Cover image of The Observatory

The Observatory

Michael Bierut and Jessica Helfand of Design Observer discuss design, current events, and current enthusiasms.

Ranked #1

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Episode 86: Home and Away

Episode 86: Home and Away

Wes Anderson in Italy; 3D printed Mars habitat competition; from Hilton to boutique hotels to Airbnb; designer baby name... Read more

10 Aug 2018

31mins

Ranked #2

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Episode 49: My First Tattoo

Episode 49: My First Tattoo

Tattoos, Type 1 diabetes, ID cards, taking MBA students to the art gallery, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Rothko, Mike Mill... Read more

26 Jan 2017

34mins

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Ranked #3

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Episode 47: True Colors

Episode 47: True Colors

Pantone’s color of the year, Time’s Person of the Year, Arrival, The Hater’s Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog, Seinf... Read more

15 Dec 2016

30mins

Ranked #4

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Episode 53: On Writing Well

Episode 53: On Writing Well

#trypod, Dan Brown cover contest, Design in Tech, writing for designers, The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happe... Read more

30 Mar 2017

34mins

Most Popular Podcasts

Ranked #5

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Episode 64: The Eye and the Storm

Episode 64: The Eye and the Storm

Hurricane Harvey, weather data visualization, electric cars, Taylor Swift, Scarfolk Council, the internet as an Uncanny ... Read more

31 Aug 2017

31mins

Ranked #6

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Food for Thought

Food for Thought

Samsung v. Apple, the International Style v. capitalism, Sausage Party, mozzarella sticks

26 Aug 2016

28mins

Ranked #7

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Episode 54: Egos, Eggs, and Half an Onion

Episode 54: Egos, Eggs, and Half an Onion

Twitter’s default avatar, border wall submissions, Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi ad, School for Justice, the Uline catalog

13 Apr 2017

32mins

Ranked #8

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Doors and Perception

Doors and Perception

Bathroom signs, MBA students, Mozilla and open logo design, The Commissar Vanishes, Masters of Sex

29 Sep 2016

30mins

Ranked #9

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Episode 62: Keepin’ It Nasty

Episode 62: Keepin’ It Nasty

Cursing, Anthony Scaramucci, the alt-right’s shit aesthetic, Tony Fadell and Silicon Valley regrets, John G. Morris, Don... Read more

3 Aug 2017

30mins

Ranked #10

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Episode 61: Font of Corruption?

Episode 61: Font of Corruption?

Pakistan, Donald Trump Jr., default fonts; Calibri, Courier, Hobo, Cooper Black; Silicon Valley corporate headquarters; ... Read more

20 Jul 2017

33mins

Ranked #11

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Episode 116: A Decade in Politics, A Year in Culture

Episode 116: A Decade in Politics, A Year in Culture

101 political images of 2010s; plus Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror; Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me; Beck’s Hyperspace; Unde... Read more

12 Dec 2019

32mins

Ranked #12

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Episode 75: Dressed and Obsessed

Episode 75: Dressed and Obsessed

Phantom Thread, John Perry Barlow, Cleveland Indians to retire Chief Wahoo, Obama portraits, riotous schnauzers

23 Feb 2018

24mins

Ranked #13

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Episode 55: Sea and Sky

Episode 55: Sea and Sky

Earth Day, the March for Science, EPA Graphic Standards Manual, Design and Exclusion, Big Little Lies, Five Came Back

27 Apr 2017

32mins

Ranked #14

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Episode 95: Back to Basics

Episode 95: Back to Basics

Distinctive brands choose minimalist logos, remembering David Pease, Nicholas Rougeux revives Byrne’s Euclid, The Favour... Read more

28 Dec 2018

35mins

Ranked #15

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Episode 115: Thick and Blunt

Episode 115: Thick and Blunt

Donald Trump’s handwriting; Michael Bloomberg, design patron; Jessica Helfand’s Face: A Visual Odyssey; Victor Papanek’s... Read more

27 Nov 2019

28mins

Ranked #16

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Episode 46: TV Party

Episode 46: TV Party

TV party: Search Party, The Crown, Fleabag, Crisis in Six Scenes, Highston, I Love Dick, Daniella Zalcman, the fallout s... Read more

1 Dec 2016

35mins

Ranked #17

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Episode 57: Communion and Commerce

Episode 57: Communion and Commerce

A record-breaking Basquiat; design, life coaching, and therapy; Thomas de Monchaux reviews Wendy Lesser’s biography of L... Read more

25 May 2017

32mins

Ranked #18

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Episode 67: Guns N’ Tote Bags

Episode 67: Guns N’ Tote Bags

Visualizing gun violence after Las Vegas, Louis Vuitton v. My Other Bag, tote bags, Helen Rosner on Olive Garden, Call M... Read more

13 Oct 2017

33mins

Ranked #19

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Episode 66: Ethics!

Episode 66: Ethics!

The Copenhagen Letter, Mike Monteiro’s Design the Right Thing, Branded by Memory, Google Quick, Draw!, Otl Aicher’s Isny... Read more

28 Sep 2017

37mins

Ranked #20

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Episode 104: Fade to White

Episode 104: Fade to White

Facebook’s redesign, Morning Edition’s new theme, Cris Shapan, Stanley Kubrick at the London Design Museum.

17 May 2019

32mins

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