PODCAST · arts
The UX Level-Up
by Sophia V. Prater
Join Sophia V. Prater on a dive into the weeds on UX systems, information architecture, human psychology, and simplifying complexity.
Episodes
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094 - Dan Brown: Product IA (with AI) as the Ultimate Level Up
Dan Brown is the kind of person who will walk into your organization, look at your product, and immediately see the structural problems nobody else will name — because he's been doing exactly that for enterprise teams for over two decades. After 18 years co-founding 8Shapes, he now runs Curious...
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093 - The Key to Leveling Up for Content Designers with Angie King
Angie King went from contractor to VP of UX Design at US Bank in five years — not because she had all the answers, but because she was the person in the room asking the right questions. She's now the content strategy manager at Mayo Clinic, where she's putting the ORCA framework to work on one of...
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092 - The 6 Ingredients for Flow (and why your UX practice thwarts them all)
Sophia Prater is the founder of OOUX and the creator of the ORCA process, a practical system for untangling complexity and designing more intuitive digital products. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia shares what she’s learning from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow, why so many status quo…
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091 - AI Can Design Screens. But Can It Design a System? With Jon Alderink
Jon Alderink is a UX consultant with experience in Industrial IoT, where he’s worked on complex machine software systems, and he previously worked at Twist Think. He has also worked as a color artist for Marvel and DC, and recently created his own website, Norn Forge, where he’s been…
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090 - ADHD and Autism in UX How OOUX Supports Neurodivergent Designers with Meghan Logan
Meghan Logan is a Lead Product Designer at Stripe, and her work sits at the intersection of systems thinking, systems architecture, product strategy, and neurodiverse thinking. She also speaks at conferences about how design frameworks can better support neurodivergent brains and create safer…
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089 - What Game UX can Teach Us about Wrangling Complexity with Mandi Geiselman
Mandi Geiselman has worked as Senior UX Designer at Autodesk, where she designs for complex media & entertainment tools (like Maya and 3DS Max), and she is an Advanced OOUX Strategist who’s created resources on building an OOUX community of practice inside big organizations. In this episode of…
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088 - My Big Mistake of 2025 and the Lesson Learned
In this short solo episode, Sophia shares a big mistake she made in 2025 — one that directly contradicts a core OOUX principle she teaches. Using real examples from EdTech, Mighty Networks, and OOUX’s own course offerings, she breaks down the problem of overlapping objects and the three ways…
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087 - Teaching OOUX Without Making People Feel Dumb: Elena’s No-BS OOUX Process with Elena Haskins
Elena Haskins is the founder of Anele UX Studio, where she helps B2B companies design clearer, more intuitive software across industries ranging from early-stage startups to enterprise giants like Prudential, Party City, and the NFL. She’s also an Advanced OOUX Certified practitioner—one of the...
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086 - ORCA Series #15: Why Your Buttons Are Broken (and How to Fix Them)
Allie Ofisher has worked as a UX consultant for complex systems, served as the lead instructor for the Representation Round in the OOUX Foundations program, and is a Certified Advanced OOUX Strategist. She’s also one of the core contributors to the newly refilmed OOUX Masterclass, leading the way...
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085 - Teams that OOUX: Saving Time while Tackling Wildly Complex Product Design with Kayla Ferris and Ryan Young
Ryan Young and Kayla Ferris are Certified OOUX Strategists and UX leaders at P3+Uplift, an IT consulting firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan serves as Senior Director of Product and Design, while Kayla is a UX and Product Designer and mentor for the OOUX Certification Program. In this episode of...
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084 - (ORCA Series #14) - Relationship Representation: Connect Your Objects, Connect Your Teams with Allie Ofisher
Allie Ofisher is a UX designer and consultant with deep roots in systems thinking, visual design, and user research. She’s worked with countless teams to help them understand what they’re building, why they’re building it, and how to bring clarity to complex products using OOUX. As the lead…
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083 - (ORCA Series #13) - If Users Can’t Name It, They Can’t Value It - With Allie Ofisher
Allie Ofisher has worked as a UX consultant across AgTech and nonprofit product spaces, teaches the OOUX Representation Round in Foundations, and co-hosts the YouTube series “OOUX: We Did It Again.” In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Allie talk about using OOUX since 2020 to navigate the...
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082 - (ORCA Series #12) - Building Trust Through Attributes - Attribute Prioritization With Jake Zukowski
In this 12th installment of the ORCA Series, Jake Z is back to wrap up the Prioritization Round with Attribute Prioritization. In this episode we discuss content clashes, marketing demands, and how to align across teams when everyone wants their data front and center. LINKS: Check out Jake's...
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081 - UX That Ships - Better Project Launches Using OOUX with Philippe Fara
After leading a major gov site launch, Philippe Fara is back to share how OOUX helped him deliver better outcomes with less chaos. From mastering the ORCA Process to mentoring others, he spills the tea on scaling UX strategy, building confidence, and making complexity intuitive. OOUX LINKS: Check...
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080 - OOUX and Jobs to be Done with Jim Kalbach
Jobs To Be Done meets Object-Oriented UX! Sophia and JTBD legend, Jim Kalbach, nerd out on frameworks, the magic of teaching to learn, and evolving your process. It’s a fun, honest convo about clarity, complexity, and cringey first diagrams. Enjoy! #UX #JTBD # OOUXLINKS: Check out the JTBD…
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079 - (ORCA Series #11) - CTAs That Align Teams and Earn Trust - CTA Prioritization with Jake Zukowski
Jake Zukowski has worked as Vice President of Global Design and Research at HelloFresh, led design teams at Frog and Fjord (now Accenture Song), and contributed his expertise to innovative companies like Magic Leap, Microsoft, and Expedia. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Cosmic Plumbing, where...
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078 - Bossy UX - Why I’m Calling BS on the Doom-and-Gloom Era
A viral LinkedIn post claims UX is “just battles and compromises.” In this episode, Sophia gets spicy about why that’s wrong. Tune in for a soapbox rant on why we shouldn’t settle for burnout culture — and how to reclaim UX as the world-changing craft it was meant to be. LINKS: Join Cohort 11 of...
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077 - (ORCA Series #10) - From Inheriting Strategy to Shaping It - Relationship Prioritization with Jake Zukowski
What if prioritizing relationships could boost your bottom line? In this 10th ORCA Series installment, Sophia is joined by former VP of design at Hello Fresh, Certified OOUX Strategist, and Cohort 11 Mentor, Jake Zukowski, to explore how ORCA’s Relationship Prio helps businesses build trust…
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076 - Streamline Change Management using OOUX with Karen Hewell
Advanced OOUXer Karen Hewell joins me to share how she’s helping government agencies shift from page-based chaos to object-based clarity. We talk breaking silos, creating shared ownership, and making massive content ecosystems easier to manage (and actually intuitive). 🎯 LINKS: Keep up with...
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075 - (ORCA Series #9) - Object Prio - A New Kind of Road Map
In this ninth installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia kicks off the Prioritization round with Object Prioritization. Tune in as she shares how this step can bring clarity to your design process and your project backlog — plus a personal story on tackling creative chaos with compassion and…
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074 - Why Your “Why” Isn’t Cutting It And How to Dig Deeper
In this episode, Sophia gets real about the tension between OOUX in theory vs. the messy reality of the real world. Learn how to ask those jaw-dropping, scope-shifting “why?” questions without annoying leadership. She breaks it down into four pro-level steps so you can bring more clarity,...
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073 - What the World Needs From Designers
In this episode of the podcast, Sophia announces a rebrand of the OOUX Podcast: The UX Level-Up! Going forward, the show will center around the five Level-Ups (featured in The UX Level-Up). She also asks a game-changing question that reframes the purpose of our OOUX work, and gives her own answer...
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072 - UX Innovation Starts With Systems, Not Screens
Frameworks don’t kill creativity — they set it free. In this episode, we're breaking down why UX designers who jump into UI too soon miss the real opportunity for innovation. I’ll show you how ORCA (Objects, Relationships, Calls-to-Action, Attributes) gives you real material to build with —…
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071 - OOUX as a Tool for Learning - How OOUX Makes You Smarter
In this more personal solo episode, Sophia shares how she uses OOUX to help her learn and understand complicated things faster, why it's important to budget for and invest in self improvement, plus why OOUX is great for helping you step away from the screens to embody what you're trying to...
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070 - How to Save UX - 5 Ways to Practice Servant Leadership
The UX job market is rough. Veterans are being laid off, juniors are struggling to find jobs, and yet, digital experiences are clunky and getting worse. What gives? In this raw and honest solo-episode, Sophia explores why UX has been set up to fail — why big problems remain unsolved, and why...
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069 - World Models, OOUX, & AI Consciousness
In this solo episode of the podcast, Sophia discusses, "AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans" by Melanie Mitchell professor at the Santa Fe Institute. Are world models the answer to creating human-like intelligence in AI? What are the arguments for and against world models in training AI? And can OOUX...
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068 - Sensemaking & Storytelling via OOUX with Torrey Podmajersky
As president of Catbird Content, Torrey Podmajersky helps teams solve business and customer problems using UX and content. She has written inclusive and accessible consumer and professional experiences at Google, OfferUp, and Microsoft, and now for clients of Catbird Content. She wrote the...
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067 - The Future of OOUX — And What Is OOUX Anyways?
In this episode, Sophia and Allie get clear on what exactly OOUX is, how the ORCA process works, and why everyone is talking about it! If you have heard about OOUX and were wondering what it can do for you in your UX practice, or if you find yourself faced with intense digital complexity and need…
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066 - Getting OOUX Buy-In Using What You've Got With Raktim Chatterjee
Raktim Chatterjee is a Certified OOUX Strategist and the Lead UX Consultant at Xebia, a global IT consultancy. In this episode, Sophia and Raktim talk about how to get buy-in on OOUX with stakeholders by reviewing headaches from previous projects through an OOUX lens and by meeting people where...
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065 - Why I'm Closing the Doors on the Self-Paced OOUX Masterclass
The Self-Paced OOUX Masterclass is coming off the shelf at midnight on Friday, September 27, 2024. In this solo episode of the podcast, Sophia talks about why she's taking the course off the market, when it will be back, and why you should get this "life-changing," "mind blowing," "career-saving"...
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064 - The Three Transformations Most Designers Crave
In this solo episode of the podcast, Sophia asks, what is the point of OOUX? What are the things people get out of OOUX? Sophia outlines the three glorious transformations that OOUX provides to the weary UX professional. This podcast is for people who are wondering if they should dive deeper into...
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063 - Upgrading OOUX and ORCA and Why the Masterclass is going on Pause
There are big changes coming to the world of OOUX. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia talks about bumping the ORCA process up from 15 to 16 steps. She also discusses the upcoming Cohort 10, which will mark the tenth anniversary of OOUX! And to celebrate that milestone she has devised four new...
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062 - Proof that OOUX Works with Kate Redfern and Philippe Fara
Kate Redfern is a Senior UX Consultant at Manifesto, a digital experience agency that works with clients in the non-profit and government space. Philippe Fara is the Digital Experience Manager for Renfrewshire Council. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Kate, and Philippe discuss using the...
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061 - OOUXing English Football with Will Poole
Will Poole is Head of User Experience at Kyan, a digital product agency that specializes in strategy, design, and engineering, expertly crafting digital experiences to solve complex problems and drive innovation. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Will talk about Will's journey to finding...
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060 - Organizing a Team Around Objects with Ghyslain Olier
Ghyslain Olier is the Design Director at Content Square and has 15 years of experience in product design. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Ghyslain discuss using OOUX to organize your team, why your O's, R's, C's, and A's are your competitive advantage, plus thoughts on OOUX and AI!...
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059 - Making Sense of Language Messes with Abby Covert
Abby Covert is an information architect, writer and community organizer with two decades of experience helping people make sense of messes. She is the author of the 2014 book, How to Make Sense of Any Mess, "a book to teach IA to everybody," and more recently, Stuck, Diagrams Help, a book for...
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058 - OOUX for AI and AI for OOUX
In this solo episode of the podcast, Sophia talks about the coming artificial intelligence revolution and how it could work with OOUX. She discusses AI world models and how OOUX provides a framework for training AIs. Plus she shares all the fun AI/OOUX material coming down the pipeline, including...
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057 - Revolutionizing your UX Process with Elena Haskins
Elena Haskins is a Certified OOUX Strategist and product designer that helps design software for SaaS startups that make users feel effortlessly at home. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Elena discuss how dog owners can teach clients about cardinality, why OOUX helps you ask the…
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056 - Wrangling Design System Chaos with Dan Mall
Dan Mall is a creative director, designer, founder, and entrepreneur. He currently runs Design System University: curriculum & community to support how you design at scale. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Dan ask the question, are design systems folks and OOUX folks the same folks?...
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055 - (ORCA Series #8) - Attribute Requirement Fractals
In this eighth installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia wraps up the Requirements round with Attribute Requirements. Tune in to hear Sophia give a primer on deeper level requirements gathering, plus what sorts of questions generally get asked during the Requirements round. LINKS: If you've taken…
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054 - The Full ORCA Process Overview plus 15 Pro Tips
In this solo episode of the podcast, Sophia gives a great bird's eye view of the ORCA process, outlining each step, how it can stand alone on its own, and what the main "tripping point" is for each part of the process. Plus, a teaser for the advanced training, March 1, 2024. Buckle up and grab...
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053 - OOUXing Government with Kristin Ouellette Muskat
Kristin Ouellette Muskat is a Certified OOUX Strategist who is the Principal User Experience Designer at Coforma, and has worked in the government space for years. In this episode of podcast, Sophia and Kristin discuss why it's important to work at a sustainable pace, yak shaving in government...
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052 - OOUXing Thoughts, Feelings, and Your Life with Karen Hewell
Greetings OOUXers! In this New Years episode of the podcast, we welcome Content Designer, Information Architect, and Certified OOUX Consultant, Karen Hewell. Sophia and Karen discuss the power of naming your feelings and thoughts, the difference between feelings and thoughts, mapping your...
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051 - (ORCA Series #7) - Object-Oriented User Stories from Santa's Workshop
In this seventh installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia brings some holiday cheer while covering CTA Requirements. Revisiting the Santa Delivery App from ORCA Series #6, Relationship Requirements, she explores the four ways you can upgrade your basic user stories, plus how to use AI to help you…
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050 - (ORCA Series #6) - My Cat Saving Fire Department with Holiday Vibes
In this festive episode of the podcast, Sophia delivers episode #6 in the ORCA Series: Relationship Requirements. Sophia summarizes & expands on "My Cat Saving Fire Department," the power tool for analyzing object relationships. Using the example of Santa delivering presents, she illustrates how…
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049 - (ORCA Series #5) - Object Guide Strategies for Ridiculous Clarity
In this fifth installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia discusses Object Requirements, how to skip ORCA steps & loop back to them as needed, as well as ways to customize the ORCA sprint, plus the potential use of artificial intelligence in generating object guides. LINKS: The ORCA Series Collection…
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048 - (ORCA Series #4) - Top Attributes to Consider for Every Object
In this fourth installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia discusses the 15 attributes that you'll want to consider for every single object in your system. Think about this like a gut check or a question guide for each object. Plus, a totally free PDF guide version of this podcast outlining these 15...
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047 - Nine Traits of a High-Value UX Designer
We UXers need to fill in the skills in the messy middle of the double diamond design process — synthesis, system design, and information architecture. The ability to solve problems here is what makes a high-value UX designer…a UX designer that gets the job, keeps the job, and gets promoted. So…
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046 - (ORCA Series #3) - CTA Disco
In this third installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia discusses why objects aren’t more important than all the other parts of a system but are essential to understanding the system, plus she gives 8 tips for CTA discovery! LINKS: Learn more about The OOUX Masterclass Certification Discuss the...
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045 - Defining Inheritance with Richard Gower
Richard Gower is Vice President (Computing, Data Science & Technology) at DeLoach Engineering Science, PLLC & was the first member of Cohort 8 of The Object-Oriented UX Masterclass Certification to become a Certified OOUX Strategist. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia & Richard discuss what…
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The UX Level-Up have?
The UX Level-Up currently has 89 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The UX Level-Up about?
Join Sophia V. Prater on a dive into the weeds on UX systems, information architecture, human psychology, and simplifying complexity.
How often does The UX Level-Up release new episodes?
The UX Level-Up has 89 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The UX Level-Up?
You can listen to The UX Level-Up on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The UX Level-Up?
The UX Level-Up is created and hosted by Sophia V. Prater.
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