Christian Solorzano [00:10]

Hey there, it's Christian of Underscore, and I would like to wish you a joyous holiday season. I hope that you're finding some joy in whichever way is possible. On today's conversation, I am joined by Cheryl Bever. Who is a team member of the Chicago Graphic Design Club. And together we're going to be taking you behind the scenes of some of our upcoming programming for 2024, plus also sharing some of the responses that we received from our community survey, which we published earlier this fall.

And we're just very excited about some of the things that we have coming up. We're also going to be reflecting on some of our personal highlights and milestones of the club for this past year. And yeah, just really excited about everything that's going on. We have our upcoming publication, which is going to be published in early 2024. So please be on the lookout for that. And we hope that we see you at some of our upcoming events here in Chicago in person.

So as always, thank you so much for all of your support. We hope to see you soon. Be well and happy New Year. Good morning, Cheryl. How's it going?

Cheryl Bever [01:33]

Hey, Christian. Good. How are you?

Christian Solorzano [01:35]

Doing pretty good. I can't believe it's already been a year since the last one of these episodes that we recorded. You weren't in the last one, were you?

Cheryl Bever [01:42]

No, I couldn't make the last one, but I very much enjoyed it.

Christian Solorzano [01:47]

So on today's episode, we're doing something that is unlike all the other episodes. We're not going to be interviewing anyone. We're going to be talking with each other about the Chicago Graphic Design Club, reflecting on this past year, talking a little bit about what we're excited about in 2024. Before that, I just want to check in. How are you doing? How was your year?

Cheryl Bever [02:08]

My year has actually been really great. I think like a lot of people, it's had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, it's all kind of coming together and I mean, business-wise, it's been fantastic. Also for myself and like meeting friends and, my personal life has been pretty great too. So I don't know, all in all, I enjoyed 2023 quite a bit and there's still a couple of weeks to go, so it can only go up, right?

Christian Solorzano [02:34]

Is there any particular highlight that stands out to you?

Cheryl Bever [02:37]

The first thing that comes to mind honestly is with the club, the Seeing a New Chicago. Tour that John did. I think that was probably my favorite thing all year. Had a lot of fun with it. It was a gorgeous day. I don't know, getting into the city and experiencing it again, and even after living here for so long, I don't know, it just, it kind of reinvigorated a lot of things. How about you?

Christian Solorzano [03:03]

It was a year of being heads down, doing things. And as far as like, what was my Milestone or highlight of the year? I think the event that we did, Chicago's Tomorrow Today, that was, that was pretty incredible to see so many people, to see so many people in a space and to put together such a big event with so many great designers and artists.

This year was a lot of just finding balance and trying to make sure that I don't spread myself too thin because as much as I like to be, to keep myself busy, yeah. I also, really prioritize my health and all that kind of stuff.

Cheryl Bever [03:39]

So I actually just read an article this morning that talked about how important it is for artists to have that downtime where you don't talk to anybody, you don't like do anything, you just kind of— you need to kind of recenter and be able to come back and to everything full force. So that's very important.

Christian Solorzano [03:58]

And I think the other— probably the other highlight is just collaborating with you and the rest of the team.

I think we've been around since— next year it'll be our 4th year. But I would say this past year was my favorite year of the Chicago Graphic Design Club. I feel like there's like a really good momentum going on. So what are you looking forward to most next year? We're currently, I mean, right now we're recording this in the month of December and we've started to do some planning around what's going on, at least through March of next year.

What are you looking forward to next year, whether it's something that we're doing or something that is an idea? What are you hopeful for 2024?

Cheryl Bever [04:44]

This past year, 2023, was my first year as a team member of the club. And so it was fun for me to get to see how, behind the scenes, how you guys put everything together and all of that kind of stuff. I think that this next upcoming year, while, we'll continue to do the same thing, same kind of events, and maybe some different ones and book clubs and that kind of thing.

I think that each— I mean, with anything, with each year, everything's going to get better, right? We're going to learn from our past mistakes. We're going to learn like, oh, maybe we should have done this. And then this year we're actually going to get to implement it and try new things. I think that— I know since I do the Discord, just seeing that community grow and become a little bit more involved.

I feel like our club community as a whole is gonna get more involved and, be a part of things. I see a lot of people just saying like, I just wanna get together and talk. So maybe just having more social things like the bowling night that we did was fantastic. I didn't make it to the beach day, but I heard great things about it. I think so.

I think I'm more excited for things like that to bring more people together and hang out and, kind of fill that void that I think a lot of designers kind of feel.

Christian Solorzano [05:58]

So you've been around with— you've been a part of the club before you were on our team. How has the club helped you grow as a person? And I'll go next.

Cheryl Bever [06:07]

So as far as how the club has changed, I mean, I think that kind of comes with the whole regression of COVID and all that, because like everything in that 2021 year was virtual. So seeing that change of everything, then we started doing things in person more in the following year. So I definitely have seen that grow. As far as it's helped me, I never knew I needed people, if that makes sense.

It's just okay, I work from home, I do my thing, and I have my family and who I talk to and all that. But getting like having peers that are on the same wavelength and, can understand what Maybe I'm going through, or get as excited as I do about, some new font or typeface, or, a silly joke. There's a lot to be said about that, and I didn't know I needed it. So I think that's helped me grow a lot.

My confidence has like skyrocketed in the last year. And to our point of what our last topic of saying, I'm not afraid to make mistakes. I'm not afraid to screw up. It's like, okay, take it and roll with it, and that's been huge for me.

Christian Solorzano [07:20]

But for me, I think the club has, well, one, it has given me confidence, and I think it's also shown me how approachable and kind people can be and how giving people are. Everything that we've done, like all our programming, all the podcast interviews, I can't think of one person that's ever said no. So that's been pretty cool. And I think looking at the last almost 4 years and seeing the timeline of everything that we've done, that's also really exciting.

Cheryl Bever [07:51]

And that has to be huge for you, being there from the very beginning and just seeing how much it's grown and yeah, how many— I know I've been like in the background when people have come up to you like, this is so great. I love that you put this together and all that. That just has to feel so great.

Christian Solorzano [08:07]

So we put together a survey that we published on the internet. So right now we're looking to plan the coming year. Last year we did another survey and it's like a community survey for the following year of what kind of programming do people want to see. And usually the way that a lot of— for the listener, the way that a lot of our programming works is that we base it off what people want to see.

If someone says they want more studio tours, if they want more opportunities to connect, then we take that and then that lets us know, all right, these are the kind of things that we should be doing in the coming year. All right, so let's see. So we asked, what do you want out of a design organization? Let's maybe, let's you and I answer these questions and then we could go into other people's answers.

Cheryl Bever [08:57]

So meeting more people is super cool. I like learning about other people's process, like the studio tours that we've done. I love seeing how other people create the tools that they use. I'm thinking specifically of the Firebelly tour that we did, seeing like having their entire, like their team there and talk about a project and how it goes through the different departments and all of that. Like me myself, I've only ever like been freelance or like the only designer in the room.

So seeing how an agency does something is, was pretty fantastic. So I like that behind the scenes look, I think is super cool. So I think like the studio tours are really fun and yeah. And I think I said before, like more social gatherings was, is really cool for me. How about you?

Christian Solorzano [09:45]

For me, the exact same thing. I love, I love craft. I love process. If I could just talk about spacing all day or font sizes or color theory, that's all I want to talk about. So that Firebelly tour was awesome, especially when they open up their Figma file and they're like walking us through like their layers and the way that they, lay things out. Yeah, that stuff gives me literal goosebumps. So people, people's responses were, they were, I want to meet other designers.

I want to develop my craft. A few people said, I want to find a job. I want to participate in discussions. I want to help build community. Studio tours. Develop my craft. A little bit of, a little bit of everything. And I think it just all comes down to— connecting and being out in the world with other designers? And then the second question that we asked was, what kind of digital content do you find the most useful?

Cheryl Bever [10:51]

I mean, probably, I mean, looking on here, resources are a big thing because I know even in the Discord when people are like, oh, there's this great site that has this, or there's this great site that has that, I would have never found that on my own. So Seeing what other people use and other, having people share, their tools and whatnot is pretty cool. Love it or hate it, Instagram.

I love it and I hate it all at the same time, but I've learned, quite a few, little tricks and the same thing, cool, sites and resources to use off there. I found the club on there. So yeah, Instagram is my guilty pleasure for sure.

Christian Solorzano [11:34]

Yeah, I would say also, resources. I love interviews. Whether it's like design interviews or just interviews in general. Like lately I've really been into journal, like street journalists, people that just walk around different cities interviewing people, just normal people. Like not celebrities, not famous people. Just there, there's a, there's a YouTube channel that I really like. Well, there's 2. One of them is called Soft White Underbelly.

And then there's another one called Channel 5 News. I think this year, like the country's become so divided and it's difficult to get unbiased journalism. And then, so people, when we asked this question, people said interviews, book reviews, resources, lectures, opinions, podcasts, again, like a little bit of, a little bit of everything. And then the other question was, what kind of programming events do you want to see? And I guess you and I talked a little bit about that, but do you want to answer that?

What kind of, what kind of things would you like to see in the new year?

Cheryl Bever [12:34]

More social events, I think, where people can just kind of hang out. The Confronting Design talk was really fantastic, getting different perspectives on a topic from different people. And then I loved that so many people in the audience participated and asked questions, and, everybody really got into it. And then just being able to, talk to those people after. The presentation, I think, was really cool.

So just having that access to people that maybe you didn't think that you would have access to before, because they're like up on this pedestal, or, oh, they're way up there, and I'm just, a student, or just graduated, or I'm no one. But seeing that everybody is just people, and everybody likes to talk to everybody, I think that that's super cool. So having those opportunities is fun.

Christian Solorzano [13:21]

I would say the exact same thing. And then people responded. So people are excited for our publication. Which I'm also excited about. Networking, studio tours, museum events, more studio tours, designer interviews around the city, which is not something that— well, we've done. I mean, we have our podcast where we interview designers, but one of the things that I do want to do next year is do video interview, like videos, interviews in the studio with designers. That's a, that's an objective for next year.

Job opportunities, book discussions at random places. Those are difficult because we were looking into doing a book discussion at a, at a bookshop. And do you remember it was like, it was like it costs money to rent a space. Do you remember that?

Cheryl Bever [14:10]

Yeah. I mean, anywhere to rent a space where it's like private, where we could just talk in it, you'd have to rent it. And I think that unfortunately that becomes a barrier that we hit a lot is just funds.

Christian Solorzano [14:21]

And so if anyone that's listening and has a lot of money.

Cheryl Bever [14:25]

Send it our way. Send it our way. It will be used for good, we promise.

Christian Solorzano [14:30]

Hey, we got like $20 right now, a paperclip, a rubber band, and some tape and a ball of lint.

Cheryl Bever [14:40]

I'm going to read this one. I really like this answer. Casual organizing for groups to go to design events that aren't necessarily hosted by the club. Sometimes the barrier to go to things is just not knowing anyone or not having anyone to meet there. 100% agree. I find myself not going to things because, well, if I don't know anybody, I'm just gonna kind of be a weirdo in the corner because, I won't go up and talk to anyone.

But going to things and knowing people there, that kind of changes the whole dynamic for myself of the night, and it ends up being more fun. So totally, I'm down with that.

Christian Solorzano [15:15]

So yeah, the casual networking, lectures. Field trips, peer-to-peer critiques, which is not something that we've done. We kind of do it on our Discord when people will share like a project or something. It would be awesome if we did like a— just we hang out as a community and people bring in work that they want feedback on and just talk about it.

Cheryl Bever [15:38]

Oh, and then there's one down here, something like a workshop.

Christian Solorzano [15:41]

I know we've kind of thrown around a few different ideas of holding some kind of and then one comment was, I'm old, over 50, gasp, and have had my business for 20 years. I'd like to see programming that's somewhat relevant to someone who's not in their 20s and looking for a job. I agree with that.

Cheryl Bever [15:59]

And by the way, 50 is not old. 50 is the new 30. So as someone that's also nearing 50, that's not old.

Christian Solorzano [16:11]

And then the other question that we asked was, do you have any thoughts on— do you have other thoughts you would like to share with us on how you feel the Chicago design community could improve? Yeah, someone said, I don't have any feedback on improvement. Just want to say the Discord channel has been really helpful to me. A great place to find references, ask questions, get information on events. And you're the person that's keeping our Discord great. So thank you so much for that.

Cheryl Bever [16:38]

Oh, thank you. I try.

Christian Solorzano [16:39]

And the CGDC has a really good media presence, putting itself out there and always Updating its websites.

Cheryl Bever [16:44]

Thank you.

Christian Solorzano [16:47]

More networking events. It would be cool if there was a group somewhere other than Discord or more info on that group. That's a good—

Cheryl Bever [16:55]

I would say to the person that said that, do you have any ideas? What are some options that you would like to see? Because I don't know. I don't know what else is out there, besides what did we use before? We used Slack for a minute and then All that. So are you looking for something like a Discord thing, or— and you just don't like Discord?

Are you looking for like, what are you not finding in Discord that you, that you're missing that you think maybe something else can offer? And if you could throw that our way, that would be fantastic.

Christian Solorzano [17:26]

There is that new feature on Instagram.

Cheryl Bever [17:28]

They're called the broadcast channels.

Christian Solorzano [17:30]

Yeah, the broadcast channels. I wonder if that— oh, but that, that's just like another—

Cheryl Bever [17:35]

It's another thing. I kind of— I took all those off because it's like, all right, I already follow everything in the feed and I feel like this is just more of— it's almost too much.

Christian Solorzano [17:45]

Let us know any suggestions. And then maybe for newbies, mainly me, to try to get instructional help or have a conversation about graphic design.

Cheryl Bever [17:54]

Yeah, no, that's a great idea. And I know I've thought we don't use on our Discord, we don't use our lounge, like the video thing very much. And I would like to start Doing that more. And maybe, if there was something you said, more instructional help, if there's a specific topic or something that you want to do, maybe it's something that we could all hop into the lounge and, people could give different ideas.

Because since it is made for gamers, I know everybody can share screens and show what they're doing and stuff. So maybe that's something that could help somehow. It would take some trial and error, but, everybody hop in one day at noon, let's all have lunch together.

Christian Solorzano [18:32]

Exactly. That would be awesome. And then more in-person and events in interesting places that bring together a range of different designers. We, we've begun to do that with like our panel discussions, art show. Anything else that we want to talk about regarding this survey?

Cheryl Bever [18:51]

I know one of the questions on here is about the newsletter. If you aren't signed up already, go ahead and, get on that newsletter. We're on Substack and that'll keep you updated. We send one out a month. We don't bombard your inbox or anything, so that'll give you a rundown of everything that is upcoming and happening so that you're on top of it all and know what's going on. So next year we're going to be doing our first publication. How excited are you about that?

Christian Solorzano [19:19]

That is really exciting and I cannot wait.

Cheryl Bever [19:23]

You've been talking about that for a long time, a long time. And I know everybody keeps asking, when's it coming out? When's it coming out? We're working on it. It just— these things took a little bit longer than I think we thought it would and it's our first one, so it's, it will be out next year.

Christian Solorzano [19:38]

Yes, early next year. So be on the lookout for that. We could talk a little bit about the podcast. There's a lot of, a lot of episodes this year. You put together like that collage of all the episodes for our last newsletter.

Cheryl Bever [19:53]

There were a lot. I just kept going back and going back and going back. It's like, oh my God.

Christian Solorzano [19:58]

That sums up everything I wanted to talk about. And again, I just want to say thank you, Cheryl, for Everything that you do for our community. It's been amazing collaborating with you this year, and thank you for everything that you bring to the table and for all that you do. So—

Cheryl Bever [20:13]

All the same, Christian, thank you so much for, having this idea and bringing us together and giving so many people the opportunity to network and collaborate and work. And shout out to the rest of our team who couldn't be here today. Thank you for everything that you do too, and to everybody else, be on the lookout for more podcasts, more events, more book discussions, and just more of everything.

Christian Solorzano [20:36]

Awesome. Well, thank you, Cheryl, for hopping on, and we'll chat soon.

Cheryl Bever [20:40]

Sounds good. Thanks, Christian.

Christian Solorzano [20:42]

As usual, thanks for sticking around till the end. If you have any ideas or suggestions or feedback or simply want to share an idea of things that you want to see in the coming year, please let us know. Visit our website, you could find our contact information there, or you could just shoot us a message on Instagram. Thank you, and we'll talk with you very soon. Stay safe and Happy New Year!