
Design is Human
Atlanta Design Festival
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Top 10 Design is Human Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Design is Human episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Design is Human for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Design is Human episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

John Ferguson: Inspiring Young Designers through Mentorship
Design is Human
03/06/23 • 30 min
Elayne DeLeo speaks with designer John Ferguson on how taking an elective class in desktop publishing at his Atlanta public school sparked his path to becoming a digital design professional, the importance of mentorship for young students who may not see design as a career path, why Atlanta is the cultural capital of the US (and how it may be failing in design), and creating the Black Bauhaus movement to celebrate the work of black designers.
John Ferguson is Design Director at Work & Co, based in the agency's Atlanta office. During his tenure at Work & Co, he’s shaped breakthrough products for clients such as The Home Depot, Traeger, and Vistaprint. An art director and graphic designer by training, John has worked at agencies including SapientNitro, Ogilvy, Razorfish, Huge, and Goods & Services.
He is also the founder of the Black Bauhaus Mvmt, inspired by the artistic sensibilities and ethos of the Bauhaus style and the social and cultural influences of the Black Panther Party, and creative director of production/creative company Bold Honey, founded by his daughter Priah Ferguson.
www.BlackBauhaus.com
https://work.co/
Affordable or free design schools and resources mentioned in podcast:
https://www.usefulschool.com/
https://www.scopeofwork.co/
https://oneschoolus.com/

09/19/22 • 28 min
Speakers:
Ruth Stevens, Chairman, The Potters House CBO/APT Kenya
Cath Barton, Pediatric Physiotherapist
APT Kenya is a project run by The Potter’s House CBO since February 2022 addressing this need by using Appropriate Paper Technology (APT) as a low cost and sustainable solution to make seating and standing devices for disabled children in Kenya.APT devices help the child to maintain a comfortable and functional position in either sitting or standing. This good positioning is proven to help prevent contractures and spinal deformities, and can improve digestion, bowel function, and maintain skin integrity. The equipment also enables the child to play and communicate with those around them, increasing both the amount and the quality of their participation in home activities, as well as increasing independence, communication and quality of life.

Jason James, VP of Design for Instacart
Design is Human
09/20/21 • 41 min
Elayne DeLeo speaks with Jason James, VP of Design for Instacart about his path to a career in design and the reality of "imposter syndrome" when success comes early. He also shares his insights on how businesses need to leverage design to build culture and foster collaboration, what he does to spark creativity in his team and for himself, and the design thinking and principles underlying Instacart’s approach to COVID and how they continue to guide their design into the future.
Bio:
Jason James (he/him) is VP of Design at Instacart, a grocery delivery and pick-up service. He leads the evolution of products and brand, along with research.
Previously, he served as VP of Design at Thumbtack, a marketplace for connecting homeowners and local professionals to get projects done. He developed brand and product design across their marketplace. He also was an early design leader at Earnest, Intercom, Kin, and DoneDone.
Jason is currently a mentor at Made in the Future, a program for emerging under-represented designers. There he helps mentees build their careers and get to the next level. He studied Design & Visual Communications at Northern Illinois University and studied Graphic Design abroad at Akademia Sztuk Pięknych in Poland.
Jason shares time between Oakland and Chicago with his wife and two cats – Whiskey and Ringo.
See his articles on Medium: A Framework for Deciding Your Next Job and 5 Myths About Design Management

Chris Hardy Industrial Designer
Design is Human
12/12/19 • 50 min
Chris Hardy is an American industrial designer based in Atlanta. Born in Houston in 1984, he pursued an education of design, receiving a BFA in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies and a Masters of Design from the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. After returning to the United States in 2009, he began his career as a freelance designer collaborating with furniture and lighting manufacturers as well as interior design firms.
His work has been exhibited at Salone de Mobile in Milan, Frankfurt Light + Building, Neocon in Chicago, Wanted Design during New York Design Week and Montreal’s SIDIM. He has been featured in design publications including: Metropolis, Dwell, Wallpaper, Surface, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Frame, Hospitality Design, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
http://www.chrishardydesign.com/
Photo credit Kevin Adams

Carla Swickerath of Studio Libeskind
Design is Human
09/21/20 • 40 min
Elayne DeLeo spoke to Carla Swickerath, Partner at Studio Libeskind about the rewards of working closely with government, 9/11 families and businesses on Libeskind's World Trade Center Master Plan, how COVID-19 has laid bare the inequities of our communities and the importance of having designers contribute to big solutions, and some advice for architecture grads coming into an uncertain future. www.libeskind.com

07/20/20 • 43 min
Dr. Pierce Gordon—An innovation catalyst, researcher, facilitator, and evaluator. He specializes in interdisciplinary research that unpacks how communities value, support, and practice innovation in social justice and international development. His research and consultation work has worked to track and support the field's spread, complexity, and emergence. Whether conducting ethnographic analyses and facilitation projects in the Botswana innovation ecosystem, or by co-founding Reflex Design Collective, an equity design consultancy that's worked for creative social justice in the Bay Area, his core aim is to critically catalyze good social change.
Elayne DeLeo spoke to Dr. Gordon about the differences between innovation and design, the history and hidden perceptions behind wearing masks, how design is a political act, how oppressed and underserved communities have been creating their own design solutions for thousands of years, and why he believes the alien in the 2018 film "Annihilation" is a metaphor for design. www.piercegordon1.com

Jonas Pettersson of Form Us With Love
Design is Human
06/10/20 • 43 min
Jonas Pettersson—CEO of the award winning design firm Form Us With Love, spoke with Elayne DeLeo about the collaborative process between their design team and the brands they work with, why sustainability and designing for a better world is key to their success, and how the name Form Us With Love started as a joke, but has become their raison d'etre. www.formuswithlove.se

Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate
Design is Human
03/24/20 • 41 min
Atlanta commercial real estate broker and cultural developer Gene Kansas joins MA!'s Elayne DeLeo for a conversation on how his childhood in the gumbo of New Orleans inspired his love of storytelling, his work to save the historic Atlanta Daily World Building in Sweet Auburn, and the responsibility of developers and humankind to create "affordable everything".
In his 20+ years in Atlanta commercial real estate — and inspired by a colorful, deep-fried, parade-filled, culturally rich upbringing in New Orleans, LA — Gene Kansas has garnered a reputation as a champion of historic preservation, adaptive reuse, community building, and storytelling through the built environment. Each Gene Kansas project aims to blend an appreciation of culture and history with creative, responsible, and vital refashioning that brings new relevance to space and how it is used by clients, neighborhoods, and the city.

Catherine Clark, Architect and President of the RIBA-USA
Design is Human
12/03/20 • 40 min
Elayne DeLeo spoke with Catherine Clark, architect and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)-USA and former Chair of the New York Chapter of the RIBA-USA. They discuss how architects must take the lead in addressing climate change (and pandemics) through the built environment, her mission and plans for expanding RIBAs role and membership in the US, how identity influences how young architects view joining industry organizations like RIBA and AIA, and why now is the best time for architects to experiment and create buildings that inspire and uplift the spirit.
Catherine has lived and worked as an architect in NY for over 15 years and is the Director of BArC Studio. Her work has been featured in RIBA Journal, Building Design as well as the books Design Brooklyn - an overview of the best architectural and design projects across the borough and The Culture of Practice, which is a snapshot of architectural practice culture from around the world. BArC Studio's design for a Brooklyn restaurant was distilled into an icon for the critic’s review in the New Yorker Magazine. Her experience ranges from master-planning in Hampshire, UK to leading the design of New York’s first ‘Green School’. Catherine studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL and is an examiner for the RIBA Part 3 exams.

Victoria Ayo multidisciplinary designer and researcher
Design is Human
12/21/20 • 39 min
In our last podcast of 2020, Elayne DeLeo spoke with multidisciplinary designer and researcher Victoria Ayo. They discuss why designers need to create with intention for greater equity, and her research on maternal mortality in the United States and how it disproportionately affects black women across all socioeconomic levels. This research led her to create the pregnancy care app Kindred that provides doula-informed care and support for a fully supportive pregnancy experience available to all mothers.
Victoria is a multidisciplinary designer and researcher based out of New York City. She is native New Yorker with roots in Georgia and a passion for great food! She studied Digital Media at the Georgia Institute of Technology before returning to New York to work as an Experience Design Consultant designing for Bulge Bracket Investment banks, Supermarkets, Agencies and more.
She recently completed her MFA in Products of Design at the School of Visual Arts where she explored the ways design could be used to create more equitable maternal healthcare for black women.
She is currently designing listening experiences at Spotify.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Design is Human have?
Design is Human currently has 14 episodes available.
What topics does Design is Human cover?
The podcast is about Design, Podcasts and Arts.
What is the most popular episode on Design is Human?
The episode title 'Chris Hardy Industrial Designer' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Design is Human?
The average episode length on Design is Human is 39 minutes.
How often are episodes of Design is Human released?
Episodes of Design is Human are typically released every 73 days.
When was the first episode of Design is Human?
The first episode of Design is Human was released on Dec 12, 2019.
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