Ilā is a British artist, producer and vocalist. When you are approached by an agent stating, "Would you like to speak with an artist who operates at the intersection of quantum computer music, AI and the human voice, well, you kind of say yes straight away!

I spend a lot of time researching my guests. If someone is good enough to give up their time to be a guest on the podcast, then the very least I can do as the host is spend some time getting to know them a little before we actually meet. I have to admit to being intrigued by Ilā's background. The education that could so easily have led to an academic career has instead led to a career in which creativity takes precedence, barriers are explored, and walls are knocked down.

There is no doubt that music is the major influence in their professional life. But in talking with Ilā, it became clear that there are no categories, sectors, or topics that are off-limits; curiosity feeds their professional development, and there is definitely an element of, say, "yes" and work out the details later.

In this podcast, we cover education, music, and creativity, their importance in a technologically driven world, and the importance of helping instruct young people on how to use AI responsibly as an assistant to learning.

Towards the end, we discuss Ilā's contribution to the BBC Bitesize guide to AI for young people, which is both timely and comprehensive. At a time when education's response to AI and its use by students ranges from "You won't be using that here" to "We welcome students to use AI so long as they reference where and how it has been used, this feels like a very timely conversation.

I loved our hour in conversation, and I believe you will too. So get those ear buds in and enjoy Designed for Life, in conversation with Ilā Kamalagharan.

BBC Bitesize guides to AI can be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/groups/cgk3rj0kl55t

Thanks to Arachne.digital for their continued sponsorship of the podcast, which allows us to bring these conversations to you. Contact Arachne https://www.arachne.digital/ or us for a free evaluation of your school’s cybersecurity.

Leia Milburn is an industrial designer working at Tone Product Design in London. Leia was born in London but grew up in Hong Kong and Singapore. Her father is a D&T teacher and trained as a furniture designer, so she was raised around strong design influences, but has developed her own unique identity as a designer through her degree at Loughborough University and subsequent work at Tone.

In this podcast, we follow Leia's journey from her school education and parental influences to where she is today, what is important to her as a young designer, the comparative isolation of being a woman in a still-male-dominated sector, and what she is proactively doing about it.

It's a flowing and very informative conversation that I feel has much to offer everyone listening, from students, through teachers, to professionals.

So give yourself 50 minutes, put those earbuds in, and listen to Designed for Life in conversation with industrial designer Leia Milburn.

Leia's LinkedIn profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leia-milburn

Leia's design Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/design.byleia

And if you want to learn more or get involved in the female designer community (Revision), then follow the links below:

REVISION LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/revision-design/

REVISION Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revision.bydesign

Thanks to Arachne.digital for their continued sponsorship of the podcast, which allows us to bring these conversations to you. Contact Arachne https://www.arachne.digital/ or us for a free evaluation of your school’s cybersecurity.

The countdown is on – the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition closes on 1st February 2026!

This podcast takes on a different format as we talk to Jessie Soohyun Park, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility for Samsung Electronics UK, about the Solve for Tomorrow initiative, why a multi-national company such as Samsung believes this work is so important, and how design and technology education naturally fits the knowledge base, skillsets and design curiosity required for the competition.

Bring this challenge into your design and technology classroom and give students aged 11-18 the chance to tackle real-world problems, think creatively, and see their ideas make a difference. @SamsungElectronicsUK have ready-to-use resources, expert mentoring and the Imagination Lab to guide every step.

Students could be designing and prototyping tech-for-good solutions, building confidence and future-ready skills. At the same time, your school could win Samsung technology, mentoring, work experience opportunities, and even national recognition, with your students seeing their work splashed large on Piccadilly Circus.

Short on time? Your students’ NEA or STEM Club coursework may be eligible for submission. We’re proud to be supporting this flagship education programme. Opportunities like this don’t come around every day! Enter before the 1st February 2026 to make sure your students don’t miss out 🔗 www.SolveforTomorrowUK.com

Huge thanks to Archne.digital for their help and continued support, which enables us to continue to bring these conversations to you. Reach out to them today to arrange a free audit of your school’s cybersecurity.

On the first day of 2026, and if we are honest, a touch later than planned due to the Christmas break, we are delighted to open the New Year with a conversation with the Co-founder of Applied Design (https://helloapplied.com), one of New York's leading branding and design agencies.

A short while back, Applied Design was commissioned for what, at first, appeared to be a relatively straightforward and exciting branding brief. Braille was 100 years old (a fact tI find challenging to comprehend in itself), and to mark the centenary, the Braille Institute of America (https://www.brailleinstitute.org) commissioned Applied Design to carry out a rebrand.

As the design team at Applied dug into the task, they were unable to find a typeface that was both functional and exciting enough. With the Braille Institute's permission, the team took on the task of designing a new and exciting typeface.

Following extensive research, testing, and development, Atkinson Hyperlegible emerged as the typeface emanating from the identified design task. A typeface that the Braille Institute waived all claims to ownership of early in the process; a visible demonstration of the charitable cause taking over from any desire to create profit.

Google, Microsoft, Canva, and others have since adopted the typeface. It is estimated that Atkinson Hyperlegible is now downloaded at least 70 million times per week, being utilised by blind, partially sighted and able-sighted alike.

In this podcast, we talk about the processes that led to the creation of Atkinson Hyperlegible, the importance of design education for all young people, AI adoption, why we shouldn't fear it, and more. Thanks to Brad's willingness to dig deep on these subjects, this is a deep and fascinating conversation that I know you will enjoy.

So, start the New Year as you mean to go on, grab those earplugs, give yourself 56 minutes to yourself and enjoy this episode of Designed for Life.

Thanks to Arachne.digital for their continued sponsorship of the podcast, which allows us to bring these conversations to you. Contact Arachne https://www.arachne.digital/ or us for a free evaluation of your school’s cybersecurity.

Links to Atkinson Hyperlegible:

https://www.brailleinstitute.org/freefont/

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Atkinson+Hyperlegible

https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Atkinson+Hyperlegible+Next

One pattern that has repeated across the 108 podcasts published since Designed for Life launched in the summer of 2020 is the role of serendipity in aligning people and their careers.

Today's podcast is a case in point. Driven by a primal desire to help people, Olivia set her heart on a career in medicine. School and academia did not come easily to her, and she realised at a very early stage that if she were to have any hope of following her dream, she would need to roll her sleeves up and work harder than most.

With this in mind, this is precisely what she did, sacrificing aspects of her social life and doing whatever was asked of her at school to achieve her goals, and more. Outstanding GCSE results followed, with Olivia being featured on her school's website front page as a success story. Here, the rhetoric changed as teachers now looked upon her as an 'academic' and as such, started to point her towards A Level success and University.

Some careers are no doubt easier to enter if you come from the middle or upper classes. Finance is a factor if you want to enter architecture, medicine, law and many other career pathways; who you know and your access to work placements and internships are also significant factors.

Olivia took a year out to rethink her future and, at first, saw Amazon as a way to earn money while she refocused. She is now a Mechantronics Engineering Apprentice at Amazon and is in her flow state in this position.

I first came across Olivia at a recent Women in Manufacturing Conference, where she was on a panel alongside equally impressive fellow apprentices, and I had to ask her to share her story on the podcast. There is so much to learn from both her journey and where she is today. So sit back, take an hour for yourself and enjoy Designed for Life - In conversation with Olivia Lane.

Huge thanks to Arachne.digital for their support that makes this podcast possible. To get a free check on your school's cyber security email contact@arachne.digital

For more information, please see Girls Gone STEM on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@girlsgonestem?_r=1&_t=ZN-91udctoZ8WE.

Or check Olivia's LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-lane-02bb802a2?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios

You can cover so much learning within the confines of the classroom, but with design & technology education, whether at the primary or secondary level, a carefully planned educational visit can add so much.

At the Design & Technology Association, we are always seeking potential visits to recommend to teachers and their students. With this in mind, we are delighted to talk with Julie Brierley, Head of Learning and Engagement at the excellent RAF Museum, Midlands.

In this podcast, Julie takes us back to a mixed experience at school. Loving her primary school experience, and then finding secondary school to be less than welcoming to a shy, introverted student. Design and Technology education proved to be a sanctuary within this environment, and being one of the few female students was not a barrier to her loving the subject.

Set on a career in nursing, she surprised everyone (parents included) by leaving school as soon as she could and joining the RAF as an apprentice flight engineer. Here she found her 'tribe' and was immediately at home, but as we will hear in the podcast, this was before equality of opportunity reached the forces. As a woman, there were several challenges to overcome.

Julie is now Head of Learning and Engagement at RAF Museum Midlands, a perfect setting to study all things D&T, maths, science and across most of the curriculum.

This is a tale of perseverance, about finding what you love, sticking with it, and finding a working role that plays to your strengths and brings you fulfilment and joy! I loved the conversation, and I think you will too.

Thanks to Arachne.digital for their continued support, which enables us to bring these conversations to you. Please reach out to request a consultation to secure your school's cyber presence by emailing contact@arachne.digital or visiting arachne.digital

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/midlands/schools-and-colleges/

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/midlands/schools-and-colleges/learning-events/

We have been offline for a short while whilst we evaluate, reconsider where the podcast is heading and reset. This is the first of what will be a regular series of brief updates between the main podcasts.

In these, we aim to tell you what we are up to at the Design & Technology Association, highlight any primary areas of work you might not be aware of, discuss what's going on with the subject, and occasionally bring in guests to help inform the conversation.

These pods will never be more than 12 minutes in length and will be released between the main Designed for Life podcasts...but only when there is something relevant to say!

Let us know what you think.

In this podcast, we are going to test your knowledge of UK manufacturing, your memory, and empathy for items that, by their very nature, invoke nostalgia, as we take you through a journey that transcends technological change and leads through a combination of determination, an 'old-fashioned' desire to be the very best in a field, and contains equal amounts of passion and innovation.

Sound Leisure is a truly unique company. Built on one man's dream and passion for combining engineering and music, Sound Leisure is now the leading manufacturer of jukeboxes, not just in the UK but arguably worldwide.

Sound Leisure started in 1978 with a custom-designed jukebox, and today is the only manufacturer in the world producing classic jukeboxes for all major formats, including CD, Digital, Vinyl 45 and Vinyl LP, with all jukeboxes coming fitted with Bluetooth. And all of this comes not from Nashville or Germany, but proudly from Leeds.

In this conversation with Chris Black, who, with his brother, leads the company founded by his father, inventor and electrical engineer Alan Black, the company remains owned and run by Alan and his family, making it the oldest, single-ownership jukebox company anywhere in the world.

From its foundation to the present day, Sound Leisure has remained a brave and forward-thinking organisation. From becoming the first British company to design, develop and build a commercially viable and widely adopted jukebox platform in the 1970s, they went on to pioneer the early development of digitised music platforms in the 1980s and were responsible for the reintroduction of vinyl jukeboxes in 2016.

They remain a globally recognised and respected leader in their sector, with countless patents and industry-firsts to their name. Their consistent success and growth over a 40-year period, which saw the demise of many long-established jukebox manufacturers such as Seeburg and Wurlitzer, is based on an ongoing commitment to developing better products and technologies and an unfailing focus on high-quality British manufacturing.

Chris has heavily invested in his local community, keen to grow his company with local talent, and has reached out to schools and colleges to identify young people who possess the drive, determination, and passion to join Sound Leisure's journey.

This podcast was an absolute pleasure to record. Chris and his team are on a mission to make every jukebox they create unique. Handcrafted and featuring the latest carefully assembled technologies, you are not just buying a machine from Sound Leisure; you are joining a family.

To view Sound Leisure's Classic Jukebox range, visit www.soundleisure.com.

To view their operations webpage, visit https:/www.operations.soundleisure.com/

And for their kids division visit – www.Slkids.co.uk

Huge thanks to Arachne.digital for their sponsorship and support, which make these podcasts possible. Reach out to them, free to ensure