Our guest is Elaine Lopez, a designer and educator who teaches at Parsons and spent the formative years of her design career in Chicago.
In this episode, Elaine speaks with host Christian Solorzano about her first typography class at the University of Florida, a class so overwhelming she had to take a long walk around campus afterward, and how that challenge drew her into design. She shares the story of a Labor Day weekend visit to Chicago that made her feel at home for the first time, and her decision to quit her job in Miami and move during the recession.
Elaine talks about her years in Chicago, from PowerPoints and pharmaceutical marketing to point-of-purchase work at Leo Burnett's Arc, field research at Gravitytank, and social impact work at Greater Good Studio. She reflects on six months working with Rick Valicenti and Thirst to help Columbus, Indiana return to Paul Rand's original identity, and on what she learned watching Rick present work to a room.
The conversation explores identity and representation in design, why they led her to teaching, and how she builds community in the classroom. Elaine also discusses her love of Riso printing, the value of slow and inefficient work in the age of AI, her preference for "protopia" over utopia, and what she still carries with her from Chicago.
Music by the band Eighties Slang.