Podcast Awesome

Font Awesome

On Podcast Awesome we talk to members of the Font Awesome team about icons, design, tech, business, and of course, nerdery. 🎙️ Podcast Awesome is your all-access pass into the creative engine behind Font Awesome — the web’s favorite icon toolkit. Join host Matt Johnson and the Font Awesome crew (and friends) for deep dives into icon design, front-end engineering, software development, healthy business culture, and a whole lot of lovingly-rendered nerdery. From technical explorations of our open-source tooling, chats with web builders, icon designers, and content creators, with the occasional gleeful rants about early internet meme culture, we bring you stories and strategies from the trenches of building modern web software — with a healthy dose of 80s references and tech dad jokes. 🎧 Perfect for: Icon design and content-first thinkingCreative process and collaborative designWork-life balance in techRemote team culture and async collaborationInternet history, meme archaeology, and other nerd ephemera 🧠 Come for the design wisdom, stay for the deep meme cuts and beautifully crafted icons.

  1. Hiring Is a Two-Way Street — Here’s What Most People Miss

    7H AGO

    Hiring Is a Two-Way Street — Here’s What Most People Miss

    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 #Hiring #InterviewTips #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #Leadership #CompanyCulture #WorkplaceCulture #TechCareers #PodcastAwesome #FontAwesome 🚀 Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    32 min
  2. New Font Awesome Features: PNG Downloads, Color Picker, and User Blender

    MAR 24

    New Font Awesome Features: PNG Downloads, Color Picker, and User Blender

    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 gloryTimestamps 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 Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    15 min
  3. Eleventy Is Rebranding to Build Awesome: What Changes (and What Doesn’t)

    MAR 9

    Eleventy Is Rebranding to Build Awesome: What Changes (and What Doesn’t)

    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 KickstarterEleventy / Build AwesomeFont AwesomeWeb AwesomeStay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    24 min
  4. Vic Bell on Designing Graphite: Hand-Drawn Icons for Font Awesome

    FEB 19

    Vic Bell on Designing Graphite: Hand-Drawn Icons for Font Awesome

    In this episode, Matt and Jory sit down with UK-based icon designer + illustrator Vic Bell to talk about the brand-new Font Awesome icon pack, Graphite — a loose, hand-drawn set that brings texture, depth, and a whole lot of human personality to iconography. If you’ve ever tried to balance clarity vs. creativity, or wondered how icons can feel more like typefaces with different “voices”, this one’s for you. 🎧 🗒️ What We Cover in This Episode 👋 How Vic and Jory connected ✏️ Designing Font Awesome Pro Plus packs and how “Small Batch” became a thing 🧠 Vic’s creative journey: trends, taste, and identity 🏠 Why icons are storytelling at micro-scale ⚖️ The tension between clarity and creativity 🧰 Illustrator vs. Figma for icon design 📲 Custom brushes and iPad sidecar workflows 🕒 Timestamps 0:00 - Introduction and Welcome 0:46 - How Vic and Jory Connected 2:48 - Font Awesome Icon Packs Overview 5:42 - Vic's Creative Journey and Evolution 7:45 - The Hand-Drawn "Graphite" Icon Style 10:17 - Reflections on Icon Design as a Career 13:41 - Childhood Influences and the Magic of Small Things 17:18 - Creative Process and Personalization 22:19 - Trusting the Creative Process 23:32 - Project Validation and Creative Freedom 25:15 - Technical Challenges and Implementation 26:23 - Future of Font Awesome Icon Packs 30:52 - Illustrator vs. Figma for Icon Design 31:28 - Creating Custom Brushes and Using iPad 38:38 - Balancing Clarity and Creativity in Icon Design 47:37 - Releasing Icon Packs and Delayed Gratification 🔗 Links & Resources Vic Bell: / vic_bell Font Awesome: https://fontawesome.com/ Web Awesome: https://webawesome.com/ Theme music by Ronnie Martin Interstitial music by Zach Malm Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    57 min
  5. How Eleventy Survived: Funding, Growth, and Open Source Reality

    FEB 3

    How Eleventy Survived: Funding, Growth, and Open Source Reality

    Eleventy started as a side project. Now it’s a critical infrastructure for thousands of websites. TL;DR: Open source isn’t broken. But the way we fund it often is. Let’s talk about what actually works. In this episode, we sit down with Zach Leatherman, creator of Eleventy (11ty), to talk honestly about what happens after open source succeeds. From nap-time coding and nights-and-weekends maintenance to venture capital pressure, burnout risk, and the reality of funding long-lived developer tools, this conversation digs into the cultural and financial tradeoffs behind modern open source. We cover sustainability, community expectations, funding models that don’t rely on hockey-stick growth, and why “free forever” only works if the people behind the project can stay whole humans. 🎙️ What We Cover in This Episode 🧠 How Eleventy grew from a side project into a widely depended-on tool⚖️ The maintainer’s dilemma: growth, responsibility, and personal sustainability💸 Why venture capital and hockey-stick growth often fail dev tools🔥 Burnout, boundaries, and being accountable to a global user base🏡 Balancing family life with open source maintenance🔁 Different funding models: donations, sponsorships, Pro tools, and tradeoffs🌱 What sustainable open source can look like long-term🔮 What’s ahead for Eleventy and its next chapter ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Introductions and why open source sustainability matters 01:47 – Eleventy’s early days and unexpected adoption 04:32 – When a “side project” becomes critical infrastructure 06:42 – Corporate usage, expectations, and hidden pressure 10:08 – Family life, burnout risk, and personal boundaries 14:17 – Funding models: donations vs. sustainability 18:45 – Venture capital, acquisitions, and hockey-stick growth myths 23:33 – Lessons from Gatsby, Astro, and the dev tools ecosystem 26:25 – Why sustainable open source must tie to real value 30:26 – A healthier path forward for maintainers and communities 33:20 – What’s next for Eleventy 🔗 Links & Resources Eleventy (11ty)Font AwesomeWeb Awesome🎵 Theme music by Ronnie Martin 🎹 Interstitial music by Zach Malm 🎥 Video support by Isaac Chase Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    29 min
  6. 2025 Awesomeverse Recap with Matt and Jory

    JAN 22

    2025 Awesomeverse Recap with Matt and Jory

    Happy New Year from the Awesomeverse! In this episode, Matt and Jory kick off 2026 by recapping all the wild, weird, and wonderful things that happened across Font Awesome and Web Awesome in 2025. From the launch of FA7 and small-batch icon packs to a possum puppet mascot (yes, really), they reflect on the big (and small batch) wins, behind-the-scenes hilarity, and creative experiments that made the year unforgettable. Oh, and if you're wondering what it's like to direct a hot dog-eating scene at a Kickstarter video shoot? We’ve got that covered too. TL;DR: New icons, big upgrades, hilarious videos, brainy guests, possum puppets, and one heck of a year.  🧠 What We Cover in This Episode 🎉 Reflecting on FA7 upgrades🧪 The rise of Pro Plus and its small batch icon packs (Etch! Jelly! Not Dog!)🎥 Behind-the-scenes on the F.A.C.U. cinematic universe and the FA7 shoot (hot dog suit included)🧩 How the newsletter icon puzzle took on a life of its own🧰 The official Web Awesome launch and what’s next🧠 Brainy takes on icon cognition from Dr. Brian Glenny🐾 The birth of Awesome Possum, our unofficial but fully fabulous mascot📦 Teasers for what’s coming in 2026: More icons, more components, and more fun⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 – Post-holiday haze & back in the podcast saddle 02:00 – FA7 highlights: Pro Plus packs + icon design overhaul 04:30 – Icon Pack breakdown: Etch, Jelly, Not Dog, and beyond 06:00 – Behind-the-scenes filming stories from the FA7 Kickstarter video 10:00 – Web Awesome officially launches! 12:30 – How the Awesome Possum was born 16:00 – The rise of the icon puzzle & newsletter hijinks 24:00 – Standout guests from the past season + the philosophy of icon design 28:00 – Accessibility icons, graffiti activism, and symbol cognition 30:00 – What’s coming in 2026: New icon packs, new components, and new surprises 32:00 – The Awesome Possum signs us off (kinda) 🔗 Links & Resources Check out the FA7 Launch VideoLearn more about Pro PlusBuild with Web AwesomeSubscribe to our Newsletter (get the puzzle!)Jory’s Puzzle Book: “Goes Without Saying”Behind-the-scenes of the FA7 ShootThe Accessibility Icon Project 🎵 Theme music by Ronnie Martin 🎹 Interstitial music by Zach Malm 🎥 Video support by Isaac Chase Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    35 min

  7. 12/09/2025

    Inclusive Nerdery: The Secret Sauce of Great Teams | Podcast Awesome

    What is nerdery, really? 🤓 In this episode of Podcast Awesome, we dig into the heart of Font Awesome’s culture — inclusive nerdery. It's not about lone geniuses or command line gatekeepers. It’s about heart, curiosity, humility, and building awesome things with other people. 💛 👾 You'll hear from FA team members Dave and Travis, plus a few snippets from topics we've covered on our blog and internal convos, all woven together to show how we: 🎯 Hire for character over cleverness 🔍 Celebrate deep curiosity (hello, nutrition nerds and D&D geeks!) 🎉 Create space for serious play through our legendary team "Snuggles" 🧠 Foster creativity through snack-sized projects like the Icon Wizard and Space Awesome game This episode is for anyone building company culture, or just trying to figure out how to lead with humanity in a techy world. ✨ Icons may not change the world, but good people just might. 🔍 What You’ll Hear in This Episode: 00:00 – Welcome to Nerdery™ 02:00 – Defining what "nerd" means to us 04:00 – Why we hire adults, not rockstars 06:00 – Our 3-step hiring philosophy 08:00 – Why we host company “Snuggles” (not summits!) 10:00 – FARTS, the Icon Wizard & how fun leads to innovation 12:00 – Space Awesome: building games on company time (and learning VueJS to boot!) 14:00 – Why forced culture doesn’t work 16:00 – A culture that’s built to last 🔗 Mentioned in the Episode: 🧙‍♂️ Space Awesome – FA dev project https://spaceawesome.io/ 🛠 Our Hiring Philosophy https://blog.fontawesome.com/company-... ✨ The Icon Wizard https://blog.fontawesome.com/icon-wiz... 💼 More About FA Company Culture https://blog.fontawesome.com/nerdery/ 🎵 Theme music by Ronnie Martin 🎹 Interstitial music by Zach Malm 🎥 Video support by Isaac Chase Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    14 min
  8. Andy Maier on Curiosity, Creativity, and the Force That Binds It All

    11/25/2025

    Andy Maier on Curiosity, Creativity, and the Force That Binds It All

    🎬 What do Star Wars, oil painting, and storytelling have in common?   Turns out: everything. In this curiosity-fueled episode, filmmaker and multi-hyphenate creative Andy Maier (Soon Agency) joins host Matt Johnson to talk about building a life powered by relentless learning, visual storytelling, and the kind of curiosity that launches careers 🚀. From working with Apple, SpaceX, and Microsoft to touring in his metal band Opponent and picking up oil painting during a creative pivot — Andy is the living embodiment of “just figure it out.” 💥🎨🧠 If you've ever felt like the underdog creative, this one’s for you. Andy drops storytelling gems faster than Yoda lifts an X-Wing. 🎸 Fun fact: Andy composed the metal version of the Font Awesome theme song in a single day. That’s some serious Jedi speed 🤘. 🎙️ What We Cover in This Episode 🤖 Why being curious is better than being talented 🎥 How oil painting made Andy a better compositor 🧱 The concept of “armature” and why your story collapses without one 🌱 Why telling the truth is the best brand strategy 🤝 The power of surrounding yourself with curious people ✨ Building "wells, not fences" in your creative career ⚔️ Star Wars, Iron Giant, and the real meaning of “The Force” ⏱️ Timestamps  00:00 – Welcome to Podcast Awesome  01:00 – Meet Andy Maier: Creative Jedi & Founder of Soon  02:30 – Early creative career and figuring it out on the fly  05:15 – The underestimated power of curiosity  08:20 – From DIY music videos to working with Apple and SpaceX  10:45 – Why storytelling is better than trends  13:30 – Building a creative life around community and friendships  16:00 – How oil painting made Andy better at... everything  19:00 – The merch moment: painting turned t-shirt design  22:00 – What’s real? How to build grounded storytelling  26:30 – Invisible Ink, Brian McDonald, and story armature 101  32:00 – Why Marvel’s Phase 4 struggles (and what X-Men got right)  34:00 – Star Wars, Joseph Campbell, and unlocking “the Force”  37:45 – Where to find Andy and his work  38:30 – Bonus: The origin of the metal FA theme song 🤘 🔗 Links & Resources  🔥 Andy’s work – https://www.soon.agency  🎶 Andy’s band Opponent – https://www.solidstaterecords.com/opponent  📖 Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald – https://shorturl.at/E9101  🖖 Font Awesome’s Heavy Metal Icon Episode – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FlsrtKCI1Y  🎧 More Podcast Awesome episodes – https://podcastawesome.com  #PodcastAwesome #StorytellingMatters #CreativeJedi #VisualStorytelling #FilmmakerLife #MotionGraphicsArtist #DesignNerds #FontAwesome #CuriosityWins #InvisibleInk #CreativeProcess #OilPaintingForDesigners #BuildWellsNotFences #NerdCulture #MetalVibesOnly #StarWarsStorytelling #MakeSomethingAwesome Stay up to date on all the Font Awesomeness!

    43 min
See All (78)

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

On Podcast Awesome we talk to members of the Font Awesome team about icons, design, tech, business, and of course, nerdery. 🎙️ Podcast Awesome is your all-access pass into the creative engine behind Font Awesome — the web’s favorite icon toolkit. Join host Matt Johnson and the Font Awesome crew (and friends) for deep dives into icon design, front-end engineering, software development, healthy business culture, and a whole lot of lovingly-rendered nerdery. From technical explorations of our open-source tooling, chats with web builders, icon designers, and content creators, with the occasional gleeful rants about early internet meme culture, we bring you stories and strategies from the trenches of building modern web software — with a healthy dose of 80s references and tech dad jokes. 🎧 Perfect for: Icon design and content-first thinkingCreative process and collaborative designWork-life balance in techRemote team culture and async collaborationInternet history, meme archaeology, and other nerd ephemera 🧠 Come for the design wisdom, stay for the deep meme cuts and beautifully crafted icons.

Information

  • Creator
    Font Awesome
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    78
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Podcast Awesome
  • Show Website
    Podcast Awesome

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