Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast This is Design School

On this episode, we talk with Frank Chimero, Creative Director at Fictive Kin, and author of the book The Shape of Design. Frank talks about how he found design by using it as a foothold to have a deeper relationship with the things he really enjoyed, how designers have the opportunity to teach a commitment and expectation of craft and quality to fellow disciplines, about the value in experience outside of efficiency, and how work and experiences are cyclical in nature.

On this episode, we talk with Mitzi Okou, a Senior Interaction Designer at Spotify and Founder of Where are the Black Designers. Mitzi talks about her journey from studying classical music to UX Design, about how transparency begets a more forgiving culture, and her work in pushing the needle for diversity and representation so we truly don’t have to ask, “Where are the Black designers?” anymore.

On this episode, we talk with Catherine Lim and Jennifer Cheng. Catherine is a UX Researcher at 98point6, and Jennifer is a UX Lead Product Designer at IQVIA. Catherine and Jenn each talk about their journey to design, their shared critical lens on the design discipline, and their resistance to the pipeline of design school to the mainstream commercial industry. They also discuss how this critical lens, along with a funding opportunity and hearing an interview by an undocumented immigration activist, led to the motivation to create Archivo: A self documentation toolkit. Archivo, designed in partnership with Maru and local community partners, was a project which provided a guide for undocumented people to collect and organize paperwork to prove their continued presence in the U.S.

On this episode, we talk with Leisha Muraki, a Director of Brand Strategy at RORA, and a Lead in Brand Experience at MDMD. Leisha talks about how graduating in the middle of a financial recession forced her to take risks and work abroad in search of job security; how her experience building a career and practice in Venture Design shifted the judgement of design from aesthetics to strategy; and how the most important currency in the world is not capital but connection, including the connection with one’s self.

On this episode, we talk with Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, Dean of the School of Design Strategies, Associate Dean at Parsons School of Design, and the Conference Co-Chair of the Digitally Engaged Learning (DEL) Conference. Cynthia talks of being an artist who teaches design, and finding her way to the discipline through a passion of Art, a background in Electrical Engineering, and the worldview of growing up as a third culture kid. Cynthia discusses the practice and considerations of Integrated Design, including politicizing acts of helping, removing assumptions that you have what it takes to make someone else’s life better, and the importance of how we each represent history when walking into any given situation.

On this episode, we talk with Debbie Millman, a designer, author, illustrator, educator, and brand consultant who is currently the Chair and co-founder of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts, the Editorial & Creative Director of Print Magazine, and the Founder and Host of the award-winning podcast Design Matters. In our conversation, Debbie talks about her initial spark in design, working through and understanding cycles of fear and insecurity that led to life changing decisions in her career, planning for the long tail, and persevering through trauma in hope for a better life.

A tribute reissuing our 2019 interview with August de los Reyes, Chief Design Officer at Varo Money Inc., following his passing on December 21, 2020 from COVID-19 complications. August reflects on his career across three decades — the how, the why, and the legacy — discussing Inclusive Design, the scale and impact of design decisions, and living a life with no regrets.

On this final episode of Year 05, we talk with August de los Reyes, Chief Design Officer at Varo Money Inc., in San Francisco, California. De los Reyes’ career transcends decades of technological shifts and advancements, and includes work with Microsoft, Google, Pinterest, and Philips. In our discussion, August reflects on his career to date, categorizing it into three decades: the how, the why, and the legacy. He speaks about the future and importance of Inclusive Design, the legacy we might leave behind for future generations of designers to build upon, and living a life of no regrets.

On this episode, we talk with Annu Yadav, Head of Design at Aurora Solar in San Francisco, California. Annu is a multidisciplinary practitioner across fine art, design, fashion technology, and business. Yadav discusses how her approach to design brings diverse and unique voices to a team to shape new ideas, how gaining knowledge helps shed fear, and gives us a reminder of how design is inherently an act of service.

On this episode, we talk with Scott Tong, a startup advisor in San Francisco, California. Through his career working at RMB Vivid, IDEO, Pinterest, and co-founding IFTTT, Tong has developed the unique perspective of designer as entrepreneur. In our conversation, Scott talks about how his passion for drawing led him to finding design, how learning design thinking helped prepare him to co-found a company, and the value of living in ambiguity.

On this episode, we talk with Diane Lee, an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University in California. Lee is a multi-disciplinary designer who explores work in print, video, writing, sound, code, and physical space. Lee talks about her research in personal archives, the temporality of digital mediums, how the loss of personal data can be an act of identity formation, and how she encourages her students to scratch the itch of curiosity.

In this episode, we talk with MacBeth Watson, Vice President of Design & Research at Strava in San Francisco, California. MacBeth’s career spans companies such as Microsoft, Pinterest, Starbucks, and Strava. Watson talks about how her endurance and achievements as an accomplished athlete have helped focus her career goals, the importance of connections in making career changes, and her unique approach to design leadership—focusing on the best approach to take on a project, finding the right people to bring new perspectives, and being confident in your genuine self.

On this episode, we talk with Minnie Bredouw, Executive Director and co-founder of The Purpose Project. Through her experiences at Frog, IDEO, and IDEO.org, teaching at various institutions, Bredouw has focused her career on developing a practice of design for social impact. In our conversation, Minnie talks about ethical and social problems that designers should be considering, the value of reflection and documentation after completing a project, and the importance of a designer’s motivation and inherent bias when working in new environments.

On this episode, we talk with Hugh Dubberly, Principal of Dubberly Design Office, or DDO, in San Francisco, California. DDO focuses on making hardware, software, and services easier to use through their deep expertise in information and interaction design. Dubberly’s career has spanned many influential design leadership roles including Apple, Netscape, and Art Center College of Design. In our conversation, Hugh talks about the death of graphic design as we know it, gives thoughtful proposals for re-adapting designers’ skillsets, and the importance of understanding systems in the design practice of the 21st century.

On this episode of This is Design School, we talked with Senior Visual Designer Megan Ruhlach and Director of Innovation Quba Michalski from Blink, a research and design firm in Seattle, Washington. At the Seattle Interactive Conference, we sat down and talked with Megan and Quba about their uncommon career paths, their work with NASA, and their experiences in today’s fast changing industry.

On this episode, we talked with Annabelle Gould, an Associate Professor in the Division of Design at the School of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Washington in Seattle. Annabelle talks about the balance between being a designer and an educator, about how experimentation and the details of craft are critical to the design process, and the importance of finding your authentic purpose and voice in the ever broadening field of design.

On this episode, we interview Sheryl Cababa, an Executive Creative Director at Artefact in Seattle. Sheryl talks with us about the experience of designing in the Netherlands, how living abroad helped develop an ability to question the systems engrained in our own culture, and how we must consider unintended consequences in our design process.

On this episode, we talked to Jeff Barlow, who is a Creative Director at Boeing. He shares his insight about how doing design well requires putting in the time, the importance of the craft of typography, and how a continuous and complete design education requires being present in the real world.

On this episode, we talked to Sean Munson, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington. Sean shares how his childhood interest of building model Naval ships led him to the study of Engineering, and how design gave him a framework to get himself, and his peers, to ask the right questions and create the right solutions.

On this episode, we talked to Timothy Bardlavens, a Product Design Leader, Cultural Strategist, co-founder of the Design + Diversity Fellowship Program, and DEI—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion—consultant. Timothy talks to us about his experiences in design and tech as a black gay man from the South, the importance of owning and bringing your full self to your work, and the difference and importance between surviving and thriving in the workplace and the world.

On this episode, we interview Silong Chhun, a Communications Associate for the Tacoma Community House, and founder of the Red Scarf Revolution. Silong shares how his early upbringing in Cambodia has impacted his work, and about the importance of identity, persistence, and design as a center point for community, advocacy and activism.

On this episode, we talked to Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, Director of Education at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Ruki discussed her journey from teaching design to joining the Cooper Hewitt, the museum’s amazing collection of artifacts, and how integrating design education can help society meet the demand of the immense challenges we face today.

On this episode, Nicole Gleadle, Senior Designer at Qubit, talks about how moving to London, England and the lessons learned from starting over in another country. She speaks of her career progression in Seattle over the last seven years and how it prepared her for life in the UK.

On this episode, Anna Brayton, Senior Designer at Amazon, talks about how her passion for design started with markers at a young age. She speaks of her career progression through 10 years designing stores at Starbucks, to the challenges of projects with a blank canvas, and learning through seeking feedback from your colleagues. Anna talks about how design is a lifestyle and having the right tools at hand makes creating so much more fun.

On this episode, Jp Avila, Associate Professor of Art & Design at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington talks about the importance of narrative as a basic principle of design, distilling information as a currency of the future, and the struggle of staying in the moment versus chasing the next carrot.

On this episode, Michael Smith, Director of the Master of Human-Computer Interaction + Design Program at the University of Washington, talks about information architecture as an entry point to design, the sad loss of studio culture, and teaching and practicing design research. Photo Credit: Chris Koehler / frog

On this episode, John Snavely, Principal Design Manager of Xbox at Microsoft, talks about his journey as a series of failures, questioning things thoughtfully, managing teams in no praise zones, and the ethical tensions designer face today.

On this episode, Lance Kagey, an owner and Principal at Rotator Creative, talks about community building, the tangential hobbies that make designers interesting, and creating more authentic work by using elements and materials from the world around us.

On this episode, Gabri Joy Kirkendall, author of Creative Lettering and Beyond and The Joy of Lettering, talks about book publishing in the art world, unexpectedly changing your life course, and being bold in typeface and in person.

On this episode, Karen Gutowsky-Zimmerman, a Professor of Visual Communication Design at Seattle Pacific University, talks about how to prepare students for the next step after graduation beyond the portfolio, how design can remain relevant in a world with increased access to slick looking designs, and balancing teaching visual foundations with a need to arm young designers to think more strategically.

On this episode, Erin Kendig, a practicing fine artist and Managing Editor of ARCADE Magazine, talks about making space to work, ditching the five-year plan, and figuring out how you want to spend your time.

On this episode, Rebecca Stewart-Johnson, a Tacoma-based designer, talks about the work to get that first job, the bravery it takes to approach new people, and how to keep working and learning through life changes.

On this episode, Terry Marks, a Seattle-based designer and AIGA Fellow, talks about finding his way to design, balancing work to eat with work for good, and what we need to survive as designers today.

On this episode, Krista Fredricks, a Seattle-based web designer, talks about the importance of internships, finding your dream job by merging your passion with design and the concept of designer as curator.

On this episode, Benjamin Shown, a Boston-based creative director, talks about the importance of establishing a design community, and how designing for the future is about making design invisible by bringing content and narratives to the foreground.

On this episode, Gage Mitchell & Jennifer Stewart, partners at Modern Species in Seattle, Wash., talk about the complexity of and need for sustainable design in today’s world. And, how celebrating small wins can help when feeling overwhelmed while confronting large scale, wicked problems.

On this episode, Taylor Cox, a letter press designer and book artist, talks about not being afraid to veer away from what your peers are doing, going all in when learning a new technique and what not to do when climbing inside a giant Heidelberg Press.

On this episode, Karen Cheng, a Professor in the Division of Design at the University of Washington, discusses how she found her way to design and the value of critique, not only in education and work, but also in everyday life.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Adriel Rollins, an industrial designer who works on creating yachts. Adriel discusses his time in undergraduate and graduate school and how those experiences have helped shape him for a future in teaching.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Jon Cook, a Senior UX Designer at Edifecs in Bellevue. Jon discusses using writing to organize thoughts, finding a mentor and the potential of design in healthcare.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Scott Ichikawa, a graduate student in University of Washington’s Master of Design program. Scott discusses his thesis project, the news and his son (the most important project of his life). This month’s podcast was recorded at the KPLU studio in downtown Seattle. Thanks KPLU!

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Ryan Applegate, a self-taught designer working in Seattle. Ryan talks about creating interesting visual stories and what he loves about long-form media. His insights on what he wished he would have learned sooner should be heard by every designer, seasoned to aspiring.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Matt Knorr, a designer in Seattle who shares with us the value of sketching and learning by failure. Matt, an avid sports fan, shares his insights on the importance of sketching and creativity.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Daniel Worthington, a designer and programmer in Seattle. Daniel shares his insights on being a life-long learner and how he finds projects that interest him. Jp also realizes he has found a kindred sci-fi comrade that could talk as deep and as philosophically about all things Star Trek.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Paige Pauli, a UX/UI designer and front-end developer at Simply Measured in Seattle. Paige shares stories on her roundabout path to becoming a designer and how even successful and talented designers sometimes feel like they have “imposter syndrome.”

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila interviews Brittany Staten, a visual designer at CareZone in Seattle. Brittany discusses the importance of being creative both at work and at play. Learn how she finds creative outlets to allow her mind to think about design.

On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Jessica Frongello, a visual designer at CareZone in Seattle a. Jessica discusses the process of getting her first job as a designer after design school and learning to trust yourself.

On this, the first official podcast of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad Hall interview Samuel Hosman, a graphic designer and audiophile living in the Pacific Northwest. Sam discusses his interest in music, design and the importance of loving what you do. And if you are wondering, we do use Snowball mics.

On this prototype podcast of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad Hall interview each other to test out what it would take to make a podcast. What starts out with fun banter testing the sound of the microphone quickly shifts to Jp and Chad digging into each others paths of how they first found design, and their experiences searching for and fulfilling a design education.