It’s about time we shape our future — part I

You may have spotted illustrator, Alex Grave’s vibrant pattern work in the speculative fiction zine. With a focus on the power of visual storytelling from a Black perspective, Alex’s illustrations are relatable and universal. We are excited to have him here to talk about his work, career, and creative process.

IBM’s Racial Equity in Design leadership team partnered with the IBM Strategic Foresight Guild to explore: “What does an equity-first workplace feel like for Black folks?” Dive into speculative fiction authored by IBM designers and learn more about the methodology and processes of speculative design.

Join us as Nigel sits down with designer, mentor, and IBM Distinguished Design Executive, Oen Hammonds for a deep dive into his career and life journey. Listen in as Oen shares how his life and professional design experiences have shaped his career and molded him into the insightful, thoughtful, and inspirational person he is today.

Join us as Nigel welcomes Mbiyimoh Ghogomu, writer, scholar, and creative, as he chronicles his journey from IBMer to entrepreneur and how storytelling and following the winds of curiosity played a role in his pathway to co-founder and CEO of a startup, Tradeblock.

Join us for an inspirational journey into the life and work of Renee Albert MA, MPM, Head of Education Experiences at IBM Design. Listen in as she discusses how she found her way to design and the importance of finding your authentic purpose and voice in the ever-broadening field of design.

Change-maker. Rule-breaker. Design icon. Dr. D’Wayne Edwards is all that and more. Join us as D’Wayne, emblematic footwear designer and founder of Pensole Lewis School of Design and Business, and Pensole Footwear Design Academy, sits down with Nigel and walks us through his journey to leadership in academia. Along the way, listen in as he deconstructs what a designer is and what design, and the business of design, means for the Black creatives in the future.

Join host Nigel Prentice as he sits down with Kareem Collie, IBM User Experience Design Lead, who talks with us about growing up and finding his voice as a designer through experiences that took him around the world, academia, and into corporate America, and how those pivotal life events shaped his perspective as a designer today. Kareem also deep dives into The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection, an anthology of stories touching on design practice, scholarship, activism, and more, co-edited with several influential black design leaders.

Design Researcher Marcsene Torchon joins us to talk about how resiliency and vision motivated him to move from a career in social work to UX research in the healthcare space at IBM. He details how his project experience and passion for exploration, continuous learning, and unlocking innovation inspired him to pursue a new career while continuing to make a difference for his community.

Do not miss this very special episode of It’s About Time, as the Chair of IBM’s Racial Equity in Design Initiative, Nigel Prentice, steps out from behind the microphone and into the guest chair to share his background, life experiences, and journey to IBM design executive leader. He also reflects on building the racial equity in design effort, and its significance now and into the future.

Join us for an inspirational journey into the life and work of Isaac Buwembo, social entrepreneur and Director of Service Design at Year Up, a workforce development organization dedicated to training and connecting young adults to employment opportunities. Listen in as he walks us through how he infuses his work to advance anti-racism, racial equity, cultural change, and innovation practices into the workforce landscape.