Design Adjacent with Bret Recor on shifting the agency model, being a true partner, and environmental impact

Bret is an industrial designer, entrepreneur, and investor. He is the founder and director of the award-winning design studio, Box Clever, which is renowned for creating physical products and experiences that delight consumers and build category-leading brands. The studio is responsible for designing best-selling products including Away luggage, Caraway cookware, and July air conditioners.

The San Francisco-based design practice operates at the intersection of industrial design, brand strategy, and investment. Bret’s expertise lies in balancing creative vision with real-world experience and engineering prowess. He understands the nuances of taking an idea from concept to market. Specializing in consumer products, and with focus on the creation of

physical experiences that enhance human relationships, Box Clever operates under the belief

that anything can be successfully designed.

He is committed to executing a challenge to its most brilliant realization. To do this, he balances creative vision with real-world experience of industrial design, brand strategy, and business ventures.

About AIGA Design Adjacent

AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us.

About Bennie F. Johnson

Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.