James Goggin is a designer, educator, and writer. He runs his own design studio with his partner, Shan James, under the name Practise and recently joined the faculty of RISD’s graphic design department. He previously worked as Director of Design, Publishing and New Media at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and has taught at Werkplaats Typografie in Arnhem, The Netherlands, and at ECAL in Switzerland. His writing on design has appeared in numerous publications and he currently serves as art director and is on the editorial board of the architecture publication, Flat Out. In this episode, James and I talk about closing the gap between theory and practice, the value of writing in his design process, and subverting the traditional lecture/slideshow format.
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Giovanna Borasi is an architect, writer, and curator. She’s currently the director of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, where she previous held the positions of Chief Curator, Curator of Contemporary Architecture, and Associate Director of Programs. In all these roles, her work often seeks to challenge the conventional definition of the architect. In this conversation, Jarrett and Giovanna talk about the CCA’s mission and history, how her background studying architecture influences her work, and why she’s interested in the confusion that comes with blurring disciplinary boundaries.
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Walter Hood is a landscape architect, architect, artist, and urbanist. He’s the creative director and founder of Hood Design Studio in Oakland, CA and the former chair of the department of landscape architecture at University of California, Berkeley. He’s the author of Blues & Jazz Landscapes, Urban Diaries, and the co-editor of Black Landscapes Matter. In this conversation, Jarrett and Walter talk about thinking of landscapes as a medium, his interest in subverting typologies, and why he refers to his work as a cultural practice.
Oliver Munday is a graphic designer and writer. His new book, Head of Household, is a collection of short stories that explore the conditions of modern fatherhood. Perhaps best known for his book cover designs, Oliver is currently the executive director of art and design at Doubleday, previously designed covers for Knopf and Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and served as associate art director of The Atlantic. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and Oliver talk about his move into fiction, why he wrote a book about fatherhood, and the limits of working as a graphic designer.