Design Meets Business

The Accountability Ladder, Learning to Lead by Leading Yourself, and Why Wisdom Matters More Than Intelligence, with Steve "Buzz" Pearce (ex-Skype, Microsoft, SkyScanner, TravelPerk, Monday.com)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:16:00 +0000

Steve "Buzz" Pearce is a design leader with 25 years of experience spanning companies like Skype, Microsoft, SkyScanner, TravelPerk, and Monday.com. Since his early days, Steve has chosen to focus on doing great work, learning from amazing people, and being challenged, rather than always seeking promotions. On the last episode of this season we chat about the progression from tools to craft to invention, the accountability ladder framework that changed how he leads, why you need to play the victim less and take ownership more, and his leadership style of leading like a shepherd—guiding people to greener pastures whilst protecting and nurturing the team.

Timestamps:

02:16 – Steve's career arc
07:08 – Proving competence before getting promoted
11:16 – The framework: tools, craft, invention, and influence
20:44 – Balancing micromanagement with giving space
32:16 – Building people up, not crushing them
34:50 – Giving permission to be honest and role modelling feedback
39:50 – The mental flip: business, team, then yourself
40:26 – What to let go of when moving into leadership
54:44 – The accountability ladder
59:06 – Leading like a shepherd
01:00:32 – End of show questions

Connect with Steve
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Leading with Questions, by Michael Marquardt
The Accountability Ladder
Hatch Conference Lisbon 2026

From Bad Management to Great Leadership, The Pendulum Swing Back to Craft, and Making Boring Projects Exciting, with Cap Watkins (ex-Amazon, Etsy, BuzzFeed, Lattice)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:19:00 +0000

Cap Watkins was most recently VP of Product Design at Lattice, and previously he's held design leadership roles at Amazon, Etsy, BuzzFeed, and Primary.com. Cap started his management career as an experiment after experiencing bad management himself, deciding to do the opposite of everything he'd hated from previous managers. On today's show we chat about the basics of great management, why design lost its craft over the past decade, how senior ICs influence without authority, and how to make any project exciting enough to build your reputation.

Timestamps:

02:16 – Cap's intro
06:46 – Management basics: transparency, showing up, and treating people like adults
09:24 – Should you try management or stay on the IC track?
12:08 – How to avoid being a bad manager when you're starting out
19:24 – Building divisive opinions and culture through transparency
20:26 – How senior ICs influence without formal authority
25:40 – How design lost its craft and became too strategic
28:28 – The hiring crisis: from 1 in 10 to 1 in 100 pass rates
36:40 – Making boring projects exciting
44:14 – End of show questions

Connect with Cap
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Managing Humans, by Rands
Turn The Ship Around, by Lt. David Marquet
The Making of a Manager, by Julie Zhou

Staying Useful as a Designer, Making Good Trouble, and How AI is Reshaping Design, with Matt Davey (CXO at 1Password)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:22:00 +0000

Matt Davey is Chief Experience Officer at 1Password, where he's been for over 13 years, starting as a part-time contractor and growing alongside the company through multiple chapters of change. On today's show we chat about staying at one company for such a long time and what that means, the importance of self-awareness in recognising when your role has changed, why a healthy tension in a product team is important, how to make 'Good Trouble,' and how AI is reshaping Design.

Timestamps:

02:14 – Matt's journey at 1Password and growing with the company
04:42 – Recognising chapter changes at work
08:30 – The loneliness of design leadership and talking to peers
11:22 – Doing what you want to be doing and giving away responsibilities
17:48 – Storytelling and getting buy-in from execs
29:36 – Building products without much data
38:06 – Good trouble and healthy tension
54:06 – How AI is changing Design
01:07:32 – End of show questions

Connect with Matt
Website

Selected links from the episode
Making Good Trouble
What you can expect to work on as a 1Password intern
1Password Careers

Building a Culture That Sustains Craft, AI's Role in Creativity, and Why Good Debates Make Better Design, with Jennifer Darmour (VP Design at Oracle Health)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:30:00 +0000

Jennifer Darmour is VP of Design at Oracle Health, where she's reimagining the healthcare experience. Jennifer has developed a distinct point of view on design through three pillars: beauty, meaning, and wellness. On today's show we chat about building culture that sustains craft, why good debates lead to better design, how AI is reshaping creativity, and what designers should double down on.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:40 – Jennifer's journey from journalism to design
08:26 – The three pillars: beauty, meaning, and wellness
14:22 – Building culture that sustains craft
28:16 – Why good debates and healthy conflict matter in design
42:34 – Leading design in complex healthcare systems
56:18 – AI's role in creativity and what it will never be good at
01:04:12 – Presenting work and getting meaningful feedback
01:06:44 – End of show questions

Connect with Jennifer
LinkedIn
Website

Selected links from the episode
How to argue using the RISA framework

Designing for Infinity, The Meaning of Craft in the Age of AI, and the Power of Curiosity, with Rachel Been (Expedia SVP of Design)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:03:00 +0000

Rachel Been is Expedia's SVP of Design. Previously, she was one of the designers who laid the foundations for Google's Material Design, and has worked across products at Airbnb, Google Home, and Nest. Starting her career as a photojournalist, Rachel brings a unique perspective to product design, grounded in curiosity and craft. On today's show we chat about designing for infinite expressiveness, the tension between craft and efficiency, the power of curiosity over specialisation, and what AI should and shouldn't be able to do.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:22 – Rachel's journey from photojournalism to design
05:42 – The power of curiosity and being a generalist
09:16 – Designing for infinity and infinite expressiveness
18:34 – The tension between craft and efficiency in design
28:22 – Material Design's impact and evolution
35:48 – AI-powered search and building AI products at Expedia
42:16 – The future of search and conversational interfaces
48:24 – End of show questions

Connect with Rachel
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Expedia in ChatGPT
Carly Ayres' essay on the great design reset.

Design Systems, AI Tools for Designers, and The Future of Interfaces, with Jehad Affoneh (Chief Design Officer at Toast)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:43:00 +0000

Jehad Affoneh is Chief Design Officer at Toast, where he leads design across product, platform, and culture. Previously, he held design leadership roles at VMware and other complex B2B companies. Starting his career as an engineer, Jehad brings a unique perspective to design, viewing it fundamentally as problem solving. On today's show we chat about the transition from engineering to design, the value of being multilingual across disciplines, organisational design, and how AI is transforming the way teams build products.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:08 – Jehad's journey from engineering to design leadership
05:32 – Being multilingual across disciplines and bridging gaps
09:48 – Organisational design and how teams should be structured
20:16 – The role of design systems and platforms at scale
31:44 – Leading design in complex B2B environments
42:22 – How AI is changing product building and design tools
52:18 – The future of AI agents and conversational interfaces
58:02 – End of show questions

Connect with Jehad
LinkedIn

Building Trust, Creating Clarity, and Making an Impact, with Vuokko Aro (Monzo Chief Design Officer)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 09:11:52 +0000

Vuokko Aro is Chief Design Officer at Monzo, where she has led the design function for nearly a decade through hypergrowth from startup to one of the UK's most loved fintech brands. She oversees a team of over 100 people across product design, brand design, and user research. On today's show we chat about scaling design teams, building trust through transparency, the value of constraints, and how to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses as you grow in your career.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:26 – Vuokko's journey into design and joining Monzo
06:16 – Building in the open and transparency as a core value
11:42 – Scaling design whilst maintaining craft and quality
23:12 – Building design culture and protecting craft at scale
37:44 – Managing stakeholders and navigating disagreement
48:36 – Transitioning from IC to leadership and learning to let go
55:48 – Career development and focusing on strengths
01:03:22 – End of show questions

Connect with Vuokko
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
The Monzo Book of Money

Andrea Mangini on Leading Through Craft and Growing Through Discomfort (ex Shopify, Netflix, Autodesk, Adobe)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 09:13:00 +0000

Andrea Mangini is a design and creative leader whose career spans some of the most design-driven companies in the world — from Adobe and Autodesk to Netflix and Shopify. She’s led teams that built the tools and experiences shaping how people create, design, and build. Andrea’s work focuses on design craft, leadership, and helping teams find courage in the uncomfortable parts of growth. She believes great design comes from curiosity, collaboration, and a willingness to keep learning, even when the path isn’t clear.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro and Andrea’s career arc
06:45 – Taking risks and embracing discomfort
13:20 – Reframing imposter syndrome
18:40 – Balancing stability and growth
24:50 – The importance of collaboration, improvisation, and jamming with others
31:10 – Designing at the speed of conversation
38:20 – Learning to let go: not every problem needs to be solved
46:40 – Balancing collaboration with impact
48:10 – Leading craft at scale
54:00 – Reflections on growth, curiosity, and keeping design human
72:38 – End of show questions

Connect with Andrea
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Midjourney
11Labs
KREA

Designing for Billions, Finding Joy in the Work, and Conviction in Design, with Josh Swattridge (Microsoft; ex-Google, Booking.com, ZOE)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 09:38:00 +0000

Josh is a super designer who believes the best ideas come from collaboration and play. Over his career, he’s worked across agencies and tech companies such as Google, ZOE, and Booking.com, helping teams find energy and originality in their process rather than following rigid methods. His approach to design blends experimentation, curiosity, and a love for building things together. Today, he sets the foundations for AI in Healthcare at Microsoft.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro and about Josh
05:10 – How early experiences shaped his approach to creativity and experimentation
10:25 – Breaking away from process
16:30 – Jamming and working together
23:00 – Iteration, failure, and confidence through experimentation
29:40 – Designing for emotion and joy
36:00 – Building psychological safety and low-ego collaboration
42:20 – How design culture shapes product outcomes
48:00 – Creativity outside of work and where inspiration comes from
50:00 – AI as a design partner and what human context still matters

Connect with Josh
LinkedIn
Instagram

Taste, Craft, and Design in the Age of AI, with Avi Ashkenazi (ex Samsung & Shopify, now at Deel)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:12:00 +0100

Avi Ashkenazi is a design leader who’s spent his career moving between hardware, software, and strategy—always focused on how teams turn ideas into real products. He’s led design at global companies and helped build teams that work across both physical and digital experiences. Today, Avi leads design at Deel, where he’s shaping how millions of people get hired, paid, and supported around the world. His work is about creating simple, human experiences in complex systems and helping designers stay curious while scaling their impact.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
05:10 – Lessons from working across hardware, software, and physical spaces
09:20 – How curiosity and iteration shaped his approach to design leadership
13:40 – Building design teams that collaborate across disciplines
17:55 – The role of storytelling and empathy in influencing business outcomes
22:30 – Designing for trust and simplicity
27:45 – How Deel approaches product design
33:10 – Balancing craft with speed
38:20 – What good design leadership looks like in distributed teams
43:00 – Reflections on curiosity, growth, and keeping design human
55:34 – End of show questions

Connect with Avi
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Shape Up, by Ryan Singer
Multipliers, by Liz Wiseman

Tools Avi mentioned
NotebookLM
Genway AI
Bagel AI
Whisk AI
Weavy AI
Mobbin

Sketching with AI, Shipping with Care, and Avoiding Work Slop, with JB Chaykowsky (ex Intuit, now at Redpin)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:51:58 +0100

J.B. Chaykowsky is a design and product leader with over two decades of experience spanning architecture, technology, and fintech. He spent more than 10 years at Intuit, where he led global design teams across the UK and France, shaping products for accountants and small businesses. Today, as Director of Creative & Design at Redpin, he’s focused on building a global real-estate payment platform that connects people across borders. Beyond his leadership roles, J.B. writes about creativity, design leadership, and the intersection of AI and craft—helping designers think more deeply, work with greater intent, and build products that reflect the people they serve.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
06:45 – Early lessons: creativity, writing, and how wayfinding shaped his design thinking
10:00 – The rise of AI in design: adoption phase, experimentation, and the gap between good and great
17:15 – What AI means for designers’ roles and careers
22:00 – How AI could empower design founders
27:00 – Deep thinking & using AI as a creative partner
40:20 – The future of design systems
47:30 – Craft, taste, and creating products with soul in an AI-driven world
55:00 – Building “real teams”
66:17 – End of show questions

Connect with J.B.
LinkedIn, Website

Selected links from the episode
AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity
Real Teams, J.B.'s post

Persuading Stakeholders, Gaining Influence, and Levelling up Your Design Career, With Ryan Scott (ex Airbnb, Doordash, Salesforce)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:52:00 +0000

Ryan is the founder of Accelerate Design Company. He's a Product and Design leader who brought food photography, live-order tracking, and remote driver training to DoorDash, launched step-function improvements to Airbnb’s checkout, messaging, search, and host calendar products, and launched products at TechCrunch Disrupt, Dreamforce, and WWDC. Ryan has led teams of all sizes, from two to 200, and is now advising companies on product management, design, and go-to-market strategy, as well as helping mid-career designers develop business skills to do more influential work and have more meaningful careers.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:39 – Ryan's career and his thoughts on design education
08:03 – Describing the ROI of Design – his course for designers
14:57 – Gaining credibility by connecting design to business metrics
24:17 – Tailoring tactics for your specific environment
28:28 – Pursuing stakeholders through building good relationships with them
30:45 – How does Design work at the different companies he worked
39:00 – The befits of scrapping incremental testing
43:34 – Assessing the quality of a team before joining
47:15 – On Accelerate Design company, his new business
53:06 – End of show questions.

Connect with Ryan
LinkedIn, Accelerate Design

Selected links from the episode
Describing the ROI of Design, Ryan's course

Doug Powell on Creating the Conditions for Designers to Do Great Work (ex IBM, Expedia, AIGA)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 09:13:59 +0000

Doug has been in the Design world for 30 years and is well known for his role as VP of Design at IBM, where he oversaw IBM's design practice, design career and leadership programs, and the scaling of cross-functional design thinking practices. Doug is a role model for many design leaders and someone I've been looking up to for many years. Having him on the show is such an honour.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:32 – The three chapters in Doug's career
09:35 – Building good relationships at work
13:18 – The environment needed for designers to do great work
20:44 – The role coaching played for him and how he's coached others
27:13 – How do you know when a report is ready for a promotion
36:04 – An overview of the work done at IBM by Design
42:16 – The role of ethics in Design
48:13 – Design in the age of AI
51:04 – End of show questions.

Connect with Doug
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
This is a Prototype Podcast (Apple, Spotify, Google)

The Making of a Manager, by Julie Zhou

The Total Economic Impact Of IBM’s Design Thinking Practice, by Forrester

Dan Tase on the Challenges of Running a Design Studio (ex Just Eat, Burberry, Fresha)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 12:20:00 +0000

Dan is a seasoned designer with over 20 years of experience in leading teams at companies such as Farfetch, Just Eat, Wonderbly, and Fresha. Until very recently Dan ran a small design studio – Rubber Studio. In today's chat we get a behind the scenes view into the life of a studio owner, what's important when trying to find work, and how your life as a designer can change if you decide to start a studio yourself.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:38 – Dan's journey into Design
05:43 – His thoughts on Design education
08:28 – His journey as a studio owner
19:44 – What you need to know before starting a studio
32:32 – What's important when pitching for work
43:39 – On his talk about innovation at Hatch Conference
46:36 – End of show questions

Connect with Dan
LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode
Chris Do
Just enough research, by Erika Hall
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (Documentary Trailer)
Dan Tase: Why Innovation Fails? (And what can we do about it) – Talk at Hatch Conference

Dan Makoski on Compassion and Putting Design at the Core of Business (Ex Walmart, Lloyd’s, Google, Microsoft)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 13:01:00 +0000

Dan is a seasoned design executive who's led teams at Microsoft, Google, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart, and Lloyd's, among others. From working on the Surface Tablet, starting Project ARA at Google, leading the efforts to redesign Walmart.com, and more recently writing his own book, Uplifting Design, Dan believes in the importance of Design at the core of any business, and that's what we're talking about today. We also chat in detail about how his design team has doubled conversion for walmart.com, and about why he believes that you should look at your career from a perspective of two year stretches.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:42 – Dan's journey into Design
04:06 – Why Dan thinks Design is at the core of business
09:11 – The forces that come down to devalue Design
15:51 – Companies that show Design matters
23:24 – Designing software vs. hardware and how compassion fits into this
42:54 – On the redesign of Walmart.com
51:29 – Dan's new book, Uplifting Design
56:08 – Managing your career in two-year stretches
01:04:18 – End of show questions

Connect with Dan
LinkedIn, Uplifting.Design, Website

Selected links from the episode
Neol
McKinsey Design Report
Fuelling Creative Renewal Report

Deep Dive Into Experimentation With Lea Samrani (ex Bumble, Badoo, Uptime)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 15:46:53 +0000

Lea is a Product & Growth Consultant with a massive proven track record of helping companies get traction. Today we talk about experimentation frameworks, how to build better relationships with Product, and about what kinds of designers are best to collaborate with.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:36 – Lea's journey into Product
03:37 – On working for one company vs. consulting
07:06 – Lea's definition of Product
10:50 – Building relationships with Product
19:18 – The ideal designer to work with
25:08 – On experimentation
47:39 – The importance of quality in a product
52:39 – End of show questions

Connect with Lea
LinkedIn

How to Approach Your Job Search and Build Relationships at Work, With Maria Pentkovski (Turo, Upwork, Evernote)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 13:09:42 +0000

Maria is a Product Design Leader at Turo and Founder of Careercoach.design. In this episode get to talk about the rise of the Player-Coach Designer, about building better relationships at work, about coaching, and we also talk about practical advice on how to approach your job search.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:18 – Maria's journey into Design
04:28 – On Player-Coach Designers
12:43 – Maria's thoughts on Design leadership
19:21 – Building relationships at work
23:44 – Giving and receiving feedback
30:27 – Maria's practice as a Coach
34:10 – On finding a job
48:36 – Demystifying interview questions
54:24 – How to negotiate your salary
56:58 – End of show questions

Connect with Maria

LinkedIn, CareerCoach.Design

Selected links from the episode

Demystifying common design interview questions, by Maria

How to Influence Through Communication, With Alastair Simpson (VP of Design at Dropbox)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:37:01 +0000

Alastair Simpson is a design leader and mentor, serving as VP of Design at Dropbox. Prior to Dropbox, Alastair was Head of Design at Atlassian, where he helped scale the design team from 20 to over 250. On today's show we chat about craft and how important it is for designers at any level, persuasion, how to present work, and how to deal with puzzling feedback.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
02:28 – Alastair's journey into Design
06:34 – On building the right habits
11:24 – Sharing work, getting feedback, and storytelling
27:45 – How to get good at presenting work
31:44 – Soft skills that are important for designers
33:56 – Craft of Design vs. surgical optimisation
41:29 – Leading through craft
47:16 – The importance of inspiring others
50:06 – What Alastair hopes will happen over the next decade
52:02 – End of show questions

Connect with Alastair

LinkedIn, Medium

Selected links from the episode

The one critical skill most designers overlook, by Alastair
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert Cialdini
Start With Why, by Simon Sinek
Atomic Habits, by James Clear

Speaking the Language of Stakeholders and Working Better With Product, with Sean O’Neill (ex Amazon, Tesco, GfK)

Christian Vasile — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:03:00 +0000

Sean has spent the past 25 years at the intersection of commerce, consumer behaviour, and data-driven feedback loops. This included working for Tesco, GfK, and two long stints with Amazon, among others. In this chat we talk about how design can better work with product, how to speak the language of our senior stakeholders, and what he's learned about hiring from interviewing over a thousand people at Amazon.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
03:54 – How does Product act differently in small vs. in big companies
05:53 – Interviewing others as a Bar Raiser at Amazon
10:55 – Portfolios – How do you get to the bottom of study cases?
13:24 – The one question Sean likes to ask in interviews
17:58 – How does a good relationship between Design and Product look like?
29:58 – Challenges that Product faces when they deal with Design
49:10 – Making it 'cheap' to be wrong
53:23 – Why sometimes Design reports to Product
56:53 – End of show questions.

Connect with Sean

Selected notes from the episode

Sean's 10 Product Development Principles (to create the right culture and velocity):
1. Solve the right user need
2. Measurable accountability to outcomes
3. Release value in slices (avoid long bets)
4. Put data in the hands of decision makers
5. Build once, run everywhere
6. Make it cheap to be wrong
7. Build it fast AND proper
8. Extreme focus on top priorities
9. Simplify, simplify, simplify
10. Be credible

Tom Scott on Building Your Network and the Rise of the Player-Coach Designer

Christian Vasile — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:46:22 +0000

We're switching gears a little from Design and catch up with Tom Scott, who's sharing his thoughts on building and using your network for your job search, the rise of the player-coach designer, and his thoughts on design education.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
03:52 – Community approach in recruitment
09:30 – The current state of design recruitment
13:56 – Portfolios – Do you need them?
23:04 – How to build and use your network for your job search
29:51 – The rise of the player-coach designer
36:51 – On design education
44:28 – End of show questions

Connect with Tom

LinkedIn, Verified, Verified Insights, Verified Insider Podcast

Selected links from the episode

Why You Shouldn’t Hire Junior Designers, by Christian Vasile

Monzo’s Nate Langley on the Five Pillars to Discuss During Interviews

Christian Vasile — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 14:47:13 +0000

We're launching season 3 together with Nate Langley (Monzo), talking about how constraints breed creativity, the five pillars you want to touch on in interviews, and the importance of an integrated brand experience.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
03:38 – How Nate started out
05:50 – On confidence and how to build it
14:17 – Best ways to start out in Design
21:09 – Individual Contributor vs. Manager track
28:45 – How to do well in interviews
40:26 – On how constraints breed creativity
45:58 – End of show questions

Connect with Nate

LinkedIn, ADPlist

Selected links from the episode

Peak, by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool
The Rebalancing of Design Management, by Cap Watkins

Microsoft's Jamie Young on Storytelling and the Need for Designers to Evolve

Christian Vasile — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 06:25:30 +0100

Jamie shares with us his thoughts on the evolution of the design role, the need to be a good storyteller, and about staying an individual contributor vs. moving into management.

Connect with Jamie

LinkedIn, ADPlist

Alex Cuthbert of Gojek on Leading Design Organisations

Christian Vasile — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 08:51:00 +0100

Get your notebooks out for this conversation, because Alex is sharing all about his experience leading design organisations, and about his management style, and about how to frame design at the C-level.

Connect with Alex

LinkedIn, Website, Medium

Selected links from the episode

The value of design at the C-level

Google’s Dean Hudson on Making Design More Transparent and Putting Your Best Foot Forward in Your Job Search

Christian Vasile — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 05:51:00 +0100

Dean shares with us his thoughts on how you can put your best foot forward during your job search and how you can make design more transparent through relationship building and collaboration.

Connect with Dean

LinkedIn, Instagram

Ioana Teleanu on Design Education and Speaking the Stakeholder's Language

Christian Vasile — Fri, 27 May 2022 06:03:00 +0100

On this episode I talk to Ioana about the importance of speaking your stakeholders' language, how you can learn from her career trajectory, and about design education.

Connect with Ioana

LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Mento Design Academy, Honest UX Talks Podcast, TikTok

Selected links from the episode

UX Rescue

Democracy Lab

Roger Rohatgi on Value Frameworks and Working as a Global Head of Design for BP

Christian Vasile — Fri, 20 May 2022 05:13:56 +0100

Roger shares with us the value framework his team uses to quantify design and talks about the 'invisible' work of a design leader.

Connect with Roger

Selected links from the episode

Brian Pagan

Spotify’s Leonardo de la Rocha on Building Relationships Through Transparency and Being Data-Driven

Christian Vasile — Fri, 13 May 2022 03:24:56 +0100

This is an insights-packed conversation around how to build better relationships at work, how to use data to your advantage, and about design ethics.

Connect with Leonardo

LinkedIn, Instagram, Website, ADPlist

Selected links from the episode

99% Invisible Podcast

Megan Dell of 99designs on UX Research and Designing for a Global Audience

Christian Vasile — Fri, 06 May 2022 05:45:00 +0100

Megan shared how the entire 99designs team is involved in research, the challenges of designing for a global audience, and parallels between sports and work.

Connect with Megan

LinkedIn, Website, Twitter, ADPlist

Selected links from the episode

Dovetail

Ed Vinicombe of BT on Running a Design Organisation and Building Relationships at Work

Christian Vasile — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 06:13:00 +0100

Ed talks about the behind-the-scenes work of a design leader, ways of building relationships, and his thoughts on design education.

Connect with Ed

LinkedIn, Website, Medium, ADPlist

Selected links from the episode

Undercover User Experience Design

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Daring Greatly

The Coaching Habit

The Heart Tree Start framework

The People Paradox: Human Nature's Impact on Digital Transformation

Shape Up by Basecamp

Google's HEART framework

UXClub.com
Spotify's Failed #SquadGoals

Salesforce’s Nati Asher: Standing Out During Your Job Search

Christian Vasile — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 07:21:58 +0100

Our conversation was centered around linking Design with the wider business efforts and round hiring – how to stand out, how to create a better portfolio, and what to ask in interviews.

Connect with Nati

LinkedIn, Website, Medium

Selected links from the episode

Things I wish UX candidates would ask me during interviews

Knowing the business: A must skill for young designers

Shopify's David Standen: Experimenting Your Way to a Better Product

Christian Vasile — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 09:08:39 +0100

David shares with us his framework for experimentation and how to build trust with your product team. We also talk about the crossover of skills between entrepreneurs and designers.

Connect with David

LinkedIn, Website

Selected links from the episode

Article on experiment maps

Conor Ward: Culture Change and Enterprise Design

Christian Vasile — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 05:55:11 +0000

Conor and I talk about how designers can prove their value in larger companies, why working in silos is a thing of the past, and how to transition from a design leader to a business leader.

Connect with Conor

LinkedIn, Twitter

Selected links from the episode

BT's Medium Design blog

Shook's model

Marty Cagan, Inspired

Eric Ries, The Lean Startup

Jeff Gothelf & Josh Seiden, Sense and Respond

Jane Austin: On Design Leadership and the Role of a Designer

Christian Vasile — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 04:43:45 +0000

Jane and I talk about her opinions of what's the most crucial aspect of being a design leader, quantifying the value of our design work, and what we can do to support designers who are just starting out.

Connect with Jane

Selected links from the episode

Jane's Medium articles

The Intrapreneurs Club

Rochelle Dancel: The Importance of Avoiding the God Complex

Christian Vasile — Fri, 23 Oct 2020 04:00:13 +0100

Rochelle and I talk about why being a designer is a huge responsibility, why it's important to understand what matters to people outside of the design team, and how to be more transparent about our work.

Connect with Rochelle

Website, LinkedIn, Twitter

Olivier Cottin: The Contrast Between Consumer and Enterprise Design

Christian Vasile — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 02:55:08 +0100

Olivier and I talk about the difference between designing consumer products vs. enterprise software, and how advocating for Design in organisations is supposed to be a long game.

Connect with Olivier

Tommy Toner: Curiosity & Design in Larger Organisations

Christian Vasile — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 02:48:16 +0100

On today's show Tommy and I discuss what separates successful designers from the less successful ones, the two viable career choices for creatives, and what he's looking for in a portfolio when he's hiring.

Connect with Tommy

Website, LinkedIn, Medium, Cuckoo

Cassius Kiani: Learning How to Learn & the Challenges of Leadership

Christian Vasile — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 04:06:36 +0100

Cassius and I talk about why it's important to learn how to learn, the challenges of moving into leadership, and why asking questions is key to solving problems.

Connect with Cassius

Website, LinkedIn

Selected links from the episode

Mark Channon - The Memory Workbook

Rick Veronese: The Journey to Becoming a Success Freelancer

Christian Vasile — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 02:05:10 +0100

I talk to Rick about his hustle of becoming a designer, how to deal with tricky client situations, and what are the steps to becoming a successful freelancer.

Connect with Rick

Website, LinkedIn, Medium

Rafa Prada: Collaboration and Design in Different Organisations

Christian Vasile — Fri, 18 Sep 2020 01:40:48 +0100

Rafa and I talk about the blind spots of design education, what's the first thing he does when he takes on a new client, and how design is thought of in different organisations and sectors.

Connect with Rafa
LinkedIn, Website

Selected links from the episode
Your Digital Rights

Intuit's Jiri Jerabek: How to Evolve as a Designer

Christian Vasile — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 05:27:10 +0100

Jiri is a Design Manager at Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, TurboTax, and Mint.com. In today's episode he talks about doing research when there's not enough time, traps designers fall into when they test prototypes, and about the progression from coming out of school to becoming an entrepreneur-designer.

Connect with Jiri

LinkedIn, Twitter

Selected links from the episode
Eric Ries, The Lean Start-up
Art Lebedev AI-designer
Design at Intuit

Google's Austin Knight: Why Understanding Economics Is Important for Designers

Christian Vasile — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 03:03:11 +0100

Austin is a designer at Google and previously the first UX Designer at HubSpot. We talk about the importance of economics as a designer, why the change to distributed teams is inevitable, and why understanding the value systems of a company you're interviewing for is important before saying ‘yes’ to an offer.

Connect with Austin

Website, LinkedIn, Twitter

The UX & Growth Podcast

Austin's newsletter

Selected links from the episode

Austin's UX Design Process

Lean UX, by Jeff Gothelf

The podcast episode with Dan Patiño

Indonesia's top healthcare app