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A76 | a design pod
Noel Childs
43 episodes
13 hours ago
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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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...
Show more...
Design
Arts
Episodes (20/43)
A76 | a design pod
Idea phantoms with Casey Hudetz
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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14 hours ago
25 minutes

A76 | a design pod
045: Stories, not atoms with Dustin Coleman
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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1 week ago
30 minutes

A76 | a design pod
044: Mid-season beat with Noel Childs
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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1 week ago
7 minutes

A76 | a design pod
043: F-words with Frank EE Grubich
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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2 weeks ago
29 minutes

A76 | a design pod
042: Writing on deadline with John L. Micek
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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3 weeks ago
22 minutes

A76 | a design pod
041: Exploring serendipity with Andreas Refsgaard
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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4 weeks ago
21 minutes

A76 | a design pod
040: Ideas in motion with Cal Engel
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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1 month ago
27 minutes

A76 | a design pod
039: Human-centered ideas with Kevin McElroy
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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1 month ago
21 minutes

A76 | a design pod
038: Pixels to peaks with Chris Ward
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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1 month ago
22 minutes

A76 | a design pod
037: Designing delight with Mick Champayne
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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1 month ago
19 minutes

A76 | a design pod
036: The 13th Warrior with Adam Weil
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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2 months ago
19 minutes

A76 | a design pod
035: Season 4 Kickoff ~ The Human Spark
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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2 months ago
1 minute

A76 | a design pod
034: Season 3 of Scale Wrap-up [Patreon preview]
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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3 months ago
26 minutes

A76 | a design pod
033: For the love of the game with Olivia Moore T.
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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4 months ago
39 minutes

A76 | a design pod
032: Reimagining AI assistants with Noel Childs
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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6 months ago
32 minutes

A76 | a design pod
031: Design life with Jennifer Andrews
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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8 months ago
39 minutes

A76 | a design pod
030: The path to a carbon neutral A76
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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9 months ago
36 minutes

A76 | a design pod
029: Personalized micro-interaction fails with Noel Childs
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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9 months ago
19 minutes

A76 | a design pod
028: Icebreak > NoelAI/3 [Patreon preview]
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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9 months ago
11 minutes

A76 | a design pod
027: Finding design jobs with Tracy Kramer
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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9 months ago
33 minutes

A76 | a design pod
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...