In this episode of Clever we’re deconstructing the success of New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 through a lens of design in a conversation with Ana Monroe, a civic design strategist and Akiko Kurematsu, a design and culture journalist in Auckland. New Zealand is considered a major success story in how they reacted to and contained the spread of Coronavirus, so we took a deep look at that success, by doing what designers do: taking it apart to see how it works.

Furniture and interior designer Claudia Washington grew up in El Salvador during the civil war. It was not safe for her to play outside so she spent her days clipping pictures from architecture magazines and redesigning her bedroom. In college, she predicted whom she would marry from seeing a work of his art. Now, Claudia and Harry Washington are designing work for international clients and championing design in El Salvador through a design biennale, education, artisan collaborations and economic growth.

This special Clever Extra, recorded live at RISD as the keynote presentation of Design Week RI, four creative thought leaders come together for a discussion on the power of creativity. As a social value, creativity often gets dismissed as “making things pretty” rather than being understood as the fundamental impulse and effort behind every creation. Here, with Panelists Rosanne Somerson, Sara Ossana, Umberto Crenca and Sophie Chien, we are discussing creativity as a core component of personal empowerment.

Architect and educator Elena Manferdini grew up in Italy, drawing on any surface she was allowed to, and some she wasn’t. After obtaining a degree in structural engineering, a 9-month stint in Los Angeles grew into a 22-year ongoing stay. In LA, she established her studio, Atelier Manferdini, and began teaching. Now the Chair of Graduate Programs at SCI-Arc and a new mother, she’s passionate about the exchange of information and experimenting with color as a democratizing force for architecture.

Designer, researcher and author Ingrid Fetell Lee spent her childhood traveling back and forth between divorced parents, indulging her curiosity during unstructured time, and losing herself in books and her journal. Her professional path routed her through creative writing, market research and industrial design on the way to dedicating her life to the study of joy, and helping people understand the very profound effects our surroundings have on our well-being. It’s powerful and paradigm-shifting work!

In this special Clever Extra, taped live at a Be Original Americas event in Los Angeles, we conducted 6 lightning round interviews with leaders in different areas of design and architecture. Our central question of the night: How is original design and authentic voices important to the growth and ecosystem of your industry? Our guests included Gegg Buchbinder, Elena Manferdini, Bret Englander, Amanda Dameron and Barbara Bouza. Have a listen and join the conversation with us on social media.

The President of Rhode Island School of Design, furniture designer/maker Rosanne Somerson was considered a rabble rouser in her youth for attempting to take a woodshop class while being female. Undeterred, she found her way to a BA in Industrial Design from RISD and built her name as a leader in the studio furniture movement. Now the president of RISD, having also co-founded RISD’s Furniture Design department, is carving new ways forward for arts and design education and championing the power of boredom.