Scratching the Surface

Jessica Helfand is a designer, writer, podcaster, and publisher. She cofounded Design Observer in 2002 with Rick Poynor, Michael Bierut, and William Drenttel and most recently wrote the book, Design: The Invention of Desire. In this episode, the first part of a two-part conversation, Jessica and I talk about the origins of Design Observer, how she started writing, writing about design in relationship to culture, and how emerging mediums like video and podcasts can provide a new platform for design criticism. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

David Reinfurt is a design polymath operating at the intersection of design, publishing, curation, and exhibitions. His studio, O-R-G, is now a small software company "that programs, publishes, and sells apps, websites, screensavers, and other small chunks of code". With Stuart Bailey, he's the co-founder of Dexter Sinister and with Bailey and Angie Keefer, he publishes The Serving Library. In July, I interviewed David about his work across mediums and how they intersect, the fluid boundaries of graphic design and the type of writing around design he enjoys the most. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Sara M. Watson is a technology critic and currently the writer in residence at Digital Asia Hub, a Research Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, and an affiliate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Last month, she published Toward a Constructive Technology Criticism, a meta-critique of technology criticism that's very similar to what I'm thinking about with design criticism. In this episode, I talk to Sara about her piece and her thoughts on criticism, the similarities between writing about technology and design, and the role of criticism under a Trump presidency. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Michael Bierut needs no introduction. As a partner at Pentagram since 1990, he's worked on projects ranging from logos and environmental signage systems, books and packaging for clients including Verizon, The New York Times, MIT Media Lab, and Hillary Clinton. Michael is also a prolific writer, having co-founded Design Observer in 2003 and co-editing the Looking Closer series and in this episode, I talk with Michael about that writing. We talk about the origins of Design Observer, how he started writing, and how the public's growing awareness of graphic design has changed the discourse. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

On this week's episode, I talk with the designer and writer Michael Rock. Michael is the co-founder and creative director at 2x4, teaches at Yale and Columbia, and writes for The New York Times T Magazine. This summer, I visited Michael at 2x4's New York headquarters to talk about his own history, how he thinks about his roles as a designer and writer, the importance of theory in design practice, and writing about design for a general audience. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

On this week's episode of Scratching the Surface, I'm joined by the design writer Steven Heller. Heller is the author or co-author of over one hundred books on design and visual culture, co-chair of the School of Visual Arts MFA Designer as Author program, and helped start SVA's Design Criticism and Interaction Design programs. Steven and I talk about his career, design writing, and why most publications don't need graphic design critics. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

In this week's episode of Scratching the Surface, Jarrett talks with architecture critic Alexandra Lange. Alexandra is currently writing for Curbed and has previously written for publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Dwell. In this conversation, we meet in a Brooklyn coffee shop to talk about how one becomes a critic, the role of criticism within the architecture profession, writing for an audience, and Alexandra's own writing process. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

In the first episode of Scratching the Surface, Jarrett talks with designer and writer Rob Giampietro. Rob is currently the Design Lead for Material Design at Google New York. In this conversation, we talk about how Rob approaches writing and designing, design as a critical activity, and the design writing he'd like to see more of. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Welcome to Scratching the Surface, the brand new design podcast interested in the intersection of criticism and practice hosted by Jarrett Fuller. Released weekly, each episode will feature conversations with designers, writers, critics, educators and people who do a combination of these. We’ll talk about the role of design criticism, the state of design writing, and try to figure out new ways to talk about graphic design. For more information and links from this episode, visit scratchingthesurface.fm or follow us on Twitter @surfacepodcast.