🎧 The Future Is HOW with Ivy Ross

How Art Regulates the Brain When the World Feels Overwhelming | Ivy Ross

In this episode, Frederik Pferdt sits down with Ivy Ross, Vice President of Design for Hardware Products at Google and co-author of Your Brain on Art, for a quiet, deeply human conversation about art, design, neuroscience, and what it really takes to build a future that still feels alive.

While most conversations about the future focus on speed, technology, and efficiency, this one moves in the opposite direction. Together, Frederik and Ivy explore why art is not decoration, but infrastructure for our nervous system, our empathy, and our ability to imagine what comes next without hardening.

Drawing on their shared history from the early days of Google Glass, Ivy reflects on designing for feeling, not just function, and why everything matters in design: texture, color, sound, space, and intention.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, reconnect with your senses, and remember that the future is not something we plan. It’s something we feel our way into.

In this conversation, you’ll explore

• Why art changes us biologically, not just emotionally

• How neuroaesthetics shapes how we think, feel, and heal

• What designing “from the inside out” really means

• Why art can calm us enough to imagine again in uncertain times

• How leaders and organizations can design spaces that support humanity, not just productivity

• What remains uniquely human in the age of AI

• Why the future needs magic, not just impact or scale
  

Timestamps & key moments

00:00 Welcome

03:34 What Ivy wants to make people feel or remember

04:15 What Ivy doesn't want to be remembered for

05:21 The top 3 things that stood out in Ivy's life so far

09:43 The impact of arts and neuroscience on designing products

14:38 The first time the public experienced neuroaesthetics live

21:45 A mindstate moment with Ivy and YOU

23:45 Why arts in moments of uncertainty or trauma

27:22 We're designed to express ourselves not for outcome

30:29 What Frederik sent Ivy and why creativity has to be everything but not perfect

31:57 If leaders understood art, what would workplaces look like?

35:02 How painting helps you being successful in life

39:22 How art changes in the age of AI

41:17 "Lightning round" with Ivy

43:02 What Ivy had to unlearn about arts

45:12 How to practice your future with art this week

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s time to pause and look back. Not to summarize the year, but to harvest what truly mattered.

This was a year full of futures. Full of encounters with people who don’t wait for what’s next, but actively practice it.

We are living in a moment where the future often feels unclear, even heavy. And that’s why the real question is no longer what will happen next, but how do we create something better, starting now.

In this special Best Of episode of The Future Is HOW, I’ve curated moments from the past year that are designed to shift how you think, feel, and act when the future feels uncertain.

You’ll hear from people who practice the future in very different ways:
A Michelin-star chef.
A musician.
An illustrator.
Leaders from Apple, Canva, Stanford, and Harvard.
Experts in sleep, AI, leadership, education, and mental health.

And you’ll also hear from my wife Angela, who works with plant medicine and Reiki energy healing, reminding us that creating the future isn’t only an outward act. It begins by listening inward.

This is not a podcast about predictions.
It’s about practice.

Short moments.
Real insights.
Gentle but powerful invitations.

Because the future isn’t something we wait for.
It’s something we practice, every day.

Welcome to the Best Of The Future Is HOW.

If something resonates with you, I invite you to explore the full conversations in the individual episodes.

Where to find Frederik G. Pferdt

NextLetter:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nextletter.frederikgpferdt.com ⁠⁠⁠

Book: ⁠⁠whatsnextisnowthebook.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠frederikgpferdt.com⁠

Music: Andreas Horchler

Today on The Future is How, Frederik's guest is Guy Kawasaki. In 1983, when there was no such thing as evangelism in businesses and corporations, he popularized it, while working with the Macintosh Division of Apple. He set standards beyond Apple. Today, Guy is the Chief Evangelist of Canva, the online graphics-design company from Australia. Guy is also the author of fifteen books, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers. He is a keynote speaker and host of the Remarkable People Podcast, as well as an investor.

In this episode:

• Belief in oneself is the most powerful gift.

• Evangelism is an ethos, not just a title.

• Remarkable people go through growth, grit, and grace

• It's not about how you get your job, but what you do once you're in.

• Showing up for others can have a profound impact.

• Purpose is often created through passion and experimentation.

• An open mind is essential for recognizing wisdom.

• Empowerment can come from simple acts of kindness.

• AI is a transformative force in our lives.

• The future is shaped by our choices and actions.

• A mindstate moment on evangelism

• Underrated and overrated tech-trends

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

04:38 A kick butt-moment: Frederik’s first encounter with Guy at a Steve Jobs Keynote.

07:31 Evangelism is ethos: the good news on creativity

10:15 Remarkable people: growth, grit, and grace

14:14 Steve Jobs: The remarkable Apple Universe

16:53 Inspire inspiration: Basic human skills

19:01 The embodiment of grace: Jane Goodall

21:52 The Chris Webster-story: Showing up at the chauffeur´s memorial

25:16 Finding purpose: Experiment your way forward

28:16 In love with AI?: The biggest deal in Guy´s career

30:46: Recognizing wisdom: Open and closed minds

34:23: A mindstate moment: Tangible evangelism

38:58: A quick fire round of questions

47:29: Quitting jobs: Certainty versus unchartered territory

49:29: The shit sandwich: Finding your calling

Where to find Guy Kawasaki:

Homepage: https://guykawasaki.com/

Book: Wiser Guy: https://guykawasaki.com/books/wiser-guy/

Podcast: https://guykawasaki.com/remarkable-people/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guykawasaki/

Where to Find Frederik G. Pferdt:

NextLetter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.nextletter.frederikgpferdt.com ⁠⁠⁠

Book: ⁠⁠whatsnextisnowthebook.com⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠frederikgpferdt.com⁠

Music: Andreas Horchler