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

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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11:25

028: Icebreak > NoelAI/3 [Patreon preview]

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/03/14

This is an A76 Patreon preview Icebreak episode coming off my interview with Tracy Kramer, President of BuzzCo. If you haven't listened to that interview you can find it here. If you're new to A76's Patreon, Icebreak episodes are exclusive for members, 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 interview content. You can sign up for the A76 Design...

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33:00

027: Finding design jobs with Tracy Kramer

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/03/07

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...

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5:55

026: Icebreak > NoelAI/2 [Patreon preview]

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/02/28

Welcome to a new Icebreak episode coming off my conversation with friend of the pod Mick Champayne about design and play. If you haven't listened to that interview, hit pause on this one, and go check it out here first. It was a lot of fun. If you're new to A76's Patreon or are listening to a preview for the first time, Icebreaks 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, including things I’...

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32:03

025: The art of play with Mick Champayne

A76 | a design pod ·

2025/02/21

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...

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A76 | a design pod

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