Paula Scher, Pentagram

06/22/21 • 58 min

Paula Scher's career is as wide ranging as it is inspirational. The former art student, who pivoted to graphic design, is also a children’s book author; she’s designed album covers for artists like John Prine; she launched her own magazine, Together, with Terry Koppel; and she became the first female partner at New York-based multidisciplinary firm Pentagram. Among her many clients, her indelible work has transformed the Public Theater in New York, where she learned many lessons over the course of the almost 30 year relationship. Though she has sometimes felt like a misfit, she sees that as another way of rebelling against the belief of what she’s supposed to be. From the beginning, she says, “I have tried to defy expectations.”

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Previous Episode

Joe Gebbia, Airbnb

For this episode, we toe the line of hospitality a bit with a chat with entrepreneur and cofounder of Airbnb Joe Gebbia. There’s no question that what he’s built with partner Brian Chesky has been among the most major paradigm shifts in the travel industry since its inception. Hatching the lucrative idea out of personal necessity in 2007, when he was just in his mid 20s, the start-up has only accelerated and expanded into much more than an online booking service in the years since, and today the brand is, quite literally, a household name. Our conversation with this brilliant mind spans the first idea he ever tried to sell (Hint: it’s a cushion), how he recruited his cofounders at the onset of the Great Recession, his love for air beds, and how Airbnb is evolving to better serve the future.

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.

Next Episode

Deborah Berke. Deborah Burke & Partners

Queens, New York-born and raised architect Deborah Berke fascination with design started as a teenager while imagining the inside of houses in her neighborhood. She later attended RISD, went back to school to learn about urban planning, and finally got involved with 21c Hotels having never designed a hotel at that point. Today, she manages Deborah Burke & Partners alongside ten other partners, covering everything from universities to high-end residential and hospitality. “One’s life should be the pursuit of the balance between generosity and fulfillment,” says the dean of architecture at Yale. “You’re never going to find the answer, but if you keep looking for it, both you and others will benefit.”

Thank you for listening! For more of our great interviews, find us at hospitalitydesign.com.