Interviews with UX pioneers, hosted by Marek Pawlowski, the founder of MEX. Each episode features a guest talking to Marek about their career story, design interests and their hopes for how technology will shape the future. Part of the MEX initiative for enhancing digital user experience.
Mirren Fischer is someone who finds herself at the confluence of some really big challenges: creating a sustainable future and leveraging the new methods which have caused such an acceleration in the role of digital experiences. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about applying that approach to problems and places which have deep, physical roots - like construction projects which need to think on 100 year timescales. Part of her response to this brave new world is Brilliant Product Design, literally, and she hopes...figuratively. Brilliant is the name of the small agency she has founded to work towards these outcomes. It is a conversation informed by the depth of Mirren's experience and background. She trained originally in architecture and worked as an architect for a number of years. But for more than a decade she's been developing her talents in digital experience design. She's worked for a wide range of UX agencies, she's worked client-side and she's worked across industries from publishing to property. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Poetry and place...listening and lockdowns...Dan Phillips, who led the Royal College of Art's (RCA) work on 'Our Future Towns' talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how the research led to a different understanding of connectivity, mobility and transportation in our communities. It is a conversation with draws on Dan's breadth of design and research experience - crossing industry boundaries from engineering to telecoms - and reflects on the role of this kind of diverse knowledge in creating a more liveable (and likeable world). Dan started his career as a sponsored undergraduate working with Ford Motor Company in the UK and Germany; he's worked for huge engineering concerns, like Arup and Buro Happold; he wrote a book, Ecofriendly Homes - which has sold 30,000 copies; he's worked with big telecom companies like Orange. These days, he is to be found at the RCA, where he is a senior research fellow. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Mark Baldino's path to co-founding a Chicago-based design agency wends its way from a degree in theology and working at non-profits in Washington DC to reading an early edition of ‘Information Architecture for the World Wide Web' and a job as a late 90s web designer he claims he was totally unqualified for. What shines through today is a continuing commitment to bringing a certain set of values to the agency's UX work in healthcare and other sectors. Mark talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the nuances of selling design services, nurturing skills and growth within a team, and how the pandemic has influenced his agency's approach. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Paul Campbell, a former chief designer at Ford, is now re-imagining the wheelchair at Centaur Robotics. In this conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, he shares the life experiences and human-centred insights which have shaped Centaur's new approach to personal, connected mobility. The discussion also explores Paul's deep experience of car design and design studio culture, going right back to the early inspirations which have continued to shape Paul's approach to realising new products. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Jared Ficklin’s approach of ‘think by making’ has led him to produce remarkable digital design work, often at the forefront of exploring new computing metaphors, from smartphones to spatial interfaces. In his conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, Jared gets to one of the big truths of the digital age: the major expansions in computing occur when a significant change in UI metaphor resonates with users. The discussion goes deeper, exploring everything from what it means to sustain successful design studio culture to Jared’s hopes for new forms of public transport. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
The conversation between Robert Fabricant and Marek Pawlowski spans a wide arc, from Robert's childhood design influences growing up in New York City to the multi-year journey of co-authoring (with Cliff Kuang) the acclaimed book 'User Friendly - How the Hidden Rules of Design are Changing the way we Live, Work & Play'. Along the way they explore Robert's mid-career move from frog Design to co-found Dalberg Design, increasing his focus on the role of design in addressing global challenges such as healthcare, climate change and governance. The discussion includes reflections on Robert's involvement in the MEX community over the years, including his memorable talk at MEX/5 in May 2009. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://mex.ac/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Jennifer Sukis returns to the podcast to discuss changes in her own role at the intersection of artificial intelligence and design, as well as IBM's growing focus on this area for its big enterprise clients. The chat with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski ranges from approaches to user research when designing AI-powered systems, how AI may influence future education requirements for designers and striking the right balance when surfacing the wealth of additional data AI can make available to users. If you listen right to the end, there's also a challenge for you, based on a creative exercise Jennifer references during the conversation. Show notes with links to everything discussed: www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Donate to support We need your help to keep MEX going! Make your donation today to show your support and become a MEX Patron at: www.mobileuserexperience.com/patrons/ Your contributions go towards developing the podcast, livestream events and journal. Contact: T: twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Samar Héchaimé joins MEX founder Marek Pawlowski for a special discussion - recorded with a live web audience - exploring how we might transform our post-pandemic systems and organisations by putting people at the heart of future strategy. Drawing on deep cross-cultural experience – from the Middle East to the United States – and disciplines from architecture and digital services to consulting and innovation, Samar’s career has given her a unique perspective on balancing collective and individual design needs. Samar and Marek discuss projects ranging from wayfinding in airports to shaping the people-centred, holistic strategy of the Princess Noura University in Saudi Arabia. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Donate to support We need your help to keep MEX going! Make your donation today to show your support and become a MEX Patron at: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/patrons/ Your contributions go towards developing the podcast, livestream events and journal. Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
John Fagan is building technology to enhance the user experience of public transport through a better understanding of human behaviour. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how smartphone sensor data can be combined with real-time transport infrastructure feeds to deliver more contextually relevant digital services. John draws on his deep experience in this field, from being an early member of the Multimap team in the dotcom era to hands-on GIS work in Namibia. The conversation expands to talk about John and Marek's shared interests in the Norwich tech and design scene, including the role John rather modestly downplays in the city's emergence as a thriving hub for innovation. It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else at @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Ashton Snook, Head of Design for Digital & Physical Products at Hive, joins MEX founder Marek Pawlowski to share how Hive is approaching the complex, multi-touchpoint challenge of delivering good customer experience for its smart home products. Ashton talks about the user research and product design aspects, as well as the organisational journey he's been on to build collaboration between teams and keep the customer at the heart of the conversation. The discussion expands to some of the user stories inspiring Ashton and his team, as well as the wider implications of society's changing relationship with energy usage. It's great to hear from listeners! You can get in touch with feedback, questions, guest suggestions or anything else at @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Kwame Nyanning discusses the challenge of creating the experience office at Arrival, a technology company working on next generation electric vehicles, which hit the headlines earlier this year with an EUR 100m funding round from Hyundai and Kia. With an initial order of 10,000 vehicles from UPS (also an investor in the company), Kwame explains the complexity of experience design when it spans the multiple touchpoints of commercial vehicle deployment. His conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski goes on to explore the potential societal impact of these vehicles, the scale of Arrival's long-term vision and the nuances of his role as a chief experience officer in this design-led organisation. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Ben Scott-Robinson is designing the next generation of robot relations. Small Robot Company, the start-up he co-founded, must solve both the technical challenge of deploying rugged, autonomous robots on farms and the nuanced complexities of serving multiple users - from individual farmers to the animals the machines may encounter in the field. Ben talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how his deep experience in user-centred design, across both agencies and in-house teams, prepared him for the role and the origins and inspiration of Small Robot Company. The conversation expands to explore the user research and human robot interaction programmes Ben is working on. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Mark Rolston is working on the future, from mixed reality delivered via digital eyewear for the likes of Magic Leap, to experimental projects exploring how projected interfaces might materialise in the physical world. Mark talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about his long career at frog design, where he led global creative after a 20 year tenure, and the co-founding of his own agency - argodesign - in 2014. The conversation ranges from the possibilities of emerging, next generation interface technologies to the societal implications of these and what it might mean for designers. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Tom Wood, co-founder of Foolproof, joins Marek Pawlowski to talk about what it takes to build a user-centred design agency, from the initial inspiration 17 years ago during his time as Head of Advertising at Virgin Money, to setting a course for the future through an acquisition. The conversation ranges from the nuances of structuring design teams for ongoing skills development to how it feels to be on both sides of the table during design agency mergers. Tom and Marek also talk about their shared interest in Norwich as an emerging centre for digital design and the technologies which might shape the next generation of interaction design. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Jason DaPonte has been at the cutting edge of digital experience design since the late 90s and shares some of the insights gained along the way with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski. They talk about Jason's current strategy role at design agency ustwo, as well as revisiting the evolution of multi-touchpoint experience design. The conversation expands to anecdotes from working on the earliest versions of the Washington Post's web-site to Jason's time at BBC Mobile and running his own agency business. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Gavin Edwards directs product design and research for Skyscanner, a travel search platform serving 90 million users a month. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about applying research insights at scale, the cultural nuances of users' travel behaviours and his own journey through design agency work to leading in-house teams. Along the way, the conversations touches on design education, Gavin's love of engineering and tinkering, as well as hiring for large-scale design teams of 50+ headcount. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Anna Bäck has seen user-centred design from all angles: spending time as managing director of a small specialist agency, playing a leadership role at a larger agency as it became part of McKinsey and most recently as CEO of an expanding digital platform where she is nurturing a strong design culture throughout the organisation. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about her formative experiences travelling the globe, her background in telecoms and engineering, as well as what kind of design approach she is hoping to build at Kivra, a rapidly growing service for delivering and securing users' most important documents. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
In-depth user research has been a touchstone throughout Lada Gorlenko's fascinating career. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about her current role leading experience research for work management platform Smartsheet, as well as everything from her background in cognitive science, working in prisons and her time working on Microsoft's mobile ambitions in the late 2000s. The conversation expands to explore the ingredients for effective conferences and the skills Lada looks for when hiring for her teams. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
From debuting concept cars in computer games to re-imagining autonomous vehicles as luxurious overnight sleeping cabins, Sam Livingstone has been advising the automotive industry on customer-led design strategy for over 20 years. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the opportunities for vehicle manufacturers to embrace digital experience design, the potential for re-imagining car brands and the nuances of understanding the next generation's attitudes to mobility. The conversation expands to explore Sam's early roles with car makers, his teaching work at the Royal College of Art and where he looks for inspiration. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Fiona Myles runs her own agency, Kin Branding, working at the intersection of brand strategy and design thinking. In addition, she works all over the world delivering workshops and education programmes to foster a design-led, creative economy with organisations like Nesta and the British Council. She shares the story of her career with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, touching on everything from user-centred design to the nuances of encouraging entrepreneurs to embrace design in different cultures. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Tedde van Gelderen, founder of design agency Akendi and author of the book Experience Thinking, shares the story of his career journey with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski. From client-side roles with Philips and Nortel, to founding and selling an earlier agency business, Tedde talks about the career experiences which informed his book. The conversation turns to the cultural challenges when companies evolve from product-driven to service-driven relationships with customers and touches on what Tedde's next book might be about. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Jo Barnard is founder of the London-based design agency Morrama. She talks to Marek Pawlowski about the journey she's been on since founding the business four years ago. The conversation turns to the development of Morrama's beautifully considered smartphone concepts, part of a hybrid client and internal project which focuses on changing users' relationship with their phones through better industrial design. Along the way, Jo and Marek talk about the challenges of growing an agency, keeping creative inspiration fresh and establishing the values to guide client work. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Lidia Oshlyansky has led numerous user experience teams in media and tech companies, including for Google's emerging markets research and now for growth opportunities at Spotify. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the nuances of successful field trips, her move from agency- to client-side and the challenges of building communities of practice in large organisations. The discussion ranges from her early path into the field to future ambitions for a return to designing hardware. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Laura Forlano's diverse work as a writer, teacher and consultant bridges social sciences, design and emerging technology. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the wide range of projects she's involved with, from a book imagining what the Bauhaus might look like if it was practicing today through to the impact of autonomous vehicles on urban architecture. The conversation touches on techniques for communicating futuristic design ambitions to the practical challenges in encouraging positive collaboration across disciplines. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Omar Bakhshi sits down to share the story of his career, from tinkering with electronics as a child to the strategic projects he now leads at Smart Design for some of the world's largest companies. Marek and Omar reflect on how the challenges faced in designing digital experiences have changed since 12 years ago, when Omar first spoke at MEX, and the biggest problem was getting people to use the internet on their mobiles. The conversation dives into the nuances of future skills, Omar's dream project and the virtues of working for an independent agency. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Before becoming a prolific angel investor and partner at the thesis-driven VC firm BlueYard, Hampus Jakobsson helped co-found TAT, one of the most influential companies in mobile user experience. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the motivations and challenges of building user interfaces for some of the world's largest device manufacturers, as well as the decision to sell TAT to Blackberry. The conversation ranges from the unique virtues of Malmo in Sweden as a hub for creative start-ups to Hampus' interest in analysing science fiction for clues about solving the big problems of the future. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Rachel Liu traces her path as a service designer to an early interest in making and a degree in computer science. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the evolution of her career, including the nuances of conducting complex user research in countries like China. The conversation touches on the way education in China has changed since Rachel's earlier talk at the MEX/16 conference and goes on to explore skills Rachel is honing in herself and others to progress the practice of service design. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Scott Weiss' career in user experience has its origins in the late 1980s, when he served an internship at Apple in the days of System 6 and 7. He went on to write one of the reference books on mobile user experience, 'Handheld Usability'. Today he leads product design for the language learning app Babel. He's seen the evolution of experience-led design from a wide range of angles, including founding his own New York-based design agency, working client-side for successful start-ups like Swiftkey and managing the complexities of Symbian's UI Council. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the interests which have driven his career, future skills for user experience designers and the lessons he continues to learn as he builds expanding design teams. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Amy Daroukakis has spent her career helping others to see the deeper reality behind users’ lives. Through travel, observation and research she is constantly on the look out for emerging trends. Her work has included time in-house at one of the world’s largest retailers and in a variety of agency roles working with clients from fashion to financial services. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about her techniques and tools, as well as the path that led her into this area. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
As machines of all kinds become active participants in the economy, how will user experience strategy evolve to shape this new class of digital interactions? Kerstin Eichmann, managing director at Innogy Innovation, is working at the cutting edge of this challenge, helping one of Germany's oldest and largest energy companies imagine the future role it could play in users' lives. The conversation ranges from Kerstin's thoughts on how autonomous machines may exchange value with each other to the role of human designers in influencing and incentivising good behaviour among these new economic participants. She also discusses her earlier journey to becoming Head of UX at Fidor Bank, one of the pioneers of next generation financial services. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
How does a journey that begins with a degree in philosophy - and a chance conversation with a librarian - lead to a surprise move from Manchester to New York, one of the advertising industry's foremost fellowship programmes and a career-long interest in understanding customer behaviour? Onika Simon shares her story, including awards, working with Cisco and now a new direction where she's trying to make the most of everything she's learned along the way. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Gil Kahana is one of a growing number of designers launching their own start-ups. He shares the story with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, tracing the arc from falling in love with user-centred design at the BBC in the mid-2000s to working agency-side for clients in a wide range of industries. Gil goes on to explain how he has tried to embed user-centricity in his product company, ChattyFeet, and hopes to scale the customer-led approach as his business expands - bringing a little fun to people's lives along the way. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Sofia Svanteson shares how founding and growing her own design agency has helped to shape Elsa, her new life sciences venture which aims to support rheumatoid patients in achieving meaningful self-care. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about cultural influences on the early interface design projects which helped establish her agency, Ocean Observations, as one of the pioneers of digital experience design and looks ahead to the challenges in turning data into meaning in healthcare applications. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
What does innovation look like at a 300 year old paint and materials company with 40,000 employees? Massimo Mercuri, Director of Digital Innovation at AkzoNobel, sits down for a chat with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, exploring everything from creative workshop methods to cutting edge experiments with wearables, biometrics and performance analysis on the high seas. Crucially, they talk about how to keep forward thinking activities grounded in the reality of customers' lives and the role of diverse teams in making it all happen - fast and at scale. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Warren Hutchison, founder of London-based agency Else, talks to Marek Pawlowski about what it means to create, grow and nurture your own design studio. The conversation ranges from Warren's early forays into digital design in the mid-90s to working client-side for the likes of Universal Music and Yell.com. Marek and Warren get deep into the importance of attracting and retaining talented designers, the M&A landscape as design agencies are acquired by big professional services firms and how Mick Jagger can make an ideal anchor client when you're founding a design business. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Eric Kim, VP of Design and co-founder at Modo Labs talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the challenges of growing a design team within a mobile UX-focused start-up. The conversation roams from Eric's early interest in architecture and how things work, then into graphic design and on to working with early web technologies. The discussion turns to Eric's role as a co-founder with a design background and how this has played an important part in shaping the culture of the company. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Maarten Pieters talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about his work driving co-creation design activities at Philips Lighting, one of the pioneers of smart home devices like the Hue lighting system. Maarten has also literally written the book – along with his co-author Stephanie Jansen – on how to succeed with co-creative approaches. He discusses his career path starting as an innovation consultant, discovering co-creation, founding an independent agency and most recently going in-house at one of Europe’s big technology companies. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Jennifer Sukis is working at the intersection of user-centred design and artificial intelligence, leading the creative team for IBM Watson. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about when truly cognitive digital experiences may arrive, the challenges of developing dynamic interfaces and the future of conversational interfaces. The discussion includes Jennifer's path into the world of design, what she looks for when hiring designers for her team at IBM and touches on the potential for quantum computing. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
The Gemini PDA by Planet Computers brings a much loved form factor back to the world of smartphones – the clamshell, keyboard-based palmtop. In this episode, MEX founder Marek Pawlowski talks to Martin Riddiford of Therefore Design and Davide Guidi, CTO of Planet Computers, and hears the story of Gemini’s development and successful crowdfunding campaign. It is a tale which traces its roots back over two decades, to the days when British computing pioneer Psion was at the forefront of mobile innovation. The conversation explores how Martin’s design work on those Psion devices informed today’s rebirth as the Gemini PDA and looks at the design challenges Planet has overcome to bring this new product to market. Lots of bonus photos in the show notes. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Just how significant are the user experience changes in iPhone X and what hints do they give us about the future of mobile innovation? Steve Litchfield, technology journalist and one of the world's most experienced reviewers of smartphones, shares his hands-on impressions of Apple's flagship with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski. Drawing on his experiences reviewing more than 200 mobile devices, Steve places iPhone X in the context of 20+ years of touchscreen interfaces. The conversation expands to discuss other pioneering mobile OS which may have 'inspired' some of Apple's new UX and Steve's thoughts on the future of mobile devices as creative tools. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
James Auger and Julian Hanna, the duo behind the Crap Futures blog, talk to Marek Pawlowski about what motivated them to take on a provocative question we all ponder from time-to-time: whether or not the digital age we’re ushering in really represents the path to a better future? They talk about some of the dystopian examples they’ve highlighted at Crap Futures and share techniques we can all use to ensure the future really serves those who have to live in it. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Gregg Vanderheiden talks to Marek Pawlowski about the Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPii) - a multi-partner, multi-country effort to ensure technology is universally accessible. As well as being the initiator and one of the driving forces of the GPii, Gregg is a professor in the school of information studies at the University of Maryland and the director of the Trace Research & Development Centre. He talks about the aims of the initiative, as well sharing stories from over 40 years in the area of accessibility, including working with Apple and Microsoft in the early days of personal computers to help them build the first inclusive features into their operating systems. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Tim Burrell-Saward is working at the frontier of experience design, where the digital and physical dimensions combine in surprising, delightful ways. In this conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, Tim talks about his journey from lighting design and architecture to working at start-up company Sensible Object on a fascinating multi-touchpoint game called Beasts of Balance. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Louise Oakham’s career in experience design has ranged from leading in-house departments for large companies to specialising as a freelance independent practitioner. After being inspired by her talk on international user research techniques, MEX founder Marek Pawlowski sat down for a chat with Louise to hear about her tools and insights. Their discussion ranges from Louise’s early interests in curation and museums to the opportunities for improving UX in the corporate environment. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Joe Macleod's book 'Ends' asks us to consider why we have such difficulty designing closure experiences. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how the thinking behind the book emerged from a career in mobile technology with Nokia and design agency Ustwo, where he saw companies unable to address important issues around off-boarding. The conversation ranges across the diverse areas Joe explores in the book, from historical behaviour patterns in religions, industry and health to modern trends in consumerism. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Christian Lindholm, a pioneer of mobile experience design, has his sights set on enabling a new generation of wearables for health and fashion. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about his journey from Nokia in the 1990s, where he shipped the Navi Key UI on hundreds of millions of mobile devices - to his current ventures, including the Koru UI platform for wearables and an accelerator for digital health startups. The conversation also explores Christian's time as a managing partner at design agency Fjord, when the company grew from a small design studio to become a global business subsequently acquired by Accenture. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
With Amazon's $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods placing a spotlight on the future of retail experience design, MEX founder Marek Pawlowski talks to Josh Shabtai of Lowe's Innovation Labs about how the home improvement giant is experimenting at the cutting edge. Josh shares some of the techniques they're using to maintain organisation-wide narratives around user-centred innovation, from creating comic books to tapping into the design skills of shop floor employees. The conversation goes on to explore how Lowe's is combining applied neuroscience and more traditional user research techniques to get a clearer sense of people's reactions to pioneering technology - like robotic exoskeletons - as well as Josh's own journey from creative agencies to designing one of the first augmented reality games with a Star Wars-themed Laser Tag gun. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
As design grows in strategic influence, how important is language in helping diverse practitioners from different fields collaborate towards an overall goal? Kwame Nyanning, VP of Experience Design at McKinsey, talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how pattern language informs his work helping global clients transform their businesses. The conversation explores Kwame's path into the emerging field of experience design in the late 90s and new challenges in industries like banking. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Death remains one of the subjects we find hardest to address. Paula Ceballos, co-creator of When We Die, talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about her attempts to create a safe space - in virtual reality - where people can come to terms with their own mortality. After the usual show and tell, where Paula has some thought provoking examples, we talk about the experience design challenges of the When We Die project, her participation in NYU's ITP programme and what might come next in her career. Marek also has an announcement about MEX Jobs, a new service for the MEX community. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/category/podcast/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
This episode is a story which gets to the heart of the challenges facing digital agencies, from remote working to incubating in-house ventures, as Craig Bryant talks to Marek Pawlowski about his journey co-founding We Are Mammoth. Craig shares his thoughts on becoming a ‘remote first’ company, creating and scaling two successful software businesses and what it takes to keep delivering for clients. We also hear about his own path, from musician to Flash developer and on to becoming an agency owner. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/design-talk-31-craig-bryant-we-are-mammoth-patience-and-incubating-agency-ventures/4729/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
Ruby Steel's path in design has been characterised by her interest in multi-sensory experiences and finding ways to help people overcome impairments. Recently, she appeared in the BBC television series 'The Big Life Fix' as part of a team of designers working to improve life for specific individuals and groups. In one episode, Ruby and the team use digital to help a man communicate with his family again after suffering a stroke. We recorded at Smart Design's London studio, where Ruby is senior design strategist, and go on to talk about Ruby's early motivations for design, her work on multi-sensory and inclusive design projects and how digital itself is becoming far more multi-dimensional. Get in touch with feedback and questions @mexfeed on Twitter or email designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com. Show notes with links to everything discussed: https://www.mobileuserexperience.com/design-talk-30-ruby-steel-smart-design/4666/ Contact: T: https://twitter.com/mexfeed/ E: designtalk@mobileuserexperience.com
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