Terry Marks and Brien Thompson have been fixtures in Seattle’s design community for decades, though they’ve never served on the AIGA board at the same time. They take turns. Terry got pulled in by Jesse Doquillo despite not even being a member yet, and Brien accidentally launched his recruiting career at a Vegas conference after Terry forged him a badge to get into the parties.

This is a conversation about how relationships trump resumes, why Terry’s face ended up on the AOL homepage for impotence when he was 30, and what it means to build community when applying to 14 jobs gets you exactly one response. Also: how Brien built an entire staffing firm on AIGA connections, and why the answer to “are you busy?” is always the wrong question.

Key Takeaways

• Relationships are the lingua franca of everything: Jobs, clients, careers—all of it comes down to who knows you and how much they care.
• AIGA was the only channel before online: National conferences and leadership retreats were how you met people and built your network across the country.
• Forge ahead (literally): Sometimes getting someone into the parties requires a trip to Kinko’s and some creative Photoshop work.
• Imposter syndrome is universal: Even self-taught designers who end up speaking across the country started out thinking they didn't belong.
• Volunteering is networking: If you’re looking for work, volunteer at events—you'll meet people and get in free.
• The job market is brutal, but it’s not you: Applying to hundreds of jobs with no response isn’t about your portfolio, it’s about the market.

Key Moments in This Episode

06:00 – The forged badge story: How Terry got Brien into Vegas AIGA parties via Kinko’s and Photoshop
10:00 – Meeting Michael Bierut with laryngitis: When Terry couldn’t talk and didn’t recognize one of the Michaels
14:00 – Taking turns on the board: How Terry and Brien have never served at the same time, and why that might have saved Terry’s marriage
22:00 – Erik and Brien’s origin story: How Brien’s dad—a pastor in Shelton—connected them
29:00 – Terry’s Photodisc fame: How a $40 photo shoot led to his face appearing on everything from Apple to AOL
33:00 – Relationships as business model: How Brien built Haystack Creative entirely on AIGA connections
42:00 – Solving the award book crisis: How Terry got 10,000 copies of a 350-page book printed when the deal fell through
46:00 – The job search black hole: Applying to 14 jobs, getting one “not filling this position” response, and the futility of AI-driven hiring
52:00 – How to actually get a job: Skip the portal, build relationships, find a recruiting firm, get face-to-face time

About Our Guests

Terry Marks is principal at TMarks Design, where he builds living brand systems that help teams move faster. A self-taught designer who co-founded Seattle's LINK program, he got his start in AIGA without even being a member—recruited by Jesse Doquillo to be the LINK liaison. He’s spoken across the country, appeared on more stock photography than he’d like to remember, and is currently back on the AIGA Seattle board.

Brien Thompson is founder of Haystack Creative, a recruitment and development expert specializing in design, UX, product, marketing, and creative industries. He’s been a connector in the Seattle design community for decades, serving on the AIGA Seattle Board as Sponsorship Director from 2002-2009. His career started accidentally—attending a Vegas AIGA conference with a forged badge, and discovering that relationship-based recruiting was his calling. He’s never served on the board at the same time as Terry—they take turns.

Featuring

Guest Terry Marks, connect on LinkedIn

Guest Brien Thompson, connect on LinkedIn

Host Erik Cargill, connect on LinkedIn

Host Rachel Elnar, connect on LinkedIn 

Support the Show

• Theme music: Loose Ends by Silver Ships Plastic Oceans
• Produced by Chapter 2 Media
• Subscribe to the Together by Design newsletter for more community-building and podcast episode updates

Sponsored by: Able Made, The Original Off Pitch Soccer Style: shop now
Sponsored by: Draplin Design Company, check us out!
Sponsored by: The People's Graphic Design Archive: browse, contribute, and research