Bringing Design to the Masses with Mike Chapman

This week on the PRISM podcast, Dan Harden and Mike Chapman reveal the process of creating the By Design TV series for a mainstream audience. Chapman also discusses expanding the popular California show into America by Design where Harden will judge the nation’s best innovations.

 

Episode Transcript

Dan Harden 0:04

Hello, and welcome to PRISM. PRISM is a design oriented podcast hosted by me Dan Harden. Like a glass prism that reveals the color hidden inside white light, this podcast will reveal the inside story behind innovation, especially the people that make it happen. My aim is to uncover each guest’s unique point of view, their insights, their methods, or their own secret motivator, perhaps, that fuels their creative genius.

Dan Harden 0:32

I am speaking with my friend Mike Chapman. Mike is the executive producer of the multi TV series by design, and director of MWC. Mike has over 30 years of experience in the TV industry as a director and producer. He has a long history of creating programming for a variety of markets, especially around Australia, New Zealand, and more recently now in the United States. Some of Mike’s credits include being a series producer and executive producer on Big Brother, series one through 10, Getaway, Holiday, Australia’s Most Amazing Homes and Passionate Players. He manages a production team from his home in Melbourne, and now is his pad in New York City.

Dan Harden 1:14

Mike, thanks so much for coming on. And where are you actually now in the world?

Mike Chapman 1:20

Oh, boy, what a first question. I’ll try and give the simple answer. I was coming back from Copenhagen, where we were doing some filming we have in our show, we’ll get into that, I guess that international spotlights so we were doing some design stories in Copenhagen and I had a connection in Paris, and then they wouldn’t let me on the plane. I was flying back to New York. And that’s where I learned that on an Australian passport because you might have noticed, I talk funny. I’m an Australian. And they won’t they won’t let me back into the US unless I go via, there’s like a workaround where you can go to Mexico for two weeks.

Dan Harden 2:10

So you’re in Cancun, I’m guessing.

Mike Chapman 2:13

Yeah, on a little island off the off the coast of Cancun. The translation is Lady Island. Probably some of your listeners might know of it. It’s a It’s a lovely little place. A population of 12,000. And it’s just a lot of Americans here, actually. And it’s really, if I if I’ve got to be quarantined somewhere, you’re right. It’s, it’s not so bad.

Dan Harden 2:39

It’s not bad. It’s like 10 o’clock in the morning, and I now see that you have a margarita in front of you. So yeah, thank you so much for doing this because I guess you’re on vacation.

Mike Chapman 2:51

Well, kinda.

Dan Harden 2:53

So Mike, so one is it’s it’s awesome. You’re doing these projects in the United States of America by design. We did California by Design, New York by Design. I was I was a part of this. And it’s been a real fun experience for me to working with you, I must say. But I think for our listeners, you know, I want to really just kind of figure out especially like, as a lifestyle documentarian in the work that you’re doing in Australia. What led you into this world of design and telling stories about design? I know this started in Australia for you. Because Yeah, Australia by design, which ran for three years, right?

Mike Chapm