Calculate the right measurements for design across devices — New devices are always coming online, offering new formats, screen sizes, and pixel densities that you’ll want your product to accommodate. If Googling doesn’t give you the numbers you need, or you just want to show off your math skills, here’s a relatively easy way to determine the relevant metrics…

The time, place, and identity encoded in a new typeface — This story is cross-posted from my portfolio at iamli.am Girassol is a display typeface, inspired by the hand-painted street signs in and around Carcavelos, Portugal. …

GMUNK on the psychedelic origins of his aesthetic and the importance of discomfort — In this episode, Liam speaks with Bradley Munkowitz, also known as designer/director GMUNK, unpacking Munkowitz’s scintillating psychedelic aesthetic — inspired by actual psychedelic experiences — and why it’s important as a designer to continually challenge and be challenged, maintaining a healthy discomfort with one’s own work.

Exploring our shared vulnerabilities — and shared futures — in ink and code — In this episode, Liam speaks with interdisciplinary artist and creative coder Qianqian Ye in her San Francisco studio. …

On getting to know your tools and the art only technology can create — In this episode, Liam speaks with new media artist Harvey Moon in his San Francisco studio. …

Artist Conor Grebel unpacks the relationship between his personal experiences and creative work — In this episode, Liam speaks with Conor Grebel about how lived experiences inform and are conveyed through creative work. Our conversation traces Conor’s journey toward creative work and the “ingredients” that help him craft soothing art for himself and others. Note: The first half of this episode deals with topics…

Bayonet Records founders Katie Garcia and Dustin Payseur on collaborating with musicians — In this episode, Liam speaks with Katie Garcia and Dustin Payseur, who together run independent music label Bayonet Records. Garcia and Payseur (who also leads the band Beach Fossils) break down the complex relationship between a record label and the creative work it supports, the qualities of sonic design, and…

Host Liam Spradlin reflects on the first 25 episodes of the podcast — In this episode, guest host Barbara Eldredge turns the tables, interviewing regular host Liam Spradlin about his own creative journey and reflecting on the themes that unite the first 25 episodes of Design Notes. Subscribe Google Podcasts | iTunes | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSS Transcript …

MoMA’s Rob Giampietro on how design shapes our understanding of the world around us — In this episode, Liam speaks with Rob Giampietro, Design Director at the Museum of Modern Art. Giampietro shares his journey from studio designer to design manager, explores the unseen details of a museum experience, and describes the responsibility designers have to create impact. Subscribe Google Podcasts…