Design Matters

Design

Designer

Morning

Design Matters (New Episodes)

a compilation of conversations from multiple podcasts based around design and conceptual theories, practices, process, to infinity.

De Sign

Design Thinking

Michael Rock is a founding partner and Creative Director at 2x4 and Director of the Graphic Architecture Project at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. At 2x4, he leads a wide range of projects for Prada, Nike, Kanye West, Barneys New York, Harvard and CCTV. Before starting 2x4, he was co-founder of Information incorporated in Boston. From 1984–91 he was Adjunct Professor of Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design and since 1991 he has been a member of the design faculty at the Yale School of Art where he holds the rank of Adjunct Professor. In addition, he was a fellow at the Jan Van Eyck Akademie in Maastricht, The Netherlands, and a contributing editor and graphic design journalist at I.D. Magazine in New York. His writing on design has appeared in publications worldwide. He holds an A.B. in Humanities from Union College and a M.F.A from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the recipient of the 1999/2000 Rome Prize in Design from the American Academy in Rome and currently serves on the board of the Academy. He is the author and editor of Multiple Signatures, on the history and development of 21st century design. 

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Michael Rock

Mark Lamster is the architecture critic of the Dallas Morning News and a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Architecture. 

Insights Per Minute: Mark Lamster on Complaining

Steven Heller is the co-chair (with Lita Talarico) of the School of Visual Arts MFA Design / Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program and the SVA Masters Workshop in Rome. Steven is a prolific author.

Insights Per Minute: Steven Heller on Recommendations

Rob Forbes’ career includes work in both the Arts and Business fields. Forbes is best known as the Founder of Design Within Reach and for the vision of a business that has grown into the leading retail destination for modern design in the US. 

Insights Per Minute: Rob Forbes on Perfection

Enrique Allen is currently the co-director of the Designer Fund where he provides angel funding, mentorship and connections to designers creating businesses with positive social impact.

Insights Per Minute: Enrique Allen on Introductions

Susan S. Szenasy is editor in chief of METROPOLIS, the award-winning New York City-based magazine of architecture and design. Since 1986, she has lead the magazine in landmark design journalism, achieving domestic and international recognition. She is internationally recognized as an authority on sustainability and design.

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Susan Szenasy

Matteo Bologna is the founder and principal of Mucca Design. His multidisciplinary background in architecture, graphic design, illustration and typography facilitated his early business successes and inspired his decision to create a New York branding and design agency. As creative director, he oversees and inspires every project with energy, intellect, and a quick wit. Matteo is the Vice President of the Type Directors Club, and is frequently asked to lecture about branding and typography around the world.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Matteo Bologna

Bob Gill is a designer, an illustrator, a copywriter, a film-maker and a teacher. After freelancing in New York, he went to London on a whim in 1960 and stayed for fifteen years. He started Fletcher/Forbes/Gill, a design office with the two brightest designers in England. F/F/G began with two assistants and a secretary. Today, it's called Pentagram, with offices everywhere except Tibet. Gill returned to New York in 1975 to write and design Beatlemania. Gill has had one-man shows in Europe, South America, the Far East and in the US. He was elected to the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame and the Designers and Art Directors Association of London recently presented him with their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Bob Gill

Dana Arnett is the CEO of VSA Partners and has established a 30-year career steeped in design leadership, business and brand consulting, and policymaking. He is a 2014 AIGA medalist. In his current role at VSA, Dana leads enterprise activities including strategic planning, growth initiatives, people development and the integration of the firm’s diverse capabilities. Under his leadership, the firm has developed significant scale, capability, and reputation, leading to VSA’s profile as one of the industry’s leading brand agencies. Recognized internationally by multiple organizations for his contributions to design and design thinking, Dana continues to guide VSA in the creation of brand programs, digital and interactive initiatives, and marketing solutions for a diverse roster of world-class clients.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Dana Arnett

Jonathan Harris is an artist and computer scientist whose work explores the relationship between humans and technology. His projects include We Feel Fine, a search engine for human emotions; I Want You To Want Me, an installation about online dating; Cowbird, a public library of human experience; 10 x 10, a system for encapsulating moments in time; The Whale Hunt, a series of photographs timed to match his heartbeat; and I Love Your Work, an interactive film about the daily lives of sex workers.

He won a 2005 Fabrica fellowship and three Webby Awards, and his work has also been recognized by Ars Electronica, AIGA, and the state of Vermont, for which he co-designed the state quarter. Print Magazine named him a “2008 New Visual Artist,” the World Economic Forum named him a “2009 Young Global Leader,” and TIME Magazine named his project, Cowbird, one of the “50 Best Websites of 2012.” His work has been exhibited all over the world, including at MoMA, Le Centre Pompidou, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Pace Gallery.

Born in northern Vermont, he currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Jonathan Harris

Joe Marianek is a multidisciplinary designer, educator and creative director with more than ten years of experience. He has worked with top agencies, organizations and clients ranging from General Electric to the New York Public Library, and from Bobby Flay to Daniel Libeskind. In 2014, Marianek co-founded Small Stuff, a design studio based in New York. He has worked for over decade in collaboration with the world’s most acclaimed designers. Marianek studied graphic design at the Rhode Island School of Design, his professional career began as a design assistant for Milton Glaser, who paid him with posters. He went on to work alongside Paula Scher at Pentagram designing identities and collateral for cultural institutions. After a brief stint leading identity projects at Landor Associates, he rejoined Pentagram’s New York office in 2007 to work with Michael Bierut, and was ultimately named associate partner. In 2012, Marianek moved west to lead integrated projects with the Apple global design group.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Joe Marianek

In this podcast interview with Debbie Millman, legendary graphic designer Massimo Vignelli, best-known for creating the iconic New York City subway map, discusses intellectual elegance, education, love, the pitfalls of marketing, and his long career in design.

Subscribe to Design Matters on iTunes for more great interviews with celebrated designers and creative minds: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Image: Painting of Massimo Vignelli by Jessica Helfand after a photograph by Beatriz Cifuentes.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Massimo Vignelli

ID magazine has called Stefan's work: "Distilled, intense, cunning, evocative and utterly complete. His inventions have set a new standard." A candid and revealing discussion with the master of design. (06.29.05)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/audio/stefan-sagmeister/8967/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Stefan Sagmeister

John Maeda, was head of the MIT Media Lab. Currently he is the president of Rhode Island School of Design. (06.30.06)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/audio/john-maeda/9177/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: John Maeda

Neville Brody a British designer and art director, has been at the forefront of graphic design for over two decades. Initially working in record cover design, Brody made his name through his revolutionary work as art director for Face magazine. In 1988 Brody published the first of his two monographs, which became the world's best selling graphic design book. (01.16.09)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/audio/neville-brody/9527/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Neville Brody

Tim Brown is the CEO and president of IDEO, and speaks regularly on the value of design thinking and innovation to business and design audiences around the world. He participates in the World Economic Forum at Davos, and his talk “Serious Play” can be seen on TED.com. In this interview, he reviews his career at IDEO, explores the impact of design processes (drawing and storytelling), as well as discussing his new book, Change By Design. (10.12.09)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Tim Brown

Ralph Caplan is a writer and communications consultant and lectures on design. He is the former editor-in-chief of I.D. Magazine and the author of several books including By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and Other Object Lessons, Cracking the Whip: Essays on Design and its Side Effects and The Design of Herman Miller. Caplan is an Emeritus Board Member for the International Design Conference in Aspen. An honorary member of the Industrial Designers Society of America, he is the 2010 recipient of the “Design Mind” National Design Award.

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Ralph Caplan discusses being kicked out of high school, working for Industrial Design, the difference between making things right as a designer as opposed to making things nice, branding, the civil rights movement, fashion, obsolescence, and the responsibility of the designer.

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Ralph Caplan

Alina Wheeler works with leaders to accelerate brand clarity, awareness and loyalty. Her disciplined process has been used successfully by large organizations like Vanguard, and non-profit organizations like Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest. She is the author of Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, which deconstructs the branding process into a disciplined five-phase methodology. The third edition is published in seven languages, and is used as a resource by universities, design and branding firms, entrepreneurs and corporate marketing departments.

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Alina Wheeler discusses branding, her father (who was a sea captain), strategic imagination, color coding souls, the Gap logo fiasco, how hard it is to be a client — and her new book, co-authored with Joel Katz, Brand Atlas. (02.25.11)

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Alina Wheeler

Eddie Opara was born in Wandsworth, London in 1972. He studied graphic design at the London College of Printing and Yale University, where he received his MFA in 1997. He began his career as a designer at ATG and Imaginary Forces and worked as a senior designer/art director at 2x4 before establishing his own studio, The Map Office, in 2005. He joined Pentagram’s New York office as partner in October 2010.

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Eddie Opara discusses his Jesuit education, being part of a collaborative movement, the difference between original work and open sourced work, accepting a job from Michael Bierut while in the bathroom, creating the Brooklyn Museum brand at 2x4, and working at Pentagram. (03.04.11)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Eddie Opara

Jonathan is a designer and co-founding partner of Pearlfisher. He oversees a portfolio of award-winning designs, including a high profile list of ethical, entrepreneurial and iconic brands. The outstanding commercial success of many of these design projects has led to Pearlfisher being named by the DBA as the leading design agency for Design Effectiveness in 2008. www.dba.org.uk

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Jonathan Ford discusses going on eighteen job interviews before being hired by Michael Peters, his belief that a good idea cannot come from a computer, his interest in fear and the importance of doing work that is truthful. (03.11.11)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Jonathan Ford

Dominique Browning is a writer, editor and consultant in the newspaper and magazine fields. She has worked with and written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, O, the Oprah magazine, among others. She writes a monthly column about environmental issues for the Environmental Defense Fund website and blogs at SlowLoveLife.com.

Until November 2007, Browning was the editor-in-chief of House & Garden. Browning is the author of three books: Around the House and In the Garden: a Memoir of Heartbreak, Healing, and Home Improvement; Paths of Desire: the Passion of a Suburban Gardener; and Slow Love: How I Lost my Job, Put on My Pajamas, & Found Happiness.

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Dominique Browning discusses her tenure as Editor in Chief at House & Garden, her recent book, Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put On My Pajamas & Found Happiness, and the effects of love on a stuffed animal. (03.25.11)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Dominique Browning

Heather B. Armstrong is an American blogger who resides in Salt Lake City, Utah. She writes under the pseudonym of Dooce about her struggle with depression, entering a mental health hospital, as well as her pregnancies, parenthood and her experiences with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Armstrong was featured by Forbes magazine on its list of "The Most Influential Women In Media" for 2009. She is also the author of the books It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita (Gallery, 2010).

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Heather Armstrong discusses reconciling with her family after writing about them on her blog, documenting her relationship with her husband, growing up Mormon, her struggle with post-postpartum depression, taking photos of her dog Chuck and tweeting about her broken Maytag washing machine. (04.01.11)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Heather B. Armstrong

James Biber has practiced architecture in a multi-disciplinary environment for more than 25 years. His work centers on a belief that architecture as an expression of identity is inseparable from its language of form and tectonics. The result is an architecture tied closely to its context; whether physical, cultural or metaphorical. He has a new creative studio which comes after nearly two decades as the architectural partner in Pentagram’s New York office. His work has been recognized by the AIA, AIGA, SEGD and other professional design organizations, and has been published in The New York Times, Architectural Record, The Wall Street Journal, Architect, Blueprint, Wallpaper, Dwell, Metropolitan Home, New York Magazine and the design press internationally. (02.17.12)

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: James Biber

Clement Mok is an award winning designer, digital pioneer, software publisher, app developer, author and design patent holder. He began his career in the design department at CBS, then moved to Apple, where he joined the Macintosh team. During his five-year stint as a creative director at Apple, he made computers friendlier and more accessible. When he left Apple he started Studio Archetype, which he eventually sold to Sapient Corp. in 1998. He has founded multiple other successful design-related businesses, including CMCD and NetObjects. He is the reason phrases such as experience design, information design, information architecture, interaction design, strategic design, brand identity, interface design and customer experience are part of our lexicon. 

On Design Observer: http://observermedia.designobserver.com/audio/clement-mok/37721/

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Clement Mok

Designer, author, critic, co-chair of SVA’s MFA program in design and National Design Award recipient Steven Heller talks to Debbie Millman about ideas from his new ebook, Design Cult: 25 Essays on Design Culture — the first of a series of three titles published exclusively as e-books through the DesignFile consortium from the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum. In Design Cult Heller expounds on such disparate topics as Milton Glaser, Japanese masks, velvet touch lettering, anthropomorphism and people in glass apartments. In this podcast, Steven and Debbie discuss how design is both a cult and culture, the dirty decade, the death of a trend and what designers have in common with Harvey Weinstien.

On Design Observer: observermedia.designobserver.com/audio/steven-heller/37737/

On iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/desig…lman/id328074695

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Steven Heller

Cliff Sloan borrowed $10,000 from his parents in 1993 and started The Sloan Group, a six-person creative marketing shop specializing in youth, entertainment and technology marketing. By 1999, The Sloan Group was 60 people strong, had garnered over 100 awards for creative excellence and boasted a blue-chip client roster that included Nickelodeon, MTV, Turner, MasterCard, AT&T, Disney, HBO and Pepsi. In 2000, The Sloan Group was acquired by The Interpublic Group of Companies, the world’s third largest advertising, marketing and communications organization. The Sloan Group enjoyed Agency of Record status for a diverse roster of clients ranging from entertainment and sports to financial services and government. As President and Chief Creative Officer, Cliff oversaw all agency operations while leading the agency’s strategic marketing, brand engineering, creative and business development divisions. In 2008, along with partner Gary Zarr, Cliff started Phil & Co., an agency dedicated to contemporary marketing for philanthropies and companies “doing good”. He teaches Cause Branding and Marketing at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and is a judge of the 2013 Cause Marketing Forum Halo Awards. 

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Cliff Sloan

Amy Webb is the head of of Webbmedia Group, a digital strategy agency that solves complex strategic and operational problems related to disruptive technologies and emerging digital trends that are catalyzing great change across many industries. Recently, she worked with the City of Chicago to redesign, in every aspect, a modern library system for the 21st century. She co-founded Spark Camp, a 501(c)(3) invite-only working group that brings together the brightest minds in media and technology once each quarter. Prior to starting Webbmedia Group, Amy was a reporter/ writer with Newsweek (Tokyo) and the Wall Street Journal (Hong Kong) where she covered emerging technology, media and cultural trends. She has contributed to the New York Times, NPR, Economist and many publications and appears regularly as a commentator on numerous broadcast shows.

Amy originally attended the Jacobs School of Music to study classical clarinet, and she later graduated with a B.A. in political science. She also has an M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Amy has served on the adjunct faculty at University of Maryland, Temple University, Tokyo University and University of the Arts.
Her new book, DATA: A LOVE STORY: How I Gamed Online Dating To Meet My Match was published in January 2013 and has been featured in People, Good Morning America, The View, Marketplace, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Guardian, Wired, Elle Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time Magazine and elsewhere. DATA chronicles how Amy used data analytics and smart digital marketing strategies to land her online dating profile at the top, and then built a framework to exploit the algorithms to her own benefit (finding a husband).


Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Amy Webb

Jennifer Sterling is a designer, artist, typographer and book publisher based in New York and the rincipal of Sterling Design. Her work has been exhibited and resides in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and the Library of Congress. In 2000 she was inducted into Alliance Graphique Internationale and Who’s Who in America. Graphis included her in their “Top Ten Designers in the World” list and USA GD named her as one of “Twelve Designers to change Design into the Millennium.” Additionally she has served on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's Design and Accessions Board.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Jennifer Sterling

Emily Oberman studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. She began her career working with Tibor Kalman at his legendary studio M&Co., where from 1987 to 1993 she collaborated with Kalman to create groundbreaking work for Knoll, Wieden & Kennedy, Talking Heads, and Bennetton’s Colors magazine. In 1993, she co-founded the design studio Number Seventeen with her partner Bonnie Siegler. She joined Pentagram’s New York office as partner in April 2012. Her clients have included NBC Universal (logos for “30 Rock,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and “Saturday Night Live,” including the opening title sequence for 15 years), Herman Miller, Air America and the creation of Lucky magazine for Condé Nast. Oberman’s book design has included work for the Type Directors Club, HBO’s “Sex and the City,” Glamour magazine, and the deluxe illustrated edition of Stephen Dubner’s Superfreakonomics. Her work has been recognized by the AIGA, the Type Directors Club, and the Art Directors Club, among others. In 2004, she was awarded the prestigious Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award for distinguished alumni from her alma mater Cooper Union. She has served on the national board of AIGA and as president of its New York chapter.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Emily Oberman

Wendy MacNaughton and Caroline Paul are the illustrator and author, respectively, of the new book Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology (Bloomsbury, 2013).

Wendy MacNaughton is an illustrator and a graphic journalist based in San Francisco. Her documentary series Meanwhile tells the stories of communities through drawings and the subject's own words, and is being published as an anthology by Chronicle Books in 2014. She's also illustrated the forthcoming book The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Wine, by Richard Betts (Houghton Mifflin, 2013). She has degrees in fine art/advertising and social work from Art Center College of Design and Columbia University. When they let her, she likes to talk with students at Art Center College of Design, and she is an artist in residence at Intersection for the Arts.

Caroline Paul is an author based in San Francisco. Paul grew up in New England, with an identical twin, a younger brother, and a menagerie of animals. She graduated from Stanford University, where she studied Communications. In 1989, she became a San Francisco firefighter. She is the author of Fighting Fire (Skywriter Books, 2011), about her thirteen years as a firefghter, and East Wind, Rain (2006) which has been optioned for a movie.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton

Design Matters by Debbie Millman features interviews with designers, artists and cultural leaders, including Lawrence Weiner, Barbara Kruger, Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Kandel, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, Michael Arad, Milton Glaser, Massimo Vignelli, Paula Scher, Steven Heller, Jonah Lehrer, among others.

In 2011, Design Matters received the People’s Design Award from the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Subscribe to Design Matters for free on iTunes, where new episodes are uploaded weekly: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695