For the Love of Design Podcasts

I am an Australian, and I am not a designer.

Being an Australian, my first podcasts were from our national broadcaster - the ABC, or Australian Broadcasting Commission. I have moved on a little, but could benefit from some input from you to inform me about great design podcasts in your country. So please add them under the heading 'Your Favourite Podcasts' below.

1. By Design http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/bd1.xml
Alan Saunders has a background in philosophy and economics, and he brings a delight in excellent design to this varied podcast. The show is described on the ABC Radio website: By Design is a program about how we shape our world - a vibrant show about people and the things that surround us.

2. PRI - Design for the Real World http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/dfrw/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=11403
I've just started listening to this one. It is mainly about product design (and not any products, but ones you might be familiar with, like Q-tips and Rawlings baseball gloves). There are also a few twists, such as the history of suitcases and the origin of the visual elements we associate with Santa Claus.

3. Adaptive Path Podcast http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/category/podcasts/
I am a strong believer that most ideas never go out of date. These 2008 interviews and presentations on many aspects of digital design are still current today.

4. Catapult Young Guns http://www.abc.net.au/catapult/sound/podcast/catapult.xml
A lapsed (but still available), series of short interviews with young entrepreneurs about their product, and how they managed to get it to market. Many of these interviews address product design at the cutting edge, including prototyping, working with designers, and testing on initial customers.

5. Conversations with Richard Fidler http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/conversationspodcast.xml
A great series of hour-long interviews with people from all walks of life. If design is about people for you, many of these interviews will talk to you about how people shape their environment.

6. 37Signals Podcast http://www.abc.net.au/queensland/conversations/conversationspodcast.xml
Some excellent podcasts about Web 2.0 applications and other new technologies - especially covering user interface design, limiting features, pricing, etc. (If you like this podcast, you might particularly enjoy their books, such as Getting Real - all available at Lulu.com)

1. MediaSnackers Podcast http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/mediasnackers-podcast/id347893860 (There are two Mediasnackers entries at the iTunes store, this is the up-to-date one.)
Enthusiastic marketing-types talking about how organisations use social media - design from a web-application perspective.

2. NPR: Technology Podcast http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=1019&uid=n1qe4e85742c986fdb81d2d38ffa0d5d53
A wrap-up of recent events in technology, interspersed with more in-depth coverage of important topics.

3. Rant Theory (warning, large amounts of swearing) http://feeds.feedburner.com/rant_theory
Game design from the gamers perspective. These are some young gamers talking candidly about the computer games they play on a variety of platforms.

4. [Audio & Video] Second Life Official: Interviews, Video Tutorials & Machinima http://static-secondlife-com.s3.amazonaws.com/media/podcast/podcast.xml
Audio and video podcasts about the online experience called 'Second Life'. Design in Second Life includes terraforming, building and space design; and the design of personal avatars.

5. [Video] TED Conference Presentations http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/tedtalks-video/id160892972
Presentations on contemporary topics combining technology, entertainment and design (hence TED). Many of these are about how we deal with issues affecting space, technology and human relationships.

6. PRI: Social Entrepreneurship http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/dfrw/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=11403
A podcast I am currently testdriving. From the listings this appears to be not unlike TED, but in audio form, and less about technology and more about the ways in which our society is being re-designed to be more sustainable, and in some cases, more convenient.

If you like to listen to design podcasts, you might also be interested in design slideshows (generally created in PowerPoint). Podcasts are mostly auditory, and these slideshows are mostly visual, creating a good balance for your senses.

These are some I recommend at www.SlideShare.net:

Design Lively Elearning with Action Mapping by Cathy Moore
A process designed to undertake effective analysis (and great visual maps) going from learning requirements to learning outcomes.

Good PowerPoint Design - for business presenters by Alexander Osterwalder
A thorough presentation on how to use PowerPoint more effectively, in this case taking you from 'understanding your audience' to 'entertaining delivery'.

The Brand Gap by Coolstuff
This presentation is sub-titled 'How to bridge the distance between business strategy and design', and is an excellent examination of what brand is, including five disciplines of brand building. It is long at 162 slides, but well-worth the investment of time,

(Although they are not directly about design, if you are interested in what I've posted on SlideShare, you can see my slidespace by clicking here.)