Ellen McGirt

Lee Moreau|Audio

The Past, Present and Future of Design with Lee Moreau, DB|BD Season 12 Finale

Ellen McGirt|Fresh Ink

What happens when the social safety net disappears?

Exploring how fear, design, and the loss of safety nets shape our ability to survive—and to care.

Ellen McGirt|Profiles

How to make a horror film with no money, no script, and lots of friends

Ellen McGirt|Recommended Books

Booked and Blessed

Erik Carter’s new book, Design Harder, takes aim at the state of graphic design, critiquing capitalism, sameness, and creative complacency with humor and heart.

Ellen McGirt|Peru's Sacred Valley

Ashley Lukasik is designing a more meaningful way to convene

Introducing a series on design lessons learned from a multi-disciplinary immersion in Peru’s Sacred Valley

Ellen McGirt|Conversations

"Design addresses itself to the need."

We asked, you answered. How your feedback is shaping Design Observer’s future.

Ellen McGirt|Audio

On Location at the Aspen Institute Part 2: Redesigning Leadership

Ellen McGirt|Analysis

Authoritarian by design

The “America by Design” initiative proposes that one man alone can define “design” for the country.

Ellen McGirt|Essays

Lessons in wandering

Explore the lessons in wandering, how small gestures, humility, and human connection shape meaningful travel experiences.

Ellen McGirt|Audio

On Location at the Aspen Institute Part 1: Diving Into Disruption

Ellen McGirt|Fresh Ink

Introducing ‘AI Observer’

A new channel to meet the moment we’re in, using the tools we’ve always relied on: reporting, conversation, critique, context, discernment, community, and play.

Ellen McGirt

Red, white, and much ado

A witty July 4th reflection on vintage postcards, American myth-making, and what a modern "Safe and Sane" movement might look like today.