By Design

If you’re extra focused on hitting your macros, Peter Rahal has more to do with it than most other people. He’s the co-founder of RXBAR and, more recently, David Protein. 

With David, Rahal and his team have figured out how to capture attention for something as commonplace as a protein bar while using minimal advertising and sleek, simple packaging. It appears David has struck gold again with their newest product, ice cream. The $15 pints sold out in less than a half hour. 

On this episode, Liz and guest host Grace Snelling go deep with Rahal on how he built yet another protein empire and the design choices that went into it.

As you’ve probably heard, The Onion is in the process of taking over InfoWars, the platform started by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. 

How is this a design story, you may ask? Well, we’ve got an interview with the creative director for new InfoWars — Tim Heidecker. 

Liz sat down with Tim and Fast Company’s Lilly Smith, who has been reporting on The Onion’s InfoWars takeover, to talk about Tim’s vision for the platform.

It’s a jam-packed episode of By Design—and for good reason. 

First, we’ll share some big news of our own before moving onto the design world’s latest. We look at how Claude Design caught Anthropic’s collaborators (and competitors) by surprise and unpack the Trump administration’s newest design hire: Peter Arnell as the nation’s “chief brand architect.”

Then, Mark sits down with Mauro Porcini, Samsung’s chief design officer, for a wide-ranging conversation about his illustrious career. 

To close things out, we have a good, old-fashioned hot-or-not. Mentioned this time: Target’s revamped cart, an overdue Venmo update, Threads’ new logo, Pinterest tells users to go outside, and Ikea’s latest stab at an inflatable chair.

Tyler Hays has made a career working with his hands. Making everything from couches to jigsaw puzzles to guitars, the BDDW founder and lead designer says he has now fallen for AI. 

“I'm absolutely obsessed with it,” Hays says. “Every single thing you wanna know about … you can pick any subject and ask it in 10 different ways and spend an embarrassing amount of hours”

As BDDW closes its SoHo showroom after 25 years, Hays joined By Design to reflect on his career and what’s next as he moves into a new chapter. 

Plus, we get a dispatch from host Mark Wilson’s trip to Italy for Milan Design Week and Salone del Mobile. 

We close with an edition of Hot or Not. Mentioned: Claude Design, a $545 cutting board, and a very special bike bell.

We’re taking a trip to the Bay Area on this very special episode of By Design. 

We’ll start off by discussing a very big question: What is a design job in 2026? The answer, in part, can be found in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, where Mark Wilson brings a dispatch from his latest reporting trip. (00:00:42) Plus, the latest design job numbers and what they mean. 

Then, he and Liz Stinson interview one of the most powerful people in the world of AI design—Joel Lewenstein, Anthropic’s design chief. (00:13:50) Joel explains Claude’s personality quirks, why he’s doubling his design team, and more. 

Finally, we close with a spring edition of Hot or Not. (01:00:30) Mentioned: Coleman’s Snap ‘N Go cooler, the 2028 Olympics branding, and a big Google Maps redesign. 

Plus, two quick plugs for some great Fast Company stuff: First, check out our 2026 Most Innovative Companies in design. And if you haven’t, make sure to get in your applications for the 2026 Innovation By Design awards — submissions are due April 10.