
True is Better Than New: David Reinfurt on Evolving Graphic Design Education
From Design Notes by Liam Spradlin
July 1, 2025 · 45 min · Season 3 · Episode 7
About this episode
David Reinfurt discusses his latest book and the evolution of graphic design education.
In this episode, designer, educator, and author David Reinfurt returns to the show to discuss his latest book, A *Co-* Program for Graphic Design. Born from a series of lectures delivered remotely, online, and together with collaborators and cooperators, the new book builds on his earlier "spoken" book, exploring some unexpected and intuitive overlaps between design and the rest of the world around us. In conversation, Liam and David cover the power of hands-on learning, the importance of going against expectations as a designer, and the positionality of design—its closeness to everyday life, how it affects those that encounter it, and how it's taught—and how individual perspective is the real driver of design as a practice. Read a full transcript . Episode Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Background 08:53 Teaching as Performance 14:34 The Role of Collaboration in Design 18:26 Diverse Perspectives in Design Education 21:55 Exploring Design Space and Topology 26:34 Hands-On Learning in Design Education 30:13 Art and Design 32:34 Creating Space for Reflection in Design 36:34 The Evolution of Design Conventions 39:38 The Bait and Switch 42:04 Individual Perspectives in Design
People in this episode
Host: Liam Spradlin
Guest: David Reinfurt
Topics covered
- graphic design education
- hands-on learning
- collaboration in design
- individual perspective
- design conventions
Keywords
- graphic design
- education
- collaboration
- hands-on learning
- design conventions
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: A *Co-* Program for Graphic Design
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