What is UX?

Natalia is a design leader from La Paz, Bolivia and now works in Dallas, Texas as Director of Product Design for Cariloop, a caregiver support company focused on relieving the stress and anxiety felt by all caregivers. After interning at advertising agencies she fell in love with the interaction design portions of campaigns and quickly transitioned into the world of user experience. She's had the great fortune of working with some exciting brands, most notably Verizon, 7-Eleven, Animal Supply Company, Coca-Cola and Qdoba, before ultimately adopting the mission of helping caregivers. Natalia is a strong believer in thoughtful design, and intentional storytelling, and works hard to bring empathy, emotion and quality to products.In this episode, we talked about:What is Cariloop?Natalia's role at CariloopHow Cariloop serves peopleTransforming customer's journeyNatalia's background and how did she get into designNatalia's advice on people who are struggling to become a better designerNatalia as an artistWhat do expect if you will try Cariloop's servicesLinks:https://cariloop.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/cariloop/Connect with Natalia

Meesh Lin began designing and launching websites at age eight by learning from her self-taught web designer mother. She's had an unconventional path to design—having freelanced, contracted, and designed-in house for start-ups and public companies over the last 6+ years. Today, Meesh is designing Okta's first consumer product.Inspired by her design journey, she discovered a deep passion for mentorship and helping aspiring designers and technologists break into tech. Also, having worked alongside so many different people and personalities on global remote teams, Meesh has mastered the art of leveraging soft skills to build authentic relationships at work, which lead to effective cross-functional collaboration and happier teams.Meesh mentors for ADPList, Co.Lab, and First Round Fast Track. She also provides design advice for early-stage start-ups. Prior to Okta, Meesh designed at Lilt, 15Five, Reddit, eBay, and Gigster.In this episode, we talked about:What is Okta?How did Meesh learn design from her momHow to find opportunities as new designersPay gapsHow to advocate for yourselfHow to get people to engage more in a meetingMeesh's first job and her challengesFrom archaeologist to designerLinks:https://meesh.design/https://twitter.com/meesh_linhttps://www.instagram.com/meesh.lin/

Peter Szalontay is the DataGoat/CEO at DataMilk, it is a team of data science and UX experts on a mission to empower eCommerce brands to build AI-powered UX on the level of Big Tech. DataMilk's Smart UX suite enables fast, fluid, and predictive digital experiences that boost user engagement and gross profit.In this episode, we talked about:How Artificial Intelligence will impact UX DesignWhat is AI software called “DALL-E”Peter's career at GooglePeter on creating businesses out of AI applicationsWhat UX means to “DataMilk”Links:Connect with Peterhttps://www.datamilk.ai/ 

Alicia is a Product Design Director for IT Products at Rippling - the platform that frees smart people to work on hard problems! She has been a designer across industries, including higher education, academia, insurance, pharmacy, e-commerce, and technology, and is an Adjunct Instructor at Columbia College, where she focuses on how to prepare for moving from college to what your life as a designer will be like. She co-organizes the Ladies that UX Chicago meetup, where she brings conversations like accessibility, ethics in design, and emotional intelligence to the community.In this episode, we talked about:How to get a job after being unemployed for a yearHow to see if a company is a good fit for you using organizational designTips on career strugglesUX driven transformationHow did Alicia get into designAlicia's role at RipplingWhat is Rippling and how does it serve people?Links: Connect with Aliciahttps://twitter.com/mika_johttps://www.rippling.com/https://adplist.org/mentors/alicia-joy-warren Hiring:Product Designer: https://www.rippling.com/careers/5035370003?gh_jid=5035370003Lead Product Designer: https://www.rippling.com/careers/5201191003?gh_jid=5201191003UX Researcher: https://www.rippling.com/careers/5035351003?gh_jid=5035351003

Erick Arias is an Experienced Product Designer with a demonstrated history of transforming the way enterprises build software. He is currently the Sr. Product Designer at Meta (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.)In this episode, we talked about:Erick's advice and tips with portfolio reviewsHow did Erick get into designWhere did Erick grow up and the story of his upbringing Erick's first job as a designerErick's mentorship at ADPlistLinks:erickarias.comhttps://adplist.org/mentors/erick-ariashttps://twitter.com/erickariashttps://medium.com/@earias1

Nima HK graduated from York University/Sheridan join the design program in 2010, Nima is a passionate storyteller obsessed with user experience and telling the right story at the right time. Currently a design director in San Francisco, and just recently designed and built a SaaS product from scratch. He has 16+ years of experience working as a freelancer, at design agencies, and startups. He is happy to share his findings throughout this journey to inspire other designers.In this episode, we talked about:Building team for design orgMentoring at ADP listLearning from people in regards to passion and leadershipLessons, advice and principles on building great teamsCareer strugglesOpinion on consulting vs full-time employee debateAnd MUCH MORE!Links and ResourcesFive Love Languageshttps://adplist.org/mentors/nima-h-khttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nimahk/Hiring!Director of Product Design: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3126648593Senior Product Designer-Strong UI: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3141175010User Experience Research Lead: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3060459257Senior Product Designer-Design System: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3141169643

Glen Lipka is a product leader who has created innovative products for B2B companies since 1995.Previously, he was the first employee at Marketo, best in class marketing automation software acquired by Adobe and helped guide the company through IPO up to 1000 employees in 9 years. He holds several patents in design innovations.In this episode, we talked about:What is the definition of design for Glen? How does Glen think about design?Glen on being the first employee at MarketoHis job and learning in the pre-internet eraDesigners and their role in societyThe one rule of design for GlenWhat's needed for a successful companyAnd more of his personal design journey and the role that design has played in his life, the insights and knowledge, how he got in where he is now and the inspiring lessons he'd learned along the way!Links and Resources:The Power Broker https://amzn.to/3aj0Ypahttps://commadot.comhttps://adplist.org/mentors/glen-lipkahttps://twitter.com/glenlipkahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/glenlipka/https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/

Ari Krzyzek is the Co-founder and chief creative officer of Chykalophia (read: see-ka-lo-fia), she helps Femtech DTC and women-led companies craft a brand that delights their customers beyond a pretty design, delivers no-brainer user experience, and gets them the clarity they need to for their business to thrive online.She has over 10 years of branding and design experience, a certified brand strategist, and UX expert. She has transformed businesses' visions into a tangible form that helps set their business apart from their competitors. As her diverse client roster attests, the one constant in her work is spot-on design for major impact every time. She's the co-host of Halo Femtech Podcast, a podcast that honors disruptive innovators and change-makers advancing women's health.Furthermore, she serves as a design consultant, mentor and professional peer in support of fellow female entrepreneurs through the #1 ranked private business incubator in the world, 1871 Chicago, Interaction Design Foundation, Ms.Tech, and ADPlist.In this episode, we talked about:Winning Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program Women of Color GrantStarting Chykalophia design agency with her husbandMore tips from Ari about increasing sales and web conversions without codingAri's story of growing up as a Southeast Asian and her humble beginningsIdeal customers for her companyLinks and Resources:https://arikrzyzek.com/https://chykalophia.com/Connect with Ari

Erik Kennedy is the creator of Learn UI Design and Learn UX Design. He's also a freelance UX/UI designer based in Seattle, WA. He has also spoken in the US and abroad at businesses, meetups, and universities (like UC Berkeley, Yale, and UW). His design writing has been read by over a million people.In this episode, we talked about:How Erik got into teaching designErik's design tipsErik enumerates and explains 7 Rules for Creating Gorgeous UIErik's UI and UX courses for studentsErik talks about his teaching style and the types of students he hasDesign Hacks newsletterHis course, Learn UI Design and its visionAnd MUCH MORE!Links and ResourcesErik's Design Hacks Newsletter FREE!Learn UI Design Website: https://app.learnui.design/a/aff_3n5bydnn/external?affcode=70335_ndhyzl7phttps://erikdkennedy.com/

Jeany Ngo is the co-founder at Kairos, which provides the tools for anyone to create, publish and sell NFTs without touching a single line of code. She blends her love of visual storytelling with thoughtful understanding of user behavior. 10+ years in product, UX/UI, and visual design comes from working at Brex, Airbnb, LinkedIn and consulting for design agencies and startups. Clients include Figma, Ueno, TM, Crunchyroll, Tempo Fitness, Handshake, Safari Riot, Yembo Inc, GoInsurance, Eleven Inc, Mira, Osmo Systems, Proven.In this episode, we talked about:Jeany's career journey at Airbnb, Linkedin and BrexHow did Jeany get into design?Life as a designer-entrepreneur and its challengesJeany talks about her startup: KairosKairos' team and system structureWhy Kairos and the NFT spaceKairos missionJeany's creative systemJeany's awardsAnd much MORE!Links:https://kairos.art/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanyngo/https://www.jeanyngo.com/https://twitter.com/gojeanyn

Marissa Louie is the Director of UX Design at SiriusXM Pandora, she leads a design organization that thoughtfully creates experiences for 100m+ users.She also serves as the Chairwoman of Animoodles, and runs Designers Club and Designers Guild. Previously, she was a design leader at Apple, Expedia, Ness, and Yahoo.It brings her joy to design delightful products, drive innovative visions with billion dollar results, and help others achieve their full creative potential.In this episode, we talked about:How did Marissa get into design?Marissa's career at AppleWorking as a “Jill of all trades”Mentoring and speaking engagementsWho is Marissa outside of her professional careerAnimoodles storyHighlights and accomplishments of AnimoodlesHer role at SiriusXM PandoraAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:https://karanarising.org/https://www.thewaytomyheart.org/https://www.theanimoodles.com/https://www.linkedin.com/company/siriusxm/jobshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/malouie/https://malouie.com/@malouie

Pawel Bak is a strategic and passionate product/service designer with 12+ years of experience designing for mobile, wearables and IoT devices. Designs and helps develop high-performing design solutions and engaging customer experiences which drive business goals and user satisfaction for well-known brands. An innovative and hard-working leader who is both strong on ideation and implementation, as well as on enabling global agile teams to succeed. Mentors designers and manages established or growing design teams. Builds collaborations and establishes trust to engage and influence global stakeholders.In this episode, we talked about:The transition from studying Computer Science to becoming a designerPawel's role at AbbVieHow AbbVie serves peoplePawel's career at NokiaMemorable experiences in designing for NokiaPawel's career experience at MicrosoftTransition from working at mobile companies to working on automotive company which is BMWEvolution of mobile design systemAnd MUCH MORE!Links:http://www.abbvie.com/Connect with Pawel

Sarah is currently the Experience Designer at Patagonia. She also worked with Google, Pinterest and Nike, leading strategy and UX in a highly collaborative work environment. Mentored junior staff. Participated in the hiring process, project casting and scoping.She makes experiences by orchestrating cross-disciplinary teams of designers, writers, developers and content creators. Her passion and curiosity about people and how we interact with the world around us drive her to continuously explore and learn.In this episode, we talked about:Sarah's role at  PatagoniaPatagonia's product and e-comm sideHow Sarah started in designThe transition from graphic design to UX designAgency work vs in-house work experienceSarah's career as a design instructorDesigning for a global audienceAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:https://baymard.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/uxhiggins/https://www.patagonia.com/home/ 

Katie Swindler is a human-centered design strategist with 15 years of experience. Originally educated as a theatre director, her creative approach combines storytelling and technology, emotion and utility to enable brands to connect deeply with consumers and fulfill real human needs.Author of the book Life & Death Design, published by Rosenfeld Media in January 2022, which looks at what life-saving technology can teach us about designing for the human stress response. She's an experienced presenter who has spoken on UX topics internationally at industry events such as SXSW Interactive, IXDA, 4A's and PUSH.In this episode, we talked about:Katie's role in AllstateDuties as a head of design strategy for the Innovation DepartmentHow did Katie start in design?The transition from theater to design careerKatie's book: Life & Death DesignAnd MUCH MORELinks and Resources:https://www.linkedin.com/in/katieswindler http://www.katieswindler.com https://twitter.com/katieswindlerux https://www.lifeanddeathdesign.com 

Nicole Torgersen is Vice President of Design at Dialpad. She's been working in digital design since the late '90s working with a range of industries including cloud collab and storage at Dropbox, retail at Gap, and recruiting at Monster Worldwide. A Design craftsperson by trade, Nicole has been a leader most of her career, building teams by way of leveraging empathy and vulnerability in the balance to find business impact while mentoring individuals.In this episode, we talked about:Nicole's role in DialpadHow did Nicole get into design?How to become a leaderHer career at Monster Worldwide, Gap and DropboxHardest transitions in Nicole's careerNicole's learnings and insights in her career adjustmentsAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ntorgersen/ How to Win Friends & Influence PeopleMaking Ideas HappenTara Brach

Ryan Tauss is the leading product design for Tide Cleaners. The past almost 4 years, along with a talented crew have greenfield an entire suite of applications that help run operations, customer service, and improve the guest experience making laundry as convenient as just using your thumb. Before that, he worked at America's largest church, Life.Church. It was at this time in his career he made a switch from graphic design to product design. He went from art directing and brand creation to contributing to just about every digital space of Life.Church. He understands agency life and how fun and exciting it can be. He's even had the opportunity to return to his alma mater and teach a design course. All these experiences have built on the other and he feels very grateful to have experienced each one. Lastly, He's just tipped his toe into mentoring through ADP, and the first few connections have been warm and authentic. In this episode, we talked about:What is Tide Cleaners?Tide Cleaners relation to Press Box?Tide Cleaners “personas”How did Ryan get into design?Transition from graphic designer to UX designerTide Cleaners design teamValues and why are they importantHow can design help create a better organization?How does Ryan's cultural background affect his careerAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:Product Leadership, by Richard Banfield, Martin Erickson, and Nate WalkingshawMichael BierutPaul Randhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ryantauss

Sumier Phalake is Head of Design, Next Billion Users at Google, which focuses on products that bring connectivity to users in emerging markets. He has over 15 years of experience across both consumer and enterprise products.Episode highlights:What is “Next Billion Users” (Google) and how it benefits people?Files by Google - file management that helps mobile freeing up spaceFiles by Google success and its million users around the worldSumier cited more of their productsSumier on working on tools to make Googlers more productive and more beneficial to Google usersHow did Sumier get into design?How did Sumier get to work at Google?And MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:Digital Confidence Toolkithttps://nextbillionusers.google/tools/ Connect with Sumierhttps://twitter.com/sumierflake 

Tessa Rodes joined the very first cohort of IBM Design Bootcamp in 2013, and since then has seen the design organization and company grow and evolve into a truly design-led system. She has reviewed 100s of portfolio applications in the 8.5 years of IBM Design, and has strong opinions about both what makes a great portfolio and what NOT to bother with. She launched the initial version of the product IBM Cloud and has worked to ensure quality, consistency and differentiating features ever since.In this episode, we talked about:How did Tessa get into designIBM design BootcampTessa's role at IBM CloudTips on what makes a good portfolio?Importance of cover letter in the application processIBM's interview and hiring processHow pandemic affects IBM operation and current workplace environmentAnd much MORE!Links:https://www.ibm.com/design/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessarodes/ 

Ryan has spoken all over the world at schools, and organizations sharing his story and inspiring others to live their dreams. Ryan is a father, husband, mentor, motivational speaker, and designer.His current role, leading product design at Rocket Homes. He is an experienced User Interface Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. Skilled in App Design, User Experience (UX), E-commerce, and Leadership.In this episode, we talked about:Motivational story of Ryan who was born without arms and legsHow Ryan designsRyan's early journey and how did he started in designDesign tools he's usingRyan's role in Rocket HomesHow should people think about accessibility?Ryan's past role in Ford MotorRyan as a motivational speakerLook Mom No Hands – The Story of Ryan Hudson-PeraltaAnd MUCH MORE!Links:Connect with Ryanhttps://lookmomnohands.com/Tiktok: lookworldnohandshttps://twitter.com/hudsonperaltahttps://dribbble.com/hudsonperalta 

Jared Spool is the founding principal of User Interface Engineering (UIE), a research, training, and consulting firm that specializes in website and product usability, He is also the Maker of Awesomeness at @CenterCentre/@UIE. Helping designers everywhere help their organizations deliver well-designed products and services. In this episode, we talked about:How did Jared started his business Center Centre-UIEMore about running a successful 30 year old companyJared's early design research workHow experienced designers can still make bad designs and design decisionsWhy large organizations can have bad designWhy design so important?And MUCH MORE!Links:Jared Spool TwitterJared Spool ArticlesCenter CentreUIEUX Centered Careers

Michaela Mucha is an award-winning designer, art director, & matcha-drinker currently making fun things (virtually!) at The Walt Disney Studios. Michaela is a first generation Mexican–Filipina–American with over a decade of experience in graphic design. She is a design nerd at heart, and is currently at The Walt Disney Studios where she delivers best-in-class advertising campaigns for theatrical record-breaking box office hits and Disney+ streaming movies and series from Pixar, Disney, and 20th Century Studios. She is a member of the original team that launched Disney+ in 2019.Her clients and collaborators include: Disney, Starbucks, ABC, Pixar, Marvel—among others. She holds a B.A. in Graphic Design & Digital Imaging and is a board member of AIGA NY. Recently, she was awarded as a Semifinalist (twice!) in the Int'l Adobe Design Awards.In this episode, we talked about:Michaela's role in Walt Disney StudiosMIchaela cited some design projects she worked on Walt Disney StudiosHow and why Michaela start in design?What makes a good movie poster?Tips for getting a job at your dream companyWhat is a good design for Michaela?How did Michaela land a job at Disney?And MUCH MORE!Links and ResourcesDispo apphttps://workingnotworking.com/Michaela on Behancehttps://www.muchaela.design/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelamucha/  

John Yesko is a veteran experience design, creative, and digital business leader; now Head of User Experience and Service Design at Walgreens. Responsible for the digital experience on Walgreens websites, consumer mobile apps, and in-store retail interfaces - as well as team member-facing digital. He also leads the Omni-Channel Service Design practice, with the mission of improving customer and employee experience across their ~9500 stores.John's specialties include Information architecture, user experience design, service design, usability testing/user research, website design, interaction design, and creative direction.In this episode, we talked about:What is Walgreens and how it serves people?John's role in WalgreensWalgreens and Boots relationshipHow did John get into design?How did John get the job at Walgreens?John shared some knowledge to those aspiring UX designers in healthcare/pharmacy worldWhat is a good design for John?More design tools that can be used for service designAnd MUCH MORE!!Links and Resources:http://www.yesko.com/ https://miro.com/ux-tool/https://rosenfeldmedia.com/ Jared Spool bookshttps://hbr.org/ 

Jesse Gaskin serves as a Co-Program Director for the Design Leaders Council of The Conference Board. In addition to his work with The Conference Board, Jesse is a patient experience and human-centered design lead at Kaiser Permanente who specializes in using human-centered design to develop and launch new care experiences. His hybrid background in design thinking and business enables him to develop products and services that solve real customer needs while balancing organizational capabilities. He has worked with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies primarily in health care and financial services. Over the last 12 years, he has been involved in nearly every aspect of the design process, from pixel to platform, from designing mobile apps to identifying new product opportunities to launching new businesses. In his current role, he leads interdisciplinary teams in defining, designing, and delivering products and services that are desirable, feasible, and viable. He holds an MBA from the Stuart School of Business and a Master of Design from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, as well as a BFA in Graphic Design from San José State University in California.In this episode, we talked about:Jesse's role in Kaiser PermanenteStrategic thinking for designersHow Jesse started in designJesse's consulting businessHow did Jesse get into the healthcare industry?Jesse explains why designers are ideal to work in healthcareJesse as the Program Director at Design Leaders CouncilAnd MUCH MORE!Links and ResourcesDiscovery Design: Design Thinking for Healthcare Improvementhttps://healthy.kaiserpermanente.org/front-doorhttps://www.conference-board.org/us/Connect with Jesse

Jane Portman is a UI/UX consultant specializing in web application design, founder of UI Breakfast and Userlist. At Userlist, Jane's goal is to provide flawless onboarding and engagement for SaaS companies through a simple customer messaging platform.Jane has also been running UI Breakfast Podcast since 2014.In this episode, we talked about:How did Jane get into design?Software design and Saas ProductsLife as UI/UX consultantProductized ConsultingJane's workflow and process in writing a bookHow to network?Podcasting to build a network What is Userlist and what designers need to think about as entrepreneursAnd MUCH MORE!Links:UI Breakfast PodcastBetter Done Than Perfecthttps://userlist.com/ UI Audit by Jane PortmanAuthority by Nathan BerryWrite Useful Books by Rob FitzpatrickStacking the Bricks with Amy Hoy - https://stackingthebricks.com/ The Mom Test by Rob FitzpatrickUSE PEK300 as a code to get $300 OFF - https://userlist.com/

Ana Lara is an award-winning app product and strategic designer with more than ten years of experience. She has worked with different clients such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Hilton. She was one of the earliest UX team members at T-Mobile, where she led and transformed one of their most important apps into an award-winning mobile experience. Later she transitioned to lead a team of strategists building omnichannel end-to-end customer journeys, seeking user-centric solutions to their pain points. Three months ago, she joined Cisco, leading a new app experience. She recently joined the ADP List community as an active mentor.In this episode, we talked about:Ana's role at CiscoIndustry awardsBuilding a good team, dedication and researchCareer journey at T-mobileInternal award at T-mobileHow to balance personal and professional lifeEmpathy in the workplaceHow did Ana start in design and her design journeyWhat qualities to look for when looking for a designerLinks:Connect with Anahttps://www.cisco.com/ Book: Design Thinking Toolbox 

Jesse Showalter is a Fullstack Designer, Mentor, & Content Creator on a mission to help every creative make an impact on the world. Jesse has a Youtube Channel with over 200k+ subscribers and counting! The channel shares Digital Design & Web Development videos each week focusing on tools, techniques, projects, and more to help creative people make amazing things. If you're an aspiring Web Designer, UI Designer, or Front-End Developer who is interested in creating awesome things in pixels and code, make sure to subscribe for helpful training videos. In this episode, we talked about:Content creation, indie, freelancer and designer journeyHanding off designsHelping creatives learn & growJesse's tips for budding freelancersJesse as a big advocate of self-learning and journey as a self-taught designerDealing with clients as a freelancerStarting his Youtube channelThere is no “overnight success”Jesse's various streams of revenueAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:Jesse Showalter Youtubehttps://www.jesseshowalter.com/Hey Creative Discord Server

Mike Heitzke is a perpetual hobbyist. Competitive powerlifter, three-pedal car enthusiast, tinkerer and watch collector. He served within the logistics space at CarMax as a Lead Product Designer.In this episode, we talked about:MIke's role at CarMaxDesign Operations and managementServing internal partners  CarMaxExperience in managing designersThe first failure in leadershipMental HealthLife as a competitive powerlifterFirst design job from CraigslistLinks and Resources:https://www.designbetter.co/designops-handbookOrg Design for Design Orgs: Building and Managing In-House Design TeamsDaring GreatlyBrian Brown books5 Love LanguagesThe Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership FableThe five keys to a successful Google teamhttps://twitter.com/heitzke

Nico Li is a UX / Product Designer who has been around for a while. Currently, he is residing with the Zebra Technologies Innovation and Design team and spending quite some time incubating new digital solutions.In this episode, we talked about:Nico Li's role in Zebra TechnologiesWhat is Zebra Technologies and how it serves peopleHardware and software solutionsZebra Technologies' stage gating processCompany's general approachAlignment and design evangelismHow Nico got into designAnd MUCH MORE!Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoli/www.zebra.com Liminal Thinking (book) http://liminalthinking.com/ https://amzn.to/3wTYHb2 Note: Currently, the design team (Zebra Technologies) is looking for UX Researcher and Designer in the US and UX Designer in India. Check out the job openings from Zebra on LinkedIn.

Morten Winther is a lead UX designer originally from Denmark but now in the Bay Area. He approaches design strategically and strives to ensure the future doesn't turn into a Sci-Fi dystopia. Morten's worked as a UX consultant and collaborated with organizations like Amazon, Absolut Vodka, and the Danish government, and he's currently shaping the future of mobility at Volkswagen Group Innovation.In this episode, we talked about:Things to consider to become a sustainable lead design companyResearch and Development designMorten's role in VW Group Innovation Center CaliforniaCreating bold new ideas - sort of mobility and automotive for the Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Porsche brands.Voice designCreative confidence & imposter syndromeMorten's mentorship life at ADPlistWhat is a good design?And MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mowinther/https://mortenwinther.dk/Best Interface is No Interface - https://amzn.to/3F19IdjErika Hall, Mule Design: https://muledesign.com/blog

Jamie Dihiansan is currently a Lead Designer at Basecamp primarily focused on the Android and iOS mobile apps for Basecamp (Project Management software) and HEY (Personal and Company Email service). He's been at Basecamp for over 13 years. He has 20+ years experience designing for the Web, including 7 years at Crate and Barrel building up their Internet Graphics department--designing and producing solutions for crateandbarrel.com and cb2.com. Prior to his work at Crate and Barrel he worked at Organic, an interactive agency, where he designed and developed online solutions for industry leaders such as Target and FTD.In this episode, we talk about:Basecamp and Hey and 37signal's originsJamie's role at BasecampJamie's career and how he ended up at 37signalsDifferences between design in big vs small companiesWhat do you do when you are the only designer at a companyWhat to look for when looking for a designerAnd MUCH MORE!Links:Connect with Jamie@asianmackhttps://basecamp.com/ 

Caitlin Steele is a user-centered design and engineering expert focused on design operations.As a founding team member at MasterClass, she helped take the startup from an idea through Series C on the way to being a multi-billion-dollar company. Currently, she enables design and engineering teams to deliver exceptional native mobile experiences for Trello.In this episode, we talked about:How Caitlin got into designWhy did she choose UX in particular?Helping people with mobilityEarly days at MasterClassCaitlin cites some of the cool design insights she had at MasterClassWorking at LululemonTips for designing on mobileAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:https://twitter.com/jargoonco https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinrsteele/ 

Harsh Wardhan is a design thinking thought leader, who uses his human-centered design skills and his design strategy expertise to help companies build future strategies rooted in deep human insights that deliver business value. In his ten years of practice in the design industry, he has collaborated with organizations across different sectors like automotive, healthcare, hospitality, fin-tech, and architecture.In this episode, we talked about:How did Harsh get into designHarsh cites some of his first projectsArchitecture to software design work to being a design strategistLearnings from starting own design firmDesign thinking + innovationAnd much more!Resources and Links:https://www.hwardhan.com/https://www.wespeakinnovation.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt4EEtn2ShY 

Shay Howe is the Vice President of Platform Strategy at ActiveCampaign, where he leads platform experience and ecosystem, strategic partnerships, and product, front-end, and communication design. He works to make the customer a hero, helping them create ideal customer experiences through intuitive products, marketing, and integrations.Prior to ActiveCampaign, Shay was Vice President of Product at Belly and Yello, where he was responsible for product strategy and design. He has previously led product teams at multiple high-growth companies, including Groupon. He has held in-residence roles as an advisor with the Techstars, Lightbank, and Prota venture portfolios.Shay is the author of "Learn to Code HTML and CSS," published by Pearson Education.Episode Highlights:How did Shay get into design?Designer from being a musicianPassion Projects experiencePek and Shay talked about Apple, Ipad user interface and product designs projectsCareer experience at BellyDesign educationBeing a Co-founder at LeadhonestyCareer and role at ActiveCampaignAnd much MORE!Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayhowe/https://twitter.com/shayhowehttps://www.activecampaign.com/https://leadhonestly.com/ItsnTG40RatCEvY9LXGt

Kevin Hsieh is a product design leader with 15+ years of experience under my belt. I have shipped countless products at companies both large and small. He has 5 patents and enjoys complex problem solving, collaboration, and creative thinking to take projects from concept to completion. Creating stunning and innovative designs, that are user-centric is his passion.He is currently the Director Of Product Design at Sonder.In this episode, we talked about:How did Kevin get into design?How did he get his first job?His first digital agencyKevin shared the projects and opportunities he handled that led him to where he at nowCareer and projects at AppleThe difference between working between an agency and a software product companyWorking experience in automotive design at Tesla, Lucid Motors and Faraday FutureHis role in SonderAnd MUCH MORE!Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/killahgrafikz/https://www.sonder.com/

Jen Byyny is a leader in tech/product design with over 17 years of experience. She has over 7 years of design leadership experience and 10+ years of hands-on professional design experience focused on software/Saas, analytics and media experiences for business and consumer audiences with strong management experience, design-thinking methodologies, design system knowledge, user research and product insights, plus a love for innovation through storytelling and design. She had led teams focused on product design, branding, AI, data analytics, fin-tech, health-tech, media and enterprise tools across multiple platforms.In this episode, we talked about:How did Jen get into design?Her journey in designing for techWhat is Teladoc Health and how it serves people?Jen's role as Director of Product Design in TeladocThe transition from graphic design to software design information designJen's advice for people who are transitioning into designCareer growth after transitioningJen's career at YahooWhat is a good design for Jen?And MUCH MORE!Links and ResourcesVisit our website: https://whatisux.co/Connect with Jen - They are hiring various levels in Product Design at Teladochttp://bebraver.org/ https://www.teladochealth.com/ https://venettasbakedgoods.com/ 

Brittany Schlenk is currently the Assistant Director of Design & UX at The Hartford. In her current role, she helps oversee and manage the Middle & Large Commercial portfolio. She works heavily in the business-to-business space and focuses primarily on underwriters, agents, and account managers as her main users. Prior to joining The Hartford, she used to work in the aerospace industry at Collins Aerospace and Raytheon Technologies. In addition to her career, she had received her Master of Communications in Interaction Design at Quinnipiac University and her Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems, minor in Information Security.In this episode, we talked about:Brittany's role in HartfordHartford's design teamBrittany's design experience working in aerospaceWhat made Brittany want to become a designer?What is a good design for Brittany?And MUCH MORE!Links:Instagram: BrittanySchlenkClubhouse: Brittany Schlenk LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyschlenk/ https://www.thehartford.com/ 

Joe Natoli is a UX consultant, author and speaker. Everything he does is born from three decades of consulting with and training the product development teams of some of the world's largest organizations. He has taught over 200,000 students through his online courses and is a regular keynote speaker and lecturer at events across the globe. He recently launched a new online school, the UX 365 Academy, where he publishes online courses, training videos, ebooks and more every month, at learn.givegoodux.com.In this episode, we talked about:Joe's impressive background and what does he doJoe in giving lectures and workshops across the globeHis job as a veteran consultantHow did Joe start in UX?Joe shared some of his life and career advice Joe's UX courses Joe's definition of a “good design”And MUCH MORE!Links:https://twitter.com/joenatolihttps://givegoodux.com/Joe Natoli courses (Enroll now!)

Reina O'Meara is an award-winning UX/Graphic Designer who has helped define brands for both Fortune 500 companies and small startups. She has worked for companies such as Weta Workshop, Redbox, and Steelseries. She is currently the Brand Director of Comfort Eats.In this episode, we talked about:Reina's role in Comfort EatsHer accomplishments in Redbox and show she got started in the companyAll about Redbox and her designing ticketing kiosk projectAwarded a design patentUnderstanding user-testingBeing a UX Design Manager at SteelSeriesHer career in Impekable and projects like mobile apps, websites and an interactive device for the military.Her journey from WETA to Comfort EatsBranding and designs for Comfort EatsAnd MUCH MORE!Links and Resources:https://www.rsodesign.com/Connect with Reina

Felix Lee is a designer and tech entrepreneur based in Singapore. He is the Co-Founder of ADPList, one of the world's largest mentoring platforms for designers. He had previously founded Packdat, which was acquired in 2018; led design at Gotrade (YC S19) and was the Head of Product & Design at Passpod Indonesia ($YELO). Felix previously notably consulted for Eatsy.co, Capture App, Knowledgehook, and several global startups. He's known for his thoughts and works in product design & startups; he is an active invited speaker and writer on online platforms. Featured on TechInAsia, StraitsTimes, TODAY, VulcanPost, and more.Episode highlights:What is ADPList and how it serves people?ADPList's impressive statsFelix's vision to make ADPList a sustainable platform Who designed ADPList?How did ADPList get their initial mentors?Learn how ADPList's system evolved,  from using only a spreadsheetHow he started ADPList even before graduating collegeAnd much MORE!Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/felixleezdhttps://www.twitter.com/felixleezdhttps://adplist.org - Come join as mentors to contribute your knowledge forward to the global community!

Eirini Kasti is a User Experience Expert focused on design for emotions. She has created experiences for the airline, financial, education, energy or transportation industries, from the biggest European companies like KLM or ING Bank to pioneering start-ups and scale-ups. Currently, she is a Senior Product Designer at Proxyclick, a European scale-up in the facility management sector. Besides design, she is passionate about physical and mental health, self-improvement and connection with nature. That's why she started Shaking Olives, a side project to help people have a healthy mind in a healthy body. She does this by using technology to improve their habits and educate them on the science of nutrition and well-being.In this episode, we talked about:What is Proxyclick and Eirini's roleKinds of designs and what use cases they have in adjusting the business and the product to the pandemicEirini's journey in design - from working in a transport engineering agency to being passionate in UX, psychology and design technologyEirini shares how she got her scholarshipDesigning for emotions especially for SaaS enterprisesHow she divides the work and tasks at ProxyclickProxyclick's design process and workflowShaking Olives - Enable people to achieve the ancient wisdom "a healthy mind in a healthy body" through science and technologyAnd many MORE!Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eirinikasti/https://www.proxyclick.com/ http://www.shakingolives.com/ 

Jason Ogle has been designing for Tim Berners-Lee's “World Wide Web” via CRT monitors, 2400bps modems, and 216 colors since 1996. He is also a highly innovative and strategic design leader who is passionate about the user defender.He is an influential podcaster who uses the enchanting magic of audio to inspire and equip an audience of hungry and ambitious designers. His podcast “The User Defender Podcast” is an avenue to inspire, enlighten and entertain people passionate about making a difference in their work. While staying hungry and inspired in UX design. In this episode, we talked about:Jason Ogle's passion and journey in UX growthWhat is Jason's vision as a designer?Blast from the past: Jason Ogle's Myspace journeyAbout The User Defender PodcastGet in touch with JasonVisit Jason's website:https://userdefenders.com/ Listen to “The User Defender Podcast”:https://userdefenders.com/podcast/ Books Mentioned“Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Dr. Carol Dweck

Michael Ernst is a multidisciplinary designer and cross-functional manager who works with executive teams to drive customer loyalty in business and convert them to results. He has 20 years of experience as a product designer, creative director, brand designer, and illustrator for various companies in the tech industry.He started his journey with Yelp in 2004. He became the lead designer and designed Yelp's overall brand identity. In 2009, Michael led the UX design on a product that grew from an unknown site to 20 million page views and 6 million reviews. In 2012, he rejoined Yelp as a product designer. In addition to his work experience in Yelp, Michael also was the Lead Designer at Soothe, Fountain, and Giftly.Today, Michael focuses on leadership and management, product strategy, process, and user experience design as the Lead Designer at Daylight. In this episode, we talked about:What is Yelp's design process?The Benefits of Yelp elite memberDeveloping a good visual language and framework for YelpWhat is Yelp for Business Owners?Michael's personal story and some of the dark side of the startup lifestyle Get in touch with MichaelMichael's LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/beingernst/ Visit Daylight:https://www.daylight.video/ 

Koji Pereira is the Head of Design for Lyft Business. He creates products for organizations, companies, healthcare systems for employees, collaborators to get rides for their employees.Koji grew up in a poor family of five siblings, one mother, and had no father figure. He was the first among all of his siblings to go to have studied for college. For a college program, Koji took up Fine Arts, which soon led him to Graphic Design. Since then, he has worked in Google and led Design for Files by Google from 0 to 1/2 billion MAU, and launched many products- including Camera Go, Android TV Data Saver, and Google Spaces. He also taught Design around the world in schools like Harbour. Space in Spain and PUC Minas in Brazil.Today, Koji has over 20 years of experience in the Design field. He leads a team of designers, building new products for business transportation. Koji also hosts Cells and Pixels Podcast with Product and Design leaders.In this episode, we talked about:⦁         What is Lyft Pass?⦁         Koji's background: Growing up in Brazil⦁         What does it mean to focus on the discovery side of a new product?⦁         About the Google brand and work experience⦁         Koji shares his learning and insights for designing⦁         About diversity and the Latin community Get in touch with Koji:·       Koji's LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kojieumesmo/·       Listen to Koji's Podcast:https://anchor.fm/cellsandpixels/

Howard Pinksy is the Senior XD Evangelist at Adobe and creates educational videos for Adobe. He shares UI/UX knowledge and experiences with the design community through video, live streams, at creative events, focusing on the process Adobe XD application. His journey first started in 2006, when YouTube was just a new website. Howard first started posting Photoshop videos, and immediately, his videos took off, became a YouTube partner, and his hobby became a career.Today, Howard has a Youtube channel of 466K subscribers. He regularly creates videos of his loyal designer community. In this episode, we talked about:·                  Howard's journey·                  An experience being part of the YouTube Partner Program·                  What is a design evangelist's goal?·                  Some expert tips when creating videos and thumbnails·                  Why are user experience and good design so important?·                  About Howard's LinkedIn Learning ProgramGet in touch with Howard:·       Visit his YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48fSJKMFBka3Zl0u7DGf0A ·       Howard's LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardpinsky 

James Helms is the Vice President of design a product at Intuit. A global technology platform that helps the customers and communities we serve overcome their financial challenges.He is a graduate of the Visual Communications program at the University of Delaware. Today, James has been with Intuit for 7 years now. Performing and delivering strategic Identity and Financial data experiences for Quickbooks, Turbo Tax, and Mint.He's passionate about creating and improving design teams, coaching design leaders, and mentoring early career designers to use their design skills to shape their careers. James has worked with third-party apps, financial institutions, governments, and educational institutions. His mission, along with Intuit, is to drive a full spectrum of customer benefit to prosperity and power around the world. In this episode, we talked about:⦁    The core of human-centered design⦁    About product experiences, empathy, and understanding consumers⦁    Testing consumer behavior through lightweight prototypes⦁    What is knowledge engineering?⦁    Role of personalization⦁    What is adopt a small business?Get in touch with JamesVisit his website:·       https://www.intuit.com/ James LinkedIn profile:·   https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshelmsad/ 

Sarkis Buniatyan is the founder of Meraki Ventures, Mirai Biotechnology, and more. He is an entrepreneur by day and a product designer by night.Sarkis creates hyper-realistic prototypes, develops MVPs, turns them into successful products, and teaches makers how to launch their vision. He invests in the 1% of ideas that can challenge the status quo through Meraki Ventures and restores Earth's natural balance through Mirai Biotechnology by developing hyprobiotics that transform the way food is manufactured and consumed.Another is Meraki Ventures which values vision. In Meraki ventures, your world is a canvas to invest your ideas and shape them. Sarkis' third business is Nocode Rumble, the first live accelerator that brings together talented makers from around the world to create impactful products and put their skills to the ultimate test. In this episode, we talked about:⦁   What is today's definition of products?⦁   Creating ideas and making prototypes⦁   What are the possibilities of an idea?⦁   More about Mirai Biotechnology and Meraki Ventures⦁   Going in-depth with product design⦁   His restaurant business⦁   Thinking about Gary Vaynerchuk Get in touch with SarkisVisit Meraki Ventures:·       https://www.meraki.vc/Visit Mirai Biotechnology:·       https://www.mirai.am/Sarkis LinkedIn profile:·   https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarkisbuniatyan/  Resources MentionedWebflow·   https://webflow.com/

JJ Moi has been raised most of his life in Thailand and did his undergrad in industrial design there, majored in furniture design. Then back to San Francisco to do his masters in data visualization and worked as a UX designer for the past decade, mostly in startups, but also had a fair share in the public sector.Currently, he is working as VC design partner at Prime Movers Lab investing and working with startups that create breakthroughs in science that impact billions of lives such as in the areas of space transportation and autonomous vehicles, solar & nuclear energy, robotics & semiconductors, neuroscience & longevity, engineered food & automated agriculture.Tune in as he discusses his role, he cites some innovative products that he'd helped bring to market, design systems, work for the government, work directly with the founders and executives who are amazing scientists, and what are his roles? It includes but not limited to:Design playbooks to create the right set of beliefs and design principlesDesign review and pay extra attention to design details that the engineering and science teams might overlookUser research to validating user needsreducing waste and unwanted featuresPrototyping new ideas for analyzing ideas and user testingCreating a delightful user experience to support customer journeysCreate brand strategy and identity that presents a lovable brandHelp with recruiting and hiring for top design rolesLinks:Connect with JJhttps://jjmoi.com/ 

Isabela Freire is a Luso-Brazilian digital designer & art director driven by technology and art. She is currently the Design Team Leader at Arduino, the world's leading open-source hardware and software ecosystem. The Company offers a range of software tools, hardware platforms and documentation enabling almost anybody to be creative with technology.  Isabela believes in design as a lifestyle. Episode highlights: Isabela's backgroundSome of the most impressive stats of ArduinoBig companies and enterprises using ArduinoIsabela's role in Arduino there and what are some of the products she works onIsabela on leading a team of 10 designersIsabela on working and living in ItalyWhere's the revenue coming from?What are some of the best practices in designing for Arduino?Designing tools for interface designersPek asks Isabel: What are some of the Arduino devices in Isabela's home that she's using to control something?What Isabela loves the most in working with Arduino?How Isabel navigated her career and ended up working in Arduino?And much MORE!Links:Connect with Isabelahttps://www.isabelafreire.com/ https://www.arduino.cc/ Instagram: @isabela.freTwitter: @1sabelafreireHere are some books Isabela suggest for designers who are starting:AlfaBeta by Aldo Novarese (recently re-edited by the Turim based Archivio Tipografico) for a historic overview and deep dive into Italian typeType: A Visual History of Typefaces and Graphic Styles collection from Taschen. A thorough archive and eye candy bookThinking with Type by Ellen Lupton is a must for anyone who wants to approach typographyRuined by Design by Mike Monteiro, fellow Portuguese designer who puts into perspective our responsibility as designers and ethicsSusan KareHere are some of the Arduino products they've talked about:Arduino Starter Kit: for the first approach to Arduino and programmingArduino Opla IoT Kit: everything you need to create an IoT project very quicklyArduino Cloud: our cloud-based platform to control the world around you by creating Things and dashboards and code online

Premika is the UX Lead at GovTech Singapore, one of her primary goals is crafting ‘moments of delight' through innovative and user-focused customer experience design. This is achieved by solving complex problems through user research, expert analysis, prototyping and iterative collaborative design with users and stakeholders. In this episode, we talked about:GovTech in Singapore and how it serves peopleNumber of UX designers in GovTechWho do they serve/design?GovTech on designing web apps, mobile apps and other digital solutionsPremika shared a little bit of her life journeyPremika on her agency/career backgroundHer learning experience - as per Premika, each client was a completely different product, a different perspective, different countries, different ways of working different techWhat a good design looks like at GovTechAdvice to some small agency or SMEAnd much MORE!Links:Connect with Premikahttps://www.tech.gov.sg/ 

Christina Brodbeck was one of the earliest team members at the start of YouTube, she was the company's first designer and the lead designer for YouTube mobile. In her last two years at YouTube, she led UX Design for YouTube Mobile and was responsible for creating an interface that brought YouTube to cell phones. Her passion for innovation in education led her to work on and launch YouTube EDU as a 20% side project while at the company. She was the co-founder of TheIceBreak, a Q&A service to help committed couples strengthen their relationships. As a seasoned angel investor, Christina has invested in approximately 20 companies. She is currently a co-founder and partner at Rivet Ventures.In this episode, Christina takes us back to the early days of Youtube, its system design back then, what was her role and what kind of stuff she designed, also she talks about her venture firm - Rivet Venture and her journey on how she got into design.Resources and Links:Connect with Christinahttp://www.rivetventures.com/ Connect with us: http://whatisux.co/ 

Doug Collins is a User Experience expert that has lent his talents to companies in the financial, education, government, gaming, and sports entertainment industries. When he's not working his day job as a User Experience Designer, he can be found hiking, cooking, coding, or writing about any of the above on his personal blog.In this episode, we talked about:His role in Western UnionDesign systems and process flow in Western UnionThe design tool that they are usingHow B2B side of things are getting bigger with good opportunitiesDoug shared some advice on how he handles his teamWhat is good design vs bad design according to DougKnowledge about design principleAnd MUCH MORE!Links:https://uxmastery.com/author/doug-collins/https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougcollinsux/https://lawsofux.com/ Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter - Doug Collins