Design Notes-logo

Design Notes

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Design Notes is a podcast about creative work and what it teaches us, hosted by Google's Liam Spradlin. Each episode we talk with people from unique creative fields to discover what inspires and unites us in our practice. Find episodes on your favorite platform: pod.link/designnotes

Location:

United States

Description:

Design Notes is a podcast about creative work and what it teaches us, hosted by Google's Liam Spradlin. Each episode we talk with people from unique creative fields to discover what inspires and unites us in our practice. Find episodes on your favorite platform: pod.link/designnotes

Language:

English


Episodes

Connie Shi + Matvei Malkov, Google Material Design

3/14/2023
Liam speaks with Googlers Connie Shi, a software engineer on Material Design, and Matvei Malkov, a software engineer on Jetpack Compose, and the trio unpack what makes coding a creative practice, and which creative choices are required when you build a design system for other developers around the world. The wide-ranging conversation turns from complex problem solving and technical logic to the concept of creativity as the question-provoking quality of a thought. đź“ť Read a full transcript đź“» Subscribe to Design Notes

Duration:00:42:08

Dave Crossland, Google Fonts

1/31/2023
Liam and Google Fonts Specialist Dave Crossland explore what digital type can teach us about digital production, emotional expression, and where we fit in the world as designers; and how – with a little imagination – we might unlock new possibilities. 📑 Read a full transcript 📻 Subscribe to Design Notes

Duration:00:36:57

Judith Donath, Founder, MIT Sociable Media Group

12/20/2022
In this episode, Liam speaks with Judith Donath, the founder of MIT’s Sociable Media Lab, inventor of e-cards, and author of The Social Machine: Designs for Living Online. Donath’s work offers crucial insights into the sociality of digital products and platforms, and the opportunities we have as digital producers to make things that truly meet sociable ends. In the episode, Donath unpacks some of this work, exploring potential futures for life online and the joy of learning (and sharing) something new. 📑 Read a full transcript 📻 Subscribe to Design Notes

Duration:00:36:19

Aline Borges, The Florist

11/22/2022
Liam speaks with Aline Borges, a Zürich-based floral designer who’s made the leap from fashion coordination for magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar to independent floral design and installations. The conversation covers what it’s like to move between different creative fields (and countries), how to think about composition to tackle almost any creative challenge, and the courage and community it takes to start on a new venture. 📑 Read a full transcript 📻 Subscribe to Design Notes

Duration:00:28:35

⏮️ Harvey Moon, New Media Artist

10/25/2022
In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with new media artist Harvey Moon, recorded in his San Francisco studio. Liam and Harvey discuss how Moon’s work reveals unseen properties of the world around us, the process of creating one’s own creative tools, and the kind of art that’s only made possible through collaboration with machines. The conversation expands on ideas about the way the world around us is designed and redesigned, and where that places us as designers. Read the full transcript: https://www.iamli.am/design-notes-podcast/harvey-moon-new-media-artist Subscribe to Design Notes: 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:30:59

Ignacio Ciocchini, Streetscape + Public Space Designer

10/11/2022
Liam speaks with streetscape and public space designer Ignacio Ciocchini, who’s created much of the public furniture that New Yorkers encounter every single day – from benches that provide personal space, to entire built landscapes for Bryant Park, to chargers for electric vehicles and more. The conversation ranges from the materiality of the built environment, to the ways in which it expands, constrains, and informs our experiences of life and socialization in a city, with a look toward the more human-focused future that Ciocchini envisions. Read the full transcript: https://www.iamli.am/design-notes-podcast/ignacio-ciocchini-nyc-public-furniture Subscribe to Design Notes: 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:44:44

⏮️ Kerry Murphy, Co-founder, The Fabricant

9/27/2022
In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant. We uncover how data are spun into virtual threads, and how virtual embodiment can foster self-actualization. In designing couture that doesn’t—or can’t—exist in physical space, The Fabricant also explores ideas of embodiment and self-actualization. Murphy pushes these concepts even further, by interacting with his own “virtual twin,” composed from 3D-scans of his body. Read the full transcript: https://www.iamli.am/design-notes-podcast/kerry-murphy-founder-the-fabricant Subscribe to Design Notes: 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:22:49

Tom Boellstorff, Anthropologist, Coming of Age in Second Life

9/13/2022
Liam speaks to Tom Boellstorff, Anthropologist and UCI Professor, whose ethnographic work in Second Life (documented in his book, Coming of Age in Second Life) provides important insights into how virtual space – and our interface with it – informs and interacts with our lives in actual space. In virtual worlds like Second Life, inhabitants exist only through their own acts of creation, which also serve as a primary mode of experiencing life in virtual space. Full transcript + images: https://www.iamli.am/design-notes-podcast/tom-boellstorff-virtual-anthropology Subscribe to Design Notes: 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:33:41

Welcome Back to Design Notes: Season 2 Trailer

8/30/2022
It's been a while, but Design Notes is coming back for Season 2 uncovering even more of what inspires and unites us in our work. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss new interviews with practitioners working on public furniture, the culture of virtual space, and more. Follow @DesignNotespod on Twitter for updates! Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:01:32

SF Design Week: Julian Zigerli, ZĂĽrich Fashion Designer

6/8/2021
In this episode, part of San Francisco Design Week's Digital Edition, Liam speaks with Julian Zigerli, a designer in Zürich, Switzerland creating clothing that allows everyone to decide how what they wear expresses who they are. In the interview, Zigerli describes how the rich culture of Switzerland impacts his work, what it means when someone asks for "straight" clothes, and how his creative practice adapted in a time of pandemic. Content warning: In this episode, the word "queer" is used in a reclaimed manner. Find out more about SF Design Week at sfdesignweek.com Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:33:34

Theming with Moooi - 2020 Material Design Awards

4/20/2021
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Moooi, winning the award for Material Theming, focuses on aesthetic fundamentals like type, color, and imagery to create an immersive and expressive experience for their digital flagship. In the interview, Liam is joined by Margot Gabel and Rémy Barthez taking an in-depth look at how Moooi implemented an award-winning themed experience. 👉 PDF Transcript Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:21:13

Dark Theme with KAYAK - 2020 Material Design Awards

4/20/2021
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. KAYAK has taken their comprehensive price comparison and travel booking experience to the next level by translating their brand into a dark theme. In the interview, Liam learns from Aleksandra Safarova and Mike Scopino how building a dark theme revolutionized KAYAK's entire approach to color. 👉 PDF Transcript Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:21:27

Motion Design with Epsy - 2020 Material Design Awards

4/20/2021
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Epsy uses motion meaningfully, guiding users living with Epilepsy through critical tasks to better their quality of life. In the interview, Liam is joined by Jennifer Stott and Marco Peluso to break down Epsy's approach to designing - and prioritizing - motion. 👉 PDF Transcript Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:20:27

BJ Best, ArtyBots

4/21/2020
In this episode, Liam speaks with BJ Best, a poet who teaches computers to do what humans can’t in the name of art. His network of ArtyBots is part of a vibrant scene of robots creating, sharing, and collaborating with one another on virtual art. In the interview, Best describes the reflective opportunities and editorial impact created by a bot-created body of work numbering in the tens of thousands. Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:32:26

Laurie Rosenwald, Illustrator and Author

3/17/2020
Design Notes is a show about creative work and what it teaches us. In this episode, Liam speaks with illustrator, editorial designer, and author Laurie Rosenwald about how she’s managed to cultivate an aesthetic—and a career—around “making mistakes on purpose.” Learn how chaos and collage can come together to reveal unexpected creative potential, and let Rosenwald help make sure you’re never alone with a blank page. Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:35:28

Kerry Murphy, Co-Founder, The Fabricant

2/18/2020
In this episode, Liam speaks with Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant, to learn how ones and zeros are spun, woven, and stitched into virtual couture. In designing couture that doesn’t—or can’t—exist in physical space, The Fabricant also explores ideas of embodiment and self-actualization. Murphy pushes these concepts even further, by interacting with his own “virtual twin,” composed from 3D-scans of his body. Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:22:22

David Reinfurt, Author (A *New* Program for Graphic Design)

1/21/2020
Design Notes is a show about creative work and what it teaches us. For the first episode of 2020, Liam speaks with David Reinfurt, founder of O-R-G, half of Dexter Sinister, and author of A *New* Program for Graphic Design. Together they explore the fluid notions of personal, corporate, and graphic identity throughout Reinfurt’s career, the importance of learning through practice, and the relationship between design and art. Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:35:37

Reflectly - 2019 Material Design Awards

11/26/2019
This episode is part of a special series of four interviews with the winners of this year’s Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Reflectly, a unique journaling app, won this year’s award for innovation by pushing the boundaries of Material Design and bringing it to life with fluid animations, a novel elevation model, and custom componentry. In the interview, cofounder Jacob Kristensen digs into the foundations of Reflectly and how its experience—from philosophy to specific interactions—came to life. Listen and subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:13:50

Ruff - 2019 Material Design Awards

11/26/2019
This episode is part of a special series of four interviews with the winners of this year’s Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Ruff is a focused note-taking app that won this year’s award for theming, building an expressive identity through the consistent application of color, typography, and shape. In the interview, Liam and developer/designer Bardi Golriz talk about what it’s like to add new features without losing focus, and how Material Theming impacts the process of developing an app. Listen and subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:16:12

Trip.com - 2019 Material Design Awards

11/26/2019
This episode is part of a special series of four interviews with the winners of this year’s Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Trip.com is a travel app that won this year’s award for universality by accounting for users around the world with over a dozen supported languages and custom imagery. The interview unpacks what it’s like to build an app for the entire world, and what makes Trip.com a unique experience. Listen and subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts 👉iTunes 👉Spotify 👉Pocket Casts 👉RSS

Duration:00:09:45