AIGA Design Podcast

About Maurice Cherry Maurice is a designer, strategist and podcaster located in Atlanta, GA. He is principal and creative director at Lunch, an award-winning multidisciplinary studio he created in 2008 that helps creative brands craft messages and tell stories for their targeted audiences, including fostering relationships with underrepresented communities. Maurice is also a pioneering digital creator who is most well-known for Revision Path, an award-winning podcast which is the first podcast to be added to the permanent collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Maurice’s projects and overall design work and advocacy have been recognized by Apple, Adobe, Blavity, NPR, Lifehacker, Design Observer, Entrepreneur, PRINT Magazine, AIGA, the Columbia Journalism Review, Forbes, Fast Company, and many other print and digital outlets. Additionally, Maurice is an educator, and has built curricula and taught courses on web design, web development, email marketing, WordPress, and podcasting for thousands of students over the past ten years. Maurice is a Maryland Institute College of Art 2021 William O. Steinmetz designer in residence, the 2018 recipient of the Steven Heller Prize for Cultural Commentary from AIGA. Maurice holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Morehouse College and a Masters degree in telecommunications management from Keller Graduate School of Management. About AIGA Design Adjacent AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us. About Bennie F. Johnson Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

About Pek Ponpaet Pek is the founder of Impekable, a digital product studio that helps enterprise and B2B SaaS companies create better products through user experience design. Impekable has designed and created products for X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory, Adobe, Twilio, Pentair, two startups acquired by Palo Alto Networks. Impekable has been recognized as one of America’s fastest growing businesses on the Inc. 5000 list 3 times in a row. Prior to Impekable, Pek designed and developed next generation user interfaces at Accenture Technology Labs’ HCI group, and created interactive experiences for clients including Tesla and USAF at digital agency Roundarch Isobar. Pek loves helping startups and is a product mentor at accelerators and incubators including TechStars, 1871, and Bosch’s Chicago Connectory. He also has a design podcast called What is UX where he interviews design leaders from companies such as Tesla, Netflix and Youtube on the topic of user experience design. He helps enterprises and startups achieve their goals through product strategy, world class user experience design, software engineering and app development. He is also a mentor, helping others by sharing his story and offering advice to those in startups and product development. Pek's podcast: What is UX? https://whatisux.co/  About AIGA Design Adjacent AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us. About Bennie F. Johnson Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

“Mentorship” is one one of those warm fuzzy words. We know we want it. We know it’s a good thing. But what exactly does mentorship mean, and how do we make it work for our own unique needs? How can we be more effective mentors and mentees?  We explore these questions in this special edition of the AIGA Design Podcast, where we revisit the voices of experts who have spoken to our community over the last few years. We also do a deep dive into AIGA NY’s Mentorship Program to understand what it takes to structure and sustain meaningful professional relationships. https://aiganymentorship.org/   This episode was produced and hosted by Lee-Sean Huang, director of design content and learning. Additional production assistance by Tanvi Bihani. Special thanks to Stacey Panousopoulos. View the full transcript of the episode here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/artllnubjirixo0/AIGA-Podcast-MoreMentorship.txt?dl=0   Here are all of the guest voices you will hear on the show (in order of first appearance): Julia Lamm, PwC Meaghan Dee, AIGA DEC / Virginia Tech Gaby Hernandez, AIGA DEC and DEI / University of Arkansas Art Taylor, BBB Wise Giving Alliance Jane Kim, AIGA NY / Salesforce Caspar Lam, AIGA NY / Synoptic Office Janine Toro, AIGA NY / Instrument Michael Bierut, AIGA Medalist / Pentagram Kaleena Sales, AIGA DEC / Tennessee State University, Neeta Verma, University of Notre Dame Pek Pongpaet, Impekable Robert Smith, Think Smith Andy Budd, design founder and advisor David Asari, AIGA SF / California College of the Arts Ram Castillo, designer, author, advisor

Cheryl Heller is a leader, designer, scholar, business strategist and an author. Her experience spans corporate, philanthropic, nonprofit, and academic worlds, and in each role and organization, she has created and grown groundbreaking programs. She founded two companies and created successful new programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Arizona State University. She has taught creativity to leaders around the world, helped grow clients’ businesses from small regional enterprises to multi-billion global market leaders, launched category-redefining divisions and products, reinvigorated cultures, and designed strategies for hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. About Cheryl Heller Cheryl Heller is a leader, designer, scholar, business strategist and an author. Her experience spans corporate, philanthropic, nonprofit, and academic worlds, and in each role and organization, she has created and grown groundbreaking programs. She founded two companies and created successful new programs at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Arizona State University.  She has taught creativity to leaders around the world, including the USA, UK, Kenya, Mexico, Ghana, Sierra  Leone, India, China and South Korea. She has helped grow clients’ businesses from small regional enterprises to multi-billion global market leaders, launched category-redefining divisions and products, reinvigorated cultures, and designed strategies for hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. Cheryl’s most recent position was ASU’s Director of Design Integration and Professor of Practice in Innovation U, she launched the first transdisciplinary STEM MS program in innovation and venture development, relaunched and scaled a transdisciplinary undergrad program, and developed curriculum for an engineering design program. Prior to joining ASU, Cheryl launched and chaired the first STEM master’s program in Design for Social Innovation at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She has also led a multi-year project using design to support youth as they age out of foster care and she recently completed her doctoral research on the  performative role that language plays in our ability to design for social equity. And, in 2014, Cheryl was awarded the AIGA Medal for her contribution to the field of design: “Recognized for deftly embodying the many dimensions of communication design and for inspiring and guiding people and organizations to use design for social innovation as a strategic tool to improve the human experience.” About AIGA Design Adjacent AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us. About Bennie F. Johnson Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

About Gail Anderson Gail Anderson is an NYC-based designer, educator, and writer. She is Chair of BFA Design and BFA Advertising at the School of Visual Arts and the creative director at Visual Arts Press. She has served as senior art director at Rolling Stone, creative director of design at SpotCo, and as a designer at The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine and Vintage Books. She has taught at SVA for 30 years and has co-authored 15 books on design, typography, and illustration with Steven Heller. Anderson serves on the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee for the US Postal Service and the advisory boards of Poster House and The One Club for Creativity. She is an AIGA Medalist and the 2018 recipient of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award for Design. Her work is represented in the Library of Congress’s permanent collections, the Milton Glaser Design Archives, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. About AIGA Design Adjacent AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us. About Bennie F. Johnson Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.

AIGA Executive Director Bennie F. Johnson talks with today's leaders in design, business, and technology, focused around the topics of leadership growth, the future of work, and creating a culture of design. Join us in welcoming Theresa Fitzgerald, Vice President of Creative at Sesame Workshop. Theresa Fitzgerald is vice president creative at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. She leads the in-house Brand Creative Services team dedicated to the mission of helping kids grow stronger, smarter and kinder. Fitzgerald has spent more than 25 years developing creative to entertain, educate and engage young minds. Prior to Sesame, she oversaw design and branding vision at Nickelodeon, Snoopy & Peanuts, Scholastic and National Geographic. She is an adjunct professor at New York University/Steinhart teaching design; an educational team member at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum supporting Design in the Classroom, and has been a guest speaker at New York University, School of Visual Arts, AIGA New York City, Parsons The New School, Cooper Hewitt Family Day, Rochester Institute of Technology and Brand New Conference. Fitzgerald is committed to problem solving, mind-evolving and boiling it down to the essence of the big idea with humor and delight. Watch the captioned video version of this Fireside Chat here: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/theresa-fitzgerald-fireside-chat-with-theresa-fitzgerald

AIGA Executive Director Bennie F. Johnson talks with today's leaders in design, business, and technology, focused around the topics of leadership growth, the future of work, and creating a culture of design. Join us in welcoming Randy J. Hunt, Head of Design at Grab, where he leads a team of designers, writers, engineers, and researchers who create Southeast Asia’s Super App. He has served as Head of Design at Artsy and VP of Design at Etsy. In 2014, Etsy was honored with the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Corporate & Institutional Achievement. Randy is the author of Product Design for the Web, which explores the evolving discipline of product design for today’s connected world. He is an active writer, lecturer, critic, and visiting designer at many colleges and universities.  https://www.randyjhunt.com/  Watch the captioned video version of this interview here: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/randy-hunt-fireside-chat-with-randy-hunt

AIGA Executive Director Bennie F. Johnson talks with today's leaders in design, business, and technology, focused around the topics of leadership growth, the future of work, and creating a culture of design. Join us in welcoming Alex Center, Owner of CENTER, a branding and design studio in Brooklyn, NY. Prior to opening his own studio, Alex worked for over a decade for The Coca-Cola Company where he led the strategy and design vision for the billion dollar beverage brands vitaminwater, smartwater and POWERADE. Over the years, Alex has designed packaging that has been in hands across the globe, created breakthrough marketing campaigns and launched innovative new products. https://center.design/ Watch the captioned video version of this interview here: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/alex-center-fireside-chat-with-alex-center 

In this previously live-streamed episode of Design Future Now , host Lee-Sean Huang has a conversation with Robert Smith about mentorship, coaching, running an agency, and more. Robert Smith is a creative director, agency owner, author, creative coach, professor and founding member of RGD (Association of Registered Graphic Designers). After 30 years in the creative industry, Rob is as inspired, driven and energized as he was the day he started his career. Through Think-Smith, Rob’s helps other designers and design teams feel the same way with workshops, coaching and strategies. Pre-order Robert’s new book Stop Looking For Zebras on the Think-Smith site here: https://www.think-smith.com/stoplookingforzebras Watch the captioned video version of the interview here: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/robert-smith-design-future-live-with-robert-smith 

On this episode of AIGA Design Adjacent… Terry Irwin is a professor in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University and the Director of its Transition Design Institute. From 2009 until 2019, she was the Head of the School of Design, where she led the faculty in a redesign of curricula at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels to place design for society and the environment at the heart of all programs. In this episode of the AIGA Design Adjacent, Bennie Johnson talks with Terry about wicked problems, shifting our mindsets, waking up the knowledge we already have, and tango. About Terry Irwin Terry Irwin is a Professor in the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University and the Director of its Transition Design Institute. From 2009 until 2019 she was the Head of the School of Design, where she led the faculty in a redesign of curricula at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels to place design for society and the environment at the heart of all programs. In 2003 Terry briefly left the field of design and moved to Devon, England to undertake a master’s Degree in Holistic Science at Schumacher College/Plymouth University, with the goal of learning to design in a more sustainable and socially responsible way. After completing her master’s degree, Terry joined the faculty at Schumacher College and taught design to students from diverse backgrounds such as biology, ecology, physics, sociology and activism. In 2007 she moved to Scotland to undertake doctoral studies at the Centre for the Study of Natural Design at the University of Dundee. Since completing those studies, Terry’s efforts have been directed toward seeding and  catalyzing positive, systems-level change within design education and practice. Her recent  work has focused on making the tools and approaches used by designers available to  transdisciplinary teams working to address complex, systems problems. In 2015, along with co-creators Gideon Kossoff and Cameron Tonkinwise, Terry launched Transition  Design, a new area of design focus aimed at addressing wicked problems and catalyzing societal transitions toward more sustainable, equitable and desirable long-term futures. About AIGA Design Adjacent AIGA Design Adjacent is a monthly podcast series with AIGA’s Executive Director, Bennie F. Johnson, in conversation with industry leaders who are innovating and designing the future. These conversations expand beyond the design community, encompassing industries and areas that intersect with design and shift the ways in which we think about and interact with each other and the world around us. About Bennie F. Johnson Bennie F. Johnson is the Executive Director of AIGA, the professional association for design. Bennie thrives on the connections between marketing, technology, education, and innovation. With experience in strategic and consumer marketing, brand management, and innovation management, he is drawn to opportunities that allow him to lead and create new modes for business engagement. He has broad experience growing brands, businesses, and organizations with a special focus on venture launch and brand relaunch business environments.