Royaldesigners

If you haven't dipped into these recordings yet, we have the perfect introduction with this bite-size collage of recordings, featuring moments from a cross-section of Royal Designers.

This is an RDInsights archive catch-up recording from 2015 with Interior designer Ben Kelly RDI, best known for his innovative and often industrial approach to interior spaces. His most iconic work is the design of the legendary Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, which opened in 1982. Ben's design approach often incorporates elements of postmodernism and brutalism, with a strong emphasis on raw materials, geometric forms, and striking colour contrasts. His work frequently bridges the gap between art, architecture, and design, and he has collaborated with various artists, musicians, and cultural institutions. His clients have ranged from Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood to the Science and V&A Museums.

Mike Dempsey RDI is in conversation with the Oscar and BAFTA award-winning production designer Shona Heath RDI. She is well known for her visionary approach and has spent nearly three decades crafting a distinctive world of visual storytelling. Her work is a magical fusion of art, fashion, and film, blending the fantastical and tangible to create immersive, otherworldly experiences. Shona has become a trailblazer in her field, from collaborating with leading fashion designers and photographers to shaping iconic set designs for global campaigns and now the world of feature films. Join Mike to delve into Shona's life, inspirations, challenges, and moments defining her extraordinary career. Photo © Tim Gutt

This is an updated RDInsights 2007 archive recording by the new media and graphic designer Malcolm Garrett RDI MBE, made by Mike Dempsey. It covers Malcolm’s early life and career working with many of the notable emerging punk groups in Manchester in the 1970s and 1980s, alongside his passion for digital technology and being the first all-digital graphic studio in the UK. At the end of the 2007 recording, Mike hooked up with Malcolm in 2025 to discover what he had been up to in the ensuing years.

This is an RDInsights Archive recording from 2011 featuring the much-acclaimed film production designer Stuart Craig RDI. Over the past 13 years, Stuart has made significant contributions to the film industry, working on a total of five major films: "Gambit", "The Legend of Tarzan", and J.K. Rowling's three "Fantastic Beasts" movies. Stuart’s influence extends beyond the silver screen. He has been a key figure in the creation of Harry Potter experience venues and theme parks, where his intricate production design has brought the magic of the films to life for millions of fans worldwide.

In this RDInsights recording, Mike Dempsey RDI is in conversation with the multi-award-winning American graphic designer and Pentagram partner Michael Bierut HonRDI, known for his exacting approach to the projects he takes on. Over his 44 years in the field, Michael spent a formative decade working with the legendary designer and Hon RDI, Massimo Vignelli. In 1990, he joined Pentagram’s New York office as a partner, where he continues to make his mark on the design world today. Photo: Andrew Zukerman.

Join Mike as he chats with landscape architect Johanna Gibbons RDI, whose nearly 40-year practice is dedicated to reconnecting urban spaces with nature at a time when our planet needs it most. Johanna’s designs foster resilience, support ecological and human health, and unite communities, offering a hopeful vision for a more sustainable future. Johanna’s passion is palpable, especially for her love of trees. Photo by © Sarah Blee

Mike is in conversation with Luke Pearson RDI, one-half of the thriving industrial design consultancy Pearson Lloyd, which he formed with fellow RDI Tom Lloyd in 1997. Luke looks back to his Hampshire childhood, his struggle to find a creative path until late on, his period working with Ross Lovegrove RDI, the big jump to starting Pearson Lloyd, his philosophy on the ever-changing world of product design and the special collaborative relationship with the architects in the making of the Pearson Lloyd Yorkton workshop HQ in Hackney.

This is an updated RDInsights archive recording from 2015 with the landscape designer Dan Pearson RDI. During the ensuing years, Dan and his team continued to create many magnificent natural landscapes, and in 2022, Dan was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list. Photo: Huw Morgan

Tom Lloyd RDI is one of the UK's foremost product designers. Along with partner Luke Pearson RDI, they run the multi-award-winning London-based industrial design and innovation consultancy, Pearson Lloyd. Tom is in conversation with Mike Dempsey RDI and shares his views on a wide range of issues facing design and industry in the 21st century, the future of the post-pandemic workplace, and much more.

Perry King RDI moved to Italy in 1964 as a consultant to Olivetti, where he worked on a wide range of products, including the classic Valentine Typewriter and the Sistema 45. He later teamed up with the Spanish designer Santiago Miranda, and in 1976, they formed the King Miranda Associati, always working closely together on the many diverse projects they undertook.

In this early RDInsights Archive recording from 2006, Gerald Scarfe RDI, one of the world's best-known political cartoonists, is in conversation with Mike Dempsey RDI. He discusses his early years and his long and highly successful career, using his recognisable ink-slashing pen style that pulled no punches when depicting public figures. After 50 years, he ended his weekly cartoon with The Sunday Times in 2017. In 2019, he published "Long Drawn Out Trip: A Memoir by Gerald Scarfe." At 88, he is still inspiring us. He lives with his wife, the actress Jane Asher.

Mike is in conversation with the graphic designer David Pearson RDI, who inhabits the highly competitive world of book cover design; he is a self-confessed Typophile, naming his company 'Type As Image' where typography is king. Ironically, one of David's most renowned covers was for George Orwell's 1984, which had all front cover types redacted as a powerful representation of that dystopian tale. When not designing, you'll find him teaching or talking to hungry young students here and abroad. In addition to his RDI mantle, he is a member of the prestigious Alliance Graphic International.

For many, the work of Sir Kenneth Grange RDI would have touched their lives at some point; think the classic TX1 taxi, the ease of taking a photo with a Kodak Instomatic, whipping up a storm in the kitchen with a Kenwood Chef or nodding off while travelling on the sleek lines of the intercity 125, or posting a letter in one of Kenneth's postboxes or writing that masterpiece under the light of the anglepoise adjustable lamp or popping a coin in the very first parking meter or keeping dry while waiting under a bus shelter. All and much more were designed by Kenneth Grange over the past six decades. They are all featured in the recently published book 'Designing the Modern World' Thames & Hudson. Photo: Andy Sewell