Episodes
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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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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. ✨New benefits: Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books, as well as our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Masterclass: MasterClass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200+ of the world's best. People like Steph Curry, Paul Krugman, Malcolm Gladwell, Dianne Von Furstenberg, Margaret Atwook, Lavar Burton and so many more inspiring thinkers share their wisdom in a format that is easy to follow and can be streamed anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart TV, or even in audio mode. MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to http://masterclass.com/designbetter for the current offer.
Wix Studio: With Wix Studio, agencies and enterprises can create, develop and manage exceptional web projects with hyper efficiency. And if you're worried about the learning curve eating into time you don't have, don't be. Wix Studio is intuitive by design, so your entire team can hit the ground running. For your next project, check out wixstudio.com.
Wine Access: We love wine, but often feel overwhelmed by the options out there. But we recently joined Wine Access who not only ship to your door some of the world’s most inspiring wines, they also educate subscribers with full color information cards that accompany each bottle. You should totally join The Waitlist Wine Club. Just visit wineaccess.com/waitlist and use Promo Code: DESIGNBETTER for $25 off your first shipment.
If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: [email protected]
If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: [email protected] -
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 -
Missing episodes?
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Sometimes, a creative transformation occurs after a painful experience in our lives. This certainly happened for our guest today, Bishop Briggs, who lost her sister at a young age in 2021. After a period of intense grieving, and struggling with depression, her son was born in 2022, and she went on to win The Masked Singer in 2023.
Find the full episode on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/bishop-briggs
We spoke with Bishop about how her creative process evolved during these life-changing events, as well as how she approaches creating with consistency, connects with her audience, and the surprising results of her experiments with generative AI.
Also, a quick note for anyone who might be sensitive about the topics of depression and suicidal thoughts, Bishop does discuss these topics during the course of our interview, most notably around the 10 minute mark of the episode.
Bio
Bishop Briggs, born in London to Scottish parents, discovered her passion for music early, performing for the first time at a Tokyo karaoke bar at age four after her family relocated there. Immersed in Tokyo's karaoke culture and influenced by Motown and The Beatles at home, she began writing songs at seven. After moving to Hong Kong at 10, where she lived until 18, she pursued her dream of a music career by relocating to Los Angeles to attend the Musician’s Institute.
In Los Angeles, Bishop released her debut single, "Wild Horses," in 2015 and rose to prominence with her 2018 debut album, Church of Scars, and her 2019 follow-up, Champion. Her music has since reflected her personal journey, including profound loss, motherhood, and resilience. In 2023, she won The Masked Singer as "Medusa" and released her EP When Everything Went Dark. Her latest album, Tell My Therapist I'm Fine, debuted in October 2024, and she is currently on tour through Spring 2025.
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This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. ✨New benefits: Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books, as well as our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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We're at the holidays once again and that means it's one of our favorite episodes, our Design Better holiday gift guide for designers, creatives, and anyone who appreciates well-designed products. This list is perfect for anyone hunting for the ideal gift for that special someone—or, let’s be honest, for themselves. And this year—like last year—we’ve curated some stellar picks.
Visit our Substack for the full list: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/design-better-2024-holiday-gift-guide
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Wix Studio: With Wix Studio, agencies and enterprises can create, develop and manage exceptional web projects with hyper efficiency. And if you're worried about the learning curve eating into time you don't have, don't be. Wix Studio is intuitive by design, so your entire team can hit the ground running. For your next project, check out wixstudio.com.
Wine Access: We love wine, but often feel overwhelmed by the options out there. But we recently joined Wine Access who not only ship to your door some of the world’s most inspiring wines, they also educate subscribers with full color information cards that accompany each bottle. You should totally join The Waitlist Wine Club. Just visit wineaccess.com/waitlist and use Promo Code: DESIGNBETTER for $25 off your first shipment.
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If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: [email protected]
If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: [email protected] -
When Aarron was in college studying painting and drawing, he had an absolute certainty about the path my career would take. He was going to move to New York, make it big as an artist, and never look back.
And Eli, as an undergrad in product design, wasn’t sure what a career in his field even looked like. The skillset wasn’t clearly defined yet. The outdoor product companies he was eyeing wanted me to conform to a neat little box: “Are you an industrial designer, or a mechanical engineer?” He wasn’t sure how he fit in.
Did our careers unfold as we expected? Absolutely not. Life and careers rarely go according to plan. There’s so much beyond our control. But, despite the unexpected twists, there are lessons that can guide us in the right direction. And that’s what we’re here to explore today in this special live episode of Design Better, recorded right here at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Today, we’ll be speaking with four design leaders who took a winding path but all found their way to significant work.
Bios
Kate Aronowitz is a design executive who has built her career empowering teams at some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies. In addition to her role leading GV’s operations team, Kate coaches GV portfolio companies on cross-functional design processes, scale, product development, and management strategy.
Kate has built world-class design teams at eBay, LinkedIn, Facebook (now Meta), and Wealthfront. She joined the first user experience team at eBay before taking her experience to LinkedIn, where she started the user research team. As Facebook’s first design executive, Kate grew the organization from 20 to 200, establishing multidisciplinary design teams in front-end engineering, user research, content strategy, and communication design.
Steve Johnson, VP of Design at Netflix, leads a diverse, multidisciplinary, Emmy-award-winning Experience Design organization. His team's commitment to discovery, product innovation, brand development, and personalization has set the standard for streaming media platforms across the world. Prior to Netflix, Steve also led design teams at LinkedIn and Adobe.
Jaime Lopez, Chief Design and Marketing Officer at Flatiron Health, Jaime Lopez is the Chief Design & Marketing Officer at Flatiron Health. She has over 15 years of startup product, design and marketing experience with a passion for creative problem solving and building and mentoring teams. In her role at Flatiron Health, Jaime uses her background to create and deliver high-quality experiences to oversee the company’s entire marketing and design suite.
Kat Holmes is EVP and Chief Design Officer at Salesforce where she's driving the future of AI, Data, and CRM experiences. As the author of the best-selling book Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design, Holmes works with multidisciplinary teams to set a foundation for why designing with excluded communities drives better solutions for everyone. Her work has been featured by NPR, BBC, Fast Company, Forbes, The Economist, and many more.
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Wix Studio: With Wix Studio, agencies and enterprises can create, develop and manage exceptional web projects with hyper efficiency. And if you're worried about the learning curve eating into time you don't have, don't be. Wix Studio is intuitive by design, so your entire team can hit the ground running. For your next project, check out wixstudio.com.
Wine Access: We love wine, but often feel overwhelmed by the options out there. But we recently joined Wine Access who not only ship to your door some of the world’s most inspiring wines, they also educate subscribers with full color information cards that accompany each bottle. You should totally join The Waitlist Wine Club. Just visit wineaccess.com/waitlist and use Promo Code: DESIGNBETTER for $25 off your first shipment. -
This is a special sponsored episode of the Design Better Podcast
Gali Erez, Head of Wix Studio at Wix, has had quite a journey, from a background in graphic design at CalArts, through transitioning from print to digital in her early work at Warner Brothers, where she helped envision media's digital future. Along the way, she has learned some principles that helped her during her time as an individual contributor, and also guide her as a leader: sharing ideas early, giving tough feedback, and using storytelling as a leadership tool.
We speak with Gali about how AI is changing web design workflows, the research process her team uses, and what’s kept her excited to work at Wix for over 10 years.
This is a sponsored bonus episode we’re excited to share, as Wix Studio is a product that helps diverse users, from casual creators to professional web designers and developers, with a platform that balances simplicity and customization.
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Learn more about Wix Studio at https://www.wix.com/studio
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Bio
Gali Erez is the Head of Wix Studio at Wix and has been with the company for over a decade. She studied graphic design at CalArts, where she experienced the transition from print to digital design. Her early career included a product design internship at Warner Brothers, where she worked on innovative ways to bring media online.
At Wix, Erez has held various roles, starting as a UX designer on the DIY editor and later transitioning into management. She played a key role in developing Wix ADI, an AI-driven platform that simplifies website creation, and led the creation of Wix Studio, a professional-grade platform for web designers.
Erez's leadership style emphasizes transparency, incremental innovation, and adaptability to changing team dynamics and industry trends. Her work focuses on democratizing web design, balancing accessibility with professional-grade features, and leveraging AI to enhance efficiency and creativity in design processes. -
Jazz is a constantly evolving art form, offering some of the richest lessons in creative collaboration. A melody and chord progression provide the foundation, but as each musician brings their unique improvisational perspective, the music takes on unexpected, transformative shapes.
If you ask any fan of the genre who’s pushing jazz into new territory, Kamasi Washington’s name will come up—likely at the very top. His 2015 album The Epic won the American Music Prize and stands, in our opinion, as one of the greatest jazz records of the 21st century. Kamasi contributed to Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning To Pimp a Butterfly, scored Michelle Obama’s Netflix documentary Becoming, and has collaborated with musical legends like Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Chaka Khan, and many more.
In this episode, we spent an evening with Kamasi, exploring his creative process, what he’s learned from his collaborators, his philosophy on collaboration, and his latest album, Fearless Movement.
Find show notes, bonus content, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/kamasi-washington
Bio
Kamasi Washington, born in Los Angeles in 1981, grew up surrounded by music, with a saxophonist father and a flutist mother who nurtured his musical talent from a young age. Kamasi’s journey began with drums and piano in his early years, progressing to the clarinet at age seven and finally to the tenor saxophone at twelve, mirroring his father’s path. His high school years at Hamilton High School Music Academy were pivotal; there, he joined the renowned Multi School Jazz Band and learned from jazz icons like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter. Kamasi’s talent was quickly recognized when he won the John Coltrane Saxophone Competition, and he co-founded "The Young Jazz Giants," which marked his early step into professional music.
Kamasi's musical evolution continued at UCLA, where he studied ethnomusicology and expanded his understanding of global music traditions. This foundation supported his wide-ranging collaborations beyond jazz, where he worked with artists like Snoop Dogg, Raphael Saadiq, and Kendrick Lamar. Yet, despite his diverse influences, Kamasi remained firmly rooted in jazz, ultimately channeling these experiences into his innovative sound. His 2015 debut album, The Epic, was a monumental release—a three-disc exploration of jazz that introduced a unique blend of spiritual depth and musical complexity. The album garnered critical acclaim, broadening Kamasi's reach and establishing him as a leader in modern jazz.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, access to our (small but growing!) library of books and participation in book giveaways, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Wix Studio: With Wix Studio, agencies and enterprises can create, develop and manage exceptional web projects with hyper efficiency. And if you're worried about the learning curve eating into time you don't have, don't be. Wix Studio is intuitive by design, so your entire team can hit the ground running. For your next project, check out wixstudio.com.
Wine Access: We love wine, but often feel overwhelmed by the options out there. But we recently joined Wine Access who not only ship to your door some of the world’s most inspiring wines, they also educate subscribers with full color information cards that accompany each bottle. You should totally join The Waitlist Wine Club. Just visit wineaccess.com/waitlist and use Promo Code: DESIGNBETTER for $25 off your first shipment. -
We’re students of the creative process, and so is Adam Moss, author of The Work of Art: How something comes from nothing. Formerly the editor-in-chief of New York magazine, these days Moss is on a quest in his studio to understand painting and through it the mysteries of the act of creation.
Questions about why people create—and the diversity of process across mediums—led Adam to write his book, which features interviews with a host of inspiring folks. Kara Walker, Tony Kushner, Sofia Coppola, Stephen Sondheim, Barbara Kruger, Ira Glass, Samin Nosrat, Marc Jacobs, David Simon, and many more share their approach to the work they do in the book.
We talk with Adam about the red threads that run through such varied creative expressions, finding the right creative partners, how to feed creativity, and how his own work has been influenced by his investigation into how creativity unfolds.
Visit our Substack for bonus content and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/adam-moss
Bio
Adam Moss was the editor of New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and 7 Days. As editor of New York, he also oversaw the creation of five digital magazines: Vulture, The Cut, Daily Intelligencer, Grub Street, and The Strategist. During his tenure, New York won forty-one National Magazine Awards, including Magazine of the Year. He was an assistant managing editor of The New York Times with oversight of the Magazine, the Book Review, and the Culture, and Style sections, as well as managing editor of Esquire. He was elected to the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame in 2019.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
***
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Wix Studio: With Wix Studio, agencies and enterprises can create, develop and manage exceptional web projects with hyper efficiency. And if you're worried about the learning curve eating into time you don't have, don't be. Wix Studio is intuitive by design, so your entire team can hit the ground running. For your next project, check out wixstudio.com.
Wine Access: We love wine, but often feel overwhelmed by the options out there. But we recently joined Wine Access who not only ship to your door some of the world’s most inspiring wines, they also educate subscribers with full color information cards that accompany each bottle. You should totally join The Waitlist Wine Club. Just visit wineaccess.com/waitlist and use Promo Code: DESIGNBETTER for $25 off your first shipment. -
One of Aarron’s first jobs as a kid was performing magic shows, and it taught him a surprising amount about creativity. Magic is, at its core, the art of storytelling. It’s about directing attention, making people question assumptions, and blending creativity with technology to change how we see the world. That’s why it’s no surprise that Andrew Evans, founder of the Magic Patio, draws on his training from Stanford’s d.school to craft truly mesmerizing experiences.
We dive into Andrew’s journey, from his childhood dream of designing roller coasters, to creating treehouses, working at IDEO and Nike, and eventually launching a magic show in his own backyard. We also explore how he’s honed the art of engaging an audience, and we share tips on how to craft presentations that pull people in and make them feel part of the experience.
Watch the video version of this episode on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/andrew-evans
Bio
Andrew Evans is founder and magician at The Magic Patio, a uniquely San Francisco magic experience. After entering what appears to be a strange library/candy store on Mission Street, guests discover the hidden wonders of a hand-crafted, secret magic theater with one-of-a-kind magic performances.
More than designing and performing magic, my passion is creating unexpected experiences that transport people into new worlds and shift their perspective on what they perceive to be impossible.
Think Urban Disneyland rather than David Copperfield. A trip to The Magic Patio will fill you with inspiration and wonder as you witness unexplainable feats in an intimate setting.
Buy tickets to The Magic Patio
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, access to our (small but growing!) library of books and participation in book giveaways, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Adobe’s In the Making: As a Design Better listener, we have another podcast we think you’ll enjoy. Adobe’s In the Making hosted by Teresa Au takes an honest look at the challenges and rewards of being part of the creator economy. Building a business around your creative pursuits ain’t easy. Wouldn’t it be great to learn from those who have done this before? Check out In the Making from Adobe to learn more about how to build a creative career and life. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
Bluehost: When you upgrade to Bluehost Cloud, you can start managing multiple sites and domains. Not only that, you also get 100% uptime, enhanced security, and priority 24/7 support to keep you online no matter what. That means no crashing from heavy traffic. Go to Bluehost.com and start building your dream website today.
Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 🤓 : https://methodicalcoffee.com
(use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order). -
We don’t know about you, but we spend more time than we’d like to admit worrying about our future. Central to our concerns is how we’re responding to climate change. It’s a massive, multi-dimensional problem. People like Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen of Gensler, one of the world’s largest architectural firms, bring our anxiety levels down a notch. Under their leadership, Gensler has been innovating in material science and design to mitigate the impact buildings have on our environment.
Diane and Andy have a new book called Design for a Radically Changing World, and we wanted the back story on what inspired them to write about a more sustainable approach to architecture and urban planning. We also spoke with Diane and Andy about their childhood and how they found their way into architecture, and what’s kept them excited about staying at the same company for 30-40 years (a rarity in our current era).
Find bonus content, full show notes, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/diane-hoskins-andy-cohen
Bios
Diane Hoskins
Diane Hoskins, FAIA, is Co-Chair of Gensler, overseeing a global network of over 6,000 employees across 50 offices worldwide. An MIT-trained architect with an MBA from UCLA, her career spans architecture, design, real estate, and business. Diane founded Gensler’s Research Institute to drive innovation and improve the human experience through design. One of its groundbreaking studies, the Experience Index, demonstrated the critical role design plays in enhancing retail experiences, driving sales, and boosting consumer loyalty.
Diane is active in organizations such as the Urban Land Institute and the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Cities & Urbanization. Named one of Business Insider's 100 Creators, she is a frequent speaker and media contributor, sharing insights with outlets like The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, and Bloomberg TV.
Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen's core philosophy is based on shaping the future of cities. Since 2005, he has served as Co-CEO of Gensler and continues to lead the world's foremost design and architecture firm as Global Co-Chair. He is extremely proud of what their global team has accomplished. Gensler is a people- and client-centered organization, laser-focused on enhancing the human experience.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Design Thinking + AI Workshops: We’ve been continuing to run our AI + Design Thinking workshops, including for Fortune 100 companies that are developing some of these technologies. Participants love the chance to play and experiment with some of these tools, and we have an additional public session coming in mid-November.
One of our big takeaways is that many people simply don’t have time in their day-to-day workflow to explore this new technology, and this workshop provides just that—a valuable space for experimentation, discussion, and reflection on how the world and our jobs are changing with generative AI.
Register for November 13th
If you're not yet a Design Better Premium member, if you sign up for a yearly account we've got a few 50% off tickets for new yearly members. Just sign up for a new account at the yearly level and we'll share the discounted ticket code with you if you write to us at [email protected]. -
The New Yorker has great writing, but Aarron and I are pretty sure we’re not the only ones who flip through the magazine before reading any articles to find all the great cartoons from legends like Roz Chast or Saul Steinberg.
So you can imagine how thrilled we were to get a chance to speak with Jason Chatfield, a New Yorker cartoonist who also happens to be a very talented illustrator, and aspiring stand-up comedian.
Jason’s also got a new Substack about his creative process called Process Junkie. We talk to him about the importance of embracing mistakes, how he collaborates with writers, the cartoon selection process at the New Yorker, and why creating a large volume of work is critical to creative success.
Get bonus content and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jason-chatfield
Bio
Jason Chatfield is an award-winning Cartoonist, Author & Comedian based in New York City. For 16 years, he has been an internationally syndicated comic strip cartoonist, writing and drawing the iconic 102-year-old strip, Ginger Meggs, published daily through Andrews McMeel Syndication.
His work has appeared in The New Yorker, MAD Magazine, Esquire, Variety, The Weekly Humorist, American Bystander, Wired, and Air Mail among others. His art has been exhibited in France, the UK, Australia, and all over the United States and in books published by Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, & Humorist Media. His latest book with Andrews McMeel Publishing will be out in Fall 2025.
Chatfield is a past President of both the National Cartoonists’ Society (Est. 1946) and Australian Cartoonists Association (Est. 1924). He is the youngest cartoonist to ever hold either of these positions.
His weekly newsletter New York Cartoons is one of Substack's Featured Publications for 2023, with thousands of weekly subscribers.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, access to our (small but growing!) library of books and participation in book giveaways, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
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Methodical Coffee: Join us for a coffee break with our friends at Methodical Coffee. In this segment, Methodical Coffee co-founder Will Shurtz teaches us how to select the right roast for our preferred flavor profile. Select your own preferred roast at methodicalcoffee.com, and use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order.
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit.
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If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: [email protected]
If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: [email protected] -
If, like us, you’ve been tinkering with the plethora of AI tools that have emerged recently, chances are it’s changing your workflow and creative process. AI is a great thought partner for writing, illustration, and even user research, but we’ve been wondering how people in other creative disciplines are using it.
Matthias Hollwich, principal and founder of New York architecture firm HWKN Architecture, has discovered AI is a powerful addition to architectural design. He and his team are using it to imagine how buildings might fit into the existing design of a city, and take cues from local history and culture. It’s yet another way AI is unexpectedly expanding creative horizons.
Find the transcript, bonus content, and more, on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/matthias-hollwich
Bio
Matthias Hollwich is the founder of HWKN, a NY-based collective of architects, sculptors, social strategists and innovators dedicated to use architecture to shape a better world. Matthias was born and raised in Germany where he studied architecture and brings a dual perspective to all the firm’s designs, combining German precision with American aspiration.
Matthias was honored in Fast Company’s ranking of the world’s Top 10 Most Innovative Architects and in Business Insider’s list of Top Business Visionaries. He published his first book UmBauhaus- Updating Modernism in collaboration with Rainer Weisbach and the Bauhaus Foundation in 2006. His latest book, New Aging: Live Smarter Now to Live Better Forever, suggests a new way to think about aging that could fundamentally change the way we design for it.
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Stay tuned after the interview for a special look at Wix Studio, the intuitive way for agencies and enterprises to design exceptional sites, with full-stack business solutions, multi-site management and built-in AI.]
We chat with Brad Hussey, Founder of Creative Crew—a free community for web agencies with Wix Studio—about how he uses the platform to efficiently build and refine websites by seamlessly transferring designs from Figma, saving time through its dynamic content management, customizable features, and support for custom CSS.
To learn more about Wix Studio, visit dbtr.co/wixstudio.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
***
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit.
Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 🤓 : https://methodicalcoffee.com (use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).
If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: [email protected]
If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: [email protected] -
We’ve talked with people across many creative disciplines on Design Better, and there’s a red thread that keeps popping up—many are neurodivergent in some way. A diagnosis of ADHD in childhood can seem like a disadvantage, but it can actually become a superpower that enables hyper-focus and deep learning. We wanted to learn more about ADHD so we called in an expert—Skye Waterson.
Skye received a surprise ADHD diagnosis at the beginning of her Ph.D. program, which led her to research and develop strategies to help other adults with ADHD reach their potential. Now, she has an international business called the Unconventional Organisation which supports more than 800 professionals with ADHD.
We spoke with Skye about some common challenges that people with ADHD face at work, why the modern work environment does not always work for ADHD thinkers, as well as some communication strategies for collaborating with neurodiverse people in your work.
For full show notes, bonus content, and more, visit our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/skye-waterson
Bio
Skye Waterson is an academic with over seven years of experience working in adult education. She has studied in various fields, including Psychology, Sociology, and Public Health, and is now a Doctoral Candidate in Population Health.
Skye was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her doctorate. Since then, she has dedicated time to researching and disseminating ADHD studies, focusing on supporting others with strengths-based, neurodiverse-friendly tools and systems.
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On Set With: The HGTV and Max On Set With podcast explores the sets and world building of beloved films and TV shows produced by Warner Bros. Discovery through conversations with art directors and set designers. Each episode highlights a different iconic set from film or television. Through a constellation of voices (set decorators, production designers, directors, and showrunners) our audience gets a first-hand account of the creation of the environments that became a part of our collective, global iconography — and actionable tips to bring the power of scenic design into our listeners’ own spaces.
Listen to On Set With on Spotify
Listen to On Set With on Apple Podcasts -
Until Designer Fund was founded by Enrique Allen and Ben Blumenrose, venture capital investments rarely considered design strategy when investing. Companies like Stripe, Notion, Gusto, and Omada Health—all in Designer Fund portfolio companies—see design as a competitive advantage and a tool for acquiring and retaining customers. Enrique Allen told us all about the tremendous value design is creating in these and many other companies.
We spoke with Enrique about how they chose design as an investment lens, the changing role of design from when they started until now, why venture capital might not always be the best way to fund a startup business, and how they think about finding good partners and co-founders.
By the way, if you’re starting a design-centric company and seeking investment, Designer Fund is investing up to $1 million for pre-seed and Series A startups. To learn more and apply for funding, visit designerfund.com/partnership. Apply by October 4th.
Bio
Enrique Allen is the co-founder and managing partner at Design Fund. Previously, Enrique was a designer at venture capital firms, including 500 Startups, Facebook’s fbFund, and Venrock, where he helped invest in companies like Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT), Wildfire (acquired by Google) and Behance (acquired by Adobe). He's a Stanford University alum, former Division 1 soccer player and senior lecturer at the Stanford d.school.
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Stay tuned after the interview for a special look at Wix Studio, the intuitive way for agencies and enterprises to design exceptional sites, with full-stack business solutions, multi-site management and built-in AI.
We chat with Kyle Prinsloo, founder of ClientManager.io, about why he loves Wix Studio for its efficient tools like the Figma to Wix Studio plugin, and robust email marketing features, which have greatly improved his workflow and client engagement.
To learn more about Wix Studio, visit dbtr.co/wixstudio.
***
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This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
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Incogni: Every year, both the number and scope of data breaches worldwide are rising. According to the 2022 Annual Data Breach Report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of victims has gone up nearly 41.5% from 2021. Incogni reaches out to data brokers on your behalf, requests your personal data removal, and deals with any objections from their side. Use promo code DESIGNBETTER at https://incogni.com/designbetter to get 60% off an annual plan. -
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 diverse creative fields, to help you hone your craft, unlock your creative potential, 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.” -
One of the great things about being a dad is getting to watch your favorite movies again with your kids and experience them through a new point of view, and also to watch new films together and see how things like animation evolve and create new ways of telling stories.
One of the best examples of this from the past decade is Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which used innovative techniques to pay tribute to the comic-book origins of the stories but add new depth and excitement without feeling forced. Aarron and I both loved watching the original—and the sequel— with our kids.
Visit our Substack for bonus content, transcripts, and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/yashar-kassai
So you can imagine how excited we were to chat with Yashar Kassai, Production Designer of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and artist on The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and more. We learned about the tools he uses, how he thinks about developing a fresh look for a familiar franchise, and what the future of visual storytelling might look like.
Bio
Yashar Kassai is a production designer and artist, who has worked on animated films like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Angry Birds, Book of Life, and more. You can find his work on Artstation, Instagram, and on his personal website.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, access to our (small but growing!) library of books and participation in book giveaways, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Incogni: Every year, both the number and scope of data breaches worldwide are rising. According to the 2022 Annual Data Breach Report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of victims has gone up nearly 41.5% from 2021. Incogni reaches out to data brokers on your behalf, requests your personal data removal, and deals with any objections from their side. Use promo code DESIGNBETTER at https://incogni.com/designbetter to get 60% off an annual plan.
On Set With: The HGTV and Max On Set With podcast explores the sets and world building of beloved films and TV shows produced by Warner Bros. Discovery through conversations with art directors and set designers. Each episode highlights a different iconic set from film or television. Through a constellation of voices (set decorators, production designers, directors, and showrunners) our audience gets a first-hand account of the creation of the environments that became a part of our collective, global iconography — and actionable tips to bring the power of scenic design into our listeners’ own spaces.
Listen to On Set With on Spotify
Listen to On Set With on Apple Podcasts
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit. -
Costume design plays an important role in filmmaking. Films like Austin Powers, Lala Land, Boogie Nights, Black Panther, and Malcolm X transport us to a different time and place through costume. Have you ever wondered how the concepts for costume designs come together? We have—that’s why we’re talking today with Mimi Haddon, author of Palace Costume, a book about the most important costume house in Hollywood, and costume designer Shirley Kurata who was nominated for an Oscar for her work on Everything Everywhere All at Once.
We speak with Mimi and Shirley about the origin story of Palace Costume, how it's organized and how costume designers use its vast collection. We also talk about how working with a limited budget inspires creativity, how costume designers think about color in their work, and how they collaborate with directors and other colleagues to execute on the vision for the film.
For bonus content and more, visit our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/shirley-kurata-and-mimi-haddon
Bios
Mimi Haddon is the author of Palace Costume, a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Palace Costume & Prop Co., an exclusive Los Angeles film-industry haven of dresses, gowns, garments, accessories, props, and jewelry featured in countless movies for more than fifty years. Acclaimed designers such as Sandy Powell (Carol, The Aviator, Shakespeare in Love), Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther, Malcolm X, Frankie and Alice), Arianne Phillips (Once upon a Time in Hollywood, A Single Man, W.E.), Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Mary Zophres (La La Land, Babylon, True Grit) and Mark Bridges (Boogie Nights, Licorice Pizza) each share insightful anecdotes about the importance of Palace Costume as their go-to creative resource, especially for historic period films.
Shirley Kurata is an Academy Award-nominated costume designer who has worked on films like Everything Everywhere All at Once. As a stylist, Kurata's clients have included celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Lena Dunham, Pharrell Williams, Zooey Deschanel, Beck, Mindy Kaling, and Tierra Whack.
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Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
***
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Incogni: Every year, both the number and scope of data breaches worldwide are rising. According to the 2022 Annual Data Breach Report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of victims has gone up nearly 41.5% from 2021. Incogni reaches out to data brokers on your behalf, requests your personal data removal, and deals with any objections from their side. Use promo code DESIGNBETTER at https://incogni.com/designbetter to get 60% off an annual plan.
Methodical Coffee: Join us for a coffee break with our friends at Methodical Coffee. In this segment, Methodical Coffee co-founder Will Shurtz discusses options for the best brewing gear, depending on your budget.
Select your own preferred roast at methodicalcoffee.com, and use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order. -
Eli first met Brendan Boyle when Brendan was his instructor in the undergraduate Product Design program at Stanford, where Brendan has taught for many years. Brendan is also a toy inventor, and one of the assignments in his class was to design a toy—now that Eli has kids, he realizes how bad his toy project was, which made Brendan’s justified criticism of his idea that much more bearable. Brendan, however, has a unique gift for retaining the curiosity and playfulness that has made so many of his toy designs successful.
We spoke with Brendan about the importance of play in the creative process, testing new toy concepts with kids, how decoupling innovation and metrics can create judgment-free creativity, what’s wrong with LEGO today, and the eternal optimism that drives inventors.
Find bonus content, a transcript and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/brendan-boyle
Bio
Brendan Boyle is a toy inventor at Fuse London, Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s d.School, and the Founder of the IDEO Play Lab. He believes that play is the key to innovation and has spoken to creative leaders, entrepreneurs, and students about the importance of playful exploration and risk-taking.
He founded the Play Lab to uncover kid-centered solutions to the challenge of boredom. As Brendan says, "The opposite of play is boredom." Under his leadership, the Play Lab has invented and licensed hundreds of toys and apps, including the best-selling Jumperoo and Elmo Calls, respectively.
Brendan also consults with companies about redesigning their organizational behavior to include space for play, wrote (and teaches) the Design for Play at Stanford’s d.School, and co-authored the award-winning encyclopedia of never-before-seen inventions, The Klutz Book of Inventions.
***
Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, access to our (small but growing!) library of books and participation in book giveaways, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
***
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Incogni: Every year, both the number and scope of data breaches worldwide are rising. According to the 2022 Annual Data Breach Report by the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of victims has gone up nearly 41.5% from 2021. Incogni reaches out to data brokers on your behalf, requests your personal data removal, and deals with any objections from their side. Use promo code DESIGNBETTER at https://incogni.com/designbetter to get 60% off an annual plan.
Zeplin: Few things frustrate designers quite as much as seeing the UI they’ve meticulously designed, botched when built out. But Zeplin can help you make every design-to-dev handoff efficient and accurate so you nail every release on time and on budget. Design Better listeners can get their first month of the Basic Plan free. Just go to zeplin.io and use code DESIGNBETTER to get your first month of the Basic Plan free.
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit. -
This week, we’re rewinding to one of our favorite episodes from our 6th season, with Vicki Tan. Vicki is a designer and author, who is now a staff product designer at Pinterest. When we spoke with her, Vicki was an associate principal product designer at Spotify, and Earlier in her career, she was a senior product designer at Headspace, worked on communication and UX design at Google and product design at Lyft.
Find full show notes, bonus content, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-vicki-tan
Original episode description
Vicki Tan has worked at companies that change the way we travel, think about our mental health, and access music from around the globe. To each of these roles she has brought her background in psychology, to better understand the needs of the people using these products.
We chat with Vicki about some of the things she has learned over the course of her career, from Lyft to Headspace to Spotify, how her creative process has changed over the years, and how her team does research.
Vicki also talks about why she regularly takes a sabbatical from her work, and why “finding umami” is important to figuring out the core mission of a company.
Bio
Vicki Tan is a Staff Product Designer at Pinterest. Earlier in her career, she was an Associate Principal Product Designer at Spotify, a senior product designer at Headspace, worked on communication and UX design at Google, and product design at Lyft. According to Frank Yoo, design director at Lyft, Vicki “is positive and thoughtful and puts as much care into people and teams as she does creating the artifacts themselves.”
***
Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Upgrade to paid
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Methodical Coffee: Join us for a coffee break with our friends at Methodical Coffee. In this segment, Methodical Coffee co-founder Will Shurtz teaches us how to select the right roast for our preferred flavor profile. Select your own preferred roast at methodicalcoffee.com, and use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order.
Zeplin: Few things frustrate designers quite as much as seeing the UI they’ve meticulously designed, botched when built out. But Zeplin can help you make every design-to-dev handoff efficient and accurate so you nail every release on time and on budget. Design Better listeners can get their first month of the Basic Plan free. Just go to zeplin.io and use code DESIGNBETTER to get your first month of the Basic Plan free.
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit. -
Sound is the unsung hero of interaction design. The iconic chorus you hear as you boot up your Mac, the double knock of an arriving Slack message, and the ascending notes Airpods make as they connect to a device all provide context and feedback without visual interactions. Without sound in our design toolbox, interacting with technology would be much more cumbersome.
Connor Moore has helped companies like Tesla, Uber, Peloton, and Youtube shape their brand and enhance the user experience through sound design.
We spoke with Connor about how he found a career in sound design, his creative process and the tools he uses, and how sound shapes a brand experience.
***
Premium Episodes on Design Better
This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, early and discounted access to workshops, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
We’re also hosting a monthly welcome call on Zoom, where new subscribers can say hi, meet other members, and let us know what you are most excited to learn about and be inspired by.
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Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Methodical Coffee: Join us for a coffee break in this episode with our friends at Methodical Coffee. In this segment, Methodical Coffee co-founder Will Shurtz teaches us how to select the right roast for our preferred flavor profile.
Select your own preferred roast at methodicalcoffee.com, and use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order.
Zeplin: Few things frustrate designers quite as much as seeing the UI they’ve meticulously designed, botched when built out. But Zeplin can help you make every design-to-dev handoff efficient and accurate so you nail every release on time and on budget. Design Better listeners can get their first month of the Basic Plan free. Just go to zeplin.io and use code DESIGNBETTER to get your first month of the Basic Plan free.
LinkedIn: Design Better is supported by our pals at LinkedIn—our favorite social network. It’s hard to get your B2B marketing to land with the right audience. Let’s face it, the web can be a very noisy place! If your message isn’t targeted to the right audience—it just disappears into the noise.
With LinkedIn Ads, you can precisely reach the professionals who are more likely to find your ad relevant. With LinkedIn's targeting capabilities, you can reach people by job title, industry, company, and more. Start converting your B2B audience into high quality leads today. To get a $100 credit on your next campaign go to LinkedIn/designbetter to claim your credit. - Show more
