She left a stable marketing career to bet on graphic design, right as AI is flipping the creative world upside down. Alex Berg breaks down what a career pivot actually takes, what she’d do differently, and why our podcast logo is total garbage.

Throw us a follow and a 5 star review if you're enjoying the podcast (if not, send Dylan a glitter bomb)

Alex Berg is a Bay Area graphic designer, illustrator, and improviser. After years in social media marketing, she pivoted into design, building a freelance client base while earning graphic design and illustration certificates at City College of San Francisco. She works across brand identity, logo systems, and layout-driven design, and performs improv with Secret Improv Society and Required Taste at EndGames Improv.

In this convo we cover:

- The real-world version of career pivoting (money, timing, and “fake it till you make it”)

- Graphic design vs. illustration (and why you don’t need to be a great drawer to design)

- Why AI logos are risky (scaling, vectors vs. pixels, and copyright issues)

- Clients, creative differences, and the #1 word that makes designers cringe: “just”

- Fonts/typefaces, analog design trends, and how culture changes what looks “modern”

Follow Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexqberg/ Check out Alex's Website: https://www.alexqberg.com/

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

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Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

This week we chat about what news is making waves across the Bay Area, including an insane swim from a coyote to Alcatraz, the energy around SF Sketchfest, and a new payphone that allows you to call a Republican (which we think is a bad way to spend your day).

Throw us a follow and a 5 star review if you're enjoying the podcast (if not, send Dylan a glitter bomb)

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

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Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

1. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
2. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
3. Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

Bay Area sketch comedy group Children of Divorce (Emily Nodal & Sam Zahn) pulled up to Bay Waves and we immediately lost control of the conversation (in the best way). In this absolutely hilarious interview, we hear about their writing process, what sketch comedy looks like in the Bay Area right now, and we get some of the best Trump impressions you'll ever hear.

SUBSCRIBE for more Bay Area artists + comedians.

Check out the sketches from Children of Divorce:

1. Instagram
2. TikTok
3. YouTube

Check out Children of Divorce's Live Show, starting Feb 14th (and running every other month after that): https://events.humanitix.com/children-of-divorce-presents-variety-and-sketch-shows

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

1. Instagram
2. TikTok
3. X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

1. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
2. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
3. Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

On this episode we’re joined by Bay Area author Barak Engel, who took a Dungeons & Dragons campaign he was running and turned it into a full-blown fantasy novel. Turns out being a great Dungeon Master helps when you decide to write a book (and it also helps that he wrote some other cybersecurity non-fiction books before). We talk about how the world was born at the table, the unexpectedly useful mushroom trip that helped finish the story, his deep love of nerd culture, and naturally, we take some time to bully Dylan for not reading enough.

Check out the book's website: https://thecrackinthecrystal.com/

Buy the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Crack-Crystal-Ascendance-Barak-Engel/dp/B0D5KTYS8L

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

1. Instagram
2. TikTok
3. X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

1. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
2. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
3. Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

On this episode, we’re joined by the hilarious Santa Rosa comedian Oliver Graves (often labeled a 'Goth' Comedian for his emo presentation), who famously won the hearts of America from his appearance on America's Got Talent. We chat about Oliver's thoughts on the 'Goth' classification, the behind the scenes of America's Got Talent, and how people usually approach him, as we've never met a more mysterious person. We attempt to get him to smile as well, but you can already guess the result... Deadpan is his specialty.

Check out Oliver's website for more: https://www.olivergraves.com/

Follow Oliver on Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/olivergravesirl/

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
• Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

On this episode, we’re joined by Bay Area comedian, storyteller, and Emmy-winning writer Doug Cordell! Doug's wild journey has taken him from the writer's room of some of your favorite children's TV shows like Bear in the Big Blue House, Book of Pooh, and Blues Clues, to the Bay Area comedy scene. We chat about the science of standup material, the intense pressures of writing for children's television, and try to follow Doug's rollercoaster life that's led him to what he does today. His silky voice will have you yearning to see him perform live ;)

Check out Doug's website: https://www.dougcordell.com/

Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougcordellstory/

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette: https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
• Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

On this episode, we’re joined by Bay Area comedy magician Sean Francisco, who blends stand-up energy with mind-bending tricks. Sean talks about how he got started in magic, how he builds and tailors a show, and then absolutely wows us with a few live tricks (including the best thing we’ve ever seen pulled out of a hat).

Check out Sean on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theseanfrancisco/

Check out Sean's website for shows and booking: https://www.seanfranciscomagic.com/

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette (again!): https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
• Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on

On this episode we talk with the hilarious and ever enjoyable Colleen Breen, founder and operator of Oakland's top Improv Comedy theater, All Out Comedy. We talk about Colleen's journey to creating Oakland's biggest improv theater, her wild stories about what goes on inside and outside the theater, and why we think she should embrace the title of Comedy Mother (she disagrees). Also, a bunch of slightly inappropriate comedy banter ensues.

Check out All Out Comedy's website for shows and classes: https://www.alloutcomedytheater.com/

Check out All Out Comedy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alloutcomedytheater/

And Colleen's Instagram too: https://www.instagram.com/buttstuffchicagosubreddit/

Title Song is ‘Island’ by Super Cassette. More Super Cassette (again!): https://linktr.ee/supercassette

Follow Bay Waves across socials @baywavespod:

• Instagram
• TikTok
• X

Subscribe to Bay Waves on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BayWavesPod

Follow on your Podcast Channels:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3myR6fzjRdgwixLFml2Wj1
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-waves/id1804939206
• Or find us on Amazon Music, Stitcher, Pandora and any other edgy platform you consume podcasts on