From smart technology and creative process to business insights and emerging trends, the Connected Design Podcast explores the ideas, projects, and people pushing design forward—across residential, commercial, and everything in between.
Latest Episode
Forge CEO Talks Future of CEDIA Expo and More
Forge – the new name for the combined Emerald Expo-Questex venture – is barely a few weeks old, but CEO Paul Miller is already doing the rounds to check out portions of the new and much-expanded portfolio. That included a stop at CEDIA Expo in Denver, where we had the
Latest Episode
Forge CEO Talks Future of CEDIA Expo and More
Forge – the new name for the combined Emerald Expo-Questex venture – is barely a few weeks old, but CEO Paul Miller is already doing the rounds to check out portions of the new and much-expanded portfolio. That included a stop at CEDIA Expo in Denver, where we had the chance to sit down with Miller.
More Episodes
Picking the Brain of Power Proponent Joe Piccirilli
A veteran of the consumer electronics industry, Joe Piccirilli has seen it all. Today, as a major proponent of precision power performance, he’s set out to ensure integrators, builders, and consumers alike understand the importance of power in the context of the luxury smart home. When implemented properly, the right system can serve as the perfect power-driven painkiller for everyone involved.
LK & Associates Designed an Experience Center for Themselves
To be clear, the experience center that’s owned by LK & Associates in Southeast Florida may be theirs on paper. But, as Seth Kaplan told us, this space is intended to be a playground for the industry. Shortly after the official grand opening, we sat down with Seth to explore how they got to this point, plans for the space moving forward, and much more.
A Couple of Content Creators Chat About the State of Media and More
Though from different generations, our Editor in Chief Rob Stott and Strata-gee Founder and Chief Content Creator Ted Green have a lot more in common than you’d expect. Here, the two journos commiserate on the current conditions impacting media and the custom integration channel, how their stories have intertwined, and much more.
Kyle Steele On the Importance of Adaptability as an Integrator
Global Wave Integration Founder and CEO Kyle Steele has had quite the professional journey. From an aspiring rock star to a standout in the custom integration industry, he’s learned how to remain adaptable in life, let alone his profession. Here, we dive into the many challenges facing CIs today, including new technologies, AI, business operations, and more.
From Industry Newbie to CEDIA Board Chair
Amanda Wildman’s career arc is one she would’ve never predicted. Custom integration wasn’t even a term she was familiar with before leaving the jewelry business and getting into the channel with her husband over two decades ago. Now, she’s getting set to serve as the first-ever female Chair of CEDIA’s Global Board of Directors.
The Story Behind this New Chapter of Connected Design
The premiere episode of the Connected Design Podcast features an interview with our co-founders Rob and MEO.
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More Episodes
Forge CEO Talks Future of CEDIA Expo and More
Forge – the new name for the combined Emerald Expo-Questex venture – is barely a few weeks old, but CEO Paul Miller is already doing the rounds to check out portions of the new and much-expanded portfolio. That included a stop at CEDIA Expo in Denver, where we had the chance to sit down with Miller.
Kinetics Noise Control on Making Rooms Sound as Good as They Look
Jason Ehrlich, business development manager of room acoustics in the home market at Kinetics Noise Control, sits down with us for a conversation about why acoustics deserve a much earlier place in the design process.
Phoenix Marketing Group is Bringing Technology Further Upstream in Design Discussions
Bret Jacob at Phoenix Marketing Group discusses how the company is helping bridge the gap between integrators and the design-build community. The conversation explores why integrators need to be brought into projects earlier, how builders and designers can better understand technology’s role in luxury homes, and the tools Phoenix is building to support those relationships.
Why Builder-Integrator Relationships Matter in the Modern Custom Home
Jason Bourg, owner of Bourg Builders + Design in North Central Arkansas, sits down to discuss how technology has become a natural part of his custom homebuilding process.
Bourg shares his path from medicine to construction, how his lifelong interest in building shaped his company, and why home automation has become central to the way he thinks about custom homes. The conversation also explores his relationship with Brad’s Home Entertainment, the value of bringing an integrator into the process early, and how builders can use technology to improve security, convenience, aesthetics, and the overall client experience.
Bourg’s perspective offers a practical look at what collaboration can make possible when technology is treated as part of the home from the beginning.
Mitch Klein Looks Back on CEDIA, Design-Build Progress and the Channel’s Next Chapter
Mitch Klein joins the Connected Design Podcast to reflect on more than three decades in the custom integration industry and his long-running work with CEDIA.
The Death of the Touch Panel is Highly Overstated
The touchscreen has taken a few shots lately, as design and technology conversations swing back toward buttons, switches, and voice control. But for Crestron’s Giles Sutton and Michael Short, the question is not whether one interface wins. The real story is how the right mix of touch, tactile control, voice, sensing, and automation makes a connected home easier to live in.
On this episode of the Connected Design Podcast, Sutton and Short join Editor in Chief Rob Stott to discuss why the touchscreen remains an important part of the professional smart home, where tactile controls are the better answer, and why design-build conversations should focus less on screen count and more on the user experience each interface is meant to support.
