Zan Goodman has built a celebrated career as a design director in New York City, from Teen Vogue, Nylon, and CR Fashion Book to creative agencies like Chandelier, Mythology, and Yard, to her current role as the founder and design director of her own studio, Zan Inc. Her work has shaped the visual language of many of today’s most influential fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands and has earned recognition from Vogue, NPR, and The New York Times.

Along the way she has had to find her own equilibrium, learning where to compromise and where to hold the line. In this conversation, Zan reflects on the realities of creative leadership, what it means to be a creative translator, the cost of chasing bigger work, and how burnout forced her to rebuild on her own terms. She shares how trusting herself and her taste became the foundation for a more balanced, collaborative, and fulfilling creative life.

In this episode:

• Growing up in downtown New York in a family of creatives and how that shaped her creative career and commercial sensibility

• Why she sees her role as a creative translator rather than a visionary dreamer and why the industry needs both

• What she learned from working under Anna Wintour at Teen Vogue and Carine Roitfeld at CR Fashion Book and how those experiences taught her the importance of conviction and taste

• The power of trusting her instincts and why standing by her opinion sometimes means pushing back or walking away

• The burnout that pushed her to start her own studio and the realization that chasing bigger clients does not always lead to better work

• How becoming her own boss taught her to protect her time, energy, and boundaries and the confidence that comes with saying no

• Why she now defines success through collaboration and pleasure and how she learned to let go of perfectionism and take pride in the process itself

• The role of failure in creative work and why real creativity depends on experimentation, constraint, and the courage to let things go

An honest conversation about honing your craft, navigating burnout, and the quiet confidence it takes to hold your own in an industry built on reinvention.

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Stay Connected with Alanna (Host) & Zan (Guest)

• MELIOR FUTURI Instagram: @meliorfuturi

• Alanna Lynch Linkedin: alannalynch

• (FAIL)UP Instagram : @failupbymeliorfuturi

• Zan Goodman Instagram: @zangoodman

• Zan Inc Instagram: @zan.inc.studio

• Zan Goodman Linkedin: Zan Goodman

If this conversation left you wanting to think bigger, feel braver, and influence change in your own organization, head to melior-futuri.com to explore our executive and leadership coaching programs, available internationally.

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