Design Lab with Bon Ku

Latest Episodes:

EP 39: Designing Cities | Inga Saffron Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

Inga Saffron has been the Philadelphia Inquirer’s architecture critic since 1999. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and a Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. In June 2020, Rutgers University Press published a selection of her columns, "Becoming Philadelphia: How an old American city made itself new again." She is also the author of a cultural history of the sturgeon, "Caviar: The Strange and Uncertain Future of the World’s Most Coveted Delicacy." Before becoming the Inquirer’s architecture critic, she worked as a foreign correspondent for the Inquirer in Russia and the former Yugoslavia, where she covered the wars in Bosnia and Chechnya, and witnessed the destruction of Sarajevo and Grozny. Bon asks Inga about her journey in becoming an architecture critic, transforming public spaces through design and why diseases are the most powerful architects.

EP 38: Designing Childbirth | Neel Shah Jul 29, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Neel Shah, MD, MPP is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School (part-time), and Chief Medical Officer of Maven Clinic, the largest virtual clinic for women's and family health. As an obstetrician-gynecologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Neel cares for patients at critical life moments that range from childbirth to primary care to surgery. As a scientist and social entrepreneur, he is a globally recognized expert in designing solutions that improve health care, and is listed among the "40 smartest people in health care" by the Becker's Hospital Review. His work to build equitable, trustworthy systems of care has been profiled by the New York Times, CNN, and other outlets, and is featured in a forthcoming documentary produced by Oprah Winfrey and Yance Ford. He has written more than 50 peer-reviewed academic papers and contributed to four books. Prior to joining the Harvard faculty, Neel founded Costs of Care, an NGO that curates insights from clinicians and patients to help delivery systems provide better care. In 2017, he co-founded the March for Moms Association, a coalition of more than 20 leading organizations, to increase public and private investment in the wellbeing of mothers. Neel serves on the national advisory board of the Office of Women's Health Research at the National Institutes of Health, and as founding director and senior advisor to the Delivery Decisions Initiative at Ariadne Labs. Bon and Neel talk about why so many women in the U.S. die in childbirth, affirming dignity in healthcare, and Neel’s mission on redesigning childbirth.

EP 37: Designing Equitable Health Environments | Kati Peditto Jul 22, 2021

Show notes

Kati Peditto, PhD is an environmental psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She received her PhD in Human Behavior and Design from Cornell University and completed postdoctoral training under Dr. Mardelle Shepley. Her research focuses on providing equitable health environments for adolescents and young adults, ranging from pediatric cancer facilities to college health centers. She is the recipient of the 2018 New Investigator Award from The Center for Health Design, and a 2018 AIA-AAH Tuttle Fellow in Health Facility Planning and Design. Bon and Kati talk about the psychology of indoor spaces, the function of healthcare spaces and the relationship between nature and healthcare outcomes.

EP 36: Designing to Improve Life for People | Rama Gheerawo Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

Rama Gheerawo is the director of The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Rama is an international figure within design. He won a Design Week ‘Hall of Fame’ award in 2019 and was named a 2018 Creative Leader by Creative Review alongside Paul Smith and Björk. He uses design to address diversity through age, ability, gender and race. He is a serial innovator in the field of Inclusive Design and Design Thinking having led over 100 international projects with government, business, academia and the third sector with clients such as Samsung, Toyota, AgeUK and Panasonic. He champions inclusive and empathic approaches through his pathfinding work in Creative Leadership, having trained thousands of people including over 700 civil servants. Bon and Ramna talk about inclusive design, the magic of designers working in healthcare and how Indian classical music served as a training ground for a career in design.

EP 35: Designing for Patients and Caregivers | Deborah Adler Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

Deborah Adler is a designer, inventor, and entrepreneur with a focus on health and beauty. Her studio, Adler Design, is guided by the belief that meaningful innovation requires a deep understanding of the people at the heart of their work, and the changing world that surrounds them. Adler is the inventor and lead designer behind Target’s ClearRx and CVS Health’s ScriptPath, both award-winning systems designed to help millions of people take and manage their medications. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and has been shown at the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Adler worked closely with Milton Glaser for five years as his senior designer, and has served on the AIGA National Board of Directors. Bon and Deborah talk about the legendary designer Milton Glaser, redesigning the pill bottle and how to design more confidence for patients and caregivers.

EP 34: Designing Urgent Care | Richard Park May 27, 2021

Show notes

Richard Park, MD is a health care investor, entrepreneur and board certified emergency medicine physician. In 2010, He founded and led as CEO, CityMD, an urgent care practice with over 130 locations and 650 physicians in the Greater New York area. In 2019, CityMD merged with Summit Medical Group and expanded to over 200 locations and 1500 physicians in 70 medical and surgical specialties. He is co-founder with his business partner In Seon Hwang, of Ascend Capital Partners, a middle market growth private equity fund investing in healthcare service providers. Bon and Rich talk about starting one of the largest urgent care chains in the U.S., investing in vulnerable populations and how running a one-hour photo store helped Rich develop the skill set to be a healthcare entrepreneur.

EP 33: Designing Cures | David Fajgenbaum May 13, 2021

Show notes

Dr. David Fajgenbaum is a groundbreaking physician-scientist, disease hunter, speaker, and author. He went from being a beast-like college Quarterback to receiving his last rites while in medical school and nearly dying four more times battling Castleman disease. To try to save his own life, David spearheaded an innovative approach to research through the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and discovered a treatment that is saving his life and others. He described his journey and lessons learned in Chasing My Cure, which has been translated into five languages, named one of the “Best Non-Fiction Books of 2019,” and profiled by Good Morning America, CNN, and BBC News, among others. Now, he is leading the effort to find treatments for Castleman disease, COVID-19, and other diseases. One of the youngest individuals ever appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine and the top 1 percent youngest grant awardees of a leading NIH grant (R01), David Fajgenbaum has been profiled in a cover story by The New York Times, recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and has received numerous awards.

Bon and David talk about redesigning the current approach to pharmaceutical treatment of diseases, crowdsourcing in healthcare and why patients can’t wait for miracles.

EP 32: Designing Sound Baths | Sara Auster May 06, 2021

Show notes

Sara Auster is a sound therapist, meditation teacher and author. She has spent the past decade introducing sound baths to audiences and unique environments all across the globe. Sara’s transformative experiences and original teaching method have made her a leader in the sound bath movement, helping deep listening and sound meditation go mainstream. Her first book, SOUND BATH: Meditate, Heal and Connect through Listening, an unprecedented and comprehensive guide to sound baths, was published in November 2019, by Simon & Schuster.

EP 31: Designing for Social Change | Penina Acayo Laker Apr 29, 2021

Show notes

Penina Acayo Laker is a graphic designer, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research and creative practice explore how human-centered, research-driven design methodologies catalyze unique ideas to address complex societal challenges facing communities in St. Louis and Uganda. She has collaborated on an award-winning project that used simplified iconography to communicate ailments associated with the spread, prevention, and treatment of malaria in Kibera, Kenya. Penina earned an MFA in Visual Communication Design from Kent State University and a BA in Art from Goshen College. As a component of her MFA thesis, she developed a secondary-level design curriculum that was inspired by the paucity of design education in Uganda. This subsequently inspired the creation of DesignEd Uganda workshops that Acayo Laker organizes and facilitates over the summer to equip young people with skills in design and creative problem-solving. Penina is also the faculty advisor for a new minor in Creative Practice for Social Change that exposes students to processes designers, artists and architects use to address systemic economic, environmental and social challenges.

Bon and Penina discuss learning to design for the true needs of people, bringing design education to youth in Uganda and the value of design in healthcare.

EP 30: Designing Healthcare Spaces | Abbie Clary Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

Abbie Clary supports the growth and development of CannonDesign's global healthcare practice — focusing specifically on market differentiation, business growth and client engagement. Responsible for overseeing more than $2.5 billion in healthcare projects over the last 22 years, Abbie has become an expert at helping organizations rethink their strategies and facility investments to better respond to consumer expectations and achieve new levels of business success. Her passion lies in the realms of academic medicine and translational health sciences — helping institutions break down physical and cultural barriers to push innovation and medical breakthroughs forward. Abbie is all-in on design thinking, cognitive diversity, storytelling, compassion and doing the right thing. Passionate about women’s issues and equality in the profession, Abbie pursues opportunities to encourage diversity in all of its embodiments. Bon and Abbie talk about healthcare architecture, the impact of Covid-19 on the future design of hospitals and improving the patient experience through the built environment.

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