🔥 New to the channel? Subscribe and turn on notifications:
👉 /@artschoolgraduate_podcast

Xavier Ruffin is a Milwaukee, raised creative powerhouse—filmmaker, designer, and co-founder of Cynosure Creative Agency. From experiencing homelessness in his youth to building a bold, culture-forward agency working with brands like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Xavier’s story is one of resilience, vision, and voice.

In this raw and insightful conversation, Xavier opens up about:

• Discovering creativity as survival and identity

• Gaining early access to art school at 13

• Balancing corporate design work at Kohl’s with passion projects

• Creating Mad Black Men as a response to erasure in design history

• Co-founding Cynosure CA and working with Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It

• Building authentic visual storytelling for global brands

• Navigating client feedback, protecting creative integrity, and leading with empathy

Whether you’re a young creative trying to find your lane, a designer wanting to make a cultural impact, or a founder seeking to tell more meaningful stories—this episode will fire you up.

🎯 This episode is for you if:

• You want to build a creative career with intention and integrity

• You’re navigating representation and identity in the design world

• You’ve ever been told “you don’t belong” and need a reminder that you do

• You’re curious about transitioning from freelance to full agency ownership

• You want to know how to keep your art authentic in commercial work

📌 Resources Mentioned
– Cynosure Creative Agency: https://cynosureca.com
– Mad Black Men web series
– Clio Awards
– MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design)
– Amazon Prime’s THEM
– Adobe Creative Suite, Blender

🎧 More Podcast Episodes
https://bio.site/ArtSchoolGraduatePodcast

📲 Connect with Xavier Ruffin
Instagram: @xavierruffin
Website: https://cynosureca.com

🎨 New to the channel? Subscribe and turn on notifications:
👉 /@artschoolgraduate_podcast

DeAndra Hodge is an illustrator, graphic designer, educator, and soon-to-be author based in Washington, D.C., best known for her vibrant children’s book illustrations, cultural storytelling, and joyful, people-centered art. She’s illustrated over ten books, including the acclaimed Beyond the Game series and Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark, with clients ranging from Nickelodeon and Café Bustelo to Puzzles of Color.

In this inspiring and heartwarming episode, DeAndra shares her journey from studying fine art to becoming a published illustrator, why Procreate is her creative soulmate, and how she blends design thinking into her illustration process. We also talk about drawing influence from West African and Greco-Roman art, using Tumblr-era fandoms for inspiration, and why knowing who you are makes all the difference in the publishing world.

Whether you’re a student, a creative entrepreneur, or a fellow children’s book illustrator, this episode will fill you with creative fuel and a deeper appreciation for the intersection of art, culture, and joy.

✨ This episode is for you if:🔗 Connect with DeAndra Hodge:🛠️ Tools & Topics Mentioned:

• You want to break into children’s illustration or graphic novels

• You’re navigating the freelance world with creativity and purpose

• You’re curious about blending design and illustration in your workflow

• You want to use storytelling to make your art more impactful

• You’re inspired by joyful, culturally rooted visuals

🌐 Website: https://www.deandrahodge.com
📸 Instagram: @deandrahodge_

🎧 More Podcast Episodes:
https://bio.site/ArtSchoolGraduatePodcast

• Procreate vs. Adobe Fresco

• Cultural and historical influences (West African, Art Deco, Bauhaus)

• Working with art directors and optimizing for print

• Building confidence through personal storytelling

• Transitioning from design student to professional illustrator

#DeAndraHodge #ChildrenBookIllustrator #ProcreateArtist #DesignThinking #BlackIllustrators #CreativeJourney #WomenInPublishing #FreelanceLife #IllustrationPodcast #ArtSchoolGradPodcast

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👉 / @artschoolgraduate_podcast

🎨 Stephanie Brown is an interdisciplinary artist and host of IN BTWN ARTIST, a podcast about sustainable creative careers. Rooted in her Jamaican and Black American heritage, Stephanie’s work spans photography, installation, and writing, interrogating identity, colorism, and the global impacts of systemic racism. With degrees from SCAD and the University of Michigan, she creates powerful work that educates, sparks empathy, and challenges us to think critically about who we are and who we choose to become.

💼 In this episode, Stephanie shares how her time on a cruise ship opened her eyes to global colorism, why she pursued an MFA, and how she built a career that bridges art, education, and entrepreneurship. We delve into what it means to be creative.

Whether you’re exploring your identity, building a freelance career, or simply searching for belonging in your creative work, this conversation will move you.

🔗 Connect with Stephanie Brown:
Website: https://www.stephaniebphotos.com/
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@stephaniesquared/videos
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniesquared_/

🎧 More Podcast Episodes:
https://bio.site/ArtSchoolGraduatePodcast

📚 Resources Mentioned:
– IN BTWN ARTIST Podcast
– Museum Studies + MFA experience
– Interdisciplinary Art practices
– Creative sustainability + financial stability
– Tools: Photography, installation, creative writing

📌 This episode is for you if:

• You’re exploring identity as a Black or Brown creative

• You want to understand what “interdisciplinary artist” truly means

• You’re curious about sustainable creative careers

• You’ve faced colorism or systemic barriers in your journey

• You’re ready to build agency and critical thinking through your art

#StephanieBrown #InBtwnArtist #BlackCreatives #CreativeEntrepreneur #ArtWithPurpose #InterdisciplinaryArtist #Colorism #ArtAsActivism #DesignPodcast #CreativeProcess #ArtSchoolGradPodcast #IdentityAndArt #BlackArtistsMatter