Design Thinking 101: Recommended Podcasts Part 1

99% Invisible

Given the short time that podcasts have been in the public eye, 99% Invisible is probably one of the grandfathers of the format. Billing itself as the show that thinks about all the things that people don’t think about it delves into the unnoticed pieces of architecture and design that shape the world that we live in. For our part, we really appreciate the depth of research that goes into the show, and the ways in which it shows that design is an interconnected eco-system with each great idea feeding not only into all of the success stories but also into the odd evolutionary cul-de-sacs like the Salmon Cannon or the inflatable flappy arm men that are so prominently displayed outside of used car dealerships.

The Honest Designers Show

Featuring four hosts who have each mastered their own creative field, this show is meant to give people a glimpse into the real life experience of people who work as designers in the modern world. Covering subjects on both the “creative” and “business” sides of the Design business, this podcast can be a real eye-opener for people outside of the industry and a real comfort for the people who work at it day in and day out. It is nice to know that other people in your industry are going through the same trials and tribulations, just as it is nice to share the best solutions that we have found to solving those problems.

High Resolution

High Resolution is a series of hour long video interviews with thought leaders that is intended to share the groundwork of a Design centred ideology across all fields. Starting from the very basic premise that design is now relevant to every business, these interviews eventually work up to instilling a focus on Design into every part of your organization, imbuing a designated design team with the confidence to be authoritative within an organization and even giving some practical experiments to prove the worth of Design as a core tenet.

Note To Self

This podcast takes a long hard look at how technology influences our lives. While the podcast may frame itself as asking “Questions for anyone trying to preserve their humanity in a digital age” it also delves deeply into the ways that technology uplifts and improves our quality of life along with the strange ways that it effects culture as a whole. Of particular interest to us were the episodes where psychologists discuss the influence of tech on behaviour and our mental wellbeing.

Song Exploder

While most of the other podcasts on this list are very design and technology focused, Song Exploder takes a Design Thinking attitude and applies it to a purely creative subject. In each episode a band or musician dissects one of their own songs, explaining the influences, techniques and real-life circumstances that fed into each piece of music. It might not be 100% on topic, but it certainly shows you that every individual and every industry has their own process that needs to be understood to truly understand the final product.

While there are about a million other podcasts that the Labs team listen to, which probably could have made the cut, these seem to be the ones that we have a consensus on. Of course, on the digital frontier the landscape is constantly changing, so don’t be surprised if we have a dozen new podcasts for you to queue up in a few weeks’ time!