Detroit City of Design Podcast

Real estate developer Phillip Kafka and and architect Ishtiaq Rafiuddin discuss real estate development as a system for solving problems, which for Detroit, means ensuring affordability while creating new economic value. 

Philip and Ish are behind some of Detroit's most exciting projects, including the award-winning restaurant and Takoi and Core City Park. 

Links for Reference: 

Takoi, Core City Park, True North, The Caterpillar, ...

Marquise Stillwell is the founder of Openbox, a design studio and consultancy based in New York City that works at the intersection of people and systems. He is also the cofounder of Opendox, a film company that tells lesser-known narratives, Deem Journal, an editorial publication focused on design as a social practice, and Artmatr, an international community of artists and engineers working to merge digital technology with paintin...

Dug Song and Sally Carson, discuss the role of design in tech. Doug is a general manager and cofounder of Duo Security, now a part of Cisco. And Sally is their head of product design and user research.

Duo Security makes it safe to log into anything from anywhere, from any device, at any time. Duo combines security expertise with a user-centered philosophy to provide simple and effective security solutions for all users today, we wi...

Xenith is a Detroit-based industry leader in football helmet technology, and also produces shoulder pads, face masks, apparel and more. Xenith has prioritized design thinking in all of its product development, which has resulted in gear that transcends protection alone—designing for optimal fit, feel, comfort and style. Today, we will discuss how collaboration between designers and engineers can result in groundbreaking innovation....

Rama Gheerawo is the director of the Helen Hamlyn Center for Design at the Royal College of Art. Rama is a global leader in people-centered and socially inclusive design. He's a serial innovator in the fields of technology, products, services, and transport with over a hundred projects to his name. In this episode we discuss the role of design in creating products, services, and systems that benefit people of all abilities, esp...

Jessica Helfand is the and award-winning designer, artist, writer, and the founding editor of Design Observer. Jessica is the author of numerous books on visual and cultural criticism and is also the host of two podcasts, The Observatory and The Design of Business | The Business of Design. Host Olga Stella talks with Jessica about  the impact that crisis can have on the creative process, and the crucial role design will play in hel...

Angela Glover Blackwell is the Founder in Residence at PolicyLink and the host of the Radical Imagination podcast. She has helped grow and define a national equity movement focused on innovating and improving public policy to ensure access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color. Host Olga Stella talks with Angela about how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality issues as well as how everyone benefits when w...

Kacha Azéma is the executive creative director of Skidmore Studio, a strategic creative studio focused on helping consumer-facing companies grow through innovative design and branding services. Host Olga Stella talks with Kacha about brand adaptation and how design can help businesses through trying times. 

Links for reference: Skidmore Studio, Detroit Design Network, Bon Bon Bon, Stroh's, Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre, Ellis Isl...