The CreativePro Podcast

Join the CreativePro team for fun and insightful discussions about our favorite tools and technologies: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, PowerPoint, Acrobat, print, digital publishing, presentation design, accessibility, AI, and more!

Photoshop Craft vs AI: What Still Matters 03/17/2026

The Making of the CreativePro Week 2026 Agenda 02/24/2026

The Making of the CreativePro Week 2026 Agenda In this episode of the CreativePro Podcast, David Blatner and Theresa Jackson pull back the curtain on how the CreativePro Week 2026 agenda came together for this summer’s event in Nashville. Recorded in conjunction with the agenda launch, the conversation offers a timely look at the decisions shaping the program. If you’ve ever attended CreativePro Week and felt like the content spoke directly to your day-to-day work, this episode sheds light on why. David and Theresa talk about how listener feedback, community conversations, and real-world creative challenges influence what makes it onto the agenda. They also discuss how CreativePro Week fits into a larger ecosystem of events, membership, and ongoing education. They reflect on how the needs of creative professionals have evolved over time, why certain topics return year after year, and how particular constraints affect what ultimately makes it onto the schedule. This is a candid conversation about learning, community, and the invisible work that supports meaningful professional development for designers who want more than surface-level inspiration. Episode Highlights Theresa describes agenda planning as solving a difficult puzzle, and the relief of finally locking in the 2026 CreativePro Week schedule David and Theresa share where session topics actually come from, including speaker submissions, focus group surveys, and ideas shaped through conversations with each other and the community David admits that even Adobe designers still have to work in a Microsoft world Theresa shares what matters most when deciding whether to work with a new CreativePro speaker Why switching to Miro changed the entire agenda-building process, from color-coded topics to drag-and-drop scheduling and real-time collaboration Episode Resources CreativePro Week 2026, Nashville, June 29–July 3, 2026: CreativePro Events: Speaker submissions: Miro online white board Save $100 on any CreativePro event in 2026 with the discount code PODCAST: Get $15 off one year of CreativePro membership with the discount code PODCAST: /episode/index/show/indesignsecrets/id/40194805

Design Trends and Predictions for 2026 01/20/2026

Design Trends and Predictions for 2026 Theresa Jackson and Mike Rankin kick off the new year by reflecting on 2025 before looking ahead to 2026. They share their thoughts on design trends for 2026, framed less as visual styles and more as shifts in behavior and mindset. They also react to the Pantone Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer, and what it suggests about the current cultural mood. AI enters the discussion, as it has become part of nearly every conversation about the creative industry. Theresa and Mike talk about AI as one piece of a much bigger picture—how it’s influencing tools, workflows, and expectations without defining the entire creative process. The episode wraps with a practical perspective on skill building for the year ahead and a look forward at what’s coming next for CreativePro, including the 2026 content direction they’re excited about. This episode offers a grounded reset for the new year—reflective, forward-looking, and focused on helping creative professionals move into 2026 with intention and confidence. Episode Highlights Theresa and Mike reflect on what stood out in 2025 and what they were proud of accomplishing. They discuss design trends for 2026 and why those trends are not about colors or type. Hear their reactions to the Pantone Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer, and what that choice suggests about the current cultural moment. Follow how AI enters the conversation naturally, as part of ongoing discussions about design tools, workflows, and expectations. Hear how talking about AI leads to a broader conversation about fundamentals, judgment, and experience. Get a preview of what’s coming next for CreativePro, including what Theresa and Mike are excited to share in 2026. Episode Resources – articles by John McWade – tutorial by Camille Holden , Nashville, June 29–July 3, 2026 Save $100 on any with the discount code: PODCAST Get $15 off one year of with the discount code: PODCAST /episode/index/show/indesignsecrets/id/39780125

A Better Way to Review Creative Work 01/13/2026

Journey from Designer to Presentation Strategist 12/22/2025

Journey from Designer to Presentation Strategist Mike Parkinson and Jody Wissing join the CreativePro Podcast for a candid conversation about their unexpected paths into presentation design. They explain that presentation design isn’t what most people think it is. It’s not about making pretty slides. It’s about understanding and caring about the content well enough to turn it into a story. They walk through their favorite features for building slides in PowerPoint plus other essential apps for outlining, note gathering, and creating visual elements. Their conversation includes open and honest thoughts about the growing role of AI in presentation design. They share what’s helping them, what’s changing their workflows, and what keeps them curious—or cautious. They also talk about where they hope AI will take the industry and where they’d prefer it not to go, all while emphasizing the human thinking that still guides great presentation work. Episode Highlights Hear how Jody’s very first presentation on a kindergarten playground set the tone for a lifetime of storytelling. Follow Mike’s winding path from fine art to bioengineering to comic books before he ever opened PowerPoint. Learn why Jody sometimes shows 300+ slides in a 45-minute presentation, and how audiences never notice. Hear Mike describe AI as a Friction Fixer or Accelerator. It is part of the process, not the product. Listen as both designers share how AI is already part of their daily process, what it helps them do, and why the human element still matters. Catch their honest fears and hopes for AI—including how far they think avatars might go. Resources and Links Mike Parkinson – Jody Wissing – Inkscape – Slidewise – NXPowerLite – Creative Cloud Libraries for PowerPoint – , February 17–20, 2026 , Nashville, June 29–July 3, 2026 Save $100 on any with the discount code: PODCAST Get $15 off one year of with the discount code: PODCAST /episode/index/show/indesignsecrets/id/39490495