Creative Talks

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Design Matters

Debbie Millman talks to Elle Luna about why she walked away from great design jobs with IDEO, Uber, and Mailbox.

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Elle Luna

Debbie talks to Timothy Goodman about how, after barely getting through high school, he went on to a very visible career that he is still in the process of defining. "I still don't consider myself an illustrator, it's weird....I consider myself a designer."

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Timothy Goodman

Debbie Millman talks to Simon about the fruits of good leadership: "To see your team achieve more than they thought they were capable of, that they will advance the organization further than you even imagined — because they believe, and they are greatful, and they're inspired — it's all worth it. All the sacrifices. It always is."

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Simon Sinek

Debbie Millman talks to designer and AIGA president Su Mathews Hale about her efforts to bring more attention to female designers. "So it's not about celebrating them as women, but just, more awareness. There are women out there kicking ass, and people just aren't aware of it."

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Su Mathews Hale

Have you ever spent an entire day at work feeling really busy, checking emails, reading your news feed -- and at the end of the day you realize, "Man, I really wasn't all that productive." You felt busy but your brain was fuzzy and didn't end up doing all that much. 

If that sounds familiar, today's show is for you. My guest, Cal Newport, has a new book out called Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. I'm not joking when I say this has been a life-changing book for me. We talk about the principles of deep work, plus the nuts and bolts of being more focused with your day. 

#168: The Value of Deep Work in the Age of Distraction

Debbie talks to Eric Zimmer about the twists and turns in his surprising career as a tech entrepreneur, and abot some of the things he's learned along the way. "You've got a kind of budget, you've got a certain amount of energy that your brain has to do things."

Design Matters With Debbie Millman: Eric Zimmer

Do you feel like your ability to think deeply about issues is hampered because you lack an intellectual foundation? Do you want your intellectual life to be imbued with more texture and nuance? If you answered yes to these questions, then it's time to start acquiring the classical education you never had. My guest today on the podcast, Susan Bauer, will show you how to get started. She's the author of The Well Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had. We discuss what a classical education is, the benefits of it, and how you can create your own curriculum for yourself which can accommodate even the busiest of schedules. 

#189: The Classical Education You Never Had

There are tons of books about how to be happier, how to improve yourself, how to be less angry, etc. These books often tout things you should add to your life to get to where you want. But sometimes the best way to achieve a goal is to actually subtract something from your life, and to stop doing the things that are making you miserable. 

That's the approach today's guest took in his latest book, How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use. His name is Randy Paterson, and he's a psychologist. Today on the show, we discuss the things he's seen with his patients -- common lifestyle choices and thinking patterns -- that make them miserable, and what you can do to eliminate those things from your life.  

#204: How to Be Miserable

We've all had those days where everything seems to go just right. We set goals for ourselves and we accomplish them. Instead of frittering away our time on YouTube, we're focused and get work done. It's easy to attribute these sorts of days to luck, but my guest today argues that research from behavioral economics and psychology can show us how we can consistently have more of these good days.

Her name is Caroline Webb and she's the author of How to Have a Good Day. Today on the show, we discuss how to set goals in the morning and put them into action, how to reduce cognitive overload so you can make better decisions, and how to deal with irksome people and setbacks so they don't ruin your day.

#214: How to Have a Good Day, Every Day

Lella Vignelli, John Berger, Second Avenue Subway, Jackie, La La Land

Episode 48: Lella and La La

Debbie talks to Brian Koppelman about why he became a writer after years as a record promoter and producer. "I realized I would become toxic, and that something would die in me. And that if I allowed that to happen, that toxicity would spread to those that I loved."

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: 2009-2017

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Brian Koppelman

Debbie talks to Anil Dash about politics, technology and culture. "The single industry that is more responsible for creating culture today than any other, even entertainment or media, is tech. And part of it is we're the mediators for the media world."

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Anil Dash

On this podcast Debbie talks to Mike Rigby about his international career in design and branding and how to stay creatively engaged. “Every event you go to, every person you meet, everything you do is fuel for your next idea.”

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Mike Rigby

On this podcast Debbie Millman talks to Rochelle Udell about her very creative professional life. "The strength of creative people is to be the outside observer of ordinary things. That's the strength of the creative person, so you've gotta stay outside a little bit."

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Rochelle Udell

Debbie talks to Connie Birdsall about designing some of the most successful brands of our time and what to do when a meeting with clients is not going well.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Connie Birdsall

On this episode Debbie Millman talks to Jonathan Adler about how his pottery defined his aesthetic. “It’s about craft and luxury mixed with a sense of optimism and cheekyness.”

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Jonathan Adler

Debbie talks to poet Elizabeth Alexander about the journey of her extraordinary life and how death makes us think about what we truly value.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman: Elizabeth Alexander

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