so there's this...

JOYYY to the world… or not? Is joy actually destroying our world? In this episode, we reflect on the definition of joy—a fleeting moment of intense pleasure and elation experienced in the present—and exchange purportedly joyful designs that disappoint us and also Mother Nature. Brooke comes out as an ice queen and unleashes bold anti-glitter vitriol over the airwaves, backed with jaw-dropping facts about the secretive Glitter indus...

Is candy advertising encouraging cannibalism? Is your sweet tooth the reason for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? In this episode, we share some not-so-sweet thoughts on candy design. We had to restrain ourselves from just having a complaining sesh on all the candy we straight up do not like (looking at you, nougat-dominant chocolate) to instead focus on the reason we’re here in the first place: #designthatdisappoints. 

Co...

Vacation is a respite, a period of leisure away from the doldrums of quotidian life. An adventure anywhere but home. It should be fun! And relaxing! But vacation can sometimes feel like a burden—the planning involved, the travel to and from places, the coordination of people and prices and comfort. In this episode, we look at vacation through two different lenses: paid time off as a flawed design practice, and highway rest stops—on...

What better way to kick off this season than with a discussion centered around the very essence of our being, the inescapable substance that rules our lives? Designs for, of, with, and about water are endless. The world is overflowing with bad water-related designs. In this episode, Cornelia condemns the reusable water bottle industry for its apparent love of hard-to-clean vessels (people are gonna hate this!), while Brooke talks S...

Well well well…here we are. Welcome!!! We are thrilled you’re joining us here on “so there’s this…”, a show in which we share our thoughts and opinions on everyday design that disappoints.

So…what does it even mean for something to be “design-related”? Why does that matter? Who are we to talk about design? For Episode Zero, we talk through these questions and valiantly attempt to define design–in our own words. Come explore the...

so there’s this… is your friendly neighborhood podcast about design that disappoints. As design critics, co-hosts Brooke Viegut and Cornelia Smith couldn’t help but wonder about those minor inconveniences in the world that can ruin your day — those little everyday designs that just make you think “ick.” 

Chances are, that “ick” is a design flaw. On “so there’s this…” we explore our own icks through a design lens to figure out how th...