Managing Side Projects - Brian Lovin (Staff Product Designer @ Github)

from Design MBA Hosted by Jayneil Dalal, Brian Lovin

Brian Lovin is a designer, podcaster, writer, and software tinkerer. He is currently building native mobile apps at GitHub. Before GitHub, he co-founded Spectrum, a platform for large-scale communities to have better public conversations. Spectrum was acquired by GitHub in November, 2018. Before Spectrum he designed payments experiences at Facebook, working across Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram. He also co-host the Design Details Podcast, a weekly conversation about design process and culture. ARE YOU LOOKING TO GROW AS AN INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTOR? Visit Staff.design and learn how navigate the individual contributor design career path from interviews with successful designers CONNECT WITH BRIAN LOVIN Follow Brian Lovin on Twitter Read about Brian Lovin's thoughts LEVEL UP YOUR DESIGN CAREER (FREE EMAIL COURSE) Learn 7 proven strategies in 7 days to grow in your design career - https://levelup.designmba.show/ 🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE: https://www.sneakpeek.design/

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Attribution link and audio player

What this episode covers

My guest today is Brian Lovin who is a staff product designer at Github. In this episode, we discuss the following: - What was Brian Lovin like as a child - What gets Brian Lovin excited about blogging - Brian Lovin's framework to figuring out what and how often to blog - What drives Brian Lovin - Brian Lovin's relationship with money - Importance of ownership in a business if you want to get rich - Brian Lovin's journey of starting Design Details podcast and podcast network Spec.fm - Brian Lovin's framework for deciding when to shut down a side project - How Brian Lovin got the idea to start Spectrum - Raising $400,000 seed round - Pitching to the right set of investors - Getting acquired by GitHub - Productivity cycles - Taking time off to recharge - Brian Lovin's advice for designers For show notes, guest bio, and more, please visit: www.designmba.show Level Up Your Design Career (Free Email Course): https://levelup.designmba.show/

Ready to play

Managing Side Projects - Brian Lovin (Staff Product Designer @ Github)

0:00 46:59

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Share this episode

Similar episodes

#207 13 actionable pieces of mental health advice from six former podcast guests

Dec 12, 2025 53 min

#205 How to recover without burning out: using pacing to find your dehoarding rhythm

Nov 22, 2025 38 min

Similar podcasts

The Neurodiversity Business Podcast Sara Kedge A renowned DEI Design Thinking Strategist, Coach and Trainer, Sara Kedge blends curiosity and playfulness with deep cross-functional knowledge. She prides herself on helping teams move out of stressful dysfunction to create human-focused workplace cultures where critical thinking – and people – are encouraged and valued. Sara carries the collective experience of the neurodivergent community into the solutions she co-creates with her clients. As the founder and curator of How 2 Entrepreneuro, an online community supporting neurodivergent entrepreneurs.In this podcast, she and her guests explore Neurodiversity, Entrepreneurship, and the challenges Neurodiverse people face trying to fit into a Neurotypical world. RUBY'S ROUNDTABLE Ruby Durham AS RUBY SHARES HER RISING ENTREPRENEUR JOURNEY WITHIN MUSIC, FASHION DESIGN AND PRODUCTIONS SHE ALSO SITS AT THE TABLE WITH A DIVERSE SET OF GUESTS WHO ARE ALSO BUILDING BRANDS WITH WHAT THEY HAVE.THROUGHOUT THE CONVERSATIONS NOT ONLY WILL YOU HAVE RESOURCES AND TAKEAWAYS TO APPLY TO YOUR OWN JOURNEY, BUT A FEARLESS AURA THAT WILL FUEL THE NEXT BET YOU'RE SET TO MAKE ON YOURSELF. #ifnotyouwho #ifnotnowwhen AI for Creative Professionals: Practical Tools for Designers, Writers & Marketers Tiana Ned AI for Creative Professionals: How to use AI tools without losing your creative edgeTiana shows creative professionals how to work with AI tools instead of competing against them. Each episode covers specific tools and techniques you can use right away.What you’ll learn:➤ Which AI tools actually help with design, writing, and marketing➤ How to write prompts that work➤ Ways to keep your personal style when using AI➤ Career moves that make sense as the industry changes➤ Real stories from creatives who adapted successfully➤ When AI helps and when you should do it yourselfPerfect for:➤ Designers, writers, marketers, video creators, UX professionals, photographers, podcasters, and anyone who makes things for a living.No abstract theory. Just practical steps you can take today.Tiana shares AI tools and techniques from her own freelance work. She tests everything herself before sharing what actually works.New episodes every week. Hit subscribe to keep your skills current.Topics: Ideas in Play Shareable.fm Do you have an idea inside of you, screaming to be let out? Have you ever doubted whether you have what it takes to share such a big, bold idea? Over our lives, we're told no so many times that many of us start to believe that we need permission to dream big and to believe our big idea is even possible or worth pursuing.We think it's time that changed. We decided to look at everything that makes us feel so amazing when we play. This includes things like safety, support, and fun. We crafted all of these elements to design an event called the Play Day Summit. On this podcast, Ideas in Play, we take the same ideas used at our event and discuss it tin the context of different careers. The goals is that we help people realize how to escape the trap of playing small in our lives and careers.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Design MBA?

This episode is 46 minutes long.

When was this Design MBA episode published?

This episode was published on November 14, 2021.

Can I download this Design MBA episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.