Design is Everywhere

Being Black in Design

We hear from two prominent Black designers on the Black experience in design, including their amazing career journeys, how they’ve navigated an industry dominated by white designers, and their advice for young designers of color. Our guest co-host, Zoë Middelton, produced a series of conversations amongst Black creatives to share experiences and highlight Black design talent. Zoë is the Director of Design, Marketing, and Product Development at Fabrique, a design and manufacturing company focused on bags and cases. Zoë shares what she learned from those conversations. She leads the discussion with our special guest, Kevin Bethune — he’s the Founder & Chief Creative Officer at Dreams • Design + Life, a think tank delivering design & innovation services using a human-centered approach. Kevin’s background spans engineering, business, and design in equal proportions over his 20+ year career, which has positioned him to help brands deliver meaningful innovations to enrich people’s lives and experiences. Zoë and Kevin’s discussion covers many aspects of being Black designers and the importance of racial diversity in creating innovation. Plus, we share our weekly dose of good design.

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

Being Black in Design

Civic Design with Intention and Service at the Core

Design impacts everything around us, and so does government. Think of all the services you use and experience within local, state, and federal government. Everything from the DMV to elections to unemployment to city streets, government plays a significant role in our lives. Government is, in essence, a service provider. Like any service provider, these services and experiences are designed, either designed well or designed poorly — too often, our interactions with government are not great. On this episode to have two experts, civic designers who are working at different scales and levels of government. We talk about applying design within government, using creative problem solving and innovation to improve service, digital, and physical experiences. We speak with Sabrina Dorsaninvil, Director of Civic Design for the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics about their work in the urban environment. And we interview Anne Petersen, Director of Experience Design at 18F, an office of federal employees that collaborates with other agencies to improve how government serves the public through technology and more. Plus, we share our weekly dose of good design.

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

Civic Design with Intention and Service at the Core

Good Brands Exists in our Hearts and Minds - Brand Design for Authenticity & Delight

Look around and you’ll see brands and branding everywhere. Brands play an important role in our lives and are likely one of, if not, the most critical elements of a business or organization. Design is a big part of branding because so much of brands must be visual, strategic, and intentional to be effective. On this episode, we explore branding from a few different angles: what it means, how it manifests, and how designers create and maintain successful brands. Our guest co-host, Jennifer Bryan, is the Founding Partner and Creative Director at Think Joule, a brand strategy firm. Jennifer gives us a crash course in authentic branding that touches all 5 senses. Then we’re joined by Michael DiTullo, a world-renowned industrial designer, who shares how he infuses brand and design language into products and experiences for a vast array of different clients. Plus, Jennifer and Sam share their weekly doses of good design.

 

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

Good Brands Exists in our Hearts and Minds - Brand Design for Authenticity & Delight

Design Makes the World! Design Museum’s 11th Anniversary Episode

Today is Design Museum Everywhere’s 11th birthday — so we have a special episode to celebrate. We talk with two special guests on how design shapes the world around us, how we can all be designers, and all be better designers. Our guest co-host is George White, Chief Innovation Officer at Cantina. George gives his definition of design, why it’s important, and where the field is going. And we discuss some great design examples. Then we bring in Scott Berkun, best-selling author of the new book How Design Makes the World. Scott’s book perfectly aligns with our mission to make design accessible to everyone. We chat with him about the book, strategies for telling design stories, and much more. Plus Sam and George each share their weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Design Makes the World! Design Museum’s 11th Anniversary Episode

How Schools Should be Designed, Now and Post-Pandemic

Important topic this week: across the nation, parents, and guardians are having to decide whether to send their children back to school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some families won’t have a choice. It’s a complex problem without a lot of good solutions. We’ll explore how design can play a role in creating a safer return to school this year, how schools should be designed, now and in the future, and how remote learning comes into the picture. Our guest co-host is Karina Ruiz, Principal at BRIC Architecture — Karina is an expert in shaping spaces for learning. Karina shares what she’s hearing from her education clients and how she’s collaborating with them to re-imagine schools. And we’re joined by Kyle Laier, Assistant Superintendent of Operations for Oregon City Schools. Kyle and Karina have worked closely on school building projects, and they share how they welcomed students and teachers into the design process, empowering them to do user interviews, and truly listening to their feedback to craft a new type of school. They even built a full-scale prototype that teachers are using to plan future lessons and activities. Plus we have our weekly dose of good design.

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

How Schools Should be Designed, Now and Post-Pandemic

Listen for Understanding. Creative Problem Solving Requires Designers to Listen, Learn, and Get Out of the Way

At the Design Museum, we see design as a creative problem-solving process that can be applied not only to design buildings, products, websites, clothing, etc. but also used to solve the biggest social and environmental problems we have. But what does that mean? How do designers help solve issues like climate change, racial equity, and education? This week we talk to two epic creative problem solvers about how they think about and step up to help solve big, thorny problems. Our guest co-host, Pinar Guvenc, is a partner at Sour Studio, an international award-winning architecture, and design studio based in New York City and Istanbul. Pinar and her team infuse purposefulness into everything they do. Pinar talks about self-commissioning projects and reframing the creative brief. In her words, designers must educate clients in order to create the best designs. And we’re joined by Marquise Stillwell, Founder and Principal of OpenBox, a people-centered design firm focused on improving people’s lives in the communities their clients serve. Marquise gives insight into his authentic approach to listening for understanding and talks about how designers can step up when it comes to equity and anti-racism. Plus, we share our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Listen for Understanding. Creative Problem Solving Requires Designers to Listen, Learn, and Get Out of the Way

Peloton, Hydrow, and Designing the Multi-Faceted Connected Fitness Experience

With the pandemic keeping most gyms closed, the connected fitness industry is booming. Peloton alone reported a 66% increase in sales through the spring. On this episode, we’re talking about the big moves in connected fitness equipment and digital experiences, and how they’re designed. Think Peloton for biking and running, Mirror for cardio, Tonal for weight training, Hydrow for rowing, and many more. These are internet-connected devices you have at home that allow you to work out with a digital and community experience on screen. As our guest co-host, David Knies shared, connected fitness companies need to get three things right: the hardware, the software, and the content, all while delivering a unified, best-in-class experience. David is the Chief Growth Officer at Essential Design, the design firm behind Hydrow, the live outdoor reality rowing machine. We interview Hydrow Founder and CEO, Bruce Smith, to dig into the design process behind his amazing rowing platform. Plus we share our weekly dose of good design.

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

Peloton, Hydrow, and Designing the Multi-Faceted Connected Fitness Experience

The Fabric of the City. Designing Parks & Open Spaces that are Flexible and Equitable

Many of us are putting on our masks and heading to public parks to get some sun and fresh air — on this episode; we explore how landscape architects create these outdoor spaces and experiences. Parks and open spaces are always a joy to have in our lives. Particularly now, during the pandemic, outdoor public space feels essential to living our lives to the most of our ability while also keeping our distance to help stop the spread of the virus. We welcome two landscape architects who are experts at developing dynamic, flexible, and equitable spaces: Cheri Ruane is Vice President and Landscape Architecture Practice Leader at Weston & Sampson; and Chris Reed is the Founding Director of Stoss. We discuss the unique moment in Boston where three major parks are being imagined or reimagined at the same time — in Cheri’s words: it’s an opportunity to impact the fabric of the city. It may prove to be a model for improving the urban experience for all residents in cities across the country. Plus, we have our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

 

The Fabric of the City. Designing Parks & Open Spaces that are Flexible and Equitable

An Employee-Centered Design Approach for the Next Evolution of the Office

COVID-19 changed the game for remote work, with large companies like Twitter and Shopify announcing they’re now fully remote.  The CEO of Shopify even boldly proclaimed that “Office centricity is over.” Some experts estimate that 25-30% of the workforce will be working from home by the end of 2021 That’s great and all, but Zoom can’t fully replace working and collaborating in person in a shared space. As one of our guests explains: humans have dimension. So how do we design for a return to the office even as there’s a resurgence of COVID-19? What’s the next evolution of the office environment? We discuss with two experts: Leila Mitchell is an architect, graphic designer, and marketing strategist; she’s the Founder and Creative Director of LLM Design. And Kelliann McCabe is the Chief People Officer at Imprivata, a healthcare information technology company that enables trust across the system. While many firms are thinking about the physical augmentations that lead to a return to the office, Leila and Kelliann discuss the human element, an employee-centered way of thinking about a blended — physical and virtual — work environment. Plus, our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

An Employee-Centered Design Approach for the Next Evolution of the Office

Telemedicine & COVID-19, Technology, Design, and Robots

Since the dawn of telecommunications technology, people have been figuring out ways to use it in healthcare. Of course, now that high-speed internet access is expanding and we can seamlessly video conference, the possibilities for connecting with healthcare remotely are really interesting. Plus, with COVID-19 still impacting so many and stressing our healthcare system, telemedicine could be how many of us receive care in the weeks, months, and years ahead. Why would you ever want to sit in a doctor’s office waiting room right now, when you could simply hop on a website, do a zoom call, or even text your doctor instead. Telehealth can take limited medical resources, namely doctors and specialists, and expand their reach and capacity — it can increase accessibility to medical advice and care to many people regardless of geographic proximity. We discuss design and telemedicine and its impact, with George White, Chief Innovation Officer at Cantina. We interview Ava Robotics CEO, Youssef Saleh, about how their robot, Ava, is being utilized in the fight against COVID-19. Plus, we have our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Telemedicine & COVID-19, Technology, Design, and Robots

How Do You Design a Community? Start with the Why or the Who

We’re all able to connect through our phones and social media, but humans crave coming together, and yet participation in the classic religious and civic communities has declined over decades. COVID-19 has certainly complicated our ability to gather in person. Community is so important to us at the Design Museum, and like anything, you can be intentional about designing creating, maintaining, and growing community. It’s more than simply bringing people together and watching the magic happen, even though that’s definitely part of it! In this episode we talk to two community experts. Sara Sigel is a product and community builder who advises and invests in profit-from purpose companies — she’s an Advisor and Investor at Rev Boston. And Sascha Mombartz is a multidisciplinary design director, and the Founder of The Office for Visual Affairs. Sascha and his 2 other community-loving friends created the Community Canvas, which is a framework that will help you build a community. Plus we have our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

How Do You Design a Community? Start with the Why or the Who

 

Always. Be. Curious. Design Thinking and Sales Unite for Extraordinary Results

Sales and design thinking in the same sentence? It’s a new way of selling that builds off of the design process: empathy, discovering insights, and genuinely building relationships with customers. Ashley Welch, Co-Founder of Somersault Innovation and Author of Nakes Sales, joins us to discuss her Sell by Design methodology. She’s teaching sales professionals the tools of design thinking to drive customer centricity and revenue growth. We dive into her process and design-informed sales strategies. We’re also joined by Sachin Rai, a Senior Account Executive at Salesforce, who utilized Ashley’s training and advice to transform how he sells. Before selling to a new customer, Greyhound, Sachin took an 8-hour bus ride to learn about his potential customer and the pain-points in their service. Armed with surprising insights from his own first-hand experience, he was able to close a multi-million dollar deal. Sachin tells his story and the impact on his work. Plus, our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Always. Be. Curious. Design Thinking and Sales Unite for Extraordinary Results

Infusing Equity in K-12 Curriculum Design, In the Classroom & at Home

Every teacher is a curriculum designer, creating experiences for people to understand and learn. In this episode we explore curriculum design with an important lens: equity. Successful curriculum connects with kids of different backgrounds and learning styles, and contains content beyond a white-centric history and approach. We discuss with Design Museum Everywhere’s very own Director of Learning and Interpretation, Diana Navarrete-Rackauckas, and Dr. Aaliyah Samuel, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and Partnerships at NWEA. The conversation also explores strategies for parents who were transformed into teachers almost overnight because of COVID-19. It’s all connected because our kids are growing up and learning in the context of a global pandemic — their learning experience has dramatically changed — and during a growing, global protest movement against police brutality against Black Americans. Our guests provide insights on how we can meet this unique moment for our kids and our communities. Plus we have our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Infusing Equity in K-12 Curriculum Design, In the Classroom & at Home

Regenerating Earth’s Living Systems by Design

Design and the ecological systems that support life (including human life) are intimately connected. Typical to design and make something we’re removing resources from ecological systems and transforming those resources into something: a product, a building, an article of clothing, etc. In this episode we explore that relationship, including how design can help protect, learn from, and regenerate those systems. We talk with Lana Sutherland, Co-Founder and CEO of TEALEAVES about sustainability and biomimicry, the focus of TEALEAVES’ latest documentary, Garden of Secrets. The film positions botanical gardens as “idea banks” for future designs based on nature. And we speak with Dawn Danby, Co-Founder and Principal of SPHERICAL about her work on strategies for actually regenerating Earth’s living systems. Plus our weekly dose of good design.

 

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

Regenerating Earth’s Living Systems by Design

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.

 

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

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/007-human-to-relationship-centered-design