AIGA Design Podcast

Hosts Giulia Donatello and Lee-Sean Huang welcome Jarrett Fuller, a designer, writer, educator, editor, and podcaster. He is an assistant professor and director of undergraduate programs in Graphic & Experience Design at North Carolina State University, director of the design studio twenty-six, and host of Scratching the Surface. He's edited or co-edited four books, and his writing has appeared in Fast Company, The Architect's Newspaper, Eye Magazine, and Design Observer. His work has won awards from Communication Arts and The Type Directors Club, and he was previously an editor at Eye on Design and a designer at Facebook, Warby Parker, and The Whitney Museum of American Art.
Drawing from his new book, Graphic Designers After Graphic Design: Designer as Publisher, Researcher, Change Maker, Performer, Artist (Princeton Architectural Press), Jarrett explains why graphic design is far from dead. They explore how the field's lack of strict boundaries is its superpower, letting millennial and Gen Z designers expand into publishing, research, activism, performance, and fine art.


In This Episode
* Graphic designers persist. Jarrett contrasts a future where design persists without human designers with one where designers thrive by reclaiming their practice beyond commercial silos.
* The "superpower" of a blurry discipline. Unlike architecture or industrial design, graphic design has always resisted definition. Jarrett argues that this is what allows the discipline to keep expanding and adapting to new cultural moments.
* Designer as publisher. Jarrett discusses how designers move beyond shaping the container for someone else's text and become cultural producers when they control the content and make it public.
* Social change and activism. Revisiting manifestos like First Things First, Jarrett shows how making complex political ideas visual and legible remains a fundamental form of social action.
* Performance, unscripted risks, and rapid prototyping. Drawing on his interview with Silvio Lorusso, Jarrett and Lee-Sean compare design research and public presentations to stand-up and improv, favoring risk, live feedback, and mistakes over slick corporate TED Talks.
* Resisting the "AI sameness trap." Reflecting on his recent Fast Company essay, Jarrett argues designers fear AI only because they've been designing for lowest-common-denominator sameness. He calls for radical experimentation and cultural difference.
* Going back to the roots (graphe). Jarrett revisits the Greek root of "graphic," reminding us that graphic design is medium-agnostic and encompasses studying, writing, drawing, and giving shape to the world.
* Flipping design education. Jarrett proposes redesigning design curricula to start with history, ethics, and critical theory, saving tools and software for last.

Resources
* Book: Graphic Designers After Graphic Design: Designer as Publisher, Researcher, Change Maker, Performer, Artist by Jarrett Fuller https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/graphic-designers-after-graphic-design
* Article: Design is on its deathbed. Long live design!, Fast Company https://www.fastcompany.com/91582682/design-is-on-its-deathbed-long-live-design
* Jarrett Fuller's Website: https://jarrettfuller.com
* Scratching the Surface Podcast: https://scratchingthesurface.fm
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jarrettfuller
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrettfuller
* Book Recommendation: Fine Design by Scott Klinker https://www.setmargins.press/books/fine-design/
* Documentary Recommendation: Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars (1986): https://www.criterionchannel.com/robert-wilson-and-the-civil-wars
* Book Recommendation: How to Begin: Letters to a Young Artist by Edmund de Waal https://www.edmunddewaal.com/news/how-to-begin
* AIGA Design Podcast Feedback and Voice Memos: podcast@aiga.org

In this episode, hosts Giulia Donatello and Lee-Sean Huang welcome Tameka Vasquez, futurist, leadership strategist, and founder of The Future Quo. Drawing on over a decade in tech, including serving as the first Head of Marketing at Sidewalk Labs inside Google, Tameka breaks down why foresight isn't fortune-telling or prediction, but a practical decision-making mindset. Together, they explore how to democratize futures thinking, push back against corporate greed, and establish human-centered "rules of engagement" as AI rapidly transforms creative practice.

In This Episode
⚬ Challenging the status quo. Tameka shares how a desire to tell stories and shape new possibilities connects her journey through corporate communications, tech marketing, Sidewalk Labs, academia, and independent foresight work.

⚬ Becoming a futurist. Tameka recalls studying AI’s impact on the corporate workforce back in 2015—a decade before it became mainstream—and getting certified in strategic foresight at the University of Houston. She defines a futurist as someone who assesses emerging possibilities to make more intentional decisions in the present.

⚬ Democratizing foresight. Tracing foresight back to its roots in military strategy, Tameka explains why futures thinking shouldn't be confined to elite consulting decks. She advocates for putting these tools into everyday hands so everyone can participate in co-creating the future.

⚬ Setting rules of engagement for AI. Addressing the short-term corporate greed driving current tech adoption, Tameka rejects the idea that AI’s trajectory is inevitable. She compares AI to a child or a guest in a home: it only knows what we teach it, and humans must establish the collective rules of the house.

⚬ Lessons from entrepreneurship. Reflecting on her transition from startups to founding her own advisory firm, Tameka discusses suspending conventional rules with purpose, capturing market "vibes" through signal scanning, and learning to navigate profound independence and uncertainty.

⚬ Practicing "futuring" as a daily verb. Tameka outlines daily habits to hone foresight, such as taking stock of subconscious observations, asking probing questions, and being a student of history.

Resources
⚬ The Future Quo – https://thefuturequo.com

⚬ Between Shifts (Substack) – https://betweenshifts.substack.com

⚬ Tameka Vasquez on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamekavasquez

⚬ The Future: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Gidley – https://amzn.to/45P11Cq

⚬ AIGA Design Podcast Feedback – podcast@aiga.org

In this episode, hosts Lee-Sean Huang and Giulia Donatello sit down with Sally Chung, a designer, startup founder, professor at Parsons School of Design, and former faculty member at SVA. From her early days as a founding designer at Saks Fifth Avenue to building an SMS AI beauty chatbot in 2016 and leading zero-to-one ventures at BCGX, Sally has continuously navigated the balance between corporate scale and entrepreneurial agility. She shares how she founded the Designpreneurs Hackathon to build a thriving ecosystem connecting designers, universities, and tech founders, and offers an insider’s look at how AI is reshaping interaction design education and hiring expectations at Parsons. In This EpisodeBuilding AI before the hype. Sally reflects on co-founding Hello Ava in 2016—an SMS AI beauty advisor—years before ChatGPT went mainstream. The experience taught her that technology alone never wins; true product-market fit comes from listening directly to user frustrations rather than focusing on the tech itself. Designing a career narrative. From corporate in-house teams to living in a co-worker's basement to launch a startup, Sally discusses why designers must stop apologizing for a "zigzag" career path and proactively craft their own strategic narrative. The survivor mindset in innovation. Drawing on her work launching ventures at BCGX, Sally outlines why smart ideas fail and what keeps surviving companies alive: rapid market adaptability, relentless testing loops, smart distribution channels, and a founder's resilience. Cultivating an ecosystem through hackathons. Sally breaks down how a weekend project to help her SVA students build portfolios evolved into the Designpreneurs Hackathon—a tight-knit community that pairs hackers with senior mentors from IDEO, Meta, and Spotify, resulting in real hires, startup acquisitions, and venture funding. The shift in design hiring. Sally reveals why a "pixel-perfect" portfolio no longer guarantees a job. As execution becomes automated, top design leaders are hiring for strategic systems thinking, multi-stakeholder navigation, and versatility across non-UI or agentic experiences. Rethinking design education at Parsons. Advising on curriculum changes, Sally emphasizes that design schools should stop teaching software tools that students can learn on TikTok, and return to analog craftsmanship, strategic problem-solving, and a foundational creative eye. What remains human. Reflecting on her panel at South by Southwest, Sally highlights that while AI can optimize toward goals, only humans can choose which goals matter. She stresses that real, in-person community is the ultimate antidote to digital loneliness. ResourcesSally Chung's Official Website – http://sallyhychung.comSally Chung on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallyhchung/Sally's Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sallyinutopiaDesignpreneurs – https://www.designpreneurshackathon.com/Same As Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes by Morgan Housel – https://amzn.to/4qpoTWMAIGA Design Podcast Feedback – podcast@aiga.org

In this episode, hosts Lee-Sean Huang and Giulia Donatello welcome Martin LeBlanc, Chief Experience Officer at Magnific (the AI creative platform formerly known as Freepik). A designer and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience across computer science, business, and creativity, Martin founded Iconfinder—which grew into a global design asset marketplace before being acquired by Magnific. Together, they explore how generative AI is shifting creative execution, why large organizations struggle to adapt to systemic changes, and how designers can retain control of their creative authorship. Martin also provides a live walkthrough of Magnific's node-based canvas, illustrating how generative AI can be integrated into repeatable, professional design systems without training on user data.

In This Episode
Empowering vs. disrupting design. Reflecting on his 25 years in design, Martin acknowledges that AI disrupts old workflows while empowering creators to reinvent how they build. He stresses that designers historically adapt and win when they actively direct new technology.

The "Magic Wand" product philosophy. Magnific balances two priorities: keeping tools simple for beginners via auto-settings, while embedding granular, professional controls just beneath the surface for advanced directors.

Rewriting the rules of production. AI lowers financial and technical barriers for independent creators. Complex ad campaigns and visual effects that once required massive studios or green screens can now be produced by solo creators or small teams.

Designing repeatable systems. Demonstrating Magnific's node-based canvas ("Spaces"), Martin shows how prompts, manual edits, vector design, and automated translations combine to form shareable, repeatable production pipelines.

The "Tsunami" moment and pivot. Martin details how Freepik navigated its shift to an "AI-first" company and rebrand to Magnific. Seeing how AI would disrupt traditional stock assets, the company launched an internal "Labs" unit to develop future-facing tools.

The "No-Collar Economy" and taste. As AI lowers technical hurdles, a designer’s true value shifts to discernment, curation, and taste—knowing what to keep, what to scrap, and how to refine the final 20% of a piece.

IP, authorship, and data privacy. Magnific protects user rights with full commercial licenses, zero customer data training, and a downloadable "lineage" metadata trail to help designers prove human authorship.

Getting started through side projects. For designers overwhelmed by rapid AI updates, Martin advises focusing on hands-on side projects and workflow mechanics rather than chasing tool hype.

Resources

Magnific (30% AIGA Community Discount on Annual Premium Plans) – https://referral.magnific.com/aiga?mz
Martin's Podcast Demo Workflow (Magnific Space) – https://www.magnific.com/app/spaces/a243c19e-c681-4e82-ad7e-4b28a66f9599/invite?payload=eyJpdiI6Ikg1VWhOZzlla2RoTGNLQzB6QjlRRkE9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoidlRHMjNKR01kRVRPSS83MUtsZEt2bUFIWk1SYWRLcnF4NWNXRk1GdzBFdzlxMDQ2OTJnWnluaHcyMkJnWExOckFCN0JxME1UTUpUZEZOb0FrWXRaemd6cGw0Rkx3b1RENU1VRWFiYk5ncnJCNEdqYTRzZ1gxeWEyTUZaRUZXRDYiLCJtYWMiOiI3M2IwODYzYTY2MmY0YzkzZGYzNjJjNjRiZDg5MWZiOTM2ODJlM2Q3YWE3MjQyYzcwZTkyOTA3YjY0NzdlZTVlIiwidGFnIjoiIn0

The No-Collar Economy White Paper – https://www.reasonwhy.es/media/library/no-collar-white-paper.pdf

Magnific Academy Tutorials – https://www.magnific.com/academy
AIGA Design Podcast Feedback and Voicemails – podcast@aiga.org

In this episode, hosts Lee-Sean Huang and Giulia Donatello sit down with Jeff Leitner, the co-founder of UX for Good, architect of Norm Design, and a partner to organizations ranging from the US State Department and NASA to Harvard Medical School. Together, they unpack the core ideas behind his Summer 2026 Stanford Social Innovation Review article, "The Science of Norm Design," exploring why smart, well-funded initiatives fail roughly 70% of the time. 

Jeff shares his extensive experience studying the "invisible architecture" of social environments. He offers a critical challenge to the design industry, inviting practitioners to look past boilerplate briefs and standard user research to systematically uncover and design for the unwritten rules that dictate human behavior.

In This Episode
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The definition of norm design. Jeff defines norm design as an essential layer built on top of traditional research to uncover a group's informal, unwritten rules. Because every solution lands within a complex social ecosystem, these hidden dynamics ultimately dictate whether a design succeeds or fails.

The 70% organizational failure rate. Stagnant for decades, the standard failure rate for organizational change is famously high. The uncomfortable reality is that most interventions fail because they inadvertently obey the exact same unwritten rules as the problems they are trying to fix.

The New Orleans musicians' paradox. Partnering with UX for Good to help local musicians, who average $24,000 a year, the team found that standard financial literacy training routinely failed. A norm-based approach revealed that musicians viewed asking for tips as humiliating. By bypassing the ask and adding a tipping line directly to club receipts, they successfully transferred thousands of dollars to bands.

Unwritten rules vs. employee manuals. Social norms are rarely documented. To find a company's true constraints, Jeff suggests asking employees what they would tell a best friend over drinks about "how the place really works," rather than what's printed in the onboarding manual.

The structural empathy trap. While designers champion empathy, leaning too deeply into a user's perspective can cause researchers to absorb the same invisible constraints that the target group can't see, effectively blinding the designer to the overarching social norms.

Empathy vs. compassion in Rwanda. At the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the team challenged the default industry strategy of showing horror to inspire action. Brain research shows that witnessing suffering floods our pain circuits, causing distress, fatigue, and shutdown. By profiling ordinary heroes, they engaged the brain's compassion networks to cultivate the will to act.

How success derailed NASA. Jeff discovered that 100% of interviewed NASA staff anchored their operational norm to JFK's 1962 "Moonshot" speech. However, waiting for a singular political figure to rally the public blinded the agency to the modern reality of private spaceflight, turning a historic triumph into a systemic roadblock.

Resources
The Science of Norm Design by Jeff Leitner (Stanford Social Innovation Review) – https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the-science-of-norm-design
Leitner Studio Official Website – leitnerstudio.com 
UX for Good Nonprofit – uxforgood.org 
Cracking the Code of Change by Nitin Nohria and Michael Beer, the original source of the 70% failure rate of change initiatives (Harvard Business Review)  – https://hbr.org/2000/05/cracking-the-code-of-change

AIGA Design Podcast Feedback and Voicememos – podcast@aiga.org