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This Is A Prototype

By: Doug Powell
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  • Summary

  • We are in the midst of an unprecedented time in the history of the design profession. Businesses are investing in design at rates never before seen—building scaled design teams of hundreds and even thousands of designers, and hiring design leaders into executive roles giving them influence and access at the highest levels.

    As an executive design leader myself, I’m fascinated by the experience of designers moving into these new leadership roles. For most of us this is completely uncharted territory, the jobs are often undefined and there is rarely a roadmap or playbook to help us succeed, so most of us have had to learn on the job.

    In each episode of This is a Prototype, I invite two design leaders who have traveled very different life and career journeys to share their stories, compare notes, and talk about what it takes to be a leader in this new era of design.
    Copyright Doug Powell 2023
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Episodes
  • Season 2: Coming Soon!

    Season 2: Coming Soon!
    Apr 30 2024
    Season 2 of This is a Prototype: The Design Leadership Podcast is coming soon!

    The practice and profession of design in scaled companies continues to evolve in unexpected ways, and the role of the design leader in that evolution is more important than ever to the success of our teams and organizations.

    In Season 2 of This is a prototype, host Doug Powell continues to speak to the top design leaders in the industry about their life and career journeys into design. And he broadens the scope to explore cultural intersections in design; how design leaders are driving change in their communities; and how emerging technologies are changing our practices and our teams.

    Doug's guests in season 2 will include:
    Kaleena Sales
    Sadie Red Wing
    Kate Aronowitz
    Robert Fabricant
    Rich Hollant
    Bill Grant
    Jonathan Hanahan
    ...and many more!
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    3 mins
  • ThIs A Prototype: S1•E10 Doreen Lorenzo & Mbiyimoh Ghogomu (plus Pearl)

    ThIs A Prototype: S1•E10 Doreen Lorenzo & Mbiyimoh Ghogomu (plus Pearl)
    Dec 5 2023
    My guests for this Season 1 finale episode are Doreen Lorenzo and Mbiyimoh Ghogomu.

    Doreen Lorenzo is a pioneering design leader who is the Assistant Dean of the School of Design and Creative Technology at University of Texas, a role she started in 2016. Prior to joining UT, Doreen was the longtime President of Frog Design, one of the largest and most established global design consultancies in the world. Doreen is a columnist for Fast Company where she writes the Designing Women column profiling brilliant women in the design industry.

    Mbiyimoh Ghogomu is the co-founder and CEO of Tradeblock, the marketplace for collectible sneakers. Founded in 2019 the company has amassed more than 250,000 users and over a million sneakers available for trade on its digital platform. Tradeblock has raised more than 10 million dollars in VC funding. Mbiyimoh founded the company with childhood friends Tony Malveaux and Darren Smith after starting his career as a content design intern at IBM Design.

    This episode was recorded live at the offices of argodesign in Austin, Texas.

    Supporting partner for the live event was Pearl, the digital platform for proactive, effective, and inclusive hiring.
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • This Is A Prototype: S1•E9 Ann Willoughby & Mauro Porcini (plus State of Black Design Conference)

    This Is A Prototype: S1•E9 Ann Willoughby & Mauro Porcini (plus State of Black Design Conference)
    Nov 20 2023
    My guests in this episode are two legendary design leaders, Ann Willoughby and Mauro Porcini.

    Ann Willoughby is an AIGA Medalist who has been a leading voice in design for over five decades. In 1978 she founded Willoughby Design, one of the first woman-owned design firms in the US. In addition to her leadership of this award-winning firm, Ann has been an advocate for countless community organizations and academic programs throughout her career.

    Mauro Porcini is the first-ever Chief Design Officer of PepsiCo where he is infusing design thinking into the company’s culture and leading a new approach to innovation by design that is impacting it’s vast portfolio of products and brands. Mauro is also the author of the book The Human Side of Innovation: The Power of People in Love with People.

    We cover a remarkably wide breadth of topics from the important role leaders play in the building of company culture, to how designers respond to emerging technologies. Ann and Mauro share some delightful and inspiring stories about the people who have shaped their journeys as leaders.

    I open the episode with a special bonus segment: A short clip of a conversation I had recently with Professor Omari Souza, founder of the State of Black Design conference, which is happening for the first time ever as a live, in-person event March 15-16 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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    55 mins
Art Management Career Success Economics
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