#13 | Dan Grossmann | Driving innovation across industries

In episode 13, I talk with Dan Grossmann, Associate Design Director at Smart Design in New York. Dan and I sat together at the recent IDC Conference in Chicago and chat about his learnings around why, how and what design drives forward. Dan shares from his experience and impressive body of work: before his role at Smart Design, he was Director of Industrial Design at Bark but also worked at Peloton, Martha Stewart Living, Prime Studios, 4sight Inc., Project H Design and many other places.

#12 | Michael DiTullo | Driving impact at Nike, Jordan, Frog, Sound United and more

In episode 12, I talk with Michael DiTullo, one day after he received his Personal Recognition Award by IDSA during IDC 2019 in Chicago. With Michael, I talk about the what he learned designing and prototyping with Michael Jordan working at Nike, risk and opportunities for the future of design and industrial design, why kids should be taught in schools about design and how to report as a VP of Design directly to the board and talk to business.

#11 | Chris Livaudais | Driving the future of IDSA

In this episode, I talk with Chris Livaudais, Executive Director at IDSA. We sat together at the recent IDC (International Design Conference) hosted by IDSA in Chicago USA. The conferences highlighted speaker from various areas of Design and especially Industrial Design talking about the future of the discipline, the impact, challenges, recent case studies and more. As a speaker and attendee myself I had an absolutely amazing experience.

#10 | Hannah Thomas | Driving sustainable services

In this episode, I talk with Hannah Thomas, a Senior Business Designer at Fjord London who is driven by a huge passion to create change towards a more sustainable future. We talk about how service and business designer can contribute drive business and services to be sustainable and circular. Hannah shares how she leverages her background in business with design skills and methods to create this change for clients, partners and projects.

Business DesignSebastian GierOctober 24, 2019design, innovation, uxresearch, ux, designstrategy, servicedesign

#9 | Nancy Diniz | Driving biology through design

This episode I talk Nancy Diniz, an architect and teacher from Portugal who is heading and developing the world first “Bio Design” Programme which explores the intersection of design and biology at Central Saint Martins in London. In addition, we talk about the opportunity of that intersection and how design and science can drive change and move the worlds towards more sustainable solutions, buildings, products, services, businesses and more. In the programme designer from all backgrounds work closely with biology and find new paths.

Bio DesignSebastian GierOctober 9, 2019design, innovation, uxresearch, ux, servicedesign, biology, bio design, sustainability

#8 | Michael Seum | Driving design leadership

This episode I talk with Michael Seum on design leadership and his career from in-house experiences in the USA and Italy to startup and consulting work at Minimal and Lunatik but also his roles afterwards in design leadership at Pepsi and most recently Grohe. Michael gives important design advice for young talents when it comes to building up a career and some of the things he learned at different stations in his career. We also talk about the difference between a good designer and a good design leader.

#7 | Antonio Starnino | Driving intentionality and meanings of design

This episode I talk with Antonio Starnino about different views of “what is design”. Antonio draws his insights from a reflective and thoughtful article we was writing on Medium about 3 schools of design. We discuss the tension that is visible these days in the design community. The meaning of what design is range from traditional views where design is about the craft, to newer streams where design is seen as a cultural-mediator and driver for change to design as an inclusive tool for innovation that everyone can learn.

Service DesignSebastian GierAugust 6, 2019design, innovation, uxresearch, ux, designstrategy, servicedesign

#6 | Kathryn Richards | Driving innovation in different countries and cultures

The newest guest at Designdrives is Kathryn Richards, Design Director at Fjord in South Africa. Kathryn had the chance to drive Service Design and Design Strategy in an impressive amount of countries - she designed in London, Munich, Paris, Istanbul and across South Africa. This rich experience as a design leader is the base of our conversation: we learn what it means to design in different environments, solve local design problems and face new challenges like building up Designit London or transitioning to new roles of leading design teams.

Service DesignSebastian GierJune 23, 2019design, innovation, uxresearch, ux, designstrategy, fjord, designit, servicedesign

#5 | Ross Mitchell | Driving UX Research & Strategy from Ford to AT&T

In this episode we talk about Design Strategy and UX Research. Ross Mitchell is an experienced design leader that gained experience from the automotive field at Ford to the entertainment industry at AT&T as a director of UX Research and Strategy. Gaining experience in both in-house teams and design consultancies: Before his corporate experiences, he was also working at design agencies like RKS Design and served as an Adjunct Professor at CCS. Nowadays he is building WHOA as a Co-founder and Managing Director of the agency which bridges the sectors of research, strategy, innovation and design.

Design StrategySebastian GierJune 10, 2019design, at&t, ford, mobility, automotive, innovation, uxresearch, ux, designstrategy

EPISODES

Explore futures.

We interviewed design entrepreneurs and progressive design minds who gained their experience at the most innovative work cultures, creative teams or own startups and ventures - to explore why, how and what designers drive forward.