Lisa Winstanley: Visual Communicator, Award-Winning Designer, and Ethical Design Researcher

In this episode of Design Education Talks, we speak with Ksenija Miļča, Assistant Professor and Head of the Interior Design and Brand Design study programmes at EKA University of Applied Sciences in Riga, Latvia. Her work sits at the intersection of brand identity, spatial design, visual communication, sustainability and design education, bringing together questions of aesthetics, value, meaning and human experience.Together, we explore how design education can move beyond fragmented courses and passive learning towards a more integrated, practical and reflective model. Ksenija discusses the importance of real projects, material experimentation, interdisciplinary thinking and international collaboration, showing how students can learn to connect theory with practice and develop the confidence to work with complexity.This conversation is about more than interiors or branding. It is about how design forms relationships between people, spaces, organisations and values. At a time when education is being reshaped by technology, sustainability, global exchange and changing student needs, Ksenija’s perspective reminds us that design education must remain close to reality while still protecting imagination, judgement and creative courage.Support the showSince its inception in 2019, Design Education Talks podcast has served as a dynamic platform for the exchange of insights and ideas within the realm of art and design education. This initiative sprang from a culmination of nearly a decade of extensive research conducted by Lefteris Heretakis. His rich background, intertwining academia, industry, and student engagement, laid the foundation for a podcast that goes beyond the conventional boundaries of educational discourse.See all of our work on on https://linktr.ee/thenewartschoolFollow us on twitter at @newartschoolRead our latest articles at https://newartschool.education/and https://heretakis.medium.com/Equipment used to produce the podcast:Rodcaster pro IIRode NT1 5th generationElgato Low profile Microphone ArmMonster Prolink Studio Pro microphone cableThe rest of the equipment is here 👉https://kit.co/heretakis/podcasting