Benjamin Hubert, founder and creative director of Layer, joins The Crit to discuss moving beyond personality-driven aesthetics, creating objects for pets, his relationship with the media, and his desire to do more pro bono design work.

Benjamin's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Layer

Worst design: Diamond Chair

Most successful design: Dog toys for Earth Rated

Most impactful feedback: A Financial Times article

Dream design: Pro bono design work for charities, NGOs or community groups

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.

Tomoko Azumi, founder of TNA Design Studio, visits the studio to talk about designing furniture for small spaces, the differences between the design industry in Japan and the UK, creating a space for the UK Supreme Court, and the importance of making models by hand.

Tomoko's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Flow Chair for Ercol and a trolley for the UK Supreme Court

Worst design: Chairs for the UK Supreme Court

Most successful design: LEM stool for La Palma

Most impactful feedback: The V&A and the Crafts Council putting pieces from her graduation show in their permanent collections

Dream design: DIY kits for paper modelling

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.

Jo Barnard, founder and creative director of Morrama, a London-based design agency, joins the podcast to discuss customer feedback, failed shelving, the formation of a studio, and product design's social and environmental responsibilities.

More information about Morrama's new book, From people to planet; lessons from a design agency, can be found here.

Jo's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Morrama

Worst design: A flat-packed shelving unit made while at secondary school

Most successful design: Angle razor

Most impactful feedback: Customer reviews for Wild refillable deodorant

Dream design: A waste system

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 Bates, design director of consumer tech company Nothing, visits the studio to discuss the difficulties of innovating in the smartphone category, the perils of spec creep, the joy of design references from the past, and the importance of carving out your own niche.

Adam's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Headphone (1)

Worst design: A vacuum cleaner for the Japanese market

Most successful design: Dyson Supersonic and Phone (1)

Most impactful feedback: “Carve your niche” and “You look like you're having too much fun”

Dream design: A camera

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.

Designer and artist Paul Cocksedge joins The Crit for a conversation about communicating through coal, financing an art practice, engendering material wonder in diverse audiences, and the case for redesigning London's streets.

Paul's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Coalescence

Worst design: Manuscript

Most successful design: Please Be Seated

Most impactful feedback: Ingo Maurer saying he believed in Paul

Dream design: Redesigning London

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.

Designer Nipa Doshi of Doshi Levien is our latest guest, visiting the studio to talk about the importance of sketching, the challenges of moving between continents, the need for plural approaches and aesthetic in design, and the case for greater sensitivity in the design of healthcare.

Nipa's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Charpoy for Moroso

Worst design: None (the importance of selectivity)

Most successful design: Colour system for Kettal and Quilton sofas for Hay

Most impactful feedback: “ There's always a way to make a good idea.” —Jonathan Levien

Dream design: A hospital and mammogram machine

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.

Designer Nina Tolstrup, one half of Studiomama, joins The Crit to talk small-scale living, new cutlery typologies, furniture made from leftover pallets, and the importance of local manufacturing and distribution.

Nina's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Pallet Project

Worst design: Bio-Plastic Cutlery Tool

Most successful design: 13m2 House

Most impactful feedback: “Just try it”

Dream design: A furniture system for small space living

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.

Experience designer, artist and filmmaker Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian makes a flying visit to The Crit, discussing bouncing sound waves off the moon to create music mixed with the sounds of the Big Bang, to redistributing wealth to community groups using funding ring-fenced for Brexit celebrations.

Nelly's picks for her crit were:

Best design: Piccadilly Un:Plugged

Worst design: University of the Underground (the early years)

Most successful design: Tour de Moon

Most impactful feedback: Fiona Raby telling her that she needed to overcome her anxiety about public speaking because it was going to become a big part of her work 

Dream design: A rocket, a sex toy, or toys for McDonald’s Happy Meals

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.

Jay Osgerby – cofounder of Barber Osgerby, Universal Design Studio and Map Project Office – visits the studio to reflect on the challenges of forging an emotional connection with users and audiences through design, as well as speculating on who might play him in a film of his life.

Jay's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Double Space

Worst design: Everything he designed while studying architecture at the Royal College of Art

Most successful design: Olympic Torch

Most impactful feedback: People writing to him to express how much they loved the Tip Ton chair

Dream design: A permanent outdoor sculpture or installation

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.

Designer Andu Masebo joins The Crit to discuss designing objects that tell stories about their own creation, his love of harsh feedback and his dream of redesigning the creative education system.

Andu's picks for his crit were:

Best design: Making Room

Worst design: Union Chair

Most successful design: Candleholder No.12

Most impactful feedback: His wife saying a design was disgusting

Dream design: Creative education system

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.