Podcast Summary: Design Better

Episode: Aaron Draplin: Field Notes co-founder on what skate culture taught him about design
Hosts: Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter (The Curiosity Department)
Guest: Aaron Draplin (Co-founder of Field Notes, Founder of Draplin Design Co.)
Date: December 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Aaron Draplin, renowned graphic designer and co-founder of Field Notes, in a vibrant conversation with hosts Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter. The dialogue explores Draplin’s creative journey—from his formative years in Michigan’s skate and snowboard cultures to the principles guiding his prolific design career. Through stories of family, hard work, artistic license, and humble origins, Draplin illustrates how community, craft, and authenticity are at the core of his approach to design. The episode is rich with humor, heartfelt reflections, and practical wisdom for designers and creatives of all backgrounds.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Skate Culture and Its Creative Legacy

• Community over Competition:
  • Draplin reflects on his formative years in skateboard culture:

    "What skateboarding directly taught me. Who gives a fuck? Who's the best or number one? Who cares? Who has the mostest? Who has the bestest? It was okay just to be together. There was a community there." (00:12)

  • Skateboarding, much like design, was about self-expression and making personal decisions, even at one’s own peril. The focus was on collective spirit, not hierarchy.

2. Family, Upbringing, and Work Ethic

• Dad’s Influence:

  • Draplin describes his father as warm, humorous, and deeply supportive:

    "My dad would have greeted you, asked where you're from, who wants a beer, who wants a sandwich, telling you jokes." (03:41)

  • He learned levity, generosity, and the value of community from his father, as well as an old-school resourcefulness that included “a little larceny” at estate sales done as a private joke/tradition.
  • Draplin treasures stories and memories shared by his uncles, keenly aware of the living history passed down through family.

• Respect and Perspective:

  • His upbringing instilled empathy—recognizing hardship (growing up in Detroit, exposure to Native American communities), Draplin’s parents stressed being “thankful and gentle” and holding an awareness of one’s origins. (10:16)

3. Origin Stories: Embracing Roots, Not Escaping Them

• Draplin stands apart from creatives who run from their small-town origins:

  "I didn't need to detach from something to get to the next better thing… I embrace it and go for it." (14:56)

  • He fondly recalls nostalgic moments (like a ticket stub from a 1983 Tigers game), valuing the tangible, everyday design artifacts and the stories they hold.
  • His design sensibility is informed by functional, accessible design—as exemplified by catalogs and ephemera for regular people, not high-brow exclusivity.

4. Design Career and Creative Philosophy

• Perseverance and Pride in “Unsexy” Work:

  • Draplin discusses the reality of design work, including the stigma some hold against working for “regular” brands or companies:

    "You kind of go, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. You've never had a job. You just went right to academics. No wonder you talk to people like this. Worked six months up in Alaska washing dishes to get my computer… I'm proud of that." (14:56)

  • He values the dignity of all forms of design—celebrating work like the Cabela’s catalog or Subway branding, which serve millions. He urges designers to respect and elevate ‘small’ jobs as part of the creative ecosystem.

    “Your design is vital to going to get a Subway a couple times a year… Don’t forget that they are relying on [it].” (22:40)

• Narrating Underdog Resilience:

  • Draplin identifies as an ‘underdog,’ shaped by a few formative ‘beatings’ from academia, which solidified his resolve to encourage new designers and honor practical, impactful work.

    “That directly comes from being a snowboarder up at a ski hill where they make fun of you… That directly comes from being a chunky little skateboarder who listened to cooler bands than some of my contemporaries…” (22:54)

5. Creative Authenticity, Collaboration & Music

• Music & Identity:

  • Bands like Fugazi influenced Draplin’s worldview, especially regarding equality, inclusion, and authenticity:

    “Thank God I got to fugazi. Cause it taught you about things like equality and women's rights and not othering people… That came from that world. That wasn't five summers ago in some wave of accountability. No, no, no. That was 1989. I was 15.” (22:54)

• Encouraging Others:

  • He describes his approach to meeting fans and emerging designers: taking selfies, listening, and pumping them up—not tearing them down. Draplin sees himself as both part of and champion for anyone with a passion for design.

6. Design Influences and Lasting Inspiration

• Design Heroes & Nostalgia:

  • Draplin admires designers like Chuck Anderson and House Industries, valuing that their work could be appreciated by both blue-collar and design-literate audiences:

    “My dad could enjoy the design I was looking at… My buddies could enjoy House Industries. My buddies could enjoy Chuck Anderson's. Some of these type foundries that just weren't catering to Yale and above…” (17:49)

• Skate & Street Aesthetic:

  • Skateboard design and music culture are critical to Draplin’s creative DNA:

    “The Tony Hawk shirts…The Screaming Hand… To go in there and be around skateboarders for a couple hours and listening… I'm just so thankful I got to that.” (24:08)

7. Humor & Everyday Joy

• Draplin’s storytelling is rich with humor—like his “estate sale larceny” and his father’s wry jokes—highlighting the importance of levity and not taking oneself too seriously.

  "Each bean, you cut each bean in half. So you get two farts per bean. This is what I grew up with, fellas." (03:41)

Notable Quotes

• On Artistic License and Self-Expression:

  "The artistic license that came from that. It wasn't just how to make your grip tape. You got to make your own decisions at your own peril. I'm just really thankful for that world because in design it was the same way." – Aaron Draplin (00:12)

• On Origin Stories:

  "There's a sense of nostalgia in your work and your sensibilities. Did you ever have a point where you felt like, I need to distance myself from my origins...?"
  "I didn't need to detach from something to get to the next better thing… I embrace it and go for it." – Aaron Draplin (14:56)

• On The Value of Everyday Work:

  "Your design is vital to going to get a Subway a couple times a year… Don’t forget that they are relying on [it]." – Aaron Draplin (22:40)

• On Skateboard Culture:

  "It wasn’t who was the best. I didn’t learn to ollie till every time you were with your brothers doing shit together, but skateboarding directly taught me." – Aaron Draplin (25:10)

• On Empathy and Humility:

  "My parents have Navajo friends that we still stay in touch with... So to go there wasn’t this America bullshit, which is just a fart and a stiff wind sometimes. It was a little more like, be respectful of where we're from and where they're from and who was here." – Aaron Draplin (10:16)

Key Timestamps

• 00:12 – Skateboarding’s community and impact on design philosophy
• 03:41 – Reflections on Draplin’s father, family humor, and life lessons
• 10:16 – Growing up with awareness of place, empathy, and roots
• 14:56 – Embracing one’s origin story versus escaping it; authenticity in design
• 22:40–22:54 – On ‘unsexy’ work, practical impact, and underdog resilience
• 24:08 – The aesthetics, music, and spirit of 80s/90s skate and street culture
• 25:10 – Closing remarks on skateboarding’s lessons for life and design

Memorable Moments

• Draplin’s story about his dad “saving the populace from baby clothes” by removing garage sale signs—a hilarious emblem of everyday rebellion and humor. (07:46)
• The “Cut each bean in half so you get two farts per bean” joke vividly illustrating his father’s humor and warmth. (03:41)
• Draplin describing how being expected to “dream bigger” in design school didn’t resonate—he found dignity and challenge in serving ordinary people and real needs instead. (14:56)

Conclusion

This episode is a tapestry of heartfelt, funny, and profound moments from Aaron Draplin’s creative journey. Listeners gain insight into how skate culture, blue-collar roots, and music shaped an ethos of authenticity, humility, and relentless creativity. Draplin’s path reminds us that great design can serve everyone, that community matters more than competition, and that embracing your origins gives you creative power and unique voice.

For the complete episode and more conversations at the intersection of design and technology, visit designbetterpodcast.com.