Design Notes
by Liam Spradlin
Design Notes is a podcast about creative work and what it teaches us. Hosted by Liam Spradlin, a Senior UX Designer at Google focused on the philosophy of the user interface, the show features conversations with people from unique creative fields, uncovering what inspires and unites us in our practice. Tune in to learn how UX design connects to creative work across disciplines and around the world.Find episodes on your favorite platform at design-notes.show
Episodes
-
Jarrett Fuller, Author, Graphic Designers After Graphic Design
📖 Get Jarrett's book, Graphic Designers after Graphic Design: https://jarrettfuller.store/products/graphic-designers-after-graphic-design In this episode of Design Notes, I sit down with Jarrett Fuller—a multidisciplinary designer, educator, writer, and host of the Scratching the Surface…
more -
There Is No Neutral Design: Megan Kasselberg, Senior UX Writer and Content Designer, Material Design
This episode, I talked with my coworker Megan Kasselberg, whose work as a senior UX writer and content designer touches billions of users through the Material Design system. In our conversation, Megan and I dug into the storytelling and strategy that goes into a design system as vast as Material,...
-
Beyond the Text Field: Louise Macfadyen, Author of Designing AI Interfaces
This episode, I got to sit down with my friend, podcast cohost on Away from Keyboard, and former coworker Louise Macfadyen as she prepares to launch her new book Designing AI Interfaces with Oreilly this Spring. We had a lot to talk about, from managing the conceptual distance between what AI...
-
The Era of the Generalist: Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group
In this episode, Liam speaks with Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group, about her journey from photography to design leadership and why she believes this is "the era of the generalist." The conversation unpacks the recent launch of Expedia's new app on ChatGPT and what it means to design...
-
Other Than Expected: Fabian Bircher on Combining Art, Architecture, and Code
In this episode, Liam speaks with Zürich-based architect and artist Fabian Bircher, whose work spans buildings, custom lighting, and interactive installations. Fabian discusses his unique creative process, where inspiration flows from both artistic concepts and the discovery of new technological...
-
Design Can't Rely on Logic: Troy Leinster on Type Design and Human Perception
In this episode, I reconnect with my former instructor, type designer and design coach Troy Leinster. Troy shares his journey from graphic design to type design, and explains why learning to make letters makes you a better designer. We also dig into the importance of trusting the human eye over...
-
The User Brings the Confetti: Rob Giampietro on Scaling a Human-Centered Brand
Rob Giampietro, Head of Creative at Notion and former Design Director at MoMA, returns to the show to unpack the story behind Notion Faces, the popular tool that allows users to create their own illustrated avatar. Rob details the project's journey from a beloved internal tradition to a major...
-
True is Better Than New: David Reinfurt on Evolving Graphic Design Education
In this episode, designer, educator, and author David Reinfurt returns to the show to discuss his latest book, A *Co-* Program for Graphic Design. Born from a series of lectures delivered remotely, online, and together with collaborators and cooperators, the new book builds on his earlier…
more -
Material Design Gets Expressive: Inside Google's Emotion-Driven UX Update
This special episode digs into the latest evolution of Google's design system: Material 3 Expressive. Liam talks with Material Design's Android Product Manager Aneesha Kommineni, UX Researcher Michael Gilbert, and Creative Director Andy Stewart about the team's latest emotion-driven UX update.…
more -
Beauty Across the Board: Rich Fulcher on Making Beauty a UX Priority at Google
This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design closes out with Rich Fulcher, former Google UX director and Material design lead. Fulcher remembers the career-defining journey of creating Material, what it was like to make beauty a UX priority, how to…
more -
Breaking Silos (and Metaphors): A 'Roving Engineer' on Design & Engineering Collaboration
This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design continues with Adrian Secord, who describes himself as a "roving engineer." Adrian has over a decade of experience building systems and tools that transform design into robust product engineering at scale.…
more -
Code, Creativity, Performance: Will Larche on Engineering as 'Creativity with Constraints'
This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design continues with Software Engineering Manager and Musical Theater Writer Will Larche, who talks about his path to become an engineering manager at Google. Larche, a self-proclaimed "design fan," describes...
-
Fab Components: Bethany Fong on Designing Material's Signature Floating Action Button
This episode is part of a special series celebrating ten years of Material Design. In the episode, Liam speaks with Bethany Fong, a Design Director at Meta who was a pivotal figure in the creation of Material Design. During her time at Google, Fong was responsible for designing the first set of...
-
Facing Our Interfaces: Matías Duarte on the Future of Individualized Design
This season begins with a special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design, which will explore the inception, evolution, and future of Google's design approach. The first episode features the founder of Material Design and Design VP Matías Duarte, whose work on the system...
-
Designing Better Code: How Google Engineers Make Coding a Creative Practice
Liam speaks with Googlers Connie Shi, a software engineer on Material Design, and Matvei Malkov, a software engineer on Jetpack Compose, and the trio unpack what makes coding a creative practice, and which creative choices are required when you build a design system for other developers around…
more -
How Fonts Change the World: Dave Crossland on Digital Type and Emotional Expression
Liam and Google Fonts Specialist Dave Crossland explore what digital type can teach us about digital production, emotional expression, and where we fit in the world as designers; and how – with a little imagination – we might unlock new possibilities. 📑 Read a full transcript 📻 Subscribe to...
-
Coding (and Decoding) Social Spaces: Judith Donath on the Future of Life Online
In this episode, Liam speaks with Judith Donath, the founder of MIT's Sociable Media Lab, inventor of e-cards, and author of The Social Machine: Designs for Living Online. Donath's work offers crucial insights into the sociality of digital products and platforms, and the opportunities we have as...
-
Fearless Design: Aline Borges on Composition and Creative Career Changes
Liam speaks with Aline Borges, a Zürich-based floral designer who's made the leap from fashion coordination for magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar to independent floral design and installations. The conversation covers what it's like to move between different creative fields (and…
more -
⏮️ How Machines Help Us See Ourselves: Harvey Moon on Art Made Through Machine Collaboration
In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with new media artist Harvey Moon, recorded in his San Francisco studio. Liam and Harvey 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...
-
The Impact of Shared Space: Ignacio Ciocchini on Designing NYC's Public Furniture
Liam speaks with streetscape and public space designer Ignacio Ciocchini, who's created much of the public furniture that New Yorkers encounter every single day – from benches that provide personal space, to entire built landscapes for Bryant Park, to chargers for electric vehicles and more. The...
-
⏮️ Learning From Your Virtual Twin: Kerry Murphy on Digital Fashion and Virtual Embodiment
In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant. We uncover how data are spun into virtual threads, and how virtual embodiment can foster self-actualization. In designing couture that doesn't—or can't—exist in physical...
-
Digital Anthropology: Tom Boellstorff on How Virtual Worlds Shape Our Actual Lives
Liam speaks to Tom Boellstorff, Anthropologist and UCI Professor, whose ethnographic work in Second Life (documented in his book, Coming of Age in Second Life) provides important insights into how virtual space – and our interface with it – informs and interacts with our lives in actual space. In...
-
Welcome Back to Design Notes: Season 2 Trailer
It's been a while, but Design Notes is coming back for Season 2 uncovering even more of what inspires and unites us in our work. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss new interviews with practitioners working on public furniture, the culture of virtual space, and more. Follow @DesignNotespod…
more -
[SF Design Week] Julian Zigerli on Expressive, Un-Gendered Fashion Design
In this episode, part of San Francisco Design Week's Digital Edition, Liam speaks with Julian Zigerli, a designer in Zürich, Switzerland creating clothing that allows everyone to decide how what they wear expresses who they are. In the interview, Zigerli describes how the rich culture of...
-
Theming with Moooi: Creating an Immersive Digital Flagship (2020 Material Design Awards)
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Moooi, winning the award for Material Theming, focuses on aesthetic fundamentals like type, color, and…
more -
Dark Theme with KAYAK: How Dark Mode Revolutionized a Brand's Approach to Color (2020 Material Design Awards)
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. KAYAK has taken their comprehensive price comparison and travel booking experience to the next level by...
-
Motion Design with Epsy: Using Meaningful Motion for Better Health Outcomes (2020 Material Design Awards)
This episode is part of a special series of three interviews, recorded remotely with the winners of the 2020 Material Design Awards, exploring what goes into creating an award-winning app. Epsy uses motion meaningfully, guiding users living with Epilepsy through critical tasks to better their...
-
The Surprising Poetry of AI: BJ Best on Teaching Computers to Create Art
In this episode, Liam speaks with BJ Best, a poet who teaches computers to do what humans can't in the name of art. His network of ArtyBots is part of a vibrant scene of robots creating, sharing, and collaborating with one another on virtual art. In the interview, Best describes the reflective...
-
The Magic Question for Creativity: Laurie Rosenwald on Making Mistakes on Purpose
Design Notes is a show about creative work and what it teaches us. In this episode, Liam speaks with illustrator, editorial designer, and author Laurie Rosenwald about how she's managed to cultivate an aesthetic—and a career—around "making mistakes on purpose." Learn how chaos and collage can…
more -
Learning From Your Virtual Twin: Kerry Murphy on Digital Fashion and Self-Actualization
In this episode, Liam speaks with Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant, to learn how ones and zeros are spun, woven, and stitched into virtual couture. In designing couture that doesn't—or can't—exist in physical space, The Fabricant also explores ideas of embodiment…
more -
A Prompt for Creative Renewal: David Reinfurt on A New Program for Graphic Design
Design Notes is a show about creative work and what it teaches us. For the first episode of 2020, Liam speaks with David Reinfurt, founder of O-R-G, half of Dexter Sinister, and author of A *New* Program for Graphic Design. Together they explore the fluid notions of personal, corporate, and…
more -
Reflectly: Pushing the Boundaries of Material Motion (2019 Material Design Awards)
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. Reflectly, a unique journaling app, won this year's award for innovation by pushing the boundaries of Material Design and...
-
Ruff: Building an Expressive Brand Identity with Material Theming (2019 Material Design Awards)
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. Ruff is a focused note-taking app that won this year's award for theming, building an expressive identity through the...
-
Trip.com: Designing a Universal Travel App for Global Users (2019 Material Design Awards)
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. Trip.com is a travel app that won this year's award for universality by accounting for users around the world with over a…
more -
Scripts: Using Creative Interactions to Make Learning Feel Accomplished (2019 Material Design Awards)
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...
-
The Psychedelic Spark: GMUNK on His Aesthetic and the Importance of Creative Discomfort
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…
more -
Vulnerability, Technology, and Art: Qianqian Ye on Creative Coding and Shared Futures
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...
-
How Machines Help Us See Ourselves: Harvey Moon on Collaborating with Technology for Art
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...
-
Art as Survival: Conor Grebel on Using Creative Work to Heal
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...
-
I Hate Music Videos: Bayonet Records on Sonic Design and Releasing Music on Your Own Terms
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…
more -
What We Can Learn From Our Work: Host Liam Spradlin on the Themes of Design Notes
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 👉 Transcript Subscribe to Design Notes 👉Google Podcasts...
-
The Most Transformative Job in the World: MoMA's Rob Giampietro on Design's Unseen Impact
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...
-
"What Do You See; How Do You Feel?"—Vanity Fair's Clinton Cargill on Visual Storytelling
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…
more -
Owning Your Values: Ksenya Samarskaya on How Typography Encodes and Decodes Identity
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...
-
You Cannot Be What You Cannot See: Panimation on Building Community in Motion Design
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…
more -
Material Design Awards 2018: Winners from Lyft, Anchor & More on Building Expressive Products
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 👉Transcript Subscribe to Design Notes...
-
"We Should Do Something Together"—Ateljé Sotamaa on the Importance of Friction in Design
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...
-
The Music of Design: Marko Ahtisaari on How Finnish Social Values Shaped Nokia
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.…
more -
[LIVE] AI, Identity, and Storytelling: Stephanie Dinkins on Befriending a Robot
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...
-
What It's Like to Really Know: James Bridle on Agency in an Age of Complex Technology
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...
About this show
Design Notes is a podcast about creative work and what it teaches us. Hosted by Liam Spradlin, a Senior UX Designer at Google focused on the philosophy of the user interface, the show features conversations with people from unique creative fields, uncovering what inspires and unites us in our practice. Tune in to learn how UX design connects to creative work across disciplines and around the world.Find episodes on your favorite platform at design-notes.show
Hosted by
Liam Spradlin