UX Podcast

S03E11 (#339). Karen Hawkins, accessible design practice lead at Level access and chair of the W3C ARRM group joins us to discuss accessibility and design systems. Design systems can really help improve accessibility, but in reality design teams often don’t know their exact responsibilities, leading to accessibility gaps in implementation. We talk about considering accessibility... The post Accessible design systems with Karen Hawkins appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E10 (#338). About 15 years ago Katrina Alcorn suffered from burnout while managing a team of designers and raising a family. Drawing from her own experience, Katrina highlights during our conversation the importance of autonomy, connection, as well as purpose in the workplace. We discuss the ways in which burnout can be avoided and how... The post Designer burnout with Katrina Alcorn appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E09 (#337). Cal Thompson, VP of Product Design and Research at Headspace, joins us to talk about the evolution of Headspace from a pure mindfulness app to a comprehensive mental health platform, including health coaches and therapists. We chat about Headspace’s internal culture and how they manage being a healthy workplace as a health company.... The post Headspace with Cal Thompson appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E08 (#336). Inspired by feedback from his booked UX for beginners, Joel Marsh has written UX for business. A comprehensive guide for designers navigating real-world challenges. We talk to him about his own journey from design principles to practical business applications. We chat about Joel’s VDP methodology: Value, Diagnosis, and Probability, emphasizing the importance of... The post UX for business with Joel Marsh appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E07 (#335). Lou Downe, author of Good Services and former director of design for the UK government joins us in this episode. We sat down with Lou and asked—Where is service design going wrong, and are we even doing service design? Among the topics we discussed were: The complexity of modern services and the complete... The post Service literacy with Lou Downe appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E06 (#334). Aarathi Krishnan is an international aid expert, specialising in humanitarian futures and strategic foresight. In a world where the sets of rules that have governed us as humanity are rapidly changing, how will we know if the solutions that we are designing now are going to be fit for purpose? Aarathi pushes the... The post Defending against evil with Aarathi Krishnan appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E05 (#333). A linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles they’ve stumbled on. This time we feature articles about things that slow down your website’s experience and why you can’t do anything about it plus the concept of “failing early” but not in a “failing fast” startup way. Article one is Six things that slow... The post Fail early appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E04 (#332). Two years on from when Sheryl Cababa released Closing The Loop, her book about systems thinking for designers, we hear Sheryls reflections and insights about what she’s learnt during that time and we grapple with the challenge of applying system thinking as designers “out of the box”. We work in a complex space,... The post More systems thinking with Sheryl Cababa appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E03 (#331). Your destiny isn’t tied to a role. You were a person before your role. Leadership expert and strategist Christina Joy Whittaker talks to us about the murky middle, a phenomenon rooted in misalignment and purpose and quite distinct from imposter syndrome which is rooted in confidence. Christina shares her personal journey from corporate... The post Murky middle with Christina Joy Whittaker appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E02 (#330). Oobah Butler, journalist and filmmaker known for his prankster antics, joined us to discuss his work, including “The Great Amazon Heist” and “The Shed at Dulwich”. Oobah highlights the relative ease of manipulating algorithms, such as TripAdvisor and Amazon, to boost fake products’ rankings. We also discussed the broader implications of algorithmic manipulation,... The post The Great Amazon Heist with Oobah Butler appeared first on UX Podcast.

S03E01 (#329). In the first episode of Season Three, James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom discuss the concept of dark mode, its benefits, and its implications for UX design, user experience and accessibility. We delve into the European accessibility directive, and the EN 301 549 European standard which includes a section on user preferences, requiring user... The post Dark mode appeared first on UX Podcast.

This is an update to let you know that we are delaying the start of season 3 as Per is soon to have a heart operation. We’re aiming now to start Season 3 in the new year, once Per has recovered. Per is currently in preparations to undergo open-heart surgery in about a month’s time,... The post A heartfelt update from James and Per ❤️ appeared first on UX Podcast.

This is an update to let you know that we have reached the end of Season 2, a sensible 10-month season this time rather than more than 10 years! It’s time for us to take a short break before we kick off Season 3 on August 9th. We are already busy with planning the episodes... The post Season 3 update from James and Per appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E18 (#328). Over ten years have passed since the first edition of Steve Portigal’s legendary book Interviewing Users was released. Together with Steve, we reflect on how user research has evolved during the past decade, and how the importance of user research in order to understand people and their needs is still crucial. We discuss... The post Interviewing users with Steve Portigal appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E17 (#327). A linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles they’ve stumbled on. This time we feature articles about how certain features of e-commerce sites have to go, and how a design mistake impacted civic engagement in Iceland. Article one is The lazy load, endless scroll, and color slicing have to go by Bethany Sadler-Jasmin. “UX... The post The President of Iceland appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E16 (#326). Nathan Shedroff, author of A Whole New Strategy, talks to us about how we as designers can have strategic impact. Through an expanded understanding of the context you are working within, and building both situational and operational awareness, we can bridge the gap between design and business. We look at how some of... The post Strategic impact with Nathan Shedroff appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E15 (#325). Ellen Lupton, designer, educator and author, helps us stock up our toolbox of design principles and methods, starting off with storytelling in visual design, and the “rule of three” before we move on to linear and non-linear experiences. Will we follow the rule of three and have a third topic? We talk about... The post The rule of three with Ellen Lupton appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E14 (#324). A slightly different episode to usual. Eva-Lotta Lamm joins us to hold a visual thinking sketching workshop – Eva-Lotta, James and Per have fun going through three sketching exercises set by Eva-Lotta that can help you with your creativity, team-building, visual thinking and much more. Grab some pens, and perhaps even a couple... The post Sketching workshop with Eva-Lotta Lamm appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E13 (#323).  We are in the age of design-driven change. Maria Giudice joins us to talk about being changemakers – How we can design change in a complex world. We start by looking at the history of change management and how we are now firmly in the age of design-driven change and that requires change... The post Change leadership with Maria Giudice appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E12 (#322).  Asking the right question and wanting to get a good response. How do we handle that as researchers? Meena Kothandaraman joins us to talk about our curiosity as researchers, the different lenses of inquiry we can apply from exploratory to validation. We talk as well about being curious and the skill of getting... The post The right question with Meena Kothandaraman appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E11 (#321).  How do we know when to trust a system? Carol Smith leads the Trust Lab team at Carnagie Mellon Universty, where they conduct research into making trustworthy, human centered, and responsible AI systems. Our conversation highlights the importance of guardrails and ethical considerations in AI development, as well as to ask the right... The post Building trust in AI with Carol Smith appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E10 (#320). What does it mean to own something? We talk with David about the concept of ownership, going beyond the legal definition and into the wider concept of ownership and how digital artefacts lead us to re-think and re-evaluate some of the concepts that we have previously relied on. We talk about copyright, creative... The post Digital Ownership with David Dylan Thomas appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E09 (#319). A linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles that have caught their attention. The articles in this episode are about pragmatic discovery; delivering value to projects, and how UX Strategy should focus on, understand, and design, across all touchpoints, for the users – Experience strategy. Article one is Don’t get stuck in discovery... The post Experience strategy appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E08 (#318). Zoë has been researching the history of some of the creative thinking methodologies we use as designers. In this episode she takes on a journey back to the origins of brainstorming, the double diamond, and design thinking. It turns out that the origins, and even the criticisms, of these methodologies go back further... The post Lost history with Zoë Rose appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E07 (#317). A slightly different linkshow featuring two articles, one by James and one by Per. The articles in this episode are about how the experience of a delayed flight highlights the wider impact of poor service design, and how the way in which you type can reveal who you are. Article one is Final... The post Hidden dilemmas appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E06 (#316). Reflections and Lessons from heathcare design. Kim Goodwin has spent many years working within the healthcare industry. We discuss design principles used in healthcare and how they are transferrable across industries, as well as how designers should be more accountable. We also talk about enterprise design, traceability, accountability, and being more professional as... The post Designer accountability with Kim Goodwin appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E05 (#315). Death by screens. Presenting high stakes design work with Ben Sauer. We talk about how presenting is an experience that needs to be designed, and we discuss some of the ways in which you can approach crafting a presentation experience and become better at communicating your design work. As we have moved from... The post Presenting design work with Ben Sauer appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E04 (#314). Sci-fi and AI. Over a decade on from our first chat with Chris and Nathan, after the publishing of their book Make It So – Interaction Design Lessons from Science Fiction, Per and James found themselves with the opportunity at UXLx to talk to Chris and Nathan again. Our conversation starts with AI... The post Make it more so with Chris Noessel and Nathan Shedroff appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E03 (#313). A linkshow featuring two articles that have grabbed James and Per’s attention. The articles in this episode are about the need for low-carbon and sustainable computing and CSS media features that can be used for detecting user preferences and creating more inclusive experiences.  Article one is Frugal computing: developer perspective by Wim Vanderbauwhede.... The post Frugal computing appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E02 (#312). Torrey Podmajersky, author of Strategic Writing for UX, joined us to help us get the words to work. Together with Torrey we highlight the importance of giving our work context as well as establishing a shared vocabulary. We also talk reflect about how the focus on graphical design comes a the expense of... The post Get the words to work with Torrey Podmajersky appeared first on UX Podcast.

S02E01 (#311). Donna Lichaw takes us on another enthrawling journey in our latest podcast interview with her. This time Donna helps us understand the value of finding out your superpower and becoming a superhero. What’s all that got to do with leadership? Listen along and find out. We discuss how there is so much expectation... The post The leader’s journey with Donna Lichaw appeared first on UX Podcast.

We’ve got an update for you about season 2 of UX podcast. After our 10-year long first season, we’re soon back for season 2. August 11th 2023 will see the first episode of the new season released. We’ve been busy recording interviews and getting things set for the next season. The first batch of shows... The post Season 2 update from James and Per appeared first on UX Podcast.

We’ve got a little update for you about UX podcast. We’ve been publishing an episode every other Friday without fail for just over a decade since episode 33, which is absolutely insane. It’s a streak of 277 episodes. 554 weeks. We’ve quite recently actually surpassed 2.5 million downloads. What we’re going to do now is... The post An update from James and Per appeared first on UX Podcast.

Power dynamics, egos, “I know best”. The ways in which we go about solving problems need to be challenged and changed. Anna Kirah joins us to help us facilitate that change and make a move from design thinking towards transdisciplinary thinking. We talk about what transdisciplinary thinking is and how this differs from teamwork and... The post #310 Fudge design thinking with Anna Kirah appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 309 is a linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about container queries being available to use in all major browsers and how design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? Article one is… Container queries land in stable browsers... The post #309 Container queries and design thinking appeared first on UX Podcast.

What is systems thinking and how can designers make use of it in their work? In her book Closing the loop, Sheryl Cababa lays out her answer and approach to this question. We talk to her and discuss some of the core definitions and concepts.  We talk about the difference between soft and hard systems,... The post #308 Systems thinking with Sheryl Cababa appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this conversation with Alex Schmidt, author of Deliberate Intervention, we discuss “policy” in relation to digital design and tech. We discuss how even though designers intend to do good and have a positive impact, harm can still happen as a result of our designs. We talk about how it is natural for systems to... The post #307 Policy and design with Alexandra Schmidt appeared first on UX Podcast.

We are constantly simplifying the world around us and the people within it. This is a perfectly understandable reaction to the messy things we have to work with. But with every step back we are building a wall between the user and what it is to be human. We talk to Alastair about human centred design. How... The post #306 Human centred design with Alastair Somerville (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 305 is a linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy, and How ChatGPT is blowing Google out of the water: a UX breakdown. Article one is… Designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy by Jane... The post #305 Dyscalculia and ChatGPT appeared first on UX Podcast.

Getting anything up and running takes both time and planing. Content strategist Natalie Marie Dunbar joins us to talk about her content strategy practice blueprint and how it can help you when building a practice. What to do in order to avoid being an unheard and unappreciated silo as you grow from being a solo... The post #304 Building a content strategy practice with Natalie Marie Dunbar appeared first on UX Podcast.

We take a dive into neuroscience and metacognition. Thinking about thinking and thinking about other minds. We are joined by Professor Stephen Fleming, neuroscientist and author of the book Know Thyself to learn more about how our cognition works and the implications for our work as mind-creating creatives and in the development of AI. We... The post #303 Metacognition with Steve Fleming appeared first on UX Podcast.

We talk to Tom Greever about Articulating Design Decisions. How do we talk about our designs effectively with stakeholders? Every designer has to explain (and justify) their design decisions to non-designers but what are the skills tactics and methods that are needed to pull this off in a way that opens the door for your project to create... The post #302 Articulating design decisions with Tom Greever (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Informed consent is a critical part of the research process. We talk to Kim Foulds and Joyce Rafla about how they made use of videos featuring Sesame Workshop muppets to make taking a consent decision more inclusive, accessible and informed. We discuss the complexity of obtaining informed consent, especially when faced with literacy, cultural and... The post #301 Informed consent with Kim Foulds and Joyce Rafla appeared first on UX Podcast.

We’ve been tacking jokes onto the end of our shows since Episode 138. So to celebrate Episode 300, we take a look at jokes and humour. We’re joined by Professor Delia Chiaro, who has spent decades researching humour to learn more about what makes things funny and if it’s safe for us to be humorous... The post #300 Jokes and humour with Delia Chiaro appeared first on UX Podcast.

“Let’s find out what’s best practice and just run with that”. That’s something many of us will recognise and have experienced. But what actually is best practice? Is it something we should follow? And can we? Rich Brophy joins us to talk about best practice and to offer some advice about what might be even... The post #299 Best practice with Rich Brophy appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 298 is a linkshow. Per and James discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about how car culture colonised our thinking, and how Figma is making you a bad designer. Article one is… How car culture colonised our thinking – and our language by Thalia Verkade and Marco te... The post #298 Colonised Thinking and Figma appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this classic UX Podcast, Jonas Söderström joins us to talk about complexity. We like to think that we have made the world better through digitalisation, but perhaps all of the productivity gains were actually in the very early days of computing.  “We have to scale down, we have to dismantle, we have to try... The post #297 Complexity with Jonas Söder­ström (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

How do you make an impact as an introvert without pretending to be an extrovert? Often designers find themselves as quiet people in a noisy world, struggling in silence and being frustrated at not being heard. Tim Yeo joins us to talk about how introverted designers and design leaders can work with their introversion and... The post #296 Introvert designers with Tim Yeo appeared first on UX Podcast.

We need to ask the big hard questions at the beginning of the process so we can make good design decisions later. We talk to Dan Brown about the “discovery phase” or, as Dan suggests, the “discovery mindset”. Not too fast and not too slow. “The more we work on hard design problems, the more... The post #295 Discovery with Dan Brown (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 294 is a linkshow. Per and James discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about designing the perfect button, and how sitemaps are an essential tool in web design. Article one is… Designing the perfect button by Domas Markevičius. “Buttons are one of the main UI elements in interactive... The post #294 Sitemaps appeared first on UX Podcast.