IDSA IDC SPECIAL: We had the pleasure of sitting down with Norio Fujikawa, the Executive Creative Director at Astro Studios in San Francisco, CA for a rapid fire chat about his upbringing in Chicago, his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and how he made his way to the Bay Area. He interned and worked in the midwest, specifically in Ohio and Minnesota, before he found his way to San Francisco. We also talk about all of the amazing people that have graced the halls of Astro St...
Mar 08, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 36
IDSA IDC SPECIAL: While attending the IDC Conference, we were able to have a quick chat with some familiar faces! We had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Siira, industrial designer at GE Healthcare. Emily grew up in Grafton, WI and originally started out pursuing an engineering degree, but after facing some difficult obstacles with her health she eventually found herself turning to the field of industrial design (and completely falling in love with it). Emily graduated in 2017 from the Milwau...
Mar 08, 2020•20 min•Season 2Ep. 35
IDSA IDC SPECIAL: We had the pleasure of speaking with Laura Silva, who was in town for IDSA’s International Design Conference. Laura is VP, accessibility UX designer lead at Bank of America. She is an advocate for diversity in design, she’s a DACA Dreamer, an Inclusive UX Designer, and one of the most inspiring humans you will ever meet. Laura is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art & Design, and has worked at Amazon before her job at Bank of America. Laura shared her story of migratin...
Mar 01, 2020•56 min•Season 2Ep. 34
IDSA IDC SPECIAL: We had the pleasure of speaking with RIT Industrial Design Professor Alex Lobos, who was in town for IDSA’s International Design Conference. Alex started his career in graphic design, but was always a maker at heart, and eventually moved to industrial design. Born and raised in Guatemala, he qualified as a Fulbright Scholar, which led him to attend the University of Notre Dame for graduate school. Alex has interned at Whirlpool and worked at General Electric after graduate scho...
Feb 23, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 33
During our latest CONTEXT interview - we had an unannounced and covert interview with designer Daniel Bailey, also known as Mr. Bailey, founder of ConceptKicks! He was graciously interviewed by Industrial Designer Kat Reiser during his recent visit to ComplexCon which happened in Chicago. Daniel has a rich design background, he has collaborated with brands such as Nike, GE, Supreme, The North Face, Takashi Murakami, and most recently Timberland. Daniel talked about his upbringing, coming to the ...
Jul 26, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 32
We had the pleasure to chat with Nicole McLaughlin, - a designer and maker of up-cycled products, her work contributes to the topic of sustainability, and is changing the way we think about the longevity of the soft goods that we own. We kicked things off by talking about her early work in college as a graphic design major, doing unpaid internships to build her experience and credibility as a designer, so that she would eventually land an internship opportunity at Reebok. We discussed the strugg...
Jul 26, 2019•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 31
We had the pleasure to chat with Industrial Designer Jessica Choi, who works at Google designing the future. We talked about her journey as a student, wanting to be an artist, her upbringing with her parents back in the suburbs of Detroit, attending CCS and leaving to work full time for Matter before graduating. We also talked about experiential design, and how it’s shaping how we touch and interact with products. Thanks for tuning in, be on the lookout for our next podcast! Thank you @choi_jess...
Jul 26, 2019•53 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Today we had a conversation with Industrial Designer Paul Sohi of Autodesk at the coveted Pier 9 in San Francisco, CA. We spoke about his unique transition to industrial design from architecture, his self taught design education, his process and being an early user of Fusion360. Paul was doing interesting things with Fusion and his studio - which eventually caught the eye of Autodesk, which is how Paul ended up working for them. We discussed Virgil Abloh, and the impact he has on art and design,...
Jul 26, 2019•45 min•Season 1Ep. 29
We had the pleasure to sit down with the amazing women leaders of Women in ID Chicago - Mallory Evans and McKayla Barber, both kick ass designers in Chicago who are changing the paradigm and making great strides in our field. We talked about their young careers and the successes and fears that come with breaking into the industry. We also chatted about some important topics affecting all of us, the sense of urgency to help our planet, as designers, being involved - whether it affects you or not,...
Jul 26, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Very productive morning chatting with our friend Mark Weiser, who’s an awesome Structural Package Designer at Microsoft. We talked about the awesome things he’s doing at Microsoft, their impact on the design community, and their work around inclusion. To follow Mark’s design work and journey, be sure to follow him Instagram under the handle @meiser. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, send us a DM or email at hello@advdes.org to provide us with your thoughts and comments on our dialogue with desi...
Jul 26, 2019•50 min•Season 1Ep. 27
It’s been a busy day for us - super fortunate to have so many people here in Chicago this weekend, and all dropped by our CONTEXT podcast to say hi! We sat down with two of our advisors - Emily Engle, Editor at Core77 and Pedro Montalvo, Designer at TURF. We talked about the awesome things they’re doing and their impact on the design community. To follow their design work and journey, be sure to follow Emily and Pedro on Instagram under the handles @_peddz and @notemilyengle. Thank you for tunin...
Jul 26, 2019•49 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Our second CONTEXT podcast session is with our Canadian friend Dominic Montante, industrial designer at Umbra - who has designed for Volume Studios and Motorola. We discussed design and failures - had a lovely conversation about aesthetics, visuals, form development, and how to filter good and bad design. To follow Dom’s design work and journey, be sure to follow him on Instagram @dom.design. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, send us a DM or email at hello@advdes.org to provide us with your tho...
Jul 26, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Since we re-branded to Advanced Design - we had to make some changes to some of our services. Our ADS Live is now called “CONTEXT”. A podcast where we have conversations about design, discuss the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. Our first session (and longest podcast, clocking in at two hours) is with seasoned designer Michael DiTullo - who has designed for so many brands such as Converse, Nike, S...
Jul 26, 2019•1 hr 55 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Last ADS Live in San Francisco with the one and only Joe Bowers, also known as @the.well . He shares his story on how he found Industrial Design, his past design experiences, and life at Levi’s. His advice to AD: live everyday to the fullest, don’t waste time, as it’s something you can’t get back. Thank you Joe, thanks for being real and we hope to continue this collaboration! Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly known as ADS Live prior to Advanced Design’s rebrand), send us a DM or emai...
Jul 26, 2019•41 min•Season 1Ep. 23
We had fun with our friend and upcoming SQ1CON 2019 keynote speaker Miguel Harry, an Art Center graduate and Industrial Designer at Google Pixel. We had a lovely conversation about design in Latin America, family, and how design drives us to be the best us we can be. We look forward to dropping some SQ1CON details in the coming weeks. Please follow Miguel’s design work and journey on Instagram under the handle @abstractmaterial. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly known as ADS Live prio...
Jul 25, 2019•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 22
We had an awesome conversation with Industrial Designers Elvin Chu and Alex Ortega, they’re both working on some amazing projects and have some awesome things in the works! Elvin works full time as an industrial designer at Ammunition, and noun studio is his side hustle. Alex works as a designer at Volkswagen, and is working on some cool things (that we’ll let him announce). These two young rock stars are an inspiration and we look forward to working with both of them on future endeavors! Please...
Jul 25, 2019•44 min•Season 1Ep. 21
We had the opportunity to sit down with this young rockstar designer: Elisa Payer, an Industrial Design student at the Academy of Art University, and currently a design intern at Whipsaw. Elisa is gifted, having racked up many design awards and still has a year left before graduating from school. Thank you Elisa for being part of CONTEXT, we look forward to working with you in the near future. Please follow Elisa’s design work and journey on Instagram under the handle @elisapayer. Thank you for ...
Jul 25, 2019•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Today we go live with IDSA’s Executive Director Chris Livaudais! His passion for design education and outreach within the community led him to a position on the board of the Atlanta Chapter of IDSA for the past eight years. He earned a short school certificate in experience design in 2012 from Domus Academy and a bachelor's degree in industrial design from Auburn University. At IDSA's 2016 International Conference in Detroit, Livaudais spoke on Objects that Talk Back. We had a great conversation...
Jul 25, 2019•58 min•Season 1Ep. 19
We always have fun interviewing one of our own. Araceli “Chely” Martinez talked about how she got started in design, why she’s a part of the AD team, and how she leverages her Industrial and Graphic Design education to her professional work. Please follow Chely’s design work and journey on Instagram, follow her under the handle @chelydesign. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly known as ADS Live prior to Advanced Design’s rebrand), send us a DM or email at hello@advdes.org to provide us ...
Jul 24, 2019•55 min•Season 1Ep. 18
We had the pleasure of chatting with footwear designer Matt Walters of CODDI, a footwear company that focuses on telling stories through the comfort and longevity of the shoe. Matt was kind enough to tell us his experience as a student, a young professional, the do’s and don'ts, and the process and excitement of creating a brand on his own. We’re super proud, Matt radiates positive vibes, we hope nothing but the best for him! To follow Matt’s design work and journey, be sure to follow him on Ins...
Jul 24, 2019•30 min•Season 1Ep. 17
We had an amazing interview with Michael Vorel, a Visual Designer at Nike. He talked about his humble beginnings working retail and realizing his worth, provided amazing advice, and inspired us all, a true Chicago native, making a difference in the design world! To follow Michael’s design work and journey, be sure to follow him on Instagram @michaelvorel. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly known as ADS Live prior to Advanced Design’s rebrand), send us a DM or email at hello@advdes.org ...
Jul 24, 2019•52 min•Season 1Ep. 16
We had so much fun on CONTEXT, we hope you did too! We wrapped up 2018 by interviewing a couple of the AD designers, answering questions, talking about the future, and getting a bit personal about design and our talents. We have some awesome things in store for 2019, you better be ready! To checkout their work, hit up their Instagram handles at the following - Bethany Chan @bchan.png, Hector Silva @hectorius_, Betuel Benitez @betuelbenitez, and Michael Diaz @mdiazdesign. Thank you for tuning int...
Jul 24, 2019•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 15
We had an amazing interview with Rotimi Solola, head designer at So Design, who is the Communications Chair on the IDSA Chicago Board of Directors, Instructor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and all around kind human being! We talked about his journey through school, his humble beginnings at Design Integrity, MNML and Motorola, and now running his own design studio at So Design. Rotimi gave us advice on portfolio building and how to keep pushing forward when things begin to slow down, ...
Jul 24, 2019•59 min•Season 1Ep. 14
“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” - Albert Pike. This is essentially what our conversation was about with Spencer Nugent, Principal Designer at Vivint Smart Home in Provost, Utah. We’re super grateful to have had Spencer come in and do a Master Class after the live podcast. To checkout Spencer’s work and follow his journey, follow him on Instagram under the handle @sketchadaydotcom. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly k...
Jul 24, 2019•54 min•Season 1Ep. 13
It was a pleasure to have Interaction Designer Alex Flores who works at GE Transportation in Chicago. We talk about Alex’s journey from his undergraduate studies - to his professional life, it wasn’t a yellow brick road, and we love that he was open about it. We also discussed diversity, and the things we can do to be fair and inclusive. To checkout Alex’s work and follow his journey, follow him on Instagram under the handle @allxflores. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (formerly known as ADS ...
Jul 24, 2019•50 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Super fun to have our friend and Industrial Designer Ricky Biddle on CONTEXT. Ricky has a rich resume, worked at TEAMS, then Whirlpool, ACCO Brands, Steelcase, Newell Brands, and now at Argenta Park. His knowledge of design is marvelous - and you can see it in his thought process. He shared with us a project he was on, re-designing the classic Sharpie. To checkout Ricky’s work and follow his journey, follow him on Instagram under the handle @riddickuliss. Thank you for tuning into CONTEXT, (form...
Jul 24, 2019•52 min•Season 1Ep. 11
It was a pleasure to have three amazing and powerful women designers be part of CONTEXT! Thank you to IDSA Chicago for allowing us to interview Nichole Rouillac, Ti Chang, and Morgan Matt during their Women & Design Summit. We interviewed Nichole first; join us as we discussed her journey from a small town in the southwest suburbs of Chicago to the Bay Area to be part of some of the most prolific designs of our time. Ti Chang who revolutionized the sex toy industry with her innovative design...
Jul 07, 2019•22 min•Season 1Ep. 9
It was a pleasure to have three amazing and powerful women designers be part of CONTEXT! Thank you to IDSA Chicago for allowing us to interview Nichole Rouillac, Ti Chang, and Morgan Matt during their Women & Design Summit. We interviewed Nichole first; join us as we discussed her journey from a small town in the southwest suburbs of Chicago to the Bay Area to be part of some of the most prolific designs of our time. Ti Chang who revolutionized the sex toy industry with her innovative design...
Jul 07, 2019•27 min•Season 1Ep. 7
WE STARTED AT THE BOTTOM AND NOW WE HERE. We’re super stoked to have had Craighton Berman, Industrial Designer, educator, illustrator, cool dad, and design entrepreneur with us on CONTEXT. We talked about how he created Manual, a housewares brand that designs objects that celebrate slow food. We were also able to discuss his service to the community, home life, professional life, teaching, his work permanently installed at the Art Institute in Chicago, the roller coaster ride that Kickstarter is...
Jul 07, 2019•58 min•Season 1Ep. 6
We’re incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to talk to Joey Zeledón on this podcast. Joey has recently transitioned to a new position as Design Lead at HP in Barcelona, Spain and has previously worked at Steelcase Health, Smart Design, Continuum, and Clarks Originals. We talked about his little accident with his dominant hand, TOUCHY FEELY, his obsession with footwear, and the future of Industrial Design. To checkout Joey’s work and follow his journey, follow him on Instagram under the...
Jul 07, 2019•52 min•Season 1Ep. 5
