A76 | a design pod

We’re in the back arc of A76’s season exploring The Human Spark and I was fortunate to sit down with Gavin Lew, Managing Partner at Bold Insight, to discuss how deep behavioral observation helps move ideas forward. Throughout the season I’ve challenged my guests to reflect on how they know when an idea is truly worth pursuing, and Gavin offers a thoughtful perspective on that question. We explore how actionable insights from real people, empathy, and courage are forces that can push ideas ahe...

In the latest episode of A76 The Human Spark, I chat with Dustin Coleman—Writer, Senior Content Strategist and Co-founder of 12 Acres Creative—about the importance of storytelling as a human craft in an increasingly automated world. With a lifelong love of narrative, Dustin shares how curiosity, observation, and conversation fuel his ideas and why real stories matter more than ever. We explore how Dustin evaluates ideas, why emotional response is his north star and how persistence not conveni...

Frank EE Grubich co-founder and brand director of CX&V is back on the pod to talk Fun, Foam and other F-word frivolity. Among many topics, we chat about what it really takes to generate great ideas while battling time, constraints and real-world complexity. Frank shares how he starts by defining the box before thinking outside of it, why emotion matters as much as intellect and the three filters he uses to choose what to pursue. It's a great conversation as always. Hope you enjoy it. Plus...

I reconnect with Andreas Refsgaard, an artist and creative coder based in Copenhagen whose art blends algorithms, interaction, and playful experimentation. Andreas shares what he’s been up to since his first appearance on A76—teaching workshops, building museum installations, and expanding his “weird AI art” practice (his words)—all the while reflecting on why surprise and interaction remain central to his work. He breaks down how new tech spark his ideas, how building (not brainstorming) unl...

In the latest episode of A76, The Human Spark, I talk with Kevin McElroy, Executive Creative Director at Razorfish in Chicago, about designing with empathy and leading teams in a constantly shifting landscape. Kevin shares his amazing path from dreaming of Disney, to Detroit automotive to working with Benetton in Venice, culminating in global digital experiences today. He breaks down his human-centered design approach—immersing in products, focusing on real people, and using your senses to ge...

In this episode of A76, The Human Spark, I sit down again with friend of the pod Mick Champayne, a staff designer on Google’s Delight Team—the group behind those joyful little surprises on Google Search. Mick shares how she channels curiosity, humor, and serendipity into her work, from designing easter eggs for billions of users to keeping her personal illustration practice fresh. We discuss idea generation, staying inspired, and how simple habits—like collecting digital ephemera or snapping ...

Welcome back to A76. This season, we’re stepping away from algorithms and turning back towards the people behind the ideas. And because we find ourselves in a world where generative AI can spin out thousand of versions of anything—I keep wondering where do the truly original ideas come from? So in Season 4, we’re exploring what I’m calling ~ The Human Spark. I’ll be talking with designers, creators, and adjacent makers—people who’ve built things that are unique. And together, we’ll dig ...

In this deeply personal and expansive conversation, I sit down with Olivia Moore T., a talented designer whose roots in Detroit, radio and tech have fueled a career in experience design. We explore her origin story, the tension between creativity and capitalism, how nostalgia is reshaping Gen Z’s approach and the increasingly blurry line between tools and culture. Our conversation veers from thoughtful to playful, from systemic critique to personal honesty—making this episode both a mirror fo...

Welcome back from our mid-season break! In today’s pod, I chat with Jennifer Andrews, who leads the Experience Design team in Digitas’ New York office. We chat about web1, her personal origin story, Japanese culture, her work in the Accessibility Center of Excellence and AI's impact on design. And afterwards I highlight recent episodes and share how you can support A76. Recent free episodes: 030: The path to a carbon neutral A76 with Matt Saip 029: Personalized micro-interaction fails with No...

Welcome to a new episode of A76. Today, we're taking a detour from our usual in-depth interviews with designers and makers to explore something a little different—micro-interactions and moments of personalization that could be vastly improved. If you're curious about what's happening over on our Patreon or if you simply want to support the A76 Design Pod, head over to patreon.com/A76designpod. By joining, you'll gain access to exclusive episodes and my original series on hyper-personalized AI...

In today’s episode I chat with Tracy Kramer. Tracy is the president of Buzz Company, a talent and recruitment agency based out of Chicago. I originally met Tracy while at design school, and she’s lead BuzzCo from a place of empathy and empowerment for decades. With roots in design, she just gets designers. And she loves not only helping designers find jobs but taking care of her people. We touch upon the state of the industry, the necessary changes BuzzCo has made over the years, a bit around...

I’ve often found, that the best designers have a lightness about how they go about their craft. They regularly joke, don’t take themselves too seriously, and connect with others through humor. One minute they’re clowning, dropping memes and the next delivering a mind-blowing design perspective —and that’s definitely true of Mick. She’s a talented designer at Google working in the Doodles & Delight Team, a beloved Illustrator recently being named one of the Noun Project and Dribble’s top i...