Thinking Through Design

Adam Fromme
  • 5.0 (8)
  • EDUCATION
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Design is all around us, but how designers think through their work is often a mystery. Understanding that process can fuel our own curiosity and creativity. Adam Fromme hosts Thinking through Design as a series of long-format discussions to reveal the designer's mindset and realize its value.

  1. 26. An invitation to food design

    12/22/2025

    26. An invitation to food design

    Marije Vogelzang sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast.  “When you’re designing with food you don’t just design the object, but you design an experience that causes a lot of emotions, memories, associations to happen inside people’s brains.” Marjie Vogelzang This episode dives into the world of food design with guest Marije Vogelzang, an international designer reshaping how we understand and experience food. Rather than focusing on taste or culinary trends, Vogel explores food as a powerful emotional and psychological connector. Food is something capable of triggering memory, shaping identity and fostering shared experiences. Through examples ranging from Alzheimer’s projects to the Hunger Winter of WWII, she shows how storytelling, narrative and the sensory qualities of food can unlock deeply personal histories and create meaningful human connection. The discussion stretches beyond cuisine and into the blurred lines between art, design, culture and psychology, inviting listeners to reconsider the ordinary act of eating as a rich, imaginative and transformative design experience. Marije Vogelzang is a pioneering Dutch food designer whose career has reshaped how the world understands the relationship between food, memory, culture and human experience. Trained in product design at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Vogelzang quickly moved beyond traditional culinary boundaries, founding experimental food projects and later establishing the Dutch Institute of Food & Design. Her practice centers on food as a storytelling medium—an intimate material capable of unlocking emotion, triggering memory and fostering social connection. For more than two decades, she has created immersive dining events, therapeutic memory projects and public installations that challenge assumptions about taste, culture and identity. Vogelzang lectures and exhibits internationally, and her influence has helped establish food design as a distinct discipline within contemporary design practice. Marjie recorded this episode during his week on campus as part of the annual Ohio State DESIGN Butter Goeller Design Affair. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

    48 min
  2. 25. At the edge of industrial design

    12/08/2025

    25. At the edge of industrial design

    Amanda Huynh sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast.  “You know, we just have to see beyond what our capabilities are.” Amanda Huynh Their conversation addresses how industrial design is expanding beyond objects into services, systems, food, and community-based work. Amanda shares how her research in food design and dementia care uses culturally responsive tableware to support dignity, memory, and identity in aging populations, while also reflecting on the ethical responsibilities of designing with communities rather than for them. She discusses how her teaching—from sustainability projects centered on specific bird species to tangible interface studios—helps students develop empathy, adaptability, and systems thinking. Throughout the conversation, Amanda emphasizes curiosity, fearlessness, and lifelong learning as the most essential skills for future designers, ultimately defining the designer’s role as a connector and facilitator across people, disciplines, and environments. Amanda Huynh is an Associate Professor and the Industrial Design Coordinator at the Ohio State University Department of Design. With advanced degrees in Industrial Design (MDes, Emily Carr University) and Food Design (MSc, Scuola Politecnica di Design), she works at the intersection of community-building, social innovation, and sustainable design. Her areas of expertise include food design, new materials, service design, tangible user interfaces, design for aging, and cultural sustainability. Prior to joining Ohio State, Amanda taught at the Pratt Institute and managed socially oriented design labs; internationally, she’s worked and lectured in cities such as Vancouver, Shanghai, Bali, Barcelona, and London. Her research explores “liberatory, participatory design futures,” with ongoing projects focused on food systems, dignity in aging, co-design with tangible and digital interfaces, and equitable global design practices. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

    49 min
  3. 24. A move towards meaning

    11/24/2025

    24. A move towards meaning

    Ayse Birsel sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “Design tools are really all about tricking our minds for our own good.” Ayse Birsel Their conversation explores how we can apply the design principles commonly used for organizations and communities to help us navigate the complexities of our own lives. Ayse shares her four-part framework (Deconstruction, Point of View, Reconstruction and Expression) which helps us externalize our thinking the see our lives more clearly. By making the invisible visible, we can reconnect with our values, identify what truly matters and break old assumptions so we can move from the real to the ideal. The episode weaves through stories from healthcare co-design, corporate leadership workshops and personal life design, revealing common threads of iteration, collaboration, intentional decision-making and the importance of reframing our biases. Together they reflect on motivations, barriers, the optimism embedded in design practice and the emerging opportunities—and anxieties—of designing with AI. Ayse Birsel is a Turkish-American industrial designer, author, and systems thinker whose work spans products, organizations, and life design. Trained at Middle East Technical University in Turkey and as a Fulbright scholar at Pratt Institute, she co-founded the award-winning studio Birsel + Seck, working on everything from Herman Miller office systems to consumer goods and strategy engagements for Amazon, GE, IKEA, Toyota, and more. Ayse’s signature process—Deconstruction:Reconstruction—is the guiding thread through her design practice and her philosophy of life. She distilled this framework into her best-selling book Design the Life You Love, where she teaches people how to externalize their thoughts, reconnect with their values, and rebuild their lives intentionally. Through workshops, writing, and speaking, Ayşe empowers individuals to treat their lives as meaningful design projects, moving from what is to what could be. Ayse recorded this episode during her week on campus leading student workshops as part of the Ohio State DESIGN Megert Speaker Series. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

    1h 13m
  4. 23. From logo to legacy

    11/14/2025

    23. From logo to legacy

    This episode of Thinking through Design celebrates National Recycling Day (Nov 15) with host Adam Fromme in conversation with Gary Anderson, creator of the 1970 recycling symbol. “And that was really the first time I thought to myself, well, I designed that.” Gary Anderson In this episode Gary reflects on the unexpectedly enduring life of his iconic mark and the mix of intuition, cultural context, and youthful experimentation that shaped it. Together they explore how designers navigate evolving complexities, balance personal values with professional realities, and act as both problem-solvers and problem-framers. Through stories of environmentalism’s early days, career detours, “hermit crab” opportunity-seeking, and the enduring power of graphics to shape behavior, Gary ultimately defines the designer’s role as an integrator, someone who gathers insight from many sources and bridges the needs of individuals, clients, and society at large. Gary Anderson is an American graphic designer and architect best known for creating the globally recognized recycling symbol as a 23-year-old architecture student at University of Southern California. His design—selected from 500 entries in a competition sponsored by Container Corporation of America in 1970 to honor the first Earth Day—has been compared to iconic trademarks such as Coca-Cola and Nike for its cultural impact. Beyond the landmark symbol, Anderson’s career has spanned architecture, urban planning, research and teaching. He worked for several firms including RTKL Associates and held faculty roles at King Faisal University in Saudi Arabia and in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins. He holds a Master of Urban Design from USC School of Architecture, a diploma in social science from Stockholm University, Sweden, and a PhD from the Geography and Environmental Engineering program at Johns Hopkins University. Anderson also won the Urbahn Prize for Architecture. This episode was recorded on campus in the fall of 2024 as part of the Fisher College of Business, Dean Speaker Series. This episode is also available on Apple Podcasts.

    50 min
  5. 22. On finding the fun

    10/31/2025

    22. On finding the fun

    In this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast, host Adam Fromme sits down with Ben Denzer. “And so, if I can make that process last longer, then, you know, I’m more happy. And then I realized through doing that, I make more exciting things.” Ben Denzer Ben is a New York–based creative whose work spans book cover design, editorial illustration, and experimental publishing. Ben discusses his playful approach to design and teaching, emphasizing how experimentation, commitment, and curiosity drive his creative process. Through stories like his oversized, 800-pound MFA “thesis book” and his humorous Ice Cream Books series, Ben illustrates how he uses scale, repetition, and material play to rethink familiar formats. He encourages students to act on ideas rather than just notice them—trusting process over perfection and finding meaning through sustained making. The conversation also explores the overlap between art and design, with Ben describing himself as both a selfish designer and a pragmatic artist. And they reflect on how freedom, identity, and authorship shift depending on context, and how self-initiated projects can preserve creative autonomy. Ultimately, the episode captures Ben’s philosophy that making is thinking: creativity grows through action, repetition, and the willingness to follow ideas wherever they lead. Ben Denzer is an artist, designer, publisher and professor whose work blurs the boundaries between art, design, and the book form. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a certificate in Visual Arts from Princeton University. He subsequently completed an MFA in Graphic Design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In his academic appointments he has served as Adjunct Faculty at RISD, the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, and Parsons School of Design. As of 2025 he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Parsons. Through his teaching, he encourages students to rethink the book as an expressive, experimental object—one that can communicate ideas through structure, material, and play as much as through text. Ben recorded this episode during his week on campus as part of the Ohio State DESIGN Visiting Artist series. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.

    38 min
  6. 21. Part 2: From Ulm to Ohio—a career retrospective

    10/17/2025

    21. Part 2: From Ulm to Ohio—a career retrospective

    In this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast, host Adam Fromme sits down with Reinhart Butter for the next chapter in their ongoing conversation. “Back in those days ‘fun’ was having invented something—having developed something—together.” Reinhart Butter This episode is Part 2 of an ongoing conversation about Reinhart’s career. In this installment, we explore Reinhart’s transition to design educator at Ohio State, and how systematic thinking, curiosity, and collaboration forged the department’s distinctive identity. Influenced by the Ulm School and Bruce Archer’s work at the Royal College of Art, his early years teaching prioritized process and reasoning over aesthetics, laying a foundation for thoughtful, research-driven practice. Under Reinhardt’s instruction, students bridged conceptual creativity with practical application—constructing full-scale models, conducting field research, and collaborating with industry to develop real-world solutions. These partnerships blurred the line between academia and practice, positioning design as both inquiry and evidence-based problem solving. Throughout the conversation, they reflect on the joy of learning alongside students. Here, “fun” is redefined not as entertainment, but as curiosity in action, or rather, the exhilaration of discovery through disciplined exploration. Reinhart’s influence on the department lies in this balance: rigorous methodology paired with open inquiry, and a commitment to making design both systematic and deeply human. (The episode starts with an 8-minute opening about the watch Reinhart designed while at Ulm. A topic we covered in more depth in Part 1.) Reinhart Butter, Professor Emeritus of Industrial Design, is a graduate of the Ulm School of Design and furthered his education at the Royal College of Art in London. After practicing in Germany, he joined Ohio State University, where he shaped the design program with a focus on systematic problem solving and research. Renowned for his pioneering work on ‘Product Semantics,’ Butter’s research attracted major companies like IBM and Mercedes-Benz to collaborate with OSU. A contributor to design publications, including form magazine, he co-authored The Semantic Turn, which was subsequently translated into multiple languages. Although retired in 2007, Butter remains active in international exchange programs, guest lectures, consulting, and design advisory work, earning several international awards throughout his career. Available on Apple Podcasts

    1h 30m
  7. 20. What about care, caution and ethics?

    07/29/2025

    20. What about care, caution and ethics?

    In this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast, host Adam Fromme sits down with Sébastien Proulx, PhD. “What care allows us to do is to put attention to issues that are often overlooked.” Their conversation explores how care—not just empathy—can serve as an ethical foundation for design practice. Rather than rushing to define problems or impose tidy solutions, they advocate slowing down judgment and using ethics as navigation. When this happens, empathy doesn’t disappear, but becomes part of a larger ethical loop, what Sébastien calls a “virtuous circle” between empathy and care. Through student projects and teaching reflections, they discuss how care challenges assumptions about speed, efficiency, and clarity, encouraging designers to navigate ethical ambiguity with humility and thoughtfulness. Ultimately, they argue that designers offer more than aesthetics by bringing a unique lens that helps teams see, hold, and give form to the messy realities of real life. Sébastien Proulx is an Associate Professor at École de technologie Supérieure in Montreal and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Ohio State University. Previously, he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Design at OSU. Before joining Ohio State, he taught at the University of Montreal for 12 years, focusing on social service design and visual communication for industrial design students. He holds a PhD and Master of Applied Science in Design from the University of Montreal. Dr. Proulx’s research explores the role of designers in shaping public services and policies, drawing on moral sociology and care ethics. His work aims to expand design’s impact in public service development and equip designers with the skills to navigate complex social and political landscapes. Click to listen on Apple Podcasts

    52 min
  8. 19. The purpose of play

    06/02/2025

    19. The purpose of play

    In this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast, host Adam Fromme sits down with Taylor Olsen. “This is awesome. It’s foolproof. Nothing’s going to break. And then they’ll try it, and it breaks.” Taylor Olsen In this conversation, Adam and Taylor explore the role of play as design educators, highlighting how games create space for experimentation, failure, and creative problem-solving. They discuss the shift from a solution-focused mindset to a goal-oriented one, where constraints and iteration become tools for innovation. Through classroom examples and real-world parallels, they show how designers can use play to craft meaningful experiences that engage, connect, and inspire. Ultimately, they see the designer as a facilitator of possibility, helping others see the extraordinary in the everyday. For the past several years, Taylor has lectured in OSU’s Department of Design, where he taught design foundations and game design. He holds a B.S. in Digital Arts & Design from Dakota State University and an MFA in Digital Animation and Interactive Media from Ohio State. His work spans digital humanities, informational videos, and time-based media, with exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts and broadcasts on PBS. Available on Apple Podcasts

    54 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Design is all around us, but how designers think through their work is often a mystery. Understanding that process can fuel our own curiosity and creativity. Adam Fromme hosts Thinking through Design as a series of long-format discussions to reveal the designer's mindset and realize its value.

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