Scratching the Surface

Alicia Cheng is a founding partner of the New York design studio MGMT and the author of the book This Is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot. She previously worked as a designer for Method, was a co-design director at the Cooper Hewitt, and is currently an external critic for the MFA program at RISD. In this episode, Jarrett and Alicia talk about how the design of ballots can teach us about the United States’s uneasy relationship with voting, mixing design history with American history, and how research feeds her design practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/165-alicia-cheng.

Kyle Chayka writes about art, technology, design, and the systems that shape culture. His first book, The Longing for Less, is a cultural history of minimalism that looks at minimalist movements in art, music, and philosophy. In this episode, Jarrett and Kyle talk about how minimalism often obscures complex systems, how all culture writing is also design writing, and the role of structure in his writing process. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/164-kyle-chayka.

Annelys de Vet is a Belgium-based designer, educator and researcher. From 2009 to 2019, she was the the director of the design program at the Sandberg Instituut and is the editor of Design Dedication a new book collecting the work and thinking during her tenure. Now she’s leading a new masters program on Disarming Design that is committed to design practices in situations of oppression. In this episode, Jarrett and Annelys talk about thinking about design education as a system of community and care and structuring a curriculum that leaves room for experimentation. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/163-annelys-de-vet.

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli is an architect, urbanist, teacher and is the curator of the Russian Pavilion for the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale. He worked at OMA from 2007 to 2020, and became partner in 2014. Earlier this year, he established 2050+ his own multidisciplinary studio operating at the intersections of design, technology, politics, and the environment. In this conversation, Jarrett and Ippolito talk about the ideas behind the Russian Pavilion and the transition to an online exhibition, the value of a multidisciplinary practice, and the intersection of research and practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/162-ippolito-pestellini-laparelli.

Paul Andersen and Paul Preissner are the curators of the American Pavilion for the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale. Their project, American Framing draws attention to both the most influential and overlooked contributions to architecture: wood framing. They previously have collaborated on a variety of architecture and curatorial projects together. Additionally, Andersen is the principal of Denver-based Independent Architecture and teaches at the University of Illinois Chicago and Preissner runs Paul Preissner Architects and teaches at both University of Illinois Chicago and Columbia GSAAP. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/161-paul-andersen-paul-preissner.

Danielle Aubert is a graphic designer, educator, writer, and political organizer. She’s the author of, most recently, The Detroit Printing Co-Op: The Politics of the Joys of Printing and an Associate Professor in Graphic Design at Wayne State University. In this episode, Jarrett and Danielle talk about the Detroit Printing Co-op and expanding design history, the politics of graphic design, and when to teach the basics in a design class. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/160-danielle-aubert.

Maryam Fanni and Sara Kaaman, are two thirds of the design collective MMS, along with Matilda Flodmark, collaborating since 2012 on investigations and writings on visual culture, graphic design, and historiography from feminist perspectives. MMS recently published Natural Enemies of Books: A Messy History of Women in Printing and Typography. In this episode, Jarrett is joined by Maryam and Sara to talk about the book, the ideas behind MMS, and seeking a more expansive view of design history and practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/159-maryam-fanni-sara-kaaman.

Dr. Bon Ku is an emergency room physician, assistant dean for Health and Design and director of the Health Design Lab at Jefferson University. He’s also the co-author, with Ellen Lupton, of the new book Health Design Thinking. In this conversation, Jarrett and Bon talk about the intersection of design and healthcare, how COVID-19 exposes the faults in our healthcare system, and how medical school could be redesigned. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/158-bon-ku.

Eric Heiman is a designer, writer, and educator. He’s principal and co-founder of Volume, a San Francisco-based design studio, Associate Professor of Graphic Design at CCA, and has written for Emigre, Design Observer, Eye and other publications. In this conversation, Jarrett and Eric talk about how graphic design in San Francisco has changed, the gaps between education and practice, and the role of writing in his work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/157-eric-heiman.

Deanna Van Buren is an architect, activist, and the design director and co-founder of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, an architecture and real estate development non-profit working to end mass incarceration by building infrastructure that attacks its root causes: poverty, racism, unequal access to resources, and the criminal justice system itself. In this conversation, Deanna and Jarrett talk about design as ideology, the relationships between architecture and criminal justice, and how a building can cause real change. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/156-deanna-van-buren.