“Put smart, diverse people into a room together and magic will happen.” This is the great myth of collaboration. And yet as designers, facilitators, and conveners who engage diverse actors to solve complex social issues, we have witnessed many co-creation exercises fall into this trap. So, how do we turn this around? How can we lead collaborative efforts where the “magic” is intentionally designed for, and not just hoped for? The Design With podcast series was created to help us explore these questions head on. Together with some of the leading dreamers and doers who have inspired our own work, we dive into groundbreaking case studies of thoughtful, transformative collaborations that build connection and shift power. We explore the in’s and out’s of coalition-building, and discuss the theory and practice of how communities, civil society, and institutions can creatively problem-solve together.
Ever wondered how the design of our cities influences the way we live? In this episode, Betsy MacLean and Nisha Baliga of Hester Street discuss the many facets of collaboration in their urban planning and design work: from crafting conversations that uncover people’s lived experiences, to disrupting power systems that intentionally keep folks out of decisions concerning their own neighborhoods and communities. Interviewees Nisha Baliga and Betsy MacLean, Co-Executive Directors of Hester Street https://hesterstreet.org @Hester_Street Design With Team: Host: Panthea Lee Producer: Alyssa Kropp Music Composition: Meagan Rodriguez Asst. Producer: Kisha Bwenge Graphic Design: Adam Parker
What began as a 24-hour design challenge addressing racial inequality in Ferguson, Missouri has since grown into a powerful organization fighting inequity with its own brand of collaborative design. Antionette Carroll, founder of Creative Reaction Lab, speaks about Equity-Centered Community Design—and how Black and Latinx youth are using design as their tool of choice to dismantle the very systems designed to exclude them. INTERVIEWEE Antionette D. Carroll, Founder, President and CEO of Creative Reaction Lab https://www.creativereactionlab.com/ @CRXLAB Design With Team: Host: Panthea Lee Producer: Alyssa Kropp Music Composition & Sound Mix: Meagan Rodriguez Asst. Producer: Kisha Bwenge Graphic Design: Adam Parker
How do you design what is arguably the largest, longest running co-creation project in history? Katherine Maher, CEO and Executive Director of the nonprofit behind Wikipedia, tells us how the online encyclopedia defied all odds to become a millions-strong exercise in community creation; and how the Wikimedia Foundation uses co-design everyday to build the infrastructure for a global, free knowledge movement. INTERVIEWEE Katherine Maher, CEO and Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation https://wikimediafoundation.org/ @krmaher Design With Team: Host: Panthea Lee Producer: Alyssa Kropp Music Composition & Sound Mix: Meagan Rodriguez Asst. Producer: Kisha Bwenge Graphic Design: Adam Parker
For Adam Kahane, co-design was a calling—one that he discovered in 1991 when he actually received a phone call asking him to help facilitate planning for South Africa’s monumental transition from apartheid to democracy. In this episode, Adam shares what he has learned in the 30 years since that fateful call: how to find strength in humility, negotiate for peace in the absence of trust, and bust the myth that innovation = magic. INTERVIEWEE Adam Kahane, Director of Reos Partners and Author of Collaborating With the Enemy www.reospartners.com @adamkahane Design With Team: Host: Panthea Lee Producer: Alyssa Kropp Music Composition & Sound Mix: Meagan Rodriguez Asst. Producer: Kisha Bwenge Graphic Design: Adam Parker
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