Designed for Life

Twin brothers Richard and Antony Joseph are founders and owners of one of the world's most iconic and innovative kitchenware brands.

In this podcast, we are fortunate to be in conversation with Richard Joseph, who takes us through his journey from school, where design and technology played a key role in setting his future direction as a designer, through the early days of Joseph Joseph selling glass chopping boards made from a raw material donation from their father's factory. Through to today and running a successful and innovative design business with over two-hundred mission-driven staff across continents.

This conversation provides an amazing insight into the development and carefully planned growth of a design business, a business where 'form follows function' is something of a mantra, and why Joseph Joseph endeavour to take often complex designs just that little bit further in development than their competitors in order to fulfil this design promise to their customers.

It also provides insight into how a successful business can be managed and led by twin brothers by splitting tasks and responsibilities but keeping design at the epicentre of every decision taken.

Finally, we get an insight into the future of Joseph Joseph as Richard describes his passion for the company's products to use research and mission prioritisation to help solve some of the sustainability issues created by a capitalist and sales-led society.

This was a great conversation to start 2023, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, and I know you will too.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

References within this podcast:

https://www.josephjoseph.com/

It's that time of year again when we track back over the nineteen podcasts released so far this year (with more still to come before 2023) and pick out some of the best bits to string together into an end-of-year compilation.

This is always a difficult task, but this year it has proved to be even more so, with some amazing guests providing brilliant thought pieces within the pods. That said, I had to pick some favourite clips out, and this podcast takes you back through the year, starting in February 2022 and finishing with a clip from just a few weeks ago.

In the podcast, you will hear from Industrial Designer Jonathan Robin, talking first about the difficulty of that middle stage of any design project, which can feel like wading through treacle until you can see the light on the other side, and then discussing the 'theatre' of some designs and why keeping it simple is more likely to produce a classic design of note that will stand the test of time.

George Cave (interaction magic) speaks of how D&T A Level set him on a path to where he is today and discusses the importance of empathy and emotion in design. " "Never mind how it looks for a moment; how does it make you feel?"

Jamie Robinson (Mashoom) asks why we ask teenagers, "what are they going to do with their life" and the importance of solid foundations that you can build on later.

Matthew Cockerill explains what lies "left of brief" and why it is so important to carefully consider this before driving on with possible solutions to an identified problem. And then discusses how Design can be a significant part of the solution to many of the environmental issues that the earth currently faces.

Professor Ian Green MBE discusses why it is important for business and industry to work closely with education if we are to have any chance of improving diversity figures and making a career in engineering/manufacturing attractive to as wide a talent pool as possible.

Carra Santos MSc talks of the importance of creativity within education as we seek to prepare young people to take their place in a challenging, troubled and fast-changing world.

And we end with a gem of a quotation from the podcast with Will Butler-Adams, CBE Chief Executive Officer at Brompton Bicycle Ltd.

I would like to thank all the above and all guests of Designed for Life across 2022 for their expert input and for making themselves available to chat on the podcast; you are all amazing!

Finally, I would like to thank all listeners for your support over the year. Together with our sponsors, The Edge Foundation and PTC Onshape, we have even more ambitious plans for 2023! Until then, please do take care.

Welcome into 2023, and on behalf of everyone at the D&T Association, I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful new year!

The First episode of 2023 and the first in season three welcomes Matt Hewison as our guest. Matt is the Co-founding Director of Cyberwhite, a disruptive provider of security services and risk mitigation technologies based in the North East but working with SMEs and larger organisations across the UK.

This is the first time that Designed for Life has explored the world of cyber security as we seek to explore the range of possible careers that could emanate from a design and technology education. Matt talks us through his journey through an education that failed to deliver in many ways to an accidental path into the IT industry, initially in sales but later specialising in cyber technologies and business ownership.

This podcast provides a look into a field that most of us are more than aware of but know very little about while at the same time covering the journey to self-employment and entrepreneurship, not for the first time on this podcast described as "an itch that I felt compelled to scratch".

At the end of this pod, we track back to a podcast released at the end of last year featuring Lynne Elvins and the Werkhouse activity that was just about to break when we released the podcast back in November. Now, post-event, we can reveal the brief presented to students, and Lynne joins us again to talk us through the weekend's events. (Please note we had a few technical issues with Lynne's recording, please excuse us if the sound quality is not up to usual standards).

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

References within this podcast:

Cyberwhite - https://www.cyberwhite.co.uk/
Werkhouse - https://www.werkhouse.co.uk/

If you are intrigued by the art of leadership, especially how to lead an organisation through a period of profound change successfully, then you will love this podcast.

If you are fascinated by the sheer art and skill required to manufacture anything that is high in quality and is designed and built to last, then you will love this podcast.

If you find yourself conflicted between a societal push to consume more goods (requiring more 'stuff' to be manufactured) and the desire held by an increasing number of companies who are 'value led' and want to do the right thing, not only for the bottom line but also for the environment, then you will love this podcast.

And finally, if you own a Brompton bike, or have ever considered owning this iconic means of transportation, then you will love this podcast.

In this conversation, Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles Ltd., takes us on his journey from school, through a near-death experience in the Amazon and how this changed his outlook on life, to a chance meeting on a bus within which he was encouraged to come and take a look at how we make 'the Brommie'.

The rest is history, as Will has led the company from handcrafting around 5,000 bikes per year to its current manufacturing capacity of over 90,000 and sales worldwide. This is a fascinating tale of picking up the design of an engineering genius (Andrew Ritchie MBE- founder and inventor of the Brompton) and plotting growth and development that has made the Brompton a British manufacturing success story.

We recorded too much good material to lose in the edit but equally too much to cram into one podcast. So welcome to part one of this interview; part two will follow towards the end of this week.

So grab a coffee, pull up a comfy chair, put us in your ears as you travel to work, work out in the gym or walk the dog, and enjoy Designed for Life - in conversation with Will Butler Adams OBE.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

Read the book we refer to in this podcast, 'The Brompton, Engineering for Change' By Will Butler- Adams and Dan Davies.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brompton-Engineering-Change-Will-Butler-Adams/dp/1788168305/ref=sr_1_3?crid=GUMDGEIQW4JM&keywords=the+brompton&qid=1669723543&sprefix=the+brompton%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-3

If you are intrigued by the art of leadership, especially how to lead an organisation through a period of profound change successfully, then you will love this podcast.

If you are fascinated by the sheer art and skill required to manufacture anything that is high in quality and is designed and built to last, then you will love this podcast.

If you find yourself conflicted between a societal push to consume more goods (requiring more 'stuff' to be manufactured) and the desire held by an increasing number of companies who are 'value led' and want to do the right thing, not only for the bottom line but also for the environment, then you will love this podcast.

And finally, if you own a Brompton bike, or have ever considered owning this iconic means of transportation, then you will love this podcast.

In this conversation, Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles Ltd., takes us on his journey from school, through a near-death experience in the Amazon and how this changed his outlook on life, to a chance meeting on a bus within which he was encouraged to come and take a look at how we make 'the Brommie'.

The rest is history, as Will has led the company from handcrafting around 5,000 bikes per year to its current manufacturing capacity of over 90,000 and sales worldwide. This is a fascinating tale of picking up the design of an engineering genius (Andrew Ritchie MBE- founder and inventor of the Brompton) and plotting growth and development that has made the Brompton a British manufacturing success story.

We recorded too much good material to lose in the edit but equally too much to cram into one podcast. So welcome to part two of this interview; part one was released earlier this week.

So grab a coffee, pull up a comfy chair, put us in your ears as you travel to work, work out in the gym or walk the dog, and enjoy Designed for Life - in conversation with Will Butler Adams OBE.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

Read the book we refer to in this podcast, 'The Brompton, Engineering for Change' By Will Butler- Adams and Dan Davies.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brompton-Engineering-Change-Will-Butler-Adams/dp/1788168305/ref=sr_1_3?crid=GUMDGEIQW4JM&keywords=the+brompton&qid=1669723543&sprefix=the+brompton%2Caps%2C64&sr=8-3

Six years ago, Lynne Elvins and some of her designer friends and colleagues were discussing life, work and, specifically, the challenges of onboarding juniors into their business. All agreed that some amazing young people were looking to enter the profession. Equally, all agreed that young people were, more often than not, not fully prepared for studio life when they entered employment; they brought energy, enthusiasm and often subject knowledge and skills but had minimal experience of putting all of this from theory into action.

This conversation was different because this small group of professionals didn't just moan and then go back to the day job; instead, they decided to act, and Werkhouse was born. https://www.werkhouse.co.uk

Werkhouse provides a live studio experience for thirty young people currently held at Taxi studio in Bristol. Nine South West studios pool their own money to provide food and refreshments over the weekend as they work alongside young people to tackle a live brief provided by a national or local charity. The young people work on the brief over the weekend and then present their solutions to the client on Sunday. Many of these young people then go on to successfully take roles within the industry.

In this podcast, we talk to Lynne about her career and current role and discuss Werkhouse in some depth. This year's programme runs on the 19th and 20th of November, and without revealing the brief (which is a highly guarded secret until the first day), we discuss the experience that the selected young people will experience.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

https://www.werkhouse.co.uk/
https://www.ted.com/talks/lynne_elvins_the_myths_of_gay_adoption?language=en

In this episode, we are delighted to be in conversation with architect, entrepreneur and co-founder of PrintLab, a 3D printing business focused on providing hardware and curriculum content to educators within the UK and indeed worldwide. https://weareprintlab.com/

This is a podcast that we have been chasing for a while now. PrintLabs curriculum content and resources are exceptional, and we have seen so many schools excited about what a well-constructed CAD/Manufacturing curriculum can do for their students.

As always, we follow Jason from school as he transitioned to the architect he always thought he would be. Sometimes that final destination pays well and ticks many boxes for a 'creative career for life' but doesn't quite excite you and make you want more. Passion for what you do is such an important part of working life.

Jason turned his back on architecture as a career and instead moved into a field he knew very little about in 3D design and printing. A couple of years later and circumstance threw up the opportunity to co-found his own business; this felt like a natural progression and PrintLab was born.

We discuss the challenges faced and the progress of PrintLab and how you head up a fast-growing company when you are a self-confessed introvert who hates being centre stage.

I loved this conversation, and I think you will too.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work, and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

This episode of Designed for Life was recorded live at the V&A London as part of the London Design Festival 2022.

Yewande Akinola is one of the foremost design engineers in the UK today. Born and raised in Western Nigeria, she describes her interest in the built environment and bridges from an early age, intrigued by the beauty and structure of buildings around her.

Her father was a Government Minister in Nigeria. He sadly passed when Yewande was very young, and her mother took over the task of ensuring that her children received the best education possible; this required grit, tenacity and hard work as money was tight and private education was the only way to chase the dream realistically.

At 17, Yewande moved to the UK and Warwick University to start her journey into design and engineering. On graduation, she took up a post as a mechanical engineer for Thames Water before later moving to the Arup Group and continuing her development with a Master's Degree at Cranfield University. She currently holds the role of Principal Engineer and Innovation Lead at Laing O'Rourke.

Yewande successfully balances the prominent roles of engineer, innovator, and visiting Professor at the University of Westminster. She is an Innovate UK Ambassador for clean growth and infrastructure. She is developing a growing reputation within media and public engagement, promoting engineering and challenging narrow stereotypes of who engineers are and the positive difference that they make in the world.

This was a fantastic conversation with an engineer with an untold passion for the role of innovation, creativity and engineering.

So pull up a comfy chair, pour a coffee, put the earbuds in and walk the dog or go to the gym...wherever you listen to your podcasts, make sure you find the time to listen to Designed for Life Live - In conversation with Yewande Akinola MBE.

Please note this podcast has also been recorded on video and will be released imminently (we will post a link here when it goes live). Huge thanks to The London Design Festival and the V&A for presenting us with this opportunity and to Yewande for taking time out of a busy schedule. Should you wish to find out more about Yewande, do visit her website http://yewandeakinola.co.uk/

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work, and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge.

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

We were fortunate to bump into Kialy at Young Designers this year and knew there and then that she had a story to tell that made her a perfect guest for this podcast.

In this episode, we hear how Kialy set her heart and soul on working in fashion at a very young age, and when she secured a place on the foundation course at Central St. Martin's, this set the stage for her dream to come true. For many reasons, this did not provide the experience she sought, and she endured the course rather than thriving within it. Kialy moved on with a friend to a Fashion degree course at Kingston University in London.

Again this did not flick the switch for Kialy, and she found herself slowly disengaging from the course; in the second year, she finally left the course. This brought Kialy to a dark place as she tried to work out what it was about her that made her unsuitable for studying a subject that had been her dream for years. "The more I analysed it, I realised that it wasn't the courses, it was me; I was the common denominator".

At this stage, Kialy took any job that helped pay the bills and worked in retail, recruitment and even door-to-door sales for a charity. At a loose end, she took a friend's advice and, without a plan, moved to Glasgow. Again, after several non-creative roles, she found a job as an assistant to a Milner and found her inner-creative self. Within this role, she thrived and grew in confidence as she saw a hard-working, creative boss make a good living from doing something she loved.

Kialy then successfully applied to a Textiles degree course at Glasgow School of Art and, on graduation, almost immediately set up as a freelancer. Today she sits somewhere between designer and artist and flits reasonably seamlessly between the two. This was an effortless, casual and honest conversation with a designer/artist at the very start of her professional journey but already with a powerful story behind her.

So grab a cool drink, pull up a chair, find a quiet space, take us to the gym, take the dog for a walk, put those air pods in, and enjoy Designed for Life - In conversation with Kialy Tihngang.

Selected past projects:

‘Useless Machines’ 2021 - moving fabric-covered wooden panels exploring environmental racism and electronic waste

Selected upcoming projects:

‘Fetissoes’, 2023 - solo show at God’s House Tower, Southampton, speculating on precolonial African religion through sculpture and moving image

'Toghu', 2024 - an animated embroidered film about queer Cameroonian identity

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work, and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.

In this episode, we are delighted to be in conversation with Sustainable Futures Educator and Interpreter Carra Santos https://www.carrasantos.com

Carra came from a rural upbringing in Northern Ireland. She was 'promoted' a year aged only four years old, a decision that, when played forward, saw her heading off to Leeds and a foundation course aged seventeen with a suitcase full of clothes and belongings and a bag of art brushes!

In this podcast, we follow her journey from this rural upbringing to her current position influencing and educating business leaders to see their role in creating a sustainable future by not only reducing their negative impact on the environment; but also increasing their positive impact.

The power to change our collective habits and start to reverse the damage inflicted on our planet is in our hands, we know what to do and I guess most of us are aware of the urgency of action, but for some, the leap to another way of thinking, acting and living is a step too far, they need to be helped through a series of small positive steps that collectively add up to substantive positive impact. In a nutshell, that's what Carra does as she works with business leaders both in the UK and internationally to change mindsets and encourage positive actions.

Carra wants business success to be measured on more than growth and profit made, but instead wants new criteria to be introduced, such as the concept of business contentment...when is enough, enough? When do staff well-being and retention become key success criteria? Carra challenges the concept of capitalism and suggests that there are deeper, more important success measures that we should all be using.

I found this to be a very thought-provoking podcast, I found I had as many questions as I had answers at the end of it but it has encouraged me to want to dig deeper. I don't run a multi-national company but small individual change matters. Carra mentions the book 'Citizens' by Jon Alexander and Ariane Conrad within the podcast, a book that I am now avidly consuming.

You are on your holidays, so pull up a sunlounger, pour yourself something long and cold and enjoy Designed for Life, in conversation with Carra Santos.

This podcast has been recorded with the help of our sponsors, The Edge Foundation https://www.edge.co.uk/ inspiring the education system to give all young people across the UK the knowledge, skills and behaviours they need to flourish in their future life and work, and PTC Onshape Providing industry-standard cloud-based CAD to education https://www.ptc.com/en/news/2020/ptc-onshape-education-enterprise-plan-available-free-of-charge

We are indebted to The Edge and PTC Onshape for their continued support.