
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

Oct 25, 2021 • 39min
Fireside Chat with Robbie Tseng, Vice President, Growth Design at HBO Max
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 Robbie Tseng, Vice President, Growth Design at HBO Max.
This Fireside Chat was originally livestreamed on October 13, 2021. Watch the captioned video version here: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/robbie-tseng-fireside-chat-with-robbie-tseng
As the largest professional membership association for design, AIGA offers you deep personal connections with your community. Your membership dues are an investment in yourself, your profession, and a network of creative changemakers, problem solvers, and professionals. Join today: https://aigadsgn.org/3iEEqRa

Oct 19, 2021 • 51min
Design Adjacent: Abby Allen on the strategy of design and beauty of storytelling
Abby Allen is the Founder of Neon Butterfly and as long as Abby can remember she has been fascinated with people and why they do what they do. In that vein she was drawn to the world of communications and has worked in advertising and marketing for over 15 years at some of the largest agencies across the country on brands like Twitter, Olay and Garnier. And just recently, she launched a new reimagine tomorrow project with Disney, reimaginetomorrow.disney.com, a platform amplifying underrepresented voices. In this episode of AIGA Design Adjacent, host Bennie Johnson talks with Abby about the strategy of design, the beauty of storytelling, and what it means to be authentic.
About Abby Allen
Through her company, Neon Butterfly—the only creative agency of its kind run by a woman of color—Abby offers brands, organizations, and individuals a unique understanding of cultural trends, human behavior, and consumer insights. The latest example is Reimagine Tomorrow, a visionary creative campaign and digital platform developed for Disney that launched in early September. The initiative amplifies underrepresented voices and champions the importance of accurate representation in media, helping Disney bring their commitment to DE&I to life in a meaningful way. Abby’s unique ability to understand people and why they do what they do is born from her experience as a biracial woman in America fused with 20 years working for and leading global brands like Olay, Twitter, and Garnier, at ad agencies like Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA Chiat Day, and Publicis as well as thousands of hours of study in Tibetan Buddhism and yoga. Her mission is to revolutionize the impact of media on society and change the limiting beliefs we have about ourselves and others, helping organizations infuse their efforts with messaging and practices that promote a better world for us all. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s the smart thing to do. You can find her on IG @abbymallen and @_neonbutterfly
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.

Oct 14, 2021 • 58sec
A quick announcement and update: new content coming soon
Hi everyone! It's Lee-Sean here. I just wanted to give a quick update about what we're up to at AIGA in terms of podcasts. In short, we'll be expanding from just a single show Design Future Now to become an integrated channel for all of AIGA's audio content. We have a brand new series launching right here next week, so stay tuned for that.
We're also going to be providing audio versions of select webinars and livestreams, so you can listen to AIGA content on the go wherever you are. And for 2022, we will be working on a new mini series around the topic of mentorship and design. So again, our podcast feed will be staying the same. We're just renaming it AIGA Design, so it's consistent with our handles across our other social media. Going forward you can find us at anchor.fm/aigadesign. And there you'll find links so you can subscribe on the podcast platform of your choice. All right. Talk to you soon. Bye!

Sep 22, 2021 • 27min
Megan Marini and Priyanka Jain of 3x3 on Community-Centered Urban Design
This is the audio version of a livestreamed conversation between Lee-Sean Huang and Megan Marini and Priyanka Jain, co-founders and principals of 3x3 Design.
3x3 Design: https://3x3.co/
Toolkit and workshops: https://3x3.co/toolkit/overview/
Watch the recording of the original livestream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkZVU3Htn5Q
Recommended listening: How to Citizen with Baratunde Thurston: https://www.baratunde.com/howtocitizen

Aug 12, 2021 • 32min
ReStart: Taking Collective Action with Educators Alex Robins & Annie Larson
In this special ReStart episode of Design Future Live, Alex Robins and Annie Larson, part-time design educators at The New School and union representatives from the ACT-UAW Local 7902, speak to host Lee-Sean Huang about the challenges and opportunities faced by part time design educators and the power of collective action.
The ReStart from AIGA is a new content series that helps the design community move forward from COVID by posing salient questions and providing practical strategies
Watch the video version of this interview: https://www.aiga.org/inspiration/talks/alex-robins-annie-larson-challenges-and-opportunities-faced-by-part-time-design
ACT-UAW Local 7902, the union for NYU adjuncts and New School part-time faculty, student workers, and health service employees: https://actuaw.org/index.html

Jul 30, 2021 • 26min
ReStart: Teaching Roomies and Zoomies with Allan Chochinov
The ReStart from AIGA is a new content series that helps the design community move forward from COVID by posing salient questions and providing practical strategies. We are kicking off the series here on the podcast, and will be publishing interviews and panel discussions and other expert content across AIGA’s channels over the next few weeks.
In this episode, host Lee-Sean Huang talks with Allan Chochinov about his research and experimentation dealing with the challenges of hybrid teaching, with some students in the room, and some students on Zoom..
Allan is an educator writer, speaker, and advocate for the power and capacity of design. He's the founding chair of the MFA in Products of Design at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
How to Teach Hybrid with Zoom and Almost No Money (Short Version!) https://chochinov.medium.com/how-to-teach-hybrid-with-zoom-and-almost-no-money-short-version-950eb22846a6
How to Teach Hybrid in the Fall with Zoom and Almost No Money (LONG VERSION) https://chochinov.medium.com/how-to-teach-hybrid-in-the-fall-with-zoom-and-almost-no-money-8a21bbb9a980
MFA Products of Design at the School of Visual Arts https://productsofdesign.sva.edu/
https://www.allanchochinov.com/
Transcript of the episode https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pie4celdn19fu6/Allan_Chochinov_DFN-Restart.pdf?dl=0

Jul 24, 2021 • 28min
Navigating the disruptions in design education with Lefteris Heretakis
This episode is adapted from a livestreamed conversation between Lee-Sean Huang and Lefteris Heretakis on the challenges and opportunities in design education.
Lefteris Heretakis is a designer and lecturer. Since 1996, Lefteris has worked as a visual communicator with a wide range of clients ranging from startups to multinationals.
He’s currently teaching design at IE University in Madrid Spain. His reflexive research is focused on the real-world challenges in education and the unprecedented shifts that have taken place over the past 20 years.
Lefteris is also the host of two podcasts: the Design Education Talks podcast by the New Art School and the Designer Talks Podcast by the Chartered Society of Designers.
And also since 2019, Lefteris has been organizing the Design Education Forum, a two-day international event that brings practitioners from all over the world to share their experiences teaching art and design.
Watch the video recording of the original, unedited livestream interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOFuk_GIyLA
Design Education Talks Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/design-education-talks/id1500384360
Designer Talks Podcast: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/designer-talks-podcast-1858280

Jun 23, 2021 • 26min
Esther Mun on the joy of staying small and making tangible things
Esther Mun co-founded Little Fury Design in 2006 with her partner Tina Gaudin. Little Fury is an independent design studio of artists that specializes in creative strategy, branding, packaging, and illustration. Esther is a graduate of the school of visual arts SVA in New York, where she earned a degree in graphic design. Before starting Little Fury Design, Esther worked at pentagram and at Duffy and partners.
Links to things referenced in the episode:
Little Fury Brand + Packaging Design: https://www.littlefury.com/
Little Fury's visual resume: https://www.littlefury.com/resume
Little Fury on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlefurydesign/
Lil' Cake Toppers: https://www.instagram.com/lilcaketoppers
Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura: https://amzn.to/3zTJvvG
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker: https://amzn.to/3xJzxuU
This episode of Design Future Now was originally recorded as a video livestream. Watch the original unedited video interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnCgJMvdDU8&t=32s

Jun 3, 2021 • 28min
R. Michael Hendrix on What Musical Minds Teach Us About Creativity and Innovation
R. Michael Hendrix is the author of Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation, co-written with Panos A. Panay. Michael is also a partner and global design director at IDEO. He teaches entrepreneurship at the Berklee College of Music. In this episode of Design Future Now, host Lee-Sean Huang talks with Michael about lessons and mindsets from music that designers and other creative leaders can incorporate into their work.
Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation: https://amzn.to/3wV0Q5a
Podcast transcript: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PReSqrgfIJGvmC1U9tsTLHpx81bgv1uI/view?usp=sharing
Original video livestream version of this interview here: https://youtu.be/C76pLdXQd_U
R. Michael Hendrix on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rmichaelh
R. Michael Hendrix on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmichael
Links to work referenced in the episode:
USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy: https://iovine-young.usc.edu/
Steve Stoute, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy: https://amzn.to/3cfkBfJ
Jeff Tweedy, How to Write One Song: Loving the Things We Create and How They Love Us Back: https://amzn.to/2SP3A5c
Björk, Biophilia: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bj%C3%B6rk-biophilia/id434122935
Follow @AIGADesign on LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube to get updates on the latest events and livestreams.

Dec 7, 2020 • 39min
Fireside Chat with Ben Williams, R/GA Global Chief Experience Officer
Join AIGA Executive Director Bennie F. Johnson and R/GA Global Chief Experience Officer Ben Williams for a conversation about leadership in design. This Fireside Chat was recorded at the 2020 AIGA Design Conference.
This is the final episode of Design Future Now for 2020. We'll be back next year. Happy Holidays!
Design Future Now is produced by Lee-Sean Huang and AIGA, the professional association for design.
Follow us: @DesignFutureNow on Instagram and @DesignFutureNow on Twitter.
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