To Be Designed

“How can we design for longevity and repairability?”  More and more of the tech products we use are designed with built-in obsolescence, making repairs difficult or even impossible for consumers to do on their own. But, a growing movement is pushing back against this trend, advocating for consumers' rights to repair their own devices and equipment. In Episode 11 of To Be Designed, host Ryan Kalgre...

“How are design frameworks used to shape gender equality reform in Iceland?” This question is at the forefront of Paula Gould’s work. As founder of Float and Gather ehf and Co-founder at WomenTechIceland, Paula uses systematic design to drive systems change daily. The most recent culmination of her work? Iceland's largest women’s strike in decades. Tens of thousands of Icelandic women, including t...

What makes video game design so special? This question is at the forefront of Julian Maldonado’s work. As a senior computer science major with a background in design, Julian uses mechanics to create dynamic video games. The most important feature of his work? Creating user-centered experiences. How do players interact with the world? How does the game feel? What do users see and hear? In Episode 1...

Should the methodology of “design thinking” be applied to fields outside of design? What about art? How do the concepts of design, aesthetics, and consumerism interact? In response to Rebecca Ackermann’s article “Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?” podcast member Sriman Narayanan reflects on these questions by comparing his passion as a writer to his experience a...

“How do people FEEL when using something?” This question is at the forefront of Dr. Amy Schwartz’s research. As an Adjunct Lecturer at Segal and a human-centered design researcher with a PhD in cognitive psychology, Dr. Shwartz works to humanize technology and design. The most important feature of her work? The study of people (ie: psychology). How do people think? How do they work? What are the p...

This episode completes our miniseries exploring the new Northwestern course titled “DSGN 300: Designing Your Life,” offered in the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering. In this final DYL conversation, Sriman and Carol reflect on their experience in the class; chatting about everything from their favorite class projects to how the class affected their outlooks on life. This...

What comes to mind when you hear the term “hostile design”? Perhaps you know the most commonly used example of hostile design, which is when public benches are designed with spikes or other such features meant to specifically deter the unhoused population from sleeping on them. Or, perhaps you’ve never heard the term before; hostile design is not a concept generally covered in traditional ethics c...

If you only take one thing away from listening to To Be Designed , we hope it’s that the concept of “design” itself is nearly limitless. Graphic design, interior design, digital product design… design can vary endlessly depending on the context. Lucky for us, this means that we will never run out of design content to explore here. Therefore, in Episode 05 of To Be Designed , producer and host Quyn...

This episode of To Be Designed surrounds a conversation with Arshay Cooper. Arshay grew up on the West Side of Chicago and in 1997 joined the country’s first all-Black high school rowing team. He dedicated two years of his life to AmeriCorps, then attended Le Cordon Bleu in pursuit of his current career as a chef for critically acclaimed restaurants and companies such as the WWE, Warner Brothers,...

What if we could apply design concepts taught in class to life outside the classroom? Could we use design thinking as a tool to develop fulfilling life paths for ourselves? These are the ideas behind the Northwestern course titled “DSGN 300: Designing Your Life,” offered in the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering. In Episode 03* of To Be Designed, co-hosts Sriman Narayana...

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to any computer system designed to simulate some aspect of human intelligence. Think: Google search, smart navigation apps, self-driving cars, or Siri. One surprising area in which AI is beginning to attract attention? Music. In Episode 02 of "To Be Designed", we explore some of the social implications behind AI-generated music. What is considered “music”? Does...

What should companies keep in mind while designing products for sustainability? How involved should the consumer be in researching environmentally-friendly decisions? How should shareholders balance conflicts between different spheres such as money-making, politics, and climate consciousness? In the debut of "To Be Designed", we explore these difficult ethical questions through themes such as gree...