Thought Starters

​What is the role of print in our increasingly digital world? While quantity may be declining, production quality is only going up. In this episode, we follow the paper trail to meet John Haslam and Leo Turner, respective directors of G.F Smith and specialist luxury printer Downey & Co. On the agenda: paper. Why we still love it, and how even the subtlest print techniques pack the biggest punch.

​When Vicky Richardson met Nelly Ben Hayoun, Nelly was wearing a space suit. Nelly is an award-winning director and experience designer, who has worked with artists, musicians, scientist and engineers devising boundary-breaking events and experiences.​ Vicky is the former Director of Architecture, Design and Fashion at the British Council. In 2016, she was Commissioner for the British Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale. They met in the pod to talk about post-Brexit creativity and breaking free from the institution.

​As the old adage goes, sex sells. Joining us in conversation: Matthew Holroyd, creative director and founder of Baron and Baroness magazines, and the boundary-pushing Reba Maybury, founder of Wet Satin Press. The conversation comes hot off the heels of an event they’ve just hosted in London, exploring sex in fashion, art and publishing. We’re bringing that conversation into the pod to talk about the construct of sexiness in fashion, and how it plays out in the media — and who gets the big jobs in the industry

​In this episode we hear from two stars of the design world working at two global design firms: Marina Willer, partner at Pentagram and Nadine Chahine, a type designer and legibility researcher at Monotype. Pentagram is behind some of the most pervasive logos in the world: the Serpentine, Hillary Clinton and Windows. Monotype is a type design firm who, with Chanine at the helm at the helm of the project, recently reworked Johnston, the typeface used across Transport for London. Their fascinating conversation starts by exploring the restoration of London’s most important typeface. They discuss that now more than ever designers need to stick together for social causes, and what technological advances will prove to be a type designer’s biggest challenge yet.

​The movies: the value of the "cinema", a paradigm shift in distribution, and why it's still all about Cannes. In conversation: Efe Cakarel is the founder of Mubi, an online viewing platform offering 30 curated, ever-changing art house titles. It’s the “staff picks” section of video store experience for the Netflix age. Little White Lies is a magazine that blends artful, original illustrations with thoughtful film criticism. Its editor David Jenkins joins us in the Pod. To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, click here or find us on Twitter and Instagram.​

​The landscape of fashion is changing. So what is the role for catwalk shows and events in the age of livestreaming and social media? Martin Cohen is the Europe Director of 6up Productions, an events and production company that has created fashion week runway events for brands like Paul Smith and Jean Paul Gaulthier. Jonathan Chippindale is the founder of Holition, a company that helps luxury brands utilise technology - from wearables to holographic fashion shows. They met in the Pod to discuss how to navigate the changing world of their clients. ​To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, click here or find us on Twitter and Instagram.​

On the agenda: what makes for good domestic architecture, building a case for small town living, and a list of favourite homes around the world. The Modern House is an estate agency offering dwellings of only the highest architectural calibre. Looking at its listings feels more like looking at a design magazine, which is fitting because Albert Goldhill was design editor of Wallpaper* before co-founding The Modern House. Sophie Goldhill is the co-founder of the lauded architectural practice Liddicoat & Goldhill. Sitting down with Albert in the Pod, the two begin by talking about Albert’s one professional regret. To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, click here or find us on Twitter and Instagram.

​Hermès, Nike and Christopher Kane are just some of the brands set and spatial designer Robert Storey has worked with, creating inspired retail spaces, window displays and fashion shows. Holly Hay works with with brands like Apple, Alexander McQueen and Burberry as a photo editor at Dazed Media Studio and AnOther Magazine. So what happens when a photo editor and a set designer walk into a Pod? They discuss making online-only businesses physical, balancing experimentation and brand consistency, and the reeducation of heritage superbrands.​ To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, click here or find us on twitter and instagram.​

From behemoth trade events, such as Milan's Salone del Mobile furniture fair, to creative copycats (and how the design press treats them), or the value of social media for your designers – we put lighting designer Michael Anastassiades and design writer and curator Emily King in conversation in The Pod, here at White City Place, to talk about just that. To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, visit whitecityplace.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram.

Presenting No Such Thing as a Fish, a special pre-launch episode recorded at the launch of MediaWorks, here at White City Place. If you don’t know it already, No Such Thing as a Fish is a podcast by the writers of BBC’s QI that is as informative as it is hilarious. Watch this space for the first episodes of Thought Starters, coming to you later this month. To find out how you can record your podcast from White City Place, visit whitecityplace.com or find us on Twitter and Instagram.