On this final episode of Season 05, we talk with August de los Reyes, Chief Design Officer at Varo Money Inc., in San Francisco, California. De los Reyes’ career transcends decades of technological shifts and advancements, and includes work with Microsoft, Google, Pinterest, and Philips. In our discussion, August reflects on his career to date, categorizing it into three decades: the how, the why, and the legacy. He speaks about the future and importance of Inclusive Design, the legacy we might leave behind for future generations of designers to build upon, and living a life of no regrets.

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In Memoriam: August de los Reyes on Designing the New American Dream

August de los Reyes on Designing the New American Dream

On this episode, we talk with Annu Yadav, Head of Design at Aurora Solar in San Francisco, California. Annu is a multidisciplinary practitioner across fine art, design, fashion technology, and business. Yadav discusses how her approach to design brings diverse and unique voices to a team to shape new ideas, how gaining knowledge helps shed fear, and gives us a reminder of how design is inherently an act of service.

Annu Yadav on Design as an Act of Service

On this episode, we talk with Scott Tong, a startup advisor in San Francisco, California. Through his career working at RMB Vivid, IDEO, Pinterest, and co-founding IFTTT, Tong has developed the unique perspective of designer as entrepreneur. In our conversation, Scott talks about how his passion for drawing led him to finding design, how learning design thinking helped prepare him to co-found a company, and the value of living in ambiguity.

Scott Tong on Design Entrepreneurialism

On this episode, we talk with Diane Lee, an Assistant Professor at San Jose State University in California. Lee is a multi-disciplinary designer who explores work in print, video, writing, sound, code, and physical space. Lee talks about her research in personal archives, the temporality of digital mediums, how the loss of personal data can be an act of identity formation, and how she encourages her students to scratch the itch of curiosity.

Diane Lee on Archiving Data

On this episode, we talk with MacBeth Watson, Vice President of Design & Research at Strava in San Francisco, California. MacBeth’s career spans companies such as Microsoft, Pinterest, Starbucks, and Strava. Watson talks about how her endurance and achievements as an accomplished athlete have helped focus her career goals, the importance of connections in making career changes, and her unique approach to design leadership—focusing on the best approach to take on a project, finding the right people to bring new perspectives, and being confident in your genuine self.

Macbeth Watson on Design Endurance

On this episode, we talk with Minnie Bredouw, Executive Director and co-founder of The Purpose Project. Through her experiences at Frog, IDEO, and IDEO.org, teaching at various institutions, Bredouw has focused her career on developing a practice of design for social impact. In our conversation, Minnie talks about ethical and social problems that designers should be considering, the value of reflection and documentation after completing a project, and the importance of a designer’s motivation and inherent bias when working in new environments.

Minnie Bredouw on Design for Social Impact

On this episode, we talk with Hugh Dubberly, Principal of Dubberly Design Office, or DDO, in San Francisco, California. DDO focuses on making hardware, software, and services easier to use through their deep expertise in information and interaction design. Dubberly’s career has spanned many influential design leadership roles including Apple, Netscape, and Art Center College of Design. In our conversation, Hugh talks about the death of graphic design as we know it, gives thoughtful proposals for re-adapting designers’ skillsets, and the importance of understanding systems in the design practice of the 21st century.

Hugh Dubberly on Systems in Design Practice

On this episode, we talked with Senior Visual Designer Megan Ruhlach and Director of Innovation Quba Michalski from Blink, a research and design firm in Seattle, Washington. At the Seattle Interactive Conference, we sat down and talked with Megan and Quba about their uncommon career paths, their work with NASA, and their experiences in today's fast changing industry.

Live: Megan Ruhlach & Quba Michalski on Designing Space

This is Design School is coming back! We’ve been hard at work crafting season 5 of the podcast over the last year. Stay tuned for the first episode of Year 05 of This is Design School, coming to your feed next Monday. See you next week.

Year 05 Trailer

On this episode, we talked with Annabelle Gould, an Associate Professor in the Division of Design at the School of Art, Art History, and Design at the University of Washington in Seattle. Annabelle talks about the balance between being a designer and an educator, about how experimentation and the details of craft are critical to the design process, and the importance of finding your authentic purpose and voice in the ever broadening field of design.

Annabelle Gould on Criticism over Praise

On this episode, we interview Sheryl Cababa, an Executive Creative Director at Artefact in Seattle. Sheryl talks with us about the experience of designing in the Netherlands, how living abroad helped develop an ability to question the systems engrained in our own culture, and how we must consider unintended consequences in our design process.

Sheryl Cababa on Unintended Consequences

On this episode, we talked to Jeff Barlow, who is a Creative Director at Boeing. He shares his insight about how doing design well requires putting in the time, the importance of the craft of typography, and how a continuous and complete design education requires being present in the real world.

Jeff Barlow on Persistence

On this episode, we talked to Sean Munson, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Human Centered Design & Engineering program at the University of Washington. Sean shares how his childhood interest of building model Naval ships led him to the study of Engineering, and how design gave him a framework to get himself, and his peers, to ask the right questions and create the right solutions.

Sean Munson on Finding Design’s Place

On this episode, we talked to Timothy Bardlavens, a Product Design Leader, Cultural Strategist, co-founder of the Design + Diversity Fellowship Program, and DEI—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion—consultant. Timothy talks to us about his experiences in design and tech as a black gay man from the South, the importance of owning and bringing your full self to your work, and the difference and importance between surviving and thriving in the workplace and the world.

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