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All Episodes

Design Better — 249 episodes

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Bonus Episode: Dorrian Porter returns with the Vestaboard Note

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Tina Roth Eisenberg: Creative Mornings founder on building communities that run on trust

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Paul Ford: Writer, developer & "fun Cassandra" on why everything is changing (but not how you think)

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Jessie McGuire: National Design Award-winning studio leader on design as a civic tool

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Colin Fisher: The lone genius is a myth

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Nir Eyal: Beyond Belief and how to change your mind to change your life

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Mason Currey: Mason Currey: Author of Daily Rituals on Making Art and Making a Living

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Etinosa Agbonlahor: Behavioral economist on why pricing belongs in the design process

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Paul Dichter: Stranger Things writer on why the writers’ room isn’t so different from the design studio

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Tessa Forshaw and Rich Braden: "Innovation-ish" and why most innovation doesn’t have to be a moonshot

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Luis Mendo: Designer turned illustrator on making things that could only come from you

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David Shim and Rachana Rele: Read AI CEO and VP of Product Design for AI-native products at Adobe on amplifying creative work — not replacing it

13

Leonardo Giusti: Archetype AI's co-founder on physical AI and the limits of the chatbot

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Brooke Hopper: Adobe's machine intelligence design lead on what AI can't touch

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Daisy Fancourt: Epidemiologist on how creativity rewrites your biology and extends your lifespan

16

Fiona Crombie: Academy Award-nominated production designer on storytelling without words

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Sam Beam of Iron & Wine: Grammy-nominated musician on creativity, collaboration, and why a good day is finding one great lyric

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George Newman: Cognitive scientist on why creativity is more like archaeology than magic

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Nate Koechly and Matthew Darby: YouTube's UX Director and Director of PM on redesigning one of the world's most-used apps

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Bill Burnett: How to Live a Meaningful Life

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Austin Kleon: Author of "Steal Like an Artist" on building a sustainable creative practice

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Raffaela Panie: Designing the brand and visual identity for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games

23

Design Better Experts in Residence: Roundtable at Sequoia Capital

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Mikon van Gastel: Co-Founder of Sibling Rivalry on why presentation skills matter more than design skills

25

Mark Wilson: Fast Company's Global Design Editor on design's defining moments in 2025

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Video Rewind: Cassie McDaniel: How Medium eliminated its PM function and started moving faster

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Aaron Draplin: Field Notes co-founder on what skate culture taught him about design

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Jessica Hische and Chris Shiflett: Designing business tools that support how creatives actually work

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2025 Holiday Gift Guide

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Phil Gilbert: Making a 114-year-old, 400,000 person company care about design

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Cecilia Brenner: Moving beyond design theater to measurable impact

32

Video Rewind: Jordan Mechner: Pioneering game designer on creating Prince of Persia, Karateka, and a new graphic novel memoir

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Ben Swire: Author of "Safe Danger" on the hidden reason team building efforts fail

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Jeremy Faludi: Sustainability professor on why most sustainable design fails before it starts

35

Alison Rand: Leading with radical humanity instead of radical candor

36

The Brief: How our recent past should prepare us for the age of AI

37

Fitz and the Tantrums: Finding your creative voice in your 40's and why success feels different than you think

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Bonus Episode: 30 years of design with Wert&Co, live in NYC featuring Paola Antonelli, Mark Wilson,Kate Aronowitz, Mike Davidson, and Meaghan Choi

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Rewind: Paola Antonelli: How design shapes culture

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Keith Sawyer: Become more creative by learning to see

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Jae Park: Designing a new generation of vehicles at Ford, and why friction matters in the creative process

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Astro Teller & Ivo Stivoric: Why moonshots require unlearning everything you know

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Henry Modisett: Perplexity’s VP of Design on embracing ambiguity and leading with curiosity

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Elizabeth Lin: Rethinking design education in the age of AI

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Nick Foster: Could, Should, Might, Don't—a new way to think about designing for the future

46

Tim Brown: Allbirds co-founder on mission-driven design and entrepreneurship

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Matt Raw: Balancing legacy and innovation at The New York Times

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The Brief: Microscopes and telescopes

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Rhiannon Bell: Designing the future of search at Google

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Bonus Episode: Inside Sonos's distributed research & design process for the Arc Ultra

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Noah Levin: AMA with Figma's VP of Design on their latest releases

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Design Better Live AMA at The New York Times

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Video Rewind: Kamasi Washington: A jazz genius on collaborative lessons learned from Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and more

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Josh Clark and Veronika Kindred: Sentient Design and the future of interfaces

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Bonus Episode: Shani Sandy, VP, Experience Design at IBM, live in NYC for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour

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The Brief: Stop specializing—live a multidisciplinary creative life

57

Christopher Lyons: From producing music to venture capital, and why EQ beats IQ in building the future

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Bonus Episode: Champ Bennett, co-founder of Capsule, on making motion design easy and scalable

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Cassie McDaniel: How Medium eliminated its PM function and started moving faster

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The Roundup: AI creative workflow, vibe coding, ethics, agents, and more

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Bonus Episode: Amy Lokey, Chief Experience Officer at ServiceNow, live in SF for UserTesting's THiS Connect Tour

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Video Rewind: John Cleese: A cheerful guide to creativity

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Marco Suarez: From designer to coffee entrepreneur ☕

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Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross: Your Brain on Art

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Rewind: OK Go: Making the impossible possible

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Jordan Mechner: Pioneering game designer on creating Prince of Persia, Karateka, and a new graphic novel memoir

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Brad Frost: Design systems are about human relationships

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Heidi Trost: Human Centered Security

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The Brief: Afraid of losing your job? Become irreplaceable

70

Trenton Doyle Hancock: An artist’s process for creating order from chaos

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Dan Harden: Form follows emotion—industrial design lessons from George Nelson to Steve Jobs

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Kristen Berman: Behavioral economics expert on designing products that change behavior

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The Brief: What designers can learn from writers and storytellers

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Gareth Hinds: A golden age for the graphic novel

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From your inbox to your ears: Audio versions of The Brief

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Kevin Bethune: Nonlinear—Navigating Design with Curiosity and Conviction

77

Scott Belsky: Adobe's Chief Strategist on navigating the creative Cambrian Explosion

78

Idris Brewster: Bringing history to life with augmented reality

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Jake Knapp: Click—How to make what people want

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Jenny Blackburn: Google's VP of UX for Gemini on how generative AI can improve our workflows

81

Scott Berkun: Why Design is Hard

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Marcus Bell: Producer and songwriter for Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, and Timbaland on music and creativity in the age of AI

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Reconsidering: Mastering change with Brad Stulberg

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Rewind: Jonathan Hoefler: Typography legend on type history, philosophy, and entrepreneurship

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Alastair Simpson: From professional soccer to leading design at DropBox

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Bonus Episode: Jason Giles, VP of Product Design at UserTesting, live in Austin

87

Bishop Briggs: Award winning singer-songwriter on creative transformation after loss

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Design Better 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

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Live at Savannah College of Art and Design, with Kate Aronowitz, Steve Johnson, Kat Holmes and Jaime Lopez

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Bonus Episode: Gali Erez, head of Wix Studio

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Kamasi Washington: A jazz genius on collaborative lessons learned from Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, and more

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Adam Moss: The Work of Art

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Andrew Evans: Design & magic 🪄

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Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen: Design for a Radically Changing World

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Jason Chatfield: New Yorker cartoonist on his creative process

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Mattias Hollwich: AI & Architecture

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Skye Waterson: Creative work and ADHD

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Enrique Allen: Design and entrepreneurship at Designer Fund

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Design Better Trailer

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Yashar Kassai: Artwork and production design for Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse, TMNT, and more

101

Shirley Kurata and Mimi Haddon: Palace Costume and costume design for "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

102

Brendan Boyle: Toy design, play, and the creative process

103

Rewind: Vicki Tan: Learning from new voices

104

Connor Moore: Sound design for Tesla, Uber, Peloton and more

105

Matt Abrahams: Think Faster, Talk Smarter

106

Quilt + Mike & Maaike: Designing for sustainability

107

Rewind: Julie Zhuo: Facebook's former VP of Product Design on what she got right and wrong as a leader

108

Roger Horrocks: My Octopus Teacher's cinematographer on shaping story and cultivating patience

109

Steve Portigal: The art of interviewing users

110

Dan Mall: Scaling design systems

111

Rewind: Sara Seager: Astrophysicist pushing the boundaries of collaboration while discovering exoplanets

112

Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley: Assembling Tomorrow

113

Celene Aubry: 100+ years of designing for legendary musicians at Hatch Show Print

114

Special Episode: "Say More" Feed Drop from The Boston Globe with guest Cal Newport

115

Hillary Coe: Emmy Award-winning designer, certified commercial pilot, astronaut candidate, and drag-racing record holder on designing for SpaceX and Vast

116

Bonus: AI and the Creative Process

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Ben Clymer: Hodinkee founder on watch design and creating a compelling content brand

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Natsai Audrey Chieza: Designing with biology

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Pablo Stanley: A creative force of nature on the importance persistence and hustle

120

Tasha Golden: Avoiding burnout while pursuing creativity with passion

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Jonathan Adler: Famed potter and designer on bringing creativity into all aspects of life

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Making Design Better—better—with weekly episodes, an enhanced newsletter, and more

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Brian Tyler, composer for Yellowstone, Crazy Rich Asians, Mario Brothers, and more, on his creative process

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Bonus: Eric Snowden, Head of Adobe Design, on AI + Design

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Kate Aronowitz: Shaping the story of design in business

126

Ellen Lupton: Thinking With Type

127

Jonathan Hoefler: Typography legend on type history, philosophy, and entrepreneurship

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Bonus: Hamish Smyth of Standards

129

Bonus: Hiroki Asai, Global Head of Marketing at Airbnb

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Vanessa Gennarelli: Surviving Change at Work

131

Scott Rice: Creative lessons learned teaching film with Matthew McConaughey

132

Autumn Durald Arkapaw: Cinematographer for Wakanda Forever and Loki on the overlap between design and photography

133

Rewind: Midcentury modern design principles and Heath Ceramics

134

Barry Katz: The history and philosophy of design in Silicon Valley and beyond

135

Bonus Episode: Dorrian Porter, CEO of Vestaboard

136

Paola Antonelli: How design shapes culture

137

Design Better Holiday Gift Guide

138

Tycho: The soundtrack for creative work

139

Bonus Episode: Gil Gershoni on Dyslexic Design Thinking

140

OK Go: Making the impossible possible

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Announcing something new…

142

Paula Scher: Pentagram legend on design, persuasion & embracing mistakes

143

Bonus Episode: Matt D Smith from Shift Nudge on the elements of a great user interface

144

Llisa Demetrios: Ray and Charles Eames's granddaughter on their legacy and influence on mid century modern design

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Bonus Episode: Bayard Winthrop, CEO of American Giant

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Ed Catmull: Creative lessons from Lucasfilm to Pixar and beyond

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David Sedaris: How observation and prototyping shapes his work

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Design Better Trailer

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Design Better's New Adventure: Exciting changes to the show

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Bonus Episode with Don Norman: Panel discussion on designing a better world

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Ole Lütjens: The story behind the Disney+ launch

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Georg Petschnigg: Product design and storytelling at The New York Times

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Eileen Fisher, Rewind: How design principles and systems guide a clothing company

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Donna Lichaw: The leader’s journey

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Robert Brunner: The design giant who hired Jony Ive

156

John Maeda: AI + Design

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Sheena Iyengar: Decision making and innovation myths

158

Matt Mullenweg: WordPress, AI, and jazz

159

Kevin Bethune: Innovation lessons from a nuclear engineer turned Air Jordan designer

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Tony Fadell: iPhone inventor on how to build the future

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Judy and Daniel Wert: Surviving the tech layoffs

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Tina Seelig: Constraints drive creativity

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Meredith Black: DesignOps has become essential

164

Greg Hoffman: Nike CMO on the role of emotion in design

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Felecia Hatcher: Black Ambition CEO on entrepreneurship and working with Pharrell Williams

166

Seth Godin, Rewind: Learning to take risks, be generous, and make a ruckus

167

Dr. Sian Proctor: SpaceX astronaut on imposter syndrome

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Katrina Alcorn: IBM’s head of design on why partnerships are essential

169

Nir Eyal: How to be indistractable

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Detria Williamson: IDEO CMO on making collaboration more inclusive

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Guy Kawasaki: Lessons from Apple's early days

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John Cleese, Rewind: Monty Python's cheerful guide to creativity

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Eileen Fisher: How design principles and systems guide a clothing company

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Robin Petravic: Midcentury modern design principles and Heath Ceramics

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Vicki Tan: Spotify's design process and finding your purpose

176

Judy Wert: Negotiating salary and navigating career changes

177

Benjamin Evans, Rewind: Inclusive design at Airbnb

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Scott Berkun: How design makes the world

179

Sandy Fershee: How design thinking is transforming Ford

180

Chris Kemp: CEO of rocket maker Astra on collaborating on challenging problems

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Julie Zhuo, Rewind: Facebook's VP of Product Design on what she got right and wrong as a leader

182

Rosanne Somerson: A look inside RISD, one of America’s premier design schools

183

Sara Seager: What the search for exoplanets can teach us about collaboration

184

Dan Pink: Why collaboration is the key to being persuasive

185

Steve Johnson and Rochelle King: How Netflix designs for a global audience

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Doug Pray and Matt Weaver: Apple TV+ Home and how spaces change our behavior

187

Jason Mayden: Air Jordan design and a brush with death that shaped a career

188

Brian Chesky: Airbnb’s co-founder on designing for trust

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Annie Jean Baptiste: Google's approach to inclusive design

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Bill Burnett: Designing your work fife

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Debbie Millman: Revealing what matters the most to designers and creatives

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John Maeda: Design in Tech Report

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Seth Godin: Learning to take risks, be generous, and make a ruckus

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Jina Anne: How design systems affect company culture

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Jahan Mantin and Boyuan Gao: Designing for diversity

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Marty Cagan: Understanding product management and Agile

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Naveen Gavini: Uniting design and engineering at Pinterest

198

Stephen Deasy: How designers and engineers can work together better

199

Joshua Seiden: Agile, Lean UX, and measuring your work

200

Steve Rader: NASA's approach to problem-solving and leading people

201

Ryan Rumsey: Designers need to understand the language of business

202

Remote Work for Design Teams: Lessons in leadership, collaboration, and culture

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Richard Banfield and Alison Rand: Remote design sprints and design reviews

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Making remote teams work

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Jehad Affoneh: VMWare’s head of design on being a business leader, not a design leader

206

Joanna Peña-Bickley: Amazon Alexa's design leader on collaboration and diverse teams

207

Natalya Shelburne: How designers and developers work together at The New York Times

208

Kristin Wisnewski: More women in tech leadership roles

209

Nancy Douyon: Ethical and inclusive design

210

Season 4 Preview Episode

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Rewind: David Kelley, Founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school, on Creative Confidence and Aligning Teams

212

Stephen Gates: Hiring and retaining the best design talent

213

Lessons from Season 3

214

Jina Anne: Getting clarity on the components and maintenance of design systems

215

Diego Rodriguez: How Intuit built design culture into the business

216

Journey into the connected workflow

217

Che Douglas: Transforming design at The Wall Street Journal and Booking.com

218

Lori Kaplan: Atlassian's playbook for team collaboration

219

Quinton Larson: How Indeed kicks off projects the right way

220

Bob Baxley: How Apple ran design like the Saturday Night Live writer's room

221

Josh Ulm: Wells Fargo’s VP of Design on how design should be influencing business

222

Brad Frost and Dan Mall: Rethinking Agile and how designers collaborate with developers

223

Benjamin Evans: How Airbnb uses inclusive design to create a successful business

224

Abigail Hart Gray: Google's Director of UX explains design to non-designers with numbers

225

Julie Zhuo: Facebook's former VP of Product Design on what she got right and wrong as a leader

226

Bonus Episode: Leah Buley and the New Frontier of Design Maturity

227

Season 3 Special Preview

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Jake Knapp: The guy who brought us the design sprint wants us to rethink time management

229

Margaret Stewart: Facebook's VP of Product Design on what unifies big teams

230

Kim Williams: How Indeed's design system inspires collaboration

231

Rewind: Irene Au explains the secrets to scaling design teams at Google

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Vas Natarajan: Hallmarks of a healthy team and better designer/developer partnerships

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Maria Giudice: The origin of DesignOps and how to make Agile not suck for designers

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Megan Quinn: A venture capitalist's views on how to scale a team

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Meriah Garrett: Secrets to leading big design teams

236

TS Balaji: Thinking and acting like a business leader

237

Diana Mounter: Building efficient design systems at Github

238

Meredith Black: building DesignOps dream teams

239

Lynsey Thornton: Inside Shopify’s growth, re-organization, and design system

240

Mia Blume: Are you ready to shift from team member to team leader?

241

Christian Madsbjerg: How ethnography leads to a deeper understanding of users

242

Jake Knapp: Lessons from running 150+ design sprints at Google Ventures

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Laura Martini: So your boss doesn't believe in design research

244

Michael Leon: How skateboarding prepared him for Nike, Patagonia, and Sonos

245

Alex Schleifer: Airbnb's hasty Super Bowl decision guided by a clear mission

246

Albert Lee: Learning UX from Frank Gehry, IDEO, and Chez Panisse

247

Dan Winger: The evolution of LEGO from simple bricks to interactive storytelling

248

David Kelley: The birth of design thinking and what he's most proud of

249

Irene Au: How Larry Page's view on aesthetics changed Google