True is Better Than New: David Reinfurt on Evolving Graphic Design Education

True is Better Than New: David Reinfurt on Evolving Graphic Design Education

Author: Liam Spradlin July 1, 2025 Duration: 45:02

In this episode, designer, educator, and author David Reinfurt returns to the show to discuss his latest book, A *Co-* Program for Graphic Design. Born from a series of lectures delivered remotely, online, and together with collaborators and cooperators, the new book builds on his earlier "spoken" book, exploring some unexpected and intuitive overlaps between design and the rest of the world around us.

In conversation, Liam and David cover the power of hands-on learning, the importance of going against expectations as a designer, and the positionality of design—its closeness to everyday life, how it affects those that encounter it, and how it's taught—and how individual perspective is the real driver of design as a practice.

Read a full transcript.

 

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background
08:53 Teaching as Performance
14:34 The Role of Collaboration in Design
18:26 Diverse Perspectives in Design Education
21:55 Exploring Design Space and Topology
26:34 Hands-On Learning in Design Education
30:13 Art and Design
32:34 Creating Space for Reflection in Design
36:34 The Evolution of Design Conventions
39:38 The Bait and Switch
42:04 Individual Perspectives in Design

Liam Spradlin hosts Design Notes, a podcast that digs into the realities of creative work from a distinct perspective. As a Senior UX Designer at Google who thinks deeply about interface philosophy, Liam brings a particular curiosity to each conversation. He doesn't just interview designers in the traditional sense; instead, he seeks out voices from a wide array of unique creative fields, from illustrators and architects to ceramicists and type designers. The core of each episode lies in uncovering the shared threads-the inspirations, challenges, and fundamental principles-that connect these diverse practices. Listening feels like sitting in on a thoughtful dialogue between practitioners, where the lessons learned in one discipline often shed surprising light on another. You'll hear how problem-solving in UX resonates with the constraints of a physical craft, or how narrative thinking in writing informs a visual project. This isn't about technical tutorials or portfolio reviews. It's about the human experience behind the work and the broader understanding we gain from it. Through these genuine exchanges, the Design Notes podcast builds a compelling case for how creative thinking bridges disciplines and cultures, offering listeners a richer sense of their own creative journey, whatever form it may take.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 65

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