Do designers have a seat at the table when it comes to solving the wicked problems of the world? If the medium is the message, what does it mean to shift the medium of design towards human behavior?

In this episode, Sean Rhodes [Executive Creative Director, Frog], sheds light on these pressing questions + offers advice on how to design responsibly and with purpose.

Credits---conception and production: Harshita Nedunuri; co-conception: Anne-Laure Fayard; sound design: Tunan Guo; post-production: Jessica Chase.

In recent years, management consultancies have started acquiring design firms and several have been integrating design teams within their consulting practice. McKinsey & Company engages in this phenomenon—their acquisition strategy and the launch of McKinsey Design indicates a major shift in the industry.

Alex Kozovski [Senior Designer, McKinsey New Ventures], NYU ITP alumnus, tells us how despite the different epistemic stances management consultants and designers hold when it comes to innovation, their skills are in fact very complementary. In this first episode, Alex covers multiple topics from the importance of embracing ambiguity (what he calls “the discomfort of not knowing") to building empathy for clients ("understanding what keeps our clients awake”) and the importance of prototyping to test assumptions.

Credits---conception and production: Harshita Nedunuri; co-conception: Anne-Laure Fayard; sound design: Tunan Guo; post-production: Jessica Chase.