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The Curiosity Department

Design Better co-hosts Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter explore the intersection of design, technology, and the creative process through conversations with inspiring guests across many creative fields, to help you hone your craft, unlock your creativity, and learn the art of collaboration.
Whether you’re design curious or a design pro, Design Better is guaranteed to inspire and inform. Vanity Fair calls Design Better, “sharp, to the point, and full of incredibly valuable information for anyone looking to better understand how to build a more innovative world.”

Design Better

Jason Giles is tuned into the habits of successful product design teams, not only because he’s been leading them for 15 years, but also because his team at UserTesting makes essential tools used by top design teams around the world. Jason thinks of the collaboration process in his team as similar to a jazz band where improvisation and exploration go hand-in-hand. We’re anxious to learn more.
We’re excited to share this sponsored bonus episode, recorded live in Austin at The Human Insight Summit (THiS)—as UserTesting helps designers and product teams gain shared insight—seeing and hearing how another person engages with the world around them and taking in their perspective.
Learn more about UserTesting
Bio
As VP of Product Design at UserTesting, Jason leads a team of designers, writers, and researchers across the US, Canada, and UK with the mission to enable real human insight and lead a movement for empathy.
Jason Giles began his professional career as a designer at Microsoft, where he effectively “grew up” alongside the UX discipline itself. Having actively participated in that evolution, Jason transitioned to design management where he has focused on building teams with great cultures that deliver awesome product experiences.
Visit our Substack to view the video of the interview: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jason-giles

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

Alastair Simpson is accustomed to adaptation. The first half of his life was spent in the pursuit of a professional football career (or soccer as we call it in the States). But things didn’t go as expected, and he found himself searching for a new path in life.
Football taught him discipline and to focus on excellence, traits that transferred well into a career in design. He’s led design teams at Atlassian and today, he’s VP of Design at Dropbox.
We spoke with Alastair about how he applies design principles to parenting, the role craft plays in making great products, and creating a work environment that supports the creative process.
Visit our Substack to access the full episode: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/alastair-simpson
Bio
Alastair Simpson reports to the CEO and serves on the Executive team at Dropbox, where he leads the design team across all creative disciplines, including Brand, Product Design, Research, Content Design, and Operations. He also co-led, designed, and implemented Dropbox's transition to a Virtual-First working model. Previously, Alastair was Head of Design at Atlassian, where he played a key role in scaling the design team from 20 to over 300.
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Alastair Simpson: From professional soccer to leading design at DropBox

Hi folks!
We hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season, and have plenty of opportunities to relax and spend time with friends and family. This week we’re rewinding to one of our favorite episodes with Jonathan Hoefler, the legendary type designer. Enjoy the episode, and we’ll see you in the New Year!
Find the full episode and bonus content on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-jonathan-hoefler
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It’s still not too late for a last-minute gift for the creative people in your life. Why not give the gift of education and inspiration by with a year-long subscription to Design Better Premium? We’ve even made a 🎁 handy gift card that you can send virtually, or print out and mail, or gift in person.
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Chances are you have a few fonts on your computer designed by Jonathan Hoefler. Since 1991, Apple has included Hoefler Text on every Mac. Ideal Sans, Knockout, Archer, Verlag, and Sentinel—are a few more of Hoefler’s well known typefaces —each is steeped in history and timelessly beautiful. It’s no wonder that Jonathan was featured in the Netflix series Abstract, which explores design and creativity, as he is truly a typography legend.
As part of our series on design history, we talk with Jonathan about his typographic influences, his philosophical views on the value of presentation and why he views entrepreneurship as an invitation, and some of the themes in his work like “Unfinished Business” and “Conservation and Preservation.”
Bio
Jonathan Hoefler (pronounced "HEFF-ler") is a typeface designer, typographer, writer, and inventor, and the creator of some of the world's most influential fonts such as Gotham, Knockout, Mercury, Sentinel, and Hoefler Text. He founded the distinguished type foundry Hoefler&Co in 1989, which he sold in 2021, after publishing more than eleven hundred original tyepfaces. He's currently enjoying a sabbatical, and writing about typography and visual culture on his website, JonathanHoefler.com.

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/irene-au-scaling-design-at-google

Google could now be considered a product driven company, but it wasn’t always that way. For many years Google’s engineering-led culture cherished efficiency over user experience. Irene Au arrived at a pivotal moment in the company’s history, and helped shape the way that Google’s product’s clearly value design today.
Now in her role as a design partner at Khosla Ventures, she helps startups “build high performing teams, establish design practices, mentor and grow the next generation of great designers, and design interfaces and experiences.” Here is her story.
 
Irene Au's Bio
Irene is design partner at Khosla Ventures, where she works with CEOs, executives, and designers to make products and services people can't live without. Irene has extensive experience elevating design at the highest levels of the organization by starting first with an empathetic understanding of human needs, and building high performing teams who create products people can’t live without. 
Irene has unprecedented experience elevating the strategic importance of design within internet companies, having built and led the entire User Experience and Design teams at Google (2006-2012), Yahoo! (1998-2006), and Udacity (2012-2014). She began her career as an interaction designer at Netscape Communications, where she worked on the design of the internet’s first commercial web browser.
Irene is also a yoga teacher at internationally-recognized Avalon Yoga in Palo Alto, where she offers an accessible and challenging yoga practice for all.​

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/david-kelley-creative-confidence

David Kelley doesn’t like to claim to have come up with the term design thinking, even though a most people would say he did. But regardless of who coined it, as founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school he has been one of the most influential proponents of design thinking, and human-centered design in general.
When it comes to bringing together engineering, product, and design teams early in the design process, and aligning those teams towards a common goal, design thinking has few equals, and should be part of the toolkit for every product driven company.
In this episode, Eli and Aarron speak with David about what it takes to bring designers and engineers together, how our workspace influences our work, and how we can encourage creative confidence in our companies. Enjoy their chat with David, and thanks for listening.
 
David Kelley's Bio
(via IDEO.com)
David Kelley is the founder and chairman of the global design and innovation company IDEO. Kelley also founded Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, known as the d.school. As Stanford’s Donald W. Whittier Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Kelley is the Academic Director of both of the degree-granting undergraduate and graduate programs in Design within the School of Engineering, and has taught classes in the program for more than 35 years.
Kelley’s most enduring contributions are in human-centered design methodology and design thinking. He is most passionate about using design to help unlock creative confidence in everyone from students to business executives. A frequent speaker on these topics, Kelley and his brother co-authored the New York Times best-selling book Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, Kelley worked as an engineer at both Boeing and NCR. Drawn to design, he entered Stanford University in 1975, where he earned his master’s degree in Engineering/Product Design. In 1978, he founded the design firm that would become IDEO and, in that same year, began his teaching career at Stanford, receiving tenure in 1990. He also founded an early-stage venture-capital firm in 1984 called Onset, and was instrumental in starting a special effects firm called Edge Innovations, which creates unique Animatronics for the film industry.
Kelley was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2000. He holds honorary PhD's from both the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and Art Center College in Pasadena. He has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Chrysler Design Award and the National Design Award in Product Design from the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Robert Fletcher Award from Dartmouth, and the Edison Achievement Award for Innovation. Preparing the design thinkers of tomorrow earned him the Sir Misha Black Medal for his “distinguished contribution to design education.”

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/dan-winger
If you’re anything like us, playing with LEGOs was a foundational part of your childhood, and a big part of the reason you got interested in design. And given the arc of their history, it is clear that LEGO is a product-driven company: their products are addictively engaging, highly-engineered design masterpieces, they clearly understand the needs of their customers, and they are constantly evolving and innovating with their products to remain a highly-profitable company.
So you can imagine our excitement when we had a chance to chat with Dan Winger, Senior Innovation Designer at the LEGO Future Lab. We had a chance to dive into user testing at LEGO (how do I sign up?!), what the future of physical play looks like in the age of VR, and how story affects product development at LEGO. It turns out the design process at LEGO has a lot in common with the software design world.
Dan Winger's Bio
Dan designs playful products, experiences and interactive entertainment at the forefront of technology. For over nine years, he has been driving growth through innovation at LEGO, exploring the intersection of physical and digital play, and bringing these new experiences to life. He has also consulted for various companies large and small, ranging from motocross to cosmetics. His experience spans a broad spectrum of projects and many different roles.

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/albert-lee
Albert Lee has had an amazing arc to his career. From his beginnings as a wine-steward at Chez Panisse, to working at Frank Gehry’s architecture studio, and on to the role of Associate Partner at IDEO and now Design Partner at NEA, the nation’s largest VC firm, Albert always strives to work with the best of the best.
Given the breadth of his experience at these top institutions, it’s probably not a surprise that even though his expertise is in design, he values the balanced approach between design, engineering, and product teams that are the hallmark of a product-driven company.
In this episode, Albert helps us explore subjects like: why the VC world has become more cognizant of the impact of design, how organizational design influences product design, and how to kickstart a design transformation. We hope you’ll get as much as we did from the insights Albert shared, and thanks for listening.
 
Albert Lee's Bio
Albert is currently the Design Partner at NEA (New Enterprise Associates), the world's largest venture capital firm, with a portfolio of over 450 companies. In this role he works closely with portfolio companies, furthers the understanding of design within the tech eco-system, and seeks out design-centric investments.
In addition, he coaches CEO's, founders and entrepreneurs as an executive coach with Reboot.io, founded by Jerry Colonna, on all the questions and challenges that come along with building a high-growth company.
He is also a Special Partner at Juxtapose, where he supports a multidisciplinary team in their user research, design, and product processes to launch and invest in high-growth consumer concepts.
Albert has a deep background in both design and business. Albert was previously the Managing Director of IDEO’s New York office, where he brought more than a decade of experience in digital product, communication, and venture design to bear. He specialized in developing new offerings and incubating ventures for clients based on consumer insights in a wide range of industries, including retail/fashion, financial services, and consumer technology.
Prior to IDEO, Albert was a Managing Director at the design firm 2x4, and founded their Asia office in Beijing. Earlier in his career he was a design architect at Frank Gehry’s office. Albert also co-founded the product, Popplet, which provides a visual productivity and collaboration platform for K-12, which has had over 9 million downloads.
He was also recently named to Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business in 2014.
Albert holds a BA in architecture from U.C. Berkeley, a MFA in graphic design from Yale, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. His work has been recognized and exhibited by SFMoMA and MOMA. In 2006, he was chosen as a Young Gun by the Art Director’s Club. He has served on the board of directors of AIGA/NY

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/alex-schleifer
Airbnb’s mission is both simple and powerful: to help create a world where you can belong anywhere. Alex Schleifer, Airbnb’s head of design, fully embraces this mission. To create the products that make the Airbnb experience so welcoming and immersive, he also believes in being product driven, and organizes his teams in an Engineering, Product, Design (EPD) structure, which they also call “the triforce.”
Have a listen as Aarron and Eli talk with Alex about the advantages of this team structure, and about some of the problems companies run into when they try to create a “design-led” culture. They also dig into Airbnb’s mission and vision, and talk about the tradeoffs between quality and speed when building products. Enjoy the episode, and may the triforce be with you!
Alex Schleifer’s Bio
Alex is a designer, who as a teenager co-founded the digital agency Sideshow, which went on to produce award-winning work for a variety of global clients. They were acquired by Say Media in 2011.
He’s been on the incredible design team at Airbnb since 2015.

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/michael-leon
How do you go from being a self-professed skate punk, to a design director at Nike, creative director at Patagonia, and land as the global creative director for Sonos? As a creative force, Michael Leon has worked with some of the most product driven companies out there.
In this episode, Aaron and Eli talk with Michael about the tension between sustainability and business goals, maintaining a consistent voice and tone across a company like Patagonia that sells hundreds of different products globally, and some of the traits that Michael looks for when hiring for his creative teams.
So crank up your Sonos and enjoy this episode with Michael Leon!

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/007-laura-martini-getting-to-the-right-finish-line
If there’s anyone we’ve interviewed on the Design Better Podcast so far that really embodies the product-driven concept, it’s Laura Martini. Not only does she have a background in both design and engineering, but she also has a keen product sense with a real understanding the business factors behind good design decisions.
Laura's article on Medium entitled, "So your boss doesn’t believe in design research" caught our attention as it speaks to a common challenge we hear in design teams and offers a smart way to reframe things. https://blog.prototypr.io/so-your-boss-doesn-t-believe-in-user-research-40d8128db08e
Laura has had a really interesting career too—from working as a researcher in John Maeda’s Media Lab at MIT and leading the design team at med-tech startup Counsyl to her current role as a senior interaction designer on Google’s Analytics Platform.
In this episode, Aarron and Eli chat with Laura about how her engineering and design backgrounds complement each other, how a company’s values shape her own work, and how design leaders can help individual contributors grow.

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

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/kristin-wisnewski
In the tech world, it's rare these days to spend more than a few years at one company. So we were curious to learn more about Kristin Wisnewski after hearing she’d been at IBM for 18 years. In her words, she “basically grew up at IBM,” and made a rapid transition from an individual contributor role to a leadership position in 2016, where she now leads an award-winning design team.
We got to know the story of that career transformation, and what it took to get there. We also spoke with Kristin about clearing roadblocks for better work, and how to bring women into more leadership roles at technology companies.
Takeaways:

How to remain authentic to yourself as a leader

The keys to peak team performance

The way DesignOps works at IBM

Kristin Wisnewski: More women in tech leadership roles

Kristin Wisnewski: More women in tech leadership roles

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