Descender Klarna

In our final episode of the season we talk to twin brothers Jack Trew (Klarna) and Louis Trew (Enviral) who have both found themselves working within sustainability in their design practice. We discuss what drew them into the field and how they are able to keep motivated and feel an impact with their design. From the dual perspectives of in-house and agency, we get into when is the best moment in a user journey to affect behaviour and ponder whether guilt is an effective/ethical motivator in changing user habits.



Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.

Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?

Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design

Klarna may be known for speedy online shopping but sometimes we also have to push pixels into the real world. This week Oscar Linger and Jo Chevry chat about how they managed to prototype in-store experiences while in lockdown, trying to identify the solutions to spotty WiFi and faulty check-out terminals. Of course we also get into our newly found appreciation for well-designed QR codes and how the slow-down of the pandemic actually offered new opportunities for the in-store team to build better.

Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.

Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?

Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design

Improving financial literacy is a lofty goal that is not always easy to achieve. We can’t pretend that we know it all but we want to help the best way that we can and get users to make the most informed decisions possible. Ola Trytek (UX Researcher) and Felipe Sbravate (Product Design Manager, formerly at Dreams) both offer their insight into how we can provide the right guidance in a responsible way as well as how to navigate the many hurdles users face in attempting to improve their financial literacy. Questions we uncover in this episode include:


How do we conduct effective user testing with sensitive financial data?
How do we ensure the information we provide is comprehensive but not intimidating?
What assumptions can we make about age when it comes to financial habits?



Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.

Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?

Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design

There seems to be a lot of buzz around super apps such as WeChat and the influence of Asian UI design across the world but what does it even mean we say east vs. west? Do the considerations and dynamics of designing for an Asian audience really differ? This week we talk with two Berlin-based designers Helen Chang (Taiwan) and Cupi Wong (Hong Kong) to get their thoughts on the challenges and benefits of working abroad in a new cultural context. Tune in to hear Helen’s reflection on the pressures of designing for an app with over 1 billion users as well as how both her and Cupi have seen the social norms of their respective countries play out in the apps used by these billions of users.

We also provide some advice on what designers should think about if they are tempted to take the leap and move to work in a new country.



Mentioned in this episode: 

Meituan



Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.

Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?

Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design

As we saw in our mini-series on UX writing, words matter but success doesn’t translate in all languages. The Klarna app supports 17 languages which means a lot of opportunity & risk when it comes to communicating with users . In this first episode of our new season we talk with product designer, Justyna Piwowarska and UX researcher, Selina Burzler about how they have tackled localization and getting research done in a way that allows people to express themselves most honestly despite language barriers.



Mentioned in this episode: 


Nimdzi



Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.

Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?

Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design

Welcome to Descender Season 3: Global issues, local solutions!

In this season’s episodes, we reflect on the big challenges facing the world today and dive into how we designers tackle those issues in our day-to-day work. Whether it be the question of inclusivity with language localization, how to responsibly pull in influence from different cultural design trends or how to build financial products that take into consideration users' varying sensitivity with saving money.

We don’t have all the answers yet but talking with Klarna’s diverse team of product designers, researchers and writers we have uncovered some interesting reflections on how to frame our role as designers in an ever-evolving, culturally expanding world.

Descender is hosted by Melanie Löff-Bird, and produced by Francesco Cutolo, Minna Engelmark, Anushae Hussain, Jonatan Andersson, Rachel Rosenson and Melanie Löff-Bird. This podcast is brought to you by the design team at Klarna.



Have thoughts you want to share with the team about this season?
Get in touch with us via email at descender@klarna.com, on Twitter @KlarnaDescender or Instagram @klarna.design