Loading summary
Radim Malinage
Hey, just a quick note to say thank you for joining me on this episode. If this is your first time or you're a regular listener, please take a minute and rate the show on your chosen platform. A short review helps every show to be more visible to new listeners and provides them with value. So thank you for being here and for helping out. Thank you.
Alex Senta
People want to work for people that care. People want to work alongside people that care. And I don't know what's right or wrong. I don't know if your brand is going to be a success. We just have to make thousands of decisions. And all I know is that if you don't care, then you're not going to make the right ones. But if you're doing it from a place of true care and caring about the results because you want it to be a success, not because you want it to be successful for monetary reasons, or you want it to be successful for award reasons, but because you really care about it being good or you really care about being as good as it possibly can. It will only lead you to places that I've been really privileged and grateful to be at this place in my career, 20 years in, where I can sit in front of a bunch of awards and work and if I can point to anything and be like, here's my secret, it's because I care.
Radim Malinage
Welcome to the Daring Creativity Podcast, a show about daring to forever explore creativity that isn't about chasing shiny perfection. So by showing up with all your doubts and imperfections and making them count, it's about becoming more of who you already are. My name is Radim Malinj. I'm a designer, author and eternally curious human being. I am talking to a broad range of guests who share their stories of small actions that sparked lifetime discoveries, taking one step towards the thing that made them feel most alive. Let me begin this episode with a question. Are you ready to discover what happens.
Interviewer
When you dare to create?
Radim Malinage
Today I'm talking to Alex Senta, who's a designer, podcaster and the founder of the award winning design and branding studio Senta, having worked for the Coca Cola Company helping build brands like Vitamin Water, Powerade and Smart Water. Today he and his team at Senta are building the next generation of iconic brands. In our conversation, Alex shares his journey of an insecure art student growing up in the 90s as he discovered confidence through art classes and developing a relationship with brands that made him feel important. After an eye opening internship in the New York Knicks, he found his calling at Bitumen Water Working alongside marketing legends on campaigns and rebrands. For the last seven years, Senta has built 25 brands from scratch, earning international recognition not by working with the biggest brands, but by creating brands of the future, challenging the status quo, and helping people belong. It's my pleasure to share with you my conversation with Alex Senta.
Interviewer
Hey, Alex, how you doing?
Radim Malinage
Welcome to the show.
Alex Senta
How's it going, Alex?
Interviewer
For those who may have never heard of Senta. Alex Senta and everything that you do, how would you introduce yourself?
Alex Senta
My name is Alex, and Sentier is my real last name and the name of the design studio that I started seven years ago. I'm a designer, and I'm a founder and a. A podcaster and a human being.
Interviewer
How would you describe your journey into discovering branding and brands?
Alex Senta
Yeah, I think when I was growing up, I didn't really know what a brand was. I didn't know what a designer was. I just knew that in the classroom of art, people treated me differently. And I didn't have. I had a lot of hobbies. I played sports. I played the drums. I liked to snowboard. Like, I did a whole bunch of different activities, but I did them all pretty mediocrely, I would say. No noticeable talents in any of those arenas. But in the art classroom, my teachers are nice to me. The other students looked at me in a way that made me feel confident, that made me feel special. And I think that was sort of where I first early diagnosed the fact that this may be something that made me feel good about myself. And this was the 90s. And so being an artistic person, especially a guy, there weren't a ton of them in my. In my grade, I was one of the very few amounts of people. And for me, I just knew that this was a path that I wanted to pursue and a path that teachers encouraged me. I had good art teachers and people that encouraged my talents and said, hey, Alex, this is something that you have, yeah, a little bit of skill and you excel in and you should kind of pursue.
Interviewer
Was there a peer pressure from, you know, the snowboarders, from the drummers, from anyone who would call themselves more than mediocre, and then you were excelling in art classes. Was that peer pressure?
Alex Senta
I don't know if it was peer pressure. I just think when you're a sort of young person, maybe insecure, unsure of themselves, trying to find their way. I think I was looking for something that made me feel better than myself. And so I think it was a combination of those art classrooms. And then I think When I found brands or I started wearing clothing that made me feel special or made me feel important or made me feel better, it gave me some confidence that I realized that, yeah, there was a relationship that I had with these logos or these brands that I made that I wasn't aware of or I only put this together. Later when I was in college and started was introduced to the idea of design and what a graphic designer does that I even started to find out that there was a job where I could work as a commercial artist, working for a brand or working with a brand. And so that was really where my journey begins.
Interviewer
What was your upbringing like? Were you surrounded by creativity? What did your parents do?
Alex Senta
So my father is a dentist and he had his own practice. And so that was something I quickly also diagnosed that wasn't for me. Like I was not going to be a doctor, dentist or. And looking in people's mouths was not a future that I wanted. And my mother actually is. Was a painter and a calligrapher. So she was the one that interested me to drawing a painting. And when I was growing up, we had these things called hobbies. It was before the Internet and before sort of Netflix. And one of those hobbies was setting up still life in my kitchen and breaking out charcoals or pencils and even sometimes paint and watercolor and just trying to capture a fruit basket as realistically as possible. And this is something that I did with my mother when I was a kid and it was something that we did for fun.
Interviewer
Amazing. I just wonder like how many still life paintings with fruit baskets have actually ever been created in the life of humanity. Because it just seems like before anything else there's just a lot of fruit baskets painted in oil color.
Alex Senta
That's right, yeah. Millions. I would, I would hope, but I don't know. That's something that kids do these days. I don't. Maybe they do and maybe they do with their iPads and their Apple pencils.
Interviewer
I think it's more. Is the influence, isn't it? Like you've got a, you've got a product placement and you kind of place it into your hyper curated life and then like you create still life pictures in a different way. But when you think about the fruit baskets, was them. I mean, was the life dull before Netflix?
Alex Senta
No, I think it was. We were more connected. Right. Like we were.
Interviewer
We were we.
Alex Senta
Yeah. I think back on these years very fondly and I think it's my journey to finding something that I love to do both as a hobby and as something that I wanted to do professionally and I think that's the sweet spot, I think for any creative professional is like finding that space where you can do something that you love to do and also you can make a living from it.
Interviewer
Yeah, absolutely right. I mean we were definitely a lot more mindful because there was a lot less noise. So you could actually focus on what you do and what you're looking at, what you taste in. It was slightly simpler and more, as you said, more connected life.
Alex Senta
Yeah. And I think it's something that my mother and I shared. She like, so as I mentioned, did calligraphy. So I sort of saw her love of doing lettering and typography and so she could do various different styles of scripts and bubble letters and all these kinds of different things. And so that was certainly something that I was drawn to and something that I was interested in. Yeah, again as just a kid and I think about this a lot as kids these days grow up making their own mixtapes or making their own magazines and fashion lines and they're exposed to a creative suite of tools on computers at very young ages. And I didn't start working in Photoshop until I was. Yeah, I guess in my later years of high school and really college. So I think that ability to do things and learn those skills or even just explore and experiment younger is interesting to me because I think it just allows people to sort of find design and this profession or this job or this hobby earlier. And I think there's just more designers than ever before because of that.
Interviewer
Absolutely, absolutely nothing. With everything that's been technologically creative with the advances, you can be pretty good designer pretty quickly. I've had a portfolio from someone who said, oh, I've been designing since I was 13, I'm 18, I'm self taught. And the portfolio was fucking mind blowing. Absolutely mind blowing. I'm like, what this is on paper, if I was to hide the CV part of the portfolio, be like, that's a 25, 30 year old person who's got 10 year industry experience. And I think that really good foundation can be achieved with so little these days because we have created the basic tools so good that you can really turbocharge that development stage. Because it took us time to work it out and we made it easy for somebody else now.
Alex Senta
Yeah. And you also have to make a ton of bad shit to find something that works. And I think for me that was happening in college, in my early 20s. I think to your point, people started at 10 and they just are doing reps and making A whole bunch of junk. And that's really important, right? Like you have to go through that journey of finding your style or finding what you enjoy doing and just learning. And I think, yeah, the earlier that you can find that, the better you'll be.
Interviewer
You mentioned that you felt empowered by the world of brands. Like putting on a certain jumper associated with certain sort of clothing brands made you feel something. And I've been mulling it over for quite a while in terms of how we go about self acceptance, how we go about worth, how we think about ourselves. And sometimes when our self esteem is not the strongest, certain people like that logo, let's say the Armani logo or the Gucci logo to be as big as possible because that means that they've achieved certain status for themselves, they've achieved certain, potentially certain acceptance and they hope to be seen by others in a certain way. And it was only just recently when I've actually linked it back to how young designers want to work with Coca Colas and Pepsis and Nikes, because it's the perception of, oh, if I work with this company, I will be accepted for who I am. Therefore that will give me another badge.
Alex Senta
Of approval a thousand percent. Like, it's a sign of success, it's a sign of making it. It's a sign of working as a professional in achievement, making an achievement of some sort. And that puts value into who you are. I think we as people are constantly. That's one of the first questions you get asked at the party, hey, what do you do for a living? What do you do for work? And I think that's the first entry point for a lot of conversations is what do you do? And I think being a designer at Nike or being a designer at Coca Cola. Yeah, for me it seemed like that was the dream. That was the. My dream job was to be the creative director for the New York Knicks, my favorite basketball team. So it's like this. These were signs of success, these are signs of value, or these are signs of importance as much as they were sort of dream jobs. And I think that is ultimately a big part of what drew me to working directly for a brand or directly with something that was a part of culture that people knew that wasn't just a design studio, studio or creative shop that was maybe known by a sliver of people on planet earth. But instead of working for one of the world's most famous brands, and I still think that way today, like I want to work with the biggest brands and work and create work that touches the Most amount of people.
Interviewer
I'm gonna circle back on this one later because I don't think you need to. You're already, you're creating brands of the future. You're creating a whole new universe. You don't need the bigger stuff. But you mentioned that potentially you wanted to be a creative director for the Knicks when you were quite close to start that path as a. As it was an apprentice junior intern at Knicks, right?
Alex Senta
Yeah, it was my first job as a creative professional because in my mind, that was the dream. And so when I was in college, I lived about 45 minutes from Madison Square Garden where the Knicks play and where the offices are, and I applied. And 20 years ago, that was my first time in design meetings. It was my first time as a working with other designers, seeing how creative directors both create the work that they do and also presenting it to internal teams, going to meetings and seeing just how design is bought and sold inside of an organization.
Interviewer
So being thrown in deep end, which part of got you excited and which part was slightly not sad, but it must have been a bit of reality that you realize, okay, is this how creativity works? Because you expect everything to be fireworks and amazing stuff and then you realize you have to compromise with people. You have to do things in a way that are not always your own vision. You have to sort of play by rules in a way.
Alex Senta
We'll be back after a quick break.
Radim Malinage
This episode is brought to you by Lux Coffee Company, the first creative specialty coffee company building a platform to shine the light on emerging global talent. With a mission to make a positive impact on the creative industry and beyond. Lux Coffee Co offers exceptional coffee sourced from around the world through ethical and sustainable practices. And you can discover the current range of signature blends and single origins coffee hardware and accessories along with exceptional apparel. @luxcoffee.co.uk you can use the code podcast to get 15% off your first order.
Alex Senta
Yeah, no, for sure. I remember the office. Like in my head it was like this sort of playground or sort of this beautiful designed office. And it was literally a closet. And like I had to wear, I had to dress up. There was a dress code. I had to wear like a shirt, a dress shirt and a tie and slacks. And so I had to dress because it was a professional organization. And despite the fact that I was just, I was a creative on the team, I had to wear the, I had to look the part. And so commuting on the train, wearing a suit to go and make flyers for ticket season ticket holder events and things like that it's, it feels a little less glamorous than maybe what you have in your brain. As I'm going to be a designer working for my favorite basketball team. And yeah, it was certainly, I think it was definitely a great experience and then, but also some eye opening moments. And I think part of it also was seeing how the sausage is made behind the scenes of something that you love. Takes away some of the magic, right? Like you don't want to meet your heroes kind of thing. And it was for me, getting the job and working for the Knicks. In my head, I had made it seem like this amazing thing, but in reality, it's like kind of a thankless thing because sports franchises make a lot of money and none of that is determined by how well the tickets are designed. It's very much impacted by how well the team plays on the court. And I think the designers and the creative team weren't treated as royalty in any way, shape or form. They were again, stuffed in a closet. And oh, yep, we need new ticket designs for this year. And like, there wasn't a ton of respect or appreciation or really enthusiasm for design as a vehicle for change and for brand and for the value of what we were doing.
Interviewer
I appreciate your honesty from behind the scenes.
Alex Senta
Yeah. I mean, again, it's like you think in your head it's going to be this magical, amazing experience where I'm going to be shaking hands with all the players and I'm going to be in the locker room or you're going to be courtside in Madison Square Garden with Spike Lee and you're in a closet wearing a suit, sweating and designing some posters for basically events just to placate the people that pay the most amount of money in the summer.
Interviewer
I wonder how many people have given up on wanting to intern for their favorite basketball team by now.
Alex Senta
I know I shouldn't talk so much shit about it because I still do love, like working in sports and also again, bringing things that I'm into in my personal life into the work that I do here at the studio.
Interviewer
I wouldn't say it's talking shit. I think this is how situation was 20 years ago. I remember 25 years ago when I started my first job. I thought I was the superhero on day one and then realized that Lex Luthor and kryptonite is waiting for me in forms of clients, deadlines, politics, changes, whatever. You're like, oh, I was expecting this to be real good. No, the reality is totally different.
Alex Senta
You just reminded me actually of something I actually I. If I recall correctly, and this is. You just dragged the memory I haven't thought about a long time. I actually remember trying to rebrand the Rangers because it's the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. They're both owned by the same company. And I remember, like, actually trying to change some of the logo marks. I guess I was just a brash kid, and I was thinking, like, oh, yeah, I'm a designer for the team. I can start messing with some of their identity and proposing new solutions. And they were like, yeah, that's so far out of the possibility of what you're brought here to do. Like, why are you messing with the iconic logo of the New York Rangers and trying to simplify it or change it or make any adjustments whatsoever? You're literally an intern, and that is not your job.
Interviewer
Don't you love that naive positivity that you think you're like, I'm here to sort of world, Like, I've been here for two days, but can I change the logo? Because I think I shouldn't.
Alex Senta
Yeah. I know this logo has been around for probably 60 years, but I'm. This is my first day, and I think if I could just make a couple alterations, I think it's probably will be best for the team moving forward. Yeah, for sure.
Interviewer
Absolutely. Love it. I know that the company that you work for next showed up in one of the meetings in the form of a drink for one of the executives that you admired her presentation style and her gusto for her work. And that was when we call it Vitamin Water. But it's a vitamin Water, right?
Alex Senta
Correct. Yes.
Interviewer
All right, so Magic Liquid, tell us the story.
Alex Senta
Yeah. Again, like, it's the summertime. I'm wearing a suit in a meeting that I'm not really that necessary in. And I just remember watching because I was so interested, intrigued, and curious about the roles of different people within an organization and the way that they interacted with each other. Right. And the way that the brand team interacted with the design team, which interacted with some of the marketing people. And it was just all really interesting to me. And in one of those meetings, the head of marketing for the New York Rangers came in, and she really was in control of this meeting. Like, she was leading in terms of giving direction, and she was calling all the shots. And I just thought she felt so confident to me, I think, as a kid. Right. You're just in awe of people that have opinions, can clearly communicate them, and seem like they're just effortless in terms of Their beliefs and what they know is right. And watching this woman have this kind of impact over a room of people, that everyone just got quiet and listened and so respectful, but also just was guided by her aura and decisions. And she was drinking a Vitamin Water. Focus. And at this moment in my life, I had never seen Vitamin Water before. It was the first time in this moment that I had seen this drink. And I grew up drinking Arizona Iced Tea and Coca Cola. And I was unfamiliar, and it said focus on the front. And I was just like, is this the reason why she is so incredible? Is. Is the secret to her success? And obviously it wasn't, but it was something that from that moment on, I was intrigued with the design. I was intrigued with the taste of Vitamin Water, and then went back and tried to go and find as many different flavors as I possibly could in any store that I would find myself in. And, yeah, Vitamin Water was, at this moment, entering in the cultural consciousness. 50 Cent was a big part of that. He was one of the biggest rappers in the world at this moment. So it's like discovering a band, right? You start to hear it, or it's just, like, immediately became a big part of my life. And I became a fan instantly because it was such a delicious drink. Still is. And the design of it really spoke to me. It was just bold and simple. And, yeah, it was really different than anything else I'd ever seen before.
Interviewer
Before we talk about the next step, I want to talk about the person. Because you talk basically, you said how confident she was. Did you take anything from her presence? Because personally, the reason why I ask you that question retrospectively, looking at the things that I wanted to achieve in my career were not always, oh, I want to work for the brand. It's like, I want to be as connected as a certain person. I want to be as confident as that person. I want to be eloquent as that person. And the story is potentially about just discovery of a new brand. But was her presence in any way showing you possibilities of what you could do in your future career?
Alex Senta
Yeah, I think, for sure. I think I've. Throughout my career, I've worked for a lot of really impressive marketers, creative leaders, and every time I would be in a meeting with anyone that seemed to just flow effortlessly. Their ideas, their confidence, their beliefs. And maybe they weren't always right. Who knew if they were right or wrong, but they had an opinion and they believed in it and they stuck with it and they didn't waver on it. And I think at this Time, especially when I was younger, I was just kind of forming my creative voice, but I wasn't sure of anything. I was like, oh, I like this, or maybe this is good, I made this. I think it's, I, I think it's interesting or I think it could be interesting for this event or I, I just didn't have that sort of sense of self or self confidence or belief in what I was doing. And I think I just watched these people that they were so sure of themselves and they were so sure of the decisions that they were making. And that confidence and that sort of sense of self made everyone else in the room believe them. No one questioned them because of the way that they presented themselves, but the way that they approached every decision creatively. And I think one of the people that really for me was probably the most important person for in that way was a man by the name of Rohan Oza. Rohan was a sort of VP of marketing at Vitamin Water when I was there and has later gone on to form Kavu Ventures, which has been behind poppy and watermelon water and pop chips and a million other brands. And he was a guest shark on Shark Tank a couple years ago. And so Rohan is an absolute legend in the world of branding and marketing. People call him the brand father. And when I was at Vitamin Water and I was again this, that was my first job after that internship. I just graduated school, got a call to get an interview for Vitamin Water, which was again, coincidentally the brand that I had seen last summer. I applied on a job board that had no listing of what the job was. It was just looking for a creative designer to work in house on a beverage brand. And I got a call from a recruiter, I went in and I got a job working for vitamin water in 2006. And Rohan at this moment is, you know, he is the leader of that place and every decision, creatively, marketing, brand, everything. He just, he instinctively knew what was right always. And he was sometimes straightforward about it. He was, he didn't cut corners, he wasn't shy. There were some moments where he said some things to me that certainly stick with me that I won't say on the program. But no, he was, he was confident. He knew what was the right thing to do for Vitamin Water and what the brand was and what it wasn't. And I just always was in awe of that self assuredness and confidence in his own beliefs and instincts.
Interviewer
I mean, must have been amazing to work with people who believe in themselves and commanding the room and actually showing the direction to all the others and of course the mid 2000s of the pre mental health phase that we now luckily engage with some of the stuff that was said and done. Horrendous.
Alex Senta
Yeah, I mean it was a different time and I again, I hold nothing, I think so fondly of my. Those years there. But yeah, it was a different time and the way that people, yeah. Reviewed creative work was maybe a little bit and less soft around the edges.
Interviewer
You know what I've learned? I've learned that usually angry people are lacking the eloquence because they can't focus in the moment.
Alex Senta
Yeah, sure. Maybe what I was doing wasn't great for that one project for Vitamin Water Energy. Maybe it just wasn't the right solution. And it's funny like again, this is my first job and I'm 22 years old and I'm just quite literally learning the ropes and being a professional designer with a cubicle and a business card and an email address and all this is still so new to me. And I think I looked up to those people that were in my mind brilliant adults. And they were. And they were 31. In my head they were, they knew everything and they had all the right answers and they had all the right instincts and the brand was on fire. Right. It was doing hundreds of millions of dollars a year was in every bodega. It was part of the culture. It was a lifestyle brand before people were ever saying the word lifestyle brand. It was something really special and unique and different. And I really cherish those years. And now that I'm. I have more distance from them, I can really understand the value that they provided for me both in that moment and the lessons that I learned and bring with me today.
Interviewer
Was the dress code a little bit more relaxed now?
Alex Senta
Yeah. No. My, my creative director at Vitamin Water, he had come from hip hop and he wore a hat every day. And the vibe at Vitamin Water was certainly more chill. I remember people used to play this game called Salami ball in the hallway where they would just take like some big piece of salami and they would just basically play baseball in the hallways. We did some like team trips, company wide events at retreats, at hotels in Vegas. And it was a significantly more laid back, fun, vibrant, colorful office experience than working for the New York Knicks.
Interviewer
You mentioned I was 50 cents was involved with the brand and you said you did some work with him. What did that feel like? Because you making leaps and bounds like you are going five minutes ago, you are basically traveling to New York Knicks in your suit, high End slacks. And now you throw a salami across the border, across the hallway. And 50 Cent is in the mix in all of this. So what did that feel like for your development process? On how did I feel?
Alex Senta
I think I was. I felt gratitude. I think I was just really hungry to show what I was capable of. And I think there were a couple designers there. I was one of the first, but there were other team members. And I just remember this feeling of, I want my ideas to get picked. Like, this is my first job, and I want to be a successful designer in my career. And I was just hungry, and I was like, I'm going to work harder. I'm going to pitch anything and everything that I can. If we need to, like, present designs on Wednesday, I want to have the most designs on the table. Right. If every designer is going to come and throw down five ideas, I'm going to bring 10, because that's going to give me a better chance of getting my idea picked for the 50 Cent Campaign or something. And I just felt like, I don't want to say competitive, because I'm not super competitive, but when it comes to design, I like to win. And I think that's really the first time in my life where I had really been in a scenario where my love of what I do and the opportunity that I was in, I was very aware that this brand was a huge opportunity for me to build a portfolio, to build a ton of experience, and also, yeah, to work with my favorite rapper. Right. And so if a couple people were throwing ideas in a hat, like, if my idea got picked, maybe I got to go to the set and meet him and be there while he maybe took something that I came up with and did for a photo shoot. And so that kind of stuff really motivated me at that time because I was just so young and so hungry to just to get in the mix and to make stuff and to do it at a. At a professional level. I remember I did a billboard once for 50 cent, and I didn't even come up with the concept. I just relayed out someone else's creative. Like, an agency had made the work, like the campaign, but then they brought it in house to, like, reformat it for a bunch of different billboards in New York City. And that was my job. And I remember going to that billboard in Manhattan being like, I made that. And it's. I just wanted to make stuff that people would see. And to your point earlier about that, creating value and confidence for me as an individual and someone that maybe was Insecure, maybe didn't necessarily feel like you always belonged. All the places like that was a way for me to feel a way that I hadn't felt before, which was, yeah, important, successful, impressive.
Interviewer
I mean, that feeling of seeing something out there, it's second to none.
Alex Senta
I still, again, it still is the drug. Like it's still the coolest thing in the world to me. When I go out to a store and see anything that was a part of in the world and when people send me a photo where they went to Target and they saw B Row or again, like It's. That's still 20 years later the thing I'm chasing and, and the thing that I love the most and it will never wear off, I don't think. I think that's the thing that I'm into.
Interviewer
That's good to hear. It's good to hear because there is sometimes a feeling that you chase the end result. The process is messy. It's always meant to be messy. We want it to be clean, but it's always messy and not for me.
Alex Senta
It's always clean, always clean. The creative process. You start a project, then you get some feedback, then you do it and then it's done. That's. I'm obviously kidding.
Interviewer
I should have saved myself that question. So when you went Vitamin Water, the company turbocharged because it got acquired by Coca Cola and your world got bigger and bigger, did you feel with the acquisition that you were able to do bigger things, bolder things? Did you feel like there was actually a good thing to be purchased by a conglomerate?
Alex Senta
I think in the very beginning I was scared, right, because I had this dream job. I had this amazing opportunity. I was like again, a 22 year old kid given way more opportunity, responsibility and opportunities that I could never have imagined at such a young age. And so I think I was scared at first that the Coca Cola sort of acquisition was going to maybe make that harder for me or make it that maybe they would just get rid of our team or they would just start to. Things were going to change dramatically and they did change, but it took quite a while. It was, it was slowly over many years. And I think for me it was quickly the latter of what you said, which was more opportunities to do bigger things, to learn from the Coca Cola system, to build bigger visual identity systems, to have the brand reach more people in more places and therefore be a part of more amazing work. And opened up the aperture of the brands that I was working on because at that point I was only working on Vitamin Water. And Smart Water. But then I got to work on Powerade or Fuse or even some Coca Cola brands like Coke or Sprite or things like that like that started to open up the ability to work on other projects and other brands within the portfolio of Coca Cola Company.
Interviewer
You just remind me of a drink. I did a campaign for Fuse. That was a long time ago. Oh, I did. I did ad campaign for Fuse for Pink Ribbon. Was it like an anti. Like a cancer campaign?
Alex Senta
Yeah, yeah. Susan G. Coleman.
Interviewer
That was a long time ago now.
Alex Senta
Yeah. No, Fuse I don't think exists anymore.
Interviewer
But definitely that's a blast from the past. But you got quite a few worthy creative philosophies. And you say that brands are for people, not for product. And what you said so far is just a pure testament of what you believe in. Because the way you've been developing, the work with the people, the product is the courier, but the people are the ones who make it.
Alex Senta
Yeah. I mean, every brand is a reflection of both the people that make it and the people that love it. And I think that is so true about everything that I've ever worked on. It's like people make these brands, they put them out into the world and then they have a life of their own. Once people take them and run with them and create something that is their own or they identify with it, or they use it as a signal to others, that's where they belong or who they are as people. And I think all of that is just a part of what we are doing every single day. And I think it's a reflection of culture ultimately, and both the people, like I said, that are internally a part of the building, but then also, you know, where we are as people in society and how it all impacts the outside world.
Interviewer
That's beautifully said. And I'm thinking about the dots, the vitamin water dots, because in. In a way, from what I know from the story of yours, that's an entry point to your next phase, because you guys did. I think they're like the whole brand guidelines. You worked with Collins on the project. What was that like to work with an external agency on something that you've been so close to for so many years?
Alex Senta
I started my career again worshiping this brand, just inheriting and taking every opportunity I could to tell the story to people internally, externally, I was the world's biggest vitamin water fan. And I think for me, working at Coke over the years, we started working with more outside partners. And as things shifted and I started reporting more into Atlanta and working within The Coca Cola system. Still some work was done internally from an in house team and I was still designing, but we were leveraging and working with amazing agencies just. And certainly a lot of those agencies were on the advertising side of things. So the Wyen Kennedys, the Ogilvies, the anomalies like these, just absolute world class agencies from an advertising and marketing perspective because Coca Cola is a marketing company and I think that is how every decision was mostly led. And as a designer on the design team, I was a part of that. And I worked with so many great partners, but I never was able to pick my own partner because there's a Coca Cola network of agencies and I, I worked with many of them. Everyone brought something different to the table. But I met Leland Mashmeyer, who is Brian Collins's co founder, at a conference that I was speaking at in Paris and I just was enamored with his brain and the presentation that he shared that day, which was about dragons and how they slay them at Collins. And the work was Spotify, Eos, Chapstick and some of the like early Collins projects that really broke them through. And I just was like, these guys are really understand brand and they really understand design and I have to figure out a way to, to bring these guys into Coke. And the second I was a, I got a promotion and I was able to suggest and recommend an agency, I brought them in and yeah, Brian, that's when I met Brian. And it was, it was the most fun I ever had working with an agency because their sensibility to design and brand was so connected to the way that I always saw things and the way that I again wanted to present work internally. Because when you're an in house designer, whether you're making it or an outside source is making it, it's still your project and your thing and you're responsible for it. So in some ways you're at the whim of the creators oftentimes. And so my colleagues were coming in and presenting ad ideas from Wydded and Kennedy and they were just blowing people's minds. And I was like, I want to blow people's minds with the design work that I'm. So Collins really helped me do that. And I think at that time Vitamin Water through the Coca Cola acquisition needed some new energy and needed a reinvigoration. It needed a return to its glory. Some of the vibrancy had worn off over the years and it was a really exciting opportunity to work with them, to bring it back and to really establish a new system that was in many ways championing and celebrating what made Vitamin Water amazing in the first place.
Interviewer
What's interesting to know that after all of this amazing work partnering with Collins and, yeah, Elon Muskmeyer is a very impressive speaker. And I don't think I've ever seen this talk that would not land. And the same applies for Brian. I mean, they're just absolutely match made in heaven, really, when you think about it, in design heaven. But it's interesting to know that you realize that after completing that project, you realize maybe that is my last project for the company and maybe I should go and start working on my own. I do my own thing. And you went to seek Brian's. Should I say seek of approval? It's not the right way to say it.
Alex Senta
I was really inspired by the time I spent with Collins and I worked with so many amazing people there. It wasn't just Leland and Brian. It was Leo and Ben and Seth and all these other amazing people that just again, have now gone on to all do amazing things in different arenas, different agencies. It was just a magic. And that design first space in Union Square. I just, I just. The experience was something like I said, I never had worked at an agency before. I'd only worked on the Vitamin Water team, the Coca Cola team, and the New York Knicks. And so the opportunity for me to really see inside of a design studio and Brian really let me, again, as a client, just come over and sit with the team and just be a part of it. And it really opened my eyes to this side of life. And for me, that was something really inspiring. And obviously Brian has his name on the door. And I thought maybe one day I would want to put my name on the door. It sounded like it would make for a good agency. And yeah, that was really the moment that I started to think about my life post Coca Cola and what it could and maybe would look like.
Interviewer
I think you need to share. I think you need to share rom com dinner story. Because that's one of a kind.
Alex Senta
Yeah. And I guess. Yeah. And the story is that because I wanted to. I have had a few mentors in my life, but there aren't many people that I've seen myself in, I guess in a way, like in design. I never saw myself in Michael Beirut as amazing and talented as he is. It just never saw myself in him or Stefan Sagmeister or these other creative, legendary designers. And with Brian, I saw a path for myself. And so when I was gonna go and do it, I thought maybe I should talk to Brian and see what he thought. And so the story is that I took him to dinner and asked him out on a date and to break the news and to drop the bomb that I was gonna be starting my own studio. And he wasn't immediately encouraging. And I think that's not necessarily because he was trying to be mean or cruel or really for any alternative or motives other than he was being honest. He was. Was not going to be easy. It was not going to be a walk in the park. It wasn't gonna be just, oh, I'm starting an agency and a studio. I'm just a successful common. I think I. I think you could tell in that conversation that I was looking for him to push me over the edge of that confidence that I was looking for in. In him. I was looking for someone and someone like Brian and someone that I, again, is a hero of mine and someone that I look up to to tell me that this was the path for me and to reassure this big decision. Cause I was scared. I was scared to leave my job. I had a great position at the Coca Cola company and any party I went to or any dinner I was ever at, I said, I'm the design director for Coca Cola. Oh, man. Going back to our first part of this conversation, like, it made me feel valuable. And so to throw all that away was scary. Is so scary. And so I needed someone like Brian to tell me that I should do it. And it was a great idea. And he didn't. And I was upset at first, and I really wanted him to tell me, yes, go do this. I wanted the sort of green light and thumbs up. And the story goes that he left that dinner and I chased him down in the rain, and he rolled down the window of his car and he said, it needs to come from inside you. And he was right.
Interviewer
Those words. Obviously, I've heard your story prior to this conversation, and I thought about it ever since because it means so much. Because it's almost like when you think about it, it's the hell, yes or no kind of situation. Like when it comes from you, from within. You don't need anyone else's approval. You don't need anyone to say, actually, that's what it is. We just potentially try to reassure ourselves that we do something that is right and do we get someone else's approval? But they're not even close to our thinking or close to our experience because they don't know your hopes and dreams fully like you are just at that time, just a collaborator and a friend. And someone who hangs around and has done create to work together. But those words like, it needs to come from within and needs to come from within you. It's just like anyone who's thinking about the next step, you don't need Brian Collins to validate you. It's just. It needs to come from within.
Alex Senta
And that's. And again, I'm so thankful that he gave me that message. And it's. I hadn't told that story to anyone. That was something that just kind of lived inside of me for a long time. And, yeah, started telling it for the first time on stage in front of a couple thousand people. And I talked to him a little bit after it and I was just like, man, it really. It changed the trajectory of my life. And because it's not. It wasn't just about that studio or it wasn't just about that moment. It wasn't that. It wasn't just about that decision. Although that was the biggest decision that I have probably made in my life. But I think I take that with me every day, right? No one knows anything. We're all just making this up. And I think that gut instinct, that sort of belief in yourself and that sort of feeling is what you gotta go with. And it's gotta be inside of you, and you have to believe it. And it's. No one else is gonna tell you what you should or shouldn't do or what's the right thing to do, because they don't know. And you are the only one that can make that call. And you don't even know if it's right or wrong. But you just have to go with what feels right. And you have to do it with confidence. You have to do it in a way that isn't. That can inspire others to go with you.
Interviewer
Putting your name above the door ever since has been a roller coaster ride for you because it's giving you lots of highs. It's also giving you a lot of lows. It put you in hospital out of all things. And I think it comes from one of your other philosophies, which is care more than you should. Because it's quite obvious when people give a shit, the work looks that way.
Alex Senta
It's the only superpower I have. It's the only thing that I do more than other people, that I can confidently say I am better than them or have more of anything than anyone else. I care more. I think that's it. And I think if you can go to every table in every room and be the one that cares the most good things will come, good things will happen because people are inspired by people that care. People are listen to people that care. People want to work for people that care. People want to work alongside people that care. And that's all you know. Again, I don't know what's right or wrong. I don't know if your brand is going to be a success. I don't know if this is. We just have to make thousands of decisions. And all I know is that if you don't care, then you're not going to make the right ones. But if you're doing it from a place of true care and caring about the results because you want it to be success, not because you want it to be successful for monetary reasons or you want it to be successful for award reasons, but because you really care about it being good or you really care about being as good as it possibly can. It will only lead you to places that. Yeah, that I've been really privileged and gra grateful to be at this place in my career, 20 years in, where I can sit in front of a bunch of awards and work and if I can point to anything and be like, here's my secret, it's because I care a lot.
Interviewer
You see, I told you I was going to pick you up on something you said earlier and that says I would like to work with bigger, bigger brands and bigger companies. But everything that's behind you, the kind of lion, the Dyline Awards and everything, it's not for the brands that people knew at first. Everything that you've created, as I said, you created the brands of the future because you can't. You give a shit. The work reflects it. And I think it's a true testament that the self acceptance doesn't come from the outside. It comes again, it comes from within. A lot of belief comes from within because the hierarchy that you've gone from company, that you've gone from working with 100 people to a hundred thousand people, you've realized like how noisy the machine can be before you can actually produce anything that's interesting. Whereas when you start and work with founders making the decisions, working with smaller teams, creating almost the impossible and actually making it flourish in the world, that's a true testament that you can be anyone, anywhere in the world. And that care and attention and obsession, that superpower can really elevate you to the status that is singular. Like what you've created. A singular.
Alex Senta
Thank you. No, I mean, this has been very therapeutic for me. I mean, I really appreciate this. Where Do I? Where do you want to send your invoice to? Because I think you have unlocked something in this conversation for me, which is for so long I was trying to associate myself with brands because of the value that they brought to me. And now I have taken that learning, taking all of those experiences of being a part of it and seeing how the sausage is made and being on the inside and being a part of those iconic brands or being at those tables and using those lessons to make those brands for others and not necessarily. Yeah. And it coming from inside, within me and within the team here. And that to me has been the most fun part of my life since starting this studio is I was thinking about this yesterday because I'm on this new board for the Art Director's Club and I was thinking about sitting amongst. I was actually up late last night. I don't know when this is going to come out because I'm going to be in a room with Alan Dye and Brian Collins and John Maida and all these incredible designers that I am just in awe of. And I can't believe that I'm invited to the party and thinking about how do I introduce myself and what do I say and why am I there? And I think part of it is because of the last seven years of building 25 plus brands from scratch that now potentially can be the next generation of icon brands. Not because I once was a design director for the Coca Cola company or once was a part of Vitamin Water, but because I'm building the next Vitamin Water and the next Coca Cola.
Interviewer
You see, you said these words says, I can't believe I'm in this room. I can't believe this is happening in a way. And it's that feeling when you said the wheels in motion, it works. You're in the middle of it obviously throws you around and you create in almost what I would call like the brand of the brands of the featured in the new world. And then you get people who are have been doing almost the same thing over and over again for God knows how many years and they don't necessarily create a new future, they just create a version of X, Y, Z that's been around. So you being in the room, if that's a new generation or if that's what you're creating, let's say with some of the brands you created, like these brands will blow up, they'll be around, there'll be household names. Some of them already are. And it's that thing that we do as creators, like we still think that there should be some other source of self acceptance though, some sort of acceptance or from the outside to us.
Alex Senta
Yeah. I'm still waiting for the parade or the confetti to come down. Right. Because I think about that a lot. What is, what does success look like? Right. And you're chasing this sort of dream. And I always think, or I say that it's. It's a series of rooms with a door and you just keep opening up the door and you waiting for the confetti to fall, but yet it's just another door that leads you to another level or another place. And there is no parade, there is no. The confetti will never come. And it's just. You're just constantly searching. And I think for me, I've come back to this idea that I end my talk with, which is loving what you do and who you do it with. Because to me, at the end of the day, I get to live in that every single day. That's what makes me happy and that's what makes me feel successful. And it's not because of some outside thing or some award that comes or something, someone that validates what I'm doing. It's because I'm just so lucky and grateful to do this every day and constantly trying to push myself and find new ways to make it exciting and make it different. And to your point, not just trying to rehash the same thing over and over, but trying to find new things to get excited about and to push boundaries.
Interviewer
And we need to be clear about the fact that someone needs to rehash the old thing, not to be the next version. There's people for that. But when you question yourself, well, when you question what does the success look like, feel, personify what you've created was you've created through the products you create in these communities where people find themselves, they, they. You created something new in their lives. And one of your other philosophies that you say is that standing out can help people fit in. And this is the almost new category products, new category brands that you make in that are challenging the status quo, challenging the other version of X, Y, Z. And that helps actually people find their new conversations and new spaces where didn't exist.
Alex Senta
Yeah, I mean, I think as people we're all trying to figure it out. We're all trying to find our way. We're all trying to find our tribe. And I think brands are for belonging. Right. This sense of being a part of something. And I think that's the role that brands played for me, when I was a kid, right, when I was wearing Burton to go snowboarding or I was wearing my Nike socks to go play basketball, it's like, I want it to be a part of something. And you're right. Like, the best brands challenge the status quo, right? The best brands are the most courageous. They're the ones that are trying to change something and to make a difference and to shift culture. And I think, for me, I want to be a part of those brands and a part of making those brands and also help other people through the work that we do. And I think that story often, again, is about Biro because it's about this stigma that comes with not drinking alcohol. And this idea that we created a brand that made people feel better or confident or could feel like they could fit in at a party, or they could. They didn't have to feel like they were less than because they weren't a part of it. And that has challenged the decades and decades of people feeling bad about themselves because they were, again, not partaking in the experience of social alcohol consumption. And so, for me, it's like, how can we help people with the work that we do? And that can look like a lot of different things, but ultimately, it's about making people feel less lonely, removing stigma, and ultimately feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves.
Interviewer
Well, as you say, what's different makes you special, and you're different. It makes you special. Simple as that.
Alex Senta
Thank you. Yeah. I mean, that's another thing that I say a lot. And again, that comes back to just, like, the point of branding in many ways. Like, we're talking, it's about differentiation and. But also, again, coming back to the thing that I'm not Brian Collins, I'm not Brian, I'm not Michael Beirut. I'm, again, nor should I try to be. And I think that was a lesson that I learned sort of here at Center. And one of the early years was like, again, you kind of start by maybe emulating or trying to be something like something else that you saw and admired and appreciated, but then you realize, well, no, I can't make that. I can't make a design studio that looks or like that or feels like that or does work like that. I can only do what feels right for me. And the result is a studio that is mine and reflects how I think and how I behave and my. My. My attitude and philosophies, as you've talked a lot here about. And, yeah, that sort of collaboration first, people first sort of positivity and just a sense of care. And that comes through in everything that we make. And that's what I'm most proud of.
Interviewer
I absolutely love it. And I feel like I'm going to be like a dis, like a quote dispenser today. Because what you just described reminds me of the quote that says I have to be myself because everybody else is taken. And this is pretty much through the design leadership, with the creativity. We try to emulate others. We try to think that the grass is potentially greener, even though it's greener when you water it. We try to sort of think that we're finding ourselves, shall I say? And then when you realize I've got me, this is it to me, for example, that's the definition of success. When I realized that what I've got and how I've got it and what I do and how I do it, when I find a piece in there, that was the ultimate success. I didn't have to chase anything, any other idea of, oh, I need to grow, I need to do this, I need to do that, I need to have that brand in my portfolio. When I realized that everyone can go and fuck themselves and I'm just happy doing the way I do, oh my God. That was my definition. Success eternally now.
Alex Senta
Yeah. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. That's the beautiful. That's the beautiful journey that we're all on, I think. And I think as now an elder statesman, that's. I turned 40 this year and I got enough gray hair now to start to give wisdom. But, yeah, I think it took me 40 years to figure that out. Right. And I think we're all on that journey. And I think for me, I'm. Yeah, I'm just excited and proud to be able to pass that on and to bring some of these philosophies both to my studio and to a new generation of designers and help pass that along and, yeah, teach a little bit of what I've learned along the way to help others. And I think that's, you know, that's what we're all here to do, right? It's to find out these life lessons through the experiences that we have and then try to help others with that.
Interviewer
If you remember, you told me when you were 22, you were working with 31. 31 year old adults. And now we are 40 plus. But Alex, it's been exciting to watch what you've created in the last few years and exciting what you've created in the last 40 years. And I'm excited to see what happens next. So it's been pleasure talking to you. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of what you do and yourself and yeah, excited to see what happens next.
Alex Senta
Thank you so much for all the kind words and for having me here today. I really enjoyed this conversation and I'm so thankful for having me and excited. Yeah, we're just getting started.
Interviewer
Pleasure.
Alex Senta
Just the beginning.
Interviewer
Thank you.
Radim Malinage
Thank you for listening to this episode of Daring Creativity Podcast. I'd love to know your thoughts, questions and suggestions, so please get in touch via the email in the show notes or subscribe social channels. This episode was produced and presented by me, Radim Malinage. The audio production was done by Neil Maai from 7 Million Bikes Podcast. Thank you and I hope to see you on the next episode. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding, and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle, including an ebook audiobook to make the content accessible wherever you.
Interviewer
Are and whatever you do.
Radim Malinage
To get 10% of your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the code podcast. Have a look around and start living daringly.
Episode: Dare to care more than everyone else – Alex Center
Host: Radim Malinic
Guest: Alex Center (Founder, Senter Studio)
Release Date: October 6, 2025
This episode dives deep into the journey of acclaimed designer and founder, Alex Center, exploring how genuine care, authenticity, and self-acceptance have shaped both his career and the brands he's built. Host Radim Malinic and Alex cover formative experiences, the power of mentorship, the realities of creative work, and the importance of daring to care more than everyone else. Alex’s reflections range from his humble, insecure beginnings as a 90s art classroom kid, to influential work for Vitamin Water, Coca-Cola, and the founding of Senter Studio, culminating in practical wisdom for anyone striving to lead a creative life from a place of intrinsic motivation.
[03:52–06:11]
Quote:
In the art classroom, my teachers are nice to me. The other students looked at me in a way that made me feel confident, that made me feel special. And I think that was sort of where I first early diagnosed the fact that this may be something that made me feel good about myself.
— Alex Center [03:52]
[10:46–13:04]
Quote:
“It’s a sign of success, it’s a sign of making it. ... Being a designer at Nike or being a designer at Coca Cola. Yeah, for me it seemed like that was the dream.”
— Alex Center [11:49]
[13:26–18:23]
Quote:
“Takes away some of the magic, right? ... It’s like kind of a thankless thing because sports franchises make a lot of money and none of that is determined by how well the tickets are designed.”
— Alex Center [15:16]
[19:57–28:43]
Quote:
“Every time I would be in a meeting with anyone that seemed to just flow effortlessly—their ideas, their confidence, their beliefs ... that confidence and that sort of sense of self made everyone else in the room believe them.”
— Alex Center [23:07]
[29:09–31:40], [46:30–47:57]
Quotes:
“If every designer is going to come and throw down five ideas, I’m going to bring ten, because that’s going to give me a better chance ... I like to win. And I think that’s really the first time in my life where I had really been in a scenario where my love of what I do and the opportunity that I was in, I was very aware that this brand was a huge opportunity for me.”
— Alex Center [29:09]
“It’s the only superpower I have. ... I care more. I think that’s it. And I think if you can go to every table in every room and be the one that cares the most, good things will come.”
— Alex Center [46:30]
[32:27–36:06]
[39:24–44:43]
Quote:
“He rolled down the window of his car and he said, it needs to come from inside you. And he was right.”
— Alex Center [43:20]
[47:57–56:53]
Quote:
“For so long I was trying to associate myself with brands because of the value that they brought to me. And now I have taken that learning ... and using those lessons to make those brands for others.”
— Alex Center [49:03]
“We’re all just making this up ... that gut instinct, that sort of belief in yourself and that sort of feeling is what you gotta go with. And it’s got to be inside of you.”
— Alex Center [44:43]
[51:54–58:39]
Quote:
“I have to be myself because everybody else is taken.”
— Radim Malinic [56:53]
On the myth of overnight legitimacy:
“Don’t you love that naive positivity that you think you’re like, I’m here to sort of world, Like, I’ve been here for two days, but can I change the logo?”
— Radim Malinic [19:17]
On finding your unique path:
“I can’t make a design studio that looks or like that or feels like that or does work like that. I can only do what feels right for me. And the result is a studio that is mine and reflects how I think and how I behave and my attitude and philosophies.”
— Alex Center [55:40]
On belonging, community, and the purpose of brands:
“Brands are for belonging ... the best brands challenge the status quo, right? The best brands are the most courageous. They're the ones that are trying to change something and to make a difference and to shift culture.”
— Alex Center [53:54]
Alex Center’s story is a testament to the power of authentic care, relentless self-improvement, and the importance of daring to build something that reflects your own values—not just chasing the validation of established names or external approval. “Care more than anyone else” becomes a mantra for emerging and seasoned creatives alike, reminding us that the most successful—and impactful—creative journeys are fueled from within.
Memorable Closing:
“We’re just getting started.”
— Alex Center [59:14]
For more resources and to continue your own journey of daring creativity, visit the podcast’s show notes or host Radim Malinic’s website.