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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.

7 episodes
Channel Brief·Faces of Design · 7 episodes
Updated Jan 17, 2019

Design leaders build legacy by breaking the mold

MarketScale profiles architects and designers who challenge industry norms through entrepreneurship, authentic communication, and technology integration. Each profile grounds its thesis in a real founder or practitioner's journey.

Faces of Design argues that the AEC industry's most influential practitioners succeed by rejecting conventional paths and solving real problems that the industry has overlooked. The channel proves this through founder and leader profiles that trace how individual conviction, whether in product innovation, content strategy, or studio independence, reshapes how the broader industry works.

Drawn from Faces of Design: Behind the Fire with Eric Ede… and 4 more →

“I saw myself more and more going against the stream with the designs I was creating.”

Sarah Kuchar, interior designer

By the numbers

Founded 1986

Fireclay Tile started, challenged centuries-old tile purchasing

1986

Year Fireclay Tile was founded by Paul Burns

30+

Years Fireclay Tile had existed as a company

14

Years KEM Studio co-founders had worked together by profile

What the channel argues

InsightEric Edelson revived a struggling Fireclay Tile during the 2008 recession into a multimillion-dollar growing company.→
DataFireclay Tile, founded 1986, challenged centuries-old tile procurement by integrating technology into a traditional craft.→
DataSarah Kuchar left a prominent Chicago architecture firm at age 33 to found her own interior design studio.→
InsightBob Borson's architecture blog Life of an Architect became one of the most trafficked architecture websites by writing accessible, down-to-earth content.→
InsightKEM Studio co-founders Jonathon Kemnitzer and Brad Satterwhite fused multiple disciplines after solving a real project problem together.→

What you'll learn

•Turnaround leadership means acquiring and applying expertise in unfamiliar industries, not just managing existing strengths.
•Starting your own design practice requires solving unglamorous operational questions: office space, websites, accounting, and legal structure.
•Authentic, educational content at scale builds industry influence faster than promotional messaging.
•Multidisciplinary collaboration originates in solving a single difficult project, not in strategy documents.

What to do about it

→Map the operational gaps founders overlooked in your industry, then build a business model around solving them systematically.
→Document and publish the behind-the-scenes work your firm does; practitioners trust peers who explain their process, not polish.
→Hire and partner across disciplines when a single project reveals a gap that no one discipline can close alone.

Who and what shows up

Eric Edelson

CEO, Fireclay Tile

Revived a struggling tile company during the 2008 recession into a multimillion-dollar enterprise by entering an industry he knew nothing about.

Sarah Kuchar

Founder, interior design studio

Left a prominent Chicago architecture firm at age 33 to build her own practice, addressing the operational and emotional challenges of design entrepreneurship.

Bob Borson

Principal, Malone Maxwell Borson Architects

Built Life of an Architect into one of the most trafficked architecture websites by creating authentic, educational content for hundreds of thousands of monthly readers.

Jonathon Kemnitzer

Co-founder, KEM Studio

Co-founded a multidisciplinary design firm after discovering, on a difficult project, the need to bring industrial design expertise into architecture practice.

Paul Burns

Founder, Fireclay Tile

Founded Fireclay Tile in 1986 after working in tile factories since age 12, embedding a lifetime of craft expertise into the company.

Questions this channel answers

Q

How do you leave a secure job to start your own design practice?

Recognize when your design sensibility conflicts with your employer's direction, then systematically solve the operational and financial hurdles: space, branding, accounting, and legal setup.

Faces of Design: Designing Your Future With Sarah Kuchar →
Q

How does a traditional craft survive and thrive in a digital economy?

Integrate technology into procurement and customization while preserving the craft itself, as Fireclay Tile did by challenging how architects and designers buy centuries-old tile materials.

Faces of Design: Reviving the Fire →
Q

Can an architect build industry influence through a blog?

Yes, if the content is engaging, down-to-earth, and authentic, revealing the behind-the-scenes world of AEC; Life of an Architect became one of the most trafficked architecture websites by doing so.

Faces of Design: Design Conversations with Bob Borson →
Q

When do architects need to bring in other disciplines?

When a difficult project reveals a gap that no single discipline can solve, creating the conditions for lasting multidisciplinary partnerships.

Faces of Design: Jonathon Kemnitzer →
Topics:Tile manufacturing and designInterior design entrepreneurshipArchitecture content and influenceMultidisciplinary design practicesPost-recession industry recovery
Themes:Authenticity as competitive advantage in AECProblem-first, not credential-first, partnership and product designTechnology enabling, not replacing, craft and tradition

Industry context

The AEC design industry is increasingly integrating technology while emphasizing human-centric, authentic experiences and craft-based approaches rather than replacing traditional methods.

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