In the final episode of Season 2, host Doug Powell speaks with renowned design leader and author Kevin Bethune. Kevin’s remarkably divergent career spans engineering, business, and design over more than 25 years. He’s worked as a nuclear engineer at Westinghouse Nuclear, launched sneaker brands at Nike, and consulted with global enterprises at BCG. Kevin currently leads Dreams • Design + Life, a think tank that delivers design & innovation services using a human-centered approach.
A Board Trustee for ArtCenter College of Design and a Board Director for the Design Management Institute, Kevin is the author of one of the top design books of recent years, Reimagining Design: Unlocking Strategic Innovation, which was published by MIT Press in 2022. Kevin’s next book, Nonlinear: Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction will be published in February of 2025.
Look for new episodes in 2025!
As an executive design leader, Doug Powell is fascinated by the experience of designers moving into new leadership roles. For most, this is completely uncharted territory; the jobs are often undefined and there is rarely a roadmap or playbook to help us succeed, so most of us have had to learn on the job. In each episode of This is a Prototype, Powell invites design leaders who have traveled a variety of life and career journeys to share their stories, compare notes, and talk about what it takes to be a leader in this new era of design.