Life after Launch: Design Awards with Shu Bertrand

Today we dive into the world of design judging with Shu Bertrand, founder of Aplat, Chair of ID at California College of the Arts, and an experienced judge who has been a jury member and chair internationally. Joey Zeledón returns to the podcast as our guest host having also been on their first jury this past year. Design awards have the power to shape our industry and we wanted to learn how those decisions are made. As is often true, the people in the room, their personal stories and values of the judging cohort are a big part of how we celebrate our work. We discuss the benefits of the relationships built in this space, how it is an opportunity to bring focus onto sidelined categories like sustainability and some of the challenges to overcome concerning financial accessibility. Learning about this opaque part of our industry from a veteran and a newcomer was eye-opening and continues to center the question of how much the designers’ identity matters in shaping our impact. More show content: beyondraypodcast.com