Design Notes

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. Scripts won this year’s award for Experience, with creative interactions, navigation, and content presentation. In the interview, I spoke with the Scripts team about using a color system to create a unique experience while expressing identity, and building interactions that make users feel accomplished right away.   Listen and subscribe to Design Notes 

In this episode, Liam speaks with Bradley Munkowitz, also known as designer/director GMUNK, unpacking Munkowitz’s scintillating psychedelic aesthetic — inspired by actual psychedelic experiences — and why it’s important as a designer to continually challenge and be challenged, maintaining a healthy discomfort with one’s own work.   Subscribe to Design Notes 

In this episode, Liam speaks with interdisciplinary artist and creative coder Qianqian Ye in her San Francisco studio. The duo traces her journey from wielding calligraphy brushes to building a hand-holding glove, unpacking the vulnerabilities we all share as humans, how creative intent is communicated, and the importance of imagining other futures.   Subscribe to Design Notes 

In this episode, Liam speaks with new media artist Harvey Moon in his San Francisco studio. The duo 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.Read a full transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with Conor Grebel about how lived experiences inform and are conveyed through creative work.Our conversation traces Conor’s journey toward creative work and the “ingredients” that help him craft soothing art for himself and others.Note: The first half of this episode deals with topics of panic attack disorder, anxiety, and psychological abuse.   Read a full transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with Katie Garcia and Dustin Payseur, who together run independent music label Bayonet Records.Garcia and Payseur (who also leads the band Beach Fossils) break down the complex relationship between a record label and the creative work it supports, the qualities of sonic design, and the magic of releasing an album on your own terms.   Read a full transcript

In this episode, guest host Barbara Eldredge turns the tables, interviewing regular host Liam Spradlin about his own creative journey and reflecting on the themes that unite the first 25 episodes of Design Notes.   Read a full transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with Rob Giampietro, Design Director at the Museum of Modern Art. Giampietro shares his journey from studio designer to design manager, explores the unseen details of a museum experience, and describes the responsibility designers have to create impact.  Download a PDF transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with Clinton Cargill, the current visual director at Vanity Fair and former photo director at Bloomberg Businessweek. Cargill describes how he mastered the art of critically looking at pictures, what it takes to craft a compelling story with the expressive capabilities of photography, and why intent is central to creative work. Download a PDF transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with New York-based type designer Ksenya Samarskaya, exploring how type absorbs influence from its place in time, space, and culture. Samarskaya unpacks how typography represents the histories and complexities of the world around us, while revealing our own identities in the process.Download a PDF transcript

In this episode, Liam speaks with Bee Grandinetti and Hedvig Ahlberg—two thirds of the trio that founded Punanimation, a community and platform for women, trans, and non-binary folks working with animation and motion design.Bee and Hedvig unpack the ways in which motion design is influenced by the music and movement of the world around us, and how they’re answering the question, “where are the women in motion design?” Download a PDF transcript

In this episode, Liam sits down with the winners of the 2018 Material Design Awards—Anchor, KptnCook, Lyft, and SimpleHabit—to discuss how they each adopted and extended Material to build expressive, inspirational experiences.   Download a PDF transcript 

Tuuli and Kivi Sotamaa are the brother and sister team behind Ateljé Sotamaa, a studio creating emotionally-appealing objects and holistic architectural environments. In the episode: Tuuli and Kivi Sotamaa recount their very first collaboration (back in 1999!) and discuss a shared interest in experiences that aren’t stripped of their friction. Learn more

Marko Ahtisaari is the artistic director of the Helsinki Festival, a former product design lead at Nokia, and co-founder of Dopplr and Sync Project. In the episode: Marko Ahtisaari expands on his journey as a designer and entrepreneur, explaining powerful lessons learned across three continents. By taking a holistic perspective on the Finnish design tradition, Ahtisaari unpacks how the country’s societal values shaped its technologies. Learn more

A transdisciplinary artist, Stephanie Dinkins focuses on AI’s intersection with race, gender, and social equity. In the episode, recorded live onstage at SPAN: Stephanie Dinkins unpacks how and why we should actively engage with artificial intelligence. Dinkins also discusses her experience befriending the AI robot Bina48. Learn more

James Bridle is an artist and author working across technologies and disciplines. His artworks have been commissioned by galleries and institutions, and exhibited worldwide. In the episode: James Bridle explores the importance of having agency in—and working knowledge of—the complex systems in which we live. Learn more

A design director working on Google Home and wearables, Isabelle Olsson also oversees CMF (color, material, and finish) for all Google hardware. In the episode: Isabelle Olsson explains how she discovered the discipline of industrial design and explores the approach that lead to the unique aesthetic of Google hardware. Learn more

In this episode, Liam speaks with Jesse Reed, identity designer and co-founder of Standards Manual—a publishing imprint known for preserving and republishing historic design style guides and assemblages of designed artifacts. In the interview, Reed explores his experiences working at Pentagram, and how identity design is related to time, truth, and the organizations it ultimately serves. Learn more 

In this episode, Liam speaks with Ryan Snelson about his experience redesigning MySpace, championing a gritty and expressive experimental aesthetic, and understanding the constraints of technology and design. Learn more 

In this episode, Liam speaks with interdisciplinary designer Sang Mun of YAW Studio. In the interview—recorded in Seoul, South Korea—Liam and Sang explore how the ZXX typeface, which was born from Sang’s experience in special intelligence, tells a story that helps us consider our privacy and the nature of the information that shapes our lives, how accessible tools can empower users, and how to think about the practical constraints we all face as designers. Learn more