The Crit #24: Nick Foster
What do designers consider their strongest works, and which past projects do they wish they could forget? The Crit, a podcast by Disegno, has the answers!
Each fortnight, Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford invites a leading designer to Kef Music Gallery to review their own work. Our guest reveals what worked best; what failed; what pushed their career to new heights; what feedback most shaped their practice; and what they feel needs to be redesigned.
At the end of each episode, to complete their crit, they’ll be asked to give themselves a grade for their career to date: fail, pass, commendation or distinction.
It’s a design-school crit, delivered every fortnight! Subscribe to the show here, or sign up wherever you get your podcasts from.
Our twenty-third guest on The Crit is Lise Vester, accompanied by show host Oli Stratford.
Episode #24: Nick Foster
Nick Foster is a Royal Designer for Industry, whose work is focused on using design to examine the future. Rather then plunge into sci-fi possibilities, however, he advocates a rounded approach towards conceiving of what may come next, grounding the future in the more mundane considerations of everyday life.
Having recently launched his new book, Could Should Might Don’t, which explore different ways in which we might frame and conceive of the future, Foster’s time on The Crit is marked by reflections on how conceiving of different futures can be supported by design, and the pitfalls that this activity brings.
Foster has previously worked within organisations including Nokia, Sony, Dyson and Google, for whom he served as head of deign in the Google X division. In contrast to previous guests on The Crit, whose work is typically public facing, Foster’s design is largely internal to the organisations within which he works, supporting and challenging colleagues across different departments.
Show Notes: Nick Foster
Best design: Google’s Selfish Ledger
Worst design: Early-career, “thirsty could” design work
Most successful design: Projects that have left stakeholders with a better understanding of the breadth of what design is
Most impactful feedback: “Are you sure?”
Dream design: Black Mirror
This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery London.
The Crit’s graphics were created by Leonhard Rothmoser.
The Crit’s music was created by Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki.