Rathna Ramanathan is the Provost of Central Saint Martins and the Executive Dean, Global Affairs at the University of the Arts London. Over the last few years, Rathna has led a complete restructuring of CSM, creating a new model to think about art and design education. Trained as a graphic designer, her research focuses on publishing and intercultrual communication and she previously served as Dean of the School of Communication at the Royal College of Art. In this conversation, Jarrett and Rathna talk about the new CSM structure and how its “Schools of Thought” model flips our understanding of disciplinary study, the influence of graphic design on her work, and why art and design education needs to change to reflect this current moment. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/291-rathna-ramanathan —— Support the show and sign up for our newsletter at surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. Today we're rebroadcasting our 2019 episode with writer Kurt Andersen, who's new novel, The Breakup, is out this week! — Kurt Andersen is a writer, radio host, and journalist. He's the author of novels True Believers, Heyday, and Turn of the Century, and has written for film, television, and stage. He was the host and co-creator of arts and culture radio show Studio 360, co-founder of Spy Magazine, and is author of Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire. Oh, he was also the design critic at Time for eight years. In this episode, Jarrett and Kurt talk about how he started writing about design, how design is a constant theme that runs through all of his, and why Fantasyland might be a book about design. Links from this episode can be found at: https://scratchingthesurface.fm/post/183578516030/115-kurt-andersen — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. Today we're rebroadcasting our 2022 episode with Nicole Killian, who was just named Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Graduate Studies in Graphic Design at Yale School of Art. — Nicole Killian is a graphic designer and educator whose work spans design, publishing, video, and installation. They are currently co-director of the Design, Visual Communications MFA and associate professor of graphic design at Virginia Commonwealth University. In this conversation, Jarrett and Nicole talk about studying at the Bauhaus and Cranbrook, how institutions can become more experimental, and what it means to queer design education. Links from this episode can be found at: scratchingthesurface.fm/213-nicole-killian — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. Today we're rebroadcasting our 2021 episode with Willo Perron, who was named Wallpaper's 2026 Designer of the Year. We'll be back with new episodes in September. — Willo Perron is a designer, creative director, and partner of Perron-Roettinger (now Perron Studios) whose work spans branding, interiors, and live performance. Willo has designed stage sets, packaging, and marketing material for artists like Kanye West, JAY-Z, St. Vincent, and Rihanna as well as branding and retail design for Adidas, Yeezy, and American Apparel. In this episode, Jarrett and Willo talk about the term ‘creative director’, his self-education in design, and the overlap between retail spaces and live performance. Links from this episode can be found at: scratchingthesurface.fm/187-willo-perron — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. Today we're rebroadcasting our 2018 episode with Mindy Sue, who has a new book, A Sexual History of the Internet, out now.. We'll be back with new episodes in September. — Mindy Seu is a designer, educator, and researcher. When she was on the show, she was student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and was previously a designer at 2x4 and MoMA. She’s designed and produced archival sites for Ralph Ginzburg and Herb Lubalin’s Eros and Avant Garde magazines. In this episode, Mindy and I talk about her early career and why she decided to go to graduate school, the role of research and archives in her work, and how graphic design is just one pillar of her practice. Links from this episode can be found at: https://scratchingthesurface.fm/post/176253243375/85-mindy-seu — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. Today we're rebroadcasting our 2024 episode with Nicholas de Monchaux, who was recently appointed the new dean at UC Berkeley's College of Environmental Design. We'll be back with new episodes in September! — Nicholas de Monchaux is an architect, designer, and author. He is currently Professor and Head of Architecture at MIT. He is the author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo and Local Code: 3,659 Proposals about Data, Design, and the Nature of Cities. Until 2020, he was Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Chair in New Media at UC Berkeley. In this conversation, Jarrett and Nicholas talk about reframing our definitions of design, what a contemporary architecture education could look like, and building a multidisciplinary practice. Links from this episode can be found at: https://scratchingthesurface.fm/243-nicholas-de-monchaux — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

We're taking the summer off and rebroadcasting some of our favorite episodes in the archives over the next few months. First up is our 2017 conversation with Pentagram partner Abbott Miller! We'll be back with new episodes in September! — Abbott Miller is a designer, writer, and a partner at Pentagram where he leads a team designing identities, exhibitions, and books. Before Pentagram, Abbott ran a studio, Design Writing Research, with Ellen Lupton and wrote for publications like Eye, Print, and I.D. A monograph of his design and writing, called Design and Content, was published in 2014. In this conversation, Abbott and I talk about where his interest in critical theory came from and how he’s worked to incorporate it into his design work, using writing to find new ways into design, and how his various interests have come together in his current work designing exhibitions at Pentagram. Links from this episode can be found at: https://scratchingthesurface.fm/post/161266191870/30-abbott-miller — We're continuing to publish new content on our Substack. Paid subscribers get bonus interviews every month. Sign up and support the show here: surfacepodcast.substack.com

Giorgia Lupi is an information designer and partner at Pentagram. Her work synthesizes data and storytelling for clients such as Google, IBM, Gates Foundation, and the New York Times. She’s the author of Speak Data with Phillip Cox, and previously published Dear Data, Observer, Collect, Draw, and the picture book This is Me and Only Me. In this conversation, Jarrett and Giorgia talk about the evolution of how we talk about data, blending clarity and communication with artistic expression, and how the COVID-19 pandemic changed how she thought about data and her work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm/290-giorgia-lupi —— Support the show and sign up for our newsletter at surfacepodcast.substack.com

Marco Ferrari is the co-founder of Studio Folder, an agency for visual design and spatial research based in Milan, and the head of the Information Design program at Design Academy Eindhoven. His work focuses on information design and data visualization, the politics of data collection, and visualizing borders and climate. In this conversation, Jarrett and Marco talk about Studio Folder’s setup that blends client work and original research, how his background in architecture informs his work, and why he’s not that interested in the design profession. Links from this episode are available at www.scratchingthesurface.fm/289-marco-ferrari — Help support the show by joining our Substack: surfacepodcast.substack.com

Alan Ricks and Sierra Bainbridge are founding members of Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS). Alan, an architect and co-executive director, and Sierra, director of the Landscape Studio and Abundant Futures Lab, are co-authors of the new book, Seeking Abundance: Design, Ecology, and a Flourishing Planet, that looks at MASS’s work across three projects as examples of multidisciplinary collaboration, regenerative practices, and community engagement. In this conversation, Jarrett talks with Alan and Sierra about MASS’s structure as a non-profit, architecture for the more-than-human, and why design should not be about minimizing harm but rather maximizing abundance. Links from this episode are available at www.scratchingthesurface.fm/288-alan-ricks-sierra-bainbrdige — Help support the show by joining our Substack: surfacepodcast.substack.com