Clever is a window into the humanity behind the design of the world around us. In each episode, designer Amy Devers has candid and revealing conversations with the visionaries, culture-makers, and creative forces who shape our world and inform our society. Through raw candor and honest shop-talk, Clever peels back the layers to unearth the gritty, authentic and sometimes surprising details of their creative paths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Have you ever wondered about the people who made your favorite mug, shirt or chair? In Why Do We Have Things?, Rita Mehta of The American Edit and Erin Husted of Hackwith Design House interview the independent designers, artists, small business owners and creatives behind our favorite things.
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Clever Presents - Cal Newport on Doing Less, from Say More
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Sharing a preview of the Say More podcast, where, in a special series, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is opening up the conversation about stress and burnout to help listeners feel less alone and inspired to get help. In this episode, computer scientist and bestselling author Cal Newport says we’ve been thinking about productivity all wrong. …
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Ep. 216: Clever Extra - Interior Designer Kerrie Kelly on Uniting Beauty and Function
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Interior designer and lifestyle expert Kerrie Kelly is known for her distinctive California-inspired design philosophy. She got her start at Ralph Lauren Home and then moved to Del Webb Corporation where she was a boots-on-the-ground high-volume designer of homes, before founding her multi-faceted design studio, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, in 1995. A …
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Ep. 215: Kinfolk’s Idris Brewster Uses AR to Empower Collective Memory Building
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Artist, creative technologist, and educator, Idris Brewster grew up in Brooklyn, being filmed for a documentary about his education as a black student at a prestigious, primarily white, school. His coming-of-age, only partially caught on camera, included a lot of basketball and hands-on artistic development. A grant awarded in college gave him earl…
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Ep. 214: Architect & Designer Marc Thorpe on Relationships, Responsibility, and Uncertainty
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Architect & designer Marc Thorpe spent his youth, just outside of Washington DC, drawing and learning to navigate a destabilizing home environment. The son of two academics, he learned discipline, rigor, and resilience from his mom, while his dad, a critical thinker, taught him to challenge and interrogate everything. Always knowing he’d be an arti…
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Ep. 213: The Quiet Rebellion of Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza
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Natsai Audrey Chieza spent her youth in Zimbabwe in a close-knit extended family where she and her cousins were “in each others’ pockets.” In her teenage years the national economy crashed, necessitating a family relocation to the UK, and she began learning the skill of “not belonging.” Architecture studies proved alienating so she found a way to c…
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Clever Presents - Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith
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Sharing a preview of Tools and Weapons, the podcast hosted by Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. Brad speaks with leaders who are at the intersection of the promise and the peril of the digital age, exploring the role technology plays in helping to solve some of society’s biggest challenges. This episode features Yves Ubelmann, a tech…
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Ep. 212: HODINKEE’s Ben Clymer on Agency, Permanence, and the Talismans of Life
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Ben Clymer grew up in a New York suburb, raised by middle-class public school teachers and enamored by his grandfather’s swagger and style. An Omega Speedmaster, a gift from said grandfather, is the piece that captured his heart and sets his story in motion. A painstakingly shy student, he began to gain self-confidence in high-school and a need to …
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Ep. 211: The Soulful Renovations of House of Rolison
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Co-founders of House of Rolison, Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn, grew up on opposite coasts but were both self-described angsty teens. Both had a deep love for art and architecture, choosing different professional paths before they met online and their fates intertwined. Their first date turned into a road trip and then quarantine-based cohabitation.…
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Ep. 210: Marva Griffin Wilshire on 25 years of Salone Satellite and Showcasing Creativity
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Frequently referred to as the godmother of Italian design, Marva Griffin Wilshire, grew up in a large family in Venezuela, reading House & Garden and rearranging the furniture. Drawn to Italy in the 1970’s, she landed a job as a secretary for Piero Busnelli, founder of B&B Italia, which opened up her entire world. She was introduced to architects a…
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Ep 209: Holly Howard on Business Growth for Creative Entrepreneurs
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Polymath Holly Howard has lived many lives. A former professional ballet dancer, bassoonist, medical researcher and board-certified music therapist, she’s pulled from science, art, and design to create a one-of-a-kind path for herself. Now, she runs the successful culture-first business consultancy, Ask Holly How, to help creative entrepreneurs gro…
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Ep. 208: ICRAVE’s Lionel Ohayon on Designing the Las Vegas Sphere and Other Brave Ideas
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Lionel Ohayon was born in Canada to a family spanning Morocco, Israel, and Spain. This multi-cultural upbringing armed him with the ability to synthesize different inputs and understand complex topics from an early age, and an innate appreciation of hospitality. He founded ICRAVE as a design-build startup in 2002, and several ground-breaking projec…
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Ep. 207: Creative Pep Talk’s Andy J. Pizza on ADHD, the Heroine’s Journey, & Invisible Things
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Illustrator, graphic designer, speaker and picture book-maker Andy J. Pizza grew up in the Indiana suburbs, the child of two diametrically opposite parents - dad in corporate finance and mom an artist. Often feeling out of place, he learned to cope by drawing and smoking cigarettes, before finding indie music, and from there gig posters and graphic…
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Ep. 206: Love by Design’s Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh on the 6 Ingredients of Emergent Love
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Here’s my Valentine to you, Clever listeners. This episode is all about love and how to intentionally design and build the long-lasting, mutually fulfilling, loving relationships you desire. Dr. Sara Nasserzadeh, author of Love By Design: 6 Ingredients to Build a Lifetime of Love unpacks her paradigm-shifting model of Emergent Love, and helps us wi…
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Ep. 175: Artist Nancy Baker Cahill on Augmented Reality and Embodied Consciousness [Rebroadcast]
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Nancy Baker Cahill spent her youth gaining an appreciation for both civic engagement and dark humor. Her creative passions were ignited with a powerful youth arts program, but then went dormant for a difficult spell in adulthood. Now, fully in her stride as a new media artist known for work that examines power, selfhood, and embodied consciousness,…
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Ep. 141: Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford [Rebroadcast]
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Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of…
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Ep. 205: Ana Arriola-Kanada’s Heroic Path to Ethical AI & Platform Whispering
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Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Product Specialist, Ana Arriola-Kanada, grew up in ‘the valley’ just north of LA, watching Robotech and working in the family shop. She moved to Japan just after HS to work in Anime. An autodidact driven by a powerful work ethic and growth mindset, she propelled through all facets of tech & design playing …
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Ep. 132: Artist Malene Barnett [Rebroadcast]
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Malene Barnett is an artist, activist, speaker and legacy maker working in one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures and bespoke textiles. Raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, she’s an authority on the cultural traditions and practices of art in the African diaspora and how it translates into the modern black experience. She founded the Black Artists + Designers…
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Ep. 204: Cey Adams on Designing and Defining Hip-Hop Visual Culture
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Legendary visual artist Cey Adams grew up in NYC immersed in the excitement and danger of graffiti, embellishing buildings and tagging “Cey City” on subway cars. From there, he began selling in galleries along with contemporaries Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, and designing merch, logos and singles for Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and LL Cool J. …
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Ep 119: Lettering Artist Lauren Hom [Rebroadcast]
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Lettering artist Lauren Hom was a super shy and studious child. Her crafty mother would make snacks with her initials cut out of cheese slices. In her teenage years, her first love led to slipping grades and the realization that her creativity, not science, would be her path to college. She sold her parents on going to art school with the promise o…
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Ep. 203: Coil + Drift’s John Sorensen-Jolink on Movement as a Medium
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Lighting Designer John Sorensen-Jolink grew up in Portland, filling his days with soccer, youth symphony, horseback riding, and taking cabs between schools to train for a future as a pro dancer. After 10 years of performing with the best of the best (think Twyla Tharp et al) he answered an urge to learn how to design and make objects grounded in hu…
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Ep. 202: COOL HUNTING’s Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten on Exploring Uncharted Territory
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Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten fell in love at first sight when they met in the office of Razorfish in the 90’s. But before then, Josh grew up straddling Miami and Vermont, where he gained experience navigating different worlds and perspectives. While Evan, growing up in Minneapolis, was bursting with curiosity, learning languages, and pushing to tra…
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Ep. 201: Clever Extra - Shifting Values, Evolving Leadership
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For this extra special episode, we’re taking a practical look at the modern leadership methods and values that support a thriving culture and new vision of prosperity. We’re joined by four exceptional leaders - Natalie Nixon, Creativity Strategist & CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, Jenny Vazquez-Newsum, author of “Untapped Leadership: Harnessing the Power…
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Ep. 200: A Peek Inside Patricia Urquiola’s Curious and Magical Mind
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For our very special 200th episode, we’re joined by world-renowned architect and designer Patricia Urquiola. While she’s now known internationally, growing up in Spain as the middle child she was often forgotten. She found a certain joy in this freedom of being “in between”. Declaring she’d be an architect at age 13, she went on to study with the p…
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Ep. 186: Artist & Humanitarian Julian Lennon on Charting His Own Creative Roadmap [Rebroadcast]
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Julian Lennon’s adventurous spirit sprung from a semi-nomadic youth in the English countryside where he spent his days as a farm hand and climbing trees. He navigated the tricky world of being John Lennon’s son by finding peace in nature, which he channels into his many creative endeavors. Through music, photography, film, books, and philanthropy, …
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Ep. 199: Twenty Thousand Hertz’s Dallas Taylor on Sound, Silence, and Stories
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Sound Designer Dallas Taylor picked up the trumpet in grade school and a whole new world opened up. After a debilitating chapter, he needed to find a new way to translate his love of sound into a profession. He went from music to recording, and into post-production for TV and film. Now he’s the creative director of his leading sound design studio, …
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Ep. 162: Building a Colorful Second Act with Illustrator Yuko Shimizu [Rebroadcast]
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Illustrator Yuko Shimizu was born in Tokyo, Japan and began drawing from an early age. As a preteen, her family moved from Japan to the US, a huge culture shock that included learning an entirely new language and navigating social norms in 7th grade. This experience gave her an even deeper love for drawing - something that transcends any language b…
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Ep. 198: 2x4’s Co-Founder Georgie Stout on Message Over Medium
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Designer and 2x4 co-founder Georgianna Stout lived in Paris before the bumpy transition to the US for elementary school. Unhappy at school, she graduated early and tried on Parsons for fashion design, but it wasn’t the right fit. At RISD, she found her people. The next few years were filled with deep connections, growth, and joy; eventually leading…
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Ep. 197: Clever Extra - The Romance of Creative Alchemist Bryan Costello
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Designer Bryan Costello grew up in an idyllic small town in North Carolina, obsessed with soccer. A self-described “hopeless romantic” he found school a bore and felt that life really began once he left college and moved to Raleigh. He dabbled in graphic design, worked in restaurants, and enjoyed his freedom. Then, he got the job that changed every…
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Ep. 196: Bradley L. Bowers on the Magic of Blending Technology and Craft
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Bradley L. Bowers spent his youth hanging in the basement with Grandma Dorothy while she upholstered furniture. Always outspoken, in High School he found that only the art teachers embraced his questioning of the status quo. A fruitful spell at SCAD earned him Industrial & Furniture Design degrees + loads of skills, but it’s by tuning his antenna t…
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Ep 100: Designer & Queer Eye Star Bobby Berk [Rebroadcast]
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We're taking the summer off to recharge our creative batteries. Enjoy one of our favorite episodes from the archives and we'll return with new episodes in September. Interior designer and star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, Bobby Berk grew up in the rural south, feeling like an outsider. Before coming out as gay, he struggled with anger, depression and te…
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Ep. 190: Germane Barnes Practices Architecture with the Prowess of a Winning Point Guard [Rebroadcast]
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Germane Barnes knew he’d be an architect at age 6, before he even knew what that meant. Growing up playing basketball, he honed skills he now deftly deploys in his creative practice. After a tumultuous period spurred by devastating loss, he has taken the architecture world by storm. He’s swept the most prestigious prizes and is poised to become one…
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Ep. 104: Graphic Designer & Artist Paula Scher [Rebroadcast]
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We're taking the summer off to recharge our creative batteries. Please enjoy revisiting this episode from our archives! Graphic designer Paula Scher grew up drawing pictures to escape a turbulent home life. Later, rebelling against suburban existence, she ventured to art school and became a hippie, and then art directed album covers in NYC. She’s b…
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Ep. 64: Justina Blakeney [Rebroadcast]
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We're taking some time off this summer to recharge our creative batteries. Enjoy this classic Clever episode and we'll be back with fresh interviews this fall! Designer, artist, author and influencer Justina Blakeney, spent her youth teaching art to abused/neglected teenage girls at a residential treatment program run by her parents, where she witn…
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Ep. 195: Clever Extra - Beyond Boomerang: Peeking Beneath the Surface of Era-Defining Patterns
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On this Clever Extra, we peek under the surface of the most defining patterns of the last century. Formica is a decorative laminate so ubiquitous its patterns have come to serve as a record of history and visual representation of our collective consciousness through the years. Meghan Howell, Creative Director with Formica, and Art Director and Edit…
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Ep. 136: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky [Rebroadcast]
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We're taking the summer off to recharge our creative batteries. Please enjoy some of our favorite episodes and we'll be back in the fall with more fantastic Clever episodes! Airbnb Co-Founder & CEO, Brian Chesky, grew up playing hockey and asking Santa for poorly designed toys so he could redesign them. A self-described “peculiar” kid obsessed with…
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OK, first of all, we know the question you're asking: why are we talking to Terry Crews on a design podcast? We first spotted him on the scene during this year's Milan Design Week and then again in NYC for NYCxDesign... and that got us thinking the same question as you—what's he doing hanging around the design scene? Well... besides being a former …
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Ep. 165: Talking Shop with Podcast Powerhouse Avery Trufelman [Rebroadcast]
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Brooklyn-based podcaster Avery Trufelman has radio in her DNA. Her parents met while working at WNYC, so from birth she was nurtured with love and appreciation for radio. As a teenager, Avery took to expressing herself through wild, quirky thrifted fashion ensembles, much to the confusion of her peers. After cutting her audio teeth in college radio…
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Ep. 84: Streetwear Designer Bobby Hundreds [Rebroadcast]
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Streetwear designer Bobby Hundreds grew up as a minority of a minority, being both Korean-American and into the socal skate punk scene. He loved to draw, but was not encouraged to pursue the arts so he got a law degree instead. When he started The Hundreds with a classmate, it took off like a rocket and he learned to fight like both an underdog and…
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Ep. 194: IIDA CEO Cheryl Durst on Communicating the Value of Design
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Only child Cheryl Durst grew up with a tribe of imaginary friends at her side. Her scientist mom and professor dad encouraged this, since it helped with her stutter and soothed her loneliness. A deep love of learning and art pulled her to the Smithsonian museums to work as an educator, before joining IIDA over 25 years ago! At the helm of IIDA, she…
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Ep. 193: Raphael Navot on Non-Industrial Design and Mending the Non-Spoken
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Multidisciplinary designer, Raphael Navot, grew up in homes built by his dad, inventing creative escapist activities with his siblings. After the success of Silencio, a Paris nightclub collaboration with David Lynch, he did the opposite of what many expected - turned down the flood of offers and took time off to reconnect with himself and his purpo…
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Ep. 192: Maria Giudice on Creative Leadership and Cultivating Changemakers
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Creative powerhouse, Maria Giudice, grew up on Staten Island painting portraits of dogs. Teens ushered in the wonderfully weird world of Rocky Horror Picture Show and the flourishing of her wildly independent, creative spirit. In the Bay Area she founded Hot Studio, a pioneering human-centered experience design practice. Now she’s harnessing all he…
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Ep. 191: Rodolfo Agrella Uses Laughter as a Powerful Design Tool
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Multidisciplinary designer, Rodolfo Agrella, grew up in Venezuela with a happy place at a kid-sized table. A self-described weirdo and excellent dancer, he put it all to work as a social butterfly. Now at the helm of an award-winning studio designing products, interiors and experiences, he’s on a steady and colorful streak translating the vibrancy …
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Ep. 190: Germane Barnes Practices Architecture with the Prowess of a Winning Point Guard
1:05:54
1:05:54
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Germane Barnes knew he’d be an architect at age 6, before he even knew what that meant. Growing up playing basketball, he honed skills he now deftly deploys in his creative practice. After a tumultuous period spurred by devastating loss, he has taken the architecture world by storm. He’s swept the most prestigious prizes and is poised to become one…
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Ep. 189: Clodagh on the Twists & Turns of Her Extraordinary Life & Career
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Interior designer, Clodagh, grew up in the Irish countryside running barefoot through the woods, riding horses, and rebelling. A near death experience lit a fire in her to pursue fashion and she opened her first shop at age 17. After a career pivot and 50+ years of designing spaces that make people feel good, she’s considered a true pioneer in biop…
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Ep. 188: Afrotectopia’s Ari Melenciano on Synthesizing, Art, Tech, Epigenetics, and more
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Artist and technologist, Ari Melenciano, spent her youth obsessed with music, art, and gadgets. A year in Barcelona, a city that valued art as she did, left a meaningful impression on her. Back in the US, frustrated at the racial inadequacy of academia and technology, she founded Afrotectopia, a cultural institution building at the nexus of art, sc…
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Ep. 187: Clever Extra - Designing for a Water Conscious World
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On this Clever Extra, we deep dive into design for a water conscious world. Amy is joined by experts Jean-Jacques L’Henaff, Leader, Lixil Global Design, Americas, and Alison Lyons, Lead Researcher, Lixil Global Design. In the industries that give shape to the built world, like design and architecture, there's a real opportunity and responsibility t…
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Ep. 186: Artist & Humanitarian Julian Lennon on Charting His Own Creative Roadmap
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Julian Lennon’s adventurous spirit sprung from a semi-nomadic youth in the English countryside where he spent his days as a farm hand and climbing trees. He navigated the tricky world of being John Lennon’s son by finding peace in nature, which he channels into his many creative endeavors. Through music, photography, film, books, and philanthropy, …
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Ep. 185: Costume Designer Deborah L. Scott on Building Worlds with Character and Depth
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Oscar-winning costume designer Deborah L. Scott grew up sewing doll clothes, puppets, and getting swept up by the stories at the cinema. At 21 she went to work costuming show girls on the Vegas strip. Once in film, her adaptability, imagination, and resourcefulness carved a path that led to projects with Steven Spielberg and James Cameron, and onto…
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Ep. 184: Lucid Motors’ Derek Jenkins on EVs and Designing an Electric Future
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Car designer Derek Jenkins grew up surfing and steeped in the car culture of Southern California. A surfing coach tipped him off to the idea of studying car design before he even knew it was an option, and Derek drove directly into his calling. After pivotal stints at Volkswagen and Mazda, he is now SVP of Design and Brand at Lucid Motors - propell…
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Ep. 183: Determined by Design’s Kia Weatherspoon is a Champion of Design Equity
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Interior Designer Kia Weatherspoon spent her youth making frequent trips to visit her brother in prison - a deeply dehumanizing experience that left a big impression. In the military, she was deployed shortly after 9/11 and awakened her innate designer in the need to create privacy and comfort. Now, Kia is delivering on a quest to ensure that inter…
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