Design Notes

There Is No Neutral Design: Megan Kasselberg, Senior UX Writer and Content Designer, Material Design

This episode, I talked with my coworker Megan Kasselberg, whose work as a senior UX writer and content designer touches billions of users through the Material Design syst

Beyond the Text Field: Louise Macfadyen, Author of Designing AI Interfaces

This episode, I got to sit down with my friend, podcast cohost on Away from Keyboard, and former coworker Louise Macfadyen as she prepares to launch her new book Designin

The Era of the Generalist: Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group

In this episode, Liam speaks with Rachel Been, SVP of Design for Expedia Group, about her journey from photography to design leadership and why she believes this is "the

Other Than Expected: Fabian Bircher on Combining Art, Architecture, and Code

In this episode, Liam speaks with Zürich-based architect and artist Fabian Bircher, whose work spans buildings, custom lighting, and interactive installations. Fabian dis

Design Can't Rely on Logic: Troy Leinster on Type Design and Human Perception

In this episode, I reconnect with my former instructor, type designer and design coach Troy Leinster. Troy shares his journey from graphic design to type design, and expl

The User Brings the Confetti: Rob Giampietro on Scaling a Human-Centered Brand

Rob Giampietro, Head of Creative at Notion and former Design Director at MoMA, returns to the show to unpack the story behind Notion Faces, the popular tool that allows u

True is Better Than New: David Reinfurt on Evolving Graphic Design Education

In this episode, designer, educator, and author David Reinfurt returns to the show to discuss his latest book, A *Co-* Program for Graphic Design. Born from a series of l

Material Design Gets Expressive: Inside Google's Emotion-Driven UX Update

This special episode digs into the latest evolution of Google's design system: Material 3 Expressive. Liam talks with Material Design's Android Product Manager Aneesha

Beauty Across the Board: Rich Fulcher on Making Beauty a UX Priority at Google

This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design closes out with Rich Fulcher, former Google UX director and Material design lead. F

Breaking Silos (and Metaphors): A 'Roving Engineer' on Design & Engineering Collaboration

This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design continues with Adrian Secord, who describes himself as a "roving engineer." Adrian

Code, Creativity, Performance: Will Larche on Engineering as 'Creativity with Constraints'

This season's special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design continues with Software Engineering Manager and Musical Theater Writer Will Larche,

Fab Components: Bethany Fong on Designing Material's Signature Floating Action Button

This episode is part of a special series celebrating ten years of Material Design. In the episode, Liam speaks with Bethany Fong, a Design Director at Meta who was a pivo

Facing Our Interfaces: Matías Duarte on the Future of Individualized Design

This season begins with a special series celebrating ten years since the launch of Material Design, which will explore the inception, evolution, and future of Google's de

Designing Better Code: How Google Engineers Make Coding a Creative Practice

Liam speaks with Googlers Connie Shi, a software engineer on Material Design, and Matvei Malkov, a software engineer on Jetpack Compose, and the trio unpack what makes co

How Fonts Change the World: Dave Crossland on Digital Type and Emotional Expression

Liam and Google Fonts Specialist Dave Crossland explore what digital type can teach us about digital production, emotional expression, and where we fit in the world as de

Coding (and Decoding) Social Spaces: Judith Donath on the Future of Life Online

In this episode, Liam speaks with Judith Donath, the founder of MIT's Sociable Media Lab, inventor of e-cards, and author of The Social Machine: Designs for Living Online

Fearless Design: Aline Borges on Composition and Creative Career Changes

Liam speaks with Aline Borges, a Zürich-based floral designer who's made the leap from fashion coordination for magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar to independent fl

⏮️ How Machines Help Us See Ourselves: Harvey Moon on Art Made Through Machine Collaboration

In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with new media artist Harvey Moon, recorded in his San Francisco studio. Liam and Harvey discuss how Moon's wor

The Impact of Shared Space: Ignacio Ciocchini on Designing NYC's Public Furniture

Liam speaks with streetscape and public space designer Ignacio Ciocchini, who's created much of the public furniture that New Yorkers encounter every single day – from be

⏮️ Learning From Your Virtual Twin: Kerry Murphy on Digital Fashion and Virtual Embodiment

In this episode, we revisit a conversation from Season 1 with Kerry Murphy, co-founder of digital fashion house The Fabricant. We uncover how data are spun into virtual t