DesignTalks talks - What now? Episode 1 - Let's talk about creativity
Humanity is facing the eleventh hour and the call for more sustainable solutions has never been louder. Failed global collaborations on cutting emissions, political instability and repercussions after the pandemic. What now?
In this first episode of DesignTalks talks podcast series called What now? the creative process, the nature of creativity and design thinking across genres is explored.
What are the benefits of bringing design thinking into more fields of society? How can we use our creativity to tackle today's big challenges like global warming, natural disasters and armed conflicts? What is the nature of creative thought and the power of beauty? How can you inspire courage and hope? How do we empower people to change their behavior and take a radical stand with Mother Nature?
In this episode the host Anna Gyða Sigurgísladóttir, sits down with R. Michael Hendrix, graphic designer, entrepreneur and partner and Global Design Director of IDEO and Rósa Hrund Kristjánsdóttir, graphic designer and creative director at Hvíta Húsið.
DesignTalks talks is a podcast based on the annual international conference DesignTalks in Reykjavík. The What now? series is inspired by the conference 2023 and supported by Nordic Talks. Hlín Helga Guðlaugsdóttir, designer, is the curator of DesignTalks.
About:
Rósa Hrund Kristjánsdóttir
Executive Creative Director at Hvíta húsið Ad Agency – the leading and longest-operating agency in Iceland. Icelandic. During her career, Rósa has won many awards and nominations for both advertising and theater. Since graduating as a graphic designer from Iceland University of the Arts in 2004, Rósa has worked as a creative at the agency, with a few breaks dedicated to creative development. She used that time to learn different aspects of creativity, from designing costumes and stages for the Theatre to teaching ideation and branding at the University of the Arts. In 2012-2013, she studied Interactive Art Direction at Hyper Island in Stockholm. She is also a proud mother to three kids who have been her best teachers in creative development.
Rósa’s passion is the creative process and the ideas it creates; ideas that solve problems, make the world a better place or just make life a bit more fun. She loves working in groups and building great and effective teams. She believes that a supportive culture is the key to ground-breaking work.
R. Michael Hendrix. Graphic designer, entrepreneur, musician, partner, global design director at IDEO, American.
He is a Partner and Global Design Director at design and innovation consultancy IDEO, where he has worked on everything from home goods to homeland security. Concurrently, Michael has been an Assistant Professor of Business Management at Berklee College of Music. His first book, ‘’Two Beats Ahead: What Musical Minds Teach Us About Innovation,’’ coauthored with Panos A. Panay, President of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYs), explores the shared mindsets of musicians and designers as they apply to entrepreneurial pursuits. The book, featuring interviews and stories from Pharrell, Björk, T Bone Burnett.
Michael's career has spanned graphic design and marketing, branding, higher education, product development and executive leadership. A natural entrepreneur, he co-founded an art program for high schoolers, a design curriculum for undergraduates, a professional design club, an open source song data initiative, and two businesses, the last of which, Tricycle, was recognized by Business Week, Fortune and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum as a thought leader for sustainable design.
Moderator:
Anna Gyða Sigurgísladóttir, Radio host and producer from Iceland.
After graduating from law in 2015, with a final essay in the field of jurisprudence about the rights of witches in 17th century Iceland, Anna Gyða co-created Lestin - a daily cultural program on Radio 1, National Broadcasting Service of Iceland (RÚV). She has since been hosting, producing and editing various podcasts and documentary series for radio and TV as well as shooting documentaries on her own and writing non-fiction essays. Most recently she edited and produced the podcast Björk: Sonic Symbolism (Mailchimp and Talkhouse production)
