Why He's the Most Trusted Man in Design

This is a series about design, creativity and the people behind dope work. I flew to Kalamazoo, Michigan to spend two days with Ridd, the designer who spots design trends before they’re trends. When he posts something, it usually blows up within a year. I went there to learn his curation process. How he finds the designers, tools, and ideas early. It turns out the technique is the easy part. What actually makes him good at this is something deeper. And it completely changed how I think about tastemaking. CREDITS Produced by: Tommy Geoco / Enjoyers Media Directed by: Tommy Geoco Written by: Tommy Geoco Editing: Sam Chapman: https://samchapmanfilm.com Agustin Eguia: [https://agustineguia.com](https://agustineguia.com/) Crew / Special Thanks: Bernabe Bolanos:    / @bernabebolanos   Chandor Sandhu: https://x.com/yoChanders Kevin Crawford: https://soundofsightaudio.com/ Adam Stuart:   / adnastu   Jake Hayden:    / @jakehayden998   Tom Fox: https://catalog.tomfox.site/ CHAPTERS: 00:00 - The toolbender design breed 01:28 - The accidental roots 02:50 - Watching the work 07:44 - Jake as a secret weapon 09:14 - The purpose 10:34 - The end of a dream 11:43 - The failed founder years 12:51 - The taste philosophy 14:01 - The art of asking why 15:02 - A collection of toolbenders and tastemakers 16:47 - The reality of being a dad 19:50 - What I learned ABOUT TOMMY GEOCO I spent 15+ years in tech and design. Former military. Father of five. Now building a weird little media + product studio rediscovering soul in creative tech. LINKS: UX Tools: [https://uxtools.co](https://uxtools.co/) Dive Club:    / @joindiveclub   Inflight: https://inflight.co/ Podcast (YouTube):    • Eric Simons: His Company Had 30 Days to Li...   Podcast (Apple Music): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/3zDPTGH... FOLLOW ME: X / Twitter: https://x.com/designertom Instagram:   / itsdesignertom   LinkedIn:   / tommygeoco   SPOTLIGHT WORKING FROM: Nelson Noa: https://x.com/NelsonNoa Tom Johnson: https://x.com/tomjohndesign Inga Hampton: https://x.com/ingapng Gal Shir: https://x.com/galshirart Lee Black: https://x.com/mrblackstudio Tatiyana Tsiguleva: https://x.com/ciguleva Brotzky: https://x.com/ciguleva T. Costa: https://x.com/tcosta_co Daniella Marynova: https://x.com/hellodaniella Gunnar Gray: https://x.com/gunnargray Gabriel Foulon: https://x.com/GabFoulon Bernabe Bolanos:    • Making a beat on the MPC 2000XL   Kat - the Poet Engineer: https://x.com/poetengineer__/status/1... Samraaj Bath:    • Cafe Racer Conversion Timelapse - 1981 Hon...   SirCollectaLot: https://www.instagram.com/sircollecta... Chortshoard: https://www.instagram.com/chortshoard... SPECIAL THANKS TO MOMENTS FROM: CBS:    • Jobs: "It comes down to taste"   Latent Space:    • Taste is your Moat (Dylan Field of Figma)   Stripe:    • A conversation with Jony Ive   Linus Ekenstam:    • Julie Zhuo – Mom, Designer, Author, Sundia...