The Mic

In this special episode of MIC, join host Debbie Millman in conversation with Marjorie Guyond and Roy Husdell, creators of I WAS HERE, during a live recording at Arctechouse New York City as part of Design Pavilion 2023. The group explores the roles that design and art play in cultivating public awareness, demanding the attention of communities at large to societal issues, and creating testament to honor the power, beauty, dignity and grace of those who were instrumental in building the foundation of our country. NYCxDESIGN was honored to present the I Was Here Project as a part of Design Pavilion in celebration of Archtober, New York City's architecture festival.  Hosted by Spireworks on The Podium of the iconic One World Trade Center, I Was Here made its debut in New York City from October 12-22, 7:00pm to 9:00pm daily.     Collaborative in nature, the ‘I Was Here’ project is a series of public art and public history installations that serve as a mindful, reverent, and powerful acknowledgment of American history and presented in a variety of mediums and methods.

As a featured event of this year’s NYCxDESIGN Festival, this special episodes of the Mic was recorded on May 24th and sponsored by Flamingo. Your host, Debbie Millman – herself one of only five women who have held the title of President Emeritus of the American Institute of Graphic Arts in over 100 years – led a panel of design revolutionaries that included Cher Russo, the Creative Director at Flamingo with previous lead creative roles at Glossier and Estée Lauder; Natasha Jen, an award-winning designer, educator, and partner at Pentagram; and Erica Eden, the founder of Tribe & Citizen, and previously the Global Director of Design Innovation at PepsiCo’s Design Center. Tune in to hear their conversation on designing products and creating brands for women, with their bodies and choices in mind.

What happens when a material scientist, an interior designer, and a sustainably minded manufacturer sit down with a legendary design podcaster? To find out, Debbie Millman and guests at down at the Cosentino Showroom on March 9th for a live episode recording of the NYCxDESIGN podcast The Mic, to explore how environmentally mindful materials for the home can be used to reinvigorate interior spaces with vibrancy and enduring timelessness. Be a fly on the wall for a conversation with New York based interior designer, Antonio Deloatch, EVP of Materials Research at Material ConneXion and Chief Material Scientist at Material Bank, Dr. Andrew Dent, and Pablo Abad, Regional Director, Atlantic, Cosentino North America, as they dive into the world of sustainable surface materials. Tune in to hear each guest bring their unique expertise and life experiences to the table to share how creating a domestic environment that is healthy for our planet can also produce a holistically beautiful and inviting abode.

How might designers be more mindful of the waste their practices generate and envision a healthier more sustainable garment industry? In this episode of The Mic, Debbie Millman is joined by Sarah Nsikak of La Réunion, and María Elena Pombo of Fragmentario to discuss their personal explorations with textiles and environmentally mindful work. Their conversations touch on the use of deadstock fabric in making heirloom pieces, how avocado seeds can be used to naturally dye fabric and how "sustainability" can be more than just a buzzword.

What happens when a designer pushes the boundaries of creative expectations and ventures into artistic territory? In this episode of The Mic, Debbie Millman is joined by Chen Chen and Kai Williams, and Giovanni Valdeavillano of Studio POA to explore how designers who work with traditional materials like clay, metal, and wood can turn an utilitarian object into something extraordinary. Tune in to hear about how Chen and Kai collaborate in the studio with a sense of humor, how Gio’s parents inspired him to explore craft and furniture making, and find out how Studio POA got its name.

Our personal collections tell stories about our identities, our values, and the memories we hold dear. On this episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman interviews Alexandra Cunnigham-Cameron, Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Tione Trice, founder at Of the Cloth, to dive into objects, curation, and material culture. Tune in for a rich conversation exploring how objects connect us with others, why collecting can be a form of personal and generational archiving, and which objects define the New York experience.

On this episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman interviews product designer Kickie Chudikova and interior designer Sara Bengur in front of a live audience of New York City creatives for this special season opener. From the vibrant colors of Kickie's childhood kitchen in Slovakia, to Sara's advice on which direction your bed should face according to the Vastu tradition, join us for a jam-packed episode all about nature's influence on the design process.   This live recording of The Mic was part of a special celebration of Caesarstone and NYCxDESIGN's initiative, the IMPACTxDESIGN competition. Kickie Chudikova's winning design, Spiral of Life, is an undulating, experimental seating installation manufactured using Caesarstone quartz, now on view in DUMBO's Pedestrian Plaza.

On May 13 during the Festival, NYCxDESIGN teamed up with the Kohler Experience Center by Best Plumbing Supply to host the first-ever live recording of NYCxDESIGN’s The Mic podcast with special talk series “The Responsibility of Design”. Hosted by Debbie Millman with Michael Chen, Principal of Michael K. Chen Architecture and Co-Founder of Design Advocates, and Walei Sabry, Digital Accessibility of NYC Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the third episode focuses on issues around inclusive design and innovative design strategies that can reshape the way we navigate our city.

On May 13 during the Festival, NYCxDESIGN teamed up with the Kohler Experience Center by Best Plumbing Supply to host the first-ever live recording of NYCxDESIGN’s The Mic podcast with special talk series “The Responsibility of Design”. Hosted by Debbie Millman with guests Laura Kohler, SVP – HR, Stewardship & Sustainability at Kohler Co., and Suchi Reddy, Founder of Reddymade Architecture & Design, the second episode centers on design led by style and design led by feeling, and how thoughtfully designed spaces impact mental health.

On May 13 during the Festival, NYCxDESIGN teamed up with the Kohler Experience Center by Best Plumbing Supply to host the first-ever live recording of NYCxDESIGN’s The Mic podcast with special talk series “The Responsibility of Design”. Hosted by Debbie Millman featuring guests Claire Weisz, Founding Principal of WXY, Jonathan Cropper, Managing Partner and Founder of Futurlogic, and Laura Kohler, SVP – HR, Stewardship & Sustainability at Kohler Co., the first episode of this series explores how designers can reimagine and reinvigorate conversations around sustainability to lead radical change.

From checking in to a hotel, to entering a new restaurant, to booking a reservation, the hospitality design industry is always finding creative ways to draw people in. On this month’s episode of The Mic, guests Little Wing Lee, Design Director of Ace Hotel Group and founder of Black Folks in Design, and Catherine Piccoli, Curatorial Director at the Museum of Food and Drink explore how design influences the ways people come together, with our host Debbie Millman. Touching on everything from food and cultural connectors to ease in public space, Lee and Piccoli discuss the power of storytelling, the relationship between interiors and cuisine, and what it means to design meaningful experiences in today’s world.

Through community rebuilding projects, distribution of resources, design education, and more, New York City's design community has been a powerful force in our city's recovery. On the latest episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman speaks with Majora Carter, American urban revitalization strategist and public radio host, and Hana Kassem, Principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, to explore how we can continue to instill a sense of community as we work towards rebuilding and revitalizing our city.

On this month’s episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman is joined by Ouigi Theodore, Creative Director and Founder of menswear brand and boutique The Brooklyn Circus, and Carmen Gama, Director of Circular Design at Eileen Fisher, to explore fashion’s role in urban life and discuss how manufacturing practices, sustainable material sourcing, cross-disciplinary collaborations, creative processes, and storytelling all play a role in the world of fashion design.

In this episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman is joined by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, Co-Founders of WantedDesign, and Emilio Cabrero, Partner at C Cubica Arquitectos and Director of Design Week Mexico, to discuss their important work centered around creating opportunities and facilitating connections among local and international members of the design community. We discuss the thoughtful curatorial approaches behind WantedDesign and Design Week Mexico, and explore how each show creates one-of-a-kind environments where new ideas are embraced and international creativity thrives.

Emerging and independent talent energizes the design community in so many ways–from fresh perspectives and visions, to novel creative expression and objects. On this episode of The Mic, we explore how emerging designers can bring their voices to the spotlight through group exhibitions, building communities and fostering their unique creative sparks. Using their recent NYCxDESIGN Festival exhibitions, CURRENT, Pink Essay's Physical Education Series, and JONALDDUDD, as a guide, guests Marcus DePaula, Matt Pecina and Chris Held chat with our host, Debbie Millman, about their independent design journeys, the experience of curating their shows, and making space for the future generation of designers.

Frameworks that are designed to prioritize equitable opportunity allow our society as a whole to thrive. In this episode of The Mic, host Debbie Millman is joined by Clayton Banks, CEO and Founder of Silicon Harlem, and Richard E. Pelzer II, Founder and CEO of MEGA Personalities as well as Co-Founder of HarlemCLX, to discuss their important work centered around building bridges between resources, communities and people. We discuss how technology and passion for culture can guide our future vision of New York City and beyond.

A powerful tool of protest, identity and expression, visual language is the pinnacle of design possibilities. In this episode of the Mic, guests Paula Scher, New York partner at Pentagram and world-renowned visual designer, and Julian Alexander, Grammy Award-winning art director and founder of Slang Inc., explore how visual design shapes the world around us with our host, Debbie Millman. Drawing on their breadth of design expertise and experiences, Scher and Alexander discuss the timelessness and timeliness of visual language, as well as how graphic design responds to current events. Reflected in their bold designs for NYCxDESIGN's An Ode to NYC poster collection, Scher and Alexander also consider how visual art connects us to New York, and how we can use visual design to envision our future city.

Going beyond its aesthetic value, design can also be an agent of sustainable change in our communities. On the latest episode of the Mic, guests Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator at The Museum of Modern Art in the Department of Architecture & Design, and Sloan Leo, Founder and CEO of FLOX Studio Inc., explore how we can use design to respond to the critical issues around us, with host, Debbie Millman. Through their projects and practices, Antonelli and Leo discuss the ways in which their work is spurring dialogue, centering community-first solutions, and modeling a more equitable vision of Our Future City for all New Yorkers.

Recognizing that the role of design in healthcare is often overlooked, Episode 2 of The Mic explores the creative ways in which contemporary healthcare spaces now use design to create enjoyable and familiar environments for patients and staff alike. Hosted by Debbie Millman with guests Elaine Molinar, Architect and Managing Partner of Snøhetta’s US practice, and Suzen Heeley, Executive Director of Design and Construction at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, we consider what the healthcare spaces of the future will look like in NYC and around the world, making patient-centered health design both special and accessible.

Kicking off Season 2 of The Mic, Episode 1 explores how design discoveries play a vital role in shaping the future of our cities. Hosted by Debbie Millman with guests Claire Weisz, Co-Founder and Principal-in-Charge of WXY Architecture + Urban Design, and Wendy Goodman, Design Editor at New York Magazine, we consider the many forms that design discoveries take, and how such discoveries impact the NYC landscape. Whether spontaneous or found through meticulous trial and error, new discoveries drive the plot forward in the story of NYC design.