ICYMI: Our very own icon sommelier, Noah Jacobus, unboxed and assembled our Font Awesome X Mode Sonnet and Keycap set live.
🎥Watch the replay: youtu.be/Fk6_dRvhNrI?...
Fonts are cool. Layouts are sexy …
🗣️ Content is king.
🎧 youtu.be/Pb3h7TFFXfQ?...
“If your layout only works with nonsense text… maybe it doesn’t work.”
🎧 youtu.be/Pb3h7TFFXfQ?...
Feedback welcome on a proposed option to override the project root in Eleventy, please weigh in if you have opinions! https://github.com/11ty/eleventy/issues/3857
“Is it cheese? Is it melted? Is it yellow enthusiasm in quotes?!”
🎧 Full episode → youtu.be/Pb3h7TFFXfQ
#ContentNerd #PodcastAwesome #TypoNerdRage
We’re calling out the gibberish.
• Cicero in a blender
• Quotation mark chaos
• [Faux] rage about fake Latin
🎧 Listen here: youtu.be/Pb3h7TFFXfQ
#PodcastAwesome #DesignRant #BlueskyTechTalk
Surfacing a hidden feature in Eleventy’s Bundle Plugin: `bundleHtmlContentFromSelector` to bundle HTML content!
`bundleHtmlContentFromSelector: "style"` to bundle <style> nodes or "script" to bundle <script> nodes.
https://www.11ty.dev/docs/plugins/bundle/#bundling-html-node-content
A Short History of Lorem Ipsum (and a Rant)
“Layouts are sexy but, you know, words still matter.”
In this solo rant-style episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt takes a silly, unhinged dive into the world of Lorem Ipsum — the gibberish placeholder text that’s haunted designers and writers alike since the 1500s. From Cicero’s scrambled Latin to zombie-themed mockups, we trace the wild history and the weird world of filler text.
So ... why do we still treat real content as an afterthought? And what happens when a layout only works with nonsense words?
You’ll laugh. You’ll cringe. You’ll maybe rethink that next wireframe.
🧠 What We Cover in This Episode:
- 🤬 The grammar quirks that make writers lose their minds (yes, we see you, Oxford comma debate)
- 🏛️ The bizarre origin of Lorem Ipsum (hi Cicero!)
- 🥓 Bacon Ipsum, Hipster Ipsum, Cat Ipsum
- 😤 A friendly/spicy rant on why Lorem Ipsum might kill your content strategy
- 👻 Live sites with placeholder text
⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00 – Welcome to the Fake Latin Fight Club
01:00 – Oxford Commas, Passive Voice, and Writers with Rage
03:00 – Sarcastic Quotation Marks and Melty “Cheese”
04:00 – What Even Is Lorem Ipsum, Anyway?
05:30 – From Ancient Rome to Adobe Default Settings
06:45 – The Rise of Bacon, Hipster, and Zombie Ipsum
08:00 – THE RANT: “If Your Layout Only Works With Nonsense…”
09:30 – Final Thoughts: Fonts Are Cool. Content Is King.
🔗 Links & Resources:
- Generate your own Bacon Ipsum 🥓
- Cat Ipsum for feline-forward mockups 🐱
- Zombie Ipsum, because... why not 🧟
- Theme by Ronnie Martin 🎹
- 8-bit interstitial music by Zach Moom
- Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions 🍋
🎙️ Subscribe + Listen:
📱 Apple Podcasts | 🎧 Spotify | 💻 YouTube | 🌐 podcastawesome.com
Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!
💻 Last call for the big event!
NoahJacobus is building a one-of-a-kind custom Font Awesome keyboard from our friends at Mode LIVE on Twitch.
Join in 5 minutes!
🎥 twitch.tv/font_awesome
Designers: love it or hate it, Lorem Ipsum is your placeholder BFF.
Should it be? Maaaaybe?
🎧 [Listen now] → youtu.be/Pb3h7TFFXfQ
#DesignThinking #ContentMatters #WebDesignHistory
The ultimate dev/designer desk upgrade starts here.
Font Awesome 7 is just about to drop — and to celebrate, Noah Jacobus is building a one-of-a-kind custom keyboard LIVE on Twitch.
🗓️ Today, June 10
⏰ 2pm ET / 11am PT
🎥 twitch.tv/font_awesome
Come hang. Icons, keycaps, vibez. #FontAwesome7
This 88×31 #BuiltWithEleventy animated badge from @chrisburnell is only 3KB!
Icon lovers, keyboard nerds, and aesthetic maximalists, rejoice!
We’re going live with @jabron.us to build a Font Awesome-themed mechanical keyboard to celebrate the launch of FA7!
🗓️ Tuesday, June 10
⏰ 2pm ET / 11am PT
📍 twitch.tv/font_awesome
The Emoji Periodic Table is #BuiltWithEleventy 🏆
To celebrate the imminent launch of Version 7, we’re doing a keyboard build livestream tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10, at 2pm ET / 11am PT! Hop in and follow along as we assemble a Sonnet 75% board that we collaborated on with our friends at Mode!
www.twitch.tv/font_awesome
Christopher Kirk-Nielsen wrote up their journey with Vento: chriskirknielsen.com/blog/from-nu...
New release: Eleventy v3.1.1 (we fixed some things)
@11ty/eleventy@3.1.1
A simpler static site generator.
ICYMI: Brian Glenney helped redesign the accessibility icon — and it took off.
From graffiti to lawbooks, this is a Podcast Awesome episode you don’t want to miss.
♿️ [Listen now] → youtu.be/B6HTE0NvpFk?...
#DesignWithPurpose #AccessibleDesign #PodcastAwesome
@fortawesome/angular-fontawesome@2.0.1
Angular Fontawesome, an Angular library
Cognitive load or design signal?
Brian Glenney makes the case that symbols should sometimes make us think — especially when they represent entire communities.
🎧 Thoughtful stuff → www.podcastawesome.com/accessibilit...
#DesignTalk #SymbolismMatters
@11ty/eleventy@3.1.1-beta.3
A simpler static site generator.
@fortawesome/angular-fontawesome@2.0.0
Angular Fontawesome, an Angular library
@11ty/eleventy@3.1.1-beta.2
A simpler static site generator.
Early adopters and testers welcome on this new beta release!
Eleventy v3.1.1-beta.1: https://github.com/11ty/eleventy/releases/tag/v3.1.1-beta.1
@11ty/eleventy@3.1.1-beta.1
A simpler static site generator.
From Stickers to State Law: The Accessibility Icon Story
Design meets activism. Philosophy meets iconography. Wheelchairs meet graffiti.
In this philosophy-packed episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt chats with professor, artist, and co-founder of the Accessible Icon Project, Brian Glenny. Together with colleague Sara Hendron, they took a bold journey to make a tweak to the accessibility symbol — which led to a humble street art sticker to statewide legislation.
Brian’s story unpacks how a wheelchair icon went from stiff and static to dynamic and full of agency — and how that tweak sparked a global conversation about representation, identity, and inclusion.
Along the way, we hit:
- 🧠 The neuroscience of symbol recognition
- 🎨 Graffiti roots and punk rock influence
- 📜 Ethics and accessibility in visual design
- ♿ The making of a movement: from sticker campaign to state law
- 🤯 How even tiny geometry tweaks carry political power
If you’ve ever wondered how symbols shape culture — or why an icon isn’t “just an icon” — this one’s for you.
And knowing? Yep. That’s half the battle.
🔗 Links & Credits
🚧🎨🏙️Brian's Wiki Page
👀 Learn more about Sara Hendren
🎵 Theme by Ronnie Martin
🎹 Interstitial music by Zach Malm
🎛️ Audio mastering by Chris Enns (Lemon Productions)
🎥 Video support by Isaac Chase
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⢁⣛⣷⠖⡐⡐⠐⠀⠂⣠⣷⣾⣆⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣸⣸⣀⣀⠀⠈⠀⠌⢀⠂⣻⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⠊⠉⠀⠀⠀⠈⠙⣢⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢻⡟⡟⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠻⢭⡭⠭⠭⠭⠭⠭⡼⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡏⡇⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡿⠀⢀⠤⠤⢄⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⡇⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠇⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣷⠀⠱⣄⡀⡠⠁⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢯⣭⣈⣉⣍⣉⡭⠜⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#PodcastAwesome #AccessibleIconProject #BrianGlenny #DesignActivism #InclusiveDesign #IconographyMatters #DisabilityRepresentation #GraffitiArt #DesignEthics #Semiotics #ContentIsCulture #DesignPhilosophy
Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!
💬 An icon is more than just geometry. It’s a signal.
Brian Glenney, co-creator of the Accessible Icon, joins Podcast Awesome to explain how the tiniest symbol tweaks can change perception, policy — and public space.
🎧 Listen here → youtu.be/B6HTE0NvpFk?...
#PodcastAwesome #InclusiveDesign
@fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser-react@0.9.0-2
React specific wrapper for @fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser
@fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser@0.9.0-2
Font Awesome Icon Chooser
@fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser-react@0.9.0-1
React specific wrapper for @fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser
@fortawesome/fa-icon-chooser@0.9.0-1
Font Awesome Icon Chooser
Eleventy LibDoc is a beautiful new documentation focused starter project from Olivier Blanc.
Source: https://github.com/ita-design-system/eleventy-libdoc
Demo: https://eleventy-libdoc.netlify.app/
The Web Awesome theme builder is here! Customize fonts, colors, icons & more.
Plus: new <wa-scroller>, blog/news patterns, and more!
not many folks used the very first version of eleventy on 8″ floppy
Still thinking about something @supercodepoet.bsky.social:
“When you get passionate about other things—even if they’re not tech—you will find something to bring back in.”
A💖 letter to nerdery, balance, & building the internet on your own terms.
🎧 www.youtube.com/watch?v=85DrX...
#TechCulture
Try out the new interactive Playground component on the docs home page: https://www.11ty.dev/#try-eleventy-in-your-browser
That’s right: we’re running Eleventy in the build and in the browser. This unlocks many more exciting options for Eleventy projects — stay tuned!
🧠 From dial-up days and hand-coded HTML to Y Combinator and global icon fame…
Travis Chase has stories.
🔥 And he’s finally telling them.
🎧 [Listen now] → youtu.be/85DrXrY0RvA?si=PlNd0...
#PodcastAwesome #NerdShowAndTell
not many people know this but before npm we used to mail out physical media to folks
Would you uproot your life to join Y Combinator with no guarantees?
Travis Chase did — and Font Awesome hasn’t looked back.
Catch this cozy, nerdy, inspiring episode of Nerd Show & Tell:
🎧 www.podcastawesome.com/episod...
#StartupLife #PodcastAwesome #TechFounders #WebDesignNostalgia
Travis Chase is the kind of founder who still remembers his first programming thrill:
📞 Building an answering machine from scratch.
This week’s podcast episode dives into code, culture, and the real story behind FA’s YC journey.
🎧 youtu.be/85DrXrY0RvA?si=RrNJ_...
#IndieDev #YCFounders
We finally lured @supercodepoet into a recording booth.
We talk about:
• Dodging accounting for web design
• Star Wars trading cards rule
• Building a business your way
• And what it’s like getting mistaken for your own clone brand 😅
Listen in: www.podcastawesome.com/episod...
#DesignTech
New on the docs and new in Eleventy v3.1.0:
HTML Relative Passthrough File Copy (only copy files referenced in templates!)
https://www.11ty.dev/docs/copy/#copy-a-file-alongside-a-template
@11ty/eleventy-img@6.0.4
Low level utility to perform build-time image transformations.
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-mustache@1.0.1
The `mustache` template language plugin for Eleventy v3 and newer.
Eleventy v3.1.0 is now available 🎈
⏩ 11% faster!
🤏 22% smaller!
Nerd Show and Tell: Meet Travis Chase
In this very special episode of The Nerd Show and Tell, we finally cornered the elusive co-founder of Font Awesome — Travis Chase! 🧢✨ From dialing into the web back in the modem days, to co-founding a company that powers millions of websites, Travis shares his unique journey from almost-accountant to accidental icon-company-boss. Or something. You’ll hear tales of telephony code, Star Wars devotion, and how building a company that doesn’t burn people out might be the most radical idea of all.
He’s part artist 🎨, part developer 💻, full-on space western nerd — and yes, he’s that guy you want on your trivia team.
🧠 What We Cover in This Episode
- 🖼️ How an “uncreative” art student became a designer-turned-developer
- 📞 Building answering machines from scratch — with homemade programming languages!
- 👨👦 Juggling startups, Y Combinator, and parenting like a boss
- 🎯 The philosophy behind not grinding yourself to dust
- 🌟 Going full lightspeed into Star Wars Unlimited (Vegas tourney? Yep.)
- 🧙♂️ Favorite icons, D&D vibes, and space westerns galore
- ☕ How coffee and coding dreams brewed into a global icon toolkit
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: We Finally Wrangled Travis
01:00 – Side Hustles, Modems, and Making the Web Happen
03:00 – From Art School to Programming Wizardry
06:00 – Answering Machine Nerdvana (Travis’ Favorite Dev Story!)
09:00 – College Friends → Startup Squad
12:00 – That Time They Got Into YC
15:00 – Building Font Awesome the Fun Way
18:00 – Culture that Actually Cares About People
21:00 – What Travis is Nerding Out About (👀 Star Wars Unlimited!)
24:00 – AI, Card Games, and Cross-Pollinating Passions
25:00 – Favorite Icons + Wishlist Packs (Laser swords, anyone?)
27:00 – A Chill Goodbye and More Nerd Show and Tell to Come
🔗 Links & Resources
- 🌐 Font Awesome — Icons that just work™
- 🪐 Star Wars: Unlimited TCG — The game Travis is totally (and deeply) nerding out about
- 🏢 37signals & Rework — Inspiration for FA's work/life philosophy
- 🎵 Podcast Theme by Ronnie Martin
- 🎛️ Audio mastering by Chris Enns @ Lemon Productions
Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!
@11ty/eleventy@3.1.0
A simpler static site generator.
@fortawesome/ember-fontawesome@3.0.1
Official Ember component for Font Awesome
@11ty/gray-matter@1.0.0
Parse front-matter from a string or file. Fast, reliable and easy to use. Parses YAML front matter by default, but also has support for YAML, JSON, TOML Front-Matter, with options to set custom delimiters. Used by metalsmith, assemble, verb and many other
https://jorijn.com/ is #BuiltWithEleventy 🏆 Nice work @jorijn@jorijn.dev and @mahryekuh!
Designing a website but haven't considered persons with disabilities?
👀 Might wanna rethink that.
Lindsay gives some perspective to show how empathy is the new UX.
🎙️ www.podcastawesome.com/209285...
#AccessibilityMatters #WebDev
A responsible security disclosure for the Syntax Highlight plugin: https://github.com/11ty/eleventy-plugin-syntaxhighlight/issues/93
Due to quick action by npm and good granular access security policy there was no impact and no action is necessary.
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-syntaxhighlight@5.0.1
Prism.js based syntax highlighting for Markdown, Liquid, Nunjucks, WebC, and 11ty.js templates.
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-rss@2.0.4
Generate an Atom, RSS, or JSON feed with Eleventy.
@11ty/eleventy-img@6.0.3
Low level utility to perform build-time image transformations.
New release: Eleventy Fetch v5.1.0
https://github.com/11ty/eleventy-fetch/releases/tag/v5.1.0
Streamlined: 47% smaller! Backwards compatible with existing cache files! Bug fixes! Endorsed by the new pope*!
*not really
@11ty/eleventy-fetch@5.1.0
Fetch and locally cache remote API calls and assets.
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.7
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.6
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
💬 “Use HTML.”
– Says Lindsay, the accessibility-aware design and developer whisperer
Why HTML? Because HTML already has accessibility baked in.
(Also: don’t reinvent the button, = friends.)
🎧 👀 youtu.be/bIiTfeJ7gYU
#AccessibilityTips #WebAwesome #HTMLFTW #FAteam 💻💥
Sidewalks are accessible infrastructure that many of us don’t think about. But they're life-changing. Lindsay draws the line between curbs & keyboards in our latest 🎧 youtu.be/bIiTfeJ7gYU?...
#PodcastAwesome. #Accessibility #InclusiveTech
Your design isn’t “bold.”
If users can’t read the text or navigate with a keyboard, it’s just broken.
Lindsay breaks down misconceptions about accessible design.
🎙️ youtu.be/bIiTfeJ7gYU
#UXDesign #A11y #EmpathyInTech 🚫👀
Did you miss the pre-order deal?
No problem. With an active subscription, you'll get v7 when it's released. But you can still save 20% off your first year of Font Awesome Pro or Pro+ until launch day.
fontawesome.com/plans
A huge thanks to everyone who pre-ordered Font Awesome 7 — we’re excited to release the upgraded icons, toolkit improvements, and new Pro+ packs!
Right now, we’re focused on wrapping up the finishing touches ahead of the official launch in June.
Node v24 was released today and our test suite is already green to go: https://github.com/11ty/eleventy/actions/runs/14865442525
Congrats and thank you to the Node.js team for all of your hard work! https://nodejs.org/en/blog/release/v24.0.0
🧑💻 Accessibility ≠ just for “someone else.”
It’s for everyone.
In our latest #PodcastAwesome episode, Lindsay breaks down why building access into the web helps all users — and how @webawesome.com is making that easy.
🎧 Listen now → youtu.be/bIiTfeJ7gYU?si=kViQt...
#InclusiveDesign
Got the website updated with our new Mastodon profile!
And if a neighborhood.11ty.dev subdomain wasn’t enough proof of authenticity, our profile is now Verified™ with 11ty.dev too 😅
This is it! The lifetime discount to pre-order Font Awesome 7 or upgrade to a Pro+ plan ends today, April 30, at 1pm ET / 10am PT.
After that, the kitchen closes and the deal’s off the menu. Get your lifetime discount now!
fontawesome.com/plans?utm_so...
Plans & Pricing to Meet Your Icon Needs | Font Awesome
Our Free Plan lets you get going right away. Switch to a Pro plan to get more icons, styles, Kits, pageviews, & Actual Human Support.
Eleventy Arbitrary Milestone Alert: 11ty/eleventy has crossed 18000 Stars on GitHub!
Add yours: https://github.com/11ty/eleventy
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.5
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
Taking VentoJS for a spin in Eleventy: https://chriskirknielsen.com/blog/taking-vento-js-for-a-spin-in-eleventy/ from @chriskirknielsen
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.4
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
There's only 1 day left to lock in your lifetime discount on Font Awesome 7 before the price goes up tomorrow, April 30 at 1pm ET (10am PT). We’re talking steep, STEEP discounts people!
fontawesome.com/plans?utm_so...
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.3
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
🤫 Real quote from set: “Wait, do we want the butter pat melting or room temp?”
It’s the little things that tie an icon campaign together.
🎧 Hear the story behind the shoot: youtu.be/1RCj_ScG4wI?...
Some icons whisper. Chisel shouts. 🔥 With strong lines and layered edges, Chisel was built to stand out. Perfect for bold, high-impact designs.
🔗 Check it out → fontawesome.com/icons/packs/...
The clock is ticking ⏰ Our pre-order window ends in just TWO days on April 30! Unlock steep discounts on Font Awesome 7 plans before time runs out. Don't wait! fontawesome.com/plans?utm_so...
Plans & Pricing to Meet Your Icon Needs | Font Awesome
Our Free Plan lets you get going right away. Switch to a Pro plan to get more icons, styles, Kits, pageviews, & Actual Human Support.
If your name is still listed here, your account wasn’t moved successfully (sorry!!) https://fosstodon.org/@eleventy/followers
Welcome to our new home on Mastodon: neighborhood.11ty.dev 🎉
(Check your follows because we lost a few folks in the transition!)
Content from the old account still lives here: https://fosstodon.org/@eleventy
🎥 We asked our team: Can we shoot this entire promo in one day?
The answer: Yes. But only if Steve never removes the hot dog costume. 🌭
🎙 Go behind the camera with Podcast Awesome: youtu.be/1RCj_ScG4wI?...
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-bundle@3.0.6
Little bundles of code, little bundles of joy.
@11ty/eleventy-utils@2.0.2
Low level internal utilities to be shared amongst Eleventy projects
🎞 From idea scribbles to heart-shaped butter pats, the FA7 promo went from funny-ha-ha to jaw-drop.
Hear how the video crew took a script and turned it into diner / icon magic.
Watch the behind-the-scenes of the Font Awesome 7 Promo video: youtu.be/dlgLRcjkzMs?...
🐾 The FA7 diner promo wasn’t just cooked up in a day — it was a day.
12 hours. One camera. Dozens of pancakes. And the best crew this side of the fa-style guide.
🎧 Hear how we pulled it off: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RCj...
🎬 Go behind the scenes of the FA7 marketing video — from the heart shaped butter-pat to Steve’s all-day commitment to hot dog suit acting excellence.
👀Watch now! youtu.be/dlgLRcjkzMs?...
🎬 From Script to Sizzle: How We Cooked Up the Font Awesome 7 Promo Video 🎬
Summary
What does it take to shoot a high-energy, humor-packed, visually delicious Font Awesome marketing video? A 12-hour day, a diner full of chaos, and a guy in a hot dog suit. In this episode, Matt chats with Jory and Isaac, two key players behind the Font Awesome 7 video, about the hilarious mishaps, creative choices, and ridiculous amounts of pancakes that went into bringing the video to life.
They cover everything from why FA videos always feature food-themed settings to the art of keeping a cast of recurring characters (aka the Font Awesome Cinematic Universe). And yes, Easter eggs abound — including a cameo from FA co-founder Dave Gandy, cheers-ing a Stormtrooper, blue milk in hand. Plus, Isaac documented the whole process, creating FA’s first behind-the-scenes mini-documentary.
Key Takeaways
🔥 FA videos don’t follow the “no comedy in tech” rule — and that’s exactly why they work.
🎬 From coffee shops to candy stores to diners, FA videos always have a warm, real-world setting (because a lab full of beakers? Snooze).
🤝 The same cast keeps coming back — because the FA Cinematic Universe is a thing now.
📹 The behind-the-scenes doc captures the chaos of shooting in one day —including an entire subplot about pancakes raining from the sky.
🌭 A guy in a hot dog suit wore it all day. No, really. All day.
👀 Hidden Easter eggs in the video include an inside joke about “changing the recipe” and a blue milk cheers from FA’s co-founder.
Timestamps
🎤 0:00:09 - Welcome to Podcast Awesome! Matt sets the stage for this episode, talking about the Font Awesome 7 video shoot, the team behind it, and why humor is baked into FA’s DNA.
🎞️ 0:04:06 - The evolution of FA videos: From Kickstarter promos to a full-blown recurring cast — how FA has built a Cinematic Universe of its own.
🍪 0:10:45 - The FA video playbook: Coffee shops, candy stores, and diners—why FA videos always happen in warm, real-world food settings instead of cold tech labs.
🎭 0:18:05 - Bringing the band back together: How the same actors, crew, and production team keep the FA vibe consistent (and keep the jokes landing).
📹 0:26:11 - Lights, camera, pancakes! Improv moments, VFX wizardry, and an actor in a hot dog suit — who refused to take it off all day.
🎬 0:32:16 - The behind-the-scenes doc: For the first time ever, FA captured a full BTS look at a marketing shoot — outtakes, problem-solving, and late-day delirium included.
🐣 0:35:31 - Easter eggs and inside jokes: Dave Gandy’s blue milk toast, a deep-cut Star Wars reference, and a menu full of hidden Font Awesome-specific gems.
Links & Credits
🎥 Watch the Font Awesome 7 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmYXJGEyBXI
🎬 Check out the Behind-the-Scenes Mini Doc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3pTha-tT3c
🎵 Theme song by Ronnie Martin
🎛 Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions
🎤 Podcast production by Matt Johnson
🎥 Video production and behind-the-scenes doc by Isaac Chase
Got thoughts on the episode? Hit us up on social and let us know what your favorite moment was!
Now go make something awesome. 🚀🎨
Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!
@11ty/recursive-copy@4.0.1
A fork of `recursive-copy`: Simple, flexible file copy utility
@11ty/eleventy-fetch@5.1.0-beta.3
Fetch and locally cache remote API calls and assets.
The Eleventy Meetup is happening today: 11tymeetup.dev/events/ep-23...
Starring @mwdelaney.me and vrugtehagel!
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-bundle@3.0.5
Little bundles of code, little bundles of joy.
See it in action on `eleventy-base-blog`: github.com/11ty/elevent...
New in Eleventy Bundle v3.0.4: a new option to populate per-route bundles with content right out of your HTML.
Here’s an example that puts all `<style>` element content into a `css` bundle:
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-bundle@3.0.4
Little bundles of code, little bundles of joy.
@11ty/eleventy-plugin-bundle@3.0.3
Little bundles of code, little bundles of joy.