3. Nick Scappaticci

In this episode of The Iowa Idea Podcast, I sit down with my friend Nick Scappaticci, co-founder and CEO of Tellart. Tellart formed over 20 years ago is an experience design firm filled with fantastic explorers, inventors, and storytellers. In 2016, Tellart was recognized for their contributions to interaction design and received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award.

We discuss the power of narrative in design, how narrative and experiential design help us understand complex ideas. Our conversation covers narratives, complexity, meaning, design, and why it’s important to carry a sketchbook. We touch upon the ways Tellart approaches technology in experience design as well their fantastic documentary series “Design Nonfiction.”  We explore technology as a material in design, rather than a solution.

The concepts design nonfiction, storytelling, and information design combine to impact experiential design and how Tellart prototypes at scale to examine preferable futures. We cover the importance of drawing and creating a visual language in prototyping and design, and the intention of design. At its heart, design is still a collaborative and iterative process that requires us to not hold our solutions as precious.

“Show me your sketch book. Don’t show me what you’ve done, show me how you’ve done it.”

I hope you enjoy the episode.

About Nick

Nick leads Tellart in high-level operational and strategic decisions, while still being involved in details of project development, execution, and troubleshooting. He is responsible for leading a staff of strategists, designers and technologists, and for creating a cohesive cultural environment at Tellart that enables project and career success.

Nick studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He is currently a member of the Adjunct Faculty at RISD where he teaches interface design and senior studio.

About Tellart

Explorers, inventors, storytellers.

https://www.tellart.com/index.html

Tellart’s Design Nonfiction documentary series – https://www.tellart.com/projects/designnonfiction/

Credits

Thank you to Nick Scappaticci – https://www.tellart.com/index.html

Episode produced by Spark Consulting Group in Iowa City, with support from Executive Podcast Solutions.

Intro and outro music performed by Paisley Bible.