DesignThinkers Podcast

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Dalit Shalom. Dalit is the Director of Product Design at The New York Times where she oversees the creation of new formats, spaces and tools that advance the future of storytelling. She also leads Design and Strategy for various work streams for the company's AI initiates, having previously focused on trust and credibility by developing f...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Kenjiro Kirton. Ken is the co-founder and creative director of HATO , the London- and Hong Kong-based publishing house, design studio and concept store known for its playful, research-driven approach to culture, branding and digital experiences. His work moves fluidly between publishing, interaction, retail, and storytelling, often blurring th...

This week on the DesignThinkers Podcast, I’m joined by Ariane Spanier, a Berlin-based designer whose work sits at the intersection of typography, culture, and editorial design. Ariane has built a practice working closely with cultural institutions—museums, publications, and artists—where design isn’t just about communication, but about interpretation. She’s also the creative director and co-editor...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Dee Miller. Director of Product Strategy and Insights for Product Equity at Adobe . Dee is a researcher and innovation leader, working at the intersection of technology, design, and equity. She's focused on turning real world insights, into products that are more accessible, usable, and culturally relevant.  In this conversation, we u...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Peter Smart. Chief Experience Officer and Managing Partner at Fantasy . Based in the Bay Area, Fantasy is a creative partner behind some of the world’s most widely used digital products. Working with companies like Disney, Nike, Spotify, Netflix, Meta, and Google. In this conversation, Peter shares how he’s thinking about the next shift in dig...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Nu Goteh, founder of  Room for Magic and co-founder of Deem Journal . Nu’s path into design isn’t a straight line. He started out making graphics on early internet platforms, spent over a decade working in marketing for brands like Puma, Red Bull, and Sonos, and eventually returned to design through a deeper set of questions—about power, parti...

Emmi Salonen is a Finnish graphic designer and art director whose work spans editorial design, visual identity, publishing, and exhibition graphics. She often works with cultural and institutional clients, bringing a thoughtful, systems-driven approach to typography and structure—with just enough play to keep things interesting. Beyond the systems and the structure, Emmi has long been thinking abo...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Elizabeth Goodspeed . Elizabeth is an independent designer, art director, writer, and educator oscillating between Providence, Rhode Island and New York City. Her work riffs on history and visual culture in ways that feel both smart and weirdly intimate. She’s a devoted generalist: branding, packaging, book & editorial design. She’s also k...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Pali Palavathanan , co-founder and creative director of Templo . Based in London, Templo is a purpose-led design studio known for bringing creativity and activism together—working with clients like the UN, Amnesty International, and GF Smith, alongside grassroots organizations fighting for justice around the world. In this conversation, Pali s...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Pablo Martin , Creative Director at MUBI . A legend in editorial design, Pablo has spent four decades shaping the visual language of publications and brands across Spain, the UK, and beyond. His journey has taken him from a work placement with Massimo Vignelli to co-founding the Barcelona-based studio Grafica and then Atlas, to leading major c...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Debra Bishop—an award-winning creative director and one of editorial design’s most influential voices. Over the past four decades, Debra has shaped the look and feel of some of publishing’s most iconic titles—from her early days at Rolling Stone , to launching magazines at Martha Stewart, to serving as a design director at The New York Times ....

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Nadia Tzuo —an Emmy Award–winning motion designer and director whose title sequences have become cultural touchstones. Nadia’s work spans television, film, and streaming, with credits on The Last of Us , Shogun , American Horror Story , Pachinko , Star Trek Beyond , and Captain Marvel . Her sequences don’t just introduce a story—they set its m...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Stephen Gates —global design leader, keynote speaker, and host of The Crazy One podcast. Stephen’s career has spanned more than 20 years leading creative teams at companies like Apple, Citi, InVision, and McCann, where he’s built award-winning work across branding, product design, and customer experience. Known for his candid, no-nonsense appr...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Verònica Fuerte . Verònica is the founder and creative director of Hey Studio in Barcelona. Since launching the studio in 2007, Verònica has built one of the most recognizable and beloved visual identities in contemporary design: known for bold color, geometric forms, and a relentlessly optimistic aesthetic. Hey’s work has spanned everything f...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Rachel Gogel . Rachel is an independent creative executive shaping the future of design at the intersection of brand, culture, and technology. After building multidisciplinary teams at places like GQ , The New York Times , Meta, and Godfrey Dadich, Rachel launched her own consultancy in 2020. Since then, she’s worked with everyone from tech gi...

This week on the DesignThinkers podcast, I’m joined by Kemp Attwood , partner at AREA 17 . With a background in creative writing and new media design, Kemp has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of design, strategy, and technology. He has helped shape AREA 17’s global vision—leading interdisciplinary teams across Paris and New York to deliver transformative work for clients like...

We’re back with a third season of the DesignThinkers Podcast.  DesignThinkers is Canada's largest graphic design conference. For twenty-five years, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers has been bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity and the design process. This podcast is an extension of that mission. We’re here to talk about process, creati...

This is our last episode of the season—and what a high to go out on! Adam JK is a Toronto-born, Honolulu-based artist whose illustrative work is rooted in honesty, humour and a little bit of darkness. His books and journals, including Things Are What You Make of Them , have sold over a million copies in 20 languages worldwide. Obsessed with aphorisms and ephemera, Adam's work seeks to craft n...

This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Eva Cremers. Eva might be a new name for our DesignThinkers audience! She’s a 3-D artist and animation director from The Netherlands. Eva blends her playful, graphic CGI style with her own graphic design sensibility to create charming, joyful worlds for a growing list of global clients including H&M, Meta, Amazon Music, Apple and Samsung. In this epi...

This week, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you, our DesignThinkers audience to Vincent Wanga . Vince is new to the DesignThinkers universe. He’ll be joining us on stage in Vancouver next month to talk about creative audacity . Vince is one of those multi-hyphenates—In this episode, we joke that “I do a lot of things” is our shared tagline. He runs a couple of different businesses and has h...

This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Catalina Estrada. Catalina is a Colombian illustrator now based in Barcelona. She reinterprets Latin American folklore and expertly documents the natural world in her stunning, and extremely colourful, artwork and patterns. Catalina has worked for major brands like Disney, Netflix and Coca-Cola but she’s also done heaps of self-initiated work for a host...

This week’s guest is illustrator, art director and fine artist Carson Ting . Carson kicked off his career in Toronto before moving across the country for a dream job at Rethink. Today, Carson is best known as an artist and founder of Chairman Ting . He’s a bit of a legend in Vancouver, where his murals are plentiful and on occasion span entire city blocks. I’m catching up with Carson on the heels...

In this week’s episode, I’m catching up with typeface designer Eleni Beveratou. While working toward her MA in Typeface Design from the University of Reading, she developed an interest in the science of reading for the partially sighted. Her research and findings were published in Digital Fonts and Reading by World Scientific. Today, Eleni works at Dalton Maag , an independent type foundry in Lond...

In this episode, I'm zooming into The Meg Lewis Fun House ! Meg is an artist, performer and educator transforming the world through joy and playful design. Their bold designs burst with colour, bringing an explosion of energy to brands like Dropbox, Meta, Target and Pinterest. With a background in design, improv, clown, music and stage combat, Meg creates uniquely playful experiences through...

We’re back and so excited to bring you a second season of the DesignThinkers Podcast!  DesignThinkers is Canada's largest graphic design conference. Since the year 2000, the Association of Registered Graphic Designers has been bringing together visionaries from a range of disciplines to explore creativity and the design process live and on-stage.  This podcast is an extension of that mission....