Front and Center
Each week, award-winning graphic designer Alex Center and co-host Kevin Batory discuss branding, design, pop culture, and more. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Episodes
198 episodes
DO YOU LIKE FITNESS?
Alex and Kevin are here with a BANGER. Coming off the long weekend, refreshed and reenergized, the fellas discuss everything going on, which is dominated by fitness and nutrition stories in a sort of new year, new me energy. They talk about the...
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54:41
Rethink and Advance: with Leland Maschmeyer
Today, we are thrilled to welcome Leland Maschmeyer to the show! Leland is the Co-Founder and CEO of COLLINS, the globally renowned design firm. He was formerly the Chief Creative and Brand Officer at Chobani, where he led its brand relaunch, p...
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1:20:36
ONE THING CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING
Hello and Happy New Year! 2026 is going to be our year! Let’s go! Excuse me while I break the 4th wall… We recorded this at the end of the day on the first Monday back from 2 weeks off. This was quite possibly the worst day of the year, and sti...
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46:04
2025 BACKIES
It’s the best time of the year to celebrate the worst of the year! The Annual Backies are here once again! This year was quite the doozie! We had stiff competition for many of the awards, and many brands and stories didn't make the cut. SAD! Th...
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38:49
2025 FRONTIES
IT’S HERE! THE 2025 FRONTIES! TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE BEST OF THE YEAR, AND BOY WAS IT A GOOD ONE! Today we award Story of the Year, Brand of the Year, Person of the Year, Rebrand of the Year, Brand Moment of the Year, Cream of the Crop Collab, ...
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56:04
The Combo Combination: with Brennan McGrath and Kapono Chung
This week, we are thrilled to welcome Brennan McGrath and Kapono Chung to the show! They are Partners at Combo, a strategic creative agency that uses strategy and design to unlock what's next. Their work spans from deep research and thorough st...
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1:12:15
GOBBLE GOBBLE!
GOBBLE GOBBLE BITCHES! IT'S A TRADITION LIKE NO OTHER - THE FRONT AND CENTER THANKSGIVING EXTRAVAGANZA. WE ARE THANKFUL TO YOU, THE LISTENER, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE READING THIS! SO THANKFUL, THAT I WILL NOT BE USING ANY LOWER CASE LETTERS...
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52:08
WE’RE BACK LIKE THE MCRIB
THE MCRIB IS BACK AND SO ARE ALEX AND KEVIN! The two McRib truthers discuss Bubbagate, The Eddie Murphy Doc, Ridiculousness being canceled, Streaming platforms’ greed, Purple Mattresses, REI Soho getting replaced by an Open Ai Office, Beastland...
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40:04
THE VICTORY LAP
Alex ran the New York City Marathon! Everyone, go tell him congratulations! Alex breaks down his experience of his beastly feat, and we break down the current state of branding! Alex and Kevin discuss Erewhon’s new smoothie, Billy McFarland's n...
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1:00:56
Unbothered: with Natasha Jen
We have a legend on the program!! She needs no introduction, but here is one anyways… Natasha Jen is an award-winning designer, educator, and partner at Pentagram. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, she joined Pentagram’s New York office in 20...
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1:00:36
What’s Your Thing: with Alex Adam
Alex Adam (3 first names*) is the Founder & Creative Director at Boredom Kills Creative. The studio (not agency) is based in the UK and operates worldwide with the mission to build community and connection through world-class brand identiti...
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55:52
HERE WE ARE NOW
Everyone wish Alex a Happy Birthday! On this episode of Front and Center, Kevin compiled a 26-page document featuring stories from the world of design, branding, and other cultural touchpoints (things he came across online on Monday). The two f...
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1:05:56
The Build: with Robyn Kanner
Robyn Kanner is a creative director with a passion for telling urgent human stories. She was the creative director for the Biden-Harris 2020 campaign (shout-out to the infamous fly swatter). After the victory, she went on to collaborate with cl...
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1:03:05
Oreo Reese's vs Reese’s Oreo
Alex and Kevin indulge in a taste test of both the Oreo Reese’s and the Reese’s Oreo! They talk so much about how they’re going to try stuff, and they actually did this time! They also catchup on the latest stories like: Stiller’s Soda, Montauk...
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53:27
Heyyy, Creative Directress: with Verònica Fuerte
Verònica Fuerte is the Founder and Creative Directress of Hey, the world-renowned studio based in Barcelona. The studio has been at it since 2007, now 18 years, producing some of the most vibrant, lively, and thoughtful work in the entire indus...
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43:56
Triboro State of Mind: with David Heasty
Today, we welcome David Heasty to the show! David is the co-founder of Triboro, which he founded in 2008 alongside his wife, Stefanie Weigler. They create design solutions for clients in publishing, art, fashion, music, lifestyle, and for cultu...
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56:45
BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
Alex and Kevin are here to bring you their bottom-of-the-barrel takes on the hottest design story we’ve seen since Jaguar: Cracker Barrel. In classic form, Alex is pro-rebrand, and Kevin is against the modernization; the two go back and f...
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57:01
A Star is Born: with Liliana Soorin Kim
Alex and Kevin welcome Liliana Soorin Kim from the studio to the podcast! Liliana is currently an intern at CENTER and is in her podcast era! We briefly recap our offsite, talk a little baseball, and discuss Alex's training regimen before divin...
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48:59
La-Z-Boy Oh Boy
Alex and Kevin bring the heat as they run through the most exciting stories happening in the world of design and branding. The two dudes talk about Oreo x Reese’s, High Noon x Celsius, the La-Z-Boy rebrand, Not so great Jeans, a new glass bottl...
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50:27
Out of Nothing: with Emunah Winer and Margaret Kerr-Jarrett
Nihilo is an award-winning creative agency founded by creative directors Emunah Winer and Margarett (Margy) Kerr-Jarrett, based in Columbus, OH. They create brands that get picked up off the shelf, explored, and talked about. Their clients rang...
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41:46
COLD PLAY BY COLDPLAY
Alex and Kevin are coming at you for the 3rd consecutive solo episode! The most consecutive in quite some time, or at least that's how it feels! Kevin discovers some new sounds on the sound board they've been using for years. Then the two fella...
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44:28
Running Bits
Alex and Kevin are back from the long weekend, chomping at the bit to discuss their activities.. Kevin recaps his epic Fourth of July at Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, and Alex talks about his relaxing weekend. They go on to talk about...
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45:46
THIS IS A CRUMBL, PUT YOUR BLUE JEANS BACK ON
Alex and Kevin bring you a solo episode, live from global headquarters in Greenpoint Brooklyn! They discuss the Hot Dog Eating Contest, Buffalo Wild Wings’ Mountain Dew Radler, Micheal Beirut taking a step back at Pentagram, Benson Boone’s Moon...
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35:39