• Episodes
  • Stories
  • About
  • Support the Show

    • 44. Theo Inglis

    Sep 13, 2017

    Theo Inglis is a freelance graphic designer and writer based in London. He is a recent graduate of the Critical Writing in Art and Design MA at The Royal College of Art and currently writes for Grafik and Monotype. In this episode, Theo and I talk about his recent MA thesis, An Absurd Machine: Branding, Design, and the City, how he got started writing while he was working as a designer, the types of design writing we want to see more of, and the differences between design criticism, theory, and journalism.

    Scratching the Surface is made possible entirely by listener support.

    Support the show on Substack!

    Latest Episodes:

    258. Petra Blaisse

    Petra Blaisse is the founder of Inside Outside, an Amsterdam-based design studio that focuses on textiles, interior design, gardens, and landscapes. Known for her long-running collaborations with OMA, Petra began her career in 1978 at the Stedelijk Museum in the department of Applied Arts. A new book on the studio’s work, Art Applied, was released earlier this year. In this conversation, Jarrett and Petra talk about the differences between design and applied arts, the role of collaboration in her practice, and what she learned about herself in helping to put this new book together.

    Listen →

    257. Lesley-Ann Noel

    Lesley-Ann Noel is a designer, researcher, and educator. She’s the author of Design Social Change and a co-editor of The Black Experience in Design. Earlier this year, Lesley-Ann was appointed the dean of design at OCAD University and she previously taught at North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Stanford University, and the University of the West Indies. In this conversation, Jarrett and Lesley-Ann talk about the role of design in social change, the value of utopian and abolitionist thinking, and the relationship between designed objects and cultural transformation.

    Listen →

    256. Taylor Levy & Che-Wei Wang

    Taylor Levy and Che-Wei Wang are the founders of the art and design studio CW&T. Founded in 2009, CW&T has produced human-scaled objects like pens, clocks, and tape dispensers engineered to last multiple generations as well interactive software, art installations, and more. In 2022, they were the recipients of the 2022 National Design Award for product design from Cooper Hewitt. In this conversation, Jarrett talks with Taylor and Che-Wei about the role of experimentation in their design process, the overlap of physical and digital design, and the challenges with staying independent.

    Listen →