Today, our special guest is Abby Covert, Chief Sensemaker at the Sensemaker Club. Join Brendan as he interviews Abby, an information architect, author, and community leader in UX design. Abby shares insights into her work in UX design, the importance of customer feedback, and her journey as an author. They discuss topics such as misdiagnosis, neurodivergent experiences, the evolution of information architecture, ethical responsibility in tech, and effective communication through diagrams....

Today, our special guest is Whitney Hess, Founder and Executive Coach of Vicarious Partners Inc. We discuss the power of bravery, vulnerability, and personal growth. Discover how to overcome fear, cultivate self-awareness, and embrace failure as a stepping stone toward success. With practical tips and inspiring stories, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to live a more courageous and purposeful life. Highlights include: 0:00-4:25 - Whitney discusses her perspective on...

Today, our special guest is Doreen Lorenzo, Assistant Dean at the University of Texas School of Design and Creative Technology. Doreen discusses the challenges and opportunities in the design industry and shares her insights as a design leader while emphasizing the importance of training and skill development. They also explore her journey from Frog Design to the University of Texas and her passion for education and diversity in design. Highlights include: 03:15 - Introduction and Doreen's...

Today, our special guest is Nick Fine, PhD, Principal UX Research Consultant and Strategist at Adaptavist. Nick touches on several topics, including dealing with ADHD, why user-centric design has lost its way, and the impact of economic cycles and AI on the industry. Nick also talks about the need for UX researchers to focus on insight rather than ‘depth’, stating that the goal is to “get the gold and get out.” And that’s just the start! Highlights include: 00:00 - Guest introduction 02:31 -...

Q Walker draws a line between circus and UX, shares their experience of being cyber stalked, and unpacks the IA intricacies of emojis. Highlights include: What can designers learn from circus performers? Why did you start researching the information architecture of emojis? Are changes to emojis a form of benevolent censorship? What makes the presentation of the gun emoji interesting? How has embracing your queerness helped you reclaim your bravery? ====== Who is Q Walker? Since late 2023, Q...

Greg Petroff discusses the practicalities of executive design leadership, why he believes in ‘make to think’, and the ins-and-outs of working with product and engineering. Highlights include: How much advocacy for design is too much? Why do you prefer project-based teams over product-based teams? How do you align the engineering, product and design organisations? How have your recent experiences in the labour market changed you? What does effective compromise look like in enterprise software...

Ari Zelmanow shares insight into his life as a police detective, how he transformed into a PhD and then UX researcher, and how researchers can become strategic partners. Highlights include: What insight did your time as a detective give you into your fellow humans? How do you communicate the value of research to the business? What is the most impactful way to present research findings? Why is it important to associate a level of certainty with research findings? What is the most important...

Vidya Dinamani shares important strategies for building belief, healthy product cultures, and positive cross-functional relationships.  Highlights include: How have you increased your chances of your initiatives being supported? How do you determine what is needed for a product org to improve? What do you do when a leader is preventing the product org’s success? How do the best leaders manage the demands on their team’s time? What advice do you have for teams being crushed by their...

Suj Premachandran shares how Digital Influx brings UX to children, how they integrate Eastern educational philosophy, and the challenge of changing archaic education systems. Highlights include: How are you helping children to become creative thinkers and designers? Are some of Digital Influx’s practices too ‘foreign’ for UK educators? How are you bringing design to people of colour through Digital Influx? What inspiration have you taken from non-Western education systems? Why do students...

Andy Vitale shares his experiences as an executive design leader, how he’s successfully scaled several design orgs, and why a career in pro wrestling wasn’t for him. Highlights include: Why do you create a five year plan for the design orgs you lead? How has Grey’s Anatomy informed the design of your design organisations? Why go to the trouble of helping someone who’s struggling in an interview? How do you navigate the expectations of being the most senior design leader? How do you feel...

Ben Sauer shares why designers need to be better presenters, how to keep stakeholders awake and engaged, and what to do when disaster inevitably strikes. Highlights include: Is how design is presented more important than the design itself? How do you help stakeholders to relate more powerfully to design work? What is the Goldilocks Zone and how can designer’s find it quickly? Why can it be useful to show stakeholders design work bit-by-bit? How do you deal with difficult people when...

Aylin Uysal shares her story of leading enterprise design, the reality of being an exec and a parent, and how patience and perseverance have served her well. Highlights include: Why is it important to have a good grasp of the details as a senior design leader? How do you know when you haven’t got the work-parent balance quite right? What changed at Oracle to enable the culture to significantly support design? How do you work across Oracle to ensure that users’ experience great design? Why...

Monal Chokshi shares the lessons learned from growing three UX research orgs, what makes research impact a reality, and reflects on the next step in her career. Highlights include: What do you wish you knew about management before becoming a manager? What do researchers leaders need to do to increase their impact and influence? Did you become a manager to have more influence on product decisions? What do you look for in a company when deciding whether to apply for a job? What is the right way...

Jakob Nielsen addresses some of the criticism he’s faced, calls on UXers to urgently adopt AI, and shares why he believes the commoditisation of UX is a good thing. Highlights include: Are you surprised by how much you’ve offended some people? Why do UXers need a greater sense of urgency about adopting AI? Were the hiring practices at your previous company elitist? What is the state of UX today and where is the growth potential? Will AI impede our ability to develop our professional...

Justin Dauer shares how he conquered his ego to become a better designer, why he’s left executive design leadership, and how unfulfilled designers make bad products. Highlights include: Has digital visual design become a little bit boring? Why is humility the most important trait for a designer? What made you realise you were done with in-house design leadership? Why is it unacceptable for design leaders to ‘coast’ in their careers? How have you’ve been able to reach a high level of...

Rob Hamblen shares his insights on effective sprint facilitation, why he asks clients if they’re designing for today or tomorrow, and why design sprints have a PR problem. Highlights include: What do you do when senior leaders aren’t willing to be wrong? What types of business challenges are most suited to a design sprint? What have you learned from facilitating sprints with tricky team dynamics? Does dot voting to enable effective group decisions to be made? Does it matter if design sprints...

Adam Perlis shares why it’s important to always treat interns well, how he’s trying to solve bad recruitment practices, and some practical advice for navigating the job market. Highlights include: How did an intern play a pivotal role in your career? What do the most successful design portfolios demonstrate? Why are you deeply surprised that you’ve become a design recruiter? How do you assess a candidate before deciding to present them to a client? Where and how should designers go the extra...

Ash Ivory shares what they’ve learned from burning out as a product leader, why gender and orientation can’t be left at home, and why inclusive design matters. Highlights include: Why is it important not to seperate personal from professional values? What work experiences made you feel you had to keep your identity at home? Why is it important to get comfortable with saying ‘no’ in a product role? How can not celebrating wins negatively impact a product team? Do people need to take...

Rakesh Patwari shares what’s made him a better manager, why a career in acting wasn’t for him, and how designers can give better portfolio presentations. Highlights include: Is Information Architecture still relevant in today’s practice of UX? What has and hasn’t worked well for you when facilitating 1-on-1’s? How do you engage with your team on the topic of work-related stress? How do the dynamics of product and engineering change how you lead design? What’s the biggest mistake you see...

Janna Kimel shares her remarkable story of meeting Stephen Hawking, how she's growing grassroots accessibility, and how to better navigate today’s job market. Highlights include: How did you come to meet Stephen Hawking? What approaches to increasing inclusive design have worked for you? Do people without accessibility needs care about accessibility? Why should people bring some of their personal life into job interviews? How can people paint a flattering self-portrait of their work in a job...

Alen Faljic shares the gap he observed between design and business while at IDEO, what he’s doing to address it, and how quantitative data can lead to greater empathy. Highlights include: What does a business confident designer look like? Where does the disconnect between design and business come from? What do designers who have the most business impact do differently? What is the difference between being strategic and understanding strategy? How do designers and business people view the...

This is a special archived episode of Brave UX. Christina Wodtke reminds us to stop carrying the weight of the world, to start giving others the benefit of the doubt, and to make the most of the gift that is feedback. Highlights include: What did you learn about collaboration from swing dancing? Why do we need to give other people the benefit of the doubt? What was it like being an executive in big tech? Where can people start to develop more confidence? What is important to remember when...

This is a special archived episode of Brave UX. Jesse James Garrett reminds us that once we were pirates, encourages us to understand how soft-power works, and to know and be true to our red-lines. Highlights include: How are UX designers like classical composers? What is the role of personal preference in design? Should design leaders leave strategy to product leaders? Is design leadership about actively resisting the status quo? What have you learned as a result of the “no’s” in your...

Clara Kliman-Silver shares how she brings together humour, people and cognitive psychology for research impact, and how teams can make the most of their design ecosystems. Highlights include: How do you use cognitive psychology to support your findings? What is a design ecosystem and why is it a helpful framing for our work? How have you used humour when engaging with stakeholders? What is the right balance between AI and human agency within design tools? How much does research impact rely...