Everything is a Prototype: The DMBA Podcast

 THE FUTURE OF THINGS: AI as a new material for Design. On Saturday, Apr 5, chairs from the Design Division at CCA co-moderated an insightful panel discussion that explored the transformative role of design in shaping the future of products, services, and systems enabled by generative, agentic, and distributed physical AI. Moving beyond the conventional focus on AI as a set of tools for designing, our expert panelists discussed how designers can reimagine and craft the next generation of "things"—from rethinking transportation and healthcare to reinventing how we cook, shop, communicate, entertain, and/or safeguard our communities from natural disasters. This conversation highlighted design’s power to envision future lifestyles, steer technological evolution, and generate lasting value for communities and our planet.Panelists:Lauren Bedal / ArchetypeAI - Design, Product LeadTim Belonax / Anthropic - BrandTJ McLeish / CCA MDes Faculty + AI ExpertKarl Willis / Autodesk - Senior Research ManagerModerators:Justin Lokitz, DMBA and Elena Pacenti, MDes

In this episode, we break down innovation to its very core with Rio Cruz Morales, a DMBA, multi-time startup founder, and Senior Product Manager of AI Foundations @ Velocity Black. Rio is a product and innovation expert, who created the Product Experimentation Method and framework to help others do what they do. And...what's so cool about Rio, is they found the DMBA by happenstance. In a word, Rio is awesome!

In this episode, we get deep into the startup space with AK Raja, a DMBA alum and former EY Design Strategist, and JJ Velez, a former software engineer from Apple. This dynamic duo is working on Lawgical, a tech startup focused on helping law firms (and companies) streamline their immigration paperwork. Check them out here: https://demo.lawgical.app/auth

This entire episode is one big prototype. Rather than talk to real humans, we’ve asked Google’s NotebookLM tool to create a discussion around the value of the DMBA. I think the insights are pretty spot on. What do you think? 

In this episode, we dive deep into design strategy with Izzy Shu, Dave Korstad, and Tony Jimenez, the DMBA alumni behind the amazing alternative milk brand JOI. Enjoy!

Hi, welcome to Everything Is a Prototype, The DMBA podcast, where we talk all things design strategy…and prototypes. In this episode, Jinney Kho, a former interior architect and recent DMBA grad, talks about her journey and how she has designed a new path as a design strategist and startup founder. Enjoy! 

Hi, welcome to Everything Is a Prototype, The DMBA podcast, where we talk all things design strategy…and prototypes. In this episode, Jo Marini, a DMBA alum, professor, and kickass entrepreneur, discusses her amazing new company Mothership Materials, and how she plans on saving the world. Enjoy!

In this exciting episode, Kirsten, Michelle, Bhumika, and Julia, current DMBA students (C15s), discuss how the DMBA is helping them to design their next lives and careers and why they decided to co-create the first ever Career Design Club within the DMBA…which helps other DMBA students design their own next thing. Enjoy! 

In many respects, Franzi Sessler and Tony Gui, are typical DMBAs. They traveled from far and wide to get to San Francisco to join a program and community that they hoped would help them redesign their lives. Typical right? But, like ALL DMBAs, Franzi's and Tony's stories are so much more than typical! In this episode -- newly minted as "Everything is a Prototype: The DMBA Podcast" (thank you for the suggestion Anita Chordia!) -- Franzi and Tony talk about their lives before the DMBA and just how much their experiences in the program changed them...and, of course, how they built a thriving business, called Kreatives, by prototyping everything along the way. Enjoy!

Though Andy Greenwood is 100% an audio engineer, in many respects he's like the Clark Kent/Superman of the audio engineering world. Though he may show up with all of the real-world experience and chops of a world-class engineer, he uses his design strategy superpowers and creative confidence to help break down walls and get others to think about the human experience + business...even if they didn't think that was their job. In this fun conversation, we discuss what it's like being a design strategist with an audio engineer title at Apple and how Andy spends his free time, mixing audio at Jazz fest in New Orleans, where he recently won a Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album, for his work with Ranky Tanky.