Sara De Bondt is a designer, educator, and publisher. She runs her own independent design practice working with cultural clients and is the co-founder of Occasional Papers, a small publishing company focusing on publishing affordable books devoted to the histories of architecture, art, design, film, and literature. The Walker Art Center called Sara “the epitome of a cultural designer, combining a love of contemporary typography with a deep investigation into the history of graphic design. Through her design practice, which consists of client-based work, designing and editing books, and curating conferences, she is consistently contributing to the critical discourse.” In this episode, Sara and I talk about her background from studying acting to working with Stuart Bailey, Daniel Eatock, and James Goggin; the importance of design history in contemporary practice; and what designers can learn from other disciplines.
Scratching the Surface is made possible entirely by listener support.
Support the show on Patreon!
Carson Chan is an architecture writer, curator, and educator. He is the inaugural director of the Emilio Ambasz Institute for the Joint Study of the Built and Natural Environment at MoMA and a curator in the department of architecture and design. He previously co-founded the Current Collective for Architecture History and Environment and the Berlin-based project space PROGRAM. In this conversation, Jarrett and Carson talk about the ambition of the Ambasz Institute, the process of redefining architecture, and why aquariums are a lens to view the intersections of the natural and built worlds.
Listen →
James Bridle is a writer, artist, and technologist. They are the author, most recently, of Ways of Being as well as New Dark Age. They've exhibited art in galleries and institutions around the world and have written for publications like Wired, The Atlantic, and the Guardian. In this wide-ranging conversation, Jarrett and James talk about the limited ways we talk about artificial intelligence, why human-centered design might just be corporation-centered design, and the value of working across mediums.
Iker Gil is an architect and director of MAS Studio, the editor-in-chief of MAS Context, and the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation. He was the co-curator of Exhibit Columbus 2020-2021 and associate curator of the US Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. In this conversation, Jarrett and Iker talk about the relationship between architecture and editing, sustaining a publication, and the value of organizing and administration in creative work.
