Just back from Typography Summer School in New York City, Rory rants about graphic design culture which leads to the idea of amateurism within the profession and how an outsider perspective can lead to open experimentation and unusual results. [Editor’s Note: this podcast was an outlet to help me build a framework for an essay I am writing about design culture and amateurism. Some comments in this episode should be taken with a grain of salt. —Rory] Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 10: Thoughts or Comments?

With weekly themes as its foundation, Sway researches, curates, discourses, envisions, and art directs the upcoming and current trends of visual communication. Its editors are based in the Lehigh Valley and San Francisco.

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In this episode we critique the critics. We look at the articles about Google's new logo and try to figure out what's missing in current design criticism. By looking at history and imagining the future, we debate the role of the critic and what types of criticism we'd love to see and make. Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 20: I want to see designers fighting!

This episode starts with two questions: what happened to all the good design blogs and how has social media changed graphic design culture? This leads to a discussion about how to find inspiration, stay current on design trends, and be inspired by things you don’t like. We wrap everything up by sharing some of our favorite blogs to follow on Tumblr. Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 19: Nothing but naked women

In this episode, we are joined by designer and educator Mitch Goldstein to talk about thinking versus making, theorist versus practitioner, and critic versus designer. Mitch shares his origin story, how he started teaching, and what he hopes to impart on his students that lead into a discussion on how labels and words sometimes get in the way of the work we’re supposed to be doing. We wrap up with some thoughts on design education and the value moving beyond Comic Sans jokes. Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 18: We were touched by Paul Rand's ghost

After a few weeks of reflecting and writing, we return with some answers to the question of if graphic design is still a good term for everything we do. We look at each of our essays and offer some examples of how the field as a whole can be open and ready for the changes in the field and the world. Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 17: The Term is Dead, Part 2

In this episode, we look at the current state of graphic design: what is it and what is it for? Using a recent Rem Koolhaas exhibition as our guide, we wonder what the future of graphic design looks like and what we can learn from it’s history. Jarrett questions whether graphic design as we knew it is actually dying while Rory sees a new type of design emerging. Links from this episode are available at this-is-sway.tumblr.com.

Episode 10: Thoughts or Comments?

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