In this episode, I talk to Yuri Suzuki, a sound artist, designer, electronic musician, and partner at Pentagram. We cover topics such as the importance of business skills, the value of mentors and being open to asking for advice, career tips for designers in any field, the intersection of art and commerce, the importance and opportunities of sound design in the years to come, how he became a partner at Pentagram and much more.

Biography

Yuri Suzuki is a sound artist, designer and electronic musician. His practice explores the realms of sound through designed pieces that examine the relationship between people and their environments – questioning how both music and sound evolve to create personal experiences.

Central to Suzuki’s practice is collaboration. He has worked with various musicians, including will.i.am and Jeff Mills, and commercial clients such as BBC, Disney, Audi, Facebook, Korg, Teenage Engineering, Moog, Red Bull, and Google, with whom he developed a unique AR Music Kit.

His work can be seen in several international museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He had both solo and group exhibitions at the Tate Britain London, Mudam Luxembourg, MoMA and the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. In 2016, he received the designer of the Future award at Design Miami.

In 2018 Suzuki was appointed a partner at Pentagram, the world’s largest independently-owned design studio. Based out of their London headquarters, Suzuki and his team continue to work internationally, pushing the boundaries between art, design, technology and sound, crossing the fields of both low and high technology.

Selected Links From the Episode

• Yuri Suzuki’s Website
• Yuri Suzuki’s Instagram
• Pentagram
• Maywa Denki
• Royal College of Art, London
• Ron Arad
• Logic Pro
• Ableton Live
• Pro Tools
• Dr. Robert Moog
• Arturia Microbrute
• Roland Boutique Series
• Counterpoint Studio
• Daniel Weil
• Jesper Kouthoofd
• Teenage Engineer

Show Notes

• Introduction [00:00:00]
• The Mindful Creative Year [00:01:02]
• Episode Introduction [00:05:35]
• Career Advice and Tips for Young Designers [00:08:17]
• Work Routines of a Sound Designer at Pentagram [00:26:12]
• On the Importance of Business Skills and Having Mentors [00:33:59]
• The Intersection of Art and Commerce [00:42:07]
• Short Episode Break – Support the Podcast [00:47:16]
• On Becoming a Pentagram Partner [00:47:59]
• The Future of Sound Design [00:52:14]
• How to Be a Better Creative Professional [01:07:35]
• Episode Outro [01:10:51]

Full transcript and more at https://creative.voyage/