ECAL is widely considered to be among the leading art and design institutions of the past two decades. Now, for the first time, ECAL’s teaching methods are revealed to a wider readership. Join ECAL director Alexis Georgacopoulos and American designer and writer Jonathan Olivares in conversation with AIGA’s Lee-Sean Huang as they share stories about the school’s unique approach to design pedagogy: encouraging individual and personal styles, rigorously pushing students to develop into their most coherent forms, and encouraging them to be business minded as well as creative.

Jonathan Olivares is an American designer and writer. His recent projects include Camper’s store at the Rockefeller Center (2019); the Vitra Workspace, an office furniture showroom and learning environment (Vitra, 2015); the exhibition Source Material, curated with Jasper Morrison and Marco Velardi (2014); and the Olivares Aluminum Chair (Knoll, 2012).

Alexis Georgacopoulos is a designer and the director of ECAL. He has initiated numerous projects and collaborations, such as Delirious Home, awarded the Best Exhibition Prize at the 2014 Milan Furniture Fair, and reference publications such as ECAL Photography or ECAL Graphic Design, presented in conjunction with exhibitions around the world.