Top-10 podcasts about design and creativity
Podcasts might not be the first thing you think of when searching for inspiration and fresh design ideas. However, listening to the practical advice from the world’s best creatives is a great way to pick valuable tips and take your creative processes to a new level.
If you want a better understanding of how design shapes the world, here are the Top-10 most insightful podcasts about visual communication and creativity in 2021.
1. The DGDC – Deeply Graphic Designcast
DGDC is one of the best podcasts to learn about visual communication trends in a fun and entertaining way.
Hosted by a gang of young design professionals, Nick Longo, Mikelle Morrison, and Jordan Wilson, this podcast brings a very original perspective on the design industry.
The show helps creatives improve their careers and endeavors with in-depth interviews, round table discussions, and instructional lessons.
It covers all kinds of topics: from content design strategies and the pros and cons of outsourcing – to what it’s like being a solo entrepreneur and how creatives can manage their mental health.
2. Design Matters
Debbie Millman started the Design Matters show back in 2005, and has been nominated as “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA. Design Matters became one of the first podcasts about design and creativity. Sixteen years later, it is more popular than ever.
Millman is a masterful interviewer. She makes every guest feel at ease, while also focusing on some of the trickiest topics.
Each episode delves into the world of creative culture through wide-ranging conversations with designers, writers, artists, curators, musicians, and more.
3. Design Your Life by Vince Frost
“Your life is the biggest design project you will ever undertake.” – Vince Frost, founder of Frost*Collective studio and host of Design Your Life podcast.
Frost’s interviews with creative directors, journalists, and CEOs from a wide range of industries focus on how design principles can be applied to everyday life.
Last year, Frost launched a spinoff of his original podcast, titled (Re)Design Your Life. It explores how design leaders adapted to life during the COVID-19 crisis. Recent episodes tackle accessibility, gender, survival mechanisms, and rethinking how we work.
4. The Honest Designers Show
If you are building a career in graphic design – the Honest Designers Show is an invaluable source of tips on how to engage more clients, find your style, brand yourself, and blaze a trail in the world of illustration.
Tom Ross, Ian Barnard, Dustin Lee, and Lisa Glanz, visual communication professionals and hosts of the show, give a completely honest, under the hood look at what it takes to flourish in a dynamic creative universe!
5. The Design of Business | The Business of Design
You might be familiar with publications by Design Observer. This leading online media source about visual culture also publishes one of the most influential podcasts about design – Design of Business, Business of Design.
Produced at the Yale School of Management, this show found a receptive and engaged audience that extends far beyond graphic design enthusiasts.
It is hosted by Jessica Helfand and Ellen McGirt, and features interviews with creatives across various industries —journalism, music, art, technology, and retail. They discuss creative practices, career trajectories, and how design and business intersect in their lives and careers.
6. The Mic
The Mic is another influential podcast about design hosted by Debbie Millman and produced by NYCxDESIGN’ (a non-profit organization committed to promoting the city’s diverse creative community).
The show offers an inside look at New York City’s most original minds, and unites diverse backgrounds and perspectives of award-winning designers and emerging talents.Each episode explores how we can use design to respond to critical social issues.
7. Design Edu Today
Design Edu Today is a series of bi-weekly conversations with design professionals about what it takes to become a top designer in today’s world.
As assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Maryland and Education Director for The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) in Baltimore, the show’s host, Gary Rozanc, has lots to share.
Initially, this podcast covered visual principles in digital design, such as flexible grids, screen-based typography, and iconography.
Today, the scope of the show has broadened to topics that overview the entire process of interactive design, from initial client meetings to the final launches.
8. 99% Invisible
Hosted by Roman Mars, 99% Invisible is a podcast about the design trends that shape our world. After more than 430 episodes and 500 million downloads, 99% Invisible remained one of the most popular podcasts about design in 2021.
What started as a four-minute spot on KALW public radio has grown to a highly popular podcast with offices and listeners all over the world, including Antarctica.
99% Invisible, episode after episode, is really about the difference between what you see and a designer sees, what you see and an architect sees, what you see and an engineer sees.
9. Scratching the Surface
Scratching the Surface began in 2016, and became part of Jarett Fuller’s MFA thesis at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Since then, Jarrett has recorded nearly 150 episodes, expanding its purview across design disciplines and practices from architecture to media theory, and writing to strategic design. The podcast has become a public forum for thoughtful and informal discussions around contemporary design practices.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with designers, architects, writers, academics, artists, and theorists about design shaping our culture.
Besides podcasting, Jarrett Fuller is a successful designer, writer, and educator. He runs a multidisciplinary design and editorial studio, teaches at Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, and the University of the Arts. He worked as a designer at Facebook, Warby Parker, and The Whitney Museum of American Art. Currently, he serves on the board of directors of AIGA NY.
10. JUST Branding
The JUST Branding Podcast, hosted by Jacob Cass & Matt Davies, is one of the top podcasts about building a brand.
Jacob is a Sydney-based designer & strategist who runs JUST Creative, an award-winning branding and design firm that doubles as an industry-leading blog. He was praised for his Disney and Nintendo designs, and recently rebranded San Francisco, Puerto Rico, and New York’s Digital District.
Each episode of the show goes deep into the branding process: brand personality and positioning, strategy, naming, messaging, storytelling, and representing brand identity in logos and other designs.
Growing your business through podcasting?
Podcasts seemed somewhat exotic a few years ago, but with over 100 million listeners in the United States alone, they are now firmly in the mainstream.
Podcasting has become an essential marketing tool for many businesses. But even the best audio content needs an eye-catching design to stand out. VistaCreate’s always here to help you create impactful studio-level designs in minutes.
