WHY DESIGN?

What if the CV you keep polishing for the fourth time is the reason you're not getting hired? Eight guests: from a Brompton CEO to a first-time founder, all landed their roles a different way than the job board suggests. Not one of them talks about the perfect CV. They talk about the novice's mindset that got them in the door, the adjacent title they applied for anyway, the portfolio habit that decides a candidate's fate before anyone reads a word, and the ten-year-old question that tells you whether you're even chasing the right career. This short compilation strips out all the usual advice about formatting your CV and keyword-matching a job spec, and replaces it with eight much harder, much more useful questions to ask yourself instead. Got a hiring story of your own, on either side of the table? Follow Why Design and tell us which guest's advice you needed to hear this week. This episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.What You'll Learn 📄 Why the perfect CV can be a warning sign, not a strength 🎯 How to widen your job search beyond the exact title advertised 👀 What hiring managers actually look at first in a portfolio ✏️ Why sketching still beats software when you need to communicate fast 🌱 What it takes to be noticed as a junior in a consultancy 🙋 Why taking the role nobody else wants can pay off 🧭 How to know your own working style before you choose a path 🔁 Why career breaks and non-linear starts are not a disadvantage Memorable Quotes “We're all a bit fricking weird. Great. Come on board.” (Will Butler-Adams OBE, Brompton) “I am a stereotypical industrial designer in the fact that I will look at the portfolio first and I will read absolutely none of it at first.” (Tylan Tschopp, Westinghouse) “I would encourage people to... apply for jobs that are adjacent... because sometimes you're looking for someone who has a little bit of a superpower that's outside of the job description.” (Rich Thrush, Guitar Center) “Apply to everything, go to as many interviews as you possibly can physically fit in, just to actually see how other companies operate.” (Paul Marshall, Rapid Fluidics) “That's your flow. And if that happens to be making stuff and designing stuff, you're great to go... because frankly, you'll never work another day in your life.” (Mark Sanders) “Take confidence in the fact that you probably know more than the people who are trying to recruit you.” (Vicky Lofthouse, Enable Sustainability) Resources & Links Resources and Links Newlane : https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E1 EN:ABLE Sustainability: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E2 Guitar Center: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E3 FutureWave: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E4 Diplik: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E5 Brompton Bicycles: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E6 Rapid Fluidics: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E7 Westinghouse: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E8 Motive Design: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E9 MAS Design Products Ltd. : https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E10 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - https://whydesign.club/ 👥 Join the Why Design community - https://teamkodu.com/whydesign/ 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/why.design_/ 📸 Follow @_whydesign on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@_whydesign 📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kodurecruitment/ 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/ About the Episode Your CV Isn't Supposed to Be Perfect | Why Design: Being Hired (Season 4) is a compilation episode of Why Design, the podcast hosted by Chris Whyte, founder of Kodu. Each episode brings together founders, engineers, and design leaders working at the frontier of physical product to talk honestly about what it takes to build hardware teams that ship. About Kodu Kodu is a specialist recruitment partner dedicated to physical product development. We connect hardware brands and design consultancies with the very best design and engineering talent, from Industrial Designers and Mechanical Engineers to senior leaders across Product, Technology, and R&D. Our clients range from well-funded start-ups and scale-ups under investor pressure to deliver, through to established businesses building serious hardware or innovation arms. They share a common challenge: they need to hire people who have actually built physical products before, and they cannot afford to get it wrong. All-time NPS: +92. Learn more: teamkodu.com

What if the hardest engineering problem in the room is also the one nobody wants to admit they'd be proud of?In this episode of Why Design, Chris Whyte shares the belief that sits at the heart of Kodu's work with Vax: that some of the most demanding engineering jobs are hiding inside products nobody dreams of designing.Rather than dress this up as a neutral interview, Chris chose to disclose the commercial relationship upfront and make the case anyway. That decision led to an unusually direct pitch for a very real, very live hiring mandate.This conversation isn't about vacuum cleaners. It's about what it takes to rebuild an entire engineering function from a blank sheet, and who actually wants that job.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn🏭 Why Vax's 1977 origin story, a milk churn, a shower pump and a water heater, still shapes how the company thinks about engineering today🔧 Why a vacuum cleaner is a harder engineering problem than most products “with a badge on them”📈 How a fifteen billion dollar parent company with Milwaukee, Ryobi, AEG and Hoover under its roof ended up leaning on one site in Droitwich🌊 How Droitwich earned the group's global lead on fluid dynamics, not just the UK's🎯 Why Chris thinks a deliberately loose brief beats a secure, well-defined one🚪 Who should not apply, according to the person running the searchMemorable Quotes"I've recruited for Vax for more than 10 years. Over 50 people, including a VP of engineering and a head of design.""Nobody grows up wanting to design a vacuum cleaner.""It's a harder engineering problem than most of the things with badges on them. It just does not look like one from the outside.""You build the team rather than join it. People going in now set how this works. It does not come around twice at the same company.""It will not suit everyone, and I would rather say so now."Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @why.design_ on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 See every live Vax role → teamkodu.com/jobs About the Episode"Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.""Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work."About Kodu"Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.""We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling."🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com Sponsor CopyFull disclosure: this one is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare, and it's Kodu, my own company, running the hiring. So you know exactly what you're reading.

What if the candidate who looks perfect on paper is exactly the one you shouldn't hire?Eight Season 4 guests, from a bike brand to an industrial giant to three small hardware studios, keep landing on the same answer from completely different directions. The flawless CV, the fixed job spec, and the polished portfolio are the least reliable signal in the room.What actually predicts a good hire is fit, curiosity, and how someone handles a question they weren't ready for, whether that's a new hire asking what to do, a job title that almost puts the right person off applying, or a founder telling a candidate outright that the business isn't for them.Join the Why Design community to keep this conversation going, and to hear how other hiring managers in physical product are solving the same problem.This episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.What You'll Learn🔍 Why the candidates who look imperfect on paper often make the better hire.🗣️ How to spend most of an interview on the person, not the portfolio.🧩 Why building a team around available talent beats writing a fixed job spec.🏷️ What one wrong word in a job title does to your candidate pool.🧭 Why independence matters more than hand holding on a small team.🎯 How to spot the fit that actually predicts whether someone stays.⚙️ Why a specialist hire is sometimes worth more than a confident generalist.Memorable Quotes"It's the grit in the oyster that creates the pearl." Will Butler-Adams, Brompton (S4E06)."If you knew, you wouldn't be hiring that." Will Butler-Adams, Brompton (S4E06)."That tends to be a unicorn every time." Tylan Tschopp, Westinghouse (S4E08)."What happens if you didn't have this role?" Rich Thrush, Guitar Center (S4E03)."I'm not gonna hold anyone's hand, I'm not gonna micromanage." Paul Marshall, Rapid Fluidics (S4E07)."Maybe our kind of business is not for you." Paul Metaxatos, Motive Design (S4E09).Newlane : https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E1Guitar Center: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E3FutureWave: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E4Diplik: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E5Brompton Bicycles: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E6Rapid Fluidics: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E7Westinghouse: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E8Motive Design: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S4E9🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - https://whydesign.club/👥 Join the Why Design community - https://teamkodu.com/whydesign/📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/why.design_/📸 Follow @_whydesign on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@_whydesign📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kodurecruitment/🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/About the EpisodeWhy the Perfect CV Is the Wrong Hire, A Why Design Guide on Hiring (SN 4 Recap) is a Season 4 compilation episode of Why Design, the podcast hosted by Chris Whyte, founder of Kodu. Each episode brings together founders, engineers, and design leaders working at the frontier of physical product to talk honestly about what it takes to build hardware teams that ship.About KoduKodu is the specialist recruitment partner for hardware and deep tech teams. We place industrial designers, mechanical engineers, and product development leaders in companies building physical products, from medtech and consumer hardware to robotics and mobility. We work with founding teams and global R&D organisations alike, and we understand what great looks like in the room, not just on paper. NPS: +92.teamkodu.com

What does it actually sound like when someone can tell you, precisely, why their work matters?In this compilation of Why Design, fourteen hardware founders, designers, and engineers answer that question, not with a mission statement, but with the specific moment it became true for them: a phone call, a diaper emergency, a chant they refused to join, a sketch a surgeon recognised overnight, a research grant into safety on public transport, a young designer finally seeing herself represented.This is not a highlight reel of ambition. It is a collection of the moments where mission stopped being declared and started being lived, including the discomfort of staying yourself inside an institution that wants you to become it, and the daily discipline of sustaining purpose once the launch is long over.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn📞 Why a phone call from a hospital bed told one founder her product was finally real🔋 Why 28 million UK homes have never been designed for by the home battery industry🤖 Why automation grew one company from 2,000 to 22,000 employees instead of shrinking it🚻 How a diaper emergency in a piercing shop became the origin story of a company🚆 What a research grant and a masters course have to do with safety for women and girls on public transport🎤 Why one executive chanted his own name instead of his employer's, in front of 400 people🧭 Why the future you set out loud is, according to one investor, the future you actually getMemorable Quotes"I want to try again.""I am Bob. I am Bob.""The future that you set is the now that you get.""Use our expertise for good.""I will be the last person to get money.""If we stop developing hardware, we're ghosts."Links & ConnectBéa Fertility: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E1Automata: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E2Tympany Medical: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E3Windfall Energy: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E4Fieldwork Robotics: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E5Koroyd: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E6Phil Stauton: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E7Instrument Industries: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E8Flush-Locks: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E9Bob Schwartz: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E10Longbow Motors: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E11iF Design ifdesign.com: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E12Bill Liao: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E13PARK: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E14PENSA: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E15Studio Fynn: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E16Priestman Goode: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E19Studio Wood: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E18Kohler Mira: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E19🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - https://whydesign.club/👥 Join the Why Design community - https://teamkodu.com/whydesign/📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/why.design_/📸 Follow @_whydesign on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@_whydesign📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kodurecruitment/🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/

What does AI actually do to the people building the physical world around you?In this compilation of Why Design, ten hardware practitioners share the belief that sits at the heart of good AI use: it is a tool for someone who already knows what good looks like, not a replacement for knowing.Rather than accepting AI hype at face value, these guests interrogate it from inside real hardware work: robotics, medical devices, industrial design, investment, and recruitment. That interrogation led to some of the most honest, occasionally contradictory, moments the show has recorded on the subject.This conversation is not about whether AI is good or bad. It is about who stays in the loop when it is used well, and what gets lost when nobody does.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll LearnWhy an SOSV investor believes AI is not like any other tool, and what a hammer teaches you that AI does notHow a field robotics team turned every operational anomaly into training data instead of a disasterWhy one engineer's rule is: if you can write the problem in a prompt, you have already solved itWhat a real executive AI mandate looks like from inside a design team, with no training and no planWhy large language models are structurally built to find the average, and what that costs inclusive designWhy the expert-in-the-loop principle is the one rule almost every guest agrees onMemorable Quotes"It fundamentally makes you a little bit dumber when you use it most of the time.""My problem is it's scary believable rather than scary accurate.""If I can write it in a prompt, I've solved the problem.""That's a terrible creative brief.""LLMs are just massive heuristic engines. They're like a pachinko machine on the scale of the solar system."Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @why.design_ on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyteAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it: the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.comThis episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.

What does it take to go from a one-way ticket to London with no job, to a seat on the board of one of the UK's best known bathroom manufacturers?In this episode of Why Design, Alba Bayona shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that curiosity is what actually builds a design career, and that leadership only works once you stop pretending you can be good at everything, all the time.Rather than settle into one discipline early, Alba built her own jewellery brand alongside a full time design job. That decision led to one of the hardest calls of her career, closing it down, and one she has since come to see as brave rather than as a failure.This conversation isn't about job titles.It's about what it actually costs, and gives back, to build a career and a family in an industry that still doesn't have enough visible role models for either.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn🧭 Why Alba Bayona prefers “work-life sway” to “work-life balance”🚿 How one design team at Kohler Mira builds for three completely different users across Mira Showers, RADA and Recoup✈️ Why a one-way ticket to London, with almost no money and little English, became the turning point in her career🧵 What it took to walk away from her own jewellery brand, and why she no longer calls that decision a failure🪑 How leaving your functional hat at the door changes what design contributes in the boardroom👩‍🎨 Why the design industry still struggles to keep and promote female talent, and what more visible role models could changeMemorable Quotes“I've discovered a term I much prefer called work-life sway.”“Calling it sway gives you a little bit of forgiveness of like actually that I'm swaying, I'm not balanced.”“There was bravery in admitting that I couldn't do it all.”“I think 99% of the times that you follow your gut, you will be right.”“Motherhood shouldn't be a hindrance, should be something that actually helps them gain incredible leadership skills anyway.”Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Kohler Mira → https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/ 🔗 Connect with Alba Bayona → https://www.linkedin.com/in/alba-bayona-68055874/ About the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com This episode is sponsored by Vax and TTi Floorcare. Kodu, is running the hiring. Recruiting for Vax for more than ten years, placing over fifty people including a VP of Engineering and a Head of Design. We know how they build. Right now they’re rebuilding their UK engineering and innovation function from the ground up: advanced development, design engineering and industrial design, all at once. We haven’t seen them move at this pace in a decade of working with them.

What does it actually cost to get into design if you don't come from money?In this episode of Why Design, James Wood shares the belief that sits at the heart of Studio Wood: that good design should reach a million homes, not one art gallery, and that the studio building it should be just as accessible.Rather than chase investment or fast growth, James chose to grow Studio Wood slowly, freelancing for six years before making his first hire. That decision led to a seven-person studio behind the Chilly's Series 2 bottle and the Joseph Joseph Draw Store, run on his own terms.This conversation isn't about a design portfolio.It's about who gets to build one in the first place.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn→ 🎓 Why Studio Wood lists a university degree as "nice to have," not essential, on every job ad.→ 📵 Why the studio doesn't have a phone, and what that protects.→ ✉️ Why every one of 350 applicants for one junior role got a personal reply, good news or bad.→ 💷 Why James believes a plumbing apprentice can out-earn a design graduate carrying £50,000 to £60,000 of debt.→ 🤖 How James is preparing his team for AI, and why physical model-making stays safe longer than digital design skills.→ 🧭 What it actually takes to move out of the top or bottom of the income scale, according to the data James has read.Memorable Quotes"I don't think design should be for a few people. I'd rather design something that's in a million people's homes than in one art gallery.""If you went and did the plumbing apprenticeship when you're eighteen, you'd make more money as a plumber than you would as an industrial designer with fifty, sixty grand of debt.""If we start to lean too introverted, I'd probably be more inclined to look towards hiring someone who's extroverted.""I always look for someone who's got their own engine. You're not having to go and constantly throw coal in their engine to get them going.""All the strongest lessons in life come through hard times. You won't ever become a well-rounded person without some form of hardship."6e. Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon👥 Join the Why Design community📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte🔗 Explore Studio Wood 🔗 Connect with James WoodAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it: the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

What does it actually take to convince someone to write a cheque for a business that has to build something physical before it can sell anything?In this compilation episode of Why Design, nine hardware founders and one investor share the belief that sits underneath every one of their rounds: that raising capital for a physical product is a fundamentally different exercise to raising for software, and treating it like the same game is how good companies lose winnable rounds.Rather than accept the vague, feel-good pitch that dazzles nobody, this group of founders learned, sometimes the hard way, exactly what an investor is measuring, what a cap table cannot survive, and how far real discipline can stretch a small amount of capital.This isn't about pitching harder. It's about understanding the room you're actually in.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 💡 Why an investor calling your valuation too high can be the best call of your fundraise📊 What investors are actually measuring when the product itself is emotionally compelling🧾 How one missing founder vesting agreement can poison every future raise🎯 Why the team slide belongs three slides into a deck, not seventeen⚙️ How the leanest hardware teams turn limited capital into a competitive advantage🚻 What female founders are still asked in rooms where their co-founders are asked about visionMemorable Quotes "My CEO thought it wasn't that good a call. But I thought it was a really great call."Sid Shaikh, CTO, Fieldwork Robotics"Investors invest in teams. Team slide needs to be like three slides in."Bill Liao, General Partner, SOSV"The investment just went poof."Bill Liao, General Partner, SOSV"We will always operate in the leanest way possible to keep everyone as creative as they can be."Mark Tapscott, Co-founder, Longbow Motors"We exist as a company because raising capital hasn't been easy."Tess Cosad, CEO, Béa FertilityResources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it: the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What happens to a business the year there's no bonus to hand out? In this episode of Why Design, Kirsty Dias shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that a creative business is built by giving people permission to take the slow, unglamorous route on the things that actually matter. Rather than train as a designer, Kirsty studied French, worked in theatre and ran exhibitions at the Barbican. That decision led her into PriestmanGoode as head of comms 25 years ago, and eventually into the Managing Director's seat of one of the world's leading aviation and rail design consultancies. This conversation isn't about aircraft seats. It's about what it actually costs, in time and attention, to build a business that outlasts its founders. Disclaimer: This episode includes a brief, personal reflection on the tax treatment of employee ownership for founders. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Please seek independent professional advice before making any related decisions. What You'll Learn 🎯 Why running an aviation and rail design consultancy has nothing to do with holding a design degree 💡 How PriestmanGoode's business got stronger the one year it didn't pay a bonus 🛫 What actually happens between an airline's brief and the seat in front of you, from colour and material to a five year certification programme 🤝 Why Kirsty rates a stint on a bar or shop floor over a polished CV when she's hiring 🏫 How a deliberate, unglamorous investment in schools and internships built a team close to a 50-50 gender split 🔧 Why the design industry needs to explain its own career paths a lot better than it currently does Memorable Quotes “We became stronger as an EOT in the one year where we did not give a bonus.” “I worked in the hairdressers as a receptionist when I was at sixth form. I use the skills that I learned in that job every day.” “That is how you are convincingly yourself. Like don't pretend to be something you're not.” “Use our expertise for good.” “I think the ability to communicate and tell a story.” Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @_whydesign on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte🔗 Explore PriestmanGoode 🔗 Connect with Kirsty Dias About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it: the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups. We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What if the candidate who interviews best is exactly the one you should not hire?In this compilation of Why Design, fifteen hardware founders, CTOs and design leaders share the belief that sits underneath every hire they have ever made: the CV gets someone in the room, but it never tells you who you are actually hiring.Rather than trusting the interview process alone, several guests built their own techniques instead, deliberate questions, gut checks, and screens designed to get past a rehearsed answer. That decision led to hiring practices most HR playbooks would not recognise, and results most HR playbooks cannot claim.This conversation isn't about interview technique.It's about the cost of getting it wrong, and the discipline it takes to trust your own judgement over a process built for someone else's team.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You’ll Learn🧠 Why the signals that predict a good hire are almost never on the CV⚠️ How to spot the ego trap before you have made the offer🎯 The interview questions built specifically to get past a rehearsed answer💸 What the first firing actually costs, and why founders keep hiring too early anyway🤝 Why the best leaders on this show all learned to hire above themselves🔍 How to tell, in the room, whether your gut is right about a candidateMemorable Quotes“One person on that narcissistic spectrum in a startup can destroy the work of any other ten people at once.”“The people who have big egos often present very well. The people who are humble but very talented often are a little too humble in the hiring process.”“If you think the person isn't a fit, they're likely not a fit.”“Never once have I had a bad feeling about someone and still offered them the job. Never has it worked out.”“If they can do that in a way that shows me they've actually thought about it, and can articulate it, that's a win.”Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore the full guest list and individual episodes → whydesign🔗 Get in touch about a hardware hire → teamkodu.comAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

The hardware and deep tech industry does not do much to tell talented people how to get in, when to make a move, or how to build a career that lasts.Over twelve episodes of Why Design, Chris Whyte has spoken with founders, CTOs, and senior design and engineering leaders who worked all of that out for themselves, often without a roadmap.This compilation is the result.Featured guests- Tess Cosad, CEO, Béa Fertility (Ep 01) on the one thing she looks for in every hire, and what that tells candidates about how to show up.- Dan Salisbury, Industrial Designer, Automata (Ep 02) on almost not passing probation, playing to his strengths, and why he would not jump ship for anything less than exactly right.- Dr Liz McGloughlin, Co-Founder, Tympany Medical (Ep 03) on how to articulate yourself in five or six sentences, and why most people skip the most practisable part of interview preparation.- Rob Hallifax, Co-Founder, Windfall Energy (Ep 04) on meeting his co-founder at a random IoT meetup and why getting out there is the one strategy that has never let him down.- Sid Shaikh, CTO, Fieldwork Robotics (Ep 05) on what attracts great engineers to startups, and why communication is the professional habit that compounds fastest over a career.- Felicity Boyce, Head of R&D, Koroyd (Ep 06) on going with her gut to move to Monaco for a role she could not fully see yet, and what saying yes to something terrifying actually taught her.- Matt Batchelor, Co-founder, Instrument Industries (Ep 08) on building a portfolio after redundancy, funding a master's degree through a Victorian-era scholarship, and his take on what a career actually is.- Bob Schwartz, Design Leader and CDO, GE Healthcare, P&G, and Motorola (Ep 10) on table stakes in an interview, how to guide the room when you are the one being interviewed, and the question he wishes someone had asked him thirty years earlier.- Mark Tapscott, Co-founder, Longbow Motors (Ep 11) on buying a Lotus Elise on a student loan, trading his time with race teams to get in, and what it costs to live the work you have always wanted to do.- Lisa Gralnek, US Managing Director, iF Design (Ep 12) on a thirty-year career of taking roles that did not exist, and what it means to be found rather than to apply.- Stephan Clambaneva, Creative Director, PARK (Ep 14) on what David Kelly told him about identity, and why leaning into what makes you different is the only career strategy that actually holds up.- Shaun Fynn, Founder, Studio Fynn (Ep 16) on what he believed about design at 25 that he no longer believes, and why the impact he was after requires disciplines design cannot access on its own.What you will learn* Why the skills on your CV are table stakes and what interviewers are actually deciding in the room* How to articulate who you are as a designer or engineer in five to six sentences before anyone asks* Why the most interesting hardware careers were built through side doors, traded time, and things that looked wrong from the outside* How to trust your gut on a career move when you do not have all the information* What sustains a long career in physical product when the work is hard and the bag is still packed* Why leaning into what makes you different is more effective than trying to replicate what worked for someone else* How to communicate up and down and across technical and non-technical audiences as a technical leader* What the question "what is your why" actually reveals when you have to answer it honestlyResources and LinksBéa Fertility: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E1Automata: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E2Tympany Medical: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E3Windfall Energy: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E4Fieldwork Robotics: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E5Koroyd: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E6Instrument Industries: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E8iF Design ifdesign.com: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E12PARK: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E14Studio Fynn: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E16Longbow Motors: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E11Bob Schwartz: https://www.whydesign.club/episodes/S5E10About KoduKodu is the specialist recruitment partner for hardware and deep tech teams. We place industrial designers, mechanical engineers, and product development leaders in companies building physical products, from medtech and consumer hardware to robotics and mobility. We work with founding teams and global R&D organisations alike, and we understand what great looks like in the room, not just on paper. NPS: +92.teamkodu.comAbout the EpisodeNobody Told Me How to Get Here | Why Design: Being Hired is a compilation episode of Why Design, the podcast hosted by Chris Whyte, founder of Kodu. Each episode brings together founders, engineers, and design leaders working at the frontier of physical product to talk honestly about what it takes to build hardware teams that ship.Looking for your next role in hardware or deep tech?Kodu specialises in placing industrial designers, mechanical engineers, and product development leaders across medtech, consumer hardware, robotics, mobility, and more.Get in touch: teamkodu.com

What if the most important thing a designer can do has nothing to do with making?In this episode of Why Design, Shaun Fynn shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that observation, not making, is the true foundation of design. That culture defines meaning. That before you build anything, you have to understand who will receive it including, eventually, who will receive it when it is done being useful.Rather than staying in the design of products, Fynn chose to follow the question of why. That decision led to a research practice serving Steelcase, Coca-Cola, HNI and KI, to documentaries filmed on e-waste landfill sites in Delhi, to photography books published by Princeton Architectural Press, and to a new venture called Apertura, which places branded storytelling inside architectural space.This conversation is not about making better products. It is about what design looks like when it starts with observation and follows the question all the way to the end.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community at teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🌍 Why living across four countries does not just broaden your perspective - it permanently rewires how you read meaning in objects and spaces.🔎 How to make the intangible tangible: the phrase a Steelcase design director used to describe Studio Fynn, and what it means in practice.📽️ Why visual storytelling does what a strategy deck cannot, and how Fynn has used documentary and photography to shift actual business decisions.🏙️ What Le Corbusier's lead architect told a young researcher when asked what the master said to him: "Everything is there. If you deserve it, you will see it."🗑️ Why the world of the receiver the people who inherit discarded products at the end of their useful life is the design problem the industry has consistently refused to look at.🏛️ How Apertura is using architectural space as a medium for branded cultural stories, and why Fynn believes it is the next frontier for getting art out of the gallery and into public life.Memorable Quotes "Culture defines meaning. What we were designing for maybe one market or one culture was not relevant to the other.""A presentation can often just be seen as a document of what you've done. Visual storytelling, I think, understands the media you're using and the audience you speak to.""We don't spend much time on looking at who receives things once they are done - once they've finished their active life.""He said nothing. He said, everything is there. If you deserve it, you will see it.""When I was younger, I believed design had more power than it really does. I always thought singularly that design can change something."Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Studio Fynn -> studiofynn.com 🔗 Explore Apertura -> apertura-art.com Connect with Shaun: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-fynn-8b317a3/About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership - bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What does twenty years of serious product work actually look like from the inside?In this episode of Why Design, Marco and Mark, co-founders of Pensa, share the belief that sits at the heart of their work: that the best products come from designers and engineers working through the same problems at the same time, not handing work over fences and telling each other what can't be done.Rather than building a conventional consultancy where disciplines operate in sequence, Marco and Mark built Pensa around a model they call finishing, not fixing. That decision led to a 20-year-old studio in Brooklyn that has worked on everything from razors to wire bending machines to medical implants, much of it still under NDA.This conversation isn't about design trends or career highlights.It's about what it takes to build something that lasts.It's about what happens when you build a founding team of people who don't do the same thing.It's about the ego problem in hiring, and why the people who want the job the most often show it the least.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community: teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll LearnWhy involving engineers and designers together from day one produces better outcomes than the standard design-then-engineering handoffHow Pensa solved a decade-long invisible portfolio problem by building their own products under the Pensa Labs nameWhy the most dangerous hire in a creative studio is the person who presents brilliantly but can't move a projectHow a wire bending tool built for internal use became a bootstrapped product business serving aerospace, orthodontics, and medical implantsWhat "finishing not fixing" looks like in practice, including the OneBlade razor story where dozens of prototypes led to a pivot that became the foundation of all subsequent workWhy storytelling is the most underrated skill for designers and engineers, and why the ability to bring a client along on a three-year development process matters more than most schools teachMemorable Quotes"It's not giving up to admit that we need to pivot to a direction that's simpler. And simpler is usually better.""We got to see foldable phones ten years before they came out because we were working on it.""People who have big egos often present very well. And the people who are humble but very talented often are a little too humble in the hiring process.""You're not going to AI your way out of that discussion.""The last thing you want is partners that do the same thing that you do."Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesign on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Pensa → pensa.co 🔗 Connect with Marco & Mark → Marco / MarkAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

Are you designing for the middle of the bell curve, or for the people who need it most?In this episode of Why Design, Stephan Clambaneva shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that industrial design's greatest contribution is at the front end of product development, where 80% of environmental impact is determined, where material choices get locked in, and where the decisions that actually matter are still open.Rather than taking the conventional path of pure industrial design consultancy, Stephan built a career across mechanical engineering, CAD work, sustainability research, design leadership education, and two decades of community-building inside IDSA. That refusal to specialise led to a perspective that very few practitioners have.This conversation isn't about making good-looking products. It's about the responsibility that comes with sitting at the tip of the spear.This conversation isn't about AI replacing designers. It's about what happens when the average becomes the default.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🧠 Why AI is architecturally designed to find the average, and why that is the opposite of what good design does🔩 How 80% of environmental impact is locked in by the first 20% of the product development process🏛 Why Stephan pushed IDSA into NYC Design Week a decade ago and what it took to make it happen👥 How the Park Academy surfaces gaps that successful design managers did not know they had♻️ Why people, planet, prosperity is a more useful frame than people, planet, profit🎨 Why sketching is still the skill young industrial designers most undervalueMemorable Quotes “If you’re using a large language model, no matter how good it is, it’s gonna find the average. It’s gonna find the safe thing.”“80% of the costs, 80% of the impact on the environment is determined in the initial 20% of the product development process. That’s where design lives. That’s where innovation lives.”“We need to move away from people, planet, profit to people, planet, prosperity. It’s not about profit. You have to be profitable, otherwise you’ll go out of business. But you don’t have to make 100 million percent profit. If you can be prosperous, it might even be a better metric.”“If you can find someone that can do something 80% as well as you, that’s golden.”“If you’re taking on a new role, the easiest thing to do is to make a bunch of changes. What I would say is just wait a little bit, take a pause, get to know the organization.”Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Park → https://park.bz/🔗 Connect with Stephan Clambaneva → https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanclambaneva/About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build — but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership — bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What if the science works, the market is ready, and your company still dies?In this episode of Why Design, Bill Liao shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that the stories we co-believe in are our civilisation, and that the words you choose, the values you name, and the futures you speak aloud determine not just what you build, but whether it survives.Rather than following a conventional path from engineer to executive, Bill built a career at the intersection of technology, persuasion, and purpose. From co-founding WeForest to investing in molecular medicine and microbiome hardware at SOSV, that decision led to a body of work shaped by one question: what actually kills companies?This conversation is not about funding rounds or product-market fit. It is about the gap between doubt and conviction, why self-actualisation is a lie, and what happens when the air goes out of a room.Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🧠 Why values alignment is worth more than skill when building the first team, and how to test for it in an interview🔍 How oxidised cholesterol causes four in ten human deaths, and why Cyclarity’s molecule may change that💬 Why replacing the word “but” with “and” changes how people receive disagreement🧘 What intersubjective actualisation means, why it makes people happier than self-actualisation, and why AI makes it harder🌿 How to use Food Marble to identify which foods are disrupting your microbiome at home⏰ Why the half-life of an insight is twenty-four hours, and the only way to extend itMemorable Quotes “The future that you set is the now that you get.”“The only difference between persuasion and manipulation is intent.”“One person on that narcissistic spectrum in a startup can destroy the work of any other ten people at once.”“It’s not the persistent hallucination that gets under my skin. It’s the unbelievably sycophantic yet confident way in which it tells you the lies.”“The half-life of an insight is 24 hours. And the only way to extend its half-life is to take action on it.”6e. Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🔗 Connect with Bill Liao → LinkedInAbout the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups. We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership — bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What does it take to build brand presence for one of the world's most rigorous design institutions in a market that barely knows it exists?In this episode of Why Design, Lisa Gralnek shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that design is not just products and packaging, but platforms, places, and policies and that if designers cannot speak the language of business, they will always be treated as a cost centre.Rather than staying in a thriving solo consultancy, Lisa chose to take the first role she had ever been offered that she had not in some way anticipated. That decision led to becoming iF Design's first ever US Managing Director, Head of Global Sustainability and Impact, and the person responsible for introducing one of the world's oldest and most rigorous design institutions to a market that had never needed to think about it before.This conversation is not about design awards. It is about what happens when you spend 30 years building things that do not exist yet - and what that costs, and what it gives you.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn 🧭 Why iF Design had 74 years of global authority and almost no US brand presence outside product design, and what it actually takes to change that.🔄 How change agents get beaten by organisations, not by their own ideas - and what to check before taking on an internal transformation role.💬 Why designers who cannot speak the language of business will always be positioned as a cost centre, and how the iF Design Academy is trying to fix it.🤖 What confident AI decision-making looks like for design leaders who are not engineers and cannot predict where the field is going.🌱 Why 20% of every iF Design Award score now goes to sustainability across all 93 categories - and what the gold winners tell you about what excellence really means.🏗️ How to think about design leadership in hardware when talent pipelines are shrinking and everything is changing faster than your planning cycle.Memorable Quotes "I've only ever in that almost 30 year career had roles that don't exist before I take them.""There are 10,000 things that can go wrong in change management... 9,998 of them have nothing to do with the change agent.""The hybrid between the business and the creative side. That is my superpower.""I graduated into financial collapse of 08 with over $200,000 of capitalized debt for that short degree program.""You design products, you design packaging, you design platforms, you design places, you design policies. Like it is all design."Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Connect with - iF Design 🔗 Connect with Lisa Gralnek -> LinkedInAbout the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.

When was the last time a car company asked you what you actually wanted in the car before they built it?In this episode of Why Design, Mark Tapscott shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that lightness is not a compromise. It is the design. That an electric sports car under 900 kilograms, built in Britain, engaging to drive and priced within reach of ambitious buyers, is not just possible but necessary. And that the automotive industry has spent decades walking in the wrong direction.Rather than building a vertically integrated giant, Mark and his co-founder Daniel chose a decentralised model: the best experts in brakes work on brakes, the best in hydraulics work on hydraulics, all coordinated from the centre. That decision led to a fully driving prototype in seven months and a chassis platform now being considered by other manufacturers.This conversation is not about electric cars. It is about what happens when you take lightness seriously as a design principle.It is not about startup culture. It is about what genuine empowerment to make decisions looks and feels like.It is not about the legacy of Tesla. It is about what Mark carried from that experience into what he is building now.Join the Why Design community: teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn🔧 Why the philosophy inside early Tesla was built around the cost of stalling rather than the cost of making a wrong call⚖️ How Longbow went from drawings to a driving prototype in seven months without a traditional in-house engineering team📐 Why lightweighting is a design argument, not just a technical one, and what gets better when you take it seriously across all forms of transport🎯 What 200 customer interviews revealed that most automotive brands never bother to find out🏭 Why building in Britain is a strategic advantage in performance and prestige, not a patriotic compromise🔩 How Peter Brock, designer of the first Corvette and still working in his nineties, thinks about what comes next rather than what he has already doneMemorable Quotes"Good decisions aren't always the right ones, but you have the freedom to make those decisions.""If you were to ever say that's how someone else does something, that would be your easiest exit plan for Tesla.""Everything's getting heavier, Chris. It's like we've walked ourselves into it.""You are not a car company until you have delivered cars to customers.""The bag will remain packed and I'll keep a smile on my face until it's done."Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Longbow Motors → longbowmotors.com 🔗 Connect with Mark Tapscott → LinkedIn About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

How do you spend thirty five years inside hardware giants, take 22 IDEA medals out the door, and still end up best known as the guy who refused to chant “I am GE”?In this episode of Why Design, Bob Schwartz shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: design without a strategy is just decoration, and strategy without trust and respect is just paperwork.Rather than waving his hands above his head about how great design is, Bob spent decades being subversive with goodness in his heart. That decision led to a $50,000 Business Week deal that rewrote how American business talked about the IDEA Awards, a global design organisation rebuilt at GE Healthcare on revenue earned from GE Aviation, and a CEO walking through a movie set in a nurse’s uniform.This conversation isn’t about how much design has won.It’s about what it costs to keep your soul while you climb.Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You’ll Learn🧭 Why Bob refused to chant “I am GE” inside a 400-person dinner, and what that taught him about the line between giving and selling out.🛠️ How a non-profit and a lobbying job set Bob up for manufacturing, and what it actually takes to convince a hardware C-suite to hire someone from outside their world.📈 What the $50,000 IDEA Awards deal with Business Week did to the conversation about design in American business.🪤 Why “make it about everybody else” beats every clever piece of design propaganda Bob has ever tried.🎭 How the storytelling maze worked: a CMO with 500 useless PowerPoint slides, a CEO in a nurse’s uniform, and 3,000 visitors who saw design differently afterwards.🔍 What the CAR model (Context, Action, Results) reveals about a senior candidate that a polished CV usually hides.Memorable Quotes“I will give you my head, heart and hands all in, but I’m not gonna give you my soul.”“There’s a stranger in my kitchen.”“God damn it Schwartz, you don’t get it. I need cash now. I don’t have time for this fluffy bunny shit.”“We were being subversive with goodness in our hearts.”“You cannot implement strategy if people don’t trust and respect you.”Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🔗 Explore Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design → miad.edu🔗 Connect with Bob SchwartzAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it: the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What does it take to solve a problem that everyone experiences and nobody has fixed?In this episode of Why Design, Floyd Freeman shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that the most obvious problems are sometimes the hardest to solve not because the technology does not exist, but because no one has connected the pieces. FlushLocks a smart lock and unattended tap payment system for commercial restrooms is the result of one afternoon in Boulder, Colorado, a nappy emergency and a door with a code that said customers only.Rather than staying in a secure, well-paid career managing 400 people at one of America's most recognisable convenience chains, Floyd walked away to build a hardware product from scratch. No engineering background, no product experience, no prototype when he signed up to exhibit at CES. That decision led to a van journey to Las Vegas, a prototype that arrived three days before the show, and a booth in Eureka Park where strangers kept saying: nobody has thought of that.This conversation is not about inventing something new. It is about recognising something obvious and refusing to wait for someone else to build it.It is not about hardware expertise. It is about knowing what you do not know, finding the people who do, and trusting them enough to let them lead where you cannot follow.It is not about the perfect founding story. It is about making the same decision twenty-five times a week until it sticks.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🔒 Why unattended tap payment certification only became legally possible at the end of 2025 - and how FlushLocks was built in almost perfect timing with the infrastructure that makes it work🧾 How Floyd decided to leave a twelve-year career with nothing but an idea on a Word document and a meeting with a patent attorney🛠 Why choosing the right manufacturer is less about technical capability and more about leadership style, pace, and working relationship📍 What it actually costs to build hardware from scratch: not just money, but the trust you place in people you have never worked with before🏪 Why the hardest part of selling a hardware product into restaurants is not the product or the pitch it is finding the person in a 25-location chain who actually makes the decision🧠 How a general manager thinks about building a technical company: learning just enough of each discipline to direct the people who know moreMemorable Quotes "I would have been happy to just pay for a restroom. I don't need the soda. This was an emergency.""We asked ourselves twenty five times a week: is this the right thing to do? Can we do this without falling apart?""I have no degree in anything I'm doing right now. I am a general manager that's my mindset, that's who I am as a human being.""I will be the last person to get money. If I have twenty grand, I'm going to make sure five goes to you, five goes to you, five goes to you and then maybe if there's anything left over.""You can't have lift if you don't invest in the project. The runway is irrelevant if you don't have lift."Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore FlushLocks -> paidrestrooms.com 🔗 Connect with Floyd Freeman -> [email protected] About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What does it actually take to get something you designed onto a supermarket shelf at scale?In this episode of Why Design, Matt Batchelor shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that the best design does not stop at the render. It runs all the way through the material choice, the tooling, the supply chain, and the factory floor and the designer should know all of it.Rather than staying in the comfortable upstream of concept and CAD, Matt and his co-founder Nick Paget built Instrument into a studio that also manufactures what it designs, co-invests in the products it believes in, and builds the machines when no suitable machine exists. That decision led to ten weeks in hotels, a crimping machine that kept stopping, and a refillable aluminium personal care system now stocked across four major UK supermarkets.This conversation is not about packaging.It is about what engineering at volume actually demands, and why most design processes are not built for it.It is not about sustainability as a brand position.It is about what it takes to give people a genuinely better object and get it made reliably at scale.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn 🔩 Why the hardest part of the Meadow project was not the invention - it was getting cans reliably off a conveyor📐 How ergonomic research from a Sheffield engineering lecturer shaped the torque specification for a refillable closure🔬 Why Matt hired a test engineer into a team of starters, and what a love of statistics does for a product development process🏭 What you learn about design when you also manufacture what you design - and why most consultancies miss this feedback loop🎓 How hiring only from your known network shapes the kind of work a studio attracts, and what it costs in diversity and capability🤖 Why AI has not transformed physical product development - and the difference between embedded intelligence and badly considered toolsMemorable Quotes "As with any project, it's always the details - like a hinge or a lock or a seal - that take all the time. Most of the machine will look like the first sketch.""There's no point designing a safety mechanism if someone's grandmother can't open it.""I was never sat there thinking, what am I doing this? It's like, well, there's this thing I do. How do I get people to pay me money to go and do it?""There is still a part of my job which is making myself redundant.""Good designers are just people who can articulate why that quality is good to someone who maybe can't sense it, but can't see it in definitive terms."Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Instrument Industries -> instrumentindustries.co.uk 🔗 Connect with Matt Batchelor -> linkedin.com/in/mattbatchelor About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What does it actually cost to build a hardware brand from inside a design agency?In this episode of Why Design, Phil Staunton shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that product design is only as good as the honesty you bring to it.Not just the honesty with clients about what their product needs, but with yourself about what you do not know yet.Rather than staying comfortable in the consultancy model, Phil chose to put his own money into a consumer pushchair brand, take it to John Lewis, and learn everything he did not know about retail, merchandising, branding agencies, and the gap between a product that is well designed and a product that sells. That decision led to some of the most expensive lessons in this conversation, and some of the most useful.This conversation is not about building a successful design agency.It is about what happens when a designer bets on their own conviction and what it teaches them when some of that conviction turns out to be wrong.Don't just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn 💸 Why spending 126,000 pounds on branding before validating your messaging can destroy a launch before it begins.📦 How the economics of a design agency change entirely at the boundary between eleven and thirty-five people, and why most agencies stay stuck in the most difficult middle.🏪 What John Lewis buyers actually evaluate when they decide to stock a new brand, and what happens on the shop floor that no one tells first-time consumer hardware founders.🔧 Why forty-two post-launch product changes that cost real money moved zero additional units, and what that reveals about the difference between designer instinct and customer reality.📋 The minimum viable approach to validation before tooling: how a fake buy-now button on a basic website outperforms any focus group or agency market research.🧠 Why ignoring alarm bells on hires and new client inquiries never, in Phil's fifteen-year experience, works out.Memorable Quotes "We wasted a lot of money on branding. I think we spent 126,000 pounds with a branding company. And it just bombs.""Never once have I kind of gone, yeah, okay, it'll be all right. I've got a bad feeling about it but I'll offer that person the job. Never has it worked out. It's always been a shit show.""Set up a website with an ecom platform and get people to actually click buy now and then send them an email saying, really sorry, it's not quite ready yet. If people click buy now, they're genuinely prepared to spend money.""I made way more money running a design agency that was under 10 than I did when I was trying to run a design agency that was 18 people. And I was a hell of a lot more stressed and I was doing a lot more work.""I am a startup guy. And that's the bit that gets me excited. D2M doesn't want or need me. It doesn't need that kind of startup energy. It's a mature business. And that just isn't me."Resources & Links Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.clubJoin the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign Follow @whydesignxkodu on InstagramWatch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte Explore D2M Product Design -> design2market.co.uk Connect with Phil Staunton -> Phil StauntonAbout the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What do you do when the work you're best at starts to feel like the problem?In this episode of Why Design, Felicity Boyce shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that understanding how something is made, at factory scale, under pressure, with the wrong release agent and a cycle time that doesn't add up, is more valuable than any theory you carry out of university.As Head of Material Innovation at Koroyd, she leads the development of the tubular core technology that is now inside helmets and body protection products used across sports, industrial, motorsport, and defence markets, inside a company just acquired by MIPS for 40 million euros.Rather than following a planned career trajectory, Felicity built her expertise through saying yes: to factory trips others declined, to project responsibility that appeared during redundancy rounds, to a year inside a nappy recycling facility learning waste streams and polymer chemistry from the ground up, and eventually to a job offer in Monaco from a team she already trusted. That sequence of decisions led her to one of the more interesting material science roles in European hardware.This conversation isn't about impact protection materials.It's about what you learn by being physically present when things go wrong in a factory.This conversation isn't about sustainability credentials.It's about the weight of making things at volume, and what you do when that weight becomes a reason to change direction.This conversation isn't about relocating for work.It's about what it looks like to build a career without a map, and why gut instinct and a good team around you turn out to be the main navigational tools.Join the Why Design community: teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn 🔩 Why the best material science careers are built in factories, not labs, and what that means for how you read a CV.🌍 How sustainability shifts from an interest to an obligation when you have spent years watching what gets made at scale.🏗️ What Koroyd's tubular core technology actually does, where it came from, and why the MIPS acquisition is a science story as much as a business one.🧪 Why a year recycling nappies turned out to be one of the most valuable things Felicity did for her career, and what it taught her about the gap between lab-scale proof and real-world implementation.👥 What attitude actually looks like in an interview when you are hiring for a technical team in a company that is evolving faster than its org chart.🏔️ What it genuinely costs and feels like to relocate to Monaco for work, beyond the sunshine, the sea, and the scenery.Memorable Quotes "I think I was just at a point of my life and my career where it felt like a bit of an adventure. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and it just felt like a good move.""I think I've always just seen challenge as something positive rather than something too scary. You've got to be comfortable being a bit uncomfortable.""Being in a factory, trying to troubleshoot exactly why you're having trouble running a new material or a new product, you can't get it to mould or demould, that was really where I felt I started to thrive.""It's okay not to know what the future holds and where the path's going, as long as you've got a good support network and you feel well supported. You'll find your way.""It's not quite as simple as just getting rid of all plastics and that's going to be the solution to all our problems. It's a much more complex topic than that."Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon: whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community: teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes: YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte: linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Koroyd: Koroyd.com 🔗 Connect with Felicity Boyce: [linkedin.com/in/felicity-boyce/]About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more: teamkodu.com

What does it take to solve a problem nobody else is willing to attempt, in a country 10,000 miles away, with a 15-person team and an active fundraise running in the background?In this episode of Why Design, Sid Shaikh shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that the hardest engineering problems are the right ones to go after, and that the difference between a startup that scales and one that stalls is almost always about whether the team is solving the actual bottleneck or just the comfortable one.Rather than staying in large corporations where the problems were well-defined and the teams were fully resourced, Sid has spent his career choosing the inflection point: the moment a company has something that works and needs to figure out how to make it real. That decision led him to Ocado when it was still thought of as a grocer, through a company administration at Hypertunnel, and eventually to Fieldwork Robotics, where he is now CTO building a raspberry-picking robot designed to operate in polytunnels across three continents.This conversation is about what honest engineering leadership looks like when the stakes are high and the answers aren't in any textbook.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn Why a reachability analysis of berry height, depth, and obstacles explained six months of performance data that improvements to the vision and motion stack simply couldn't shiftHow Fieldwork moved from project-based trials to Harvest as a Service, charging per kilo picked rather than per machine deployedWhy Ocado's engineering team broke down at around 50 people, and what the right structure looks like when you need doers more than managersWhat Sid learned from Hypertunnel's administration about solving your own part of the stack brilliantly while the harder problem next door stands stillHow AI is being layered across the pick stack, from ripeness classification to berry-level yield forecasting that tells a farm operator exactly when to come backWhat Sid actually looks for when hiring engineers: not a list of CAD packages or coding languages, but the attitude to work from a blank sheet and the drive to pivot without freezingMemorable Quotes "I've never heard anybody say you over-communicate.""We went to suppliers and they laughed at us. And then the outcomes are there.""The endless prototype is the sign a robotics startup is heading for trouble.""If the horse next to you in the horse race isn't catching up, you're not going to be successful.""People in automation mix very well."Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon -> whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Fieldwork Robotics -> fieldworkrobotics.com 🔗 Connect with Sid Shaikh -> [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sid-shaikh]About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership - bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What if the biggest gap in the clean energy transition isn't technology or politics, but simply who the products were designed for?In this episode of Why Design, Rob Hallifax shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that half the country has been left behind by clean energy, and that the right physical product can change that. Rob is co-founder of Windfall Energy, a company building a compact home battery specifically for renters and flat-dwellers, the people for whom solar panels, heat pumps and big home batteries have never been a realistic option.Rather than building another clean tech product for homeowners with garages and south-facing roofs, Rob and his co-founder designed something different: a 2.5 kWh battery that orders online, arrives by courier, and automatically charges on cheap overnight electricity to power your home during expensive peak hours. That decision, to start with who was excluded rather than who already had options, led to Bethnal Green Ventures backing the company, conversations with major UK energy providers, and a pre-order campaign launching in early 2025.This conversation isn't about home energy storage.It's about who clean technology is designed for, and who it quietly ignores.This conversation isn't about Kickstarter tactics.It's about what a decade of crowdfunding campaigns teaches you about making products people actually want.Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign6c. What You'll LearnWhy roughly half of UK homes are structurally excluded from every clean energy product on the market, and what it takes to build for that gap.How the economics of battery cells and electricity pricing have only recently made a product like Windfall viable, and why timing matters as much as the idea itself.Why Rob treats the industrial design of a home battery as a commercial priority, not an afterthought, and how that shapes every decision from designer brief to product form.Why Windfall leads on saving money rather than saving the planet, and what it means that cheap and green electricity are effectively the same thing on the UK grid.How a B2B2C strategy through energy companies solves distribution, tariff integration and end-user complexity in one move.What a decade of Kickstarter campaigns actually teaches you about validating physical products, building audiences before launch, and knowing when to walk away from something that is not working.Memorable Quotes"We thought, what can we make for the people who've been left behind? Effectively half the country.""The making of the thing is kind of the easy bit. The hard bit is always finding customers, making a product that people actually want.""If you're not embarrassed by your first product launch, you've waited too long.""In terms of marketing stuff, we lead on saving money and the green thing is more than just a happy bonus. They are definitely tightly integrated.""You need to know when something's not going to work and be prepared to kill it. That can be hard, especially when it's your own."Resources and Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon -> whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design community -> teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes -> YouTube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte -> linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🔗 Explore Windfall Energy -> windfallenergy.com🔗 Connect with Rob Hallifax -> robhallifax.com , LinkedInAbout the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more -> teamkodu.com

What does it take to redesign a surgical instrument that nobody has touched in sixty years?In this episode of Why Design?, Liz McGloughlin shares the belief that sits at the heart of her work: that hardware problems worth solving are the ones nobody has bothered to solve yet, and that the best place to find them is not a trend report but an operating room.Rather than following a conventional route into medical devices through engineering alone, Liz brought a clinical lens to a design problem, co-founding Tympany Medical after watching surgeons work around tools that were slowing them down, damaging their bodies, and limiting what they could see.That decision led to a startup building the first variable-angle, single-use rigid endoscope platform, backed by clinicians at some of the most respected hospitals in the world.This conversation is not about disruption for its own sake.It is about the discipline of needs-led innovation: what it means to validate a problem before you fall in love with a solution.It is about building hardware in a jurisdiction that gives you support but not quite enough, and staying in the game anyway.It is about what kind of person survives the founding years of a medical device company with two small children at home and no desire to work weekends.Listen in on this exclusive episode.Join the Why Design? community - teamkodu.com/whydesignWhat You'll Learn 🔬 Why needs-led innovation, not trend spotting, produces the problems worth solving in MedTech.🛠 How the MVP model must be reframed in a regulated industry, and what the real test cycle looks like.💡 Why customer conversations in 2023 narrowed Tympany's engineering roadmap and made the product more attainable.⚖️ What it actually costs to be a hardware founder with young children, and why delegation is a pay equity issue.🏥 How to build clinical credibility from Galway with surgeons at Mayo Clinic, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins.🤝 What Liz looks for in early hires, and why character and cultural instinct matter more than CV at the founding stage.Memorable Quotes "I fundamentally believe that if we stop developing hardware, we're ghosts.""Instinct is a combination of knowledge and a community around you. I don't think it happens in isolation.""The first people in the door are make or break.""Keep talking to your customers. We were sending prototypes to clinicians, and we still couldn't nail whether we were getting it right. You have to keep going back.""I sat in the front room of a house with no furniture, on the phone to Rory, and I thought: hold on, this could go anywhere."Resources and Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Amazon - whydesign.club👥 Join the Why Design? community - teamkodu.com/whydesign📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes - https://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod🔗 Follow Chris Whyte - linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🔗 Explore Tympany Medical - tympanymedical.com🔗 Connect with Liz McGloughlin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liz-mcgloughlin/About the Episode Why Design? is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About Kodu Why Design? is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

What does it take to walk into a deep tech startup as the only industrial designer... Earn the trust of thirty engineers, and... Build a design identity so thoroughly baked into the product that no one can ever cost-optimise it out? In this episode of Why Design, Dan Salisbury shares the belief that sits at the heart of his work: that design isn't a layer you apply at the end, it's the structure you build from the inside, or it's nothing at all. Rather than staying in consultancy, Dan chose to go in-house at Automata with no design team, no established language, and no precedent for what industrial design should mean in a lab automation company. That decision led to three years of proof. This conversation isn't about having the right portfolio. It's about having the conviction to demonstrate value when no one has thought to ask for it. It's about the specific decisions, a shade of pink, a custom extrusion, a studio photography budget, that turn a product into a statement. This time we go beyond the fancy gadgets Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign What You'll Learn Why industrial design in deep tech isn't about aesthetics, it's about trust, proof, and permanence How Dan survived almost failing probation by doubling down on his actual strengths instead of copying others What presenting to Dieter Rams at 25 taught him about confidence, preparation, and the value of being in the room Why form following function is a design philosophy and a strategy for making your work impossible to remove How to build a design language when your manufacturing constraints are brutal and your volumes are low What a properly considered product launch looks like, and why most B2B companies never bother to try Memorable Quotes "Any advice I'd give to anyone is just: stick to your strengths. Don't try and be like other designers because everyone's different in how they approach problems." "The felt, tip fairy thing, I've heard it more times than I can count. And the answer is always the same: show them. Don't explain. Show them." "I built the design identity into the extrusion itself. The horizontal lines, the light gap, they're functional. You can't remove them without removing the product." "The job advert said 'industrial design' in the title. It talked about the impact. I applied within about five minutes of reading it." "The V2 launch was the proudest moment of my career. I sat there surrounded by studio shots and render posters and I thought, yeah. That's it. That's what this was for." Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🔗 Explore Automata → automata.tech 🔗 Connect with Dan on LinkedIn → Dan Salisbury About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work. About Kodu Kodu is a specialist recruitment partner dedicated to physical product development. We connect hardware brands and design consultancies with the very best design and engineering talent, from Industrial Designers and Mechanical Engineers to senior leaders across Product, Technology, and Design. Our clients range from well-funded start-ups and scale-ups under investor pressure to deliver, through to mature enterprises building new innovation teams. They often face the same challenges: scaling beyond generalists, attracting talent without a recognised employer brand, or struggling with slow, inconsistent hiring processes. We solve these hiring problems with a proven 7-stage recruitment framework, a proprietary hardware network, and storytelling that builds trust with candidates. This results in a faster, smoother, and more engaging hiring experience. Kodu consistently delivers results that exceed expectations, with an average time-to-offer of 6 weeks, 97% retention after 12 months, and an all-time NPS of +91 (versus the recruitment industry average of +30). We act as trusted partners, helping hardware innovators hire better, scale faster, and bring groundbreaking products to market. 🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

What if the most important fertility treatment of the last decade wasn’t invented in a clinic, but built from scratch, during a lockdown, by someone who had never worked in medicine? In this episode of Why Design, Tess Cosad shares the belief that sits at the heart of Béa Fertility: that compassionate, clinical-grade care should be available to everyone, not just those who can afford a private clinic, survive a two-year waiting list, or live near the right postcode. Rather than accepting the gap between DIY conception and IVF, Tess chose to fill it. That decision led her through 283 investor pitches, a chronic health condition brought on by founder stress, and a phone call from a user in her hospital bed, the day after emergency surgery, who said she wanted to try again. This conversation isn’t about fertility as a product category. It’s about design as access. Design as dignity. Design as a force that changes what’s possible for real people, in real pain, right now. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. In this episode we’ll learn Why intracervical insemination existed before IVF, and why it took a lockdown founder to bring it home How lived experience, not research studies, solved the product’s biggest usability problem in a single session Why compassion and levity aren’t soft brand choices, they’re clinical design decisions What 283 investor rejections reveal about structural bias in venture capital, and how to keep going anyway How Béa is building for the US market, and why it’s already outperforming revenue forecasts by nearly 100% Why the hardest part of scaling isn’t the product, it’s the loneliness, the letting go, and the coping mechanisms that actually work Memorable Quotes “I want to try again.” “You can’t do your entire career on level 10 difficulty and not come out of it better at your job.” “283 pitches to close 15. That’s the fundraising reality of femtech.” “She flipped the diagram. And that was it. One session.” “Make decisions fast”, the advice I ignored too long.” Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon - whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community - teamkodu.com/whydesign 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram & TikTok 📸 Follow @kodurecruitment on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes - YouTube 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn - Mr Chris Whyte 🔗 Explore Béa Fertility - beafertility.com 🔗 Connect with Tess Cosad - [email protected] / LinkedIn About the Why Design Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it, the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work. About Kodu Kodu is a specialist recruitment partner dedicated to physical product development. We connect hardware brands and design consultancies with the very best design and engineering talent, from Industrial Designers and Mechanical Engineers to senior leaders across Product, Technology, and Design. Our clients range from well-funded start-ups and scale-ups under investor pressure to deliver, through to mature enterprises building new innovation teams. They often face the same challenges: scaling beyond generalists, attracting talent without a recognized employer brand, or struggling with slow, inconsistent hiring processes. We solve these hiring problems with a proven 7-stage recruitment framework, a proprietary hardware network, and storytelling that builds trust with candidates. This results in a faster, smoother, and more engaging hiring experience. Kodu consistently delivers results that exceed expectations, with an average time-to-offer of 6 weeks, 97% retention after 12 months, and an all-time NPS of +91 (versus the recruitment industry average of +30). We act as trusted partners, helping hardware innovators hire better, scale faster, and bring groundbreaking products to market. 🔗 Learn more - teamkodu.com

What connects a folding bicycle, a kitchen tool, and an electric ultralight aircraft? For Mark Sanders, the answer isn’t the category, it’s the thinking. In this episode of Why Design, Mark joins host Chris Whyte to reflect on a career that spans more than four decades of designing, engineering, and inventing across radically different industries. From his early work as a mechanical engineer at Rolls-Royce, to retraining at the Royal College of Art, to licensing over 100 commercialised products, Mark’s work is united by a clear philosophy: elegance through simplicity. This is a conversation about reducing part count, designing for manufacture, and understanding why the earliest design decisions matter more than almost anything that follows. Mark shares lessons from licensing the Strida folding bike, working with manufacturers, and inventing products where cost, reliability, and accessibility truly matter. It’s not a conversation about trends or scale. It’s about invention as a craft, and design as responsibility. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 💡 What You’ll Learn ⚙️ Why radically different products often share the same design principles 🧠 How simplicity creates elegance across engineering and design 🔩 Why reducing part count improves reliability, cost, and longevity 🚲 Lessons from designing and licensing the Strida folding bike ✈️ What designing electric ultralight aircraft teaches about safety and systems thinking 🧪 Why concept design decisions shape everything downstream 💬 Memorable Quotes “Concept design is everything. If you get that wrong, you’re fixing it forever downstream.” “Good design isn’t about adding features. It’s about fewer parts doing more work.” “Elegance means something to engineers and designers, and that’s why it matters.” “If you only design for the elite, you’re not designing for people.” “Invention isn’t a career for security. It’s a career for curiosity.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🌐 Explore Mark Sanders’ work → https://www.mas-design.com 🔗 Follow Mark Sanders on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark77a/ 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it, and how their thinking holds up across industries and time. About Kodu Kodu is a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led businesses. We help teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership, bringing structure, clarity, and long-term thinking to one of the hardest parts of scaling. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

In an industry that often celebrates rapid growth, visibility, and bold ambition, there’s a quieter reality that rarely gets attention: The design businesses that last aren’t built through speed. They’re built through discipline. Through showing up consistently. Through making careful decisions when shortcuts are tempting. Through taking responsibility for outcomes, not just ideas. In this episode of Why Design, Paul Metaxatos, Principal and Owner of Motiv Design, joins host Chris Whyte to unpack what it actually takes to build a consultancy that endures, not just commercially, but creatively and personally. Paul shares his journey from industrial designer to business owner, and why Motive Design has prioritised steady relationships, clear judgement, and long-term thinking over chasing size or short-term wins. It’s a candid conversation about restraint, responsibility, and staying committed to the work even when growth is uneven or unglamorous. This episode isn’t about scaling for the sake of it. It’s about the quiet discipline required to build trust, credibility, and a business that lasts. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 💡 What You’ll Learn 🤝 Why relationships are the real currency of consultancy life 🧠 How trust is built slowly through judgement, honesty, and consistency 🏗️ What running a design consultancy actually demands beyond creative output 💬 Why communication and expectation-setting matter as much as ideas 📉 Why not all growth is good growth, and how to recognise the difference 🎯 How staying in the work, not chasing scale, shapes better long-term outcomes 💬 Memorable Quotes “There’s little doubt the number one thing is the relationship. That is currency.” “You’re in the ring. This is what you’re going to be doing, and you don’t step out unless something really massive happens.” “Design is a conversation. There are always solutions, big and small.” “If you want design to have influence, it has to carry responsibility.” “People are the biggest challenge, and the biggest opportunity.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Explore Motive Design → http://www.the-motiv.com/ 🔗 Connect with Paul Metaxatos → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-metaxatos-037838/ 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it, and what that means for teams, careers, and leadership. About Kodu Kodu is a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led businesses. We help founders and teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership with structure, clarity, and care. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What if design wasn’t just a function… but a way of thinking about the world?In this episode of Why Design, Tylan Tschopp shares a belief that sits at the heart of his career: that design, when combined with engineering rigour and ownership, has the power to shape better products, better teams, and ultimately, better outcomes for people.Rather than choosing between design or engineering, Tylan chose the space in between. That decision led him to roles defined by responsibility, momentum and scale where success wasn’t measured by aesthetics alone, but by execution, standards and the willingness to step forward when things were unfinished.This conversation isn’t about design as decoration.It’s about design as leadership.Design as systems thinking.Design as a force that should influence how we build, decide and deliver.Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast.Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/eventsWhat You’ll Learn🌍 Why Tylan believes design deserves a seat at the highest level of decision-making🧠 How hybrid thinking between design and engineering creates better outcomes🎯 Why ownership, not job titles, accelerates careers and teams⚙️ What the “last three percent” of execution really demands👥 How to build product teams around growth, standards and ambition📈 Why scale exposes weak thinking and sharpens good designMemorable Quotes“I believe design should take over the world.”“It was probably 99% me going and asking.”“We’re here to build rock stars only.”“That last three percent might take just as much time as the first ninety-seven percent.”“I debated between the two professions coming out of high school… design and engineering.”Resources & Links🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🔗🔍 Explore Westinghouse Electric Corporation → http://www.westinghouse.com/🔗 Connect with Tylan Tschopp→ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylan-tschopp-093ab67/About the EpisodeWhy Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and physical product development industry.Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the beliefs, decisions and responsibility behind meaningful work.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups.We help founders and leadership teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership, bringing structure and clarity to one of the hardest parts of scaling.🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com

What connects offshore engineering, inkjet printers, molecular diagnostics and a small workshop in a church in Newcastle? For Paul Marshall, it’s all part of the same journey: a lifelong fascination with how things work, and a belief that good engineering can solve meaningful problems. Paul is the co-founder of Rapid Fluidics, a UK consultancy and prototyping company specialising in microfluidic cartridges. What began as a part-time side project; evenings, weekends and two 3D printers in a rented room has grown into a profitable, globally recognised business serving life sciences startups, research labs and multinational pharma companies. But the part that makes Paul’s story compelling isn’t the technology. It’s the honesty: He never wanted to be a founder. He never set out to run a business. And yet here he is, leading a team, travelling the world for client meetings, navigating cash flow, BD, branding, and hiring… all while staying open, self-aware and disarmingly human about the whole thing. In this episode of Why Design, Paul joins host Chris Whyte to unpack the journey: the technical foundations, the unexpected turns, the small risks, the networking habits, the content strategy, the international expansion, and what it really means to grow a niche hardware business without investment. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 💡 What You’ll Learn 🧪 Why microfluidics is exploding, and how Rapid Fluidics carved out a niche 🎓 How a grandfather, Lego and curiosity shaped Paul’s engineering mindset  🚀 The step-by-step transition from contractor → founder → employer 📈 Why transparency about cash flow builds trust inside a team 🔗 How LinkedIn and trade shows built a global BD pipeline  🇸 How Paul is expanding into the US without losing his UK roots 💬 Why the best founders “make it up as they go along”, and why that’s okay   💬 Memorable Quotes “I wanted to see how machines work. I wanted to design machines… building things, breaking things, probably more breaking than building.”   “If an engineer can design a solution to a problem, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 36-inch pipe or a 200-micron pipe.”  “Six months in, we hired our first intern… and that’s when I realised: if I’m going to have employees full time, I need to do this full time.”   “I’m making it up as I go along but as long as I’m one page ahead, that’s all that matters.”   “You can’t beat sitting in a room showing people what we can make and watching the lightbulb moment.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔍 Explore Rapid Fluidics → https://www.rapidfluidics.com/ 🔗 Connect with Paul Marshall → https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-marshall-rapid-fluidics/ 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Connect with Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers and founders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies and product-led start-ups. We help teams hire world-class talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

What happens when you mix engineering instinct, a folding bike prototype built by an eccentric inventor, and a chance conversation with a stranger on a London bus? For Will Butler-Adams, it became the start of a 20-year journey transforming Brompton from a tiny, chaotic workshop into one of Britain’s most recognisable global brands. Today, Brompton bikes are commonplace in cities across the world. But when Will joined in 2002, the company had “a stock turn of one… tons and tons of racking pallets… and squeezed in the edges where people actually adding value.”  In this episode of Why Design, Will joins host Chris Whyte for a rare look behind the scenes at what it actually takes to grow a purpose-led engineering business without compromising on quality, trust or long-term thinking. This is an episode about risk, leadership, hiring, confidence, perspective… and why the world’s most efficient vehicle is still a bicycle. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign💡 What You’ll Learn 🚲 Why Brompton’s mission is urban freedom for happier lives, not bikes 🎯 The leadership mindset that helped grow Brompton from a small team to a global brand 💬 Why Will believes most people “worry too much about everything” at work 💼 The danger of chasing growth too quickly, and why patience beats hyper-scaling 🧭 Why hiring “perfect people” is a mistake, and why a “motley crew” builds better products 🔥 How innovation accelerates when you embrace risk and disorder 🧠 Why the next era of engineering belongs to designers who can think beyond their job titles 💬 Memorable Quotes “Opportunity passes us all the time… The challenge is whether we're prepared to get off our ass and grab it.” “Most people regret not taking enough risk. Very few regret taking it.” “Perfect doesn’t deliver innovation. It’s the imperfection, the grit in the oyster, that creates the pearl.” “Purpose is important, but it must be in parallel with profit. Without profit, you have no business.” “The role of the leader is not to create order… it’s to create disorder.” “We're not selling a bike. We're selling freedom; health, wellbeing, exploring, decluttering your mind.”  🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/whydesign 🔗 Explore Brompton → http://www.brompton.com/ 🔗 Connect with Will Butler-Adams → https://www.linkedin.com/in/eur-ing-will-butler-adams-obe-freng-ceng-frgs-fcgi-fimeche-b05651b/ 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte  About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through honest conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build but why they build it; the belief, doubt and persistence behind meaningful innovation. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product-led start-ups. We help founders and teams hire exceptional talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

What do furniture exhibitions, glowing tables, and digital design have in common? For Rémi, founder of Diplik, they’re all stops on a creative journey that ultimately led to Bitpong; a tech-enhanced, interactive ping-pong table that feels equal parts sport, art installation, and arcade. From early ambitions in car design to studying industrial design in northern France, to guest lecturing and building his own hardware studio in Berlin, Rémi’s story is a reminder that creative careers rarely move in straight lines. Bitpong didn’t emerge from a sudden idea. It came from years of exploring where technology meets physical experience. In this episode of Why Design, host Chris Whyte sits down with Rémi to explore the realities of building a hardware product in 2025, the compromises that shape every designer, and why the best ideas still begin with curiosity.  Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events  💡 What You’ll Learn 🎨 Why design often begins as a “compromise” between art and engineering 💡 How a single furniture exhibition changed the trajectory of Rémi’s career 🎮 The design story behind Bitpong and what makes playful products so hard to build 🏓 Why running a small hardware company requires resilience, iteration and long-term thinking 🧰 The role of cross-functional collaboration in bringing interactive products to life  💬 Memorable Quotes “Design became the bridge between engineering and creativity, the compromise that made sense.” “You need inspiring things early on. A drill doesn’t make you want to become a designer.” “When I say I studied design, what I really mean is I found a way to mix creativity, technology and play.” “Building hardware isn’t just about the product. It’s about what it takes to keep going.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Connect with Rémi → https://www.linkedin.com/in/remi-bigot-03101a5/ 🔍 Explore Diplik → http://www.bit-pong.com/ 📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

What connects electric bikes, mobility systems, high-end wellbeing devices and robotics? For Joachim, it’s the same mission: design technology that feels intuitive, human, and full of possibility. With a career spanning Brussels, Copenhagen and London, and now as co-founder of FutureWave, Joachim has spent the past six years building a 25-strong design and engineering studio working across mobility, consumer tech and deep electronics. From shaping early concepts for startup disruptors to helping global brands reimagine their five-to-ten-year vision, his work sits at the intersection of creativity, engineering, and intuition.  In this episode of Why Design, Joachim joins host Chris Whyte to explore what happens when designers and engineers stop working in silos and start behaving like one organism. Together they unpack his “human generative design” philosophy, why intuition still matters in a world obsessed with data, and how FutureWave is helping clients design experiences fit for the next decade of hardware.  Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 💡 What You’ll Learn 🧠 Why great design blends poetry and industry, and why Joachim believes designers act as the “glue” between disciplines. 🌍 How FutureWave breaks hardware silos to deliver desirability, feasibility and viability in one loop. 🔁 What “human generative design” looks like, and why iteration and cross-functional filtering beats isolated brainstorming. 🚲 Lessons from working with startups vs. corporates from rapid prototyping to de-risking long-term innovation. 🚆 Where hardware is heading from mobility transformation to miniaturised wellbeing tech and robotics. 💭 Why intuition still matters in a world dominated by metrics, risk models and strategy decks.  💬 Memorable Quotes “Designers are never experts of anything… but they’re the glue.” “Intuition helps you build dreams, strategy and engineering help you de-risk them.” “You need diversity of minds to build a great product. It works like an organism.” “Sometimes the market doesn’t know what it wants until you show it the experience.” “The future of hardware is invisible tech; seamless, human, and meaningful.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Connect with Joachim → https://www.linkedin.com/in/joachim-froment-a1920456/ 🔗 View Joachim's portfolio → joachimfroment.com🌐 FutureWave → https://www.futurewave.eu/ 📸 Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 🎥 Full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

What connects toy blasters, beauty tools, and musical instruments? For Rich Thrush, it’s all part of the same mission: to make products people love to use. With a career spanning Hasbro, Motorola, Helen of Troy, and now Guitar Center, Rich has led design and innovation teams across some of the world’s most recognisable brands. From developing Braun’s non-contact thermometer to Revlon’s One-Step Volumizer, his work has shaped how millions interact with everyday products. In this episode of Why Design, Rich joins host Chris Whyte to unpack the art and strategy of leading innovation across multiple brands, and why the best ideas start not with technology, but with people. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events  💡 What You’ll Learn 🧠 How cross-functional curiosity fuels innovation in any industry 🎯 Why “asking why”, five times, leads to better design decisions ⚙️ Lessons from managing a portfolio of global consumer brands 📱 How Motorola’s success (and Apple’s disruption) shaped Rich’s leadership mindset 🎸 Why Guitar Center’s new era of product innovation is rooted in community and passion 💬 Memorable Quotes “Ideas come from people. The trick is knowing how to create the conditions for them to appear.” “Even if you have 90% market share, you still need to be inventing the next thing.” “Great design isn’t just about form, it’s about understanding what people actually need, even when they can’t say it.” “You don’t buy a drill. You buy a hole in the wall. But really, you’re buying what goes in that hole; meaning.” 🔗 Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club  👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events   🔗 Connect with Rich Thrush → https://www.linkedin.com/in/rich-thrush/   📸 Follow @whydesignxkodu on Instagram 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → LinkedIn.com/in/mrchriswhyte About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

When it comes to sustainability, good intentions aren’t enough. For Dr Vicky Lofthouse, sustainability isn’t a checkbox or a materials swap, it’s a mindset shift. As a designer, educator and now founder of En-Able Sustainability, she’s spent over two decades helping companies move past the buzzwords and into the messy, meaningful reality of sustainable product design. In this episode of Why Design, Vicky joins Chris Whyte to explore what sustainability really looks like in practice; from balancing carbon impact with commercial constraints to understanding why context matters more than any single material choice.  Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn  🌍 Why “make it sustainable” is the wrong brief ⚙️ How context defines what “better” actually means 🔁 What circular design looks like in real product teams 🧠 Why less plastic isn’t always the right answer 📈 How evidence beats assumptions in sustainable decision-making 💡 The mindset shift every designer and engineer needs to make  Memorable Quotes 💬 “Sustainability isn’t a checklist, it’s a mindset.” 💬 “Sometimes the right answer isn’t the obvious one.” 💬 “Context changes everything.” 💬 “I help companies integrate sustainability and circularity into what they do, not just what they make.” 💬 “Progress doesn’t start with perfection; it starts with questions.” Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events  🌿 Learn more about Enable Sustainability → EN:ABLE Sustainability | Sustainability support for purpose driven manufacturers 👤 Connect with Dr Vicky Lofthouse → https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vicky-lofthouse-41b4a6/ 🎥 Watch full episodes → YouTube.com/@whydesignpod 📸 Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 👥 Share this with a designer, engineer or founder rethinking what better really means.  About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation.  About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

What makes someone leave a 20-year BBC career to build a helmet everyone said couldn’t exist? For Dom Cotton, it wasn’t a midlife pivot,  it was a mission. After years spent covering stories about courage and competition, he decided to live one. Seven years, countless prototypes, and a steep learning curve later, Dom co-founded Newlane; the company behind the world’s first safety-certified, foldable commuter helmet. In this episode of Why Design, he shares how curiosity, persistence, and a touch of naivety helped him turn rejection into progress and an idea into reality. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn 👇 🧠 Why the “novice mindset” can be a hidden superpower in innovation ⚙️ How to stay resilient through failure, funding droughts, and endless testing 🔥 The difference between building a good idea and building a viable product 📢 Why storytelling sells your vision when prototypes can’t 💡 What every hardware founder can learn from starting over Memorable Quotes 💬 “One of the hardest things is believing in a thing when nobody else can see it yet.” 💬 “A novice’s mindset can achieve what experts say is impossible.” 💬 “Everyone wants innovation until you ask them to live through it.” 💬 “If you’ve got a great product but no story, you won’t sell any.”  Resources & Links 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🧠 Learn more about Newlane:  https://newlane.co.uk 👤 Connect with Dom Cotton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-cotton/  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → youtube.com/@whydesignpod 📸 Follow on Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 👥 If this resonated, share it with a founder, designer, or team leader navigating their own creative leap.  🎬 About the Episode Why Design is powered by Kodu, a specialist recruitment partner for the hardware and product-development industry. Through candid conversations with designers, engineers, and creative leaders, we explore not just what they build, but why they build it; the belief, doubt, and persistence behind meaningful innovation. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner for ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

“The world needs design more now than ever.” Most designers want to make beautiful things. Dan Harden wants to make meaningful ones. From building dangerous go-karts as a kid to designing more than 1,000 products (and winning 350+ awards), Dan’s career has been a masterclass in lasting impact. As CEO and founder of Whipsaw, Dan has shaped the modern design landscape while staying grounded in what truly matters: solving real problems for real people. In this episode of Why Design, Dan shares how he turned a passion for sketching and making into a globally respected studio, why the best designers obsess over details, and how to cultivate curiosity, clarity, and creativity over a 30+ year career. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn 👇 🌀 Why the “why” of design matters more than ever 🪚 The discipline behind great design (and why it's more than a sketch) 🔥 How passion, grit, and inspiration fuel longevity 📐 What makes a design transcendent, not just functional 🌍 Why industrial designers must think beyond consumerism  Memorable Quotes 💬 “There are fundamentals about design that haven’t changed.” 💬 “Creativity is not a tool you turn on, it’s a way of life.” 💬 “Don't contribute to the malaise. Don’t do shitty products.” 💬 “You can be creative designing a bolt.” 💬 “Design should be gifting, not just commerce.” Resources & Links 🧠 Connect with Dan Harden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-harden-62389435/ 🏢 Explore Whipsaw’s work: https://www.whipsaw.com/ 🎧 Listen to Prism, Dan’s podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZHZoL0hOdzZfRcgAXeuvh?si=40de5239ef2548fc 🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → youtube.com/@whydesignpod 📸 Follow on Instagram → @whydesignxkodu 🎵 TikTok → _whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → whydesign.club 👉 Keep the conversation going.  Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend, designer, or team leader navigating their own creative journey. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership.  🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

“You have to be a certain kind of crazy to be a founder, especially in physical products.” Most people want to build something. Kenny Perkins actually did. After nearly dying in a car accident his senior year, Kenny clawed his way into the design world; starting at Fossil, shifting to helmets, and eventually co-founding Osmo, the first kids’ helmet to meet the e-bike safety standard. In this episode of Why Design, Kenny shares the journey from rebuilding a Mustang with his dad at 15 to building Impact Lab, a startup studio funding its own consumer brand, Osmo, by designing life-saving protection for others. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn 👇 💥 How a near-death experience reshaped his entire outlook on work 🚲 The overlooked safety gap for kids in the e-bike revolution 🛠️ Why physical product founders need grit, guts, and patience 📐 How Osmo designed with parents and kids, not just for them 📈 The smart way Kenny self-funded a startup without outside capital  Memorable Quotes 💬 “I saw a dad wearing a helmet I designed… and two kids wearing ones I also designed but not for e-bikes. That stuck with me.” 💬 “We didn’t just design for families. We designed with them.” 💬 “This changed my relationship with work entirely.” Resources & Links 🌍 Connect with Kenny Perkins on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethjperkinsdesign/ 🛡️ Explore Osmo Helmets: https://www.ozmohelmets.com/ 🏢 Learn more about impctLAB https://www.impctlab.com/  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → http://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod 📸 Follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu/ 🎵 TikTok → @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → https://linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Amazon → www.whydesign.club  👉 Keep the conversation going. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 📲 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode.  👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague navigating their own founder or design journey. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. 🔗 Learn more → teamkodu.com 

“I got laid off weeks before my first child was born… and I was so happy.” Most people panic when they lose a job. Jordan Diatlo built a business. Just weeks before becoming a dad, Jordan was laid off. Instead of spiraling, he used it as fuel to start Leadoff Studio — now one of New York’s go-to design consultancies for health & wellness brands. In this episode of Why Design, Jordan shares how he went from rejected by corporate to building a values-driven studio that’s helped startups like Roman and Dame become category leaders. Don’t just listen. Go beyond the podcast. Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn 👇 🔥 Why getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to him 🏗️ The 5 values that drive every hire, project, and partnership at Leadoff 🎯 How “niching down” created bigger opportunities 📑 The portfolio formula that makes designers stand out 👨‍👩‍👧 Why time > money when balancing family and business Memorable Quotes 💬 “I got laid off with a kid on the way, and I was so happy.” 💬 “Somebody else’s win should feel as important to you as your own.” 💬 “Design isn’t just about objects, it’s communication.”  Resources & Links 🌍 Connect with Jordan Diatlo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordandiatlo/ 🏢 Explore Leadoff Studio: https://leadoffstudio.com/  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube → http://www.youtube.com/@whydesignpod 📸 Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu/ 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn 🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music → www.whydesign.club 👉 Keep the conversation going! Join the Why Design community and go beyond the podcast → teamkodu.com/events 📲 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. 👥 If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague who’s rethinking their career path. ⚡ About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams hire top talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more → teamkodu.com 

Most hardware startups die broke. Christian Reed’s didn’t. He turned a basement side project into Reekon Tools, an 8-figure construction-tech brand with tools that don’t break, content that hit 300M+ views, and a cult following of tradespeople. In this episode of Why Design, Chris sits down with Christian to break down exactly how he went from MIT → military → Formlabs → scaling one of the most talked-about startups in hardware. 👉 Want more insights from world-class builders? Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events What You’ll Learn How a Kickstarter side project became an 8-figure company Why building a product ≠ building a business (and what most founders get wrong) The content playbook Recon used to rack up 300M+ views The difference between scaling hardware and software — and why “muscle beats magic” How to spot talent that thrives in startup chaos The truth about AI in design: why it won’t replace you, but will expose you  Memorable Quotes 💬 “Hardware development is a muscle activity. You just have to muscle through it. It never gets easier.”  💬 “If you can’t make content and you don’t appreciate design, you’re just shooting yourself in the foot.”  💬 “If you’re scared of AI, to be frank, it probably just means you’re not a good designer.” 👉 Love this? Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or Amazon Music so you never miss an episode.  Links & Resources 🌍 Connect with Christian Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianrreed/ 🔗 Explore Reekon: https://www.reekon.tools/  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. whydesign.club  👉 Ready to go deeper? Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 

Most careers follow a path. Jude Pullen chose not to. “I like being intellectually promiscuous; finding new tribes, then coming back with fresh ideas.” In this episode of Why Design, Chris talks with Jude Pullen; creative technologist, prototyper, and storyteller. Jude’s career spans Dyson, Sugru, and Lego, with projects ranging from poetic air-quality monitors to complex hardware systems. Today, he splits his time between the RCA and Lego, while advising companies on technology, creativity, and play. From challenging the myth of the “forever job” to reframing daydreaming as essential design work, Jude shares how portfolio careers unlock creative freedom, and why diversity, vulnerability, and playfulness are the real engines of innovation. 💬 Keep the conversation going! Join the community and go beyond the podcast! http://teamkodu.com/events  What You’ll Learn 💼 Why the “forever job” is outdated and what portfolio careers make possible 💭 How daydreaming and downtime can fuel serious innovation 🐦 The evolution of Jude’s open-source Good Air Canary project and why metaphors matter in design 🤝 The power (and challenge) of building truly diverse teams across age, class, and background 🌱 How vulnerability and “safe spaces” help unlock team creativity ☯️ Why design needs more debate, discomfort, and cross-pollination to thrive 🛠️ The role of prototyping not just products, but ideas and conversations 👉 Enjoying these insights? Don’t just listen, join the Why Design community. Connect with founders, engineers, and design leaders at teamkodu.com/events. Memorable Quotes 💬 “I follow fear. Where there’s uncertainty in AI, diversity, sustainability, that’s where creativity lives.” 💬 “I’m not interested in the tech for its own sake. The question is: should we make this, and what are the consequences?” 💬 “Daydreaming is design practice. Busy isn’t the same as productive.” 💬 “The best teams aren’t homogenous, they’re messy, diverse, and sometimes uncomfortable.” 💬 “Play is underrated in business. If you want real breakthroughs, start with curiosity, not quarterly reports.” Resources & Links 🌍 Connect with Jude Pullen on LinkedIn 🔗 Explore JudePullen.com  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn 🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music whydesign.club 👉 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. If this resonated, share it with a friend or colleague who’s rethinking their career path. About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent in industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com 

Most founders obsess over the product. Jordan Nollman says that’s the wrong game.“We don’t just design the product. We design the tribe around it.”In this episode of Why Design, Chris talks with Jordan Nollman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Sprout Studios. For over 20 years, Jordan has helped brands like Nike, Bose, and Microsoft create products that don’t just look good — they shape culture.From launching a consultancy during the 2008 recession to building a multi-disciplinary team across hardware, packaging, UX, and venture design, Jordan reveals what early-stage founders usually get wrong and how design can make or break a company’s trajectory.👉 If you’re building hardware or leading a design team, hit subscribe now —this is 45 minutes that will change how you think about design.What You’ll Learn🌱 How starting a studio in a recession forced Sprout to out-innovate competitors🎯 The branding mistake most founders make (and how to avoid it)👟 What Nike and Burton taught Jordan about community-driven design📦 Why great products fail without packaging, UX, and marketing in sync🧠 The rookie errors early-stage teams make around design maturity🤝 How Sprout partners with founders and VCs to turn design into long-term value🔄 How Jordan grew from junior designer to CCO while staying hands-on with clients👉 Enjoying these insights? Don’t just listen — join the Why Design community. Connect withfounders, engineers, and design leaders at teamkodu.com/events.Memorable Quotes💬 “If you’re just making objects, you’re already dead. We build tribes.”💬 “Designers need to speak the language of business, not just form.”💬 “Culture is the lens we design through. Without it, you’re just making stuff.”💬 “If you want brand love, you need more than function.”Resources & Links🌍 Connect with Jordan Nollman on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnollman/🏢 Explore Sprout Studios https://sprout.cc/🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube Why Design? - YouTube📸 Follow on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/whydesignxkodu🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign👥 Join the Why Design community → teamkodu.com/events🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music 👉 Subscribe to Why Design on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. If this resonated, share it with another founder who needs to hear it.About KoduWhy Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partnerto ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. Wehelp founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent inindustrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn moreat teamkodu.com.

From Scarborough to Midtown Manhattan, Stuart Lee’s journey is one of grit, curiosity, and unshakable design intuition. In this episode, Chris sits down in person with Stuart to explore the formative moments that led to the founding of Prime Studio — the product and brand design consultancy behind household names like Harry’s, Welly, and MoMA. Stuart shares how rewiring motors and welding steel during his early apprenticeship helped him think more empathetically about design for manufacture, why he sees himself as a design doer (not a design thinker), and what still excites him after 27 years leading his own studio. It’s a rich, no-frills conversation on design craft, business instinct, and the value of simply being a good person in a small industry. In This Episode The Yorkshire lad who arrived in NYC with a suitcase and a portfolio Smart Design, Able, and the building blocks of Prime Studio “The design we do is never just design — it's operations, manufacturing, supply chain.” Why Stuart never plans too far ahead (and how that’s worked just fine) Lessons from building long-term client partnerships, from Unilever to Harry’s Teaching the next generation: real talk on job hunting, ChatGPT cover letters, and why “Dear Hiring Manager” just doesn’t cut it Royalties, equity, and what designers should really know about contracts “As a consultant, your only value is your people.” Quotes to Remember “It's work you're looking for, so you have to work at it.” “I’m not a planner. I kind of ride the wave — but I’ve been riding it for 27 years.” “I always say Smart Design is where I learned to be a designer. Able is where I learned the business of design.” “Royalties smooth things out. You might not get the big equity payout, but you get forecastable cash flow — and that’s everything in business.” 🔎 Resources & Links 🌍 Prime Studio 💼 Connect with Stuart on LinkedIn 🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at Home - Kodu 

“What happened was just the market need was so strong… it kept pulling us forward.” — Sam Shames In this episode, Chris sits down with Sam Shames — materials engineer, MIT grad, and co-founder of Ember Labs, the company behind the Ember Wave: a wearable that helps people regulate temperature and reclaim comfort on their terms. Over the last 12 years, Sam has led Ember from a student side project to a real business, launching two hardware generations, shipping over 200,000 units, and recently pivoting to a subscription model that’s rare in consumer wearables. We talk product-market fit in hardware, solving real pain points like hot flashes, scaling with a lean team, and what it really takes to make a physical product company sustainable, both financially and environmentally. Key Takeaways: 🚀 The prototyping contest that sparked Embr Labs, and the overheated lab that started it all 🚀 From student side project to Kickstarter success (and 4 years of learning in between) 🚀 Building circularity into hardware, and why refurbishment isn’t just a sustainability play 🚀 Subscriptions in wearables, how $20/month changed everything for Ember 🚀 Designing for real needs, from aesthetics to AI that predicts hot flashes 🚀 Founder evolution; why Sam stepped back and hired a CEO to scale the business Memorable Quotes: 🟰 “We thought it was going to take six months. It ended up taking four years.” 🟰 “It's never too early to think about manufacturing. Prototypes and products are worlds apart.” 🟰 “At some point, we realized this wasn’t just a cool project. It needed to become a real business.” 🟰 “The leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3 will feel like going from a flip phone to a smartphone.” Resources & Links: 🌍 Connect with Sam Shames on LinkedIn 🧊 Explore Embr Labs  https://www.embrlabs.com🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events  🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. 💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com. 

“It wasn’t just about a new product — it was about a new category.” In this episode of Why Design, I speak with Emilie Williams, industrial designer and co-founder of Hydrific, a new venture within LIXIL focused on building smarter, more sustainable water products for the home. Based in New York, Emilie has led the creative direction behind dozens of kitchen and bath products for household names like American Standard, Brizo, and Delta. Now at Hydrific, her work spans product design, branding, and business development — all aimed at rethinking how we use and value water in everyday life. We talk about what it takes to build a design-led venture inside a global corporation, why climate-conscious innovation needs both urgency and nuance, and how Emilie’s journey from graphic design intern to IDSA-recognised design leader has shaped her perspective on user needs, brand identity, and long-term impact. Key Takeaways: Why smart water tech is still underserved — and where the opportunity lies Designing a new category vs. launching another product What it looks like to build a brand, team and hardware platform simultaneouslyy The difference between greenwashing and grounded sustainability Lessons from leading design at scale — from Delta Faucet to LIXIL How Emilie bridges brand, physical product, and human experience Why visibility, equity and representation still need work in design leadership  📌 Memorable Quotes: “Our brief was water stress. Not style, not finish. Water.” “You don’t have to have it all figured out — you just have to listen and keep showing up.” “We’re not here to make a gadget. We’re here to shift behaviour.” “Designing inside a giant corporation takes both conviction and patience.”  Resources & Links: Connect with Emilie Williams on LinkedIn  💧 Explore Hydrific by LIXIL Follow Emilie on Instagram   Watch full episodes on YouTube  Follow Why Design on Instagram  TikTok: @_whydesign Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com 

“The goal was always to amplify design’s value — not just make pretty stuff.” We’re kicking off Series 3 with a true heavyweight in the world of industrial design — Brett Lovelady, founder of the legendary ASTRO Studios and spin-off brand ASTRO Gaming.Brett has spent three decades leading design, brand, and product strategy for culture-shifting companies like Nike, Xbox, HP, Sony, Dell, Logitech, and many more. His work has helped generate over $100 billion in new revenue for clients worldwide, and shaped some of the most iconic tech and lifestyle products of the last 30 years. In this conversation, we unpack the story behind ASTRO’s rise, how ASTRO Gaming became one of the most respected brands in gaming hardware, and what Brett’s learned from building design-led companies from the ground up. Brett’s focus is now on collaborating with founders, investing in design-led innovation, and helping creative people have more impact — without losing the soul of what makes design matter. Key Takeaways: 🛠️ From agency to venture – How ASTRO Studios evolved from consultancy to brand builder 🎮 ASTRO Gaming's origin story – What happened when designers built their own product company 🎯 Design with conviction – Why standing by your ideas is as important as listening to users 📈 Design drives value – How design leadership contributed to billions in revenue for global clients 🔁 Building and exiting – Brett's experience co-founding and exiting multiple VC-backed companies 👥 People, not just projects – Why mentoring, team culture, and design communities matter more than ever  📌 Memorable Quotes: 💬 “Designers don’t have to wait to be asked. They can originate ideas, shape strategy, and lead.” 💬 “We weren’t chasing scale, we were chasing significance.” 💬 “If you want to build a great culture, start with trust and shared ambition.” 💬 “We built ASTRO Gaming with conviction. We used our own money, took risks, and made decisions quickly — like a product company should.” Resources & Links: 🌍 Connect with Brett Lovelady on LinkedIn 🌍 Follow Brett's new studio - AllStar Design🚀 Explore ASTRO Studios  🎥 Watch full episodes on YouTube 📸 Follow on Instagram 🎵 TikTok: @_whydesign 👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events 🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte 🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music. 💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode! About Kodu Why Design is produced by Kodu, a recruitment partner to ambitious hardware brands, design consultancies, and product start-ups. We help founders and teams identify, attract, and hire the best talent across industrial design, mechanical engineering, and product leadership. Learn more at teamkodu.com. 

Episode SummaryIn this special live episode, Chris Whyte, founder of Kodu and host of Why Design, delivers an energetic and insight-packed session to design students on how to stand out in a competitive job market. Drawing from 12+ years of experience and dozens of podcast conversations with design leaders, Chris shares practical advice on everything from CV writing to LinkedIn networking, preparing for interviews, and unlocking hidden job opportunities.This is a must-listen for any early-career designer or student ready to land that first big opportunity.What You’ll LearnCrafting Standout ApplicationsWhy most CVs fail in the first 7 seconds, and how to beat the odds.What hiring managers really want to see in portfolios.The power of showing process (not just final outcomes).Cutting Through the NoiseHow a single phone call or mailed portfolio can beat 700 online applications.Pro tips for writing effective, personalized cover letters (with a smart use of AI—but not too much).Nailing the InterviewHow to use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to tell compelling stories.Why preparation beats talent when it comes to interviews.Questions to expect, and questions you should ask.Job Search Tactics That WorkThe hidden job market: Why 85% of jobs never make it to job boards.How to go beyond LinkedIn job ads and reach decision-makers directly.The “3X system” to grow your network, post with purpose, and engage effectively.Building a Better LinkedIn PresenceWhat makes a LinkedIn profile “sticky” to recruiters.The benefits of journaling your job search publicly.Voice notes, featured posts, and other tactics that boost visibility. Top TakeawaysBe proactive: Most candidates aren’t doing half of what’s possible to stand out.Show your thinking: Employers care more about how you think than what you made.Network now: Relationships > resumes. Word of mouth leads to most opportunities.Use the tools: Google Jobs, ChatGPT for research, TotalJobs, and custom GPTs to prep.Follow up: Don’t be afraid to reach out twice. Or three times.Connect with Chris Whyte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte/Learn more about Kodu Recruitment: https://teamkodu.com/

“We weren’t going to prove durability with a spreadsheet — we needed to drive a lorry over it and watch what happened.”In this final episode of Series 2, I sit down with Nick Ford, founder of PipSqueak 3D and Patent Ferret, to explore how a nontraditional path — from sweeping workshop floors to designing urban furniture used across London — shaped his approach to design, business, and innovation.Nick shares the full story behind one of his most iconic projects, the Westminster Tulip Bollard, including the now-famous moment when they drove a lorry over the prototype to prove its durability. Along the way, we unpack lessons from 20+ years of running PipSqueak, why small teams often outperform larger ones, and how Nick’s latest venture, Patent Ferret, is helping manufacturers uncover hidden value in their intellectual property.This conversation is full of practical insights, real-world anecdotes, and a refreshing take on what resilience really looks like in design.Key Takeaways:🔹 Why small, nimble teams can solve complex problems more effectively than bigger consultancies🔹 How the Westminster Tulip Bollard project became a case study in resilience and real-world testing🔹 What happens when you stress-test your designs by literally driving a lorry over them🔹 Lessons learned from business insolvency, perseverance, and building a consultancy for the long haul🔹 Why intellectual property (IP) matters for SMEs, not just big players🔹 How to unlock value in overlooked ideas, patents, and product concepts🔹 The importance of building pathways for young people through STEM work experience📌 Memorable Quotes:💬 “We weren’t going to prove durability with a spreadsheet — we needed to drive a lorry over it and watch what happened.”💬 “Failure isn’t the right word — it’s part of the process. We need better language for it.”💬 “If you don’t understand IP, you don’t understand business.”💬 “We only work for people we like or respect. That’s been a core principle from the start.”💬 “Small inventors can change the world, but they need to go in with their eyes open.”Resources & Links:🌍 Connect with Nick Ford on LinkedIn🏢 Learn more about PipSqueak 3D🔍 Explore Patent Ferret👥 Join the Why Design community: events, huddles, and workshops → teamkodu.com/events🔗 Follow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyte🎧 Listen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.💬 PS – Subscribe so you never miss an episode!

"97% of hardware startups fail. And a lot of the time, it’s the same mistakes repeated over and over again."In this episode of Why Design, I’m joined by Sera Evcimen, Founder of Pratik Development, Innovation Advisor at FORGE and Techstars Paris, and host of the hardware startup podcast The Builder Circle.Sera has built a career around one goal — helping hardware startups avoid the common pitfalls that so often derail promising ideas. She’s worked hands-on across cleantech, space, consumer tech, and robotics before launching Pratik to support deep tech founders with everything from system integration to supply chain and manufacturing strategy.We explore how Sera made the leap from startup engineer to fractional CTO/COO, what tribology (the study of friction and contact) taught her about mechanical failure modes, why product decisions define hiring needs, and how her podcast and meetups are helping to build a stronger hardware community on both sides of the Atlantic.If you're working in physical product development or dreaming of launching your own hardware startup, this one is packed with advice you can apply immediately.Key Takeaways:🔹 Hardware is Hard – Why 97% of hardware startups fail, and how common pitfalls like sunk cost fallacy and rushing in-house manufacturing decisions play a part.🔹 Fractional CTO and COO Work – How Sera plugs into teams to solve technical and operational challenges hands-on, from lab benches to factory floors.🔹 Tribology Matters – Why understanding friction, wear, and lubrication can unlock better mechanical design and reduce failure rates.🔹 Product Decisions Shape Teams – How technical choices early on define who you need to hire later.🔹 Builder Circle Podcast – Amplifying the voices of engineers and operators, not just founders, to share deep practical lessons for startups.🔹 Community Building – How meetups and peer support networks like Hardware Meetup London are strengthening the hardware ecosystem.🔹 Authenticity in Hardware – Why admitting risks, asking for help, and being open about challenges makes you more investable, not less.📌 Memorable Quotes:💬 “You shouldn’t wait until every little detail is perfect. Test your product as soon as possible with someone willing to use it and willing to pay for it.”💬 “Hardware is a system. Product decisions define your hiring needs and shape the future of your company.”💬 “Tribology sounds obscure but it is everywhere. It’s the hidden science behind why machines fail.”💬 “Focus on being interested, not interesting. That’s the best way to network in the hardware community.”Resources & Links:🌍 Connect with Sera Evcimen on LinkedIn🎙️ Listen to The Builder Circle Podcast🏢 Learn more about Pratik DevelopmentJoin the Why Design community! Sign up for events, online huddles, and workshops: teamkodu.com/eventsFollow Chris Whyte on LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/mrchriswhyteListen to Why Design on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Amazon Music.PS – Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode!