Ep 147 – Amy Hood, Hoodzpah Design – Make the Work You Want: The Proactive Path to Better Clients

Featuring: Amy Hood, Hoodzpah Design

In episode 147, I sit down with Amy Hood, designer and co-founder of Hoodzpah Design, the Southern California brand identity studio behind work for Disney, Nike, Netflix, Target, and the Lakers. Amy and her twin sister Jen built Hoodzpah out of necessity after realizing they were “unhireable on paper,” and turned it into a nimble, right-sized studio that’s intentionally stayed small to protect speed, momentum, and creative quality.

We talk about why “make the work you want to get” is still the most reliable path to better clients, how relationships compound when you lead with curiosity (not strategy), and why creatives have to treat marketing as part of the job if they want opportunities to find them.

Amy also shares the story behind Hoodspa’s Adobe MAX banner plane stunt (“No more broke creatives”), what they learned from taking a big marketing swing, and how they’re shifting from service work into products like their updated book Freelance, and Business, and Stuff and the Fort font subscription app.

Key Bytes

• Making the work you want to get is still the fastest way to change the caliber of clients you attract. • Staying small on purpose can be a growth strategy — speed and momentum beat bureaucracy. • If you don’t share your work, people can’t refer you because there’s no proof you exist. • Spectacle marketing works when it’s aligned, intentional, and captures attention in a sea of noise. • Diversifying income through products creates longevity — especially when your body can’t grind forever.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome + who Amy Hood is 01:05 Hoodzpah’s origin: “unhireable on paper” to studio owners 02:59 Twin partnership: dividing roles and avoiding scorekeeping 08:41 Staying small on purpose (and why bigger can be slower) 11:18 Landing better clients by making the work you want 18:03 Dream clients + putting your hat in the ring 21:00 Adobe MAX banner plane: “No more broke creatives” 28:40 From service to product: book, fonts, and Fort app 31:48 Font licensing fear and why clients are gun-shy 38:44 Rapid fire: resets, creative myths, and boundaries

Amy Hood is a designer and co-founder of Hoodzpah, Inc, a brand identity studio in Southern California that has worked with companies like Disney, 20th Century, Nike, The Lakers, Target, and Netflix. Amy's logo and identity work centers around custom lettering solutions. She is the font designer behind Palm Canyon Drive, Beale, and Beverly Drive. When she's not stress-watching Laker games, Amy can be found at the beach, plein-air doodling, and practicing her Smashball backhand. She co-authored the book “Freelance, and Business, and Stuff: A Guide for Creatives” (and its related online course) with her sister Jennifer, based on the Professional Practices class they taught at Laguna College of Art & Design.

Contact Amy, grab their book, or fonts all on the Hoodzpah website, Instagram, or YouTube channels.