Scratching the Surface

Marco Steinberg is a strategic designer who works on the complex challenges that face governments, society, and the environment. Currently working independently, he previously founded and led the Helsinki Design Lab and was an Associate Professor at the Harvard Design School from 1999-2009. In this episode, Jarrett and Marco talk about the evolution of his career and move from architecture to strategic design, what strategic design means and how he thinks about his work, and why governments are in need of a redesign. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Eddie Opara is a Pentagram partner whose work spans design, technology, and strategy. He previously ran his own studio, The Map office, and worked as a designer at 2x4 and Imaginary Forces. In this episode, Jarrett and Eddie talk about questioning the brief, why his work is considered enigmatic, and thinking about your legacy. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Vishaan Chakrabarti is an architect, urban planner, author, and academic. He's the founder of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, the author of A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for Urban America, and was just announced as the next dean of UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. In this episode, Jarrett and Vishaan talk about his circuitous path to architecture, the intersection of practice and teaching, and how he plans to approach his new deanship. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Jenny Odell is a multidisciplinary artist and writer based in Oakland, California. She's the author of How To Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, teaches digital/physical design at Stanford and has been the artist in residence at the Recology SF (aka 'the dump'), San Francisco Planning Department, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. In this episode, Jarrett and Jenny talk about her background in literature and design, the intersection of text and image, and the value of seeing what is front of you. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Danah Abdulla is a designer, educator, and researcher. She's a Senior Lecturer in Communication Design at Brunel University London; founder of *Kalimat*, non-profit magazine about Arab thought and culture; and a founding member of the Decolonising Design platform. In this episode, Danah and Jarrett talk about localizing design education, studying social design, and what it means to decolonize design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Rick Poynor is perhaps the foremost writer, critic, and editor on graphic design and visual culture. He is Professor of Design and Visual Culture at the University of Reading. In addition to founding and serving as the first editor in chief of Eye, Rick also cofounded Design Observer, continues as a columnist for Eye, and has written for Print and Blueprint. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and Rick talk about the early days of Eye and his early interest in visual culture, the evolution of design discourse over his career, and the new publications that excite him today. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Mark Foster Gage is an architect, author, and educator. He's an Assistant Dean at the Yale School of Architecture, principal of Mark Foster Gage Architects, and the editor of the new book, Aesthetics Equals Politics. In this conversation, Jarrett and Mark talk about the history of aesthetics and how it shapes our experience in the world, the problems with critiques, and how narrative can obscure how a building functions. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Ali Qadeer and Chris Lee are designers and educators. Together, they edited a recent issue of C Magazine with the theme graphic design. In this episode, Jarrett talks with Ali and Chris about the issue and their ideas around the editorial point-of-view, their teaching practice, and why they like finding new definitions for graphic design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Jerome Harris is a designer, educator, and curator. He’s currently the design director of Housing Works and recently taught at MICA and curated the show As, Not For, a survey of African American graphic design. In this episode, Jerome and Jarrett talk about his background as a flyer designer and dancer, , how thinking about design history changed his own approach, and why we need to include as wide a range of work as possible when teaching design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Edwin Heathcote is the architecture critic for the Financial Times and the founder and editor-in-chief of Reading Design. Originally trained as an architect, Edwin has also written for GQ and is the author of multiple books on architecture and design. In this episode, Jarrett and Edwin talk about his writing process, looking at architecture through a wider cultural lens, and the value of reading criticism from history. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.