Sustainability, Education, and the iF Design Awards with Lisa Gralnek

In this episode, we speak with Lisa Gralnek, Managing Director of iF Design USA and Global Head of Sustainability and Impact at iF Design. We cover the scale and rigor behind the iF Design Award — one of the world's most recognized design competitions since 1953 — and how iF has made sustainability a core, embedded criterion in its judging process. We also discuss the launch of the iF Design Academy, what it means to close the gap between design and business fluency, and the risks of outsourcing critical thinking to AI tools. Plus, we reflect on why design thinking became its own victim, what head-heart-hands means in an age of AI, and what we might be collectively unlearning as machines take on more of the work. TOPICS WE ADDRESS: Lisa's path from political science and fashion to design leadership How the iF Design Award jury process works across 93 categories and 9 disciplines Why sustainability now accounts for 20% of the iF scoring criteria — and what that shift has taught applicants and jurors alike The circular economy and the "R ladder" of repairability, reusability, and recyclability iF Design's two free-entry competitions: the iF Design Student Award and the iF Social Impact Prize, both aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals The launch of the iF Design Academy and why designers need more than design education to lead The upcoming course AI Strategy for Design Leaders (June 2026) — led by Tey Bannerman, former McKinsey partner Why design thinking became a buzzword without operationalization — and what it would take to bring it back What the documentary Modernism, Inc.: The Eliot Noyes Design Story says about the long history of design and corporate power The tension between AI efficiency and the tactile, hands-on learning that makes designers designers What we might be collectively "unlearning" as AI tools take on more of the creative process RESOURCES: iF Design: https://ifdesign.com/en/ iF Design Award: https://ifdesign.com/en/if-design-awa... iF Design Academy: https://ifdesign-academy.com/ iF Design Trend Report (5th annual edition releasing April 28): https://ifdesign.com/en/trend-report iF Design Student Award: https://ifdesign.com/en/if-design-stu... iF Social Impact Prize: https://ifdesign.com/en/if-social-imp... Future of XYZ podcast: https://ifdesign.com/en/podcast-futur... Lisa Gralnek, "Where Are All the Designers?" (Fast Company): https://www.fastcompany.com/91374558/... Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.... Modernism, Inc.: The Eliot Noyes Design Story (2023): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29215800/ UN Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals AIGA + Yale SOM: Business Perspectives for Creative Leaders: https://www.aiga.org/professional-dev... Subscribe to the AIGA Design Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/prof... Questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected]