balance of integrating data and research into the creative process—a challenge...

Ep 62: Listener questions: Advice for junior designers, activating empathy, work routine and more.

26 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates answers listener questions on a variety of creative and career-focused topics. Get Stephen’s top rec...

Ep 61 Career: Portfolio, resume and personal branding refresher

20 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the biggest obstacles that keep talented creatives from landing the careers they deserve. ...

Ep 60 Methodologies: Understanding the power and potential of Design Thinking

22 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates goes beyond the basics of Design Thinking to reveal how it can truly transform your team and company. ...

Ep 59 Career: Know when to quit and do it the right way.

07 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the tough decision of leaving a job. Discover the seven clear signs that indica...

Ep 58 Leadership: Confronting gender bias

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this important episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates opens up a necessary conversation about gender bias—its conscious and unconscious expressi...

Ep 57 Teamwork: How to fix all those useless meetings

04 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the frustration of meeting overload and why so many companies are trapped in a meeting-cent...

Ep 56 Podcast: How to get the most out of this podcast

04 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this essential episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates reveals the “missing manual” to help you turn insights from the podcast into real, impac...

Ep 55 Career: Know what fights to pick and fight them constructively

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates explores the essential balance leaders must strike between advocating for their beliefs and supporting...

Ep 54 Emotional intelligence: The importance of honesty for your work, your team and yourself

07 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates takes on one of the toughest emotions to master in both work and life: honesty. Discover the differenc...

Ep 53 Podcast: The Crazy One podcast's biggest lessons of 2017

25 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates reflects on the most impactful themes and lessons from the past year. Dive into core topics ar...

Ep 52 Career: 6 ways to screw up your career

26 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates dives into the 6 most common career pitfalls that can derail your growth before you even realize it. L...

Ep 51 Leadership: How to work with underperforming people and teams

11 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles one of the hardest leadership challenges: managing difficult conversations with underperformin...

Ep 50 Conference talk: ‘Building your personal brand' from Adobe MAX 2017

29 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this replay of his sold-out session from Adobe MAX 2017, Stephen Gates challenges you to define what sets you apart in a competitive creative indus...

Ep 49 Conference talk: ‘In-house powerhouse' from Adobe MAX 2017

22 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this replay of his sold-out Adobe MAX 2017 session, In-house Powerhouse: Building and Managing an Empowered Internal Creative Team, Stephen Gates s...

Ep 48 Leadership: 3 step method to coach and grow your team

08 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates tackles one of leadership’s biggest challenges: coaching and developing your team to unlock their fu...

Ep 47 Creativity: Understanding and applying empathy in your work

24 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of The Crazy One, Stephen Gates breaks down the true meaning of empathy, a concept often misunderstood and overlooked in the workplace...