Has 2021 been the year for you where you’ve realised that you actually want to spend time learning more, creating more and just being more, but alas all you’ve been doing is doomscrolling and actually not making sense of anything? Wishing for times you were in college; just passively learning while eating munchies at the back of the class? Aah those times! But there are some great ways to keep passively learning by listening to podcasts. A lot of you may already be listening to them and to those who are new it them, all you have to do is play them while you’re doing dishes any of the household chores.
We’ve compiled a list of top three podcasts that we feel would be the best to binge-stream, from different fields of design, so you can learn and get an insight of the industry developments. The list mentions the level of information imparted (Grade I: Beginner friendly, Grade 2 : Skill and Focus intensive and Grade 3: Industry intense) along with the duration and an episode we think you can start the stream sesh from to hop on it quick. Keep on reading, and listening!
UI/UX DIGITAL PRODUCT DESIGN :
Covering her journey from getting into art, transitioning into digital design and onward, Tolu Ajayi on the podcast covers various topics from whether UI/UI is the right career for you (Ep. 17) to the problems we face with accessibility design (Ep.12) to The Salary Talk for UX designers (Ep. 38). The podcast entails almost all questions that a young visual designer would have about UI/UX and has several guests popping in; notably POC with their experiences in the field. With a very colloquial and friendly way of explaining topics, UI Narrative has been a personal favorite for me to absorb nuggets while working on my projects.
Duration: 45 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 39 and ongoing, Bi-monthly
Level of Difficulty: Grade 1
Suggested episode: Episode 1: How I Became a UI Designer
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Soundcloud
2. What is wrong With UX? By Laura Klein and Kate Rutter :
This is such a fun fun + entertaining listen, on top of being a very informative podcast. Laura Klein and Kate Rutter bring a very honest and on-ground POV on how design works, beyond just UX, what works in design and what doesn’t. From Design Doing (Ep. Design Doing) to how to make your own UX podcast (Make Your Own UX Podcast), so meta! With a very flow-ey energy and intuitive nuggets the conversation meanders around the given topic and others in a nice cohesive way almost like hearing your two corporate leader aunties have a discussion around you. What’s even more interesting? They suggest an alcohol pairing with the episode that best brings out the flavours of the ideas too, hella cool!
Duration: 30 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 127 and ongoing, Once a monthly
Level of Difficulty: Grade 2
Suggested episode: Episode 3: What The Hell Is A Product Designer, Anyway?
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts
3. UI Breakfast by Jane Portman :
Hosted by Jane Portman, this podcast takes a deep dive into UI/UX design world and parallels of marketing, business, functioning among others. Each episode usually features a guest; this podcast boasts of some very very experienced industry technicians with actionable knowledge covering micro level topics like designing for specific services to prioritising features on an app (Ep. 189). With insightful questions by the host, its almost like a great auditory seminar while you’re having your coffee; gives much to think about, much more to work with!
Duration: 40 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 212 (on going), At least Bimonthly
Level of Difficulty: Grade 3
Suggested episode: Episode 21: Becoming a UX leader with Danny Setaiwan
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Stitcher
FASHION & APPAREL DESIGN :
A fashion history podcast by iHeartRadio, this podcast walks through so many different fashion history areas it’s impossible to ever get enough of it. This podcast takes a deep dive into “the who what when of why we wear”. Hosted by April Calahan and Cassidy Zachary, two fashion historians, this podcast not only talks about evolution of fashion apparel items but also the lifestyle, cultural and sociological events that lead up to the transformations, amazing revolutions, new developments and how they all trace back to what fashions meant throughout history in the society. With very crisp facts, examples of today and a almost a story-like approach to explaining how a certain fashion logo became what it is today, haute couture areas to the eternally mystifying if not maddening history of pockets (women y’all know what I f***** mean right). They often have recommended watching/reading material which makes it better to have a wholistic view of the things we wear and design, but never really deeply think about.
Duration: 40 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 256 (on going), Trimonthly
Level of Difficulty: Grade 2
Suggested episode: Episode 4: Branded: History of Designer Logos
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast
2. So..What Do You Do Again? By Naomi Elizée :
Started by American Vogue’s market editor Naomi Elizée, the podcast specifically talks about women of colour in different areas of fashion and lifestyle. The podcast has some very talented and accomplished women with distinct designations and roles in various areas of fashion from Fashion Directors at fashion magazines to founders, entrepreneurs among many more. Each guest brings their own story of their climb to the top with cultural influences and experiences for us to be inspired by and help us navigate the industry. Naomi Elizée tone is as soothing as her questions are inquisitive and the podcast is the perfect listen while making dinner and clearing dishes; the stories of these women will most definitely drive you to build your own, from right where you are!
Duration: 50 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 24
Level of Difficulty: Grade 2
Suggested episode: Episode 1: Rajni Jacques, Fashion Director At Allure Magazine
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Audible
3. The Wardrobe Crisis with Clare Press :
The third podcast we recommend is a sobering one but a very very important one as Australian Vogue’s Sustainability Editor Clare Press discusses the ethics, the morality and lack of it in areas of fashion and its ancillaries. With guests from different sections who talk about the exploitation of garment workers, sustainability clout and even Fashion’s take on PPE’s in a pandemic, the talks walk us through the alarming nature of the fashion industry today and the areas that we, as consumers and students more so, need to know so we can work to make it a better industry for all. Each episode has show notes on the website with more information and links for initiates and more. With a very intense-free aura to the auditory interview, the podcast talks about critical issues of the industry while keeping it very airy. Perfect for evening teas while wondering about what you can do to make a change – know the things you need to change.
Duration: 45 mins (avg.)
Episodes: 141
Level of Difficulty: Grade 2
Suggested episode: Episode 16: Fast Fashion Question Time
Stream on: Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Stitcher
Illustrations by Chanderjoat.
