An inspiring podcast on everything you need to know about color!
Happy holidays to all our listeners! See you back here in January with a brand-new podcast with Brazilian creative Michell Lott.
S5E09 Design Activism with Fernando Laposse
Fernando Laposse is not only a true inspiration but a great storyteller. His designs are constructed throughout deep levels of culture, challenges, heritage and his great love for his home country Mexico. During our interview we talked about the essential importance of provenance, material, natural pigment and showcasing the story of indigenous communities and their daily struggles through his design work.
Fernando Laposse is a Mexican designer with a degree in product design from Central St. Martins. His practice is material driven and focuses on transforming humble materials into refined design pieces, promoting their regenerative possibilities and tackling environmental issues. For Fernando, the material source and cultural context is of extreme importance. This has led him to forge a long-standing collaboration with Tonahuixtla, a community of Mixtec farmers in the south of Mexico. Rather than working with existing craft, Fernando develops new techniques from scratch which are then taught to members of the community. This in turn creates new sources of employment that revitalise traditional agriculture. Fernando’s projects also strive to communicate the complexity of issues like the loss of biodiversity, erosion, indigenous rights, migration, and the negative impacts of global trade on local agriculture. He does so by documenting the problems and announcing possible resolutions through the transformative power of craft and design. Fernando Laposse focuses on using lesser-known plant fibers like sisal, loofah, totomoxtle, and avocado in his work. He invests time in research to create pieces that not only showcase these materials but also highlight their connection to the culture and history of specific places and their people. Laposse works with indigenous communities in Mexico to help create jobs and bring attention to the challenges they face in today's world. His projects aim to educate and inform, addressing issues such as environmental decline, loss of biodiversity, community breakdown, migration, and the negative effects of global trade on local farming and food traditions. Laposse leads the way in documenting these problems and suggesting solutions through the power of design, showing how design can help make a difference.
Rethinking Color with Anna Starmer
Anna Starmer talked to TCA about her vision on the future of color being more value-based where homogenous colors have no place and we select colors that fit our values, that are beautiful and endure the test of time.
Anna Starmer has been guiding brand colour direction for over 25 years. Her colour library, client palettes and Luminary colour publications reveal the future thinking that will shape the future of colour and materials. She is a board member of the British Textile Colour Group, Intercolor and Interfilliere Salon de la Lingerie Paris. And sits on the colour futures panel for Dulux Paints.
Beyond her books, Anna works directly with brands and retailers, manufacturers, organisations and universities. She understands the technical language of colour, from materials for Dualit or Volvo, to colours for Triumph Lingerie to Ikea. Communicating and visualising colour for brands and manufacturers, Anna has developed colour libraries for clients, from Manolo Blahnik to Marks and Spencer.
Luminary Colour is the bi-annual publication and colour library, founded and created by Anna Starmer. The books and colour swatches are hand made in the UK to an exacting technical standard. Luminary has evolved organically from a future colour forecasting service with a 2-3 year ahead season, into a non-seasonal platform of inspiration and innovation; today we collaborate with botanical dyers, wild dye plant foragers, waste food pigments, waste material specialists and bio-colour innovators – featuring emerging colour swatches in every book.
Colour and material futures sit at the heart of our creative practice, yet beauty is so much deeper than surface level. Our stories have deep rooted connections to the origin of colour and long-term future intentions, way beyond a single season. Our work visualises a regenerative future, exploring a wiser, more intuitive ways of making and creating.
Brutal Honesty with Zuzanna Skalska
With Zuzanna we talk about just everything that is strategic design thinking to how to get out of our comfort zone to color-matching in plastics, to being the only woman in the room and how businesses need to understand that their brand is made of people. And all that while being brutally honest.
Zuzanna started her career in 1998 at Philips Design and for years she contributed with SignalS of Change analyses to international visionary design projects. Then for almost 15 years she was involved in Design Management & Trends consultancy at a leading Dutch design consultancy Vanberlo (today part of Accenture Industry X.O). Since 2014 she has been a founding partner of 360Inspiration, working for clients from various industries, including many blue chips and market leaders. Zuzanna's core expertise areas include Up-Front Innovation, Industry’s Cross-fertilization, SignalS of Change and Strategic FutureS Thinking. Her research and consulting activities concentrate on 8 crucial industry fields: CE, DAP, Home, Healthcare, Mobility, FMCG/Retail, Urban and Finance. She works closely with CEOs and decision makers on strategic scenario’s development as well with R&Ds/in-house creative teams on specific projects. With almost 25 years of experience Zuzanna skillfully translates her knowledge into actionable innovative programs, using many of her own, self-developed tools. Simultaneously, she has been engaged in promotion of creative industry as Member of the Board and then Advisory Board member of Dutch Design Week as well in the international design education, as a lecturer at TU/e University in Eindhoven and at Parsons School of Design in New York. She is a co- founder of School of Form – a design academy in Poland.
Skalska has been a jury member at many prestigious design competitions like IF Design Awards and a keynote speaker at many recognized business conferences and economic summits. She is an active journalist and contributing editor to leading design and lifestyle magazines. In addition, together with her partners Greenhat Innovation and Blue Media/Autopay, she publishes an annual book - a comprehensive volume on SignalS of Change research.Her professional and public activity has been often recognized not only by the prestigious world’s design awards. In addition, in recent years she has been granted prestigious titles, such as one of the 50 most influential women of Eindhoven region, one of the strongest contributing expats in Eindhoven or one of the best professional speakers in Poland. Born in Warsaw, Poland, Zuzanna has been living in the Netherlands since 1992.
Empowerment through Color with Lisa Maria Pippus
How can you empower yourself with color and bring out the best of yourself? Lisa Maria Pippus explains how she helps her clients in selecting the right color palette to literally shine and portrait what they want to stand for. In this podcast episode you will learn about terms like color DNA, archetypes and personal branding.
Lisa Maria Pippus, born Canadian, living in Berlin, studied fashion in Toronto and Milan, empowers design and style professionals to speed-read their clients’ aesthetic preferences through the "Aesthetic Compass Inventory". Understanding the four aesthetic direction and their sub-types allows them to add to their bottom line. By quickly understanding the language, color, line and shape choices that make their client's hearts sing. The Aesthetic preferences Compass also empower leaders to 'be fabulously on-brand'. This means to express their truth in a powerfully authentic way. To align their personality strengths to their wardrobe so they are seen, heard and valued.
Complex Design Realities with Formafantasma
Together with Formafantasma's Simone Farresin we talk about GEO-Design, the design of the future, what design skills are increasingly important and how the two designers are trying to create awareness about true sustainable design and more importantly, bringing along solutions to businesses that can create the much-needed change in design thinking. What role does color play in this new era of design? Lastly but not least how can smell influence new design thinking?
Formafantasma is a research-based design studio investigating the ecological, historical, political and social forces shaping the discipline of design today. Whether designing for a client or developing self – initiated projects, the studio applies the same rigorous attention to context, processes and details. Formafantasma’s analytical nature translates in meticulous visual outcomes, products and strategies.
Since founding the studio in 2009, Italians Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin have championed the need for value – laden advocacy merged with holistic design thinking. Their aim is to facilitate a deeper understanding of both our natural and built environments and to propose transformative interventions through design and its material, technical, social, and discursive possibilities.
The Future of Mobility with Stefan Ytterborn
In this very frank conversation with Stefan Ytterborn we talk about the future of mobility and the importance of transparency within the motorcycle industry but above all his electric motorcycle brand Cake. Stefan has spear-headed multiple successful companies that all were purpose driven, where does he get his inspiration and how does he know when the time is right to set-up a new innovative business? As a rather new entry into the conservative industry, Stefan mentions the challenges he faces to produce the lightest electric motorcycle in the market without making compromises on the selection of materials, finishes and colors while taking into account a zero emission option in the near future. And last but not least, what is next for Cake? Listen to our conversation and find out his love for roses but yes also a bowl of coloured M&M's.
Stefan Ytterborn has a long background as entrepreneur, promoter, and strategist within contemporary and industrial design and communication, covering all segments of the value chain when being responsible for developing more than 2,000 consumer products, my current work combines previous experiences with interests that matter to me and that I am passionate about.
His latest venture is Cake, an exciting ride on the journey towards a zero emission society. The company develops high-performance electric off-road motorbikes, launching in 2017.
Dutch Design Thinking with Piet Hein Eek
Piet is famous for his reclaimed design that travels the world and during my interview with him he reveals in detail his design philosophy, his view on sustainable design and how he selects colors while using the materials that he is surrounded by. How did his Dutch upbringing influence his designs and how come he works in an opposite manner as the rest of the world, never knowing what the end result of his designs will be like? Listen to our talk and find out also who was the main inspiration for his new paint color range!
Piet Hein Eek was born in the Netherlands in 1967. He graduated from the Academy for Industrial Design in Eindhoven in 1990. While at the Academy, he gained attention for his exam project “Scrap Wood Cupboards”. He sold all of the cupboards and used the money to start his own design studio in 1992. The following year he went into partnership with fellow designer Nob Ruijrok, establishing Eek en Ruijgrok v.o.f. Today, they continue to work in a 10.000 square meter multi-purpose space in Eindhoven, which includes a restaurant, a shop, a gallery, a showroom, and a studio.
Piet Hein Eek has built his business around old materials, saving discarded pieces of wood and working outside the circuit of mass production. His instantly recognisable work considers the tension between modernity and tradition, waste and sustainability. Piet Hein Eek’s work is sold in numerous galleries worldwide.
He has exhibited at venues like the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Milan Furniture Fair, Italy.
Brazilian Color Fascination with Patricia Fecci
Patricia brings us on a journey through her professional life in the world of decorative paint in a very specific market, Brazil. What colors define the Brazilians, how do they decorate their homes and what color trends can we expect for Latin America in the next years. She will reveal the Sherwin Williams Company trend research methodology and the importance of collaboration when working on color palettes and harmonisation processes. Although its many difficulties, Brazilians continue to shine and the Patricia her energy during this talk reflects that.
Patrícia Fecci works as Color Marketing and Design Services Manager of the Sherwin-Williams Company in Brazil, one of the largest paint manufacturers and distributors in the world. She is responsible for all color support to company-owned stores, dealers, home centers and assists with color systems, country-specific color palettes, design trends, color merchandising, training and new business development. She is part of the Sherwin-Williams Global Color Forecast Team that tracks and forecasts color trends and design influences for the coatings industry, creating and giving color presentations to architects and designers.
Patrícia is member of the Color Marketing Group Association and Vice-President of PROCOR Brasil Association.
The Natural Flow of Color with Laura Perryman
Laura will give insights in the world of materials and how specifically plastics relate to product design and yes color. She believes the world of color design is adapting to seasonal color flows, letting go of the need to control color in design and letting it flow naturally. An interesting talk about creating natural colors in labs, neuro-aesthetics and where the future of design & color is moving.
Laura is an experienced colour and material designer and trend forecaster, who thinks strategically, has a user-centered mindset and brings inspiration, clear actionable insights, and design directions for brands and organisations. Her ethos is colour and materials should be integral but above all have a positive purpose for applications, products, or services. Working with companies, she navigates future opportunities and creates intelligent, empathetic, and planet-aware palettes and designs, demonstrating aesthetics are key to all levels of experience.
Her in-depth background in colour, knowledge of materials in manufacture, and critical understanding of the trend prediction process have enabled the creation of innovative design directions, brand colour guidelines, and material development for globally renowned and respected companies.
Her work experience encompasses diverse industry sectors, from industrial product design to digital platforms; she has created unique CMF design for future-forward innovation firms in-house at Arrival, Nokia, and Speedo, and has consulted with brands such as 3M Post-it, Sainsbury’s, DuPont Corian, and HP, to create category leading colour identities for new products. She’s led strategic future forecasting projects for clients such as Panasonic Europe, Antron, Comex, and Procter & Gamble and created engaging and insightful reports for trend forecasting agencies including WGSN and Beautystreams.
Laura currently directs Colour of Saying, a UK-based CMF Design Studio, focused on future-forward circular and emotionally-connected colour and material design, insights, and experiences for brands and organisations. Most recently showcasing an exhibition and series of workshops entitled ‘Colour Via:’ on how colour can drive and be an agent for change in advancing sustainable design practices. She is currently on the board of trustees for The Colour in Design Awards, a non-profit organisation that supports new graduates and designers to explore colour further in their practice.
Laura is the author of The Colour Bible, published Autumn 2021, a succinct book covering 100 significant colours and their pertinence and potential for use in the world around us.
Contactless Color with Justine Fox
How is the city of London changing its colors and what has to change? Justine talks about her passion for urban planning and architecture and how she works with architects to apply color more purposefully. She highlights the importance of child-friendliness in urban areas and how her new project gets children and entire communities active together again in a playful and of course colorful way.
Justine is a consultant with a unique understanding of applied colour psychology, colour trend, insights and colour ergonomics with futures thinking. Her multi-disciplinary perspective on colour creates engagement with people through product development, social content, publications and immersive installations. She is focused on bringing awareness to all stakeholders within urban planning and architecture on the considered use of colour to help improve sustainability, inclusivity, community and safety for all people who live and work in the built environment.
Calzada Fox is a colour consultancy with a difference, combining strategic vision, creativity and innovation. We work across all sectors empowering our clients with innovative ideas which are relevant to their business and stakeholders.
Customer Chemistry with Anja Gaede
A fascinating talk about Scandinavian colors and trends, how different these are from colors in other parts of the world, how sustainability and regenerated materials are taking over the world of not just fashion and interior design, but also other industries. Anja moreover explains how our personal preferences, our taste, is related to our very own chemistry.
Anja Bisgaard Gaede, the founder of SPOTT, has an MA degree in communication and specialised in fashion, consumerism, and experience economy. Besides numerous presentations, product development cases, strategy sessions and consultations over the past 14 years, she has also published the Danish book Skab god kemi med dine kunder – oplevelsesøkonomi i detailhandlen (Customer Chemistry – experience economy in retail) and edited the anthology Fashion Film and Transmedia.
SPOTT trends & business provides Scandinavian lifestyle brands with consumer insight, trend and colour forecast for spot on business development. SPOTT creates the essential links between future trends, consumer behavior and business. This calls for a new and innovative approach where neuroscience, trend forecasting and commercial experience is combined in turning trends into business for Scandinavian lifestyle clients. They range from fashion and design companies, city development, creative colleges, retail, lifestyle organisations and media companies.
“Excellent series about color. It’s a complex topic and Judith approaches it from a variety of angles with her guests. Always entertaining and insightful. I look forward to listening to each episode and learning something new about color and the visionaries in the color world.”
— Review Apple Podcast