Scratching the Surface

Anne Burdick is a graphic designer, writer, researcher, and educator. She's the chair of the Art Center College of Design's Media Design Program and has written for publications like Emigre and Eye. In this episode, Anne and I talk about her own background and journey through design — which we discovered had many parallels to my own design career. We also talk about new modes of practice, the relationships between writing and designing, and asking the big questions of design's role in society and culture. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Manuel Lima is a designer, author, and speaker specializing in information visualization as well as a design lead at Google New York. He's taught data visualization at Parsons School of Design and is the author of the books, The Books of Trees, The Book of Circles, and Visual Complexity. In this episode, Manuel and I talk about his journey into design and interest in interaction design and information graphics as well as his career as both an author and practicing designer, writing outside academic discourses, and how to bring in other areas of study in design scholarship. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Sarah Rich is a writer, editor, and brand consultant based in Oakland, California. She's written about design and food for publications like Dwell, The Atlantic, Wired, and Fast Company. With Wendy MacNaughton, Debbie Millman, and Maria Popova, she recently edited Leave Me Alone with the Recipes, book about the art, life and cooking of graphic designer Cipe Pineles. I first came to Sarah's work when she was editor of Reform, a Medium publication that looked at design in the widest sense. In this episode, Sarah and I talk about how she started writing about design, the beginning and ending of Reform and the challenges in supporting design writing, and thinking about design less as objects and more as lenses through which to see the world. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Adrian Shaughnessy is a designer, writer, and publisher. Along with Tony Brook, he co-founded Unit Editions, an independent publishing company that specializes in design books and monographs for people like Paula Scher and Herb Lubalin. He's written for publications like Eye and Design Observer and his collected essays were published as a book, also called Scratching the Surface, in 2013. In this episode, Adrian and I talk about his transition from designing to writing, how the design discourse has changed over the course of his career, and the value of a strong design criticism. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Elliott Earls is a graphic designer, performance artist, and the artist-in-residence in Cranbrook's 2D Design program. He also produces the YoutTube series Studio Practice, a "no bullshit resource for those things that animate the artist and designer's studio." In this episode, Elliott and I talk about experimental graphic design, Cranbrook's interesting critique format, and how he thinks about his own work, as well as working outside the preconceived styles and movements, how to connect theory and practice without letting the theory get in the way of the making, and how teaching at Cranbrook relates to his own art and design practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Michael Bierut, a seasoned graphic designer and critic known for his work at Pentagram, interviews the host to celebrate their one-year milestone. They delve into the host's journey into design writing, highlighting the impact of graduate school and video essays on his career. The conversation explores the evolution of graphic design definitions and critiques, emphasizing its broader cultural relevance. They also discuss the challenges of design journalism and the host's aspirations for future interviews, aiming to expand global perspectives in design discourse.

Doug Thomas is a designer, historian, writer, and teacher. He's the author of the new book, Never Use Futura, and an Assistant Professor in Brigham Young University's graphic design department. After graduating with a degree in graphic design, Doug continued his education by getting a masters degree in history at the University of Chicago where he began his research on typography history. Doug and I met while we were students in the MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art, where he was turning his historical work into a book. In this episode, Doug and I talk about the book and why Futura is an important typeface, why designers should study history, and how writing and research has changed how he thinks about design. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator and Director of R&D at MoMA, expands the boundaries of design. She shares insights from her architecture background, advocating for design as a methodology and a way to reveal deeper meanings through curatorial practice. Antonelli discusses the significance of unconventional objects in museums, like the @ sign, and how they challenge conventional design narratives. She also reflects on the evolving role of designers in society and stresses the need for critical engagement with design in everyday life.

Karrie Jacobs writes about cities, buildings, and design. She's written for publications like Metropolis, Travel and Leisure, The New York Times, ID, and Fortune. She was also the founding editor-in-chief of Dwell and the founding executive editor of Colors. In this episode, Karrie and I talk about working at her college paper with Matt Groening and Lynda Barry, how she started writing about design, working at Dwell and Colors, and how design writing has changed over the course of her career. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Elizabeth Glickfeld is a design writer and lecturer currently based in London. She's the co-founder, along with Anna Bates, of Dirty Furniture, a new kind of design magazine that looks at "when design leaves the showroom" by focusing each issue on a specific piece of furniture. She's also written for various publications including Eye, Design Issues, Domus and Frieze magazine. Previously, she was a student in The Royal College of Art's Critical Writing in Art and Design program and was a lecturer in design theory and history at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia. In this episode, Elizabeth and I talk about her background in design and writing, the goals of Dirty Furniture, and experimenting with new forms of design writing. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.