Clever with Amy Devers

Amy Devers

Clever is an award-winning, independent podcast that offers a window into the humanity behind the design of the world around us. In each episode, designer Amy Devers has candid and revealing conversations with the visionaries, culture-makers, and creative forces who shape our world and inform our society. Through a disarming mix of raw candor and honest shop-talk, Clever peels back the layers to unearth the gritty, authentic and sometimes surprising details of their creative paths. Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design; the shadowy, sometimes sordid, tales hiding under a glossy top coat of respectable legacy. Visit our website: cleverpodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Ep. 163: Designer Jay Osgerby Shines a Light on Loss, Legacy, and Longevity [encore]

    1 DAY AGO

    Ep. 163: Designer Jay Osgerby Shines a Light on Loss, Legacy, and Longevity [encore]

    It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Jay has continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since this conversation, and we have updates. Be sure to subscribe to our Substack & social (IG & LI) to catch up on Jay’s recent news! Clever Ep. 163: Industrial designer and founding partner of Barber Osgerby, Jay Osgerby, grew up in a small town in England, with his close-knit multi-generational family and the backdrop of his grandparents’ experiences through WWII. His childhood was filled with making things - inspired by his Swiss ancestors’ stories of watch and camera making. His parents were incredibly resourceful, whether it was opening a shop together or repurposing curtains when the local cinema closed. This pioneering spirit is something that Jay has carried with him throughout his career - from his studies at RCA where he met long-time business partner and friend, Ed Barber, to designing the 2012 Olympic Torch, to revolutionizing how people work remotely with Soft Work seating. Now, 25+ years into design, Jay reveals the triumphs and tragedies that lined his path and forged his character with candor, humor, and an unflagging optimism that burns bright and steady like the inextinguishable flame of the Olympic Torch. Images, links and more from Jay Osgerby! Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 26min
  2. Ep.141: Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford [encore]

    19 MAY

    Ep.141: Hip Hop Architect Michael Ford [encore]

    It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring and revisiting some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack & social (IG & LI) to catch up on some of their recent news! Michael Ford is the designer and activist known as The Hip Hop Architect. Born in Highland Park, Michigan the son of a minister, Michael was raised to be inquisitive and question the world around him to find deeper truth. Early on, he found his passion for design and music, expanding it into a practice of architecture and design through the lens of Hip Hop culture. This led to his founding of The Hip Hop Architecture Camp®, a camp that positions Hip Hop Culture as a catalyst to introduce architecture and design to underrepresented youth. He’s also working with some of Hip Hop's greatest names as he leads the design of The Universal Hip Hop Museum in The Bronx.  Images and more from Michael Ford on our website! Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 13min
  3. Ep. 56: Jerry Helling [encore]

    12 MAY

    Ep. 56: Jerry Helling [encore]

    It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring and revisiting some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of their recent news! Ep. 56: Jerry Helling - President and Creative Director of Bernhardt Design, Jerry Helling, grew up on a ranch in a remote town with 11 people in his graduating class before venturing to USC and a potential career in Hollywood. A personal epiphany combined with serendipity rerouted him into the furniture business, resulting in a long and distinguished career as a keen mentor of talent, a champion of originality, a risk-taking, needle-moving industry voice, and a major benefactor of international design. Plus, he’s really nice! Images and more from Jerry Helling on our website! Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 4min
  4. Ep. 213: The Quiet Rebellion of Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza [encore]

    5 MAY

    Ep. 213: The Quiet Rebellion of Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza [encore]

    It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. Our guests have continued to make meaningful contributions to the world since we had our initial conversations, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of their recent news! Ep. 213: The Quiet Rebellion of Biodesigner Natsai Audrey Chieza - Natsai Audrey Chieza spent her youth in Zimbabwe in a close-knit extended family where she and her cousins were “in each others’ pockets.” In her teenage years the national economy crashed, necessitating a family relocation to the UK, and she began learning the skill of “not belonging.” Architecture studies proved alienating so she found a way to combine them with her love of fashion (to the consternation of her professors.) Rejecting the prescribed path of a professional architect, she instead pursued a postgraduate program in Material Futures that set her on a path of designing with bacteria. Now, she’s founded Faber Futures, a biodesign studio, and Normal Phenomena of Life, an artful lifestyle and fashion brand that also functions as a working prototype of a new model bioeconomy. She’s spent her whole life quietly not doing what was expected of her, and in this space of outsiderness she’s been very busy creating new paradigms for how we might collaborate with nature and new models for the equitable stewardship of these new biotechnologies. So, in terms of cultural infrastructure, she is an architect after all!  Images and more from Natsai Audrey Chieza on our website! Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 5min
  5. Clever Ep. 1: Joe Doucet [encore]

    28 APR

    Clever Ep. 1: Joe Doucet [encore]

    It’s Clever’s 10th anniversary! We’re celebrating by honoring some of the amazing stories we’ve collected over the years. We’re kicking off the party with a rewind of our very first episode! Joe Doucet has continued to make meaningful contributions to the built environment since we had this conversation, be sure to subscribe to our Substack to catch up on some of his recent works! New York-based multi-disciplinary designer, Joe Doucet, tells Amy and Jaime why he doesn’t start any project with sketching, how a pair of avant-garde headphones caught the attention of Lady Gaga, and how he cross-trains his brain.  Images and more from Joe Doucet on our website! Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale. Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min
  6. Ep. 237: Curator Alyssa Velazquez on Craft-itarianism: Community Action Through Craft

    14 APR

    Ep. 237: Curator Alyssa Velazquez on Craft-itarianism: Community Action Through Craft

    Curator Alyssa Velazquez grew up with theater as her first form of community—a foundation that continues to shape her curatorial work. Her current exhibition at Center for Craft, Craft-itarianism: Community Action Through Craft, explores how craft can add joy, distribute resources, and foster community among at-risk and marginalized people. Velazquez brings a unique interdisciplinary approach to her curatorial practice at Carnegie Museum of Art, pulling from past work in art preservation, acting, and scenic design. Alyssa teaches us that the act of making can form resource generation within communities that need life-affirming support, and that craft methodologies—from job training to art therapy to social enterprise—can be applied to create meaningful social change. Images and more from Alyssa Velazquez on our website! Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale. Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  7. Ep. 228: Lo-TEK’s Julia Watson on Applying Indigenous Knowledge to Climate-Adaptive Design [encore]

    31 MAR

    Ep. 228: Lo-TEK’s Julia Watson on Applying Indigenous Knowledge to Climate-Adaptive Design [encore]

    Julia Watson, a landscape architect, author, and educator, developed a passion for global cultures and knowledge as a child in Australia, inspired by her parents' National Geographic collection. She has since dedicated her career to exploring traditional knowledge systems and their application to contemporary design challenges like extreme weather, waste management, and population growth. At the heart of Watson's work is a profound respect for indigenous knowledge systems and a commitment to applying Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to climate-adaptive design. Through her work with Lo-TEK, including the recently launched Lo-TEK Office for Intercultural Urbanism, and her books, Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism and the upcoming Lo-TEK Water (November 30 release), she strives to facilitate the equitable exchange and implementation of indigenous knowledge and technology to the crucial and complex challenges of our evolving world. Images, links and more from Julia Watson on our website! Special thanks to our sponsor - Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale. Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 1min
  8. Ep. 232: Studio O’s Liz Ogbu on Spatial Justice and the Role of Design in Healing Grief [encore]

    17 MAR

    Ep. 232: Studio O’s Liz Ogbu on Spatial Justice and the Role of Design in Healing Grief [encore]

    Designer Liz Ogbu grew up in Oakland as the daughter of Nigerian immigrants, but it wasn’t until her first trip to Nigeria at 16 that she grasped the profound role place, family, and cultural context play in shaping who we are—and what we create. Drawn to the creative possibilities of architecture, she studied both architecture and engineering before traveling across Africa on a Watson Fellowship, an experience that sharpened her understanding of who her work is ultimately for: the people most impacted by design. Today, Liz is catalyzing what design can do—in transforming informal marketplaces, helping communities heal after being fractured by freeways, and weaving practices of grief, accountability, and repair into the built environment. Her work transcends traditional architecture, centering the excavation of harm and the pursuit of more empathetic, community-rooted design at a moment when it’s needed more than ever.  Images and more from Liz Ogbu on our website! Special thanks to our sponsor! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale. Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale.Join us for Emerging Designers Spotlight LIVE, Sunday May 17, 4pm on the Main Stage at ICFF NYC. Register to attend for free with code: MISKGENSPK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1hr 1min

Hosts & Guests

About

Clever is an award-winning, independent podcast that offers a window into the humanity behind the design of the world around us. In each episode, designer Amy Devers has candid and revealing conversations with the visionaries, culture-makers, and creative forces who shape our world and inform our society. Through a disarming mix of raw candor and honest shop-talk, Clever peels back the layers to unearth the gritty, authentic and sometimes surprising details of their creative paths. Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design; the shadowy, sometimes sordid, tales hiding under a glossy top coat of respectable legacy. Visit our website: cleverpodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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