From the Archive: Designing in Nature’s Image

Episode 086 • 45 min

What is the designer’s role in the climate crisis?

At Climate Designers, Sarah Harrison and her team use their creative skills for climate action and ask the question, “What if every designer were a climate designer?” In this week’s episode, we chat about how designers of all kinds can take climate action. Sam is joined by Sarah Harrison, Co-Founder of Climate Designers and The Determined. Sarah shares how she came to found Climate Designers with Marc O’Brien and the role of design in creating real climate action. Later on in the show, they are joined by Bobby Gill, Director of Development and Communications at Savory Institute, which uses holistic management to facilitate the large-scale regeneration of the world’s grasslands and the livelihoods of their inhabitants. Together, they talk about why it is important to regenerate the world’s grasslands and how the Savory Institute uses Holistic Management. 

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Papa Bear Slippers
• Sarah: Cashmere Pants

Links:

• CoDesign Collaborative Event: CoDesign Collaborative Week
• Resource: Overview Effect
• Resource: It’s not the cow, it’s the how

From the Archive: Beyond the Word: Designing Type

Episode 072 • 46 min

How does type affect brand identity?

Courtsey of Mucca

In this week’s episode from the archive, 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.  

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Thanks Brent Taylor for your Weekly Dose! 3M Claw Heavyweight Hanging Solution
• Blake: Rapha and Nike Liverpool Jacket

Links:

• Proportion Design Type Example: RODE Architects
• Resource: Fontographer
• Resource: Glyphs App
• Class: Type Design for Non-Type Designers
• Class: Building Brands with Type

From the Archive: Reframing the Workplace for the Knowledge Economy

Episode 066 • 46min

What does it look like to design a workplace that supports and values learning?

Photo by Sam Pak on Unsplash

In this week’s episode from the archive, 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 CoDesign Collaborative’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. 

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Happier Camper
• Elizabeth: Glass House

Links

• Michael’s podcast: Future U
• Michael’s book: Choosing College
• Online Exhibition: Elizabeth Lowrey

From the Archive: The Shared Mindsets of Designers and Musicians

Episode 056 • 45 min

How do design and music influence one another?

Photo by blocks on Unsplash

In this episode, Sam learns more about music’s impact on design and the shared mindsets of the creative process. He chats with R. Michael Hendrix, Partner and Global Director of Design at IDEO, singer, musician, and co-author of Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us about Innovation alongside his co-author Panos Panay. Michael talks about the influence of design thinking in music and how he uses music in his design process. Later on, in the show, they are joined by Adam Larson, founder and Executive Creative Director of A&Co, a creative consultancy designed for the modern era. Adam chats about how he approaches his design process, collaborating with artists, and how he translates music to a visual medium.

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Perception
• Michael: Palmwood

Links

• Michael’s music: R.M.Hendrix
• Musician: Brian Eno
• Band: Stars of the Lid
• Musician: Steve Marker
• Graphic designer: Vaughan Oliver
• Article: Boston Voyager
• Musician: Herbie Hancock
• Artist: Sister Corita
• Book: Stanley Donwood
• Cassette: The Pretty Reckless

From the Archive: A New Form of Design Firm for Startups

Episode 069 • 43min

How can design firms center less on the “design for hire” model and more on building relationships with innovative young companies? 

Photo: Courtesy of Box Clever

In this week’s episode from the archives, 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.

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Loki
• Bret: Eddi

Links

• Cookware Brand: Caraway
• Consumer Lifestyle Incubation Fund: Idea Farm

From the Archive: Designing for a Rebrand or Relaunch

Episode 076 • 41 min

What is the process and design of a rebrand and how is it different from a relaunch?

Courtesy of Robot Food

In this week’s episode, we learn about the process of revitalizing and invigorating brands. Sam is joined by John Roescher, Co-Founder and CEO at handsome, a holistic experience design agency. John explains how a holistic design agency helps a brand think about every component holistically and the process of a rebrand. Later on in the show, they are joined by Simon Forster, Founder and Executive Creative Director of Robot Food. Together they discuss how they have approached rebranding and relaunching their own projects and guiding other companies through the process. 

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

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: solo stove
• John: SCADstory

Links:

• Brand: Over The Spoon

From the Archive: Campus Design for Engagement and Equity

Episode 078 • 46 min

Learn how institutions are designing equity into their decision-making process.

How are campuses using space differently?

In this week’s episode, we learn how institutions are designing equity into their decision-making process. Sam is joined by Linsey Graff, a Senior Campus Planner at DLR Group, a global, integrated design firm with a core practice in architecture, engineering, interiors, and planning. Linsey chats about the importance of getting voices heard to reimagine what the campus is. Later on in the show, they are joined by Melissa Soto, Program Planner at California State University, Long Beach. Together they share how the team at DLR Group worked to capture the realities facing institutions nationwide during the pandemic.

Weekly Dose of Good Design:

• Sam: UNSIGHTED
• Linsey: Rain Gardens

Links:

• Resource: DLR Group’s Higher Education work

City Planning: A Conversation with Urban3 and unPlanned

Episode 92 • 45 min

What does it mean to design better city planning and what does that look like?

On this week’s episode, we learn about how cities have been designed. Sam is joined by Joe Minicozzi, the Principal of Urban3 and an urban planner imagining new ways to think about and visualize land use, urban design, and economics. Joe talks about the way cities have and have not been designed and the tax implications of city design. Later on in the show, they are joined by Sam Seidel, host of unPlanned, a video podcast about cities and how they work. Together, they talk about how cities have changed since Covid and what Sam has gleaned from his show “unPlanned.”

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Good Strategy Bad Strategy
• Joe: Building a patio and Asheville, NC

Links:

• CoDesign Collaborative Event: CoDesign Collaborative Week
• Kickstarter: Support our New Book on Kickstarter
• Resource: Join Urban 3’s Decoder Seminar
• Resource: unPlanned YouTube channel

Social Work: Design with Purpose

Episode 91 • 47 min

How can designers anticipate the needs of social workers and how can social workers use design thinking in their own work?

On this week’s episode, we explore the intersection of social work and design. Sam is joined by Chōkdee Rutirasiri, VP of Experience Strategy and Research at Mad*Pow and Adjunct Professor of Design Thinking at Boston College. He chats about how design can be a tool to change the world through empathy and compassion. Later on in the show, they are joined by Rachael Dietkus, Founder of Social Workers Who Design, a cause-driven, trauma-responsive design consultancy. Together, they talk about what social work is and some common misconceptions about social work.

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: Helga Stentzel
• Chōkdee: GFDA prints

Links:

• CoDesign Collaborative Event: CoDesign Collaborative Week
• Kickstarter: Support our New Book on Kickstarter

Creating a Space and Opportunity for Artists

Episode 090 • 44 min

How did Liz Powers and her team connect artists who are homeless or disabled with corporate buyers?

On this week’s episode, we are learning about an organization that is designing a new marketplace for artists. Sam is joined by Liz Powers, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at ArtLifting where artists impacted by homelessness and disabilities are given a platform to share their talents. Later on in the show, they are joined by Bryan Parker, Director of National Real Estate’s Workplace Strategy, Performance and Optimization at PwC, a corporate client of ArtLifting. At PwC, the ArtLifting Curated Collection showcases a diversity of artwork and embodies PwC’s mission of solving important problems and building trust in society. Together, they talk about how corporations can be involved in this work and the impact of art in the workspace. 

Weekly Dose of Good Design

• Sam: The Black Experience in Design 
• Liz: GRIT

Links:

• Mad*Pow Event: HXDConf.com and use code DMEPodcast for $100 off
• CoDesign Collaborative Event: CoDesign Collaborative Week
• Kickstarter: Support our New Book on Kickstarter
• Collection: ArtLifting + PwC
• Artist: Ronnie- ArtLifting
• Meet the ArtLifting Artists: Artists