With Intent
With Intent
IIT Institute of Design
With Intent is a podcast from ID where we talk to a range of people—writers, designers, business strategists, policymakers, doctors, community organizers. The common thread? Whether they self-identify as designers or not, they're using design in their work.
Bonus: Designing for Trust in Urban Systems with Ryan Powell of Waymo
This bonus episode features Ryan Powell, Head of UX at Waymo and ID graduate, exploring how human-centered design builds trust in autonomous vehicles at individual, community, and city levels.
Jul 22, 2025
33 min
Bonus: Design Visionary Patrick Whitney
The first bonus episode in a new series of ID live events features Patrick Whitney, the school's longest-serving dean who introduced the world to human-centered design.
Jul 15, 2025
11 min
ClearRx: Designer as Entrepreneur
The season finale of the With Intent podcast explores the design of the Clear RX prescription packaging system by designer Deborah Adler. Hosts Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum discuss how Adler's thoughtful design thinking (inspired by a medication mix-up between her own grandparents) transformed medication dispensing.
Nov 12, 2024
34 min
OXO Good Grips Peeler: The DNA of Good Design
This episode of With Intent explores the creation of the OXO Good Grips Peeler, a reimagined kitchen tool designed for accessibility and universal usability. Inspired by Sam Farber’s desire to help his arthritic wife, the design revolutionized product design and established OXO as a leader in inclusive design. Join the Season 3 hosts, Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum, in a discussion about this popular peeler.
Nov 5, 2024
24 min
Zipline: Disrupting Logistics with Autonomous Drones
This episode of With Intent highlights how Zipline uses autonomous drones to improve healthcare delivery, especially in underserved rural areas. Join your Season 3 hosts, Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum, in a discussion emphasizing Zipline's practical, cost-effective approach and strategic partnerships to scale operations.
Oct 29, 2024
33 min
Raspberry Pi: Success in Education Where Others Failed
This episode of the With Intent podcast explores the creation of Raspberry Pi, a $35 computer that revolutionized tech education and empowered global innovation. Joined by Sheryl Cababa, hosts Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum discuss stakeholder-centered design, avoiding techno-determinism, and designing for marginalized communities.
Oct 22, 2024
38 min
LifeStraw: Revolutionizing Safe Water Access Through Innovative Design
Hosts Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum explore the story of LifeStraw, a groundbreaking water filtration device that's changing lives globally. Dive into LifeStraw's origins, innovative technology, and unique business model that balances profit with purpose.
Oct 15, 2024
28 min
Geometry vs. Geography: Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 New York City Subway Map
In the season premiere of Institute of Design's podcast, With Intent, explore Massimo Vignelli's 1972 NYC Subway Map. The design itself was a modernist milestone critiqued for practical flaws. Hosts Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum discuss balancing aesthetic innovation with functionality, offering lessons in user-centered design and its impact on systems and society.
Oct 7, 2024
45 min
The List
In this introductory trailer to With Intent Season 3, hosts Thamer Abanami and Albert Shum introduce themselves as this year’s Latham Fellows at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech. They share their excitement about co-hosting the podcast and reflect on their 15-year professional partnership, including their collaborative work on a broad range of design projects and their previous podcast, The Design Vault. Their longstanding relationship sets the stage for insightful discussions on design and its impact on society. The hosts outline the themes and focus for the upcoming season, which will explore designs featured in ID’s list of 100 Great Designs of Modern Times, published with Fortune magazine in 2020. They will delve into topics centered around innovation, responsible design, social impact, and scalability. By using notable designs as a backdrop—such as Zipline’s drone-based logistics platform (2014, #69), Massimo Vignelli’s New York City Subway Map (1972, #28), the ClearRx prescription bottle redesign (#36, 2005), the OXO Good Grips Peeler (1990, #6), LifeStraw water filters (2005, #53), and the Raspberry Pi computer (2012, #54)—they foster deeper conversations about design principles and the unexpected insights embedded within these creations.
Oct 1, 2024
3 min
Where Must Design Go Next?
In the final episode of our second season of With Intent, Jarrett Fuller asks ID Dean Anijo Mathew, Where Must Design Go Next?Anijo discusses ID’s pioneering history and where it’s headed next—summarizing ID’s four eras, defining what he calls Design Plus, and contextualizing the three forces acting on design today and where they will lead us.
Mar 22, 2023
37 min
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