Om denne podcast
We are in the midst of an unprecedented time in the history of the design profession. Businesses are investing in design at rates never before seen—building scaled design teams of hundreds and even thousands of designers, and hiring design leaders into executive roles giving them influence and access at the highest levels.
As an executive design leader myself, I’m fascinated by the experience of designers moving into these new leadership roles. For most of us this is completely uncharted territory, the jobs are often undefined and there is rarely a roadmap or playbook to help us succeed, so most of us have had to learn on the job.
In each episode of This is a Prototype, I invite two design leaders who have traveled very different life and career journeys to share their stories, compare notes, and talk about what it takes to be a leader in this new era of design.
Episoder
De nyeste 20 af 30 episoder
- S3•E7 Emerging Patterns in Design Leadership 2026 · 41 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 7What does it mean to be a design leader in 2026, and what can the experiences of today’s leaders tell us about where the profession is headed next? In this episode, I’m joined…
- S3•E6 Arianne Miller + Sean Baker · 53 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 6Throughout season 3 of this series, I’ve been speaking with leaders in the practice of civic design; designers who have dedicated their careers to improving the everyday…
- S3•E5 Phil Gilbert · 60 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 5One of the core principles of my leadership courses and coaching engagements is that, as design leaders, we are always agents of change in complex, scaled organizations, always…
- S3•E4 Ashleigh Axios · 57 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 4The practice of civic design is increasingly in the spotlight in the U.S. as dramatic cuts to federal agency staffing and funding resulted in the abrupt elimination of thousands…
- S3•E3 Sara Cantor + George Aye · 56 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 3On this episode, host Doug Powell is joined by Sara Cantor and George Aye, co-founders of Chicago-based Greater Good Studio, a design firm dedicated to the public sector, taking…
- Special Edition: Building Diverse Design Teams, Part 2 · 43 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 2On August 28, I hosted a webinar on Building Diverse Design Teams in which I spoke to some of the top leaders in design about the importance of building a more diverse, equitable…
- Special Edition: Building Diverse Design Teams, Part 1 · 45 min. · Sæson 3 Episode 1On August 28, I hosted a webinar on Building Diverse Design Teams in which I spoke to some of the top leaders in design about the importance of building a more diverse, equitable…
- 2025 State of Black Design Conference · 37 min.The State of Black Design conference was launched as a virtual event in 2020 during the wake of the murder of George Floyd at a time when our country, and the design industry…
- S2•E10 Kevin Bethune · 44 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 10In this episode—the finale of Season 2 of the series—I speak with renowned design leader and author Kevin Bethune. Kevin’s remarkably divergent career spans engineering…
- S2•E9 Jenna Date · 45 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 9“We keep thinking that things are supposed to be static, but it’s always changing. It’s about reinvention and seeing the beauty in that.” As we’ve discussed throughout Season 2…
- S2•E8 Richard Hollant · 44 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 8Throughout this season of the series I’ve been speaking with leaders who have used their design superpowers in community and civic leadership roles, and in this episode I…
- S2•E7 Daniela Marzavan · 48 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 7I caught up with my guest for this episode, Daniela Marzavan, in the middle of an 8 week design road trip she is taking through Europe with her partner and 2 children—she’s…
- S2•E6 Vivek Rao · 42 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 6“I think that this idea of cross-functionality may be a legacy framework.” Throughout this season of the series I’ve been looking at the impact of AI and other emerging…
- S2•E5 Jonathan Hanahan · 41 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 5In recent years AI has become the dominant disruptive force for businesses and scaled organizations in every industry and global region, and it’s having a dramatic effect on the…
- S2•E4 Bill Grant · 52 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 4Any podcast episode that begins with “I was born in Dalton, Georgia, the carpet capital of the world…” must be a good one! Throughout Season 2 of this series, host Doug Powell…
- S2•E3 Kaleena Sales & Sadie Red Wing · 52 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 3One of the best design books of 2023 was Centered: People and Ideas Diversifying Design, a remarkable collection of essays, interviews, and stories compiled and edited by my…
- S2 • E2 Kate Aronowitz + Robert Fabricant (part two) · 32 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 2Episode 2 of the new season is a continuation of our discussion with Kate Aronowitz of Google Ventures and Robert Fabricant of Dalberg. In part two, we dig deeply into a pair of…
- S2 • E1 Kate Aronowitz + Robert Fabricant (part one) · 38 min. · Sæson 2 Episode 1Season 2 of This Is A Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast is underway! This opening episode is a special two-part discussion featuring design leaders Kate Aronowitz of GV…
- Season 2: Coming Soon! · 3 min. · Sæson 2Season 2 of This is a Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast is coming soon! The practice and profession of design in scaled companies continues to evolve in unexpected ways…
- ThIs A Prototype: S1•E10 Doreen Lorenzo & Mbiyimoh Ghogomu (plus Pearl) · 1 t. 0 min. · Sæson 1 Episode 10My guests for this Season 1 finale episode are Doreen Lorenzo and Mbiyimoh Ghogomu. Doreen Lorenzo is a pioneering design leader who is the Assistant Dean of the School of…







