1 00:00:00,300 --> 00:00:02,900 Welcome to aiga is fireside chat. 2 00:00:03,300 --> 00:00:06,500 Thank you for joining us. Before we begin our fireside 3 00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:08,900 chat, a few quick housekeeping notes. 4 00:00:09,300 --> 00:00:11,900 This session is being recorded and will be available for 5 00:00:11,900 --> 00:00:14,300 viewing post-event. We are also live streaming to 6 00:00:14,300 --> 00:00:16,300 our followers on LinkedIn and Facebook. 7 00:00:16,300 --> 00:00:19,300 Please connect with us and share your thoughts, the Hashtags with 8 00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:22,100 this. Fireside are aoj design and 9 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:25,100 future of design. Now, it is my pleasure to 10 00:00:25,100 --> 00:00:28,800 welcome, Vinnie at Johnson & J's, executive director today is 11 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,700 against Rusev. Steroids, vice president brand 12 00:00:31,700 --> 00:00:36,000 creative for Sesame Workshop, any holiday, greetings, everyone 13 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,300 and Welcome to our last Fireside of this year. 14 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:43,600 We're going to explore leadership in design and we 15 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,800 thought what better way to end our year with a way in which 16 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,100 many of us began our year in thinking about creativity and 17 00:00:53,100 --> 00:00:58,500 Innovation from the start. It only takes these words to 18 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:00,900 bring a smile to minis face. Face face it. 19 00:01:01,700 --> 00:01:06,900 Sunny day sweeping the clouds away on my way to where the air 20 00:01:06,900 --> 00:01:10,300 is sweet. Just the mention of those words, 21 00:01:10,300 --> 00:01:14,400 bring back fond memories of our childhood of our Parenthood of 22 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,300 our experience. That bring a delight to our 23 00:01:18,300 --> 00:01:21,200 face. So today we're going to have as 24 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,200 our guest none. Other than Teresa Fitzgerald who 25 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:29,900 serves as the VP of creative brand for Sesame Workshop. 26 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:34,500 The education nonprofit behind the educational organization 27 00:01:34,500 --> 00:01:39,100 that we love Sesame Street, she leads the in-house brand, 28 00:01:39,100 --> 00:01:42,600 creative team, which is dedicated with this mission of 29 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,800 helping kids grow stronger, smarter and kinder. 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,700 Theresa has spent a career developing creative to entertain 31 00:01:51,700 --> 00:01:55,500 and educate, and engage young minds prior to Sesame. 32 00:01:55,700 --> 00:02:00,200 She oversaw design and branding vision from Nickelodeon Snoopy 33 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,600 and peanut Scholastic Mattel and National Geographic. 34 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:08,100 She's been an Adjunct professor in New York at NYU teaching 35 00:02:08,100 --> 00:02:11,000 design and working with educational team members at the 36 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,300 Smithsonian cooper-hewitt supporting design in the 37 00:02:13,308 --> 00:02:15,700 classroom. She's been a guest speaker at 38 00:02:15,700 --> 00:02:17,400 all of the leading design schools. 39 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:22,700 She's always been committed to problem-solving mind evolving 40 00:02:22,700 --> 00:02:26,000 and pulling it down to the Bears essence of creativity. 41 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:30,300 So today, I'd like to welcome to reach of his journal to our 42 00:02:30,300 --> 00:02:32,500 fireside chat. Thank you. 43 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:35,100 My friend. Yeah, nice intro. 44 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,500 Well, it's good to have you have you have to have a good intro. 45 00:02:38,700 --> 00:02:42,800 So I, you know I say it injects quits there's so many times when 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,200 you hear those lyrics and it kind of sums up with the break 47 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:50,700 point of, can you Tell me how to get how to get to Sesame Street. 48 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,100 So, I'm a dad. So I'm allowed in this season to 49 00:02:54,100 --> 00:02:57,500 have a ton of dad puns in this conversation, okay? 50 00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,400 So we want to start off with your design journey. 51 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,900 And the big question is, how did you come to this role? 52 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:04,700 You've been at Sesame Street for over a decade? 53 00:03:04,700 --> 00:03:06,300 How did you end up at Sesame Street? 54 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,400 First, I want to thank you for having me, and it's kind of a 55 00:03:12,408 --> 00:03:16,400 nice week to wind down with a celebrating design and 56 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,600 creativity. Um, so I grew up in Upstate New 57 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:28,300 York, in a family, big family, where creativity was celebrated, 58 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:33,400 you know, we were all encouraged to make paint draw all the 59 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:40,000 things, and I knew at a young age, I wanted to be an artist. 60 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,000 You know, I wanted to be maybe an illustrated children's book 61 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,800 illustrator, I just loved children's book, illustration. 62 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,000 So all the all the way through high school, I was always 63 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,500 drawing. And when it came to pick a 64 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:57,000 college of study, I went to Rochester Institute of 65 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:05,400 Technology which, you know, for me was a minute was a great 66 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,900 selection is a strong design College. 67 00:04:09,900 --> 00:04:12,500 You know, design, a strong design education. 68 00:04:12,500 --> 00:04:16,500 I'm very different than children's book illustration 69 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:20,600 where I was Just, you know, Swiss modern by house thinking 70 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:26,100 so it's really that combination of you know love of character 71 00:04:26,100 --> 00:04:30,100 and story telling and then getting introduced to corporate 72 00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:37,800 identity and Design Systems that brought me to New York City. 73 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:44,700 And I've continued to all my jobs have been working for kids, 74 00:04:44,700 --> 00:04:47,400 working for kids in the entertainment field. 75 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:51,900 Field working with characters and story telling. 76 00:04:53,300 --> 00:04:58,300 So it's really been kind of a straight path for me. 77 00:04:59,100 --> 00:05:01,800 Oh, whoa. You know, they say a say that 78 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,700 was many times we have conversations and we talked 79 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:05,800 about the Securities routes baby come in. 80 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,500 But, you know, I love our conversations about you having 81 00:05:08,500 --> 00:05:10,700 this fake Focus. You knew you wanted to work with 82 00:05:10,700 --> 00:05:12,700 kids. That's right. 83 00:05:12,700 --> 00:05:16,600 You should then design. So you get a chance to work with 84 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,000 some of the Most beloved characters in our world. 85 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,300 How is that on the day to day to wake up and work with characters 86 00:05:25,300 --> 00:05:29,700 that we all can recite their name songs and can draw them 87 00:05:29,700 --> 00:05:32,500 from memory and think about the colors and where we were, when 88 00:05:32,500 --> 00:05:36,000 we first learned how to count, right? 89 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,400 I mean, so I've worked with a lot of characters. 90 00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:42,500 So, you know, one of the first ones that I did was I worked at 91 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:46,800 Scholastic working on children's books, illustrating and 92 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:50,700 designing. There's books at Scholastic and 93 00:05:50,700 --> 00:05:56,200 then working United feature Syndicate directly with Charles 94 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,500 Schulz and Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang and so really 95 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:05,700 working with art and designing, with his characters, which was 96 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:08,700 really exciting to work directly with him. 97 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:17,500 And then going to Nickelodeon where, you know, they the 98 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:22,900 content they create is so fun and dynamic working there during 99 00:06:22,900 --> 00:06:30,500 the the big ears of SpongeBob and Dora and the Rugrats which 100 00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:35,800 was, you know, having the strong characters and then creating 101 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:42,600 Brands around those characters and and now working at Sesame 102 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:49,000 Workshop where the Muppets have a 50 Year, you know, there 103 00:06:50,100 --> 00:06:55,000 they've been on TV for 50 years. And there's such like you said, 104 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,600 such a strong connection with those characters. 105 00:06:59,700 --> 00:07:05,100 So not only capturing the Delight in the personality of 106 00:07:05,108 --> 00:07:12,200 those characters, but then creating Brands systems and You 107 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:16,300 know, Design Systems that work across all the platforms. 108 00:07:16,300 --> 00:07:21,800 So my team and I have the great privilege of working with a kind 109 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:28,000 of small in-house team. We have designers sculptors 110 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:34,700 character designers, illustrators and animators, and 111 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:40,800 in every platform, every medium, you need the characters to 112 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:44,600 communicate. Who they are, which, you know, 113 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:49,500 true to their personality, in each area to work on consumer 114 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:53,400 products and educational, materials and games. 115 00:07:54,900 --> 00:07:58,200 You know, we have a range of audiences. 116 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:08,000 We create content for kids for families, for B2B, for fans for 117 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:14,600 donors. So, So we're constantly 118 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,100 harnessing that love of the characters and creating content 119 00:08:19,100 --> 00:08:22,300 for different audiences. What do you find is the biggest 120 00:08:22,300 --> 00:08:25,600 challenge of having, you know, such history with the 121 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:27,900 characters. But you're always finding these 122 00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:30,500 fresh ways for the characters of show up in our lives. 123 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:33,900 I think about your Partnerships with Lego, your Partnerships 124 00:08:33,900 --> 00:08:37,700 with bomb bus with the socks. The game is entirely New Life to 125 00:08:37,700 --> 00:08:39,600 this character library that we already know. 126 00:08:40,299 --> 00:08:42,299 But what do you find the most challenging or the most 127 00:08:42,299 --> 00:08:46,300 inspirational part of that? So, I mean the most 128 00:08:46,300 --> 00:08:50,400 inspirational part is it's a purpose-driven organization. 129 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:57,700 So as a non-profit as really with the gold in improve the 130 00:08:57,700 --> 00:09:03,500 lives of kids that after a long career working with kids 131 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:08,200 content, it's really rewarding to have purpose I'd patch. 132 00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:11,300 So it's not just Eating delighted joy and Delight. 133 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:17,100 It's really, then also having it connect to Value, you know, 134 00:09:17,100 --> 00:09:22,700 really having social impact, somehow connected to everything. 135 00:09:22,700 --> 00:09:29,800 We do part of the challenges constantly. 136 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:35,500 Evolving the characters in new ways in New in new design, 137 00:09:35,500 --> 00:09:40,300 expressions in news stories while staying true to To who 138 00:09:40,300 --> 00:09:45,200 they are. So I feel like people who love 139 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,400 our brand. I mean, they know they'll let us 140 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,400 know if we think we go too far. Like if we feel like we're 141 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:57,000 stretching our characters too far or it doesn't feel right but 142 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,700 Sesame from the beginning, it's been an experiment. 143 00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:07,600 It was an experiment to use media to educate and it's still 144 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,800 where we push ourselves is to identify. 145 00:10:09,900 --> 00:10:16,400 Identify the needs of kids and then create content to improve 146 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,400 their lives. It's I want to call out, you 147 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,300 know, really one of the moments. It's been just incredible for 148 00:10:23,300 --> 00:10:26,300 for the work, you're doing and your team and look at some of 149 00:10:26,300 --> 00:10:28,600 the stats that have come in. It's amazing. 150 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:33,800 That 75 percent of parents have a deep trust and Sesame Street, 151 00:10:34,300 --> 00:10:36,700 and that's higher than our trust value. 152 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:41,500 In any other entertainment or preschool Brandt, But it won't 153 00:10:41,500 --> 00:10:44,300 leave it there. I will then make you blush a bit 154 00:10:44,300 --> 00:10:47,900 and quote from the Wall Street Journal in moments of Crisis, 155 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,600 people often gravitate to institutions they trust. 156 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,200 It goes back to that 75% and few American institutions are more 157 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,100 trusted than Sesame Street. We talking about preparing and, 158 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,600 and navigating the brand for where your audience and 159 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,600 community and kids need you, one of the things that I thought was 160 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,800 really powerful was the way that Sesame Street stepped up. 161 00:11:09,900 --> 00:11:14,300 In this last 24 months, as we've all been in this moment of 162 00:11:14,300 --> 00:11:18,600 pandemic crisis, but really embraced parents and kids. 163 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,200 We talked a little bit about what that meant for you is a 164 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:26,100 brand. Yeah, sure, I mean, again from 165 00:11:26,100 --> 00:11:30,200 the beginning, from the, they called it an experiment, right? 166 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,700 It was the first show of can think of the 1969. 167 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:40,400 The founders thought that they would harness the the Of 168 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:46,800 Television to educate in it. It seems so common now but that 169 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:51,800 was really a revolutionary idea at the time is using using 170 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:59,800 television to educate kids. And from the beginning they used 171 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:05,600 celebrities and parodies and kind of content that's written 172 00:12:05,900 --> 00:12:09,800 on a couple levels so that parents and kids could watch 173 00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:14,000 Watch together because they they learned over time that the 174 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:19,800 learning is much better when kids and adults watched, you 175 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,700 know, watch TV together Co viewing so. 176 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,800 Well kids may not be aware of who the celebrities are or what 177 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,500 the parodies are. Getting at, that was a way to 178 00:12:31,500 --> 00:12:38,000 have the parents day and view with the kids during the last 179 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,200 two years. When covid, you know, first 180 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:49,800 first, you know, when it was spreading clearly disruptor and 181 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,400 all our worlds. But especially for parents of 182 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:57,800 young children for education purposes and then it just 183 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:03,700 explaining difficult, abstract ideas to kids. 184 00:13:03,700 --> 00:13:09,700 So taking these important issues and writing them in a way that 185 00:13:09,900 --> 00:13:15,700 If they can make sense to, you know, three-year-old, right? 186 00:13:15,700 --> 00:13:19,100 So that is what the Muppets that's, that is really what the 187 00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:24,400 Muppets are so good at is taking this complex information and 188 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,800 right thing in a way that is digestible for kids, and then 189 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,100 parents can have bigger conversations around these 190 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:36,900 difficult topics. So we rush to create content, 191 00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:42,200 what we called caring for each other and Was around, you know, 192 00:13:42,900 --> 00:13:46,400 why do you need to wear a mask? Can you hug your grandmother? 193 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,000 You know, all the things that a little a little kid would you? 194 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,500 No wonder about why these changes are happening. 195 00:13:54,200 --> 00:14:00,200 And then we went into the summer of social unrest which has 196 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,600 really again changed, our culture, changed our 197 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:08,500 conversations and it really tapped into our roots of 198 00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:12,700 address. Saying racial Justice really 199 00:14:12,700 --> 00:14:18,000 bringing in creating content to help explain these difficult 200 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,500 moments. I know way that, you know, gives 201 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:29,300 parents language and it gives kids understanding of, you know, 202 00:14:29,900 --> 00:14:34,800 how we want to live. I it's, you know, it's 203 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:37,900 remarkable when you think about it, all of those cold viewing 204 00:14:37,900 --> 00:14:41,300 experiences that I know, Remember a my family from being 205 00:14:41,300 --> 00:14:43,500 a kid on the other side and being a parent, it's passing 206 00:14:43,500 --> 00:14:46,800 through, you know, at Sesame Workshop. 207 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:51,700 You always had a history of having leading into these 208 00:14:51,700 --> 00:14:56,000 important and challenging conversations with story and 209 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,000 character. You know, if the heart of the 210 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,100 design in space in there, over the last, you've been with me 211 00:15:01,100 --> 00:15:04,700 for about we will check the saying before but 12 years cut. 212 00:15:04,700 --> 00:15:07,700 Yeah, and your team is responsible for creating. 213 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:09,100 My son is super excited about this one. 214 00:15:09,100 --> 00:15:11,800 I told him that It that your team has a hand in helping to 215 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:13,400 shape the creation of new Muppets. 216 00:15:13,900 --> 00:15:17,600 That's alright, I'll talk about some of the recent Muppets and 217 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:22,800 their role as both agents of understanding and storytellers 218 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,100 sir. So again, you know, so much of 219 00:15:28,100 --> 00:15:31,800 what we do now is really based on those early experiments 220 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:36,100 experiments. So, everything we do at Sesame 221 00:15:36,100 --> 00:15:43,200 is purpose-driven and what happens is, Is the Educators and 222 00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:46,600 researchers identify the needs of kids. 223 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,400 They really go out and say, what are we struggling with then? 224 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:55,100 And they look at the current cast, you know, our regular 225 00:15:55,100 --> 00:15:59,900 character that we have and the people on the show and to see 226 00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:04,700 like, oh can we chat? Can we reach this audience and 227 00:16:04,700 --> 00:16:10,300 these these topics of need with our current cast and And there 228 00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:15,600 are times we cannot and so we that, you know, the Creative 229 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,100 Group works with research and education. 230 00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:24,000 And we get the criteria of what we're trying to solve and then 231 00:16:24,100 --> 00:16:30,000 they content as written and there's a decision to possibly 232 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,900 make a new Muppet. And this happens. 233 00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:36,700 Sesame Street is an international program. 234 00:16:36,700 --> 00:16:40,300 We have over 30 co-productions around the Old. 235 00:16:40,500 --> 00:16:44,700 So we've been doing this again over our whole history. 236 00:16:45,100 --> 00:16:50,800 We have a show in South Africa, that's 20 years old and that new 237 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:55,300 Muppets were created for that, show at that time. 238 00:16:55,400 --> 00:17:00,400 It was when HIV, there was a one in four people had HIV. 239 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:06,599 So they created a muppet that had HIV that could teach 240 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:10,200 tolerance and understanding, which was something In their 241 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:17,000 culture in the Middle East where you know, girls education is, is 242 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,500 a challenge. We've created girl Muppets to 243 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,599 encourage and model education for girls. 244 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:31,900 So over time, we often will create a new Muppet if there's a 245 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:37,400 need and there's a story that can't be told through our our 246 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:43,900 existing cast. So With the recent current 247 00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:47,900 events and social justice, we found we need more friends than 248 00:17:47,900 --> 00:17:53,000 our neighborhood that can, you know, help tell some of our 249 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,100 stories. So we created Gabriella, and to 250 00:17:56,100 --> 00:18:02,700 mirror and their new Muppet that were that are in, they were in a 251 00:18:02,700 --> 00:18:06,700 special called The Power of we. And it's part of an initiative. 252 00:18:06,700 --> 00:18:13,000 We're doing really to talk about About social justice while we 253 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:18,100 have a history of being a diverse neighborhood, somewhere. 254 00:18:18,100 --> 00:18:25,800 Everyone's welcome, we found that this new era we needed to 255 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,500 be more direct and to have more direct conversations. 256 00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:35,900 Being kind is fundamental to who we are, but we needed more than 257 00:18:35,900 --> 00:18:39,900 kindness. We need language to explain You 258 00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:42,400 know, where we are and how we want to grow. 259 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:48,600 And then there's also the west and Elijah who was created for, 260 00:18:49,900 --> 00:18:52,700 you know, additional content and they're on the show. 261 00:18:54,400 --> 00:19:00,200 So, we also just had a special over Thanksgiving called, see us 262 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:08,900 coming together where we had Korean Muppet, who was a new new 263 00:19:08,900 --> 00:19:12,100 eight-year-old, girl, Girl, who's new to the neighborhood 264 00:19:12,500 --> 00:19:16,600 and helps? You know, she is talking about 265 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:22,000 her background. So how you know, it's amazing, 266 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,400 just the scope of the work to you have. 267 00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:27,000 How do you Foster and continue people? 268 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,000 Get excited about this Rich collaboration. 269 00:19:29,900 --> 00:19:33,200 I think you said so wait, what is the question? 270 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,000 But how do you how do you keep people excited about 271 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:39,300 collaborating at this level? If you have a hyper level of 272 00:19:39,300 --> 00:19:48,200 collaboration we do we have we have over 700 Partners around 273 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,600 the world. That either work with consumer 274 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:59,300 products or sponsorships. And like you said, I think the 275 00:19:59,300 --> 00:20:03,300 power of The brand and the deep emotional connection. 276 00:20:03,300 --> 00:20:11,600 People have to the characters is a magnet for a possibility and 277 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:16,000 for these different collaborations. 278 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:22,900 So, you know, it's a combination of people come to us as a 279 00:20:22,900 --> 00:20:25,600 non-profit. There's there's certain 280 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:31,700 limitations on how we can present ourselves Different than 281 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:35,700 you know, right? Then you know, I'm more 282 00:20:35,700 --> 00:20:39,500 commercial company. So often Partnerships come to 283 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:42,800 us. It's hard for us to shop around 284 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,400 right chefs. Yeah, but it's it seems that, 285 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,300 you know, as we've talked and we've seen the Partnerships, 286 00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:52,600 you're always doing ones that reinforce the mission that you 287 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,800 can see why these Partnerships make sense. 288 00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:58,000 Yeah, it looks like the character arak, you know, we 289 00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:59,700 don't see Cookie Monster outside of him. 290 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,700 Yeah, that's right. And we always say that the 291 00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:07,800 characters, you know, while they may, if we do our job, well, we 292 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:12,500 partner with care with brands that both Brands get the list 293 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:18,900 from from their strengths. But we always say the characters 294 00:21:18,900 --> 00:21:24,300 don't do business like they are always model, they do not sell 295 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:30,300 products, they do not promote, you know, Commerce, They are 296 00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:32,900 always, you know, Elmo's the three and a half year old 297 00:21:32,900 --> 00:21:35,800 monster so he's always throwing a half years old. 298 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,300 He doesn't know. Right, you know, he doesn't know 299 00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:42,900 anything outside of his world and what doesn't have a favorite 300 00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:45,400 car, but he's promoting, he does. 301 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,000 I don't know. I don't believe he does get the 302 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,400 do now. Do you have a favorite Muppet 303 00:21:51,300 --> 00:21:52,500 to? Oh my goodness. 304 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:54,600 I've been asked that question so many times this week. 305 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:58,200 So I have a, I have a handful that are my favorite. 306 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:02,900 So definitely a Grover. That's probably a little kid. 307 00:22:02,900 --> 00:22:05,700 I remember reading. There's a monster at the end of 308 00:22:05,708 --> 00:22:07,200 the book. It's good fun. 309 00:22:07,300 --> 00:22:10,600 And yeah, it's a polar alert for those who watch and who don't 310 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,100 know, Grover's the monster at the end of the book 311 00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:18,600 mind-blowing, I know you didn't see that one coming but those 312 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,300 are incredible. I I love a be in terms of kind 313 00:22:22,300 --> 00:22:26,100 of young new characters. My daughter really appreciated 314 00:22:26,100 --> 00:22:28,200 that. You know, growing up. 315 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,400 I loved I Love Snuffy and I love the fact. 316 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,100 You know I remember the conversations about you know 317 00:22:36,100 --> 00:22:39,800 teaching kids that he wasn't imaginary friend that he was 318 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,500 real and that that space to go into it and the ways in which, 319 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,500 you know, Sesame and the brand work through those 320 00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,500 conversations. So those are my favorites. 321 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:53,000 I do love the classic ones. I love the monsters that have no 322 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,200 names that are just random monsters. 323 00:22:56,500 --> 00:22:58,600 Yeah, we call them everything muffin. 324 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,000 Muppets. Now I have a name for them. 325 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,400 They were random monsters in my house. 326 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,000 Yeah, that's right. But I love them. 327 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:07,300 But how about you? I, you're probably not allowed 328 00:23:07,300 --> 00:23:11,700 to have a favorite. I have a fan Grover, see that? 329 00:23:11,700 --> 00:23:13,000 Yeah. We hang out together. 330 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:14,000 Yeah. No. 331 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:15,700 I love Grover. I think he's so goofy. 332 00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:20,300 And then I also am a fan, a big bird. 333 00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:25,100 Yes. And I think my favorite new one 334 00:23:25,100 --> 00:23:27,400 is. Conger and enough, she no 335 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,000 longer. Is it really funny? 336 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,500 Oh, seat now get to spend more time if figure out the wonderful 337 00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:35,100 space in there. So when you think about 338 00:23:35,300 --> 00:23:39,200 Innovation, what's next for you and your team, what do you, what 339 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:44,100 do you thinking about? I think the Innovation for us 340 00:23:44,100 --> 00:23:48,800 comes with continue continuing with the formula that works. 341 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,700 So it's Muppets. We always are, like, Muppets 342 00:23:51,700 --> 00:23:55,600 media and my mission. It's those, those three things 343 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:01,500 are Are the three four elements that make, you know, make the 344 00:24:01,508 --> 00:24:05,200 Brand's. But then it's always looking for 345 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,600 new Partnerships that amplify it. 346 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:19,800 So We right now as a designer as brand creative we are investing 347 00:24:19,900 --> 00:24:23,100 in really lifting the brand creative. 348 00:24:23,300 --> 00:24:29,700 We're working with a lot of external agencies right now. 349 00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:35,900 We're working with open, Scott's do well, the agency and he are 350 00:24:35,900 --> 00:24:45,300 we've been updating our brand book Which is now going to be a 351 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:52,000 deep web site for a Sesame Street and linking Sesame Street 352 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,500 with it, you know, providing all the information with the assets. 353 00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:00,900 So it's that it's the onboarding of the Heritage, the mission, 354 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:07,300 the culture, and then, you know, all the elements that go into 355 00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:12,400 branding the logos. You know how Do my pet 356 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,200 photography. How to how do you do the 357 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:18,900 writing? What is the tone? 358 00:25:19,300 --> 00:25:25,400 What are they attributes? We are creating Sesame, Street 359 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:30,500 and Sesame, Workshop, motion branding, something we've never 360 00:25:30,500 --> 00:25:37,200 really had our history with working with PBS is, we would 361 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:40,500 give our content to a distributor and they would put 362 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:46,700 it In their Brand. Packaging in the complex media 363 00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:50,600 landscape globally. We need to package our content 364 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:52,900 more than we have in the past, okay? 365 00:25:53,500 --> 00:25:59,700 So that it's recognizable. So that that you know it can 366 00:25:59,700 --> 00:26:03,000 stand out of the Clutter of so much content. 367 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,300 There's so much content for kids now. 368 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:11,600 So we're creating brand systems there we Are just in the 369 00:26:11,608 --> 00:26:14,500 process. We work with Smith's design on 370 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:20,000 updating our consumer products, packaging system, that's a 371 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:25,800 global system that again, works with over 500 Partners around 372 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,500 the world. It has to adapt up to 12 373 00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:32,100 languages. It's hard and soft goods and 374 00:26:32,100 --> 00:26:38,100 e-commerce. So we're just what its gonna 375 00:26:38,100 --> 00:26:39,500 save me. You speak about this really 376 00:26:39,500 --> 00:26:42,400 complex web. Of all of the content assets and 377 00:26:42,408 --> 00:26:44,700 design resources. I've seen ask the question 378 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:47,100 again, in terms of story arc and characters. 379 00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:51,700 How much Transfer. An interaction takes place 380 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,400 between story, our Civic with the 30 properties that you have 381 00:26:55,600 --> 00:26:56,900 in different countries and spaces. 382 00:26:56,900 --> 00:27:01,900 There are a lot of what we may experience here in the US that 383 00:27:01,900 --> 00:27:04,800 passes over the South Africa and back and forth or their stories 384 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:10,000 that are kind of amplify or localized and other characters 385 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,700 that follow through. Now that's it, that is a great 386 00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:17,400 question. I mean where we are looking at, 387 00:27:18,700 --> 00:27:22,000 Creating content that works globally, okay? 388 00:27:22,900 --> 00:27:28,300 But that doesn't replace Regional content that is 389 00:27:28,300 --> 00:27:32,400 specific to that region and to those Muppets that speak to that 390 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,700 audience. So we're trying to get more 391 00:27:36,700 --> 00:27:44,200 intentional of creating Global content that can be used across 392 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,600 different territories and then continued to make regional 393 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,300 content. That really speaks to that 394 00:27:50,300 --> 00:27:57,400 audience but it is a complex system because if you you know 395 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:03,100 if we have Elmo do something here in the in the state's you 396 00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:11,100 know, will that work in Germany or Japan or you know China South 397 00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:17,400 Africa you know it's it is a matrix and that's why I talked 398 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:20,800 about that brand. Website that we have is it's 399 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:25,600 really a central. You know, we haven't had a 400 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:30,300 central service for our Global Partners to work with so we're 401 00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:36,600 really growing how we communicate and standardize our 402 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:41,900 our brand so that when we ask people to stretch it you know 403 00:28:41,900 --> 00:28:46,500 and it's really the excellent Partners we have help. 404 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:52,400 Keep us, fresh innovate us but we need to stay true to the 405 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,900 roots. So we've been investing in how 406 00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:59,300 to make that, you know, easier and more consistent. 407 00:28:59,700 --> 00:29:01,900 I think that's, you know, that's a really powerful lesson for 408 00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:04,200 those listening. How you're right at the front 409 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,000 lines of dealing with that creative tension between 410 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,100 Innovation, Innovation and Legacy and you can see the pull 411 00:29:11,100 --> 00:29:14,000 and when you guys hit it spot-on, we you know you have 412 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,800 something new but it's still is fresh and refreshing. 413 00:29:16,900 --> 00:29:21,700 Is that the message the message? So, when you think about, you 414 00:29:21,700 --> 00:29:25,700 know, making kids smarter, how how are you working with 415 00:29:25,700 --> 00:29:29,900 Educators these days as as educator as education, evolves, 416 00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:34,100 how our Educators role in the content creation, evolving for 417 00:29:34,100 --> 00:29:38,600 you? so everything we do is really 418 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,900 begins and I feel like ends with education, I mean the the 419 00:29:42,900 --> 00:29:47,500 beginning is, they identify the needs, they identify the 420 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:52,800 curriculum and then it goes to this, this system of the 421 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:58,900 creative takes it and and, you know, has to deliver on that but 422 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:04,200 have to do it with delight and humor so it doesn't feel so it 423 00:30:04,208 --> 00:30:07,400 doesn't I feel like we always say, it doesn't feel like eat 424 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:12,300 your broccoli, it feels like you're actually having fun food, 425 00:30:12,300 --> 00:30:14,800 you know, you put it doesn't feel like punishing. 426 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:18,900 I mean, I like broccoli. Just so, you know, I like 427 00:30:18,900 --> 00:30:21,100 broccoli, too. I know. 428 00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:23,800 I know that Cookie Monster also eats vegetables. 429 00:30:23,900 --> 00:30:25,700 That's right. That's right, that's right. 430 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:31,400 There are sometimes food but so I think with education, I mean 431 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,100 again because we're an educational nonprofit and 432 00:30:34,100 --> 00:30:36,900 everything. Us to deliver on that whether 433 00:30:36,900 --> 00:30:42,800 you feel it or not. It's really the Partnerships we 434 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:48,700 have and how we can stretch that content, you know, or the new 435 00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:51,200 stories. I mean again you know our Comer 436 00:30:51,300 --> 00:30:55,500 coming together. Content is really talking about 437 00:30:55,700 --> 00:30:59,700 social justice and how we can help kids and parents and Care 438 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,200 takers have language to answer questions. 439 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:11,300 And and You know, grow grow the culture really well. 440 00:31:11,900 --> 00:31:15,600 One of the Hallmarks of great design and great designers is 441 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:19,900 empathy and I know through the work that you're doing in making 442 00:31:19,900 --> 00:31:22,400 students Kinder and more empathetic. 443 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,300 Can I say that you're actually helping us grow future 444 00:31:25,300 --> 00:31:28,700 designers? Amazing, you know, we think 445 00:31:28,700 --> 00:31:32,600 about no, it's true, it's true, you know, being a better 446 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:37,200 listener being Areas about the other experience. 447 00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:41,100 Yeah, so our fun questions of this. 448 00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:43,300 So we're going into the holiday, season's end of the year. 449 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:45,600 What are you? My friend looking forward to 450 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:50,700 doing the next couple of weeks. Aha, we were just talking about. 451 00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:55,100 That's right. So due to the current spike, it 452 00:31:55,100 --> 00:31:58,700 seems like holiday plans are a little more simple than they 453 00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:01,900 were. So I am hoping to work on some 454 00:32:01,900 --> 00:32:06,000 creative projects here. In Brooklyn. 455 00:32:07,100 --> 00:32:11,700 So one of the things I've taken almost more that's one of the 456 00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:15,500 things I like to do over the last two years that I've started 457 00:32:15,500 --> 00:32:19,600 to wilt. And so what I love about it is 458 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:24,400 taking a very modern simple approach, kind of this, the 459 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,700 Swiss, you know, modern design and combining it with like the 460 00:32:28,700 --> 00:32:36,500 classic craft of quilting. And there's something really 461 00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:41,600 satisfying, it after being unzoom all week, being in 462 00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:46,100 conversations all week and being on the computer, there's 463 00:32:46,100 --> 00:32:51,700 something really soothing about making, you know, touching 464 00:32:51,700 --> 00:32:56,000 materials and experimenting with shapes. 465 00:32:56,500 --> 00:32:59,300 I'm going to share what my daughter has been working on. 466 00:32:59,300 --> 00:33:02,000 And so, we're going to finish this over holiday break. 467 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,400 Yeah, we can see that we're working on this side. 468 00:33:04,700 --> 00:33:07,700 This is the Lego Sesame Street. That's right. 469 00:33:07,700 --> 00:33:10,200 Unit set that my daughter has been building and we're going to 470 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:12,500 take some time over break to work on together. 471 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:15,600 Well, that's amazing. So it's as we said before, it's 472 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,600 Sesame provides, these opportunities for us, to 473 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,800 continue to grow and learn and as a family. 474 00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:25,200 Now, I asked a bit about, you know, your team as you think 475 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:29,200 about your team going into the new year, how are you all 476 00:33:29,300 --> 00:33:33,800 working together better in this new way of work? 477 00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:39,500 Look, I'm so glad you asked about my team because I am in 478 00:33:39,500 --> 00:33:44,600 their one of their, they're a team of talent there. 479 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:50,400 It's really such a great group, there's creative talent, but 480 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:57,600 they all have huge hearts and big kindness for each other and 481 00:33:58,100 --> 00:34:03,100 generosity in in their creative and how they work together. 482 00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:07,100 And And so your question is how are we working together? 483 00:34:07,500 --> 00:34:13,800 I think we've adapted nicely to this time of working remotely. 484 00:34:14,300 --> 00:34:18,000 Moving into this you know the lockdown in 2020. 485 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:25,600 We were not a remote company at all and we we have adapted and 486 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:30,400 actually I mean honestly the going back to the office will be 487 00:34:32,100 --> 00:34:34,500 you know, it'll be an adjustment now. 488 00:34:35,699 --> 00:34:39,900 I mean for me I think I miss a little bit of the 489 00:34:41,500 --> 00:34:45,000 cross-pollination. You can get by being in a room 490 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:48,300 and sharing ideas and and just the energy. 491 00:34:50,300 --> 00:34:54,199 But, you know, I think in some ways we get more done at home, 492 00:34:55,100 --> 00:34:56,800 it's interesting. You know, you talk about the 493 00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,900 energy, well, that's where Sesame Street started and the 494 00:34:59,900 --> 00:35:02,300 workshop model with the children's television Workshop. 495 00:35:02,300 --> 00:35:03,600 We're bringing everyone together. 496 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,200 That's right. I'm storming and creating ideas. 497 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:08,300 Yeah. And now we have this new world. 498 00:35:08,300 --> 00:35:11,400 So you've got this tension of creating new ideas and new 499 00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:16,300 spaces. Well, as we look into 2022, what 500 00:35:16,300 --> 00:35:19,900 encouraged me to do you have for the rest of your designers? 501 00:35:20,900 --> 00:35:25,000 Out there in the world. Well, first of all I hope 502 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:34,300 everyone has a restful holiday. I think, you know, II know it's 503 00:35:34,300 --> 00:35:39,000 been an exhausting year. I mean, I know at Sesame 504 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,400 Workshop. We have had the Good Fortune of 505 00:35:42,700 --> 00:35:47,700 expanding and growing and lots of opportunity. 506 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,000 We're constantly working on I'm things we haven't done before 507 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:58,300 and what that means is people are tired, you know, they need a 508 00:35:58,308 --> 00:36:03,900 long winter break, they really. So I hope they get that and time 509 00:36:03,900 --> 00:36:08,500 with their families. I do look forward. 510 00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:11,200 I mean, again, the first six months to the year, we have a 511 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:15,900 lot of exciting brand projects that will be finishing, will be 512 00:36:15,900 --> 00:36:19,000 sharing with partners and implementing. 513 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:28,400 And we're creating a lot of, you know, a lot of style guides and 514 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,300 then working with Partnerships to get those style guides 515 00:36:31,300 --> 00:36:38,000 bringing them to life. So I think one of the challenges 516 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,300 we're growing we're not enough for this. 517 00:36:41,300 --> 00:36:44,900 Still a growing resources, but we're growing responsibilities, 518 00:36:45,100 --> 00:36:49,300 right? So we've been asking everyone to 519 00:36:49,300 --> 00:36:57,200 stretch and hopefully our operations grow to meet 520 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:05,300 immediately expanded work because it is We're we're, we're 521 00:37:05,300 --> 00:37:07,200 asking a lot of the creative team. 522 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,900 Well, I will speak for all of the notes that I received in 523 00:37:11,900 --> 00:37:14,100 emails, and we announced that we were going to be talking with 524 00:37:14,100 --> 00:37:18,900 you and sesame that the world is ready and open to receive the 525 00:37:18,900 --> 00:37:22,600 stretch for one of the most beloved Brands and collections 526 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,400 of characters. It's been fun to have all of the 527 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:29,000 responses and people talking about how much Sesame and and 528 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:31,700 most recently, your work has meant to them and to the design 529 00:37:31,700 --> 00:37:32,700 community. A T-cell. 530 00:37:33,200 --> 00:37:36,800 I'd like to thank you for joining us for this Fireside. 531 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,400 It's hard to believe that there were already at the end. 532 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:46,800 Once again our guest today has been magic maker Storyteller, 533 00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:53,200 future design Creator, team leader award winning creative 534 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:57,400 leader, Theresa Fitzgerald Thank you for joining us. 535 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:00,900 Thank you for, for your leadership and sesame and giving 536 00:38:00,900 --> 00:38:06,600 us all Delight learning and care to look forward to Thank you so 537 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:10,100 much. We'll catch up next time. 538 00:38:10,100 --> 00:38:12,400 I can't wait to see what the Muppets do next. 539 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,700 All right. Well, will say happy new year. 540 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,500 Happy New Year and thank you all for joining us for our fireside 541 00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:23,400 chat. This has been leadership in 542 00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:24,700 design. Thank you.