“I’ve always been interested in trying to understand people. I think that’s part of design.”

Bill’s Design Talks, a vibrant series moderated by Bill, began in the spring of 2010 and featured some of the brightest design minds in the industry, including Chad Hurley of YouTube, Michael Bierut of Pentagram, Robert Wong of Google CreativeLab, product designer Scott Wilson of Minimal, landscape architect Walter Hood, and Michael Graves, among others.

Bill's Design Talks: Graphic Design—Now in Production Find out how designers today are rethinking the aesthetics, process, and public of graphic design by creating their own software and systems. Join Cooper-Hewitt's Curatorial Director, Cara McCarty, Walker Art Center Curator, Andrew Blauvelt, and interaction designer, Dimitri Nieuwenhuizen, in a lively discussion.
Bill's Design Talks: Pentagram Michael Bierut and Yve Ludwig of Pentagram talk about designing the catalog for the National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?
Bill's Design Talks: David Owen and Our Green Metropolis New York City is widely considered an ecological nightmare—a wasteland of concrete and high-rises, diesel fumes and traffic jams, garbage and pollution. But, in the groundbreaking work of contrarian environmental thinking that is Green Metropolis, David Owen declares New York City as the greenest community in America.
Bill's Design Talks: From Then to Now—The Trajectory of Design The design process has progressed from just forming objects to addressing the situations in which objects are used. This is a major theme in Ralph Caplan's seminal book By Design, expressed in the book's subtitle: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors of the Hotel Louis IV and Other Object Lessons. This year, Ralph Caplan is honored with the National Design Mind Award for his contributions to design research and scholarship.
Bill's Design Talks: Tangible Earth Professor Shinichi Takemura will demonstrate his magical Tangible Earth project, an interactive multimedia representation of our planet, presented on a glowing globe that shows real time views of daylight and weather patterns. Takemura spins the globe with his hands as he explains the meaning of the images, calling up a series of events and predictions about ocean currents, tsunamis, global warming, earthquake patterns, and so on.
Bill's Design Talks: Tangible Earth—Full Program Professor Shinichi Takemura will demonstrate his magical Tangible Earth project, an interactive multimedia representation of our planet, presented on a glowing globe that shows our world in realtime view for daylight and weather patterns. He spins it with his hands as he explains the meaning of the images, calling up a series of events and predictions about ocean currents, tsunamis, global warming, earthquake patterns and so on.
Bill's Design Talks: Michael Graves Internationally renowned architect and designer Michael Graves will provide an intimate portrait of his celebrated career and discuss the influences that shaped his thinking and approach to design—from his early days as a student and a recipient of the prestigious Prix de Rome fellowship, to his distinguished academic career at Princeton University and the development of his firm into a global design enterprise practicing architecture, interior design, product design, and graphic design.
Bill's Design Talks: YouTube Co-Founder Chad Hurley Chad Hurley, co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of YouTube, will join Bill Moggridge to discuss the role of the revolutionary video sharing platform within the changing world of mainstream media. Their conversation will examine how YouTube was designed and developed and how mainstream media has expanded and evolved in a world of emerging new patterns of media consumption.
Bill's Design Talks: Nonobject—A Sneak Preview On Wednesday, May 4, 2011, come see Branko Lukic, of Nonobject studio, in conversation with Bill Moggridge.
Bill's Design Talks: Nonobject—A Radical New Approach to Design Does form always follow function? Within the world of product design, only a few lone voices challenge this convention. Among this group of visionary individuals is Branko Lukic, Founder and Principal of Nonobject Studio. Lukic's design philosophy presents an entirely new way of developing and experiencing the world of objects and our relationship with them.
Bill's Design Talks: Jacqueline Novogratz As Acumen Fund's Founder and CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz developed the Fund's unique approach to using philanthropic capital to invest in scalable businesses that serve the poor. Her vision is that one day all human beings will have access to the critical goods and services they need—including affordable health, water, housing, energy, agricultural inputs, and services—so that they can make decisions and choices for themselves and unleash their full potential. Novogratz has led the Acumen Fund since its launch in 2001.
Bill's Design Talks: A Tribute to Eva Zeisel Eva Zeisel was an industrial designer, ceramic artist, writer, and force of nature. During her extraordinary career, which spanned nine decades, she produced highly recognizable domestic items that changed the way Americans set their tables and furnished their homes. Zeisel was widely regarded as a master of modern design, creating objects that were beautiful as well as useful. She often said that her work was the "playful search for beauty."
Bill's Design Talks: Robert Wong, Google CreativeLab Robert Wong talks about his work and life as Chief Creative Officer of Google CreativeLab in New York. Originally from Hong Kong, he lived in the Netherlands, learned to be an accountant in Canada, and suddenly converted to graphic design. From that moment forward, his influence on design and media has been profound. Featured projects:
Bill's Design Talks: Helen Walters, with Fiona Morrisson and Beth Viner Helen Walters is a writer, editor, and researcher at Doblin, whose writing has garnered her a loyal following on and offline. She writes about creativity and design for numerous publications and is a contributing editor at Creative Review magazine. Her blog, Thought You Should See This, gathers "stories, moments, and ideas of interest from within the world of innovation and design." In addition to her writing, Helen speaks about the business of design at conferences around the world.
Bill's Design Talks: Emily Oberman Emily Oberman started the design studio, Number Seventeen, in 1993 with Bonnie Siegler and developed a flourishing practice working in print, television, and online media. Emily believes that the idea is the most important part of the design process, but also adds her unique blend of creative design and inventive panache. Join Emily and Cooper-Hewitt's Director, Bill Moggridge, as they discuss Emily's work and life as a designer and her decision to join Pentagram.
Bill's Design Talks: Annabelle Selldorf Annabelle Selldorf established her practice in New York in 1988, and has acquired an international reputation for work that is sensitive to context, thoughtful in execution, and timeless. Her designs garner high praise for their subtlety and melding of Modernism with exquisite—but not precious—detail. Her current project, the Sunset Park Material Recycling Facility, is eagerly anticipated by critics and community members alike.
Bill's Design Talks: Scott Wilson Museum director, Bill Moggridge, in conversation with industrial designer, Scott Wilson.
Bill's Design Talks: Walter Hood Walter Hood, a landscape architect, professor, and author, has been praised as a "community whisperer, creating spaces that have elements the residents want before they even know it." His inclusive and innovative designs transform overlooked sites like street corners and highway underpasses into vital gathering spaces. Hs approach puts community members at the center of the design process, instead of treating them as an afterthought.