Font Awesome's 2023 Year in Review

Podcast Awesome

Sharp Edges, Big Wins & One Legendary PDF Mix-Up

In this season-opening episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt sits down with Font Awesome’s own Jory Raphael and Rob Madole to reminisce about the many wins (and one epic PDF blunder) from 2023. From launching Font Awesome Sharp to unveiling a Figma plugin and improving the release process, the team breaks down everything they built — and the lessons they learned. Plus, they tease some exciting projects coming in 2024 (spoiler: Shoelace might be getting a glow-up), and there's even talk of sketch comedy and icon wizardry... and farts. Yep, farts.

🎙️ What We Cover in This Episode:

• 🔪 The sharp, edgy arrival of Font Awesome Sharp
• 🎧 The story behind launching Podcast Awesome
• 📺 Font Awesome’s YouTube channel and promo screencasts
• 🥾 Integrating with Shoelace (and teasing secret video projects)
• 🛠️ Big upgrades to Font Awesome Kits, subsetting and CSS-only kits
• 🧰 Release process automation: from pain to power tools
• 🧪 The Great PDF Mix-Up of 2023 and how fast fixes saved the day
• 🔌 Launch of a slick new Figma plugin
• 🎉 13,000 podcast downloads and what’s coming next for Season 2

⏱️ Timestamps:

• 0:00:29 – New Year, old Macs, and 2023 kickoff
• 0:04:00 – Launching Podcast Awesome and the DIY podcast hustle
• 0:07:36 – 🎉 Font Awesome Sharp and other 2023 releases
• 0:08:52 – Shoelace partnership and top-secret filming
• 0:10:26 – Behind-the-scenes at Figma Config
• 0:12:22 – Major upgrades to Kits (subsetting, CSS-only, downloads)
• 0:15:04 – Streamlined icon release process and automation
• 0:17:50 – 🎯 The accidental "File PDF → File PNG" snafu
• 0:20:38 – Launch of the Figma plugin + Kit integration
• 0:22:50 – The Snuggle that COVID stole (sad trombone)
• 0:27:02 – Future collabs with Shoelace + Podcast Awesome S2 plans
• 0:29:21 – Behind the Icon series and fun with Poo Storm
• 0:30:39 – 🧠 Y Combinator experiences, Pro benefits, and icon wizardry
• 0:31:13 – Reusable shapes a.k.a. F.A.R.T.S and stage-worthy sound effects
• 0:32:16 – Thanks for 13,000 downloads!

💬 Noteworthy Quotes:

“It was one of those features we've wanted for years. Subsetting Kits finally makes Font Awesome faster and more flexible for everyone.” – Rob Madole
“Font Awesome Sharp brings a whole new look. Edgy, clean, and totally sharp.” – Jory Raphael
“Let that be a lesson, folks. Test early and often… especially before a Snuggle.” – Matt Johnson

🔗 Links & Resources:

• Font Awesome Website
• Font Awesome YouTube Channel
• Font Awesome Figma Plugin
• Theme song by Ronnie Martin
• Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions

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