Scratching The Surface

Nate Pyper is an alphabet artist working in publishing, performance, and video. He maintains an ongoing research practice on queer anarcho-punk zines and is a 2018 Graduate of the Yale School of Art. He previously worked as a designer at the Milwaukee Art Museum and organized the Designers Talking series. In this episode, Nate and Jarrett talk about his expanded practice, the role of writing and research in his work, and the importance of dialogue and conversation in his work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Sam Jacob is an architect, writer, and teacher. He is the founder and director of Sam Jacob Studio, an architecture and design practice based in London, has written for all sorts of architecture publications, and is currently Professor of Architecture at University of Illinois at Chicago and Visiting Professor at Yale School of Architecture. In this episode, Sam and Jarrett talk about how he started writing, the writing classes he's taught in Chicago, and how reading and writing influence his architecture practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Jeffrey Schnapp is the founder/faculty director of metaLAB (at) Harvard and faculty co-director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. He holds the Carl A. Pescosolido Chair in Romance Languages and Literatures and Comparative Literature in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and is on the teaching faculty in the Department of Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. In this episode, Jeffrey and Jarrett talk about his background as a medievalist and how that influences his research around media and technology, why he likes to call himself a 'knowledge designer', and how form and and content are completely inseparable for him. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Mark Minkjan is an urban and architectural geographer. He is Editor-in-Chief at Failed Architecture and produces the Failed Architecture Podcast. He is also part of Non-fiction, office for cultural innovation, and has written for numerous publications including VICE, The Guardian and The Architectural Review. In this episode, Mark talks to Jarrett about the origins of Failed Architecture and his goals for the publication, the state of architectural and design criticism, and finding new ways to talk about buildings. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Nancy Skolos and Tom Wedell are designers, authors, and educators. They operate Skolos+Wedell where they are interested in demising the boundaries between graphic design and photography through collaged three-dimensional images influenced by painting, technology, and architecture and are long-time faculty members at RISD. In this episode, Nancy and Tom talk to Jarrett about how they met at Cranbrook and the influence of that education on their career, how design education has changed over the last 30 years, and how they balance history and innovation in their own work and with students. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Adam Michaels and Shannon Harvey are the principals of Inventory Form and Content, a Los Angeles-based design and editorial studio focusing on graphic design, spatial design, strategy, and content development. They also operate Inventory Press, a publishing imprint that specializes in books on art, architecture, design, and music. Previously, Adam and Shannon were a part of the New York design studio Project Projects, where Adam was Founding Principal. In this episode, Adam and Shannon talk with Jarrett about the ethos behind IN-FO.CO, expanded practices, and publishing. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Kate Wagner is the creator of the viral blog McMansion Hell and has written about architecture, design, and culture for a variety of publications including Curbed, The Atlantic, Architectural Digest, and more. She recently graduated from Johns Hopkins with a Masters of Arts in Audio Science, specializing in architectural acoustics. In this episode, Jarrett and Kate talk about origins of the site, diverse forms of architecture criticism, and using humor to educate. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Cab Broskoski and Chris Sherron are two of the founders of Are.na, a knowledge sharing platform that combines the creative back-and-forth of social media with the focus of a productivity tool. Before working on Arena, Cab was a digital artist and Chris a graphic designer and in this episode, they talk about their desire for a new type of bookmarking tool and building a platform for collaborative, interdisciplinary research as well as larger questions around open source tools, research as artistic practice, and subverting the norms of social media. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Chappell Ellison is currently a content strategist at Huge. She previously worked as a designer and was part of the inaugural class of SVA's MFA in Design Criticism Program. In this episode, Chappell and Jarrett talk about her move from design to writing, the role of the critic, and how a dreamlike memory from Disneyworld made her realize she wanted to be a designer. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Laurel Schwulst is a designer, writer, teacher, and webmaster. She runs an independent design practice in New York City and teaches in design programs at Yale and Rutgers. She previously was the creative director for The Creative Independent and a web designer at Linked By Air. In this episode, Laurel and Jarrett talk about how horses got her into graphic design, what websites can be, the potential of the peer-to-peer internet, and how writing and teaching influence her practice. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Martin Lorenz and Lupi Asensio are the founders of the Hamburg-based design studio TwoPoints.net. Founded in 2007, the studio's work blends graphic design, typography, and editorial. The couple are also teachers and have taught in design programs around the world. In this episode, Jarrett talks to Lupi and Martin about their work and process, the role of teaching in their practice, and how writing informs their work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

For the 100th episode of Scratching the Surface, Jarrett Fuller is joined by one of his oldest and closest friends Rory King to talk about their parallel journeys in design and evolving design practices. Rory is currently a graduate student in Cranbrook's 2D Design Department and has worked as a designer at Pratt Institute and 2x4. Together, Rory and Jarrett collaborated on Sway, an experimental zine and short-lived podcast that heavily influenced the work they both doing now. They also reflect on their undergraduate education, talk about Rory's current research work, and the role of writing and teaching in their work. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Kelsey Keith is the editor-in-chief of Curbed. Before that, she wrote about design and architecture for Dwell, Architizer, and a variety of other publications. In this episode, Kelsey and Jarrett talk about the late 2000s New York media landscape, cobbling together a freelance career, and her editorial vision for Curbed. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Alexander Tochilovsky is a designer, curator, and educator. He's currently the curator at the Herb Lubalin Study Center and an instructor at Cooper Union. He studied graphic design at Cooper Union and went to graduate school at Cranbrook. In this episode, Alexander and I talk about his background and how he got interested in design, the role of design history in his practice, and how we can do a better job of learning from and teaching history today. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Andrew Blauvelt has been a designer, writer, curator, and educator. He's currently the director of the Cranbrook Art Museum, a position he's held since 2015. Before that, he worked at the Walker Art Center in a variety of roles including Senior Curator of Design, Research, and Publishing; Chief of Communications; and Design Director. He also served as Director of Graduate Studies and Chair of the Graphic Design Department at North Carolina State University and has written for a variety of publications on design. In this episode, Jarrett and Andrew walk through his career and talk about how he moved between various disciplines, his early interest in design theory, and how the discourse around graphic design has changed over his career. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Christopher Hawthorne is the Chief Design Officer for the city of Los Angeles, a brand new position appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. Before that, he was architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2004 to early 2018. He is Professor of the Practice at Occidental College and has taught at U.C Berkeley, Columbia University, and Souther California Institute of Architecture. In this episode, Jarrett and Christopher talk about this new job and how he's approaching it, reading Paul Goldberger in high school, and the changing role of the architecture critic. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Justin W. Cook is an architect, designer, and educator. He's currently the Founding Director of the RISD Center for Complexity & Systems Practice, an initiative that is thinking about design in the widest sense. Previously, he worked at the Helsinki Design Lab and has advised students at MIT and Harvard. His work centers around design as a transformative act, sustainability, and systems thinking. In this episode, Justin talks to Jarrett about realizing he wanted to be an architect and his move into strategic design, thinking about organization change, and the role of the designer. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Allison Arieff is the editorial director of Spur and a columnist for the New York Times where she writes about architecture, design, and cities. Before that, she was the editor-at-large for both Good and Sunset Magazines and was the editor-in-chief at Dwell. In this episode, Allison and Jarrett talk about how she wanted to be a writer since eighth grade, the expanding definition of design, and the relationship between design and policy. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Daniel Eatock is a designer and artist based in London. He studied design at Ravensbourne College and earned his MA from the Royal College of Art. In this episode, Daniel talks to Jarrett about studying design and discovering conceptual art, his resistance to labeling his practice, the role of teaching in his work, and how he's working towards being more present. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.

Marcin Wichary is a designer, writer, programmer, and typographer. He most recently was a designer at Medium and previously worked on design teams at Google and Code for America. He's currently writing a book on the history of keyboards and typing, due to be released next year. In this episode, Marcin and Jarrett talk about how writing has supplemented his design work, the value of personal projects, and writing about his obsessions. Links from this episode can be found at scratchingthesurface.fm.