Design Observer @designobserver.com · 19/06/2026Juneteenth was supposed to mark the end of slavery. But the right to vote was a separate fight — and it took another hundred years. Today, that right is at risk, and the fight is back. Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU Louisiana, explains why on our upcoming podcast, Draw the Line. 100
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 18/06/2026One Supreme Court case. Ten episodes. The inside story of Louisiana's fight over maps, power, and representation — and why it matters everywhere else too. Draw the Line, asks a simple question: who is fighting for your vote? First episode drops soon, stay tuned. open.spotify.com/show/033ztWe... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 02/06/2026The boy who flew too close to the sun. You know the story. Jessica Helfand is painting the one you don't. The Icarus Diaries has been unfolding since February. Start from the beginning: designobserver.com/category/the... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 05/01/2026New year. New job? Brooklyn Public Library is looking for a Junior Designer to help bring a beloved public institution to life. See this opening and more at DesignObserver.com/jobs 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 17/11/2025A former Japanese toy designer has created a transformer-inspired scooter. The all-electric Icoma Tatamel Bike folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on, and based on the photos, also works as a fashion accessory. #Observed www.core77.com/posts/139327... 020
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 05/09/2025WNBA players have made their message clear using protest tees to spotlight pay inequity and demand a fair share of the game they’ve built. Read more on how players have turned warmups into protest, and made labor rights the heart of the game. designobserver.com/say-it-with-... 030
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 04/09/2025Design As returns September 9th. Hosted by Lee Moreau, Season 3 features global voices from design, tech, and business exploring how AI intersects with design. New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 28/08/2025We're looking for Radical collaborators! Have you submitted yet? 👀 wkf.ms/45zZQaz 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 26/08/2025Be kind, rewind: Design Twitter has turned into a slugfest of logo takes, AI hot-takes, and harsh “critiques.” Some designers are calling for kindness, worried about the message this culture sends to young creatives. #Observed 100
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 19/08/2025At this year’s Aspen Institute Summit, one theme rose above all: trust. How do leaders balance risk + innovation while leading in an era of growing distrust in corporations + capitalism? Part 1 of our special DB|BD Aspen series is out now: Listen at the link 🎧 designobserver.com/on-location-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 15/08/2025What is a Radical Collaborator? At Design Observer, it’s someone breaking silos and building solutions that reflect many voices. That’s the spirit of this year’s DO20. Learn more and nominate by Sept 5: wkf.ms/45zZQaz 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 11/08/2025Nominations are open for The Design Observer 20! This year we're looking for Radical Collaborators - people, projects, and ideas using design to solve urgent challenges through cross-disciplinary collaboration. Deadline Sept 5, 2025. Nominate here: wkf.ms/45zZQaz 132
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 08/07/2025“Machines seem to speak our language but they don’t yet speak human.” In the new preface to How to Speak Machine, technologist & designer @johnmaeda.bsky.social explores how we got here and why teaching AI to reflect our values is the real work ahead. 🔗 designobserver.com/should-we-te... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 03/07/2025New episode of The Design of Business | The Business of Design is now LIVE. Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, on how linking purpose to pride builds trust, and why great leadership starts with listening and hope. Streaming on all platforms. 🎧 designobserver.com/candace-park... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 01/07/2025NEW on DBBD: a double double with Michael C. Bush on workplace culture and WNBA legend Candace Parker on leadership, perception, and the power of sports. Are we finally seeing women’s sports more clearly? Listen now designobserver.com/candace-park... #GPTW 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 25/06/2025Design has the power to reflect, reframe, and reclaim. In a new essay for Design Observer, Seher Anand explores how diasporic designers are using visual language to tell stories that resist erasure. From chai to feni, these identities aren’t for export. 🔗 designobserver.com/food-brandin... 020
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 12/06/2025Are we training the systems that will replace us? In this DBBD clip, @ethanmarcotte.com explains how automation doesn't replace jobs overnight, it reshapes them. First you supervise the AI. Then your role is devalued. designobserver.com/compassionat... 174
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 05/06/2025@debbiemillman.bsky.social never imagined she'd say this out loud. In this clip, she reflects on how her partner, @roxanegay.bsky.social, helped her embrace a new creative chapter, and what it taught her about the rest of her life. Listen to the full episode 🔗 designobserver.com/love-letter-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 03/06/2025Debbie Millman reflects on what Pride means to her as a queer woman. Not pride in herself, but in shared experience, and in the justice of being who you are. From the latest episode of The Design of Business | The Business of Design podcast 🎙️ designobserver.com/love-letter-... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 29/05/2025Debbie Millman doesn’t hold back: “We’re not just facing a constitutional crisis, we’re in a capitalist one, too.” In this clip, she calls out the branding world’s failure to stand up to racism and power. Listen to the full exchange on the latest #DBBD designobserver.com/love-letter-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 11/05/2025This isn’t just about design. It’s about legacy, loss, and the quiet strength passed down from mother to daughter. 🔗 Read the full story here: designobserver.com/dear-mother-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 09/05/2025“The yellow brick road was never meant for you. But there is another road… and you get to do what you want to do in that.” Filmmaker Jon M. Chu reflects on legacy, parenthood, and creating space for new stories. Read more 🔗 designobserver.com/making-space... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 08/05/2025Jon M. Chu shares how his mom gave him a reality check when he turned down a direct-to-DVD Step UP sequal. “If you’re a storyteller, you should be able to tell it anywhere.” Hear the full story on the latest episode of #DBBD. designobserver.com/making-space... #GPTW 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 06/05/2025Jon M. Chu on collaboration: “Every time you do a movie, you’re basically creating a new company with new people and reestablishing culture.” Hear more on The Design of Business | The Business of Design: designobserver.com/making-space... 011
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 30/04/2025Barcode beeps. Hospital alarms. Crackling intercoms. The modern soundscape is hurting us more than we realize. Sound designer Eddie Gandelman is reimagining the noise, and crafting a quieter, kinder future. Full interview on Design Observer: 🔗 designobserver.com/a-quieter-pl... 041
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 23/04/2025Director Jon M. Chu shares how becoming a parent shifted his perspective on storytelling, identity, and legacy. He joins @emcg.bsky.social for a special live episode of DBBD, now streaming wherever you get your podcasts! designobserver.com/making-space... 021
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 10/04/2025We’re looking for opinion pieces on the rise of AI image-making. What does it mean when a machine can replicate Studio Ghibli’s iconic hand-drawn style in seconds? Art, ethics, aesthetics and everything in between. Pitch us at designobserver.com/pitch 2115
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 05/04/2025Change doesn’t stick without systems. Tony Bynum says transformation takes more than a mission statement, you need permission, tools, and buy-in from the top and bottom. Hear more on the latest DBBD episode: The New Era of Design Leadership. designobserver.com/the-new-era-... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 04/04/2025Design is evolving. Tony Bynum challenges us to move from designing for to designing with. What does that shift mean for leadership, culture, and outcomes? Hear more on the latest DBBD episode: The New Era of Design Leadership—now streaming everywhere. designobserver.com/the-new-era-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 03/04/2025Are you selling yourself short at work? Tony Bynum believes authenticity is your greatest asset. In our latest episode of DBBD, he shares how seeing yourself as the product can help you bring your full value to the table and make a real impact. Listen now designobserver.com/the-new-era-... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 02/04/2025Architect and curator Dan Handel discusses his book Designed Forests with @delaneyrebernik.com, exploring how forestry practices intertwine profit, control, and cultural history. Discover how human and nonhuman forces shape forest planning. Read more: designobserver.com/head-in-the-... 030
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 20/03/2025Smallholder farmers need more than just land, they need access to banking, markets, and even identification. Mastercard’s Tara Nathan explains how Community Pass is connecting the dots to make that possible. Listen now 🎧 designobserver.com/a-mastercard... 021
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 18/03/2025Can an app end poverty? Mastercard’s Tara Nathan explains why digital ecosystems, not silver bullets, are the key to solving complex problems like poverty and empowering smallholder farmers. Full episode of DBBD out now. designobserver.com/a-mastercard... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 17/03/2025Wildfires are reshaping our cities. How can design help? Architect @holz-bau.bsky.social looks at lessons from Tokyo’s fire-resistant urban planning and what it means for cities like LA and Seattle. Listen now 🎧 designobserver.com/dbbd-season-... 030
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 04/03/2025Cities aren’t built to adapt to climate change or to help people thrive. Architect Michael Eliason explains why our so-called “comprehensive plans” fail us & how we can design for the unknown. Listen to the DB|BD Season 12 premiere, out now on all platforms 🎧 designobserver.com/dbbd-season-... 080
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 25/02/2025“It is a courageous act to walk in your truth so that others can walk in theirs." Janelle Monáe joins DBBD to talk about artistic independence, self-expression, and building a creative future. A must-listen in today’s world. Full interview: designobserver.com/s7e12-janell... 052
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 20/02/2025Designers shouldn't just react to AI they should shape it. Don Norman joins Design As for the season finale, discussing AI, design research, and why designers must lead the future of innovation. Listen now: youtu.be/Z_AV_F4CuQg 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 13/02/2025Renata Marques Leitão explaining how the pluriversal design paradigm can restart discussions of change. 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 13/02/2025Frederick van Amstel talks about how pluriversal design works against the old paradigm of multiculturalism that silos communities from each other. 110
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 13/02/2025This week on Design As, we explore pluriversal design—an approach that moves beyond universal solutions to embrace diverse ways of knowing and making change. Guests discuss how this paradigm shift impacts equity, democracy, and design’s role in shaping the world. 👇 designobserver.com/design-as-pl... 122
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 11/02/2025This week on Design As: Pluriversal design — a world where many worlds coexist. Insights from Renata Marques Leitão, Frederick van Amstel & Lesley-Ann Noel on redefining design for equity, inclusion & transformation. Listen now 👇 designobserver.com/design-as-pl... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 06/02/2025All of our episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 06/02/2025Can design keep humanity at the center in a tech-driven future? In this episode of Design As Humanity, we explore how design and AI intersect, and why the human element will always be essential. Listen now designobserver.com/design-as-hu... 120
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 04/02/2025This week on Design As: How do we design a future where humanity stays at the center? We explore the evolving relationship between humans and technology — from collaborating with A.I. to embracing the cyborg. Listen now designobserver.com/design-as-hu... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 01/02/2025Christine Platt talks about Afrominimalism and how living with less can lead to so much more. Her journey from burnout to balance inspired the upcoming book “Less is Liberation.” Learn how creating space in your life can improve your mental and physical health. designobserver.com/less-is-libe... 020
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 31/01/2025🚨 Bonus Design As episode alert! What does it mean to conduct design research in large corporations? How can we find the "why" at the core of customer needs and socially meaningful innovation? Tap the link to listen🎧 designobserver.com/bonus-episod... 010
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 30/01/2025This week on Design As, we explore the evolving meaning of being a designer. Who gets to call themselves one? Why does it matter? And how does design shape both creators and the world around them? 🎧 Listen now on Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/4f8w... 000
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 28/01/2025This week on Design As, we explore the evolving meaning of being a designer. Who gets to call themselves one? Why does it matter? And how does design shape both creators and the world around them? 🎧 Listen now on Apple podcasts podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d... 110
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 27/01/2025How do we embrace change when it feels too late? In this thought-provoking essay, our Editor in Chief, @emcg.bsky.social reflects on on the fragility of our systems, the resilience of nature, and the power we hold to redesign the future for good. 👇 designobserver.com/the-parable-... 131
Design Observer @designobserver.com · 24/01/2025Our guest this week, Paolo Ciuccarelli, Founding Director of The Center for Design at Northeastern University, discusses how data can connect diverse audiences and where designers play a critical role. designobserver.com/design-as-vi... 010