Clever with Amy Devers
Clever is an award-winning, independent podcast that offers a window into the humanity behind the design of the world around us.In each episode, designer Amy Devers has candid and revealing conversations with the visionaries, culture-makers, and creative forces who shape our world and inform our society. Through a disarming mix of raw candor and honest shop-talk, Clever peels back the layers to unearth the gritty, authentic and sometimes surprising details of their creative paths.Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design; the shadowy, sometimes sordid, ta...
Episodes
![Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1761593600530-60216b1b-271b-4c7e-a5d1-b4aa8d630e2b.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer [encore]
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design–the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.In Episode 4: Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an …
Ep. 229: Costume Designer Virginia B. Johnson Deploys Deep Craft and Rigorous Cultural Authenticity for Powerful Storytelling
Emmy-nominated costume designer Virginia B. Johnson grew up with a “dragon mother,” which shaped her structured habits and her ability to work smoothly amid chaos. Her childhood was filled with intergenerational connection and crafting - le…
Ep. 228: Lo-TEK’s Julia Watson on Applying Indigenous Knowledge to Climate-Adaptive Design
Julia Watson, a landscape architect, author, and educator, developed a passion for global cultures and knowledge as a child in Australia, inspired by her parents' National Geographic collection. She has since dedicated her career to explori…
![Ep. 74: Aaron Draplin [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1759166043852-5ccc2903-3b47-4046-ad79-9cdccc21ce35.jpeg)
Ep. 74: Aaron Draplin [encore]
Graphic designer Aaron Draplin was born in Michigan and raised on LEGO bricks, pizza nights, punk rock & snowboarding. He spent early adulthood rolling with the “crusty undercurrent of f*ckheads” that lives to snowboard before he ventured t…
Ep. 227: Designer Cas Holman is Giving Us All Permission to Play
Cas Holman grew up playing make-believe in the woods and helping her mechanic step-dad fix cars and dune buggies. Always knowing that she didn’t check the stereotypical gender boxes, she never gave any of the other arbitrary “boxes” much cr…
Ep. 226: Neuroaesthetics Pioneer Suchi Reddy on How Form Follows Feeling
Architect, artist, and designer, Suchi Reddy, grew up in India where her home played a critical role in her appreciation of how environments shape our experiences. Now, at the helm of her architecture firm + design studio, Reddymade, she’s …
Ep. 225: Norman Teague on Cultural Storytelling Through Design
Designer, craftsman, artist and educator, Norman Teague, grew up in Chicago absorbing the sounds, colors, textures and vibes of his “hood,” fancy cars, and Auntie Aretha’s painting. A highschool Drafting elective was his first real step int…
![Ep. 158: Bringing Data to Life with Information Designer Giorgia Lupi [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1755618732952-df14ff96-de7e-4048-a6c4-9b35dd8e4416.jpeg)
Ep. 158: Bringing Data to Life with Information Designer Giorgia Lupi [encore]
Information designer and advocate for data humanism, Giorgia Lupi, spent her childhood in Italy organizing buttons in her grandmother’s tailor shop, a data collector already in the making. The teenage years had her expressing herself throug…
![Ep. 76: Todd Oldham [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1754955582632-20fc9169-eef6-4fa4-ac52-10778eec711a.jpeg)
Ep. 76: Todd Oldham [encore]
Everyone’s most beloved DIY hero, fashion designer, and creative maverick Todd Oldham grew up experimenting at the family craft table and stabbing his sister (volunteer fit model) with pins. A self-described little weirdo, he learned early …
![Ep. 183: Determined by Design’s Kia Weatherspoon is a Champion of Design Equity [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1754405467014-f9d1247d-989d-40fa-a77b-1bf05ffb4f17.jpeg)
Ep. 183: Determined by Design’s Kia Weatherspoon is a Champion of Design Equity [encore]
Interior Designer Kia Weatherspoon spent her youth making frequent trips to visit her brother in prison - a deeply dehumanizing experience that left a big impression. In the military, she was deployed shortly after 9/11 and awakened her inn…
![Ep. 207: Creative Pep Talk’s Andy J. Pizza on ADHD, the heroine’s journey, & Invisible Things [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1753736711504-a0fb5489-3409-40cb-8447-84acb71f9685.jpeg)
Ep. 207: Creative Pep Talk’s Andy J. Pizza on ADHD, the heroine’s journey, & Invisible Things [encore]
Illustrator, graphic designer, speaker and picture book-maker Andy J. Pizza grew up in the Indiana suburbs, the child of two diametrically opposite parents - dad in corporate finance and mom an artist. Often feeling out of place, he learned…
![Ep. 189: Clodagh on the Twist & Turns of Her Extraordinary Life & Career [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1753142713530-7c01a8aa-3091-4dd2-ae62-677aeaaffc7a.jpeg)
Ep. 189: Clodagh on the Twist & Turns of Her Extraordinary Life & Career [encore]
Interior designer, Clodagh, grew up in the Irish countryside running barefoot through the woods, riding horses, and rebelling. A near death experience lit a fire in her to pursue fashion and she opened her first shop at age 17. After a care…
![Ep. 140: Creative Reaction Lab CEO Antionette Carroll [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1752510195227-157c6282-5961-41ce-aebd-9bd2e94609c6.jpeg)
Ep. 140: Creative Reaction Lab CEO Antionette Carroll [encore]
Designer Antionette Carroll, born, raised, and based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a natural born leader who has been on a mission since day one. She’s the founder of Creative Reaction Lab, a nonprofit educating and deploying youth to challeng…
![Ep. 157: Designing for Dramatic Effect with Yasmine Ghoniem [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1751919148220-9d546235-ffc9-41a6-bd9c-99d343125fcf.jpeg)
Ep. 157: Designing for Dramatic Effect with Yasmine Ghoniem [encore]
Interior designer and self-described “cocktail,” Yasmine Ghoniem has lived a whirlwind life across continents, cultures, and careers. Born in Kuwait to Australian and Egyptian parents, she lived throughout the Middle East before moving to t…
![Ep. 188: Afrotectopia’s Ari Melenciano on Synthesizing, Art, Tech, Epigenetics, and more [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1751326525124-c2e42f89-e6c6-4cd6-bae1-3ce77cf05a69.jpeg)
Ep. 188: Afrotectopia’s Ari Melenciano on Synthesizing, Art, Tech, Epigenetics, and more [encore]
Artist and technologist, Ari Melenciano, spent her youth obsessed with music, art, and gadgets. A year in Barcelona, a city that valued art as she did, left a meaningful impression on her. Back in the US, frustrated at the racial inadequacy…
![Ep. 191: Rodolfo Agrella Uses Laughter as a Powerful Design Tool [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1750725046016-7e258e3a-81fb-4ecf-89a6-15cdb79eb809.jpeg)
Ep. 191: Rodolfo Agrella Uses Laughter as a Powerful Design Tool [encore]
Multidisciplinary designer, Rodolfo Agrella, grew up in Venezuela with a happy place at a kid-sized table. A self-described weirdo and excellent dancer, he put it all to work as a social butterfly. Now at the helm of an award-winning studio…
![Ep. 211: The Soulful Renovations of House of Rolison [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1750171123305-9e99dc65-1b2a-43ea-8756-4ef4898f8829.jpeg)
Ep. 211: The Soulful Renovations of House of Rolison [encore]
Co-founders of House of Rolison, Amanda Leigh and Taylor Hahn, grew up on opposite coasts but were both self-described angsty teens. Both had a deep love for art and architecture, choosing different professional paths before they met online…
![Ep. 160: Peeking into the Creative World of Pop-Polymath Willo Perron [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1749576720668-7b8095a8-d993-4871-8f13-a3d83c7e9ef3.jpeg)
Ep. 160: Peeking into the Creative World of Pop-Polymath Willo Perron [encore]
Live experience & interior designer Willo Perron grew up in Montreal surrounded by creativity. An industrious kid, he dropped out of high school at 14 to follow his own entrepreneurial and creative path. He got his start around the nightclu…
![Ep. 97: Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr. Sahar Yousef [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1748963137287-97dff031-08d2-4283-bf6f-37642bbf13c6.jpeg)
Ep. 97: Cognitive Neuroscientist Dr. Sahar Yousef [encore]
Cognitive neuroscientist Sahar Yousef grew up in the Bay Area, the daughter of Iranian immigrants. She became fascinated by human consciousness at a young age and she followed that curiosity to studies in philosophy, then all the way to a P…
![Ep. 218: The Exquisite Love, Magic and Maximalism of Londubh Studio [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1748299699273-b5abd588-a5ed-426f-b4ca-3f9808463ca0.jpeg)
Ep. 218: The Exquisite Love, Magic and Maximalism of Londubh Studio [encore]
Custom surface artists Lisa Donohoe and Brynn Gelbard met and fell in love in the queer underbelly scene of San Francisco in 2002, a time before bi-national same-sex marriage was legal. Their diverse community was built on love, curiosity a…
Ep. 224: Charlotte McCurdy is Charting the Path to a Very Desirable Bio-Based Future
Charlotte McCurdy is a designer, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of climate change, futures, and materials. She shares how her work—"charismatic objects" such as a carbon-negative raincoat and a high-fashion algae sequi…
Ep. 223: Dan Heath's "Unnatural" Curiosity Provides a Feast of Revelatory Insights
Dan Heath, author (or co-author) of bestselling books like Made to Stick and most recently, Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working, and host of the podcast What It’s Like to Be has a self-described “unnatural curiosity” that leads him head…
![Ep. 122: Design Advocate Jessie McGuire [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1745286245621-bb4b51e9-5a37-4852-b9e0-20719a780d0a.jpeg)
Ep. 122: Design Advocate Jessie McGuire [encore]
Branding & design strategist Jessie McGuire was born in El Salvador and adopted by a “wholehearted feminist” single mother. She grew up exploring her creativity and getting encouragement to go to art school. After a few degrees and a slew o…
![Ep. 215: Kinfolk’s Idris Brewster Uses AR to Empower Collective Memory Building [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1744679482710-9b495396-2e22-478f-9b32-2e2aa2fd1260.jpeg)
Ep. 215: Kinfolk’s Idris Brewster Uses AR to Empower Collective Memory Building [encore]
Artist, creative technologist, and educator, Idris Brewster grew up in Brooklyn, being filmed for a documentary about his education as a black student at a prestigious, primarily white, school. His coming-of-age, only partially caught on ca…
Ep. 222: Stop Disrupting, Start Caring with ustwo’s CEO Nicki Sprinz
CEO of digital experience studio, ustwo, Nicki Sprinz, was born in London and attended a convent primary school with strict rules that tended to squash curiosity - something she has had to consciously unlearn in the years since. A couple of…
Ep. 221: Blu Dot’s John Christakos on Combining Artistic Vision and Business Acumen
John Christakos, co-founder and CEO of Blu Dot, grew up taking road trips with his father to textile mills, skipping school in favor of real-world experiences. He went on to double major in economics and studio art, a combination of creativ…
![Ep 45: Fashion Designer Mary Ping [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1741737069305-9e11fab3-f565-4332-9422-0cf71a4ff26f.jpeg)
Ep 45: Fashion Designer Mary Ping [encore]
Fashion designer Mary Ping was influenced at a young age by a stylish grandmother who taught her to sew. Always knowing she’d one day run her own label, she studied art at Vassar and worked in east London’s scene before founding her concept…
Ep. 220: Designing Belonging: Alma Jimenez Lopez on Art, Heritage, and Home
Alma Jimenez Lopez is a creative force — a designer, artist, and curator who builds bridges between cultures and communities. In this episode, she shares how growing up as a first-generation Mexican American shaped her superpower: empathy. …
Clever Confidential Ep. 6: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Florence Broadhurst
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series where we dig into the lesser told stories of the darker side of design; the shadowy, sometimes sordid, tales hiding under a glossy top coat of respectable legacy.In this episode we peel back t…
![Clever Confidential Ep. 2: The Supernatural Beginnings of The Bradbury Building [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1738632490868-1a49f29a-7703-4415-8825-ebea14da4070.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 2: The Supernatural Beginnings of The Bradbury Building [encore]
In the heart of downtown Los Angeles sits Hollywood’s undisputed architectural superstar — the Bradbury Building. The imposing structure’s character is definitive. Its origin story, however, is much murkier… How did a young draftsman design…
![Clever Confidential Ep. 5: Eileen Gray and the Aura of E-1027 [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1738030067266-4340360f-5974-4634-94aa-d9533b872d6e.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 5: Eileen Gray and the Aura of E-1027 [encore]
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.In Ep. 5 we explore the haunting tale of E-1027, an archi…
![Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1737415215277-46760e8e-bd73-4851-92bc-c68dd2e9f3c6.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer [encore]
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an Italian desi…
![Clever Confidential Ep. 3: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Murders at Taliesin [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1736731309816-28076d74-6c67-46cb-973d-1cf43f3c373b.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 3: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Murders at Taliesin [encore]
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.On the afternoon of August 14th, 1915, fire ripped throug…
![Clever Confidential Ep. 1: The Strange Disappearance of Norman Jaffe [encore]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1736212151694-57250073-94d6-4451-b44e-95c9ae4ad1f9.jpeg)
Clever Confidential Ep. 1: The Strange Disappearance of Norman Jaffe [encore]
On the morning of August 19th, 1993, mid-century architect, Norman Jaffe, parked his car in his client’s driveway, walked to Ocean Beach in Bridgehampton, New York, stripped down, folded his clothes, and dove into the Atlantic. He never ret…
![Ep. 212: HODINKEE’s Ben Clymer on Agency, Permanence, and the Talismans of Life [rebroadcast]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1734394457067-d5df9858-d476-4096-8041-d636704b6f7c.jpeg)
Ep. 212: HODINKEE’s Ben Clymer on Agency, Permanence, and the Talismans of Life [rebroadcast]
Ben Clymer grew up in a New York suburb, raised by middle-class public school teachers and enamored by his grandfather’s swagger and style. An Omega Speedmaster, a gift from said grandfather, is the piece that captured his heart and sets hi…
Clever Confidential Ep. 5: Eileen Gray and the Aura of E-1027
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.In Ep. 5 we explore the haunting tale of E-1027, an archi…
Ep. 219: Federico Negro on Making Tools to Empower and Scale Sustainable Design
Founder and CEO of Canoa, Federico Negro, was born in Uruguay during a time of political turmoil and lived in four countries by age 14. As a teenager in Chicago, he used music as a means of learning English, and during college became fascin…
Clever Confidential Ep. 4: Olivetti and the Race to Create the First Personal Computer
Clever Confidential is Clever’s offshoot series, where we dig into the darker side of design - the shadowy, sometimes sordid tales hiding under a glossy topcoat of respectable legacy.Before Silicon Valley, there was Olivetti—an Italian desi…
Ep. 218: The Exquisite Love, Magic and Maximalism of Londubh Studio
Custom surface artists Lisa Donohoe and Brynn Gelbard met and fell in love in the queer underbelly scene of San Francisco in 2002, a time before bi-national same-sex marriage was legal. Their diverse community was built on love, curiosity a…
![Ep. 170: Deem Journal’s Nu Goteh on Facilitating All Things Awesome [rebroadcast]](https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61b7709a16956261f5e950ae/1727743467572-3c7ce976-aef4-45c3-ad9c-d4911a6454f6.jpeg)
Ep. 170: Deem Journal’s Nu Goteh on Facilitating All Things Awesome [rebroadcast]
Co-Founder of Deem Journal, designer Nu Goteh was born in Liberia and came to the US with his family as a refugee at the age of 3. His first career ambition, as a model son of African parents, was to become a doctor / lawyer. But as a sneak…