This is Design School

On this episode, we talked to Timothy Bardlavens, a Product Design Leader, Cultural Strategist, co-founder of the Design + Diversity Fellowship Program, and DEI—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion—consultant. Timothy talks to us about his experiences in design and tech as a black gay man from the South, the importance of owning and bringing your full self to your work, and the difference and importance between surviving and thriving in the workplace and the world.

On this episode, we interview Silong Chhun, a Communications Associate for the Tacoma Community House, and founder of the Red Scarf Revolution. Silong shares how his early upbringing in Cambodia has impacted his work, and about the importance of identity, persistence, and design as a center point for community, advocacy and activism.

On this episode, we talked to Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar, Director of Education at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. Ruki discussed her journey from teaching design to joining the Cooper Hewitt, the museum’s amazing collection of artifacts, and how integrating design education can help society meet the demand of the immense challenges we face today.

On this episode, Nicole Gleadle, Senior Designer at Qubit, talks about how moving to London, England and the lessons learned from starting over in another country. She speaks of her career progression in Seattle over the last seven years and how it prepared her for life in the UK.

On this episode, Michael Bierut discusses how he was lucky to have found design as a kid growing up in Ohio, how a successful career requires being really engaged in 'the game,' and how designers of the future need to make more room for curiosity.

This is Design School is coming back. 

We've been hard at work crafting season 4 of the podcast over the last year. Stay tuned for the first episode of Year 4 of This is Design School, coming to your feed next Monday. 

See you next week.

On this episode, Anna Brayton, Senior Designer at Amazon, talks about how her passion for design started with markers at a young age. She speaks of her career progression through 10 years designing stores at Starbucks, to the challenges of projects with a blank canvas, and learning through seeking feedback from your colleagues. Anna talks about how design is a lifestyle and having the right tools at hand makes creating so much more fun.

On this episode, Jp Avila, Associate Professor of Art & Design at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington talks about the importance of narrative as a basic principle of design, distilling information as a currency of the future, and the struggle of staying in the moment versus chasing the next carrot.

On this episode, Michael Smith, Director of the Master of Human-Computer Interaction + Design Program at the University of Washington, talks about information architecture as an entry point to design, the sad loss of studio culture, and teaching and practicing design research. Photo Credit: Chris Koehler / frog

On this episode, John Snavely, Principal Design Manager of Xbox at Microsoft, talks about his journey as a series of failures, questioning things thoughtfully, managing teams in no praise zones, and the ethical tensions designer face today.