Lighting design plays an enormous role in supporting mood, feelings, perceptions and even human connection and romance. In this time when we’re suffering the side effects caused by extreme deprivation of social interaction and human connection we thought it would be a beautiful thing to talk about how lighting can be designed to soothe our minds, uplift our spirits and help us find clarity, depth and meaning in our day, in our surroundings, in ourselves. To help us visualize and understand both ...
Feb 16, 2021•39 min•Ep. 139
Dr. Natalie Nixon grew up in Philadelphia playing double dutch and hopscotch on the street. Listening to jazz with her dad and exploring art with her mother taught her the value of improvisation and emotional resonance. Flexing her academic excellence while also being subjected to racial bigotry and red lining helped to hone her ability to see systems and span boundaries. Her experiences are vast and varied, from running a hat business in New York city to earning her PhD in Design Management in ...
Feb 02, 2021•57 min•Ep. 138
Robyn Kanner’s personal story is twisty and beautifully American. Largely self-taught, she fought hard to find her voice, and has battled bullies, addiction and self-doubt on her path to purpose. She, alongside Carahna Magwood, led a design team that effectively imbued the Biden Harris ticket with an uplifting, hopefulness that stressed reliability, inclusive values and unification. From the hot pink Biden & Lady Gaga promos, to unifying red-blue gradients. Robyn’s is a story of acceptance, ...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 137
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles sits Hollywood’s undisputed architectural superstar — the Bradbury Building. The imposing structure’s character is definitive. Its origin story, however, is much murkier… How did a young draftsman design one of the most remarkable buildings in the world? Why did he never again do anything of note? Or did he? Was all his creativity spent on this one masterpiece? Was this a case of stolen intellectual property? Or could this have even been a brush with the supe...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr
Potter and home decor mogul, Jonathan Adler reveals to Jaime and Amy how he found refuge from a tortured adolescence in clay and the potter’s wheel, and then how getting out from behind the wheel engendered a personal creative explosion. He also shares the origin of his very first store in Soho, and the story behind the design of the Parker Palm Springs. Images and more from our guest! If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review , making a donation, becoming a...
Dec 29, 2020•50 min•Ep. 6
Airbnb Co-Founder & CEO, Brian Chesky, grew up playing hockey and asking Santa for poorly designed toys so he could redesign them. A self-described “peculiar” kid obsessed with art, no one pegged him as a future CEO. He studied industrial design at RISD where he also met his future business partner. After soaring global success, Airbnb, having suffered dramatic losses due to coronavirus, is getting back to its creative values and making meaningful contributions in the modern crisis of connec...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 136
2020 has been a rollercoaster, but we’re thankful that in such a turbulent year we were still able to have so many inspiring voices on the show. As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to share some of our favorite moments, covering themes of self-discovery, believing in and staying true to one’s creative self; the importance of building a design community with true diversity; and remembering that design and creativity are key to solving a problem, no matter how complex or pervasive. Episo...
Dec 15, 2020•36 min•Ep. 135
No new episode this week, but be sure to enjoy this classic from the archives! MoMA’s senior curator of Architecture & Design, Paola Antonelli, grew up steeped in the design culture of Milan and developed a sense of fearlessness from frequent travels to foreign lands. After studying architecture in school she landed in the curatorial arts without even aiming for it. She talks to Amy and Jaime about how she views objects as lenses for understanding the complexity of the built world and her pa...
Dec 08, 2020•42 min•Ep. 42
In this Clever Extra we teamed up with Carl Hansen & Son to unpack society's long-term love for Danish Design. Known for exceptional craftsmanship and an alluringly clean, organic aesthetic, many of the now-iconic pieces of the Danish Modern era were initially too avant-garde for Danes, and found their foothold in the US market. Carl Hansen & Son’s director, Erik Hansen, and Principal of Commune, Roman Alonso, break down the enduring appeal of Danish Design and its mark on our global des...
Dec 01, 2020•49 min•Ep. 134
Textile product designer and entrepreneur Sandy Chilewich regales Amy and Jaime with tales of growing up in Rotterdam, being a child of the ‘60s and finding her way to founding the very successful Hue leg wear company. Now, as the head of Chilewich Sultan, she candidly shares the trials and triumphs that have informed her wisdom - including a panic attack at the public speaking podium. Sadly, no scotch was involved in this interview. Images and more from our guest! If you enjoy Clever we could u...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 5 min
Product designer Ini Archibong grew up taking things apart with little success putting them back together, and cutting class to throw pottery. After a false-start in business school, he taught himself CAD, philosophy, and mathematics until he serendipitously found himself apprenticing an architect. That led to a degree from Art Center and discovering a love of designing furniture. Now he lives and works in Switzerland where he recently obtained a Master’s in Luxury (listen to find out what that ...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 41
This is the story of how design is making the world a better place, one street at a time, in the most impoverished gang ravaged neighborhoods in El Salvador. Recorded in May 2020 during WantedDesign Manhattan’s Online Conversation Series, designer Roberto Juárez, co-founder of Lero Studio in San Salvador, discusses how he is helping 10- to 15-year-old at-risk children to embrace design rather than gang membership. Roberto is joined by Bernhardt Design’s Jerry Helling and our very own Amy Devers....
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 133
Malene Barnett is an artist, activist, speaker and legacy maker working in one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures and bespoke textiles. Raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, she’s an authority on the cultural traditions and practices of art in the African diaspora and how it translates into the modern black experience. She founded the Black Artists + Designers Guild, and is on a mission to use art as a tool to expand the conversation around marginalization in the arts and create greater opportunities for in...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 132
Eric Quint, Chief Design Officer of 3M, incubated a lifelong habit of design thinking in youth at the family kitchen table. After studying engineering and industrial design he embarked on a distinguished career at Philips where he evolved from designer to design leader. Now, as the first CDO of 3M, he’s a champion of collaborative creativity and spends his energy in the exciting and painful job of pushing the front edge of progress. Oh, and he’s a jazz guy—find out how that influences his leader...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 54
Born and raised in Chicago IL, Kara Mann was steeped in an environment of creativity, elegance, and resourcefulness. An entrepreneur at heart, Kara would sell CDs to fund projects and lie about her age to work restaurant shifts. Now she runs her own studio and has racked up clients like Virgil Abloh, Goop and several luxury hotels. She’s just launched a collection with CB2 and a line of home essentials called Kept. The wall street journal aptly calls her a “spark plug in the world of design.” Im...
Oct 20, 2020•59 min
Please enjoy one of our classic episodes from the archives this week! Interior designer and TV personality Lauren Makk grew up in the south, fluffing other people’s pillows, painting murals on train cars under cover of darkness, and rolling with her car crew Ill-usion . As a little girl, Julia Sugarbaker on TV’s Designing Women was Lauren’s career role model. Years later, she is also a designer on TV! She’s made her mark on Trading Spaces , FABLife , and Home Made Simple . She’s building an empi...
Oct 13, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Award-winning architect and current Head of Global Design and Innovation for Gensler, Jordan Goldstein, discovered his passion for architecture at age 5 while visiting construction sites with his mother. From LEGO bricks to skyscrapers, he’s built his life’s work with an interdisciplinary approach and a focus on elevating the human experience. A believer in architecture’s role in supporting communities, today he’s an educator and sought-after spokesperson on the future of design both domesticall...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 8 min
Everyone’s most beloved DIY hero, fashion designer, and creative maverick Todd Oldham grew up experimenting at the family craft table and stabbing his sister (volunteer fit model) with pins. A self-described little weirdo, he learned early on to eschew the arbitrary boundaries that society uses to stratify and separate. He values process over outcome and honors his curiosity while staying committed to excellence. This has earned him brand permission and a ton of wisdom for living a full, creativ...
Sep 29, 2020•53 min•Ep. 76
Creative strategist, visionary, and design podcaster Maurice Cherry was born in Selma, Alabama where it quickly became apparent he was going to take the world by storm. Immensely talented on all fronts, Maurice has dedicated his career to recognizing and celebrating the power of Black design and creativity online. These days, Maurice is perhaps most well-known for his award-winning podcast Revision Path, which showcases Black designers, and as of 2019 is the FIRST podcast to be acquired by the S...
Sep 22, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 129
Designer, illustrator and artist Timothy Goodman was labeled a “dead-end kid” in his youth until he did four years of hard labor with a mentor/father-figure in the home improvement industry, through which he found both discipline and a desire to study design. A degree and a few more mentors later he’s now known for his illustrations, viral social experiments, murals, books and even protests. Plus, he’s checking his white cis straight male privilege and championing inclusion in ways both meaningf...
Sep 15, 2020•52 min•Ep. 48
Furniture designer & maker, artist, and educator Wendy Maruyama is a legend in her field. Born with Cerebral Palsy, deaf, and growing up 3rd generation Japanese-American she discovered an interest in woodworking as a teenager and by early adulthood was one of the first two women to get an MFA in Furniture Design from RIT. Throughout her nearly 50-year career, Wendy has been extremely influential in the world of studio and artistic furniture. She’s also a badass feminist, and funny as all hel...
Sep 08, 2020•57 min•Ep. 128
On the morning of August 19th, 1993, mid-century architect, Norman Jaffe, parked his car in his client’s driveway, walked to Ocean Beach in Bridgehampton, New York, stripped down, folded his clothes, and dove into the Atlantic. He never returned and his body was never recovered. Was it murder? Was it suicide? Did he fake his own death? What happened to Norman Jaffe? This is the first episode of Clever Confidential, where we dig into the lesser known stories of the darker side of design - the sha...
Sep 01, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Artist and product designer Bethan Laura Wood grew up with ample access to kitchen-table craft projects and a flair for self-expression. When kids made fun of her clothes, she reclaimed her style by going full-on “dress-uppy.” Her schooling, which included a craft-based technical track as well as conceptual rigor, has armed her with a finesse for elevating industrial materials to luxury levels, layered with depth and intrigue. Side note: she is known to travel in style, much to the delight of TS...
Aug 25, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 127
Design*Sponge founder Grace Bonney grew up knowing she wasn’t straight but not knowing what to do with that. Her love of Riot Grrrl music and angry collages informed her creative identity and after studying art and journalism in college, it all melted together in the creation of Design*Sponge. After 15 years and a lot of success, she’s just announced that she plans to shutter this year and she’s sending it out in a blaze of experimentation and celebration. We can’t wait to see what’s next! Image...
Aug 18, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 79
Architect & Professor of Sustainable Design Joel Towers grew up in the suburbs with steady access to New York City. His father taught him to build and repair things, which helped carve his problem-solving neural pathways from a young age. Aware of the tension between humans and nature, a pivotal trip to Alaska set him on a dedicated path to striving for alignment and harmony. An educator at Parsons, he’s outspoken and optimistic about a future that is circular, decolonized, decarbonized, jus...
Aug 11, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Danny Giannella, Tammer Hijazi and Jeffrey Renz are the trio behind Bower, a contemporary furniture and product design studio. With a focus on mirrors, they explore perceptions of depth, light and self. Through a free–thinking, experimental process, Bower aims to bring unexpected objects and environments into people's lives, with reflections taking center stage. They believe the mirror is the everyday object most closely related to our consciousness. Images, links and more from Bower! Clever is ...
Aug 03, 2020•49 min
In this episode of Clever we’re deconstructing the success of New Zealand’s response to coronavirus through a lens of design in a conversation with Ana Monroe, a civic design strategist and Akiko Kurematsu, a design and culture journalist in Auckland. New Zealand is considered a major success story in how they reacted to and contained the spread of Coronavirus, so we took a deep look at that success, by doing what designers do: taking it apart to see how it works. Images, links and more from thi...
Jul 28, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 124
Industrial designer Ti Chang is co-founder and creative director of Crave, a start-up dedicated to innovative and elevated sex toys. Originally from Taiwan, as a child Ti moved with her family to the U.S. and grew up feeling out of place in small-town Georgia. Loneliness had its upside though; less friends, more creative time! An independent thinker and brave warrior for female empowerment, she’s on a mission to eradicate shame and guilt, and believes all women should own their pleasure. Amen, s...
Jul 21, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 58
In this special program, presented as part of WantedDesign Manhattan Online Conversation Series 2020, we discuss leadership insights, best practices and innovative ideas that can help sustain art and design schools through the new realities of the global health crisis and beyond. A conversation hosted by Amy Devers of Clever , with Rosanne Somerson, President of RISD ; Samuel Hoi, President of MICA and Lorne Buchman, President of ArtCenter . Episode transcript here This episode is presented as p...
Jul 14, 2020•54 min•Ep. 123
Branding & design strategist Jessie McGuire was born in El Salvador and adopted by a “wholehearted feminist” single mother. She grew up exploring her creativity and getting encouragement to go to art school. After a few degrees and a slew of work experience she’s now the managing director of ThoughtMatter, where she’s fostering a culture of work worth doing, building a justifiable case for creativity and spreading the gospel of curiosity, thoughtfulness and generosity. And redesigning the co...
Jun 30, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 122
