💻 AI side quests, but make it Snuggle. 🤖✨

In this episode, we’re fresh off the Snuggle (our company retreat) and talking about what happens when you give a curious team some time, space… and a bunch of AI tools. Travis and Dave join us to share how experimenting with tools like G-Stack, Spec-Kit, and Claude helped us explore ideas, prototype faster, and take on projects we normally wouldn’t have time for.

We get into the practical side of it all—what worked, what didn’t, and where AI actually fits into a creative workflow (without the hype). It’s part experiment recap, part philosophy, and part “what if we just tried it?”

Whether you're building products, designing systems, or just curious how AI can fit into your process, this one’s for you.

🎙️ What we cover in this episode:

• 🧑‍🚀 Why we dedicated Snuggle time to AI exploration
• 🧩 How tools like G-Stack, Spec-Kit, and Claude fit into real workflows
• 💻 Using AI to prototype and pressure-test ideas quickly
• ⚖️ The balance between human creativity and machine assistance
• 🧠 What surprised us (and what didn’t)

⏱️ Timestamps:
00:00:00 – Welcome & Intro
00:01:59 – What are Snacktivites?
00:02:57 – Company Behaviors Framework
00:04:16 – Build Week Explained
00:05:00 – Travis's Thoughts on AI Shift
00:08:05 – Ethics Over Slop
00:08:31 – Education and Intent
00:11:47 – Using AI as a Force Multiplier
00:14:50 – Skills Files and Standards
00:21:10 – Tooling Roundup: G-Stack, Spec-Kit, and more
00:25:46 – Color Awesome Finale
00:27:45 – Wrap Up ... To Be Continued in Part 2

🔗 Links & resources:
Font Awesome: https://fontawesome.com/
Browse icons: https://fontawesome.com/icons
Kits: https://fontawesome.com/kits
Web Awesome: https://webawesome.com/

Credits:
🎵 Theme music by Ronnie Martin
🎶 Interstitials by Zach Malm

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Job interviews aren’t just about proving you’re a fit — they’re about figuring out whether the company deserves you, too. 👀

In this episode, Matt chats with Font Awesome founder Dave Gandy about why hiring is a two-way street. They unpack the red flags candidates should watch for, what healthy companies actually look like, and how the interview process can reveal way more than a polished mission statement ever will.

Dave shares practical advice for job seekers on asking better questions, spotting dysfunctional hiring practices, and approaching the search with intention instead of desperation. They also dig into trust, team health, and why the best workplaces tend to value character just as much as capability.

Whether you’re job hunting, hiring, or just trying to avoid ending up in a workplace that feels like a corporate escape room, this episode has plenty to chew on. 😅

What we cover:
Why hiring should be a two-way evaluation
The biggest red flags in interview processes
What healthy organizations prioritize
Why trust matters more than pure talent
How to ask smarter interview questions
Why job seekers need a strategy, not just a stack of resumes
How to identify companies that are actually worth your time

Timestamps:
00:00 – Why hiring is a two-way street
02:00 – HR screenings, weird assessments, and early red flags
05:10 – Desperation in job hunting and why standards still matter
07:00 – What healthy companies really look like
09:20 – How to flip the script and interview the company
12:00 – Big companies, bad filters, and missing great candidates
16:00 – Why knowing yourself matters before you start looking
19:00 – Why spray-and-pray applications usually fall flat
21:00 – The value of being “double T-shaped” in your career
24:00 – Why the best opportunities often come through side doors
25:00 – Building relationships before you need a job
27:00 – How companies communicate values in the hiring process
29:00 – The one thing a company needs to do differently
30:00 – Wrap-up and outro

Credits:
Hosted by Matt Johnson
Featuring Dave Gandy
Produced and edited by Matt Johnson
Theme song by Ronnie Martin
Music interstitials by Zach Malm
Video editing by Isaac Chase

Watch this episode on YouTube

#Hiring #InterviewTips #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #Leadership #CompanyCulture #WorkplaceCulture #TechCareers #PodcastAwesome #FontAwesome 🚀

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In this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt sits down with Ed and Francis to talk through three newly shipped Font Awesome features that are small, practical, and just the right amount of fun. They dig into individual PNG downloads, a new global color picker for previewing icons in brand colors, and the wonderfully playful User Blender, which lets you mix and match heads, bodies, and styles to create custom user icons for your kit.

Along the way, they unpack the thinking behind each feature, how these updates connect to Icon Wizard and the broader Font Awesome 7.2 release, and why shaving off a few annoying workflow steps can make life noticeably better for designers and developers. There’s also an unexpected side quest into Ed’s cameo in his son’s YouTube channel, because apparently every product update deserves a B-plot. 🎬

If you want to actually see these features in action, there’s also an extended video version on YouTube with demos. But this audio-only episode still gives you the full behind-the-scenes story, the practical use cases, and all the delightful nerdery you’d expect from the Awesomeverse.

What We Cover in This Episode

• 🎨 How the new global color picker makes previewing icon colors much easier
• 🖼️ Why individual PNG downloads are a handy addition for quick icon grabs
• 🧑‍🚀 How User Blender lets you create custom user icons with random and manual combinations
• 🧩 How these features build on ideas from Icon Wizard
• 💻 Why small workflow improvements can have a big impact for teams
• 🧪 How playful side projects sometimes turn into genuinely useful features
• 🎬 Ed’s surprise side quest into low-budget cinematic glory

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome to Podcast Awesome
 00:20 Introducing the episode and today’s guests
 00:45 The three new features: PNG downloads, color picker, and User Blender
 01:10 Francis makes a Podcast Awesome debut
 01:40 Looking back at Ed’s previous appearances and Icon Wizard history
 02:10 Why individual PNG downloads were added
 03:00 When and why someone might want PNG instead of SVG
 04:10 The idea behind the new global color picker
 05:00 Previewing brand colors across icon search results
 05:40 Using the color picker on category pages and kits
 06:10 Duotone controls, secondary colors, opacity, reset, and swatches
 07:10 Reusing Web Awesome tools inside Font Awesome
 07:50 How color settings carry over across different areas
 08:20 How the color picker affects code snippets and icon styling
 08:55 Meet User Blender
 09:20 How randomizing and mixing custom user icons works
 10:00 Available styles and future expansion plans
 10:40 Why User Blender is both useful and toy-like in the best possible way
 11:15 How the feature grew out of a snuggle and Icon Wizard success
 12:00 A call for community creations and creative icon mashups
 12:40 How these features fit into the Font Awesome 7.2 release
 13:10 Ed’s unexpected acting career and his son’s YouTube side quest
 14:00 Wrap-up and where to share your creations

YouTube episode with visual examples: https://youtu.be/NDsqZozkn3A 

Font Awesome: https://fontawesome.com/
Browse Font Awesome Icons: https://fontawesome.com/icons
Learn about Kits: https://fontawesome.com/kits
Explore Web Awesome: https://webawesome.com/
Contact the team: hello@fontawesome.com
Theme music by Ronnie Martin: https://ronniemartin.org/
Interstitial music by Zach Malm: https://muzach.bandcamp.com/

BowziTV: https://www.youtube.com/@BowziTV

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Eleventy is becoming Build Awesome — and Zach Leatherman is here to explain what that actually means.

In this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt has a chat with Zach about the Build Awesome Kickstarter, why this rebrand is part of building a sustainable future for the open source project, and what changes (and what doesn’t) for people already running Eleventy sites.

You’ll hear Zach break down the backwards compatibility promise, the Eleventy v3 → Build Awesome v4 upgrade path, and what Build Awesome Pro adds—especially for teams who want an easier publishing workflow and a smoother way for non-technical collaborators to edit content.

Plus: behind-the-scenes stories from filming the Kickstarter video in LA, including the cast/crew magic, a hot dog cake, and the origin story of the Awesome 'Possum.

🗒️ What We Cover in This Episode

🚀 Eleventy is becoming Build Awesome (and why Zach says this is the sustainable future of the project)
🧩 What changes vs. what stays the same (and the “no panic” promise)
🔁 Backwards compatibility: your existing Eleventy sites still work
⬆️ Upgrade path: what moving from Eleventy v3 → Build Awesome v4 looks like
🧰 What Build Awesome is (website generation that can be simple or powerful)
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Build Awesome Pro: one-stop publishing + collab for non-technical editors
✍️ In-browser editing: fixing content directly on page w/o a separate CMS feel)
💸 Funding open source without burnout (+ why the “Font Awesome formula” works)
🎬 Kickstarter fun: filming in LA, cast/crew magic, and the cake/hot dog metaphor
🦝 Meet the Awesome 'Possum (mascot origins + brand homage)
🎁 How to support: tiers, swag, and where to go next

⏱️ Timestamps

0:00 - Cold Open: Build Awesome Kickstarter Announcement
 0:08 - Eleventy → Build Awesome (What This Episode Covers)
 0:40 - The Big News (Zach’s Announcement)
 1:25 - Joining the Awesomeverse (and why it matters)
 2:50 - Funding Open Source Without Burnout
 4:20 - What Build Awesome Is (and who it’s for)
 6:05 - Build Awesome Pro: Publishing + Collaboration Tools
 7:20 - Backwards Compatibility: Your Eleventy Sites Still Work
 8:10 - Upgrade Path: Eleventy v3 → Build Awesome v4
 10:05 - Why Pro Features Make the Free Core Better
 12:10 - In-Browser Editing: The “edit right on the site” experience
 13:25 - Kickstarter Fun: Shooting the Launch Video in LA
 15:40 - Cast, Crew, and the Cake/Hot Dog Metaphor
 18:55 - Meet the Awesome Possum (Mascot Origins + Brand Homage)
 20:40 - How to Support: Where to Go + Tiers + Swag
 22:40 - Wrap-Up + What to Watch Next

Links & Resources

• Build Awesome Kickstarter
• Eleventy / Build Awesome
• Font Awesome
• Web Awesome

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