
AIGA Design Podcast
The official podcast feed of AIGA, the professional association for design. We explore various facets of the design discipline, profession, and industry to help our listeners learn about the past and present and prepare for the future. The theme of our 2024-2025 season is "Design and Performance."
Latest episodes

Feb 12, 2020 • 15min
Paul Pangaro on Design for/as Conversation
Paul Pangaro, Professor of Practice at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute talks with Lee-Sean Huang of AIGA about design for conversation and design as conversation. How might designing better conversations lead to richer, more ethical interactions between humans and artificial intelligence?
https://hcii.cmu.edu/people/paul-pangaro
https://www.pangaro.com/
Episode transcript: https://www.aiga.org/aiga/content/inspiration/design-future-now/episode-6/
Join us for the 20th AIGA Design Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 30 to April 1, 2020. For more information and to register for the conference, visit https://designconference.aiga.org/
AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest and most influential community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all.
Follow @AIGAdesign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Jan 31, 2020 • 21min
Deborah Littlejohn and Randa Hadi, Data, Damn Lies, and Disruption
We hear from an educator and a student who are researching, teaching, and practicing design in an age of data and disruption. Professor Deb Littlejohn demystifies the buzzword "Big Data" and explains why she has her students tell lies with data. MFA student, Randa Hadi opens up about her hopes and fears for the design profession and how she's facing the future head on.
Deborah Littlejohn is a design researcher and educator, developing coursework in graphic design history, design research methods, and graduate studios. By examining the tools and technologies through which people experience design, Dr. Littlejohn’s work is guided by questions addressing the relationship between visual communications, new information environments, data literacy, and the ability of people understand, learn, and take action. https://design.ncsu.edu/staff/deborah-littlejohn/
Randa Hadi is a designer, researcher, and architect by training. She is a visual thinker with an interest in bridging the gap between architecture and graphic design by creating spatial experiences in both the physical and digital world. https://randahadi.com/

Jan 23, 2020 • 13min
Kim Erwin, healthcare delivery designer and researcher
Are you a designer curious about working in healthcare? Or you already work in healthcare and are curious about the value of design to improve patient and provider experiences? Kim Erwin shares her wisdom and insights about the role of design and designers in the healthcare multi-system.
Transcript: https://www.aiga.org/aiga/content/inspiration/design-future-now/episode-4/
Kim Erwin, MDes, is Associate Director of the Program for Healthcare Delivery Design at the University of Illinois Chicago, and research professor at the UIC School of Design. As Associate Director, Kim works with the UI Health System, other research-oriented health systems, and design strategists to apply design methods to healthcare delivery. Together, they work to align evidence-based interventions with human behavior in order to accelerate adoption by patients and clinical staff. Kim's work leverages systems planning, human-centered research, broad stakeholder engagement and immersive communication to engage organizations in achievable next steps. Prior to joining UIC, Kim was an Associate Professor at IIT’s Institute of Design and Director of its Center for Collaborative Healthcare Design.
Kim's focus on merging the design and health sciences builds on 20 years of professional expertise in contextual field research methods, qualitative analytics, communication design to make complex information easier to understand and use. Kim has also been an educator for over ten years, focused on the formalization of communication methods to build, engage and lead teams through discovery processes. Today she teaches design methods to healthcare professionals through executive education, helping them apply design methods to delivery and quality challenges, such as patient discharge effectiveness and provider-to-provider communication to improve care transitions.
AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest and most influential community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all. Learn more at aiga.org/about.
Join us for the 20th AIGA Design Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 30 to April 1, 2020. For more information and registration, visit designconference.aiga.org.
Follow @AIGAdesign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Jan 15, 2020 • 41min
Miya Osaki and Tina Park, Healthcare Experience Designers, Educators, and Podcasters
"So, how is that design?!" Miya Osaki and Tina Park, founders of Diagram Design, educators at the School of Visual Arts, and podcasters at Yah No Podcast talk with Lee-Sean Huang about the urgent need for design in healthcare and their unconventional paths to getting to where they are now.
Transcript: https://www.aiga.org/aiga/content/inspiration/design-future-now/episode-3/
Miya brings her skills in interaction design, human-centered research, storytelling, and behavior design to create experiences that improve outcomes and empower patients. Prior to founding Diagram, Miya served as Director of Experience Design at Johnson & Johnson's Global Strategic Design Office where she created innovative solutions for patients managing chronic conditions. She has received patients and awards for device designs and interfaces for people living with diabetes. She is the pioneer recipient of a Design Matters Fellowship with the UNICEF Innovation team. Miya was recently appointed as Chair to MFA Design for Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts.
Miya earned an MFA from Art Center College of Design, Media Design Program and a BA in Printmaking and Art History, UC Santa Cruz. She has received 2 patents and awards for her blood glucose meter UI designs.
Tina has had significant experience in leading innovative research within healthcare organizations. At Johnson & Johnson's Global Strategic Design Office she pioneered a design research team implementing innovative research methods that uncover the voice of the patient. She has also held research posts at Stanford University Hospital working on Project HealthDesign – a grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation on Diabetes management. She has served as an adjunct instructor in The School of Visual Arts’ master’s program, Design for Social Innovation.
Tina holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and an MFA from Art Center College of Design. Her work has been published in several textbooks and international journals.
AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest and most influential community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all. Learn more at aiga.org/about.
Join us for the 20th AIGA Design Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 30 to April 1, 2020. For more information and registration, visit designconference.aiga.org.
Follow @AIGAdesign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Dec 23, 2019 • 40min
Jack Roberts, Cherokee author, designer, educator, and filmmaker
Jack Roberts talks to AIGA's Lee-Sean Huang about design, storytelling, leadership, and more.
Episode transcript: https://www.aiga.org/aiga/content/inspiration/design-future-now/episode-2/
Jack Roberts is the founder and chief executive of storylab® the global narrativedesign® firm dedicated to transforming the human story. Through storylab® Jack consults Global Top 100s and Fortune 50 companies on narrative design®, storytelling, data synthesis, innovation, change design, communication design, media design, strategic design, business design, creative leadership and leading creatives. He is the inventor of the narrativedesign® framework which is a unique blend of design thinking and storytelling. storylab® uses the framework to transform cultures and build innovative stories in every sector. Additionally, they are using it in the development of original content in global markets from the upcoming traditional TV series, Dadless, to a slate of feature films, as well as new forms of narrative altogether.
As a storyteller, Jack is the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including Echo Designs Her Way Out of a Paper Bag: How to Change Anything Using Design Thinking (+ Storytelling!). He is a published poet, and the award-winning author of more than 10 screenplays. He is also an award-winning actor, producer, and production designer in feature film and television with 23 international awards to date. As a designer, Jack creates and facilitates experiencs, education, media, product development, brand identity, narratives, scenario work and change for global firms, national restaurants, entrepreneurs, subject matter experts, and educational institutions.
Jack is a first-gen graduate, a tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation, a member of SAG/AFTRA/WGA/PGA/DGA, sits on two non-profit boards, and holds a Global Executive Masters in Strategic Design and Management from Parsons School of Design in Paris. He teaches design, management, and storytelling during the summer at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest and most influential community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all.
Join us for the 20th AIGA Design Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 30 to April 1, 2020. For more information and registration, visit designconference.aiga.org.
Follow @AIGAdesign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Dec 17, 2019 • 16min
Sarah Gibbons and Jodi Forlizzi, AIGA Design Conference 2020 Speakers
Sarah Gibbons, Chief Designer, Nielsen Norman Group, and Jodi Forlizzi, Professor and Geschke Director, HCII, Carnegie Mellon University, talk to Lee-Sean Huang about their work and how they have applied and expanded their expertise in communication design to the wider context of services and systems.
Both Sarah and Jodi are scheduled to speak at the 20th AIGA Design Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 30 to April 1, 2020. For more information and to register for the conference, visit designconference.aiga.org.
Transcript: www.aiga.org/aiga/content/inspiration/design-future-now/episode-1/
About AIGA
AIGA, the professional association for design, advances design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force. As the largest and most influential community of design advocates, AIGA brings together practitioners, enthusiasts, and patrons to amplify the voice of design and creates the vision for a collective future. AIGA defines global standards and ethical practices, guides design education, inspires designers and the public, enhances professional development, and makes powerful tools and resources accessible to all. Learn more at aiga.org/about.
Follow @AIGAdesign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Dec 16, 2019 • 3min
AIGA Design Future Now Extended Trailer
Season 1 Trailer Transcript
Tina Park: When we explain something like this, people say, "so how is that design?"
Lee-Sean Huang: Maybe that should be the name of the podcast, "So How Is That Design?
Jack Roberts: It's really an identity crisis. We had this shared struggle, this shared identity of designers against the world, and struggling for their say at the table and really working very hard for it. But it's not that different than so many other social movements.
Jodi Forlizzi: We are no longer designing one thing, but we're designing systems of interconnected services, people, and resources. That means that designers really need to shift the way that they think and the way that they design.
Sarah Gibbons: We can create culture, and businesses can start to embed design at a strategy level. We haven't even started to see the effects of what that can mean for the products we create and the businesses that become.
Lee-Sean Huang: How is design changing as a discipline and profession and how do we face these challenges and opportunities as a community? We explore these questions and more on Design Future Now from AIGA, the professional association for design.
Jack Roberts: I am a little bit cowboy and a little bit Indian. I'm both Cherokee Native American and also grew up in the Wild West of Oklahoma, a place not many people venture out of, to places like New York or Los Angeles or Paris, where I spend most of my time.
Growing up in the Cherokee nation, the way that I did, moving around as much as I did and reinventing myself constantly, I started to notice these patterns. And really to me, design is ultimately about finding the insights of patterning and clustering and pulling those out and weaving them together into something that's meaningful. It's really about meaning-making, and storytelling is essentially the same thing. It's the vehicle that allows us to make meaning.
I have a queue of over a hundred websites I've designed that I'll never do anything with simply because it's my stress relief. And I think that the stories that I tell ultimately have a real design through-line.
Miya Osaki: With tech and healthcare right now, it is at a breakneck speed. And we're not sure if the right things are getting designed. And we may not know that, but now's the opportunity for designers to get involved, to try to influence that.
To get to the areas that we want to impact in healthcare, we really have to think about what are patients doing. What are doctors doing? How do we want them to do things differently in the future?
We want to improve the experience for cancer patients, or we want to change a conversation between a patient and a doctor. And that's really different than saying we're going to redesign the signage in an emergency room. We think it's a shift to defined our space before implementation because you really have to focus on the needs of users, and that's what design does best. But in healthcare, if you don't do that very early in the process, you kind of lose your window of opportunity.
Email: podcast@aiga.org // Leave us a voicemail: https://anchor.fm/designfuturenow
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Dec 15, 2019 • 59sec
AIGA Design Future Now Teaser
When we explain something like this, people say, "so how is that design?"
Maybe that should be the name of the podcast, "So How Is That Design?
It's really an identity crisis. We had this shared struggle, this shared identity of designers against the world, and struggling for their say at the table and really working very hard for it. But it's not that different than so many other social movements.
We are no longer designing one thing, but we're designing systems of interconnected services, people, and resources. That means that designers really need to shift the way that they think and the way that they design.
We can create culture, and businesses can start to embed design at a strategy level. We haven't even started to see the effects of what that can mean for the products we create and the businesses that become.
How is design changing as a discipline and profession and how do we face these challenges and opportunities as a community? We explore these questions and more on Design Future Now from AIGA, the professional association for design.
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