Scratching the Surface

On today's episode, Jarrett Fuller is joined by National Academy of Design director Gregory Wessner to talk about the structure of the National Academy and how it serves artists and architects as it approaches its 200th anniversary, the changing definitions of design, and the value of non-profits in architecture and design media. Gregory is the Executive Director of the National Academy of Design, the New York-based non-profit founded in 1825 that promotes art and architecture in America through exhibition, education, and research. Before joining the National Academy, Gregory served as executive director of Open House New York, and in a variety of roles at the Architectural League of New York. 🎧 Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/ejZpyZ7v

To celebrate the release of "Look good, feel good, play good: Nike Apparel" by Maisie Skidmore (out now from Phaidon), we asked Maisie to share the books that mean the most to her. "Look good, feel good, play good is a book about Nike sportswear, and what it means to women. It investigates the garments women wear, and why they wear them – whether that’s by elite athletes or aspiring amateurs, to run marathons or to run errands. It’s about the spaces we perform in, and the way we use clothing to do it: from the field and the fitness studio to the online world and the street outside. The book is rooted in Nike’s apparel catalogs – an incomplete collection of printed publications that chart what the company actually made and sold between 1981 and the early 2010s." 📚 Read Maisie's full list here: https://lnkd.in/exDkzmaZ

In this week's episode, Jarrett Fuller is joined by Noemi Biasetton to reflect on the design and media of the 2024 election, the changing roles of design in political discourse, and the increasingly complicated overlap of politics, media, and communication design.      Noemi is a design researcher, writer, and editor whose work focuses on design cultures and visual representation within the social and political dimension. She is the author of Superstorm: Design and Politics in the Age of Information, which was published earlier this year.      🎧 Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/eGzHfnK5

On our new episode, Jarrett Fuller is joined by and Federica Sofia Zambeletti to talk about the origins and evolution of KoozArch, the state of architecture media, and the role of conversation in design discourse. Federica is an architect, researcher, and storyteller. She’s the founder and managing director of KoozArch, an independent publishing platform and research studio that explores architecture beyond the limits of the built form, which she founded in 2014 while she was a student at the Architectural Association. 🎧 Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/eWakkqw4

Today in our members-only newsletter, we talk to Alexandra Cunningham Cameron (episode 188) about the new Smithsonian Institution Design Triennial, on view now at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and the role of design triennials. 📬 Join our paid-tier to get access to this interview (and other monthly bonus interviews!) and help support the show for just $50/year! 👉 Link to read the interview and sign up: https://lnkd.in/eHtYrC4E

In this week's episode, Jarrett Fuller is joined by Petra Blaisse to 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 Art Applied, the new monograph of her work, together. 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 by MACK Books.. 🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/duCW2sjE

On this week's episode, Jarrett Fuller is joined by Lesley Ann Noel, PhD to 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. Lesley-Ann 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 NC State College of Design, Tulane University, The Stanford d.school, and the University of the West Indies. 🎧 Listen to the episode: https://lnkd.in/gQeJ2kBt

Today in our members-only newsletter, we talk to Todd Oldham (episode 189) and Kiera Coffee about their great new monograph of mid-century polymath Alexander Girard, Let The Sun In (out now from Phaidon)! 📬 Join our paid-tier to get access to this interview (and other monthly bonus interviews!) and help support the show for just $50/year! 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3CWzqVh

On this week's episode, Jarrett Fuller talks with Taylor Levy and Che-Wei Wang oabout the role of experimentation in their design process, the overlap of physical and digital design, and the challenges with staying independent. Taylor and Che-Wei 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 National Design Award for product design from Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. 🎧 Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/da8Npt4E

Do you like Scratching the Surface and want to see more of it in the world? Joining our paid tier on Substack is the easiest way to support our work and show us you value what we produce. For $50/year, you can help fund the show's production and get exclusive bonus content each month, like this interview with Louise Sandhaus about how The People's Graphic Design Archive was built! Join now to read the interview and support our work! https://lnkd.in/eAUB5yU7