The tension between attention and manipulation

Jeff Haase returns to the studio to join host Adam Fromme in this episode of the Thinking through Design podcast. 

“We’ve stopped learning how to be engaged emotionally…other than our own emotions” Jeff Haase

This episode is an expansive conversation on persuasion, process, and the evolving role of design in an AI-driven world. Returning as one of the podcast’s earliest guests, Jeff Haase reflects on a recent experimental collaborative studio that challenged students to explore propaganda, conspiracy theory, social media algorithms and generative AI as frameworks for understanding how influence is constructed and distributed. Rather than treating design as neutral problem solving, the discussion positions designers as active participants in shaping attention, narrative and belief.

Their conversation examines the ethical tension embedded in persuasive communication, asking where the line exists between advocacy, manipulation and storytelling. Jeff shares how students used AI tools, fictitious social media identities and rapid content generation to explore environmental activism, educational equity and financial inequality, resulting in a broader reflection on how contemporary platforms reward both alliance-building and agitation. Beneath the provocative experiments is a deeper meditation on the nature of creativity itself.

Throughout the episode, the conversation connects these digital explorations back to broader questions of craft, curiosity and design process. Adam and Jeff discuss the importance of reflection in an increasingly accelerated culture, the value of discomfort within creative practice, and why meaningful design requires designers to move beyond disciplinary boundaries. The episode also marks Jeff’s retirement and closes with his call for designers to remain deeply curious, ethically aware and open to the unexpected connections that fuel innovation.

Jeff Haase is a retiring Associate Professor in the Department of Design at The Ohio State University, where he has taught full-time since 1999. He is known for his innovative restaurant designs, notably shaping several influential Columbus venues. His multifaceted career spans award-winning work across healthcare, hospitality, and corporate sectors, while his academic focus has centered on redefining spatial representation and the evolving relationship between design, technology, and creative process.

You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.