By Design

If you’re extra focused on hitting your macros, Peter Rahal has more to do with it than most other people. He’s the co-founder of RXBAR and, more recently, David Protein. 

With David, Rahal and his team have figured out how to capture attention for something as commonplace as a protein bar while using minimal advertising and sleek, simple packaging. It appears David has struck gold again with their newest product, ice cream. The $15 pints sold out in less than a half hour. 

On this episode, Liz and guest host Grace Snelling go deep with Rahal on how he built yet another protein empire and the design choices that went into it. 

As you’ve probably heard, The Onion is in the process of taking over InfoWars, the platform started by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. 

How is this a design story, you may ask? Well, we’ve got an interview with the creative director for new InfoWars — Tim Heidecker. 

Liz sat down with Tim and Fast Company’s Lilly Smith, who has been reporting on The Onion’s InfoWars takeover, to talk about Tim’s vision for the platform.

It’s a jam-packed episode of By Design—and for good reason. 

First, we’ll share some big news of our own before moving onto the design world’s latest. We look at how Claude Design caught Anthropic’s collaborators (and competitors) by surprise and unpack the Trump administration’s newest design hire: Peter Arnell as the nation’s “chief brand architect.”

Then, Mark sits down with Mauro Porcini, Samsung’s chief design officer, for a wide-ranging conversation about his illustrious career. 

To close things out, we have a good, old-fashioned hot-or-not. Mentioned this time: Target’s revamped cart, an overdue Venmo update, Threads’ new logo, Pinterest tells users to go outside, and Ikea’s latest stab at an inflatable chair. 

Tyler Hays has made a career working with his hands. Making everything from couches to jigsaw puzzles to guitars, the BDDW founder and lead designer says he has now fallen for AI. 

“I'm absolutely obsessed with it,” Hays says. “Every single thing you wanna know about … you can pick any subject and ask it in 10 different ways and spend an embarrassing amount of hours”

As BDDW closes its SoHo showroom after 25 years, Hays joined By Design to reflect on his career and what’s next as he moves into a new chapter. 

Plus, we get a dispatch from host Mark Wilson’s trip to Italy for Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile. 

We close with an edition of Hot or Not. Mentioned: Claude Design, a $545 cutting board, and a very special bike bell.

We’re taking a trip to the Bay Area on this very special episode of By Design. 

We’ll start off by discussing a very big question: What is a design job in 2026? The answer, in part, can be found in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, where Mark Wilson brings a dispatch from his latest reporting trip. (00:00:42) Plus, the latest design job numbers and what they mean. 

Then, he and Liz Stinson interview one of the most powerful people in the world of AI design—Joel Lewenstein, Anthropic’s design chief. (00:13:50) Joel explains Claude’s personality quirks, why he’s doubling his design team, and more. 

Finally, we close with a spring edition of Hot or Not. (01:00:30) Mentioned: Coleman’s Snap ‘N Go cooler, the 2028 Olympics branding, and a big Google Maps redesign. 

Plus, two quick plugs for some great Fast Company stuff: First, check out our 2026 Most Innovative Companies in design. And if you haven’t, make sure to get in your applications for the 2026 Innovation By Design awards — submissions are due April 10. 

With the Oscars coming up quickly, we spoke with the woman behind the design landscape for Sinners: Hannah Beachler. She’s been director Ryan Coogler’s go-to production designer for several films, including Fruitvale Station, Creed, two Black Panther movies, and now Sinners, which smashed the record for most Academy Award nominations. Beachler sat down for a long, ranging interview full of Sinners lore and what challenge she wants to take on next. 

But first, we hit the news: Crotchgate, everything else in Olympics design, Jony Ive’s Ferrari, the enshittification of ChatGPT, and the trial of Meta and Google’s allegedly addictive design. 

We’ll close with a new segment: Fix Your Shit. This episode’s target: Microsoft Teams. 

It’s a packed first episode of the year at By Design and we have a big guest: Ikea’s Juvencio Maeztu gives his first major interview since taking over as CEO. It’s a deep, candid conversation about his philosophy on affordability, life at home, and how Ikea’s business structure allows it to have motives that aren’t all about profit. 

But first, the news: We go deep on global design editor Mark Wilson’s profile of Joe Gebbia, Airbnb’s design co-founder who now begins his new role as the nation’s chief design officer. Gebbia is now tasked with reshaping the government in President Trump’s image. Mark and senior editor Liz Stinson also talk about Apple’s major deal with Google to use Gemini for Siri and Apple Intelligence products, a major victory for a company trailing in the AI race. We’ll also talk about a trend you might not realize you're seeing: meme wear. 

And to close the show, producer Cody Nelson joins for Hot or Not. Mentioned this time: Honda 2.0, brick-and-mortar Turbo Tax, new Legos, a pen lamp, and more.

What defined design in 2025? For our December episode, we look back at the seven most significant design trends of the year.

This time, Liz and Mark are joined by some special guests, as they discuss growing movements ranging from vibecoding to ragebait advertising. They ask questions like, is craft dead in the age of AI? And, when did everything in design become so political? 

Tune in for the best analysis of our year that was from some of the sharpest minds in the industry, and stay for hints to what’s coming next in 2026.

As AI companies pour trillions of dollars into building infrastructure like data centers, one non-tech sector is seeing a boom of its own: Architecture. 

This month on By Design, our guest is Jordan Goldstein, the co-CEO of Gensler, the world's largest architecture firm, which is seeing skyrocketing demand for data center design. He explains how AI has transformed the firm and how Gensler approaches designing facilities for computers, with the human experience in mind. 

We also discuss the biggest moments in design from the past few weeks:

The opening of Netflix House and why the streamer is betting on real-life experiences

The Stream ring and why it might be a breakthrough for AI hardware 

The Department of War’s $2 billion rebrand

And we’ll close the episode with hot or not — including the Issey Miyake iPhone pocket, Naked Cheetos, Starbucks’ bear cup, and more.

You might not know the name Tyler Evans, but you’ve definitely seen his work. He designed Zorhan Mamdani’s iconic campaign poster, led design for Bernie Sanders’ campaign, and was the Teamster’s creative director. Now the creative director for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Evans has a front-row seat to some of the biggest players in progressive politics. 

This week on “By Design,” Evans shared his takes on modern political designs including the “shameful” rise of AI in politics and why the left haven’t been able to counter the MAGA movement. 

We’ll also cover the latest in design news (AI slop, Nike, White House demolition) and play our hot-or-not game.