Redesigning history by celebrating women. Amber Asay (host and designer) highlights groundbreaking contributions of women designers who have shaped the world we live in today. From graphic designers to architects, industrial designers to fashion icons, we explore the inspiring stories of the women who came before us, breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations.
There's a dual approach in each episode, with a designer as a featured guest, we'll uncover the remarkable journey of a historical figure, shedding light on their innovative designs, their challenges, and their triumphs. The goal is to make these extraordinary women household names, ensuring that their legacies are rightfully celebrated and recognized for their profound impact on design history.
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016. Phyllis Madonna and Emily Heyward: Iconic Branding like the Madonna Inn
Episode 16
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 • Duration 44:54
This dual feature episode highlights Phyllis Madonna’s fearless and eccentric design vision for the Madonna Inn, alongside branding expert Emily Heyward’s journey co-founding Red Antler and her insights into building iconic brands, including the lasting cultural impact of the Madonna Inn.
Phyllis Madonna is a visionary designer, philanthropist, and co-founder of the iconic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California. Born in 1928 in Orange County, she moved to the Central Coast in 1948 after marrying Alex Madonna. Although she had no formal design training, Phyllis’s creative instincts played a crucial role in shaping the Inn’s distinctive style, famous for its eclectic themed rooms and lavish use of pink. Encouraged by her husband to take the lead in designing the rooms, Phyllis’s designs became the heart of the Inn, transforming it from a roadside motel into a world-renowned destination.
Beyond her work at the Inn, Phyllis has made significant contributions to her community, supporting local arts organizations and spearheading the Phyllis Madonna Musical Revue and Fashion Show, which raised millions for women’s shelters over three decades. Her blend of creativity, community spirit, and entrepreneurial drive has made her a beloved figure on California’s Central Coast
About Emily Heyward:
Emily Heyward is a co-founder and Chief Brand Officer of Red Antler, a leading brand agency known for launching some of today’s most successful startups, including Casper, Allbirds, and Hinge. With a background in advertising and a degree in postmodern theory from Harvard, Emily pivoted from working with big brands to helping emerging companies create purposeful, consumer-driven identities. She has been recognized as one of the Most Important Entrepreneurs of the Decade by Inc. Magazine and is the author of Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One, which explores how brands can inspire deep loyalty from their very beginnings. With a reputation for building “cult brands,” Emily is frequently featured in media outlets like Forbes and Fast Company, and she continues to be a prominent voice in brand strategy
Host Amber Asay dives into the untold stories of design power couples where the husbands received most of the credit, exploring how history has often overlooked the equally brilliant contributions of their wives.
(This new bonus series, called "Extra Sketches" will be where we explore common themes and trends within women designer stories.)
008. Muriel Cooper and Kelli Anderson: From Print to Pixels
Episode 8
Thursday, June 13, 2024 • Duration 48:13
This dual feature episode explores Muriel Cooper’s groundbreaking innovations in user interface and information design at MIT, alongside Kelli Anderson’s boundary-pushing work in paper art and design, inspired by Cooper’s merging of technology and creativity.
Muriel Cooper (1925-1994) was a pioneering graphic designer known for her groundbreaking work in digital design and visual communication. As the first art director of MIT Press, she revolutionized academic publishing with her innovative book designs, including "Learning from Las Vegas." She co-founded the Visible Language Workshop at MIT, which evolved into the MIT Media Lab, where she spearheaded research in computer graphics and user interface design. Cooper's legacy endures through her contributions to integrating design with technology and her advocacy for women in the field.
About Kelli Anderson
Kelli Anderson is an innovative artist, designer, and educator known for her inventive paper engineering and interactive books. With a background in both design and art, she creates works that explore the intersection of art, technology, and everyday objects, often transforming the mundane into the extraordinary. Kelli’s notable projects include a functioning paper record player and a pop-up planetarium book, showcasing her ability to merge creativity with technical skill. Her work has been widely recognized and celebrated for its ingenuity and playful approach to design.
007. Roanne Adams: On Sustainable Fashion and How Women Are Leading the Charge
Episode 7
Thursday, June 6, 2024 • Duration 37:47
This episode spotlights Roanne Adams’ journey as a creative leader and her passion for sustainable fashion, exploring how women are at the forefront of shaping a kinder, more eco-conscious future. Together, we highlight five influential women in sustainable fashion who are redefining the industry with innovative, earth-friendly designs.
For today’s episode, I’m joined by the inspiring Roanne Adams, as we dive deep into the ebbs and flows of her career journey and then we also talk about the world of sustainable fashion, discussing the impact and contributions of esteemed women designers like Stella McCartney, Eileen Fisher, Gabriela Hearst and Mara Hoffman. We explore the intersections and moral impact of creativity, entrepreneurship, and sustainability in this enlightening episode.
About:
Roanne Adams is an acclaimed designer and creative director known for her innovative approach to branding and visual identity. She is the founder of RoAndCo, a New York-based design firm that collaborates with leading fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands. With a talent for storytelling and community building, Roanne has established herself as a prominent figure in the design industry. Her work has earned several awards, including a prestigious Young Guns win from the Art Directors Club, as well as recognition from AIGA.
Thank you Roanne for joining!
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006. Gail Anderson: On Racism, Resilience, and the Power of Mentorship
Episode 6
Thursday, May 30, 2024 • Duration 33:38
Renowned graphic designer Gail Anderson shares her journey from creating magazines in her youth to working at Rolling Stone and beyond, discussing her experiences as a woman of color in the design industry and the evolution of her career. Listen in on how Gail's mentors shaped her path and the fulfillment she finds in seeing her designs in the world.
Gail Anderson is a distinguished designer, writer, and educator, renowned for her impactful work at Rolling Stone magazine where she served as senior art director. She’s an AIGA Medalist, has authored 14 books and currently chairs the BFA Advertising and BFA Design departments at the School of Visual Arts. Anderson's creative portfolio extends to Broadway, where she has designed posters for notable productions, and she has several awards, including the 2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement
In this episode, Gail shares her journey, starting from her early years as a creative in grammar school to what it was like navigating the challenges as a Black woman designer in the 80s and 90s, while breaking barriers in the industry.
Join us as we explore Gail's career, her inspirations, and her thoughts on the evolving world of design. Today, we’re bringing you a firsthand look into the mind of a true design trailblazer.
A massive thank you to Gail for sharing her incredible journey, insights, and wisdom with us. It’s been an absolute honor to have her on the show and to learn from her experiences and expertise. Her story is a testament to the power of creativity, perseverance, and passion.
005. Gere Kavanaugh and Lisa Congdon: Creativity at Any Age
Episode 5
Thursday, May 23, 2024 • Duration 41:55
This dual feature episode highlights Gere Kavanaugh, the multi-hyphenate designer whose legendary career was championed by key figures in design, alongside Lisa Congdon’s inspiring story of building a thriving creative career later in life, proving it’s never too late to pursue your passions.
004. Barbara Kruger and Catherine Casalino: Challenging the Status Quo
Episode 4
Thursday, May 16, 2024 • Duration 42:50
In this dual feature episode we highlight the work of Barbara Kruger, whose graphic design background shaped her iconic, subversive collaged art. Alongside a discussion of Kruger’s legacy and the ironic Supreme lawsuit saga, guest Catherine Casalino shares her own journey as a celebrated book designer, including her experience creating book props for the film American Fiction.
Barbara Kruger was born in 1945 in Newark, New Jersey. Kruger briefly attended Syracuse University, then Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she studied with artists and photographers Marvin Israel and Diane Arbus. Kruger worked in graphic design for Condé Nast Publications at Mademoiselle magazine, and was promoted to head designer within a year, at the age of twenty-two. Kruger has described her time in graphic design as “the biggest influence on my work…[it] became, with a few adjustments, my ‘work’ as an artist.”
In the early 1970s, Kruger started showing artwork in galleries in New York. At the time, she was mainly working in weaving and painting. However, she felt that her artwork lacked meaning, and in 1976, she quit creating art entirely for a year. She took a series of teaching positions, including at University of California, Berkeley. When she began making art again in 1977, she had moved away from her earlier style into photo and text collages. In 1979, Kruger developed her signature style using large-scale black-and-white images overlaid with text. She repurposed found images, juxtaposing them with short, pithy phrases printed in Futura Bold or Helvetica Extra Bold typeface in black, white, or red text bars. In addition to creating text and photographic works, Kruger has produced video and audio works, written criticism, taught classes, curated exhibitions, designed products, such as T-shirts and mugs, and developed public projects, such as billboards, bus wraps, and architectural interventions.Kruger addresses media and politics in their native tongue: sensational, authoritative, and direct. Personal pronouns like “you” and “I” are staples of Kruger’s practice, bringing the viewer into each piece. “Direct address has motored my work from the very beginning,” Kruger said. “I like it because it cuts through the grease.” Kruger’s work prompts us to interrogate our own positions; in the artist’s words, “to question and change the systems that contain us.” She demands that we consider how our identities are formed within culture, through representation in language and image.______
003. Barbara Stauffacher Solomon and Rachel Gogel: Defining Design, Then and Now
Episode 3
Thursday, May 9, 2024 • Duration 37:03
This dual feature episode honors the life and legacy of Barbara Stauffacher Solomon, the trailblazing graphic designer who defined California cool with her iconic supergraphics. Joining today's episode is Rachel Gogel, a Bay Area-based designer and fractional design leader, who reflects on Barbara’s influence and shares her own story of building a dynamic and flexible career in modern design leadership.
Barbara Stauffacher Solomon is a prolific designer, muralist, landscape designer, and architect.
Born in San Francisco in 1928, she spent her formative years studying ballet, cultivating a deep appreciation for rhythm, movement, and expression.
Her path took a transformative turn when she journeyed to Switzerland to study at the Basel School of Design. It was here, that Barbara immersed herself in the principles of the International Typographic Style.
Returning to San Francisco in the 1950s, Barbara found herself at the forefront of a cultural revolution, she burst onto the design scene with her groundbreaking concept of "Supergraphics" when she became involved in the design of Sea Ranch, the experimental utopian town on the coast of Northern California. Her work at Sea Ranch embodied a holistic approach to design, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment.
002. Evelyn Ackerman: Mid-Century Designs for Home (w/ Laura Ackerman)
Episode 2
Friday, May 3, 2024 • Duration 39:55
On today’s episode, we’ll discuss the life and work of industrial designer, Evelyn Ackerman, who’s work was prolific during the Mid-Century California Modernism era in the 50s and 60s But what makes this episode even more exciting is that we’re joined by her daughter, Laura Ackerman-Shaw, who offers a unique perspective and personal insights on the incredible work of her mother.
Laura Ackerman-Shaw, is a Stanford University graduate with a bachelors and masters degree in English literature, boasts 35 years of experience in publishing and has been the Executive Director of Ackerman Modern since 2015. She passionately preserves and promotes her parents’ design legacy through museum exhibitions, presentations, scholarships under their name, preserving their archive of work, writing articles, and licensing her parents products with brands like Design Within Reach and CB2. Based in the Bay Area, Laura, her husband Marc, and their son Aaron live in a vibrant mid-century modern Eichler home, embodying the artistic essence inherited from her renowned designer parents.
Evelyn Ackerman, alongside her husband Jerome, was a leading figure in Mid-Century California Modernism. Her colorful and whimsical designs spanned ceramics, mosaics, tapestries, woodcarvings, and hardware, embodying the Bauhaus philosophy of blending art, craft, and industry for accessible quality goods. Her design style ranged from geometric minimalism to biomorphic abstraction to figurative stylization, highlighting her intuitive use of pattern, color, line, proportion, and composition.
001. Gunta Stölzl and Meryl Vedros: Redefining Textiles and Living to Design
Episode 1
Monday, April 15, 2024 • Duration 41:41
Discover the groundbreaking work of Gunta Stölzl, the only female Bauhaus Master, who redefined weaving as an art form, alongside Meryl Vedros’ own creative journey and insights on preserving history through design. _______
In today's episode, I’m joined by the incredible designer, Meryl Vedros, as we dive into the remarkable life Gunta Stölzl, a visionary force at the iconic Bauhaus in Germany. We uncover what it truly meant to be a woman navigating the male-dominated world of design during the early 20th century.
From her groundbreaking textile designs to her influential role as the only female master at the Bauhaus, we'll explore the enduring legacy of Gunta Stölzl and how her innovative spirit continues to inspire designers around the globe.
As the only female master of the Bauhaus, textile artist Gunta Stölzl is arguably the single most influential figure in the modern history of Western woven art. Under her leadership, the school's weaving workshop was transformed from a neglected department to one of its most successful facilities. During her tenure, she updated the focus from pictorial work to more industrial designs, introducing radical ideas from the world of modern art to weaving, and initiated experiments in materials and methods that helped shift weaving into the modern age.
Sources 2019 Book “Bauhaus Women: A global perspective” 2022 Daily Art Magazine article 1999 Bauhaus Book by Anja Baumhoff 2012 Talk at The Barbican Centre in London by daughter Monika “Bauhaus: Art as Life”Diary entries from Gunta herself.
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Gere Kavanaugh, born in Memphis in 1929, is a legendary American designer known for her vibrant and innovative contributions across industrial design, textiles, and interiors. Educated at the Memphis Academy of Art and Cranbrook Academy of Art, she was influenced by greats like Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.
In the 1950s, Kavanaugh broke barriers at General Motors as one of the few female industrial designers. In 1960, she founded Gere Kavanaugh Designs in Los Angeles, known for bold colors and playful forms. Her work spans textiles, furniture, and interiors, always pushing the boundaries of traditional design.
Kavanaugh's influence extends through her collaborations, mentorship, and numerous awards, including the AIGA Medal in 2010. Her legacy is marked by innovation, courage, and an unwavering dedication to making the world a more beautiful, functional place.
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Thank you to Lisa Congdon! https://lisacongdon.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lisacongdon
Her exhibit is up at St. Mary's until June 23, 2024: https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/museum-art/lisa-congdon-hold-it-lightly
Lisa Congdon an internationally known fine artist, illustrator and writer. She makes art for clients around the globe, including The Library of Congress, Target, Wired Magazine, Amazon, Google, Schwinn, Warby Parker, Method, Comme des Garcons, REI and MoMa, among many others. She exhibits internationally, including solo shows at Saint Mary's College Museum of Art (California), Chefas Projects (Oregon) and Paradigm Gallery (Philadelphia), along with group shows at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles, Museum of Design Atlanta and The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. She is the author of ten books, including Art Inc: The Essential Guide to Building Your Career as an Artist and Find your Artistic Voice: The Essential Guide to Working Your Creative Magic. Lisa is self-taught and didn’t achieve momentum in her career until she was nearly 40 years old. Despite her untraditional path, Lisa has achieved recognition, not just as an artist, but as a leader in the industry for her work in social justice, mentoring and teaching. In March of 2021, she was named “One of the 50 Most Inspiring People and Companies According to Industry Creatives” published by AdWeek. When she's not making art, you can find her racing her bike around Oregon. She lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
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Catherine Casalino is the principal and creative director of Casalino Design, an independent design company in New York City, focusing on book design and branding.
Prior to founding Casalino Design in 2016, Catherine worked in-house as an art director and designer at Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Hachette Book Group, and she began her career at Rodrigo Corral Design.
Over the past two decades, Catherine’s work has been recognized by numerous international design organizations and publications. She has served as a competition chair and judge for The Type Directors Club, The One Club, The Art Directors Club, and the Association of American University Presses.
She frequently speaks about design at art schools and organizations, is an instructor on Domestika.com, and volunteers as a mentor for Alphabettes—a community that supports women in type.
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Rachel Gogel (she/her) is a Parisian creative director, designer, speaker, mentor, and educator whose career has followed the rise and dominance of an entire era of digital design.
Based in San Francisco, she runs her own small consultancy as an independent design executive and has led major brand initiatives at GQ, The New York Times, Meta, Godfrey Dadich, Airbnb, and Dropbox. Now working as a solopreneur, Rachel has influenced many exciting projects for her clients — from launching editorial publications from scratch, to crafting story-driven digital experiences, to leading org design efforts, to designing TV show pitch decks and book covers for influential public figures, to building brand systems for global media and entertainment companies in a fractional capacity. As an experienced people manager, she is committed to designing teams that build brands — with a focus on culture and technology. Having stepped into interim executive creative director, head of brand, and design director roles in recent years, she has helped companies through transitional periods, built out their cross-disciplinary creative teams, and trained her full-time replacement(s).
When she is not consulting, Rachel teaches in the Master’s of Interaction Design program at the California College of the Arts (CCA). She is also a passionate advocate for gender equity in the design industry. For 2.5 years, she has served on the AIGA San Francisco Board of Directors with a focus on amplifying women and non-binary designers’ collective power and visibility through a program called Women in Leadership & Design (WILD), for which Rachel is the Chair. Rachel also actively participates in Neol and Queer Design Club. Her words and actions over the years highlight how she's come to care deeply about using her voice and privilege to help create connected communities, especially for women.
Nominated for a 2022 Webby for her work on Departures, Rachel has been recognized by Inc. as one of 2016’s “30 under 30 Movers and Shakers” and by Forbes as one of 2015’s “30 under 30” in media. She has been featured in publications such as PRINT Magazine, Design by Women, Fast Company, among others. After hours, you can find Rachel museum hopping, planning her next trip abroad, or relaxing with her wife at home.
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Evelyn and Jerome’s pieces from the early 1950s through the early 1980s gained recognition nationally and internationally, noting the cultural nuances encountered in Evelyn’s creative journey. Her and her husband’s timeless creations adorned postwar modern interiors, fueling California’s housing boom, have been seen in museums and even on sets in movies and television. Despite retiring from manufacturing in 1979, their legacy endures, captivating collectors today and resonating with a new generation drawn to their collaborative spirit and unwavering dedication to their artistic vision.
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Here's where to follow the Ackerman Modern legacy to stay up to date on exhibits and future brand collaborations: https://ackermanmodern.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ackermanmodern/
CB2 Collection as part of their Design Legends series: https://www.cb2.com/collections/ackerman-modern/1
IG Reel of her work: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6gk90qrpYl/
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