This Italian calligrapher is regularly hailed as one of the world’s greatest working calligraphers. Combining his monkish commitment to the craft with an inventive, youthful sensibility, Barcellona’s contemporary interpretation of hand lettering has coincided with a major resurgence of calligraphy in visual culture.
Nakazato's status as a woman in Japan meant she could never take over the reins of the family business – which traditionally goes to the oldest son – but it has also given her the uncommon freedom to follow her imagination, open her own business, and live the life she chooses on two faraway continents.
The design icon lunched with 99U at Via Carota in the West Village, whose logo she created for its launch in 2015, to talk about why your studio's name matters, the reason your client’s person in charge must be present at all meetings, and what happens when you serve gelato at your studio presentations.
A-Trak and Nick "Catchdubs" Barat, DJs and founders of Brooklyn record label Fool's Gold, talk to 99U about their 10 years in the music business as friends and partners, their new brick-and-mortar retail store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and why going out on a limb for something you love makes it all worth it – even if that thing never achieves critical acclaim.
The company's principal creative director on how the small-team model works inside a big company with such a global reach and why the team's ultimate goal is bona fide, possibly-quantifiable user love.
Design is a problem-solving exercise and for punk rocker-turned-product designer and entrepreneur Neil Grimmer the problem was his own overweight body. But instead of going to a doctor, he set out to rethink the food, weight-loss, and diet industries.
The Foundation Capital partner is at the head of a new generation of Silicon Valley VC’s who did not descend from the heights of finance, but rose through the ranks of design. And, he believes, we're entering the century of the designer-founder.
An interview with Lyft's VP Creative Director, on how Lyft stays true to its fun personality while developing a brand sophistication befitting a company leading the way in autonomous driving.
