Design To Be Conversation

After 65 episodes, today's show is the last episode of our podcast, Design To Be Conversation. There are big shifts happening behind the scenes with Design To Be and closing the chapter on our podcast will allow us to take the proper next steps to what's ahead. Thank you all for listening. Now, for our final episode!Jehad Affoneh is a design and product leader who's led design, product, and engineering teams most recently at VMware and Splunk. He is currently Chief Design Officer at Toast, leading the product, customer, and end-to-end experience that empowers tens of thousands of restaurants to delight their guests, do what they love, and thrive. He lives with his wife in Redwood City, California.We chat about why designers struggle to build end-to-end experiences, why many organizations ship their org structure, the ways to avoid this,  and ways you can think this through.

Andy Vitale is a design executive, educator, speaker, and co-host of the Surfacing Podcast. He is currently the Executive Vice President of Design at Rocket Companies, where he leads a team focused on transforming the lending and finance industry, through a human-centered approach, to provide the best experience for millions of people. Throughout his career, he has built, scaled, and led teams that elevate the role of Design as an organizational competence and a competitive advantage.We dive into how his career evolved over time, how you create a space to scale a team and grow their capabilities, how he values teaching online, mentoring often, and how interns have been valuable to the Rocket design team.

Amy Thibodeau is the Chief Design Officer at Gusto, where she empowers designers, researchers, and content strategists who are working on products that connect companies with their employees in a more meaningful way. Previously, Amy was a senior director of UX at Shopify where she led a cross-functional team of over 130 people working on core business products. During her time at Shopify, she also led the launch of the Polaris design system, built the Platform UX team and founded the Design Ops practice. In earlier iterations of her life, she was one of the first members of Facebook's now gigantic content strategy team, renovated an old house in the south of France, worked in art museums, and traveled around the world for a year. Amy lives in Canada with her husband Dan and small but mighty dogs, Gus and Ella.We dive into the difference between the tension between speed and quality, the importance of creating shared language and goals, as well as the conditions for quality and velocity, and much much more.

Renato Valdés Olmos is an executive, angel investor, and advisor with over two decades of experience serving millions of customers worldwide. He's built products, brands, and organizations in various industries, including artificial intelligence, transportation, healthcare, and productivity tools. Most recently, he served as VP of Product at Pitch, and Head of Design at Grammarly and is currently focusing on being a Dad and investor.We dive into the most important lessons he's learned throughout his career, how his career has evolved from a designer to an executive, to being involved in the investment space, and even the most transformational experience of his life.

Bob Baxley is a design executive, advisor, mentor, and advocate who has built, managed and led UX teams at some of Silicon Valley's most respected companies. With a career spanning three decades, Bob's work at Apple, Pinterest, Yahoo!, and elsewhere has touched hundreds of millions of users around the world. Currently, Bob serves as the Senior Vice-President of Design at ThoughtSpot, a business intelligence, and data analytics platform. Committed to recruiting and inspiring the next generation of designers Bob also mentors individuals and advises organizations working to improve the profession and practice of digital product design. We dive into his motivation to continue designing, how he's adapted throughout his career, what's going on with the design industry, and why he's inspired for what's next. 

Over the last 25 years, Parameswaran Venkataraman has been in design and innovation leadership roles across companies like IDEO, Tata Digital, Fractal.ai, Dr. Reddy's and Sapient. Over the last decade, he has been instrumental in setting up and establishing strategic design capabilities & culture in several organizations. Some of the work Param has led at Studio 5B at Dr. Reddy's is now a featured case study in IDEO U's course on Designing for ChangeParam is passionate about mindfulness and the ‘art of stillness'. At the end of each year, he publishes a toolkit for applying Mindfulness and Design Thinking principles for personal reflections on the year that went past, and to create a vision for the year ahead.We dive into how the more you progress in your career, the more inward you need to look, how coaching and therapy have helped him as a designer, how to think about career milestones, and much much more. ,

Jesse James Garrett has been one of the most prominent voices in digital product design for more than 20 years. His career highlights include co-founding the groundbreaking UX consultancy, Adaptive Path; writing the foundational book The Elements of User Experience, whose iconic five-plane model has become a staple of the field; and defining Ajax, the dynamic interaction model that transformed web technology and design in the Web 2.0 era. His work has been published in more than a dozen languages and he is a frequent keynote speaker on making designers and organizations more human-centered in their work.We dive into leadership through relationships, how most struggles of unhealthy design teams can be traced back to unhealthy relationship dynamics, paired with leading with authenticity, and how too many designers feel they have to shed some part of who they are in order to fit the mold of leadership. But leadership has no mold and comes in every shape imaginable. 

Tim Allen is the Global Head of Design at Instacart. He leads the global product design, research, content and operations, centered on food access and inclusivity. His focus on fueling human potential is key to building products and cultures that inspire people to do their best work. As an additional outlet for his passion for design thinking, Tim was named one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business for 2017.  Tim speaks and instructs at schools and events around the country.Prior to Instacart, Tim led Airbnb's global Product Design team, Microsoft's Experiences & Devices design practice and Amazon's Product Design Studio as Executive Creative Director leading the experience design for Echo, FireTV, and Kindle products. Tim also shaped the vision for one of the largest Experience Design teams in the United States at R/GA, whose Nike+ work established the future of connected experiences for brands. Through innovative work with Adobe, Red Hat, and IBM, Tim holds seven patents related to software design, ranging from chat interface modeling to mobile device synchronization.We dive into how throughout his career, Tim continued to make the ceiling his floor. We chat about what that means, how his upbringing impacted him as a designer, and how the skills that got you to where you are today won't necessarily get you to what's next.

Noah Levin is a Senior Product Design Director at Figma. His job includes a variety of things, like attracting and retaining talented designers, setting and sharing context, providing actionable feedback, and helping facilitate a healthy environment for design in the company. Before Figma, he led design teams at ClassPass and Google, taught designers to code as an advisor at Framer, and built a cuff-mounted digital assistant for astronauts at NASA. He studied Human-Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon and is originally from Pittsburgh.We dive into how he and the team at Figma continue to innovate stale practices, how he goes about learning from others, who he actively learns from, and much more. 

Sameera Kapila is a designer, educator, manager, and writer who works as a senior product designer at Netlify. Born in India, raised on the Dutch island of Curaçao, and living in Austin, TX, Sameera has held roles in agencies, educational institutions, and consultancies ranging from individual contributor to executive leadership, student to educator, and everything in between. She writes and speaks about web and product design, diversity, inclusion and equity, tech education, and design research and process. She's written regularly forThe Pastry Box Project and net Magazine and spoken at events such as Creative Mornings, SXSW's HBCU track, Design/Content, and Clarity. We dive into how she develops new skills through learning by doing and chat about inclusive design communities, how to foster them, and much more. We even get a little preview into her new book that just came out, Inclusive Design Communities. You can check it out on abookapart.com. 

In today's episode, I chat with Sarah Doody. Sarah is the Founder & CEO of Career Strategy Lab, a UX career accelerator that helps UX and product professionals navigate their job search and get hired without applying to hundreds of jobs. Professionals that have worked with Sarah have landed jobs at Amazon, Blue Origin, Home Depot, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, and more and on average, they increase their salaries by 40%.She is also a User Experience designer, researcher, and educator. Having worked in the UX industry for more than 18 years, she began her career by working at large corporations and startups before launching her own product design consultancy business in 2012.For more information on Sarah please visit www.careerstrategylab.com or www.sarahdoody.com. She can also be found on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. We dive into what are the timeless skills that you need to excel in your career, how to go about creating a product roadmap for your career, and much much more.

In today's episode, I speak with Dan Szuc and Josephine Wong.  Dan is a co-founder and principal at Apogee and co-founder of Make Meaningful Work, as well as the co-founder of UX Hong Kong. He has been involved in the UX field and based in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Dan has lectured about user-centered design globally. He has co-authored three books including Global UX with Whitney Quesenbery, The Usability Kit with Gerry Gaffney and Make Meaningful Work with Josephine Wong. Josephine is a co-founder and principal at Apogee and co-founder of Make Meaningful Work, as well as the co-founder of UX Hong Kong. Jo grew up in multicultural Hong Kong, with a Chinese-Burmese father and Chinese-Indonesian mother. She collaborates with global teams conducting research in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. Jo is passionate about the environment, political and economic systems, and how we can live healthier and happier lives while not adversely impacting less fortunate people.In this episode, Dan and Jo take us through the experience of using an observational and sense-making tool they've developed called Practice Spotting. It can be used to uncover implicit learning opportunities and deepen explicit practices in support of the character, leadership, and culture you want at work.This is our last episode before we take a few months' break. Thank you to everyone who's been listening!Practice Spotting examples and downloads

In today's episode, I speak with Evan Dody. Evan is the Head of Design + Creative at Angi (including HomeAdvisor and Handy). He leads Product Design, Brand Creative, UX Research, UX Writing, and DesignOps across the multi-sided home services marketplace. He and his team help homeowners across the country create and care for homes they love, while simultaneously helping local businesses thrive. Prior to Angi, Evan led design teams at Mailchimp and Huge in Brooklyn. He's designed customer-centric services for some of the world's most recognizable brands—McDonald's, American Express, and United Airlines to name a few. He's passionate about creating easy digital products that help people enjoy their in-person lives more and helping the small business economy thrive.We dive into what it means to lead with optimism, including redefining optimism as an active tool for change, uncovering the why behind the work you're doing, and the vital role that identity and representation play in believing a positive outcome is possible.

In today's episode, I speak with Fonz Morris. Fonz is an entrepreneur and self-taught designer, born in Brooklyn and now based in San Jose. He has worked in tech and design on both coasts of the United States, in Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Washington D.C., and California. His belief in the importance of self-driven education continued through his travels through Europe, Central and South America, and South East Asia. Since 2020, Fonz has been the Lead Product Designer at Netflix. Prior to joining Netflix, he led a design team at Coursera. We dive into what it means to be true to yourself, the value of a supportive community, and how to build confidence in your decisions when taking risks.Find Fonz on Twitter at @youngfonz.

In today's episode, I speak with Andy Budd. Andy is a design leader, conference speaker, start-up advisor & coach. He co-founded Clearleft, the first dedicated UX consultancy in the UK, along with the Leading Design and UX London conferences. He's a member of the Adobe Design Circle, and has appeared on both the Wired 100 and BIMA 100 lists of influential leaders in tech. He's currently helping start-up founders make the most of Design in his role as an Expert in Residence at Seedcamp, Europe's most successful early stage venture fund. We dive into what you give up and what you gain in the shift from a designer role to a design leader role – and how to navigate common pitfalls. This episode is full of honest and actionable insights to guide you in choosing a path that's most meaningful to you.The book Andy references is Julie Zhuo's The Making of a Manager. Find Andy on Twitter at @andybudd.

This is our 50th episode of Design To Be Conversation. Thank you all so much for your support – and an extra special thanks to those of you who have been listening since the beginning! Today we're celebrating by doing something a little bit different. In this episode, our guest host Jayneil Dalal interviews me about my experience with a 10-day silent meditation retreat. Jayneil Dalal is a product designer born in Gujarat, India and polished in Dallas, Texas. He hosts the design MBA podcast where he interviews rockstar designers. And I'm Rachel Weissman, the Founder & CEO of Design To Be and the host of the Design To Be Conversation podcast. I'm also an emotional intelligence coach, keynote speaker, and meditation & yoga teacher currently based in Venice, California. We dive into what happens when disconnecting from technology entirely, the difference between experiencing and intellectualizing, and listening to your body to get clarity on your career.Find Rachel on Twitter at @racheldweissman and Jayneil on Twitter at @jayneildalal.

In today's episode, I speak with Malthe Sigurdsson. Malthe has 25 years of experience as a designer and design leader building, scaling, and managing design organizations that deliver beautiful and effective work across multiple disciplines and product categories. He is currently the Chief Design Officer at Handshake, where he is leading product and brand design across the company. At Handshake his goal is to help level up the end-to-end consumer and enterprise experiences and is instrumental in helping Handshake grow a world-class design team. Before Handshake, Malthe was Head of Design at Stripe, leading design for 6 years. Prior to Stripe he was SVP of Product and Design at Rdio and Creative Director at Skype.We dive into what ownership, influence, and impact can look like for designers working with diverse stakeholders. We discuss 6 key steps for exerting influence with outsized impact – including identifying and communicating your convictions, and enabling others to be successful alongside you.

In today's episode, I speak with Ximena Vengoechea. Ximena is a user researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work on personal and professional development has been published in Inc., The Washington Post, Newsweek, and Huffington Post. She is the author of the new book, Listen Like You Mean it: Reclaiming the Lost Art of True Connection (Portfolio/Penguin Random House). She is a contributor at Fast Company and The Muse, and writes Letters from Ximena, a newsletter on tech, culture, career, and creativity. She is best known for her project The Life Audit. An experienced manager, mentor, and researcher in the tech industry, she previously worked at Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Twitter. She is currently working on her second book, a guide to reclaiming rest.We dive into how to cultivate a listening mindset through humility, curiosity, and empathy; how to identify your own default listening mode; and ways to uncover hidden needs in a conversation.

In today's episode, I speak with Susan Weinschenk. Susan has a Ph.D. in Psychology and is the Chief Behavioral Scientist and CEO at The Team W, Inc, as well as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Susan consults with Fortune 1000 companies, start-ups, governments, and nonprofits, and is the author of several books, including 100 Things Every  Designer Needs To Know About People, 100 MORE Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People and How To Get  People To Do Stuff. We dive into the brain science of creativity and how to come up with better ideas and solutions by working with the 3 networks in your brain that foster creativity: executive attention, imagination, and salience. We discuss how to set specific intentions, why it's essential to turn off your concentrated brain, and the science behind the “Aha!” moment.

In today's episode, I speak with Indi Young. Indi is a researcher who coaches, writes, and teaches about inclusive product strategy. Her work is rooted in the problem space where the focus is on people, not users. Indi pioneered opportunity maps, mental model diagrams, and thinking styles. Her way of approaching the problem allows teams to truly pay attention to people, without letting cognitive bias and assumptions creep in. Indi has written two books: Practical Empathy and Mental Models. She builds knowledge and community via a series of live online advanced courses about the importance of pushing the boundaries of your perspective. She was one of the founders of Adaptive Path, the pioneering UX agency. You can follow her on Twitter @indiyoung and access many resources on her website indiyoung.com as well as at medium.com/inclusive-software.We dive into what it means to listen deeply when doing research, how to collect knowledge about a purpose rather than a solution, and how to create a safe space so the person you're listening to can access their interior cognition. You'll come away with some fascinating examples and actionable techniques for deep listening.

In today's episode, I speak with Jeff Veen. Jeff is a Design Partner and Head of Platform at True Ventures, where he spends his time helping founders create better products. He does this as an advisor, as well, for companies like about.me, Medium, and WordPress. Previously, Jeff was VP of Design at Adobe after they acquired Typekit, the company he co-founded and ran as CEO. Jeff was also one of the founding partners of the user experience consulting group Adaptive Path. While there, he led Measure Map, which was acquired by Google. During his time at Google, Jeff designed Google Analytics and led the UX team for Google's apps. Much earlier, Jeff was part of the founding web team at Wired Magazine, where he helped build HotWired, Web Monkey, Wired News, and many other sites. During that time, he authored two books: HotWired Style and The Art and Science of Web Design.We dive into ways in which trust is established at work and how it's necessary in order for people to be as creative – and successful – as possible. 

In today's episode, I speak with Kat Vellos. Kat is a connection coach and trusted expert on the power of cultivating meaningful friendships. In her former career as a user experience designer, she researched, designed, and advised on the user experience of countless flows in digital products serving millions of people at companies like Slack and Pandora. With the publication of her books, We Should Get Together and Connected from Afar, Kat turned her background in UX design towards combating the loneliness epidemic to help millions of people experience greater wellness and fulfillment through thriving platonic relationships. Her interviews can be found in a variety of publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Communication Arts, Thrive Global, Yahoo Lifestyle, and Authority Magazine. Kat is also a sought-after speaker who has graced the stages of TEDx, San Francisco Design Week, Design for America, the Transforming Loneliness Summit, Rosenfeld Media's DesignOps Summit and many more. We dive into what workplace loneliness is, the profound impact it can have on you, and how, through practical strategies, you can transform the experience of ‘just a job' into an experience of community and a place of connection.

In today's episode, I speak with Randy Hunt. Randy is a multi-hyphenate designer, executive, artist, musician, and writer. Professionally: Randy is Head of Design Strategy at Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange. He has served as Head of Design at Grab, Head of Design at Artsy, and VP of Design at Etsy. Randy is the author of Product Design for the Web. He also co-founded Supermarket, a curated design marketplace, founded Citizen Scholar Inc., and worked at Milton Glaser Inc. He is an active writer, lecturer, critic, and visiting designer at many colleges and universities. We dive into experiences that can unexpectedly elicit joy at work – like discovering and operationalizing a new strength or helping to bring someone else's vision to life – as well as more intentional practices you can use – like getting clarity on your convictions through open conversation with people you trust.

In today's episode, I speak with Scott Jenson. Scott has been doing user interface design and strategic planning for over 30 years. He worked at Apple on System 7, Newton, and the Apple Human Interface guidelines. He was the director of Symbian's DesignLab, manager of mobile UX for Google, and a creative director at frog design in San Francisco. He was a founding member of the biotech company Color. Scott returned to Google working on the Chrome team in 2013 to work on IoT and Android. In 2021 he left to explore the world outside of Google and is now working at Ink & Switch, an industrial research lab. We dive into how to use meditation to create space for curiosity, how to be unattached to the result so you can be a better listener, and how – in order to be understood – you need to first understand yourself and the situation.

In today's episode, I speak with Chine and Chuba Ezekwesili. Also known as the Ezeks Twins, Chine and Chuba are interdisciplinary designers, artists, and founders of Akanka, a design studio on a mission to create Heaven on Earth. Akanka achieves this mission by partnering with other visionaries to design and build ventures and movements. These include Future Africa, Stand to End Rape, #FixPolitics, and the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG). At Akanka, they have worked with global brands that include Google, The World Economic Forum, Yale University, Duke University, Nexford University, GIZ, and Open Society Foundation. We dive into how to apply the Ezeks Twins' nature-inspired Framework of Intention in 3 steps: slowing down to be present and get clarity, giving gratitude for what's in front of you, and taking responsibility so you can make use of life's lessons and blessings.

In today's episode, I speak with Mike Gorgone. Mike is an Associate Director at EY. He is someone who loves being part of a creative, supportive and collaborative design team that builds engaging experiences for digital products at a company that fosters a culture that values design thinking and makes it a priority in how the company runs and solves problems. He currently gets to do all of the above in the Experience Design (XD) Group at EY. The Group is divided into Strategy, Creative, and Technology disciplines. The XD Group collaborates heavily with leadership and stakeholders to align with business goals and strategy.We dive into all the ways that improv and design intersect, including how active listening helps you let go of ego, how patience gives you an opportunity to be present, and the momentum that comes from saying “yes, and…”

In today's episode, I speak with Ran Segall. Ran has been a freelance web designer for 17 years — 6 of those as a full-time business owner. He started his career at big advertising and branding agencies, and as a freelancer, has served clients in many industries, including tech startups, social enterprises, and restaurateurs. By developing high-value skills, he scaled his freelance web design business to over $250k in yearly revenue. Since 2015, Ran has been sharing his learnings on his YouTube channel, Flux — the very foundation of Flux Academy. We dive into how to gain external self-awareness, how triggers can teach you what you value, and how to practice a ‘here to learn' mindset.

In today's episode, I speak with Sabrina Hall. Sabrina is a creative leader, product design manager, professor, and writer living in NYC. Currently, she is a Senior Product Design Manager at Etsy. With a career spanning over 14 years, she has collaborated with companies of all sizes. Sabrina is an activist, caring deeply about people and how design impacts others. She is a Board Member for the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) and previously served as co-chair of AIGA NY's Mentoring program. She is also an Adjunct Professor at CUNY where she teaches design. Sabrina is passionate about accessibility in design, creating opportunities for emerging designers and advocating for equity within the field of design.We dive into the impact and nuances of giving and receiving feedback: the role of power dynamics, the vulnerability that's required in learning, the value of specificity, and how to navigate, call out, and clarify assumptions.

We're excited to be back after a few months' break. We have many inspiring guests in store for you this time around. We'll be diving into their insightful stories and sharing their actionable advice, so you can invest in your emotional intelligence to become more impactful in your career. In today's episode, I speak with Terrence Williams. Terrence is a designer, illustrator, and storyteller located in San Francisco, CA. By producing work that encourages and celebrates an individual's authenticity, he proudly advocates for a more inclusive approach to design. He also strives to connect with audiences through courageous conversation. This has been a critical part of his growth as a voice in this industry, where he elevates designers of color and their intersectional narratives. Terrence hopes to inform, inspire, and empower others to take action and create more inclusive design cultures through the power of compassionate storytelling.We dive into navigating spaces where you are “the only one,” finding authenticity, honoring the story of the community you're serving, and the four mindsets of Relationship Design: compassion, intention, courage, and reciprocity.

Today's show marks our 36th and final episode of the Design To Be Conversation podcast before we come back in February 2022. Before we dive into our episode for today, I want to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you for listening and supporting Design To Be Conversation and thank you to each of our incredible guests who have made each episode so insightful and impactful. I'm extremely excited for the future of Design To Be Conversation. We have an incredible lineup of guests planned for next year, so be sure to follow us along on social at design_tobe or head to designtobeconversation.com to be the first to know when we return. Now, let's get into today's episode.Today, we are wrapping up our show with Raquel Breternitz. Raquel is an award-winning design leader and strategist with a resume spanning years of purpose-driven work experience from serving as Design Director for US Senator Elizabeth Warren to private sector credits at the New York Times, Pivotal Labs, and IBM. Raquel is a public speaker with works and topics connected by a passion for accessibility and inclusion, research-driven design thinking, and a hunger for tackling complex and challenging problems. She has spoken at Lesbians Who Tech, PluralSightLIVE, Wonder Women in Tech, and O'Reilly Design.We dive into what it means to connect with your passions and ideals in design, the importance of prioritizing rest and well-being to manage burnout, and intentional ways to practice self-care that provides purpose and joy.  

In today's episode, I speak with Bonnie Bakhtiari. Bonnie is a brand designer and strategist for creative entrepreneurs, as well as a coach for fellow graphic, brand, and web designers. She specializes in crafting high converting, strategic brands for her custom design clients. Bonnie currently teaches fellow designers how to generate consistent income and connect with their ideal clients through the Brand Strategy School, her signature program for designers.We dive into learning how you can connect with your ideal clients from a place of ease and intention, how you can turn hustling into building a meaningful relationship with your clients through shared values that are aligned with your client goals, and steps to design effective solutions by understanding your client's pain points through the lens of self-awareness and collaboration.

In today's episode, I speak with May-Li Khoe. May-Li is an interdisciplinary, quatricultural, twice-immigrant artist-researcher-designer-inventor who combines invention with cultural practices, bright colors, faces-on-things, and glitter. She brings over 20 years of experience in design, including serving as VP of Design at Khan Academy, co-founding two companies (Scribble Together and Sprout, formerly MakeSpace), and recently creating a music and dance toy-game for the new Playdate game platform. Before that, she worked on new technologies at Apple and other tech organizations ranging from IBM Research, the MIT Media Lab, and Dynamicland, to the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Universal Music Group, and Oakland Museum of California. She also DJs, dances, writes, makes art, speaks, teaches, plays music, and cultivates joyful ways to subvert the status quo.We dive into what it means to manage and lead by understanding the emotions that drive people's behaviors in an organization, the power and responsibility of being a manager versus influencing as an individual contributor, ways to communicate your true authentic voice as a new manager, and how EQ can help you manage more humanely and inclusively in the future. 

In today's episode, I speak with Priya Anant. Priya is a Senior Director at Google where she has led user-facing teams in fighting spam, abuse and fraud to deliver safe and delightful user experiences.  She leads a multi-disciplinary UX team focused on scaling UX and user-centric product development across Search, Assistant, Shopping, Travel, Maps and Payments. Her expertise is in developing end-to-end connected and inclusive consumer experiences, harnessing the power of design systems. Prior to Google, Priya spent 10 years in management consulting at Bain where she advised healthcare, technology and consumer goods companies on global growth strategies and operations improvement.We dive into understanding the role of vulnerability in cultivating trusting relationships, how valuing your authentic self allows you to take ownership of your feelings, and how embracing curiosity and a growth mindset can help you overcome imposter syndrome.  

In today's episode, I speak with Jon Delman. Jon is a Director of Product Design at Twitter in San Francisco. He works within the design and research team focused on internal tools and product solutions. Jon offers tactical advice for young designers on how to approach learning by embracing the courage to fail through his article, Let it be a lesson to you, on Medium. He has over 20 years of professional design experience in both agency and in-house environments, working with brands such as Google, Apple, Splunk, and Samsung. Previously, he worked as Executive Creative Director at ueno, Group Creative Director at Beyond, and a Creative Director at Huge.  We dive into how to develop the courage to fail while also how to learn through failures to design your success, how you can weave more kindness and curiosity into your work through joyful relationships with others and yourself, as well as actionable ways to pursue greater learning by acknowledging when you fail and how to embrace your most authentic self.    

In today's episode, I speak with Rebecca Brooker. Rebecca is a queer woman of color born in Trinidad + Tobago and currently based in Buenos Aires. She is the co-founder of Queer Design Club, the global online community for LGBTQ+ designers where she spearheads the Queer Design Count which is the first and only survey of LGBTQ+ people in design. She's an art director at Ghost Note Agency and designs across branding, print, and digital.We dive into learning and understanding the challenges of queer designers in the industry, how data and research can inform inclusive and equity driven design, what community efforts can foster social awareness and collaboration among LGBTQ+ designers, and tactical ways to spark authentic conversations around inclusivity and creating safe spaces for all.

In today's episode, I speak with Wendy Johansson. Wendy is the Head of UX Apprentice Program at Amazon. She is a global product experience leader and entrepreneur focused on the intersection of product and user experience to scale high-performing global teams. She started and built her career as a UX leader at successful early-stage startups, co-founded Wizeline, a global product development company, and served as Global VP of Experience at Publicis Sapient. Wendy champions women and people of color in tech, and volunteers with organizations for the humane treatment of animals.We dive into what it means to lead in tech and design as a woman and person of color, how identity plays a role in being a leader, and how intentional leadership can drive cross-functional influence through curiosity, collaboration, and communication.

In today's episode, I speak with Jonathan Shariat. Jonathan is the co-author of Tragic Design published by O'Reilly. He co-hosts the Design Review podcast, and is currently an Interaction Designer and Accessibility Program Lead at Google.We dive into the importance of communication for designers to convey clarity and solve problems, what communication skills he's learned from parenting books, tactical ways to build good communication skills by actively listening and asking good questions to get behind the why, and how EQ can lead you to become a more effective communicator.

In today's episode, I speak with Brad Frost. Brad is a web designer, speaker, writer, and consultant based in Pittsburgh. He is the author of the book Atomic Design, which introduces a methodology to create and maintain effective design systems. Brad co-hosts the Style Guides Podcast and has helped create several tools and resources for web designers.We dive into navigating the challenges designers experience when coping with personal crisis and burnout, tactical ways to protect your well-being by cultivating self-awareness  and reaching out for support, and why investing in your mental health is key to becoming a more effective and empowered designer.

In today's episode, I speak with Hana Schank. Hana is the Co-Director of Strategy for Public Interest Technology at New America where she works to develop the public interest technology field via research, storytelling, and hands-on projects. She is the co-author of Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology. In the private sector, Hana founded and ran CollectiveUX, a user experience consultancy that works with startups, Fortune 500 companies, and governmental organizations to research and design human-centered products.We dive into the importance of developing high EQ in the area of public interest technology to solve various human issues, the value of practicing empathy as it relates to individual stories and designing successful user journeys, and how emotional intelligence can serve as a guidepost to cultivate a meaningful and impactful career.

In today's episode, I speak with Felix Lee. Felix is the Co-Founder and CEO at ADPList on a mission to democratize mentorships for all. He is a designer, engineer, and tech entrepreneur who believes in constantly reinventing the way we experience the world and beyond through purposeful design. Previously, Felix co-founded Packdat and has worked with global startups from Y Combinator, Sequoia, and more, raising over $50 million from an early stage.We dive deeper into how the role of design can bring people together to create solutions for global community impact, how data-driven design can bring user and business success by understanding metrics and growth numbers, and how EQ can help elevate the ability to design for startups and scale impact to solve problems and build better interactions around the world.

In today's episode, I speak with Jessica Helfand. Jessica is the  founding editor of Design Observer and author of numerous books on visual and cultural criticism including her new book aptly called Self-Reliance. She is an artist, designer, writer and educator and has taught in Paris, Porto, London, Malta, the Netherlands, and across the United States. Jessica is the first-ever recipient of the Henry Wolf Residency at the American Academy in Rome and has been a Director's Guest at Civitella Ranieri, a fellow at the Bogliasco Foundation, and an Artist in Residence at Caltech.We dive into ways of illustrating what it means to be self-reliant by leaning on yourself for inspiration, finding ways to challenge your creativity and imagination, and how designing for emotion and keeping a daily practice can weave more meaning into your journey as a self-reliant designer.

In today's episode, I speak with Aaron Walter.  Aaron is Acting Director of Product at Resolve to Save Lives where he explores how design and technology can help fight COVID-19. Formerly, he was the VP of content at InVision with 20 years of experience running product teams and helping companies enact design best practices.  Aarron founded the UX practice at MailChimp and helped grow the product from a few thousand users to more than 10 million. His design guidance has helped the White House, the US Department of State, and many Fortune 500 companies, startups, and venture capital firms. He is the co-host of the Webby-nominated Design Better podcast and has been featured in major publications like Fast Company, TechCrunch, and Vanity Fair among others.We dive into what it means to practice seeking meaning in your career and life, how curiosity helps you to craft a more purposeful career, what it means to navigate a mission-driven profession that aligns with your values and beliefs, and how investing in your emotional intelligence can guide you to a more fulfilling career.  

In today's episode, I speak with Nancy Douyon. Nancy is a Global Design Ethicist & Product Philosopher.  For more than fifteen years, she's been leading as a Black woman at Google, IBM, Intel, and Uber working on human experience product design. Throughout her career, Nancy has gained a reputation for delivering big results in a culturally honest and purposeful way with hundreds of products deployed in over 80 countries. She consults globally on inclusive development in emerging markets, and has spoken at the White House and top universities, institutions, and corporations worldwide.We dive into ways of navigating resilience and authenticity to communicate impact through your personal story, the importance of bringing out the value in everything that you do by speaking your truth, and practices you can adapt to improve your storytelling skills, and how you can communicate effectively to make an impact.  

In today's episode, I speak with Jared Spool. Jared is the Co-Founder, Co-CEO, and Maker of Awesomeness at Center Centre – UIE.  For the past 43 years, Jared has been working with hundreds of organizations in the tech world. He has written two books, published hundreds of articles and podcasts, and has been touring the world speaking to audiences everywhere.We dive into the important qualities of leadership and what it takes to be a true leader with a purpose and vision, the difference between a leader and a manager,  strategies and tactics to grow your skills to become a great UX leader in an organization, and how EQ contributes to being a successful leader.

In today's episode, I speak with Chetana Deorah. Chetana is the Design Director at Coursera that empowers online education worldwide. As a product design leader and mentor, Chetana helps empower human-centered design to achieve high-impact business goals. In her most recent post as Design Director at Netflix, she has led product design for global acquisition and growth for emerging markets. Her career trajectory includes leading design at Yahoo, Scribd and Pentagram. We dive into the importance of intentionality, how leading and designing with intention can weave greater purpose into your career, how intention relates to self-awareness, as well as tactical ways of setting intention to create a safe space for yourself and your team to lead to increased productivity and collaboration.

In today's episode, I speak with Jason James. Jason is the VP of Design at Instacart, a grocery delivery and pick-up service where he leads product design, brand, and research. Previously, he served as VP of Design at Thumbtack and was leading design early in his career  for Earnest, Intercom, Kin, and DoneDone. Jason is a mentor at Made in the Future, a program for emerging under-represented designers.We dive into the competitive field of design and how it fosters hustle culture, the factors that contribute to burnout, and how meditation and therapy can help designers cope with burnout by becoming more mindful in their design process and interactions with others.  

In today's episode, I speak with Dori Tunstall. Dori is the Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University, and the first black female dean of a faculty of design. She is a design anthropologist, public intellectual, and design advocate who works at the intersections of critical theory, culture, and design. Dori leads the Cultures-Based Innovation Initiative focused on using old ways of knowing to drive innovation processes that directly benefit communities.We dive into the depth of design and its interconnectedness with meaning and purpose, the importance of aligning your values with what you do to create understanding and empathy for cultural differences, as well as tactical ways to practice inclusive leadership by listening deeply and responding with compassion and generosity.   

Today’s episode marks our 18th episode and the final episode of the first season of Design To Be Conversation. Season 2 will start back up the first week of August. We are beyond excited for what’s ahead!Today, I speak with Pablo Stanley. Pablo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Blush. Pablo has a YouTube channel called Sketch Together and  gives talks and workshops around product design, animation, illustration systems, storytelling, behavioral economics, and the art of comics. He is also a writer and illustrator of “The Design Team,” a comic series that follows the lives of designers working at a startup.We dive into the benefits of staying curious to spark your creativity, ways and techniques to fight creative block, how being curious can keep you grounded and motivated by questioning your assumptions and embracing new ways of learning through your design process, and how cultivating curiosity will help you become a more inspired designer.

In today’s episode, I speak with Jared Erondu. Jared is a design leader, investor, and advisor. He’s currently the VP of Design at Lattice where they are building people-first HR software to make the time we spend at work more meaningful. Jared is also the co-creator of Playbook and High Resolution, two projects dedicated to furthering knowledge-sharing in the design community.We dive into the different aspects of growing as a designer, how developing a growth mindset helps you navigate a career filled with meaning and purpose, tactical approaches to design for impact by investing in life-long learning, the importance of adaptiveness and challenging the status quo in relation to people of color as well as benefit designers can have from a growth mindset.  

In today’s episode, I speak with Tiffani Jones Brown, Executive Editorial Director at Dropbox. Tiffani oversees an interdisciplinary team of copywriters, UX writers and graphic designers. She specializes in simple and emotionally intelligent branding and copy, defining the voice and tone for multiple startups, including Facebook and Pinterest. Tiffani currently helps lead the transition of Dropbox to Virtual First.We dive into the importance of effective communication by finding your authentic voice as a designer, practical ways to communicate for brevity and clarity using human-centric language, how simple communication tactics can optimize productivity in a remote culture, and managing conflict to improve team dynamics and collaboration.

In today’s episode, I speak with Pim Schachtschabel. Pim is the former Co-Founder and Design Director of the world-renowned Sherlocked, an experience design company in Amsterdam. He uses his formal training in architecture and design thinking as a backbone to enhance our human experience. During the pandemic, he went on a journey to research, experience and discover how we can train our muscle of curiosity.  Pim is on a mission to bring more magic into the design world and currently wears the hat of Experience Architect.  We dive into the world of design filled with curiosity, how being curious about curiosity can fuel more creativity and innovation, the principles and practices you can integrate into your daily life to stay curious, and practical ways on how you can grow your curiosity as a designer that can lead to a path of learning filled with meaning and inspiration.