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Today on Design Education Talks, we’re joined by John McFaul , Executive Creative Director, Brand Consultant, Educator, and one of those rare, restless creatives who has never quite fitted into the neat boxes the world tries to offer. From the Wirral to New York, from art school misfit to brand visionary, John's career is a vivid testament to curiosity, risk-taking, and cultural immersion.

He began his journey believing he was a failure for choosing Art & Design over Oxford or Cambridge , until his foundation year transformed everything. Since then, John’s path has included studying at Kingston, a brief stint at Central Saint Martins, and pioneering the early fusion of illustration, digital tools and boundary-breaking design. He co-founded Black Convoy, then launched McFaulStudio, working with clients like Nike, Levi’s, New Balance, Brand Jordan, and more , often blending art, fashion, photography, and culture into truly genre-defying work.

After closing McFaul-Day in 2024, having led a decade-long partnership with New Balance and other major lifestyle brands, John now finds himself at a turning point , what he calls the “Second Mountain.” Diagnosed with ADHD and fuelled by a desire to create work with more purpose and community impact, he is exploring new models of creative leadership and education.

In the classroom, John is known for bringing raw honesty, boundless cultural insight, and a powerful message: that creativity is messy, emotional, and deeply human. He speaks openly about failure, process, and the dangers of marketised education, and he champions a design education rooted in risk, curiosity, and authenticity.

Whether consulting global brands or inspiring the next generation, John McFaul remains a passionate advocate for creative freedom, experimentation, and meaningful cultural engagement.

Welcome, John.

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Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

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Sheng-Hung Lee is a designer, engineer, and educator dedicated to advancing human-centered design and systemic service innovation. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), focusing on human behavior and service design. He is also a Board Director at Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). His interdisciplinary research integrates design, technology, and system engineering to develop innovative service models that enhance longevity and well-being.
With dual master’s degrees in Integrated Design & Management and Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and dual undergraduate degrees in Industrial Design and Electrical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Lee bridges technical expertise with creative problem-solving. His professional experience includes working at IDEO and Continuum, where he contributed to high-impact projects spanning product design, service innovation, and design strategy.
An active researcher at MIT AgeLab and the Ideation Lab, Lee explores topics such as smart home solutions, Design for Longevity (D4L), and inclusive design strategies. His work has been published in leading journals and conferences, and he serves as a reviewer and guest editor for international design publications. Beyond academia, Lee is engaged in global design communities, including the World Design Organization (WDO) and IDSA, advocating for design’s role in shaping the future of human experiences. For more information about Sheng-Hung Lee’s design and research work, please visit his website:

 https://www.shenghunglee.com

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

I run MA illustration and teach on BA illustration. Also supervise practice-based PhDs. Specialism is in illustration/artistbooks/zines and teaching. My own creative practice is mostly as in artists book /artzines and as an artist. I work both digitally and also with real materials like drawing, collage and print. I think social awareness and research skills are an important part of teaching illustration. I initiated and curate the UoP Artzine collection Zineopolis, this is a research hub and a collection of over 500 artzines from lots of countries and makers. I include student zines as well. This resource is used for teaching (we have zine modules) but also to generate staff research both in conceptualising and disseminating. There’s a summary on the REF database since this was an IMAPCT case study in REF21
https://results2021.ref.ac.uk/impact/...
The main Zineopolis site is here
https://zineopolis.blogspot.com/p/abo...

You can see my practice here:
https://jacbatey.com/

This site also links to specific sites on artists books (Damp Flat Books)

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

Gwen van den Eijnde is a French–Dutch artist and costume designer based in the United States. For the past decade, he has been teaching apparel design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, where he currently serves as Head of Programme.

While pursuing his artistic research at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg, he began creating costumes as sculptural works. His practice explores how the act of wearing a costume can transform one’s presence in space. Through performances, installations, and photography, he has constructed visual worlds and atmospheres in which the costumes form part of a complete scenography. His performances have taken place internationally—in artist residencies, museums, schools, festivals, theatres, and workshops—often in collaboration with practitioners from a wide range of disciplines.

In 2011, he led a workshop in the fashion department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, where he introduced students to his interest in Polish traditional dress. This experience marked the beginning of his teaching career. He later taught textile design at the Haute École des Arts du Rhin in Mulhouse (France) and has carried out creative research for fashion houses including Hermès and Tiffany & Co.

In 2022 and again in 2024, he designed costumes for chamber operas produced by the Boston Early Music Festival: L’Idylle sur la Paix by Jean-Baptiste Lully, La Fête de Rueil by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, and Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho by Georg Philipp Telemann. Continuing to expand his research into folk and historical dress, material culture, and embroidery techniques, van den Eijnde will take part in a major group exhibition on eighteenth-century fashion and its contemporary legacy in Paris in 2026.

👉 www.gvde.net

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

As an illustration educator, few figures stand out as boldly, and as impactfully, as Brian Grimwood. His work is not merely a reflection of evolving visual trends; it is a catalyst for change that helped define what modern illustration could become.
In an era when hyper-realistic, tightly controlled imagery dominated the commercial landscape, Grimwood dared to introduce a freer, more expressive line, loose, lyrical, and unmistakably human. Emerging in the 1970s, Grimwood’s early illustrations marked a radical departure from the status quo. His influences ranged from Chinese brush painting to jazz improvisation, and this breadth of reference infused his work with a spontaneity that felt both fresh and fearless.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Brian Grimwood didn’t just break the rules, he rewrote them, making space for a new kind of illustrative voice: emotional, intuitive, and full of personality.

His work is invaluable for teaching students about the importance of authorship in illustration. Brian’s style is instantly recognisable, yet it continually evolves, a powerful lesson in the value of experimentation over stagnation. He reminds us that technical skill is only part of the equation; the rest is vision, energy, and the willingness to take risks.
Brian Grimwood's impact, however, extends far beyond the page. In 1983, he co-founded The Central Illustration Agency (CIA), a visionary move that professionalised the role of the illustrator and gave artists greater control over their careers.
CIA was not just an agency, it was a platform that challenged exploitative norms and advocated for illustrators as creative equals in the commercial process. For educators and students alike, CIA's history offers a compelling narrative about the power of creative entrepreneurship and community.

His collaborations with global clients, Apple, the Beatles, The New Yorker, British Airways, Saatchi & Saatchi, among many others, prove that expressive, idiosyncratic work can succeed at the highest levels of commercial design. He navigated the often-precarious intersection of art and commerce without compromise, a feat that continues to inspire.

As a teacher, I often return to Grimwood when introducing students to the concept of visual voice. His work defies categorisation, equal parts fine art, editorial design, advertising, and storytelling and it speaks to the enduring power of drawing as a personal and po

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

We’re thrilled to welcome Haluk Sicimoğlu, a dynamic strategist, storyteller, and entrepreneur hailing from İzmir. As the founder of THAAT’S IT!, Haluk brings a sharp focus on innovation powered by insight, and crafts heartfelt brand narratives that truly connect with people 

You might know Haluk from his compelling TEDx talk in 2019 — “Kimsenin Sevmediği Kahve” (The Coffee That No One Likes) — where he masterfully used a simple cup of coffee to unpack how overlooked ideas can hold transformative value . His talk reminds us that even what’s initially unpalatable can, with empathy and smart storytelling, become something everyone loves.

Beyond the stage, Haluk is a go-to thought leader in marketing, innovation, and storytelling. He’s frequently featured by Speaker Agency presenting on themes such as “İçgörüsüz inovasyon uzun yaşamaz” (Innovation without insight cannot last), the art of business storytelling, and forging brand narratives that flow “heart to heart” 

So whether you're dreaming of launching a brand, navigating change, or just love a good story — stay tuned: we’re diving into Haluk’s unique vision and discovering how the most unexpected ideas can spark real connection. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/haluksicimoglu/?originalSubdomain=tr

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

Lee-Sean Huang - Co-Executive Director, Learning + Programs
Giulia Donatello - Design Competitions and Event Manager

The 2025 AIGA Design Conference is happening in Los Angeles from October 9th to 11th, and it's not just any conference—it's the 40th anniversary! This is the place to be for three days of inspiration, connection, and professional growth. As a listener of our podcast, you get an exclusive 15% discount on your ticket.
Use the code DESIGNEDUCATIONPODCAST when you register. Find the direct link HERE. It’s a fantastic opportunity for growth, and we’d love for our community to be there. We hope to see you in LA!

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

Dr Ari Chand, Lecturer in Illustration and Animation, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia.

Ari is a Designer/Illustrator and practice-based design researcher, Lecturer in Illustration and Animation at UniSA Creative at the University of South Australia, Australia, and soon to be Adelaide University launching in 2026. He teaches into the only combined Illustration and Animation Degree in Australia. Primarily teaching Illustration and Animation theory and practice, with a focus on how visual communication and illustration can help transform and communicate across biodiversity and science, education, histories and heritage, social work and health. His illustration work is mainly comprised of traditional and digital drawing, watercolour, ink, acrylic or hybridised digital illustration. Ari is on the Board for the International Illustration Research Network and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Illustration, a national committee member and Educational Liaison for Illustrators Australia, and Member of the Creative People, Products and Places Research Centre (CP3).

Degree: https://adelaideuni.edu.au/study/degrees/bachelor-of-illustration-and-animation/int/

Google: https://g.co/kgs/12u15h2

University Profile: https://people.unisa.edu.au/Ari.Chand

Linktree:https://linktr.ee/arichand

WEB: www.arichand.com

Twitter: @byarichand

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arichand

Scholar: https://scholar.goog

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

Get in touch!

Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, Sven Ingmar Thies studied graphic design at Braunschweig University of Art and completed his final thesis in Tokyo and Yokohama.
 
 Since his time at university, he has focused on a holistic design approach that seamlessly connects to other design disciplines, other specialist areas or even to handicrafts. This conviction was intensified further by two professional engagements at Henrion, Ludlow & Schmidt in London, where brands were holistically developed, and at Kitayama Institute in Tokyo, where he learnt about the interplay between architecture and design during a two-year postgraduate scholarship.
 
 Besides being involved in project-related work for brand agencies Landor (today, Landor & Fitch) and Enterprise IG (today, Superunion), he founded Thies Design in 1998, which develops tailored brand experiences for enterprises and institutions (www.thiesdesign.com).

In addition to his professional activities, Sven Ingmar Thies has taught graphic design at the University of Applied Arts Vienna’s “Class of Ideas” since 2011.

He is author and editor of the book “Teaching Graphic Design”.

Book:
EN: Teaching Graphic Design (2nd edition): https://birkhauser.com/en/book/9783035629668
DE: Grafikdesign unterrichten (1st edition): https://birkhauser.com/de/book/9783035629675

Review:
EN: by Sean Adams, ArtCenter: https://lnkd.in/dgDmeige
DE: by Evelyn Junghanns, Graphische: https://lnkd.in/dGcPNMyH

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting

Get in touch!

We are delighted to welcome back Phil Cleaver for this landmark 100th episode. A distinguished and multi award-winning figure in the world of graphic design, Phil has long been recognised as one of the field’s true heavyweights. A protégé of Anthony Froshaug, Phil refined his design and typographic expertise under the guidance of Alan Fletcher at Pentagram, Wim Crouwel at TD in the Netherlands, and Michael Wolff at Wolff Olins.

In 1984, he was appointed Creative Director of Branding at Allied International Designers. Just a few years later, in 1987, he founded CleaverLandor, a specialist design consultancy whose rapid growth eventually prompted Phil to return to hands-on creative work. In 1992, he established et al, a close-knit consultancy of like-minded design professionals.

Phil is a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, a founding trustee of The Monotype Museum, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and Professor of the Creative Industries at Middlesex University’s School of Art and Design.

He lectures internationally on design, and his early typographic work is preserved in the St Bride Printing Library. His book designs are held in the permanent collection of the V&A Museum’s National Art Library. In 2012, Phil was invited by the esteemed creative director David Holmes to collaborate as typographer and book designer on a special edition celebrating eight decades of Sir Peter Blake’s life and The Macallan – working alongside Sir Peter and four other master artists.

Phil is also the author and designer of What They Didn’t Teach You in Design School, published by Ilex Press and distributed by Thames & Hudson.

Support the show

Since its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.

See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschool
Follow us on twitter at @newartschool
Read our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/
and https://heretakis.medium.com/

Equipment used to produce the podcast:
Rodcaster pro II
Rode NT1 5th generation
Elgato Low profile Microphone Arm
Monster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cable

The rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting