Brand Rounds

#15 | Debbie Millman | Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits

May 14, 2020 Matthew Ray Scott Season 1 Episode 15
Brand Rounds
#15 | Debbie Millman | Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits
Show Notes

Debbie Millman has been named "one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company" and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is an author, educator, strategist and host of the podcast Design Matters. Design Matters is the first and longest running podcast about design and Debbie has interviewed 300 design luminaries and cultural commentators. The show has over 5 million downloads per year, a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award and iTunes designated it one of the best podcasts of 2015.


1. Describe what you do for a living to my Scottish Grandparents Vene and Cordia.

2. You've been named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, why do you prefer to wear beautiful black fashion?

3. Design Matters, the podcast you started, I believe 15 years ago, has been listed on over 100 “Best Podcasts” lists, including one of the best podcasts in the world by Business Insider. What are you learning about asking questions that help people share their unique insight?

4. Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays at the Intersection of Life and Design - what made you curious to write the book?

5. What is your definition of branding and how has it changed over the years?

6. Brand Bible, another of your six books, is a comprehensive resource on brand design fundamentals. It looks at the influences of modern design going back through time, delivering a short anatomical overview and examines brand treatments and movements in design. This description almost sounds clinical and will surely resonate with our surgeon and medical technology listening audience. What can a historical overview of how brands have developed through the 20th century teach us today?

7. You teach visual storytelling on skill share. What do you want doctors to know about storytelling and how they can think about incorporating into their practice and personal brand?

8. Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits, how did the title come to you?

9. You curated a collaboration of top brand change agents. What have you learned from creatively curating a book and engaging some of the top design and brand influencers to join you on your podcast?

10. Who is one of the most amazing people in branding today and why?

11. Where will social networking evolve from today?

12. What activity could you do all day long and never get bored?

13. What is the axiom by which you live your life?