For our very first featured guest on Beyond The Locks, we bring you Maurice Cherry, a pioneering digital creator who is most well-known for the Black Weblog Awards, the Web's longest running event celebrating Black bloggers, video bloggers, and podcasters. Other projects of Maurice's include the award-winning podcast Revision Path, 28 Days of the Web, and The Year of Tea.

Maurice is also the principal and creative director at Lunch, a multidisciplinary studio in Atlanta, GA that helps creative brands craft messages and tell stories and foster relationships with underrepresented communities.

His unique perspective hits home for a perfect introduction to our new series.

Matt and Andy take an episode off and Maurice wrangles three new contributors from all over the country to discuss how geography influences design community. Richard Wade Morgan, Kim Green, and Jamal Collins call in from Atlanta, Bozeman, and Clevenland, respectively, and compare their experiences as a designer in different locales.

Long time contributor Maurice Cherry organized this episode where Andy, Matt, and new contributor Jon Lewis discuss what it’s like starting your own business as a designer. What are the reasons to start something new instead of getting a normal, stable job? What are the most difficult parts that no one ever tells you about?

This episode is all about education. Andy, Matt, Meg, and Maurice share their origin stories as we discuss the differences between being self-taught and learning about design through a formal, paid program. How do you find your voice when you begin your career working for others? How do you learn humility after you’ve spent four years and tens of thousands of dollars becoming an expert in something?

Maurice Cherry is the founder and principal of Lunch in Atlanta, Georgia. Check him out on his website, Twitter @mauricecherry, Tumbler and Linkedin.

Maurice began coding at an early age and with every new technology he refined his skill. Captain of the math team turned designer, his passion for design grew in college when he began freelancing web design for miscellaneous clients. After working for the State of Georgia and a few start-ups he decided it was time to create his own company, Lunch.