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Rethinking Design Careers in a Broken System with Jen van der Meer
Jen van der Meer’s career path is anything but linear—spanning comparative religion, working on Wall Street, internet startups, and design education. In this thoughtful and timely conversation, Jen shares how her liberal arts background shaped her global perspective, eventually leading her to leadership roles at Frog Design, startups, and now Parsons School of Design, where she co-directs the MFA in Transdisciplinary Design.
Jen challenges designers to go beyond the narrow scope of their titles or craft. Instead of trying to “convince” other industries of design’s value, she argues that designers must step outside their professional comfort zones, learn new languages—especially finance—and see themselves as co-conspirators in systemic change.
With today’s precarious job market and the erosion of traditional design roles, Jen offers a compelling vision for designers to build collective practices, join interdisciplinary communities, and find purpose in transforming complex systems like health, energy, and finance. Her advice to students and early-career professionals? Focus on a system that needs fixing and start connecting with others who care.
What You'll Learn from this Episode:
Quick Reference Guide:
0:15 - Meet Jen van der Meer
3:17 - Escaping finance for design
7:35 - Why designers should learn finance
11:44 - The challenges of blurred roles and learning the language of your sector and practice
14:33 – Jen’s job advice for students
19:57 - 5 reasons to use the Rosenverse
22:18 - Transdisciplinary design trends
29:11 - Possibilities within Jen’s Parsons program
32:33 - The realities of higher education today and scaling the transdisciplinary model of education
36:12 - Jen’s gift for listeners
Resources and Links from Today's Episode:
Parsons Studio https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/faculty/jen-van-der-meer/
Jen van der Meer’s website https://jenvandermeer.org
Rosenverse https://rosenverse.rosenfeldmedia.com/
Quotes:
“Comparative religion is a fantastic entry point to navigating the world.”
“That’s what I’ve been working on for the last 10 years. How can I see finance as design territory?”
“We’re not here to convert people. We’re here to work together with other people to transform the systems that we’re in.”
“I think design pedagogy, studio practice, surveys, all of it is the answer to university education.”
View all episodes
By The Rosenfeld Review Podcast (Rosenfeld Media)
4.6
2020 ratings
Jen van der Meer’s career path is anything but linear—spanning comparative religion, working on Wall Street, internet startups, and design education. In this thoughtful and timely conversation, Jen shares how her liberal arts background shaped her global perspective, eventually leading her to leadership roles at Frog Design, startups, and now Parsons School of Design, where she co-directs the MFA in Transdisciplinary Design.
Jen challenges designers to go beyond the narrow scope of their titles or craft. Instead of trying to “convince” other industries of design’s value, she argues that designers must step outside their professional comfort zones, learn new languages—especially finance—and see themselves as co-conspirators in systemic change.
With today’s precarious job market and the erosion of traditional design roles, Jen offers a compelling vision for designers to build collective practices, join interdisciplinary communities, and find purpose in transforming complex systems like health, energy, and finance. Her advice to students and early-career professionals? Focus on a system that needs fixing and start connecting with others who care.
What You'll Learn from this Episode:
Quick Reference Guide:
0:15 - Meet Jen van der Meer
3:17 - Escaping finance for design
7:35 - Why designers should learn finance
11:44 - The challenges of blurred roles and learning the language of your sector and practice
14:33 – Jen’s job advice for students
19:57 - 5 reasons to use the Rosenverse
22:18 - Transdisciplinary design trends
29:11 - Possibilities within Jen’s Parsons program
32:33 - The realities of higher education today and scaling the transdisciplinary model of education
36:12 - Jen’s gift for listeners
Resources and Links from Today's Episode:
Parsons Studio https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/faculty/jen-van-der-meer/
Jen van der Meer’s website https://jenvandermeer.org
Rosenverse https://rosenverse.rosenfeldmedia.com/
Quotes:
“Comparative religion is a fantastic entry point to navigating the world.”
“That’s what I’ve been working on for the last 10 years. How can I see finance as design territory?”
“We’re not here to convert people. We’re here to work together with other people to transform the systems that we’re in.”
“I think design pedagogy, studio practice, surveys, all of it is the answer to university education.”