Year 06
Frank Chimero on Putting in the Reps
On this episode, we talk with Frank Chimero, Creative Director at Fictive Kin, and author of the book The Shape of Design. Frank talks about how he found design by using it as a foothold to have a deeper relationship with the things he really enjoyed, how...
Mitzi Okou on Looking for the Black Designers
On this episode, we talk with Mitzi Okou, a Senior Interaction Designer at Spotify and Founder of Where are the Black Designers. Mitzi talks about her journey from studying classical music to UX Design, about how transparency begets a more forgiving...
Catherine Lim and Jennifer Cheng on Design as a Method for Engagement
On this episode, we talk with Catherine Lim and Jennifer Cheng. Catherine is a UX Researcher at 98point6, and Jennifer is a UX Lead Product Designer at IQVIA. Catherine and Jenn each talk about their journey to design, their shared critical lens on the...
Leisha Muraki on the Currency of Connection
On this episode, we talk with Leisha Muraki, a Director of Brand Strategy at RORA, and a Lead in Brand Experience at MDMD. Leisha talks about how graduating in the middle of a financial recession forced her to take risks and work abroad in search of job...
Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo on the Politics of Helping
On this episode, we talk with Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, Dean of the School of Design Strategies, Associate Dean at Parsons School of Design, and the Conference Co-Chair of the Digitally Engaged Learning (DEL) Conference. Cynthia talks of being an artist...
Debbie Millman on Hope
On this episode, we talk with Debbie Millman, a designer, author, illustrator, educator, and brand consultant who is currently the Chair and co-founder of the Masters in Branding Program at the School of Visual Arts, the Editorial & Creative Director...
In Memoriam: August de los Reyes on Designing the New American Dream
On December 21, 2020, August de Los Reyes passed away due to complications with COVID-19 at the age of 50. Since learning about this, Jp and I have been saddened to hear of his passing. August was a remarkable designer with an amazing intellect. And, he...
Year 05
August de los Reyes on Designing the New American Dream
On this final episode of Year 05, we talk with August de los Reyes, Chief Design Officer at Varo Money Inc., in San Francisco, California. De los Reyes’ career transcends decades of technological shifts and advancements, and includes work with Microsoft,...
Annu Yadav on Design as an Act of Service
On this episode, we talk with Annu Yadav, Head of Design at Aurora Solar in San Francisco, California. Annu is a multidisciplinary practitioner across fine art, design, fashion technology, and business. Yadav discusses how her approach to design brings...
Scott Tong on Design Entrepreneurialism
On this episode, we talk with Scott Tong, a startup advisor in San Francisco, California. Through his career working at RMB Vivid, IDEO, Pinterest, and co-founding IFTTT, Tong has developed the unique perspective of designer as entrepreneur. In our...
Diane Lee on Archiving Data
On this episode, we talk with Diane Lee, an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University in California. Lee is a multi-disciplinary designer who explores work in print, video, writing, sound, code, and physical space. Lee talks about her research in...
Macbeth Watson on Design Endurance
In this episode, we talk with MacBeth Watson, Vice President of Design & Research at Strava in San Francisco, California. MacBeth’s career spans companies such as Microsoft, Pinterest, Starbucks, and Strava. Watson talks about how her endurance and...
Minnie Bredouw on Design for Social Impact
On this episode, we talk with Minnie Bredouw, Executive Director and co-founder of The Purpose Project. Through her experiences at Frog, IDEO, and IDEO.org, teaching at various institutions, Bredouw has focused her career on developing a practice of design...
Hugh Dubberly on Systems in Design Practice
On this episode, we talk with Hugh Dubberly, Principal of Dubberly Design Office, or DDO, in San Francisco, California. DDO focuses on making hardware, software, and services easier to use through their deep expertise in information and interaction design....
Live: Megan Ruhlach & Quba Michalski on Designing Space
On this episode of This is Design School, we talked with Senior Visual Designer Megan Ruhlach and Director of Innovation Quba Michalski from Blink, a research and design firm in Seattle, Washington. At the Seattle Interactive Conference, we sat down and...
Year 05 Trailer
This is Design School is coming back. This year, Jp and Chad took a trip down to San Francisco, California (don’t worry, this was before COVID-19) and had some great conversations with folks around the Bay Area’s design community. We can’t wait to share...
Year 04
Annabelle Gould on Criticism over Praise
On this episode, we talked with Annabelle Gould, an Associate Professor in the Division of Design at the School of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Washington in Seattle. Annabelle talks about the balance between being a designer and an...
Sheryl Cababa on Unintended Consequences
On this episode, we interview Sheryl Cababa, an Executive Creative Director at Artefact in Seattle. Sheryl talks with us about the experience of designing in the Netherlands, how living abroad helped develop an ability to question the systems engrained...
Jeff Barlow on Persistence
On this episode, we talked to Jeff Barlow, who is a Creative Director at Boeing. He shares his insight about how doing design well requires putting in the time, the importance of the craft of typography, and how a continuous and complete design education...
Sean Munson on Finding Design’s Place
On this episode, we talked to Sean Munson, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington. Sean shares how his childhood interest of building model Naval ships led him to the study of...
Timothy Bardlavens on Breaking Barriers
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...
Silong Chhun on Design for Social Change
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...
Ruki Neuhold-Ravikumar on Telling Design’s Story
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...
Nicole Gleadle on Growing Where You’re Planted
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...
Michael Bierut on Luck
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. Photo...
Year 03
Anna Brayton on Curiosity
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...
Jp Avila on Chasing the Next Carrot
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...
Michael Smith on Deepening Design Practice
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...
John Snavely on Questioning Thoughtfully
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. Chad: John...
Lance Kagey on Authenticity
On this episode, Lance Kagey, an owner and Principal at Rotator Creative, talks about community building, the tangential hobbies that make designers interesting, and creating more authentic work by using elements and materials from the world around us....
Gabri Joy Kirkendall on Being Bold Enough
On this episode, Gabri Joy Kirkendall, author of Creative Lettering and Beyond and The Joy of Lettering, talks about book publishing in the art world, unexpectedly changing your life course, and being bold in typeface and in person. Chad: Garbri Joy...
Year 02
Karen Gutowsky on Preparing for What’s Next
On this episode, Karen Gutowsky-Zimmerman, a Professor of Visual Communication Design at Seattle Pacific University, talks about how to prepare students for the next step after graduation beyond the portfolio, how design can remain relevant in a world...
Erin Kendig on Making Space to Work
On this episode, Erin Kendig, a practicing fine artist and Managing Editor of ARCADE Magazine, talks about making space to work, ditching the five-year plan, and figuring out how you want to spend your time. CHAD: Erin Kendig, thank you for being on the...
Rebecca Stewart-Johnson on Persistence
On this episode, Rebecca Stewart-Johnson, a Tacoma-based designer, talks about the work to get that first job, the bravery it takes to approach new people, and how to keep working and learning through life changes. JP: Rebecca Stewart-Johnson, thank you...
Terry Marks on Impending Good
On this episode, Terry Marks, a Seattle-based designer and AIGA Fellow, talks about finding his way to design, balancing work to eat with work for good, and what we need to survive as designers today. CHAD: Terry Marks, thank you for joining us on This is Design...
Krista Fredricks on Merging Passions with Design
On this episode, Krista Fredricks, a Seattle-based web designer, talks about the importance of internships, finding your dream job by merging your passion with design and the concept of designer as curator. JP: Krista Fredricks, thank you for being on...
Benjamin Shown Discusses Designing for the Future
On this episode, Benjamin Shown, a Boston-based creative director, talks about the importance of establishing a design community, and how designing for the future is about making design invisible by bringing content and narratives to the...
Gage Mitchell & Jen Stewart on Sustainable Design
On this episode, Gage Mitchell & Jennifer Stewart, partners at Modern Species in Seattle, Wash., talk about the complexity of and need for sustainable design in today’s world. And, how celebrating small wins can help when feeling overwhelmed...
Taylor Cox on Creative Constraints
On this episode, Taylor Cox, a letter press designer and book artist, talks about not being afraid to veer away from what your peers are doing, going all in when learning a new technique and what not to do when climbing inside a giant Heidelberg Press. JP:...
Karen Cheng Talks Critique
On this episode, Karen Cheng, a Professor in the Division of Design at the University of Washington, discusses how she found her way to design and the value of critique, not only in education and work, but also in everyday life. CHAD: What’s your backstory?...
Year 01
Adriel Rollins Discusses Design Education
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Adriel Rollins, an industrial designer who works on creating yachts. Adriel discusses his time in undergraduate and graduate school and how those experiences have helped shape him for a...
Jon Cook on Writing, Mentors & Healthcare
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Jon Cook, a Senior UX Designer at Edifecs in Bellevue. Jon discusses using writing to organize thoughts, finding a mentor and the potential of design in healthcare.
Scott Ichikawa on Balancing Design & Family
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Scott Ichikawa, a graduate student in University of Washington’s Master of Design program. Scott discusses his thesis project, the news and his son (the most important project of his life)....
Ryan Applegate & What He Wishes He Knew Sooner
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall talk with Ryan Applegate, a self-taught designer working in Seattle. Ryan talks about creating interesting visual stories and what he loves about long-form media. His insights on what he wished he...
Matt Knorr on Creating More and Sharing Often
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Matt Knorr, a designer in Seattle who shares with us the value of sketching and learning by failure. Matt, an avid sports fan, shares his insights on the importance of sketching and...
Daniel Worthington on Life-Long Learning
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Daniel Worthington, a designer and programmer in Seattle. Daniel shares his insights on being a life-long learner and how he finds projects that interest him. Jp also realizes he has found a...
Paige Pauli on Imposter Syndrome
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Paige Pauli, a UX/UI designer and front-end developer at Simply Measured in Seattle. Paige shares stories on her roundabout path to becoming a designer and how even successful and talented...
Brittany Staten on Creative Outlets
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila interviews Brittany Staten, a visual designer at CareZone in Seattle. Brittany discusses the importance of being creative both at work and at play. Learn how she finds creative outlets to allow her mind to think about...
Jessica Frongello on Trusting Yourself
On this episode of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad P. Hall interview Jessica Frongello, a visual designer at CareZone in Seattle a. Jessica discusses the process of getting her first job as a designer after design school and learning to trust...
Samuel Hosman on Doing What You Love
On this, the first official podcast of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad Hall interview Samuel Hosman, a graphic designer and audiophile living in the Pacific Northwest. Sam discusses his interest in music, design and the importance of loving what you do. And...
Yr01, Ep00 :: Jp & Chad
On this prototype podcast of This is Design School, Jp Avila and Chad Hall interview each other to test out what it would take to make a podcast. What starts out with fun banter testing the sound of the microphone quickly shifts to Jp and Chad digging into each others...