Design is Everywhere

The Myth of Legal Names

What role does a name play in our identity? In this week’s episode, we learn about the myth of legal names. Sam is joined by Remy Green, Civil Rights Lawyer, Teacher, and Founding Partner at Cohen&Green, where they specialize in civil rights, defamation, free speech, consumer rights, and intellectual property litigation. Remy shares how they first learned about the myth of legal names and the role that names play in identity. Later on in the show, they are joined by Cori Alonso-Yoder, a visiting faculty member at Howard Law School. Together they discuss a brief history of the common law, the design behind the law of name change, and how naming oneself can serve as an act of liberation.

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The Myth of Legal Names

Connection through the Retail Experience

What is the role of design in physical and digital retail experiences? In this week’s episode, we learn more about the future of the store. Sam is joined by Larry Rodgers, the Head of Retail and Assisted Channel Experiences at Verizon. Larry shares the evolution of retail in the last year and the reasons why customers go to retail. Later on in the show, they are joined by Toby Barnes, the Head of User Experience at Amazon Alexa Northstar. Together they discuss how they have used design to engage customers, the effects of digital adoption, and telling a story through retail.  

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Connection through the Retail Experience

Innovating for Sustainable Everyday Fashion

How is the fashion industry making sustainable choices? In this week’s episode, we learn more about the design process behind sustainable everyday fashion design. Sam is joined by Suzanne McKenzie, the Founder and CEO of Able Made, a New York-based company specializing in sustainable, eco-friendly athleisure. Suzanne chats about Able Made’s origin story and her thoughts on the future of sustainable everyday fashion. Later on in the show, they are joined by Jordana Guimaraes, Co-Founder of Fashinnovation, a platform showcasing innovations that shape the fashion industry. Together they discuss the changes being made to create more sustainable designs in everyday fashion.  

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Innovating for Sustainable Everyday Fashion

Beyond the Word: Designing Type

How does type affect the brand identity? In this week’s episode, we learn about the power of typography to transform the voice of a brand. Sam is joined by Blake Goodwin, the Founder and President of Proportion Design, a Boston-based branding agency whose work spans all areas of the built environment, extensive lifestyle and consumer verticals, and a broad range of corporate services. Blake chats about his projects and process. Later on in the show, they are joined by Matteo Bologna, the Principal, Creative Director, and Founder of Mucca Design, an award-winning New York-based branding firm that transforms businesses through uncommon creative solutions. Together they discuss how they incorporate typography in their own brand identity projects and how they discovered their love for type design.  

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Beyond the Word: Designing Type

From the Archive: Redesigning Care for Everyone

How can we design a better care system that relieves a family’s stress and gives patients the healthcare they need? In this episode, Sam is joined by Patrice Martin, CEO and Co-Founder of The Holding Co, to learn how design is being incorporated in the care system. The current care system overburdens caretakers. But how can the future of care change? Patrice discusses the Care 100, a list of people reimagining the care system. Later on in the show, Sam and Patrice interview Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO of Wellthy. Together, they discuss how the care system benefits from good design, how the concierge system gives families the help and resources they need and the role technology can take on the caretaking grunt work, giving room for human connection.  

 

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From the Archive: Redesigning Care for Everyone

Enhancing the Museum Experience with Design

How does design evoke the museum experience? In this week’s episode, we are talking about graphic design in museums and how graphic design is approached when designing for the arts. Sam is joined by Katherine Hughes, Design Director at Stoltze Design Group. Katherine talks more about the impact of design on the visual arts. Later on in the show, they are joined by Lisa Fischman, Director and Chief Curator at The Davis Museum on the Wellesley College campus. Together they discuss how the team at Stoltze Design and The Davis Museum have worked to produce exhibition identities, catalogues, and exhibition graphics. 

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Enhancing the Museum Experience with Design

Redefining Single-Use Beauty Products

What does sustainable beauty product design look like from concept to product without harming the planet? In this week’s episode, we are talking about designing sustainable beauty products. Sam is joined by Monica Becker, the Director of Beauty, Personal Care and Household Products at Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. Monica shares more about the Cradle to Cradle certification process and brands that are making innovative sustainable designs. Later on in the show, they are joined by Isabel Aagaard, the Co-Founder of LastObject, a zero waste store of reusable everyday products. Isabel chats about the founding of LastObject and their newest launch, LastPad. Together they discuss more about incorporating new habits and sustainable materials in beauty product design.

 

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:

Redefining Single-Use Beauty Products

A New Form of Design Firm for Startups

How can design firms center less on the “design for hire” model and more on building relationships with innovative young companies? In this week’s episode, we learn more about a new type of design firm for startups. Sam is joined by Bret Recor, the Founder and Creative Director of award-winning design agency Box Clever. Bret chats about the process of this new hybrid model where Box Clever actually takes a stake in the companies that they work with, which allows them to be more of a partner to these companies. He shares more on how this approach looks different from the “Design for Hire” model. Later on in the show, they are joined by Jamison Pereira, Co-founder of Eddi, a new startup that is launching a sustainable soap dispenser for the modern home. Together they chat about collaborating during lockdown and the power of good design.

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:

A New Form of Design Firm for Startups

From the Archive: The Power of Story

What is the power of story? In this episode, Sam is joined by Jon Campbell, Head of Innovation Capability at EPAM Continuum, to learn about the value of storytelling in design. They chat about how designers convey stories to bring impactful designs and how storytelling is used in the prototyping phase. Later on in the show, they are joined by Debbie Millman, designer, author, educator, and host of Design Matters. Debbie shares her earliest interview experiences and how her process has changed over the years. Together, they discuss how podcasting has evolved and why design matters to them. 

 

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From the Archive: The Power of Story

Live Show: Design Firms Focused on Social Good

How can design be a tool for social good? In this week’s episode, we learn more about how design firms marry social impact and design. Sam is joined by Augusta Meill. Augusta founded Agncy Design, a firm that applies and adapts human-centered design practices to the work of justice and equity. Augusta shares when she discovered the role of design in social impact work and the founding of Agncy. Later on in the show, they are joined by Michael Brennan who founded Civilla, a non-profit design studio dedicated to changing the way our public-serving institutions work through human-centered design. Together they chat about the long-term nature of social impact work and the importance of good leadership. Augusta and Michael answer audience questions. 

 

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Live Show: Design Firms Focused on Social Good

Live Show: Building Climate-Positive Cities

What is a planetary boundary city? In this week’s episode, we learn more about climate-ready and resilient cities. Sam is joined by Jonelle Simunich, a Foresight Strategist and Manager in Arup’s Global Foresight team and a member of Design Museum Everywhere’s council. Jonelle talks about what it means to be a foresight analyst and the need for planetary boundary cities. Later on in the show, they are joined by Chris Luebkeman. Chris is currently the leader of strategic foresight in the Office of the President at ETH Zurich. Previously, he worked as an Arup fellow and director of global foresight, research, and innovation. Together they chat about [y]our 2040, which aims to be a yearly gathering with different focuses dedicated to co-creating the world they want to live in someday, and designing for the future. Jonelle and Chris answer audience questions. 

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: 

Live Show: Building Climate-Positive Cities

Reframing the Workplace for the Knowledge Economy

What does it look like to design a workplace that supports and values learning? In this week’s episode, we are talking about the role of education in the workplace. Sam is joined by Elizabeth Lowrey, Principal and Director of Interior Architecture at Elkus Manfredi Architects and a member of Design Museum Everywhere’s Board of Directors. Elizabeth chats about the co-creation process at Elkus Manfredi and how employees find meaning in their work.  Later on in the show, they are joined by Michael Horn, a speaker and author on the future of education. His works include the award-winning book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns and the Amazon-bestseller Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. Together they chat about what learning in the workplace looks like, how it works, and what research says about the science of learning.  

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: 

Reframing the Workplace for the Knowledge Economy

From the Archive: Set Design: Bringing Stories to Life

How does design create better stories? In this episode, Sam is joined by Jessica Kender, the production designer of Little Fires Everywhere and Future Man, to learn how research, characters, money and space inform her work. Jessica shares her journey from theater to TV and her favorite tool to use. Later on in the show, Sam and Jessica interview Lisa Clark, a set decorator. Together, they discuss how they collaborated on Little Fires Everywhere and Future Man, what brings them joy in set design and how they combine research and innovation in storytelling.  

 

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From the Archive: Set Design: Bringing Stories to Life

From the Archive: From Human-Centered Design to Relationship-Centered Design

Many of us are aware of human-centered design, which is all about placing real people at the center of our design work, so that we’re always designing with empathy and thoughtfulness. But what if we take it a step further and design with relationships in mind, so that we’re strengthening the bond between people, or between people and organizations, and build real loyalty? This is particularly interesting when we think about financial organizations and their customers, many of whom are adversely affected by the current financial crisis. So instead of blindly selling services and products, these organizations can focus on where people are in every moment of their journey to develop a life-long and trusting relationship. You can imagine this has business impact as well as social impact for the customer, as the fates of both the company and the customer are intertwined. We discuss with Mike Kirkpatrick, SVP of Client Experience & Strategy at Mad*Pow and Russ Wilson, Chief Experience Officer and Head of Design at Fidelity Investments. Plus our weekly dose of good design.

 

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From the Archive: From Human-Centered Design to Relationship-Centered Design

Designing Hybrid Learning for Roomies and Zoomies

How do we design rich interactions between students and teachers remotely? In this week’s episode, we are talking about how to design for concurrent hybrid learning without spending a lot of money on technology, training, and new software platforms. Sam is joined by Allan Chochinov, an educator, writer, and speaker whose recent Medium article titled, “How to Teach Hybrid in the Fall with Zoom and Almost No Money” explores this very topic. Allan chats about the pitfalls of learning remotely and he dives deeper into the factors that affect education via Zoom. Later on in the show, they are joined by Fred Deakin, who runs a studio called FANDCO that specializes in interactive and educational projects. Together they discuss ways to combat Zoom fatigue and designing hybrid learning that works.  

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Designing Hybrid Learning for Roomies and Zoomies