Hey listeners. This is Javier Suárez, and today I have the very rare privilege of interviewing a friend, artist, designer, and workshop facilitator for BIG DECK ENERGY, a keynote deck design workshop series for creatives.
Emmanuel how’s it going?
JS
Hey Javi!
ED
You and I have a lot to talk about!
JS
We do! But! Before we do, I absolutely wanna take a moment here—now, before our listeners to thank you for having this talk with me. For those of you tuning in—Javier and I, we have known each other for a very long time…it’s been what like 7, 8 years??
I’ve always looked up to him, I still do, so—thank you.
ED
It’s been such a fun ride getting to know you over the years, and I’m excited for everyone to have an opportunity to do the same here….
Alright—let’s talk about the workshop. What is it, who’s it for, and how did you come up with this amazing title?
JS
Yeah, so Big Deck Energy is essentially a beginner to advanced level deck design workshop series set in Keynote. It spans across 6 cities so that’s: Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Oakland, and features three cumulative workshops—two of which are only offered here in Chicago.
When I designed this series I intentionally set out to create something that would account for a mixed group of learners so you’re standard mac users, artists, designers, creatives, non-creatives alike—and that would deliver on meeting people wherever they are regardless of their skill level.
I should also add that each workshop is split into two parts: so there’s part one—which is the interactive learning portion of the workshop, and then there’s part two which is all about applying what we just covered. So roughly one hour and fifty minutes upfront—a generous intermission in-between, and roughly one hour and fifty minutes to follow. As far as the title goes, I—quite literally used to work on decks that would climb as high as 1-2GB, and range anywhere between 100-200 slides or more.
ED
Damn!
JS
So yeah, the decks weren’t just long they were girthy. But, you know, over time, I really started to take notice of my own stamina. Like “damn, I did that”. Amid late nights, early mornings, sometimes weekends. I helped to bring this beast of a thing across the finish line. So, that’s the energy we’re trying to channel here across the series, and that’s where the title comes from.
ED
So I gotta ask: why Keynote? Like why not Powerpoint or Google Slides?
JS
You know why. I think everyone has something they do really really well; like better than others better than most. I—personally, much prefer Microsoft Teams over say Slack, or Google Maps over Apple Maps. Some of it is form and familiarity yes but a lot of it also has to do with function, and when it comes to presentations I just think Keynote gets it right. It’s extremely user-friendly, it has a ton of fun features that really allow you to get into the weeds of things especially as it pertains to design, and I think it can serve as a great tool for collaboration.
ED
What goes into planning something like this? What’s been like the biggest challenge for you?
JS
Whoo. Well, this has been a massive undertaking to say the least. There’s designing each individual lesson-plan itself, building out a landing page, booking flights, securing venues. It’s a lot. Arguably, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And at the same time, I can’t think of anything harder than sitting behind a desk all day working for somebody else. Now that’s hard. I’m like if I could do that I can definitely do—If I can do THAT—I can definitely do this for sureee.
As far as challenges go? I would say the greatest challenge there-in would be, me just allowing myself the space to build at my own pace. I feel like that—for more of my career than not as a designer just has not been the case, and so it can really be uncomfortable at times to give myself the freedom to work in ways that feel less violent and more humanized. I’m one person...and that’s not an excuse, it’s an observation. And so when you’re a team of one, and you care about what you’re putting out into the world—and you care about the quality of whatever it is you’re offering, yeah things tend to move a bit slower, and that is absolutely okay. I have a friend Aaliyah—who I love, who months ago, gifted me this reminder, really this mantra. She said “this is yours, so it can be whatever you want it to be.” And, those words they, continue to comfort me still.
ED
So good, shout out Aaliyah.
JS
ED
Yeaaa, love herrr.
So, who is this workshop series for? Can you get into the types of people you’re looking to attract?
JS
Yea absolutely. Though this is targeted at mac users, I’d really like for this series to appeal to a mixed group of learners. So specifically thinking about how this could benefit artists, design enthusiasts, creatives. I think about all the different ways presentation design shows up in our everyday lives so client meetings, pitches, trainings, lectures, conferences, community organizing events. So—yeah to me the possibilities feel pretty limitless in terms of how this can be applied, where it can live, and who can best takeaway from it.
ED
What “are” you hoping folks will takeaway from this workshop, and what would make this workshop a success for you?
JS
I think beyond just getting people better acquainted with the subject matter, I would really really love to see folks take on a different posture when they leave...like walkout with a sense of empowerment. I started this with no income, no team, no corporate sponsor, and it has been every bit as scary, challenging, lonely as one might suspect but...it’s also been mine!
We give so much of our time, our energy, our mental, towards building up the names of...companies, corporations, all these entities who—quite literally, couldn’t care less about what comes of us. And so I would challenge everyone in attendance or not—to really imagine what the act of repurposing their time, their energy, their talents for themselves could really look like.
ED
Every contribution you make goes towards enriching the experience of participants, and funding many of the operational costs that would otherwise come OOP
These costs include but are not limited to:
WEB HOSTING
EMAIL / MARKETING
TRAVEL EXPENSES
SPACE RENTAL
PRINTING
ARTIST FEES
Okay, so we’re back. We’ve talked about the workshop. Let’s talk about you. Tell us who you are:
Professionally, Personally, Creatively, Spiritually?
JS
I would say—across all fronts? I’m a disruptor; yeah, took me yeearrrs to see that.
ED
Why do you think that is?
JS
I suppose I just always associated disruptors with being like loud, and fiery—you know all the things that I’m not. And so, I concluded that I was the rule follower—a chronic rule follower actually. But I could never quite follow ALL the rules, you know what I mean? Like there was always SOMETHING I found myself undermining or pushing back on—not everything! Right? Like I’m not out here sitting wet drinks next to coasters, but there would always be something—and typically, whatever I chose, would often feel like the most disruptive.
I think, over the years, I’ve also noticed this shift from being more of like a passive disruptor to being a lot more active, and intentional. So going from being the kid who drew in class, or sat in on classes that were outside of my program’s curriculum—to actively organizing an exhibition off-campus that sat in direct critique of my institution. I think just moving in ways that were maybe unconventional but that like made sense to me really helped me to build my own relationship to disruption, and debunk the idea that it can only look one way. You know? Like, disruption can be quiet. It can look like leaving the church, or declining thanksgiving dinners. It can look like rejecting the gender binary, boycotting brands, taking a desk job and stepping away from that desk as much as physically possible. So, it took some time but I’m seeing myself a lot more clearly these days.
ED
What are your values? Like what do you value most?
JS
Mmmm. What do you think they are? I’m curious—just based off knowing me.
ED
Öoo—I mean, you’re definitely mindful—you’re probably thee most mindful person I know. You’re very intentional with everything you do, and I like to think you’re like an artist’s artist. You’re very much about the process, you’re very much about the craft of doing things, and yeah, I really love that about you.
JS
Honestly, we can just stick with that! I like that answer!
So I have ten, stay with me. There’s honesty, sustainability, accountability, acceptance, gratitude, compassion, empathy, integrity, curiosity, sensitivity. Of the ones that I named—shout out to the therapist who helped me name them—I would say my top three would have to be:
honesty, sustainability, and sensitivity.
I think when we choose to remain honest...whether that means staying true to who we are or just keeping it a stack with everyone around us—the things we’re meant to know in this lifetime have a much easier time finding us.
I think sustainability, in a way, is a form of honesty because to practice it—in my opinion—we have to be upfront about where our capabilities lie. So—essentially, doing whatever it is we can afford to keep up. You know? Electing rest. Knowing when to say yes, when to say no. Staying committed to an ever-flowing state of abundance, and rejecting anything that seeks to take us out of it.
And then with sensitivity. Sensitivity, for me, has kind of shown up like a spidey-sense in a way? It’s—I think, a lot of the reason why I’m good at what I do, and it really really helps me to see things beyond just what’s being presented to me if that makes sense?
ED
Yeah it does…and what has being a designer taught you?
JS
Mmm. I mean, design has taught me a lot. I feel like I’ve always been very observant, but overtime I’ve learned that observations, alone, don’t solve problems. They also require action.
I remember attending this conference back in 2024, and hearing one of the opening speakers talk about the importance of not getting used to staring at your problems or letting them stare back at you. So in a way it’s taught me how not to dwell. How to give myself the space to process things in my own time sure, but to fixate on the solution and not the problem. I would also say that it’s really shown me how to solve problems effectively, which I think is super super important. I grew up watching a lot of problems get band-aided, and I think the best solutions treat things at the root.
ED
What would you say positions you best to lead a workshop series like this one? Like what’s your secret sauce?
JS
Okay so there are like two answers here: I think the obvious answer here is that I spent five years working as a presentation designer on the business development team at my former agency. We’d often work long, irregular hours answering to clients, consultants, leadership—and on any given pitch would be asked to give up weekends, evenings, early mornings, sometimes holiday breaks. As such...I would say I gained a wealth of experience working around extremely tight deadlines, in high-pressure settings, with cross-functional teams.
The not so obvious answer here is that: I don’t like classrooms.
I think classrooms and corporate settings actually have a lot more in common than we think; you know—sitting behind desks all day, yielding to authority figures, not questioning the subject matter or material. And so as a facilitator, I am only interested in creating a learning environment that feels inclusive, relaxed, playful, interactive, and that actually gets people excited about learning. I want every person to feel seen throughout this experience, and based on the conversations I’ve had with friends, family, strangers—I already seem to have a knack for that.
ED
Last question for you: how would you like to be remembered?
JS
“How would I like to be remembered” you know—I’m not entirely sure that that’s up to us but…at this age, and at this stage? I think I’d just like to be remembered. Not forgotten, not erased, but remembered.
ED
Emmanuel…thank you so so much for sharing with me. It’s really been such an honor watching you put so much of you into this project.
JS
D’aww thank you.
ED
I’d also like to thank all of our listeners. If you’ve stuck around this long, we can only hope that this conversation has won you over in some way. Emmanuel if people have questions or concerns regarding the workshop is there a way for them to get in-touch?
JS
Yeah! They can direct any outstanding questions, comments, or concerns here
ED
CREDITS
Creative Director
Emmanuel Dunagan
Story Supervisor
Emmanuel Dunagan
Producer
Javier Suárez
Audio Engineer
Justice Reed
Photography
Lakesha Howard-Williams
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