Sunday, May 20, 2007

Designers beware: Podcasts

Last year I went to New York and bought an iPod, 60GB, black. Even though I was a bit disappointed in the beginning, I caved in to it, I love it and now I can’t live without it.
Anyway, this post is not about iPods. It’s about me missing out on a wonderful source of knowledge and inspiration for years!


As you probably know by now, I am a huge Harry Potter fan and after J.K. Rowling appointed Mugglenet as the best HP site, I was addicted to it. Some time in 2005 Mugglenet started podcasting with Mugglecast, and I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, radio-like shows you can download to your iPod!

For those of you who, like me, have (had) been living under a rock for the last few years, keep reading! But of course, most of you will find this information redundant, I bet.

I use iTunes as my podcast aggregator, though there are several others out there. I don’t want to get too technical here, especially because I don’t fully understand how they work. What I can tell you is that using iTunes and clicking on iTunes Store>Podcasts, you can find podcasts about almost every subject imaginable, including, yes, you guessed it, design.


If you go to Categories at the left, and click on Arts and then go down a bit to More Arts, the first category is Design! And now it is your turn to explore. There are podcasts about many aspects of design, the different design disciplines…


Here are a few comments about some I’ve listened to:

The Accidental Creative
Host Todd Henry talks about being creative in an “on-demand” environment. Great ways to boost your creativity!



The Creative Venture
Host Tony Clark brings together the worlds of design and business. Though Tony stopped podcasting a few months ago, you can still download the 14 episodes which are full of great insight into the design business.


Other podcasts I listen to are related to business. My favorite one is Manager Tools, where hosts Michael Auzenne and Mark Hortsman discuss about management issues. I’ve found that most of their advice applies to the design business as well.



I also listen to podcasts related to leadership, finance and other topics in general.

So now that I’ve given you a few pointers, it’s time that you go into iTunes and explore for yourself! Or better yet, find other podcast aggregators and try some! Explore different topics and subscribe to those that you decide you want to listen to on a regular basis. You’ll find that some podcasts are not worth subscribing to because they’re just not very good (like Design Matters with Debbie Millman) or that they just don’t relate to you.

The best part of all this knowledge being shared through podcasts is that it’s free, you can carry it around with you in your iPod or mp3 player, you can save it for later use… did I mention it’s free?!

If some of you can add to this article, let us know more information about podcasts aggregators or other interesting podcasts you listen to, please comment! I’d love to receive your feedback!

All the best!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Carolina-

Thanks for the kind words about our work - glad you're getting value from it.

Mark Horstman
Manager Tools

Unknown said...

Carolina-

Thanks for the kind words about our work - glad you're getting value from it.

Mark Horstman
Manager Tools

FernanDoylet said...

Yes, I am living under a rock, and I like it here!

No doubt podcasts could be a good learning experience while commuting to or from work, but my job is only a 10 minutes drive from home.

I am in another minority now.

Carolina Ayerbe said...

Wow, Mark! I am really flattered that you took the time to post a comment on my blog! I can't believe it! Yes, I've downloaded every single episode of your show and listened to them... I even take notes! I think that if more designers and design managers in Latinamerica listened to your show, the design picture here would be very different and progress would happen a lot quicker. Thanks again! Carolina.

debbie millman said...

so sorry you don't like Design Matters.

Carolina Ayerbe said...

Hi, Debbie! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment.

I did listen to four of your podcasts and although I found the commentary inspirational, I fear the content does not apply to the design situation I work in.

I do want to point out to my readers that Debbie's podcast can certainly lift your spirits, which in the end, can be a great creativity booster! So in your search, do give it a try.

All the best, Carolina.

debbie millman said...

thanks so much, carolina...appreciate all the feedback!