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.

20h ago

The Narrative behind the Gameplay with Rae Watters (#40)

Rae Watters sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “I think that individualism and your perspective is just so valuable. I never want to have a piece of work that I do that I can’t see myself in.” Rae Watters In this episode, Rae discusses game design, storytelling and the ways interactive experiences shape how we understand one another. At the center of our conversation is the development of Role Call, a collaborative game in which players take on the role of a stage manager navigating the relationships, challenges, and ambitions of a student theater production. Rae’s thesis investigates consent and relationships in games: What if non-player characters (“NPCs”) could communicate not just how they respond to us, but what they want for themselves? Drawing on queer theory, game studies, and communication research, Rae is exploring how games might move beyond transactional relationships in which players simply receive what they want. Our conversation focuses on what Rae calls “consent feedback”, the design decisions within the game that affect how dialogue, personality, emotional context, and social cues can create more nuanced interactions with NPCs. We also talk about how games can serve as spaces for practicing social understanding, how designers balance a project’s intended message with the experience of play, and why making room for individual perspectives matters. Rae Watters (he/they) is a third-year MFA student in Digital Animation and Interactive Media in Ohio State University’s Department of Design. With an undergraduate background in computer science and engineering and a minor in game studies, Rae’s work explores consent in games, specifically how non-player characters can communicate their own preferences, motivations, and boundaries. This research informs Role Call, a collaborative narrative and management game developed with Skye Winters, Sophia Reeder, Calvin Than, and Alex Sallade, scheduled for release in Spring 2027. Rae also teaches introductory game design, bringing students from disciplines across the university into the process of creating and understanding games. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Sep 28

The Opportunities in Social Design with Shadrick Addy Kuteh (#39)

Shadrick Addy Kuteh sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “I think it’s very important that designers start to be intentional and mindful of their own values.” Shadrick Addy Kuteh In this episode, Shadrick discusses design for social impact and the ways designers can contribute to complex social and cultural challenges. He shares a recent project with Save the Children and Equality Labs that uses virtual reality to help policymakers understand how civil unrest can affect children’s access to education, and reflects on the importance of lived experience, cultural context and community knowledge when designing for social impact. The conversation also explores the challenges of measuring impact over time, and how Shadrick brings questions of ethics and personal values into his teaching through a student design manifesto. He discusses his emerging research into cultural transmission and the role design might play in cultural policy. As a through line to our conversation, we consider how designers can recognize opportunities to improve people’s lives and environments, and whether designers have limited themselves by the kinds of problems they believe design can address. Shadrick Addy Kuteh is an Assistant Professor in the Ohio State Department of Design. His work explores how design, extended reality and storytelling can preserve cultural heritage, encourage empathy and facilitate meaningful social interaction. He holds a B.S. in Graphic Design from Elizabeth City State University, a Master of Graphic Design from North Carolina State University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Art Education from The Ohio State University. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Aug 21

A Student Spotlight on Study Abroad with Hasna Kone (#38)

Hasna Kone sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “Something could look good. Makes sense. But if you don’t have a valid reason behind it, it doesn’t really make sense.” Hasna Kone In this Student Spotlight episode, Hasna Kone shares her experience as an exchange student at Ohio State. A third-year industrial design student from Montreal, Hasna came to Columbus curious about how industrial design is taught and practiced here. Her semester expanded her perspective on design, offering a firsthand look at different approaches to project structure, pace, critique, presentation, and the balance between developing individual skills and taking a project from beginning to end. Our conversation also explores Hasna’s emerging approach to design: making early, seeking honest feedback, understanding the purpose behind design decisions and recognizing when a project requires expertise beyond the designer’s own knowledge. Looking ahead, she is particularly interested in healthcare and medical equipment design because of its potential to directly improve people’s lives. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Jul 16

A Student Spotlight on Industrial Design with Sophie Chu (#37)

Sophie Chu sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “You have to be really mindful of what you make, because you don’t always have to create more just for the sake of creating more. You should create because it’s needed and because it’s going to do good in the world.” Sophie Chu In this Student Spotlight episode, fourth-year industrial design student Sophie Chu reflects on her journey through Ohio State’s Department of Design, from discovering industrial design as an unexpected path to developing a Capstone project centered on sustainability and circular systems. Sophie discusses how extensive field research in Franklinton, Ohio led her team to identify barriers that prevent small businesses from adopting sustainable practices, inspiring her project, Local Loops, which connects business waste with artists to create public installations that make sustainability visible within the community. We also talk about how industrial design extends beyond products into systems and services, the value of collaborative studio culture, and how her second major in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies broadened her perspective on inclusive design. The conversation concludes by touching on ethics, curiosity, and why designers should create only what is truly needed to improve people’s lives. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Jul 7

A Student Spotlight on Interior Design with Marley Labishak (#36)

Marley Labishak sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “The self doubt is very real, but know that, especially now, it might be very important to get over that and really nail down our purpose and the necessity of the designer.” Marley Labishak In this Student Spotlight episode, third-year interior design student Marley Labishak reflects on her journey from planning a career in dentistry to discovering a passion for designing spaces that shape how people think, feel and connect. Marley discusses how the first year in Design Foundations challenged her assumptions about design, strengthened her interest in interior design and taught her to think intentionally about the relationship between people and the built environment. She shares her most memorable projects, including an innovative modular system for sustainable furniture reuse, that reinforced her interests in thoughtful, human-centered design. The second half of our conversation explores Marley’s growing passion for designing spaces that improve quality of life. She walks us through a recent wellness center project for older adults that focused on lifelong learning through culinary and maker spaces, explaining how research into aging deepened her empathy and revealed how seemingly small design decisions can impact everyday experiences. We also discuss the value of curiosity, collaboration, supportive faculty relationships and the responsibility designers have to create spaces that respond thoughtfully to an increasingly complex world. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view episode transcript.
Jun 30

A Student Spotlight on Design Research and Development with Borami Kang (#35)

Borami Kang sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “It’s all about people and all about understanding people…what they do, what they need, and what they experience through the things we make. And that means to be a good designer you have to be a good person.” Borami Kang In this Student Spotlight episode, MFA candidate Borami Kang shares her journey from more than a decade in professional design leadership to studying Design Research and Development at Ohio State. After years working in branding, startups, and client-facing design roles, Borami discusses how returning to school shifted her focus from solving other people’s problems to asking her own research questions. Her thesis explores how generative AI is changing design education, examining how students, educators, researchers, and practicing designers perceive and use AI in creative work. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for designers, she argues that design education should help students critically evaluate AI as one tool within a broader research and design process. Borami shares how reflection, evidence gathering, and intentional experimentation have shaped both her teaching and research. She also offers practical advice for graduate students about embracing failure, protecting time for deep thinking, and treating everyday observations as opportunities for research. We also discuss how design education can prepare students to navigate emerging technologies while remaining grounded in human understanding, thoughtful decision making, and meaningful communication. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Jun 23

A Student Spotlight on Digital Animation and Interactive Media with Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera (#34)

Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “Design has a commitment to humanity. Even while design works with engineering…science…media…in the end it is about being human.” Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera In this Student Spotlight episode, MFA student Jorge Alberto Vega Rivera reflects on his journey from the University of Cauca in Colombia to Ohio State as a Fulbright scholar. We explore how his background as a design professor and animation practitioner shaped his research in Digital Animation and Interactive Media. Alberto discusses creating an immersive VR thesis project that transforms family memories and oral histories into interactive digital environments, blending ethnographic research, storytelling, motion capture and virtual reality design. We trace how he collected and compared family recollections, translated them across multiple media formats, and ultimately developed a framework for designing what he calls “immersive mementos.” During our conversation, he shares insights about returning to the classroom as a student after more than a decade of teaching, collaborating with younger classmates, and balancing technical experimentation with deeply personal storytelling. And we conclude with a thoughtful reflection on design’s broader responsibility to not simply to create new technologies, but to help people remain connected to what makes them human. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view the episode transcript.
Jun 16

A Student Spotlight on Design Research and Development with Kahmin Ong (#33)

Kahmin Ong sits down with host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. “You never know what you are truly interested in if you don’t try it out, then it’s easy to sift out what you don’t like doing.” Kahmin Ong In this Student Spotlight episode, Kahmin Ong reflects on a journey from studying industrial design at National University of Singapore to pursuing an MFA in Design Research and Development at Ohio State. Inspired by mentors including Brian Stone and Liz Sanders, Kahmin discusses how an early interest in design research and assistive technology evolved into her thesis, Co-Designing Across the Gaps: Visualizing System Complexities and Stakeholder Perspectives in U.S. Wheelchair Service Delivery. Our conversation explores the value of reaching beyond disciplinary boundaries, building relationships across the university and learning directly from clinicians, wheelchair users, caregivers and adaptive athletes. Through participatory design and systems visualization, Kahmin’s research reveals hidden challenges within healthcare processes while imagining more accessible futures. Along the way, she shares lessons about curiosity, mentorship and the importance of saying yes to unexpected opportunities. The episode offers listeners an insightful look at how design research can illuminate complexity, amplify lived experiences, and create meaningful connections across disciplines. This episode is part of the Student Spotlight mini-series. During the summer, we sit down with students at Ohio State DESIGN, giving them a chance to share their experiences and talk about the ideas that inspire them. You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts. Click here to view episode transcript.

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04/10/2024

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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.

Creator

Adam Fromme
Years Active

2023 - 2026
Episodes

40
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2024
Show Website

Thinking Through Design