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Great Minds of Design

Great Minds of Design is a six-part CBC documentary series hosted by Sarah Hall and Patty Johnson and Trevor McIvor, following designers through their unique processes of creation. Everything from a cereal box to a skyscraper starts with a design. Great Minds of Design follows a wide variety of designers as they complete a project. What alternate forms of energy can be used? How can a building be structured to promote efficiency? How has printing technology evolved? What are the design motivations of a street artist? How do exotic cultures sustain themselves?

Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4

Episode 5 Episode 6

Episode 1 - Urban Redesign
The work of these street artists arises out of their love for the urban jungle. Their selected materials are intended to naturally grow, die, melt, or blow away in the wind. Their clever creations add dignity to derelict sites and beautify the city landscape, especially in areas of decay.

Episode 2 - Solar Stained Glass
Sarah Hall designs architectural glass for buildings around the world. Now she installs one of her most ambitious designs to date, a series of giant solar energy collecting windows in a cathedral.

Episode 3 - Designing Cultures: Haiti
Patty Johnson has worked in South America, The Philippines, and South Africa, collaborating with indigenous groups in the creation of high-end design products that are sustainable in communities with low employment. For her current project, Patty travels to the devastated country of Haiti.

Episode 4 - Architecture by Nature
Trevor McIvor and his partners design buildings that take advantage of the innate heating and cooling characteristics of nature. From an off the grid "cottage" that requires no artificial cooling, to a green-roofed sound studio rising out of the earth, nature dictates the design flow.

Episode 5 - Designing with Ghosts
Nicholas Kennedy works with the ghosts of printing's past, by using salvaged equipment. His style of "anti-design" or "found design" insists that you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you create. He suddenly makes the dying art of bookmaking seem very much alive.

Episode 6 - Dream Big, Do Good, Spread Joy
Industrial designer Helen Kerr works on everything from soap pumps to geo-mapping the island of Manhattan. Her team uses materials that can be broken down at the end of an object's life, so each piece can be put back into the recycling stream.