The Crit

Deborah Cook, Head of Costume at celebrated animation studio Laika, joins the podcast to discuss how her background in sculpture informs her designs, the challenges of designing for non-human anatomies, and the importance of creating dark and eerie stories for children.

Deb's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Costumes for Kubo and the Two Strings

Worst design: When she comes up with a range of options and her least favourite costume gets picked

Most successful design: Coraline's costume

Most impactful feedback: A standing ovation at the Wildwood premiere

Dream design: Making her own sculptures for the art world

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at the Design Museum in London.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper, the partners behind nomadic studio Stephen Burks Man Made, join the podcast for a discussion about questioning what radical design means today and challenging the industry’s focus on the global North.

Stephen and Malika's picks for their crit were:

Best design: Shelter in Place

Worst design: Not being able to find the right partners to create mass-produced products

Most successful design: The design of their nomadic studio

Most impactful feedback: To always be of service

Dream design: A glasshouse and a TV

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexandra Gerber, a London-based industrial designer whose work explores cross-pollination between industries, joins the podcast for a discussion about design as a form of cultural expression, the gendering of objects, and the allure and complexities of working with biomaterials.

Alexandra’s picks for her crit were:

Best design: Up shelving

Worst design: Installation of A Meaningful Order

Most successful design: A Meaningful Order

Most impactful feedback: When people say her work is not feminine

Dream design: Tableware and cutlery

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Nathaniel Furman, an artist and designer, joins the show to discuss the history of colour in architecture, the challenges of viral design and his dream of designing a skyscraper facade.

Adam’s picks for his crit were:

Best design: Croydon Colonnade

Worst design: Glowbules

Most successful design: Gateways

Most impactful feedback: Architect Terry Farrell telling him to listen more

Dream design: A skyscraper facade, a train station or a religious space

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Ardern, cofounder of design and experiential futures company Superflux, joins the podcast to reflect on the importance of emotion and sensory feedback, the difficulties of engaging gallery visitors, and his dream of designing a living experiment. 

Jon’s picks for his crit were:

Best design: Mitigation of Shock 

Worst design: Dynamic Genetics vs Man 

Most successful design: Uninvited Guests 

Most impactful feedback: A person who said their exhibition had prepared them for living through the pandemic and inspired them to grow vegetables on their balcony 

Dream design: A living experiment 

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Miller, a partner at Pentagram, joins the podcast to reflect on the challenges of integrating different design media into a single practice, as well as drawing narrative and tempo into graphic design.

Hugh's picks for his crit were:

Best design: At the End of the World, Plant a Tree by SO/LO

Worst design: All work is flawed when viewed by its creator

Most successful design: TDC65 Competition Campaign

Most impactful feedback: A teacher who taught him to listen to and analyse music

Dream design: The British Airways brand identity

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leyu Li, a London-based food designer, joins the podcast to discuss using social media in her work, the challenges and opportunities involved in food design, and the pleasures of doing commercial work.

Leyu's picks for her crit were:

Best design: cM Donald's

Worst design: F.A.M Supper Club

Most successful design: Broccopork, Mushchicken and Peaf

Most impactful feedback: Someone commenting on her TikTok saying her work is “So Goldsmiths”

Dream design: Hana no Hana bakery

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

London-based industrial designer John Tree visits the studio to talk about the challenges of mobile phone design, his belief in the social potential of industrial design, the opportunity to completely reconceive electric vehicles, and the importance of not obsessing over your business card.

John's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Billet chair

Worst design: A mobile phone for Samsung

Most successful design: Apex lamp

Most impactful feedback: His friend Chopper from Rosie Lee saying that it’s not enough to be a good designer, you have to get your work out there

Dream design: Electric vehicles

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

London-based designer Tessa Silva joins the podcast to discuss making objects out of milk protein, understanding the possibilities and limitations of materials, and her dream of redesigning pubs.

Tessa's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Feminised Protein

Worst design: Martini glasses made from milk

Most successful design: Smock

Most impactful feedback: Comments from fellow designers during an informal crit group she started to get feedback on her work in progress

Dream design: Pubs

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tetsuo Mukai, co-founder of London-based design studio Study O Portable, joins the podcast to discuss creating objects that interrogate our relationship with design, his background in fashion, and his perspective on debates around how critical design practice is framed and presented to a broad public.

Tetsuo's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Quartz Mirror

Worst design: Crystal room dividers

Most successful design: Fuzz

Most impactful feedback: People asking whether his work is art or design

Dream design: A free art school

The Crit

Graphics: Leonhard Rothmoser

Music: Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki

This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery, London

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.