We are finally doing our design critic doodies and getting to the bottom of: bathrooms. What makes good bathroom design? Answering that question would require a whole separate podcast. (Bidet all the way, baby!) For this episode, we plunge into a couple specific icks that really make us scrunch our nose in disgust. Cornelia may ruffle some feathers with this one, bravely sharing her harsh critique on toothbrushes being stored in the bathroom. We will keep coming back to her weird thing with plastic and wetness… Brooke, on the other hand, steps outside the private commode and fixes her eye on public bathroom stalls. Why are they so flimsy? And exposing?? The famous architect behind the design may surprise you…

so there's this... is produced, edited, hosted, and researched by Brooke Viegut & Cornelia Smith. Special thanks to the MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism program at the School of Visual Arts.

Join us on Instagram or designthatdisappoints.com.

JOYYY to the world… or not? Is joy actually destroying our world? In this episode, we reflect on the definition of joy—a fleeting moment of intense pleasure and elation experienced in the present—and exchange purportedly joyful designs that disappoint us and also Mother Nature. Brooke comes out as an ice queen and unleashes bold anti-glitter vitriol over the airwaves, backed with jaw-dropping facts about the secretive Glitter industry that may or may not be manufacturing weapons. Cornelia unwittingly dovetails off of Brooke’s topic with a segment on party poppers. No, not the fun kind of poppers—the mini confetti explosive devices that are hell for people with sensory issues and anyone who cares about plastic pollution. Also, they’re highly flammable! In conclusion, confetti is a gateway drug to pyromania. How do you feel about weaponized joy?

so there's this... is produced, edited, hosted, and researched by Brooke Viegut & Cornelia Smith. Special thanks to the MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism program at the School of Visual Arts.

Join us on Instagram or designthatdisappoints.com.

Is candy advertising encouraging cannibalism? Is your sweet tooth the reason for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? In this episode, we share some not-so-sweet thoughts on candy design. We had to restrain ourselves from just having a complaining sesh on all the candy we straight up do not like (looking at you, nougat-dominant chocolate) to instead focus on the reason we’re here in the first place: #designthatdisappoints. 

Cornelia kicks off the convo with the type of candy packaging marketed in movie theaters and box store bargain bins, and Brooke closes us out with her distaste for a certain marketing ploy: anthropomorphic candy characters, or brand mascots, whose lore has garnered celeb status in our cultural zeitgeist. 

so there's this... is produced, edited, hosted, and researched by Brooke Viegut & Cornelia Smith. Special thanks to the MA Design Research, Writing & Criticism program at the School of Visual Arts.

Join us on Instagram or designthatdisappoints.com.