Faces of Design
Practitioner profiles revealing the people behind today's design work.
Faces of Design profiles individuals shaping the architecture and design industry through their work and expertise. Each episode spotlights a practitioner's approach to design challenges, client relationships, and creative problem-solving in the built environment. The channel offers a human perspective on what drives design decisions at the professional level.
Excellence in AEC emerges from risk, reinvention, and voice.
Faces of Design profiles architects and designers who revived failing firms, left secure jobs to lead, and built audiences by breaking the status quo. Evidence comes from founder journeys and the measurable outcomes of their choices.
Faces of Design argues that the most influential figures in architecture and design are those willing to abandon convention, take on financial risk, and speak authentically to their industry. The channel supports this through founder and principal narratives: Eric Edelson took Fireclay Tile from a dying company during the 2008 recession to one worth several million dollars and growing at an unprecedented rate; Sarah Kuchar left a prominent architecture firm at 33 to start her own studio; Bob Borson turned spare time and curiosity into a blog that became one of the most trafficked architecture websites in the world.
Drawn from Faces of Design: Behind the Fire with Eric Ede… and 3 more →
“I saw myself more and more going against the stream with the designs I was creating. I think that's probably what started the idea.”
Sarah Kuchar, interior designer and studio founder
By the numbers
What the channel argues
Who and what shows up
Eric Edelson
CEO, Fireclay Tile
Took a dying tile company during the 2008 recession and grew it to multimillion dollars at unprecedented rate through modernization.
Paul Burns
Founder, Fireclay Tile
Lifetime tile craftsperson who founded Fireclay in 1986 after working in tile factories since age 12, establishing a company later revived by Edelson.
Sarah Kuchar
Interior designer and studio founder
Left a prominent architecture firm at 33 to launch her own studio, articulating the role of design misalignment in entrepreneurial choice.
Bob Borson
Principal, Malone Maxwell Borson Architects
Built Life of an Architect blog into one of the world's most trafficked architecture websites by publishing authentic, down-to-earth content.
Jonathon Kemnitzer
Co-founder, KEM Studio
Built a multidisciplinary architecture firm by partnering with Brad Satterwhite to solve a real client problem nearly two decades ago.
Questions this channel answers
What does it take to leave a secure job and start your own design or architecture firm?
Sarah Kuchar found the catalyst in going against the stream with her designs; starting required her to solve operational questions including office space, website creation, and accounting, often working late into the night.
Faces of Design: Designing Your Future With Sarah Kuchar →How can a traditional product company stay relevant in a modern market?
Fireclay Tile integrated technology with centuries-old tile craft and changed how architects and designers purchase materials, challenging the status quo despite its 30-year-old foundation.
Faces of Design: Reviving the Fire →Can content creation and blogging build real industry influence for architects?
Yes; Bob Borson's Life of an Architect blog became one of the most trafficked architecture websites globally by delivering engaging, down-to-earth, and authentic content aimed at informing and entertaining rather than impressing.
Faces of Design: Design Conversations with Bob Borson →How do successful architecture partnerships form?
KEM Studio co-founders Jonathon Kemnitzer and Brad Satterwhite began working together by solving a real-world problem, bringing industrial design into an architecture firm stuck on a difficult project, then fused disciplines over nearly two decades.
Faces of Design: Jonathon Kemnitzer →Best place to start
Faces of Design: Reviving the FireEstablishes the channel's core thesis through Fireclay Tile's origin, stagnation, and recovery, grounding abstract ideas in a real company.
Faces of Design: Designing Your Own FutureShows the personal stakes and mechanics of leaving security to build independently, illustrating why authenticity and misalignment matter.Industry context
AI adoption in AEC has moved beyond pilot programs to active use on live projects with measurable results, marking a shift toward practical implementation across firms.
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