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In only 5 years since its founding, the London design collective United Visual Artists has built a formidable international reputation with phenomenal interactive installations and captivating environmental visual graphics that perfectly synchronise with it’s surrounding whether it be a large-scale concert, music video set, installation art or fashion event. Their commercial work for concert tours with Massive Attack, U2’s Vertigo World Tour and non-commercial projects such as the Volume installation at the Victoria and Albert and Echo live performance at The Tate Modern Turbine Hall and others share a similarly optical and intellectually stimulating quality that captures any audience. All members having their own field of expertise, UVA uses a diverse range of technologies to create seamless, brilliant, real-time, immersive, responsive experiences combining seductive imagery and light. During one of their recent trips to Tokyo, our Tokyo correspondent Uleshka met with Creative Director Matt Clark on a rooftop at Narita Airport.

Paul D. Miller alias DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid is busy as a 21st century bee can be – he’s participated in the Venice Biennale for Architecture, produced music for Yoko Ono, remixed the Reggae label Trojan records’ back catalogue, shot a film in Antarctica, co-published magazines, lectured and played at festivals 24/7 from France to Japan to Mexico City and recently has started to work with acclaimed stage director and playwright Robert Wilson. With all this, it’s hard to believe he’s found time to compile and publish a new book. Sound Unbound is about sampling and digital culture, containing essays from Brian Eno, Jonathan Lethem, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Steve Reich, Simon Reynolds and Bruce Sterling to name but a few. If that sounds like a weird genre-crossing and namedrop-heavy remixed collage to you, fine then, because that's what it's all about. In Gestalten's latest podcast interview DJ Spooky speaks about collage and the visualisation of music.

Born and bread in New York, designer Jason Miller continues to live and work in the big apple. Although he started out as a painter, he soon discovered his interest in three-dimensional designs and working with a multitude of mediums making the transition into designing furniture and interior design. After working as an assistant for Jeff Koons and Karim Rashid, he started his own studio in 2001. Since then he has produced his own products and furniture series as well as worked for clients including Areaware, Persol, Brookstone, Carlo Rossi, Kikkerland and Idee to name a few. He was also named “Best Breakthrough Designer” by Wallpaper magazine in 2007 and his work is also included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Gestalten met the playful and multi-tasking designer at the Ambiente Fair in Frankfurt where he was busy setting up his very own idea of an ideal “ambiente” for shopping pleasure.

Designer and "agent provocateur" Jerszy Seymour likes to disengage design objects from their precast applications. Or as one could sum up: He'd like to find utopia without falling for false promises. Having been born in Berlin and now working and living here again, Jerszy Seymour's Polish parents were ballet dancers so it might not be too difficult to get the balance right for him. The balance between being a contemporary and much sought after designer creating objects for established brands and institutions on the one hand, he is also a free-minded character who has spent years travelling the world working as a DJ, and does a lot of work that could easily be defined as art. He is surely a designer with a strong theoretical basis who in case of doubt always opts for the more challenging alternative. We met Jerszy in Berlin for an interview and he talks about current projects and eternal visions.

Oded Ezer creates brilliant Hebrew and Latin typography that make it hard for you to say whether he is still working in typography or already in the realm of art. He is also active in crafting object-related installations and commercial designs. Ezer's work is emotional and powerful. The beauty and distinctiveness of his typographies with their stunning shapes are exceptional in this field. The recipient of numerous design awards, Ezer is not only multitalented and hardworking, but also has fun with what he is doing, thus not drawing a line between work and play. The father of one works in Tel Aviv. When he visited Berlin recently to speak at Typo Berlin Conference, we finally met him face-to-face and talked about his plans, Typosperma at MoMa NY and his filmic hommage to Israeli poet and art critic Hezi Leskley.

Editors Lukas Feireiss and Kristin Feireiss whom is also founder of the Architecture Forum Aedes presented the Gestalten release Architecture of Change at Aedes Berlin and lead a panel discussion about contemporary sustainable building practices. The book features recently built and realised projects that in addition to their exceptional architectural quality make a notable contribution to a liveable and sustainable future. But the book also covers current initiatives that promote innovative research in this sector and thus encourage an emerging generation of environmentally aware architects and urban planners. At Aedes we not only met up with Lukas and Kristin but also with Christoph Ingenhoven of Ingenhoven architects and German general commissioner for Biennale Architecture Venice 2008 Friedrich von Borries of Raumtaktik to speak about sustainability and humanity in the built environment. In addition to that we interviewed architect Lucas Young of Sauerbruch Hutton earlier this year in Berlin.

Maarten Baas is a little bit of an enfant terrible within the design scene. He had to try more than once to convince his teachers at Design Academy Eindhoven of his talent. When he presented his Smoke series of furniture, all doubts went up in smoke and it immediately gained him a lot of attention, e.g. Marcel Wanders incorporating it into his design company MOOI. After exhibiting in Milan, London and Paris the Smoke series became an iconic collection in contemporary design. At the Salone del Mobile 2008  Maarten launched Clay Furniture. In fall 2008 he will present new exciting objects for Established and Sons and if that wasn't already reason enough  to meet him for a filmed interview then it surely was the unusual down-to-earth atmosphere of the former car repair shop which he took as the ideal location for his various designs.

Being part of a new generation of highly talented dutch designers Joost and Kiki not only stand out of the crowd because they love each other but also because they put so much personality and mastery into their work that the objects they create are really unique and exceptionally well crafted.  Both are graduates of Design Academy Eindhoven and have worked for brands like MOOOI, Swarovski and institutions such as Studio Li Edelkoort Paris. We met the two of them in Milan where they presented their collaborative efforts entitled Recollections.

Industrial designer Konstantin Grcic, whose company KGID (Konstantin Grcic Industrial Design) resides in Munich, is not only one of the most influential German designers today but also a decent man and thereby pretty much the complete opposite of your average narcissistic designer/artist. After an apprenticeship as a cabinet maker, he studied at the Royal College of Art in London as Jasper Morrison's assistant. Bavarian born Grcic prefers to stand back behind his work and choses serial (i.e. industrial) designs over limited edition exclusivity. And although his work speaks for itself and the fact that due to a flu he nearly had lost his voice when we met him in Milan, he was kind enough to answer our questions patiently and accurately. In Milan he presented two different projects, the Myto chair which he developed for Plank as well as a 'seating element for public spaces' named Landen for Vitra.

Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel are Studio Job. The dutch couple started working together after graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000. In the beginning they were often criticised for their expressionistic symbolism, nowadays the designers are in great demand for the same reason. We met them in Milan where they were presenting their Farm collection as well as a huge globe for Swarovski's Crystal Palace.

We’re back with Part 2 on the designer Jaime Hayon. It’s no surprise that the star designer had numerous presentation all throughout the city of Milan during the annual Salone del Mobile last week. Gestalten has produced a short video documentary featuring the designer and the unveiling of the first half of his Fantasy Collection for the Spanish porcelain manufacturer Lladró with fantastical porcelain pieces, specially designed shoes for Camper and the first view of his first monograph Jaime Hayon Works, published by yours truly. We also have additional footage of several other breathtaking presentations he has done this year for Bisazza and Swarovski. The presentation at the renowned gallery Spazio Rossana Orlandi was a great success where we sold out of the book even before the opening! In the midst of several other film interviews, the designer took out some time to talk to us about his various projects in Milan. This podcast will be the first of many to come on highlights from Milan including interviews with Dutch designers Studio Job, Kiki & Joost, Maarten Baas and German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic. Keep your eyes peeled.

Jaime Hayon is a rising star in the international creative scene. He embodies a new type of creative Renaissance man, who can realize his unique stylistic language across various areas and media, thanks to his interdisciplinary approach and extraordinary talent. To celebrate the release of his first monograph, Gestalten presents a feature podcast on the designer. Jaime Hayon was in Frankfurt earlier this week to present three new collections of large-scale lamps, Bastoni, America and Solids, for the Spanish lighting manufacturer Metalarte at the Light + Building fair. We hopped on a train to meet the designer on Monday and talked to him about his new pieces and his creative process.

The Gestalten published Arabesque investigates the creative potential of the Arab World and Iran and features examples of recent innovative and groundbreaking design work that is inspired by the richness of the region’s visual culture. Our video podcast includes an interview with Ben Wittner and Sascha Thoma, who edited Arabesque (together with Nicolas Bourquin) alongside footage that they filmed while staying in Cairo for one year. Furthermore it does give detailed insight into the book itself. The interview took place in Berlin.

Daniel Richter is one of the most renowned contemporary German painters of today. After studying at the Hochschule der Bildenden Künste in Hamburg from 1991 to 1995 he began his career as an artist. He has developed his own expressive style of figurative painting and showed in international galleries over the years with growing success, ultimately earning him a large-scale solo exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle last year. Coming from an alternative political background rooted in the punk movement and having created graphic artwork for chummy musicians and bands, Daniel Richter still tries to keep a low profile when it comes to fame and public attention. For this week’s podcast interview, we visited the artist in his Berlin studio where he prepares new paintings for a forthcoming exhibition in New York.

The animation films of David O' Reilly don't have much in common with the flashy slapstick-ridden works many of his colleagues have resigned to. Instead they are acute and subtle, containing dark humour and psychological suspense. The man from Kilkenny, Ireland who lives and works in Berlin these days has developed his skills over the years by a seldomely seen dedication for animation that owes as much to the love for the genre as it does to the hate for it. For our interview feature he took some time out from "working like a robot" to reveal all about his motivation, his influences and the importance of silence.