PODCAST

A76 | a design pod

Noel Childs

A76 is a podcast that synthesizes surprising connections and speculates on the future of design.

arts design

All Episodes

41:07

048: Humans in the loop with Noel Childs

A76 | a design pod ·

2026/01/16

In the final episode of A76 Season 4, The Human Spark, friend and mentor Frank Grubich flips the script and interviews me using the same questions I’ve been asking guests all season with a few surprises along the way. We talk about my origin story as a designer, where ideas come from, why I design, and what I’d tell my 20-something self. Thanks FEEG, it was a lot of fun. ~ Noel A76 and its episodes are created by Noel Childs Season 4 on the Human Spark is produced by Noel Childs Season 3 on ...

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31:13

047: Human behavior with Gavin Lew

A76 | a design pod ·

2026/01/07

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...

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25:47

046: Idea phantoms with Casey Hudetz

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/31

Friend of the pod Casey Hudetz, Senior Manager of Product Design at DocuSign and co-host of A76’s season one comes back on the pod to talk with me about the moment an idea grabs you and won’t let go. He shares a powerful example from his grandparents that compelled a creative project, including a talk and film. And our conversation explores how ideas often emerge through convergence and the subconscious. If you’ve ever felt haunted by an idea you couldn’t shake, this is the episode for you. I...

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30:10

045: Stories, not atoms with Dustin Coleman

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/24

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...

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7:12

044: Mid-season beat with Noel Childs

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/19

This is a Patreon preview In the current season of A76, The Human Spark, I’m stepping away from tools and trends to focus on the people behind the ideas. The conversations have been really refreshing and focused on where ideas come from, what everyone does to get unstuck, and how they decide which ideas are worth pursuing. So far, I’ve spoken with researchers, designers, creatives, journalists, artists, and brand leaders—and there’s much more still to come in the second half of the season. No...

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29:05

043: F-words with Frank EE Grubich

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/17

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...

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22:47

042: Writing on deadline with John L. Micek

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/10

In my latest episode of A76, I talk with veteran journalist, author, musician, politics editor for MassLive & friend—John L. Micek. John reflects on three decades of reporting, storytelling, and understanding what makes communities tick and traces his winding path into journalism. He also shares how ideas spark from everyday observations, train rides, and simple curiosity. And the conversation explores knowing when to let an idea go, the value of teaching the next generation of storytelle...

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21:35

041: Exploring serendipity with Andreas Refsgaard

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/12/03

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...

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27:54

040: Ideas in motion with Cal Engel

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/11/26

I chat with Chicago-based videographer and creative Cal Engel to trace one of the more unconventional career journeys—from the early days crafting internal videos, the sudden leap to touring the world with the Jonas Brothers, and eventually starting his own production company, AV Collective. Along the way, he breaks down how constant visual consumption informs his ideas, and why unplugging often sparks his clearest ideas. Our conversation explores shifting projects, telling real people's stor...

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21:02

039: Human-centered ideas with Kevin McElroy

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/11/19

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...

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22:30

038: Pixels to peaks with Chris Ward

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/11/12

In this latest epsiode, I chat with Chris Ward a Seattle-based VP of Account Management at Digitas about how his broad curiosity for design, calm approach, and love of the outdoors fuel his work. Chris shares his origin story, why account managers should aim to be second-best at every job, and how he uses design thinking to solve real user problems. We also explore his personal projects, where he transforms his photography into tangible creations—from coffee-table books to retro park-poster p...

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19:04

037: Designing delight with Mick Champayne

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/11/05

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 ...

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19:09

036: The 13th Warrior with Adam Weil

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/10/29

In this episode I catch up with Adam Weil, Senior Director of Research at Shapiro + Raj to talk about where good ideas come from and what separates the great ones from the noise. Adam’s career has spanned television networks to innovation agencies but what stands out most is his obsession with insightful storytelling. We talk about how he teaches younger researchers to transform data into stories that move people, how "iron sharpening iron” still sits at the center of his process and what The...

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1:37

035: Season 4 Kickoff ~ The Human Spark

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/10/22

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 ...

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26:53

034: Season 3 of Scale Wrap-up [Patreon preview]

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/09/05

Welcome to this Patreon exclusive preview. If you’re new to A76’s Patreon or you’re listening to a preview for the first time, these exclusive episodes are where I talk about my production of the podcast, break down some of the discussions coming out of my free interviews. I bring new ideas here—things I’m kicking around—and I share additional content from those interviews. I used to call these Icebreaks because, well if you haven’t noticed we have an iceberg thing going on here at A76. And t...

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39:02

033: For the love of the game with Olivia Moore T.

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/08/04

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...

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32:35

032: Reimagining AI assistants with Noel Childs

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/06/20

Who really benefits from our current AI assistants? In this final episode of the NoelAI mini-series on A76, I go on a deeply personal and sharply critical journey of the current state of AI assistants. And ask why—after years of hype—we still don’t have an assistant that truly serves us. Blending design thinking, cultural critique, and speculative hardware, I posit a radically user-centric vision for an AI assistant built around human needs and not tech company agendas. What would it look lik...

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39:31

031: Design life with Jennifer Andrews

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/04/22

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...

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36:55

030: The path to a carbon neutral A76

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/03/28

My goal is to make A76 sustainable in as many facets as I can. And for my 30th episode, I'm sharing my introductory conversation with Matt Saip, Head of Technology at Digitas Chicago, where we discuss the tech side of achieving this goal. We have an open discussion about calculating the exact carbon footprint of my production, the potential for green web hosting and sustainable tech. Shedding light on an area we so often taken for granted, the energy it takes to power our digital lives ...

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19:37

029: Personalized micro-interaction fails with Noel...

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/03/21

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...

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A76 | a design pod

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