North V South

North V South

98: Not much demand for herding

Nov 28 • 57 min

Episode 98 is piping hot and cooling on the window sill. We take a peek under the crisp pastry lid of the zeitgeist and find cyber trucks, Chris Ware comics, lovely stationery shops, board games a go-go, cartoon nihilism, and the inner gubbins of pies.…

97: Uncleftish Beholding

Nov 15 • 52 min

North v South – less regular than a bran-intolerate heroin addict. We ask the questions that the Conservative and Labour parties are too afraid to ask: How are your biorhythms this morning? Will there be baby woodpeckers in Rob's garden this winter? What…

96: A long discussion about eggs

Oct 10 • 50 min

Get ready to shed 96 tears. We're back. We talk Wim Crouwel, Somerset House, Nokia, rival podcasts, paper aeroplanes, Lego adverts, ketchup and the imminent end of civilisation.Links:Provenance by Ann Leckie — Rob’s reading the latest Ann Leckie slice of…

95: Pumping yourself on the sofa

Sep 12 • 60 min

You want eclectic. We deliver. Our Deeply Unintelligent™ AI units have digested the internet and spend an hour talking about a whole load of utter nonsense: Camping, depression, 3D resin printers, Blender, Bocage, Lemmie, Mindhunter, Creative…

94: People are stupid

Aug 5 • 50 min

A ruined building stands alone, wreathed in vines, wrapped in mystery. Its cracked portico reveals a dark and brooding entrance, occasionally brightened by a pulsing red dot of light. Inside lurks Episode 94 of the podcast that is, and isn't, about…

93: Go outside and act like a turkey

Jul 5 • 48 min

Hello. It's us again. We continue to creep towards a hundred much like Geoff Boycott in his pomp. This week we talk about, in no particular order: model robots, LEGO Space, Worzel Gummidge, notebooks, touch typing, Mac Pro, sweet wrappers, knots, the…

92: Back to the fog and bad food

May 29 • 52 min

Roll up, roll up. Listen to a dog drinking beer. From Belgium. The beer, that is. The dog's from England, mate. In other news: Panic's Playdate, BT's new look, Manga at the British something or other, Microsoft browsers, Shanghai bookshops, and,…

91: Why, why, why, why, why, why

May 10 • 51 min

This week's podcast focuses on things we make that have no real worth. Many would say that covers this podcast and they're probably right. We look at recent news items that follow this trend; such as re-edits of 42-year-old children's films, speculative…

90: Zombie Pie

Apr 26 • 59 min

Welcome to the first episode in a new series of North V South: the podcast that is, and isn't, about design. We're talking taking breaks, blue plaques, iMacs, Kellog's, Capcom and Hellboy, among many other bits and bobs of design-related ephemera. Give us…

89: Cheese and kimchee

Feb 15 • 58 min

In the final episode of season 3, Jon kicks proceedings off with a potentially career-ending rant. The subsequent conversation with Rob takes an unexpected turn courtesy of Jodorowsky's Dune, a Breville Sandwich Maker, wordless novels, giant spiders,…

88: Mutually Sporadic

Feb 8 • 60 min

In this week's podcast that's got more Fanny than Craddock, Jon's been playing with his tentacles, while Rob's been gawping at old chaps. We take a gander at the new ultra-post-rationalised Netflix ident, a risable Walkers crisp packet redesign, a Linea…

87: Moldy Warp Speed

Jan 25 • 53 min

In the podcast that no one talks about, we talk moles. Not the unpronounceable notebooks. Not the gloopy green stuff you double dip into (don't deny it). That's right, those little spelunking furry dudes. We also talk Comics / Tabletop Games / Slack…

86: From the depths of my chest freezer

Oct 31, 2018 • 69 min

It's Hallowe'en and the portal has opened between the now and the never never. But enough about Rob's bowel movements… This week in the podcast that is and isn't about human sacrifice, our Agents of Filth are rifling through Uncle Ted's VHS collection.…

85: Bollocky font stuff

Oct 22, 2018 • 60 min

This week's episode brings you forgettable fonts, silly phones, easter eggs, Inktober, and an adieu to Carlos Esquerra.

84: I’m not a dunker

Sep 28, 2018 • 70 min

You know that dusty old shop that's always closed? You know the one, slumped between CoffeeKings and Harvey's Estate Agents on the high street. That's where episode 84 is being recorded right now. We sent you a text on your Punkt phone. Didn't you get it?…

83: Read this panel next, dummy!

Aug 30, 2018 • 89 min

This week our very special guest is Dan Berry: host of the wonderful podcast Make It Then Tell Everybody. Dan is also a comic artist, teacher, pen whittler, desk collector, and log cabin dweller. We talk to Dan about making comics, his career, industrial…

82: A slipper of a podcast

Aug 27, 2018 • 52 min

We're back again, with a hiatus haiku. You are most welcome. The podcast that is, and isn't, but was, on holiday is back. Has the hot summer exposed any hidden secrets in your back garden? We catch up with news and remind ourselves which end of the…

81: The one with Mark

Jun 20, 2018 • 72 min

We're delighted to have another special guest on the show. This time it's Mark Phoenix, web developer and co-host of the excellent Relative Paths podcast. He talks to us from underneath his secret blanket den in Cheltenham about his career in code. Chat…

80: The cross-section of a Damien Hirst

Jun 13, 2018 • 54 min

In the podcast that is and isn't about GDPR we discuss anything that doesn't involve mailing lists, sign up forms and panicky marketing teams. Jon is at a crossroads and Rob is generally cross with anything to do with crossing London. What time is love?…

79: The one with Ben the Illustrator

May 21, 2018 • 67 min

This week we are joined by special guest and master of the Bézier curve, Ben the Illustrator. News includes an Oliver Postgate exhibition, in-game art in Codemasters' Onrush, Microsoft's adaptive controller for disabled gamers, Monde's bookend models, and…

78: Mountweazel

May 8, 2018 • 66 min

Our hosts take a listen to a couple of new podcasts and the new sound effect library from the BBC. They ponder the task that faces Flickr's new owners and moot a possible visit to Thought Bubble in Leeds later this year. Rob and Jon discuss tools they use…

77: The one with Daniel

Apr 20, 2018 • 68 min

Daniel Benneworth-Gray — book designer, writer, Twitter noise, and all round nice chap — joins us on the podcast that is, and isn't, about design. We talk about his career in design, as well as gravy carbonisation, and telephone chairs. News includes a…

76: Biolegio

Apr 19, 2018 • 65 min

We're back for series three! Like a run down syphilitic bus. What's happened in our absence? Not a whole lot. Creative Review has gone to the paywall, Charlie Higson got stuck in a twisty maze of passageways, all alike, Fonts got all, like, look at us,…

75: I love a bit of blank media

Mar 14, 2018 • 76 min

In the final episode of a rather intermittent season 2, our emissaries of ephemera discuss whether social media has levelled the playing field for both Davids and Goliaths. News includes Wacom’s artist profile films, how Michael Bierut chooses typefaces,…

74: Noggin the Nog

Feb 23, 2018 • 38 min

This week our podcasting curators visit the British Museum, taking in snarky mugs, cuneiform receipts, Roman curses, walrus chess pieces, Portuguese custard tarts, and a very noisy pub. NB – This episode was recorded in an insanely busy British Museum by…

73: It could parch an Elephant

Feb 12, 2018 • 77 min

Baaaaad Design: Not bad design in terms of taste, but design for evil. Have you ever designed the packaging for a death ray gun? Or designed the branding for the new build lair of an evil genius. Or maybe you've designed a mailing list signup checkbox…

72: Emotional Support Peacock

Feb 6, 2018 • 57 min

We say goodbye to Mark E. Smith with a new jingle that doesn’t break copyright law. Jon’s got a right cob on and Rob’s wrestling Hippogriffs while watching Godfather I & II. In a news special our hosts talk: Secret army bases, SLR camera revival,…

71: Plasticine eagle

Jan 24, 2018 • 64 min

!! NEU FORMAT !! In the Palantír this week: Ben the Illustrator’s illustrator survey, the last pencil factory, Nintendo’s Switch to cardboard, and backward-facing books. The Guardian has had a redesign. North V South takes a look at what’s changed. Pies…

70: Concerning Hobbits

Jan 15, 2018 • 61 min

A podcast about, but not about, The Lord of the Rings. Three rings for the Clients who call on Skype, Seven for the Type-Lords who love to moan, Nine for Bearded Hipsters doomed to try (hard), One for the Creative Director on their Aeron throne In the…

69: Episode 69 - Dudes!

Jan 11, 2018 • 49 min

Happy New Year podcast fans. Here's a new episode in which our hosts reflect on another step forwards towards certain death. News this week include faulty chips, and design news that doesn’t really tell you anything other than there’s not a lot of news…

68: Episode 68 – I like the old one better

Dec 21, 2017 • 57 min

And so it's Christmas. In this episode Jon continues to moan about Rob's faulty microphone and then forgets to plug in his microphone. So that's why he sounds like he's talking from a dustbin. More than usual. News includes a really stupid camera, a new…

67: Episode 67 – Graphic design for squirrels

Dec 21, 2017 • 60 min

Recorded over a month ago, here's an episode of the podcast that is and isn't about design for your aural extremities. We answer your questions while drinking strong beer. It's what we do best. Oh, and review pies, of course.

66: Episode 66 – Computers are great, but humans are idiots

Nov 12, 2017 • 45 min

This week North V South goes on a field trip to the Design Museum. Find out just what our roving reporters made of the museum’s new home in West London. News sees us step closer to the world of Blade Runner with an image enhancer algorithm, and a step…

65: Episode 65 – That’s a load of old Saatchi nonsense

Nov 2, 2017 • 62 min

This week the podcast is live from Instagram Live. That is, once Jon turns on his phone. Once that load of old nonsense is out of the way our intrepid reporters bring you a fresh heap of more design-related nonsense: Facets, printers, telegram love, Hero…

64: Episode 64 – I must learn how to make Origami penguins

Oct 20, 2017 • 62 min

This episode talks about Blade Runner 2049. If you haven’t seen it yet then this is the mandatory PLOT SPOILER ALERT! Stupid cameras, memorable high street logos, a swimming pool filled with gold. All the news, none of it very useful. So all the better…

63: Episode 63 – Have you been drinking coffee?

Oct 10, 2017 • 55 min

With both hosts engaged in Inktober it’s only apt that they do some self promotion / neurotic hand-wringing on this week’s episode. In news, Dropbox gets all nu-rave, Sonos journeys into the Amazon, Timothy Toothbrush says hi, and UKIP’s rebrand gets them…

62: Episode 62 – I put the Pro into Prolapse

Oct 4, 2017 • 58 min

October brings the daily onslaught that is Inktober. Our hosts discuss their chosen subjects. News includes illustrators’ dirty secrets, Bloomsbury’s new classic book cover designs, the sinister rise of both sponsored content and, of course, abused sex…

61: Episode 61 - At least our gramophones will still work

Sep 28, 2017 • 61 min

A little owl, a favourite tree, interesting words and a can of root beer. It can only be North v South; the podcast that is, and isn’t, about design. This week locks digital and analogue in a fight to the death. Our hosts chat about why we love some…

60: Episode 60 – Columbo 1492

Sep 8, 2017 • 66 min

Listen to stout men drink stout and spout. Yes, it’s North V South. This week our hosts talk kitbashing, expanding clothing, Winnie the Pooh, print errata and Sonic the Hedgehog. Rob and Jon return to Dunkirk to talk about frames and containers. We look…

59: Episode 59 - I haven’t heard any fizz coming from your end

Sep 1, 2017 • 61 min

We're back. Again. Like a bad smell that everyone knows is a decomposing rat under the floorboards but is too polite to say so. This week our intrepid explorers of design discover the meaning of the phrases Kensington Gore and Etaoin Shrdlu, as well as…

58: Episode 58 – Did he do Miami Vice?

Aug 2, 2017 • 69 min

Freshly returned from the beaches of Northern France, a bottle of beer in one hand and a jam sandwich in the other, Mr Elliman chats with Mr Turpin about what they’ve been up to for the last few weeks, as well as news of sentient toothbrushes, robot…

57: Episode 57 – Mine would be Tarzan Willey

Jul 24, 2017 • 64 min

*** STARTING ELLIBOT 1.01 *** *** RUNNING SCRIPT *** +++ START MESSAGE +++ It’s been holiday season for the southern half of the podcast that is, and isn’t, about design. Despite this, server crashes and recording gear not working, here’s the latest…

56: Episode 56 – This is exactly what we are not

Jun 30, 2017 • 69 min

This week’s news includes a crowd-funded record player and night light that are, quite frankly, codswallop. Southbank’s new rebrand gets a quick look at, as well as a facelift for the British Gas smart thermostat, Hive. The gents politely raise their hats…

55: Episode 55 – Sonic the Hedgehog ruined my life

Jun 26, 2017 • 65 min

This week, in the podcast that is and isn’t about design, your hosts swim through a tree, explore the grey area surrounding the white of the Polish flag and investigate the disappearance of a mummified toe from a bar in Canada. Rob and Jon then talk about…

54: Episode 54 – Is this why you like Japanese bathrooms?

Jun 14, 2017 • 63 min

In the design podcast that can’t quite get its act together, our hosts look upon the new releases from Apple, gaze upon a new blue pigment, ponder upon the usefulness of a naming and shaming site for non payers, and marvel upon the comic version of the…

53: Episode 53 – Dirty, filthy, rotten martini

May 26, 2017 • 62 min

This week's show reverberates to some light jazz and the clatter of ice in a cocktail shaker. Our hosts raise a v-shaped glass to the late, great Sir Roger Moore. The chaps return to talking about education and the best way forward for people looking to…

52: Episode 52 – Hang on, you hired me!

May 12, 2017 • 61 min

If this week’s North V South sounds a bit tinny at the beginning, don't worry, that’s just Rob’s medicine being opened. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world*, Jon hunts a Gruffalo and rescues a rabbit†. We look forward to newly launched magazines:…

51: Episode 51 – The Natural Portrait Museum

May 9, 2017 • 72 min

Another episode that’s as painful as a tooth extraction. Which is exactly what Mr Turpin has been though this week. Jon drinks a beer so strong that it explains his subsequent descent into gibberish. News this week includes a farewell to the creator of…

50: Episode 50 – Cornish pesto

Apr 26, 2017 • 98 min

Sit tight for the next hour and a half (you ‘eard) of regionally-opposed design-related discourse: It’s the 50th episode of the podcast that is and isn’t about design. This week’s special edition looks at the A-Z of typography. Our two presenters are…

49: Episode 49 – Probably earthworm-flavoured

Apr 20, 2017 • 70 min

Self doubt in design This week North V South looks at self doubt. Self doubt can be crippling but it also drives some designers and artists to produce great work. How can you find a healthy balance in your working life? Is it possible? Do you need to be a…

48: Episode 48 - My Bontempi organ is in the workshop

Apr 8, 2017 • 74 min

Like the Kleeneze man, North V South turns up unannounced at random times in the day and then outstays its welcome. This week the guardians of the drifting space hulk HMS NVS listen in to faded radio waves from the motherworld about a man correcting…

47: Episode 47 – I like to read sci-fi on Kindle because it makes me feel futuristic

Mar 31, 2017 • 71 min

Whether it’s a new series, season or the hiatus has just an extended break, North V South is back. The clamours for the return of the podcast that is, and isn’t, about design have been relentless. If by relentless I mean entirely lacking, then that’s…

46: Episode 46 – Are you calling my wife a dumb waiter?

Feb 23, 2017 • 63 min

In the final episode of this current series North V South catches up with the presenters’ own personal projects and they ponder upon why it’s so hard being your own client. Rob and Jon look into the continuation of the 2016 pigment wars, Google’s Blade…

45: Episode 45 – Trying to extract emus from lederhosen

Feb 14, 2017 • 68 min

News this week includes David Hockney’s strange Sun newspaper collaboration, filter out the bad stuff with The Good News Network and an introduction to nanography, whatever that might be. This week North V South looks at design for good. The chaps polish…

44: Episode 44 – I don’t want a tropical episode

Feb 3, 2017 • 80 min

North V South has reached its first birthday, the very existence of which is an utter miracle. The duo sit, wrapped in their Space Wolf furs, droning on about drones, Barnbrook, IKEA’s latest award, Lego Life and Peta’s recent bonkers broadside at the…

43: Episode 43 – I’m not Alan Partridge

Jan 27, 2017 • 60 min

Hello and welcome to 2017. We're a bit late off the mark due to illness and business, so we start the year with an apology. Which is probably apt, given the state of the world at the moment. The chaps catch up post-Christmas and look forward to what's in…

42: Episode 42 – A life-changing mouse mat

Dec 23, 2016 • 63 min

It’s Christmas time. There’s no need to be afraid. It’s just NVS in its Janus mask. That’s Janus, so stop your sniggering. We look back over the year and try to find positives in a sea of bad ju-ju. Pies in space: No, not one of Rob’s less grubby…

41: Episode 41 – My star was slightly off centre

Dec 16, 2016 • 86 min

This week the podcast welcomes its first ever guest: Mr Aled Lewis. Aled is an illustrator and designer based in London. Aled talks about his career so far and how he got started in the creative industry. There’s not much time for news this week but the…

40: Episode 40 – The Bridge of Pies

Dec 10, 2016 • 62 min

Rob clings to a glass of port in a stormy week, while Jon sips Early Grey from porcelain, pinky aloft, monocle firmly clenched in his roving eye. As Pebble plummets into the ocean of redundant tech we wonder if smartwatches are actually not that smart.…

39: Episode 39 – The Manhattan Transfer Project

Dec 2, 2016 • 58 min

This week’s episode is filled to the brim with mince. That’s enough about our hosts and, so, on with the show. News this week includes stuff about Manhattan, Grayson Perry, Wetransfer, The Smiths and Mr Bill Drummond. The chaps talk about scheduling work,…

38: Episode 38 – I’ve never been into clams

Nov 28, 2016 • 61 min

North V South doesn’t let British rail and broadband providers’ ineptitude get in the way of producing another show that is and isn’t about design. In episode 38, news this week includes a look at the Frankenstein’s monster of Apple’s new festive ad. Rob…

37: Episode 37 – Folding away to the size of a large banana

Nov 21, 2016 • 66 min

North V South is full of love this week. This week we explore the ifs, whys and wherefores about loving design. Listen to the chaps turn a simple question into an existential primal scream. Jon ties together news items about IKEA, Noam Chomsky, Speedball…

36: Episode 36 – Can you be more Pacific?

Nov 15, 2016 • 60 min

We’re back. Before you even noticed we’d gone. The world may have changed inexorably in our absence but we’re still banging on about the same old rubbish, so listen on, dear listener… News this week looks at Toblerone’s gap in the market, Kingsmill bread…

35: Episode 35 – I’ll get to fondle your stock

Oct 28, 2016 • 73 min

In this special Hallowe’en episode we fail to mention Hallowe’en once. Spooky! This week the all-seeing eyeball roams over Hogarth’s Gin Lane reimagined, Somerset House’s fillip for artists, Vine’s demise and, finally, rants over a rash of pretentious…

34: Episode 34 – I love a bit of spot welding

Oct 21, 2016 • 72 min

“Communication let me down, And I’m left here.” So said Spandau Ballet. It was about the only time they ever made any sense. Good video too. Where was I? Oh yes, this week the chaps are talking about how they communicate with clients – or not as may be…

33: Episode 33 – I don’t feel like I can speak to you sober

Oct 17, 2016 • 68 min

Rob hobbles into the studio this week clutching a swollen jaw. No, we didn’t have a fight. We just went for a little walk along a riverbank. News this week looks at the proliferation of a side of lifestyle images with everything. Easy on the Dachshund,…

32: Episode 32 – The size of our bladders in minutes

Oct 7, 2016 • 71 min

This week Rob & Jon take a look at what could be an instant hit for Leica, Natwest’s new logo and an honest look at pricing in design agencies. Our dialectically-opposed hosts then pick three of their favourite paintings and talk about them. Which is…

31: Episode 31 – Dull in our own special dull way

Oct 3, 2016 • 74 min

Another episode of Rob’s mum’s favourite podcast* looks at why news gatherers are so lazy by reading out news from news aggregate sites. What is the relevance of 117? How many spoons can a spoon whittler whittle? And why on earth is there a tank on top of…

30: Episode 30 - Eyelashes like cartoon owls

Sep 23, 2016 • 72 min

The news this week seems to be full of Kickstarter projects. The chaps also look at a new approach to kickstarting your design education in just three months. The book of the month is Bill Drummond's 45, a memoir of his life at that point in time and a…

29: Episode 29 – Like the paws of an otter

Sep 18, 2016 • 68 min

This week NVS is out about in at The V&A in the first field trip. The boys review its new show with the snappy title of “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966 - 1970”. With a fair bit of news to catch up on, the chaps inevitably talk…

28: Episode 28 – He buried his cheese

Sep 2, 2016 • 76 min

In our hottest episode yet we find out that the always-odd Bjork is doing a spot of 360 VR at Somerset House. We chat about The Design Museum’s design awards, a sale of Second World War vehicles and we say adieu to Mr Gene Wilder. 350 years ago the Great…

27: Episode 27 – Here be whales

Aug 30, 2016 • 71 min

In the latest episode of Rob’s mum’s favourite podcast*, we catch up in the latest design/non-design news including a new neighbour for planet Earth, flockingly good bird photomontages and old photos of inky-fingered Fleet Street. Following on from our…

26: Episode 26 – Do you want to see Napoleon’s body?

Aug 19, 2016 • 74 min

The 25% extra free episode. Secret bonus laughter track. Interminable drivel guaranteed. The chaps catch up with the latest design news freshly scraped from the bottom of a barrel. It is August after all. Secret places are on the menu du jour today. But…

25: Episode 25 – Scratching the tip of the iceberg

Aug 10, 2016 • 69 min

25 episodes. Illustration. Lists. Mash them all together and what have you got? That’s right, you’ve got a list of 25 things to do with illustration. We talk about the illustrators and tools that have inspired us; from childhood, right up to the present…

24: Episode 24 – That’s my Richard Chamberlain sound effect

Aug 5, 2016 • 59 min

Konnichiwa! We’re back! Did you miss us? No, we didn’t think so. We chat about Airbnb’s new design studio, Brighton’s new eye(sore), Rob talks wistfully about his old tutor while Jon tries out Adobe’s Portfolio. Our book of the month is In Praise of…

23: Episode 23 – Scrambled egg sandwich

Jul 31, 2016 • 67 min

We talk about comics for a while and then remember that this podcast is, but isn't, about design. So we prattle on about Roald Dahl, camera lenses, work spaces, tennis balls and Argentinian bookshops. After the recent “recycled” coffee cup revelations,…

22: Episode 22 – Something, something, something, kumquats

Jul 22, 2016 • 70 min

Everyone’s favourite podcast called North V South is back after a week’s break. We catch up with the latest design news: Jon finds out that Elon Musk is not a BodyShop fragrance. We also look at another rebrand using nostalgia as a weapon of mass…

21: Episode 21 – A pair of bricks and a loud klaxon

Jul 11, 2016 • 65 min

This week in the podcast that is and isn’t about design, we look back to a halcyon time which may or may not have existed*. We talk about the triumph of Jeremy Deller’s latest art project, the London Museum of Brands and Lego’s latest nostalgic model of a…

20: Episode 20 – I have seen fireflies

Jun 30, 2016 • 65 min

This week’s episode is all about space. There isn’t anywhere else to go that isn’t all doom and gloom. Rob takes a look at his lifelong fascination with all things space-related. We hear about the latest happenings in space exploration and Rob goes on to…

19: Episode 19 – I hope that next week we’re still broadcasting from Europe

Jun 24, 2016 • 61 min

WARNING: This podcast contains upbeat positivity and hope for the future of the UK. It turns out we are not very reliable futurologists. We catch up with the latest design news in a world where, for now, it seems the dishonest, ill-informed and downright…

18: Episode 18 – I might adopt a flatworm or something

Jun 18, 2016 • 64 min

Rob and Jon kick off this week’s podcast with some amazing Friday night banter: Graphic file formats. We talk about redesigning death, Tate’s brand refresh and look at a new cut of the classic typeface Johnston. As our nation teeters on the edge of being…

17: Episode 17 - Feeding on the bottoms of mid-stream fish

Jun 9, 2016 • 67 min

This week Rob airs his dirty laundry in the revamped Ikea bag, while Jon curls his lip at Michael Wolff’s archly lupine comments about the new British Steel logo. We then prattle on about knolling and networking. Rob grapples with a pie that is defined,…

16: Episode 16 - The king of post-rationalisation

Jun 2, 2016 • 65 min

After a week’s hiatus, which can be painful if not carefully managed, our intrepid presenters are rejoined in dialectic dysfunction. We jump into a design time machine and take a look at new logos from British Steel and Co-op, as well as rooms frozen in…

15: Episode 15 – Talking rot and expecting people to listen

May 22, 2016 • 68 min

This week we are talking about mistakes in design. For once we live up to our name as a diametrically opposed podcast and disagree with each other. Surely shome mishtake? Jon’s pork pie gets a lot of love. Consumed by pie envy, Rob embarks on a desperate…

14: Episode 14 – Like a hot potato that came in through the window

May 12, 2016 • 55 min

This week Rob p-p-p-picks up a new edition of Pocket Penguins. It's not the only bird he's picked up this week. We talk 3D soundwaves and discuss the new Instagram logo like we just don't care: We really don't care. Our book of the month is "Insanely…

13: Episode 13 – Reducing the probability of not succeeding

May 6, 2016 • 57 min

Episode thirteen, the unluckiest podcast yet from North V South, explores good fortune in careers. This week we look at a sinister machine that turns itself off, Jon goes a bit cuckoo and tries to explain post digital, while Rob coos at mating pigeons and…

12: Episode 12 – The staple’s terribly painful

Apr 28, 2016 • 60 min

An episode in which we talk about design quite a lot for a podcast that is and isn’t about design. We chat about Dyson going viral, revisit Japan’s Olympics logo and we look at some pictures that could be straight off the set of Blade Runner 2. But…

11: Episode 11 – Put Bovril in everything

Apr 22, 2016 • 67 min

This week’s episode contains reviews of two mediocre pies and a startling revelation about Michael Bentine. Our rambling discourse takes a stroll through Victorian space exploration, vastly overpaid executives and the origins of the word Bovril. We talk…

10: Episode 10 – Let the Wild Horses out of the bag

Apr 16, 2016 • 58 min

This week our intrepid heroes talk about getting paid. The chaps talk about The Guardian’s experimental design layouts, Erik Spiekermann’s print shop, British Steel logo redux, a grundie exhibition at the V&A and the new, very silly, Kindle. They chat…

9: Episode 9 – Wizard wings

Apr 9, 2016 • 60 min

This week in the podcast that might or might not be very good, we don't sound like we're having a chat in a dustbin. Which might or might not be a good thing. We talk about the ephemeral nature of the internet of things, one pound coins, HP's new old…

8: Episode 8 – It’s a pie. But it’s not.

Apr 1, 2016 • 59 min

Today's episode is a week late due to eggs and weddings. We talk about the ageing Intercity 125 and its role in the British sandwich revolution(role, roll, geddit? Aah never mind). We then ruminate over cheap design services and why designers get their…

7: Episode 7 – Stilton that’s been inside it since 1978

Mar 18, 2016 • 58 min

Today's episode is brought to you by pickle-powered pies. We talk about news that revolves around artificial intelligence, 360° videos and Bagpuss. But possibly not all at the same time. Our intrepid duo then talk about design convergence, and whether…

6: Episode 6 – He looks like an advert for nominative determinism

Mar 11, 2016 • 69 min

In this episode we discuss design awards from the unique perspective of never having won any design awards. Although Jon once got a certificate from a Lego building competition in 1978. The chaps discuss the pros and cons of design awards. Listen to find…

5: Episode 5 – I’m printing out Wikipedia as we speak

Mar 4, 2016 • 62 min

In this episode of everyone’s favourite podcast with pies and regional accents, we are furkling around in binary middens. Rob talks about a daily newspaper launch in the UK. Jon reveals his ignorance of world news. Jon wonders about what will happen to…

4: Episode 4 - Ooh la la, Continental

Feb 26, 2016 • 57 min

A new episode of the only podcast guaranteed free of electrical interference thanks to factory-grade unicorn dust. We talk about the brouhaha around a couple of recent rebrands. We sad face Facebook's new response icons. We chat about our book of the…

3: Episode 3 – Like a withered Bonsai

Feb 19, 2016 • 70 min

We delve into the important things in life: Pies, as ever, gravitational waves (whatever they are) and post-it notes. In this episode Rob tries to teach Jon about new scientific discoveries and almost succeeds. Jon blethers on about how he deals with…

2: Episode 2 – Attack it with a metal spike

Feb 10, 2016 • 51 min

We've improved the sound quality and added a jingle. What larks. Next time we might add a website. In this episode Rob questions Jon about his dubious qualifications as a designer and how he got to what he does today. Jon then drivels on inexorably until…

1 – A variety of mustards

Jan 27, 2016 • 53 min

The inaugural episode of our new podcast about but not about design. We have no idea how or what we are doing. There's no jingle yet. Join the confusion! In this episode Rob tells Jon how he got into design and how he kicked off his illustration career.…