Episodes
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Felix is the Co-founder & CEO of ADPList and sets the vision and strategy for the company. Founded in 2021, the company grew into a global town square for expert knowledge, with 20K+ Mentors from companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Google, hosting over 100 million minutes of sessions on topics such as product design, product management, and coding in 140+ countries.
As a designer, Felix has embedded his creative roots in ADPList's culture, product, and community.
Featured on Forbes 30 under 30 Asia List and Tatler's Generation T Future Leader List in 2023. In 2021, ADPList raised $1.3 million from Sequoia Capital India and Goodwater Capital.
The Guest
Felix is the Co-founder & CEO of ADPList and sets the vision and strategy for the company. Founded in 2021, the company grew into a global town square for expert knowledge, with 20K+ Mentors from companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Google, hosting over 100 million minutes of sessions on topics such as product design, product management, and coding in 140+ countries.
As a designer, Felix has embedded his creative roots in ADPList's culture, product, and community.
Featured on Forbes 30 under 30 Asia List and Tatler's Generation T Future Leader List in 2023. In 2021, ADPList raised $1.3 million from Sequoia Capital India and Goodwater Capital.
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In our new episode, we delve into an enriching conversation with Ole Lutjens, exploring the fascinating evolution of design, both in his personal journey and the current technological landscape.
Ole shared captivating anecdotes, starting from his childhood fascination with Commodore 64, where coding ignited his passion for computer graphics.
His pivotal time at an art school in Germany saw a fusion of art and technology, experimenting with Hypercard on Macintosh computers, sparking his interest in motion graphics.Transitioning to the United States, Ole witnessed the shift from text-based interfaces to mouse-driven interactions, contributing to simulated computer interfaces for television crime shows during his college years.
Throughout our discussion, we navigated through the parallels between the early computing era and today's AI landscape, highlighting the importance for designers to adapt to a more probabilistic interface approach due to AI's influence.
Ole Lutjens currently serves as the VP of Product Design and Research at Udemy. During our conversation, he emphasized the challenges and opportunities brought forth by AI, emphasizing its role as a skill set and discussing the evolving nature of design interfaces in this technological age.
In this episode we talk about:
How early experiences blending art and technology shape your approach to design leadership today?
The transition from being a designer to managing your own business? How did this shift influence your perspective on design at scale?
The challenges faced in achieving a cohesive visual experience for Disney content, particularly concerning collaboration across different divisions?
How to navigate the balance between emotional resonance and content-centric interfaces when designing for brands like Disney, BMW, and Instagram?
What specific design philosophies or strategies did Disney Plus employ to prioritize clarity, simplicity, and swift content delivery in its user experience?
In what ways should we foresee AI becoming a game-changer in content creation and learning experiences, especially within platforms like Udemy?
Looking ahead, how is the evolving role of AI impacting creative teams and product development in the future?
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Ole!
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Episodes manquant?
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In the episode, together with Wolfgang we talk about what designers need to learn in order to become great design leaders, which kind of skills they need. And how do you push forward design ideas or innovation ideas within an organization and create a win-win between different stakeholders?
Wolfgang has a lot of experience in the space and giving a lot of talks on innovation, leadership, and design. He has gained a lot of experiences, both in the startup area, but then also agencies and enterprises, for example, at Nokia or SAP.In this episode, we look at:
What are the key elements of effective design leadership?
How important is clear communication in cross-departmental collaboration?
âIt's about teamwork and finding allies to make joint decisions for a great product experience.â
Why is it important to have allies who champion the cause of design within the company?
What are the benefits of designers proactively seeking out opportunities to contribute and solve problems within their organization?
"Proactivity and initiative are crucial for changing the perception of design within an organization."
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Wolfgang!
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In this episode of we engage in a captivating conversation with Sheng-Hung Lee, an accomplished design expert and a dedicated PhD researcher at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Sheng-Hung's journey in the realms of design, engineering, and academia has equipped him with a wealth of knowledge and insights, making this discussion truly enriching.
Through this engaging dialogue, we unravel intriguing topics at the crossroads of science, engineering, and design. Sheng-Hung passionately advocates for the necessity of constraints and friction in this intersection, underscoring how these elements serve as catalysts for innovation and the birth of creative solutions.
In the episode, we jump into:Intersection of science, engineering, and design.
Design in financial services.
How to balance design and engineering perspectives?
Sustainability and design in academic environments.
âAs designers and engineers, understanding the user's perspective is essential. It's like speaking a language that the user understands, and that language is empathy.â
What is the power of design in innovation?
"Innovation thrives in constraints. Constraints are not roadblocks; they're the creative boundaries within which we find our best solutions.â
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time, Sheng!
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In this episode, we explore the dynamic relationship between design as a creative discipline and the systems and tools that shape this creativity, for better or for worse. We delve into the importance of customizing design processes to allow designers to focus on the most impactful aspects of their work, including the strategic and psychological components of problem-solving.
Our guest, Don Norman, a renowned design expert with over four decades of experience in academia and industry, shares his insights on a range of design topics. We discuss the challenges designers face in avoiding quick assumptions and solutions when tackling design briefs and how to choose the most effective methods for problem-solving.
Don also offers guidance on incorporating principles of visual perception and affordance into the design process, as well as creating artificial friction in designs.
In addition, we explore the importance of designing for a better world and the role that sustainability and humanity-centeredness play in this process.
Don shares his thoughts on how designers can effectively communicate the value of design to business stakeholders and the common mistakes to avoid.
We also discuss the need for a different kind of design in the fifth industrial revolution and the arbitrary and artificial measurements that govern our lives.
Tune in to this episode for an engaging conversation on design's impact on the world and how designers can play a crucial role in shaping a better future.
In the episode, we jump into:
Design Industry / Role of designers - how is it changing?
What do you think are key challenges for people to communicate the âvalue of designâ to a business stakeholders? Common mistakes you see? What did you learn about framing design for business stakeholders?
How do you try to balance challenging the status quo and also pushing forward existing initiatives?
âHuman behavior brought our world to the brink, human behavior can save us.â
Why do we need to design a better world and what is broken?
"If design got us into todayâs mess, can design get us out?â
Why if Design is to Save the World, It Must Be a Different Kind of Design
"Almost Everything I see is Artificial"
"Almost Everything Artificial Has Been Designed"
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Don!
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In this episode, we delve into the relationship between design as a creative discipline and how systems and tools shape this creativity for better or worse.
We also talk about why it helps designers to customize their processes and how this allows designers to focus on where they can have the most impact, which is often the strategic side of design, as well as the psychological aspects of the creative problem-solving process.
In this episode, we look at:
How can you challenge the design brief while avoiding "quick assumptions/solutions"?
How do you choose the best methods to solve the problem (JTBD, Sprints, etc.)?
How do you incorporate principles of visual perception and affordance into your design process?
How do you create artificial friction in your designs?
How can designers envision the future using today's tools?
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Mustafa!
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The Guest
Mustafa is a Staff Product Designer at Twitter working on design systems.
Previously he was UX lead on install-ability on Chrome and Design Advocate at Google. His work involves bridging the Mobile and Desktop PWA Eng through cross-platform designs. He takes concepts through requirements docs to fully finished and implemented designs.
Also he was the UX design lead and manager for the Developer Relations Infrastructure team and launched Google.dev, a learning platform for developers.
He can create interactive prototypes, whiteboard/brainstorming, paper prototyping, and low and high fidelity mock-ups quickly. He is also a Design Sprint Master Trainer and has led numerous design sprints for Google's product teams and top-tier partners.
He has over twenty years of experience working with a variety of organizations, including News International, Middlesex University, Metro Newspaper, BBC/Arts Council of England, and Macmillan Publishing, in a variety of sectors, including publishing, charities, local, central government, education, and finance.
He has also been asked to write articles for the Times Online and.netmagazine, as well as to speak at Future of Web Design and London Web Meetup.
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The Guest
Lindsey Mosby is a partner in Prophetâs Austin office, specializing in healthcare transformation and innovation. For nearly two decades, she has worked to make healthcare more connected, compassionate, transparent, and, dare we say, delightful.
That necessitates thinking big, being brave, and listening well, all of which she has honed over her 20 years in design strategy and innovation. (Being a mom, a road warrior, an industry speaker, and auditioning for Lilith Fair also helped.) She focuses on envisioning and executing innovation programs that lead to a more human and sustainable healthcare ecosystem, working with both legacy and start-up healthcare players.
She previously led global strategic design for Philips Design and Philips Healthcare Transformation Services before joining Prophet. She spent seven years at frog Design building the healthcare practice from the ground up. Pfizer Consumer Health, the Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, UCSF, TEVA, Johnson & Johnson, AARP, Otsuka, Boston Scientific, Merck, Medtronic, and Cigna are among the key clients.
In addition to her work as a client advisor and team lead, Lindsey speaks on design strategy and healthcare experience innovation to audiences all over the world, including organizations in Copenhagen, Shanghai, Singapore, and Australia.
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In the episode, we focus on how to design and develop better healthcare experiences both digitally and physically, looking at the entire customer journey as well as opportunities for creating innovations when it comes to the power of cross-industry learning. So, what can we learn from the hospitality industry, What can we learn from the finance industry to improve health-care experiences.
In this episode, we look at:
What is the state of healthcare today?
What opportunities do designers have to influence the healthcare industry?
Are we making the move from "Healthcare as an event" to "Health as a journey and mindset"?
How do we shift from "solving" to "prevention" and become more strategic in this context?
In terms of experience design, what can the healthcare industry learn from the financial industry?
In a data-driven world, how is the concept of "personal advisor" changing?
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Lindsey!
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In EP75, we had the pleasure of speaking with James Martin, co-founder of BabyGiant Design Co. and the founder of Made By James, a brand-focused and design-led creative agency in the UK, also the author of the book "Made by James: The Honest Guide to Creativity and Logo Design" which was released this year.
His clients include The Chainsmokers, Michael Ray, and Carter McLean, as well as brands like Bishop Slayer Oyster Stout and Plastic Freedom.
James believes that there is no shortcut to creative freedom and a life of self-employment.
Being good at what you do isn't enough. His words of wisdom? Work with a team first to gain experience, then go out on your own once you've mastered prospecting, pricing, and presenting.
In this episode, James discusses how to systemize your creative design process and how designers can do so to scale their services and make them more efficient.
We also talk about what makes a great logo and how effective brand designs can help brands advance.
In this episode, we look at:
The commercial significance of a new logo design.
What is the most underrated aspect of a great brand and communication design?
How do you develop your design's narrative and strategy?
When it comes to new clients, how important is your "design style," or are you completely adaptable?
What is the most difficult aspect of selling brand design?
How do you explain the positive impact of a brand design project?
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, James!
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The Guest
In EP74, James Martin is the co-founder of BabyGiant Design Co. and the founder of Made By James, a brand-focused and design-led creative agency in the UK, also the author of the book "Made by James: The Honest Guide to Creativity and Logo Design" which was released this year.
Musical heavyweights like The Chainsmokers, Michael Ray, and Carter McLean are among his clients, as are brands like Bishop Slayer Oyster Stout and Plastic Freedom.
James Martin honed his illustration skills before becoming a self-described "bad" teacher and then a less-than-dedicated tattoo apprentice. He eventually worked in design agencies, honing his craft and gaining experience in order to launch his own brand and business.
In EP75 we interviewed James Martin, who is the founder of Made By James and Co-Founder of BabyGiant Design Co., a brand-focused and design-led creative agency in the UK.
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We had the pleasure of speaking with Liliia Mandrino, UX Director at EA Sports, on this episode.
She has also held the positions of Director of Product Design at Fitplan Technologies Inc., Head of Design Foundations (Global Design Language) at HomeAway, and Head of Design & Founder at Olilija DOO - as well as other businesses.
She has spent over ten years investing in continual independent training and skill development, including research, product design, behavioral psychology, and neuroscience.
In the episode, we learn how to create game designs. Games, like automobiles, are highly emotional products, and the design process differs significantly from that of a more utility-driven product, such as a financial application.
We also learn about multisensory design and the importance of conveying a story when it comes to user journeys, which we can apply to other goods after designing for such an emotional product.
In this episode, we look at:
What distinguishes the design process and needs of "creating gaming interfaces" from "common interfaces of digital consumer products"?
Do gaming interfaces foster / empower for creativity?
What are some of the most typical design issues in the gaming UX design space?
How does it affect "cognitive load" and other usability KPIs as game interfaces get more graphically emotional?
How do you strike a balance between the significance of an emotive narrative and design and rational usability considerations?
How does gaming behavior differ (and how does this affect design) across cultures and regions?
What hurdles will designers have while creating for the gaming industry, and what problems will they have to solve?
And plenty more!
Thank you very much for your time and knowledge, Liliia!
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The Guest
In EP74, Liliia Mandrino, UX Director at EA Sports, and we had a conversation about her work developing a top-tier design team and user experience design field.
Her interest has always been experience design. She adores the multisensory element of it, where music and haptics link what we see and do on the screen into enduring and empowering experiences.
She assists businesses in creating teams and digital goods.
To create things that people adore, Liliia is creating a platform for collaboration between many professions.
She bases her work on research and data-driven insights, which also aid teams in developing memorable and captivating experiences.
She has invested more than 10 years in ongoing independent training and skill development, including in the fields of research, product design, behavioral psychology, and neuroscience.
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We had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Lafata, VP of product management at Heal and former CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA/Lab1886 Daimler's USA, in this episode.
He has also worked as the Head of Design & Innovation at Laureti, the Experience Design Director at BCG Digital Ventures, the Design Director at Bird, the Director of User Experience at Qualcomm, and other companies.
Aside from being a great CEO, Design Director Paul distinguished himself by being a true intrapreneur, developing venture ideas, pitching them, and securing funding for them, as well as signing on investors and major clients.
In EP73 we discuss the differences between designing a digital automotive experience and designing a digital consumer app, as well as the opportunities for innovation, with Paul.
We also talk about the true meaning of good design leadership and how we are involved as a designer in building bridges with business stakeholders.
In the episode, we jump into:
How can designers have the most impact on their work from a business standpoint?
In the automotive industry, Where can designers have the most influence?
What new business models are emerging in the automotive industry, particularly in terms of digital products and innovation?
What are the opportunities and challenges for designers in the healthcare space?
How can digital innovation enable people to receive more measurable assistance?
What are the main obstacles to communicating the "value of design" to business stakeholders?
How should design be integrated into an organization to be most effective?
And many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and your learning Paul!
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The Guest
Paul Lafata is the VP of Product Management & Design at Heal.
He is a product creator, startup builder, and team leader.
He has over 20 years of experience working in design firms, consultancies, tech behemoths, and media conglomerates as a Product Designer, Creative Director, and Venture Studio CEO.
Paul creates consumer products with the goal of providing unique and seamless CX (customer experiences) in healthcare, mobility services, IOT devices, and media.
He guides multidisciplinary teams through the product development process's stages of innovation, incubation, and commercialization.
He has also worked as a product manager and design leader at Heal, Mercedes, BCG Digital Ventures, Bird, Qualcomm, and Nokia, where he built and led teams to create digital products and services.
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In EP72, we are talking with Jan-Erik Baars
Currently, Jan-Erik is head of the CAS in Design Management at the University of Applied Science in Lucerne, Switzerland.
He also does research on the aspects of organizational maturity, design leadership and customer-centricity.
As a result, he created the Customer Centricity Score (CCS) and is the author of the book âLeading Designâ, a hand and brain book to develop design-led organizations.
He is recognised as one of the leading experts in design management and led the Bachelor Program in Design Management in Lucerne from 2011 to 2019.
He also lectures at universities in Germany and the Netherlands.
In the episode, we talk about how the future of mysticism relies on the ability to design and create many companies onto the track after a certain time to assist to focus too much on the business administration of existing processes rather than creating new ones.
In the episode, we jump into:
What are some of the mistakes design leaders are doing and what would recommend them to do?
Why are many organisations âlosing the ability to design/createâ and why is the future relying on that?
How to help businesses succeed through creativity and design.
What are the key challenges for people to communicate the âvalue of designâ with business stakeholders?
How designers should be integrated into an organisation to be most effective?
And many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and your learning Jan!
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The Guest
Jan-Erik Baars heads the CAS in Design Management at the University of Applied Science (HSLU) in Lucerne, Switzerland, and does research in the field of design management and customer-centricity.
Furthermore, he is a member of the board at Vetica AG, a Swiss design agency, and co-owner of Customer Metrics AG, a Swiss-based service agency.
He is a recognized expert in design management and the author of many publications in this field. He lives in Germany, close to the Dutch border.
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âIf you know every single thing, then itâs hard to think outside of the boxâ
â TESLIM ALABI
Buckle up for a fresh episode of Designdrives, where you can learn from the worldâs best and most forward-thinking design minds.
In EP71, as inspirational as it was, we had a great time hosting Teslim Alabi, who serves as a Product Design Lead at Netflix, the leading streaming entertainment service in the world with 200+ million paid memberships.
During Teslimâs decorated career before Netflix, he worked at one of the âBig Fiveâ in Silicon Valley, Microsoft for almost 5 years, and co-founded and led the design team for Project Moca a.k.a. Outlook Spaces.
We talk about his life experiences, challenges that he faced and also the story behind starting the social enterprise called Leads By Design, to actualize the mission of inspiring people from underrepresented backgrounds and underserved communities.
In 2017 Teslim co-founded Seattle-based watch company, James & Muriel and led end-to-end for both industrial and product design teams on some high-end timekeeping instrument projects.
During the episode, we chat about how he used a âyes mindsetâ to gain opportunities and get ahead in his career and also how his background as a designer coming from Nigeria make an impact to make organizations more customer-centric.
We also chat about designing at Netflix, what makes their design culture more special and share some thoughts and predictions on what lies ahead for designers working in the media and entertainment industry.
In the episode, we jump into:
The power of creative ignorance in innovation.
What are the opportunities and challenges in the entertainment content space and where can designers have the biggest impact?
New content models with growth in contexts of digital products and innovation?
What are the key challenges for people to communicate the âvalue of designâ with business stakeholders?
Role of the designer working in the entertainment industry in the future.
and many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and your learning Teslim!
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The Guest
Teslim Alabi is a Product design lead, Entrepreneur and Mentor, currently at Netflix who is passionate about creating delightful and intuitive human-centred experiences at scale through innovation and product strategy.
âPrior to Netflix, he worked at Microsoft for almost 5 years, scaling innovative products, building 0 to 1 projects and leading design on several features and tools that help hundreds of millions of people worldwide be more productive.
In 2020, He co-founded and co-invented a canvas-based technology named Project Moca a.k.a Outlook Spaces for organizing artifacts around projects and goals, leveraging it to explore the next frontier of connected collaboration and time management.
With a background in Computer Science and Digital Media, he has explored storytelling and problem solving through various mediums like video games, animation and visual design.
Teslim strongly believes in the value and power of mentorship, and views it as a way for anyone to pay it forward.
He founded the Leads By Design Fellowship to inspire more people from underrepresented backgrounds and underserved communities to pursue careers in tech and to thrive.
Also he co-founded and serves as the Design Director at James & Muriel, a watch brand based out of Seattle.
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âDesignâs superpower is to evolve abstract into concreteâ
â DOGAN SEKERCIOGLU
In this episode, we chat with Dogan Sekercioglu, who is a former Industrial Design Lead from IDEO and currently works on future robotic and medical designs at Intuitive in California.
With Dogan we chat about the interplay between abstract and concrete and how itâs actually a superpower of the designer.
Throughout the episode, he shares his learnings from projects where he had worked, which made a positive impact on the world.
We also talk about his experiences working on sustainability design projects and how changing the question from solving to reducing can actually open up new opportunities for innovation that might be just an iteration but also a step forward because moving is better than not moving.
In the episode, we jump into:
The role of advanced design when it comes to designing complex systems.
How can constraints and requirements and fighting them, and questioning them could lead to product innovation?
What are the key challenges in designing in the medical space?
Why is âcreativeâ not a department but a culture?
and many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learning Dogan!
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The Guest
Dogan Sekercioglu is currently a Senior Industrial Designer at Intuitive, focusing on developing human-centred solutions to improve patient outcomes in minimally invasive robotic surgery.
His previous consulting experience at IDEO as an industrial design lead spans medical tools & robotics, autonomous mobility UX, lifestyle, and consumer electronics.
He has helped shape future product experiences for Johnson & Johnson (Auris), Ford, ConAgra, Biotronik, Medtronic, Atlas Copco, Timberland, Jordan, and Cisco.
Dogan is passionate about infusing human insights with craft excellence to deliver delightful products.
He has deep experience designing for dynamic hardware systems such as autonomous vehicles and robotics, seeking design opportunities in often ignored physical transitions.
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"Every project needs to start with inspiration" - Hussain Almsosawi.
In this episode, we had the pleasure to chat with Hussain Almsosawi.
Hailing from Bahrain, 3D motion designer Hussain Almsosawi has since moved to Brooklyn, New York, and started his own studio â Mossawi Studios.
Across his exciting career, which is equally striking as it is satisfying, Hussain has worked for huge brands, including Adidas Football, Adidas Basketball and EA.
The strength of Hussainâs work lies in its confident simplicity, flourishing in intelligently reserved aesthetics and concept.
Aside from some of these projects with the big brands in the industry, a massive part of his self-initiated projects has led him to gain a large following on social media, with followers captivated by his gratifying and eye-catching outcomes.In the episode, we jump into:
What are common challenges in CGI projects?
At what part of the process to bring in advanced visualization? (Early-phase vs final renderings)
How will âdesigning in real-time renderingâ change the design process?
How will digital and physical be coming together in the world of design?
What will the metaverse and "instant real-time visualization" mean for the future of design?
and many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learning Hussain!
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The Guest
Hussain Almossawi is an international designer based in New York City who has worked on various products across different industries worldwide.
Hussain began his career designing official websites and logos for NBA players such as Derrick Rose, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady.
He also designed official websites for Adidas Basketball.
Almossawi created Type Fluid, a 3-D typography experiment. He was named one of Fast Company'sCompany's ""10 Inspiring Type Designers From A New Generation"".
In 2016 he designed a pair of sneakers based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with footwear designer Quintin Williams. That same year, Almossawi created Enfuse, a custom tea maker.
A significant part of his work has been working with world-famous companies such as Nike, Adidas, EA Sports, Ogilvy & Mather, and other world-known brands.
He currently works out of his Mossawi Studios in New York.
Mossawi Studios is a multi-disciplinary studio specialized in creating memorable, iconic, and bold experiences, blurring the lines between CGI, VFX, and Product Design.
From 2018 to 2019, Hussain Almossawi was an adjunct professor at The New School.
He taught Human factors and ergonomics and now serves as a member of the advisory panel for Pace University'sUniversity's Lubin School of Business in New York, Design Thinking Program.
He is a frequent public speaker and has presented workshops and designs at Bike to the Future, Solidworks Conference in Bologna, Saudi Design Week, and -ING Creative Festival in Dubai.
He frequently publishes design tutorials and articles in magazines and trade publications.
His designs have been featured in publications such as Wired UK, Motor1.com, Mashable, Auto Motor und Sport, Highsnobiety, Fast Company, Yanko Design, SoccerBible, Hypebeast, Gizmodo, and Adobe'sAdobe's Substance 3D Magazine.
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âFailing is the first ingredient of designâ
â SAMUEL NORTHWAY
In this episode, we had the pleasure to chat with Samuel Northway, Head of Product Design at Mason.
In the past, he worked as VP of Brand Product Design at Goldman Sachs, worked as a lead designer on Deloitte and as Design Director at AT&T, among many other experiences.
We talk about his mindset and motivation for working in the creative industry during the episode. And uncover many insights on approaching innovation projects or innovation in general without getting burned out and creating shared ownership, which is critical for innovation to move forward.
We also talk about how he has grown in design maturity at Goldman Sachs and his learnings as a designer and leader. And what opportunities designers have when changing industries, and how to overcome the fear of leaving your company.
Further, we also explore the intersection of physical and digital design and how new business models actually bring both aspects closer together.
In the episode, we jump into:
How to empower and manage design teams?
What are the challenges when you are confronted with new environments/companies as a designer and how do you overcome them?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of designers switching between industries?
What impact can designers create in the future?
What are the key challenges for designers to communicate the âvalue of designâ to business stakeholders?
and many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learning Samuel!
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The Guest
Samuel Nothway is an Executive Design Director with a broad background across industries in data-driven design systems, software/hardware development, and product/brand strategy.
Samuel enjoys leading teams working closely with clients and internal partners to develop and execute user-centric products and branded experiences.
Through understanding and empathizing with the needs of users/customers, his research and design work focuses on delivering experiences that elevate the brand and enhance the consumer's everyday lives.
Samuel solves complex challenges for his clients and their brands using new technologies and age-old techniques.
Talking about his career, which started in 2007 as an assistant photographer & art curator, by 2016, he was Design Director at AT&T for innovation planning.
After the Lead Product Designer at Deloitte Digital and VP Product Design, Private Wealth Management, then VP Brand & Product Design, Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs now, he is serving as Head of Product Design at Mason.
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âIf itâs not Co-Created it will fundamentally fail â
â SCOTT ROBINSON
In this episode, we had the pleasure to chat with Scott Robinson, Founder and CEO of FreshForm. A customer and UX agency based in San Diego.
When it comes to design, Scott Robinson thinks Frank Lloyd Wright said it best: âForm follows functionâthat has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.â
Robinson takes that advice to heart, leveraging human-centred design principles to grow and differentiate brands in today's ever-changing digital landscape, including Acura, Honda, Ballast Point, Facebook, Intel, ExxonMobil, Qualcomm and the University of San Diego.
Robinson has been in the field of design and marketing for nearly 20 years and at the helm of FreshForm since 2001 and remains intensely passionate about the intersection of marketing, design, technology, innovation and consumer behaviour in the digital age.
We've got a chat about how human-centred design is changing as humans evolve but also the environment of humans becomes increasingly technological.
We also dive into the difference and intersection of CX design and EX design, further Scott does play a key role in the context of design capital 2024, which will be a collaboration between San Diego and Tijuana in Mexico, in the episode we learn about what makes the region special and unique
In the episode, we jump into:
âïžDesigning for humans and technology in harmony.
âïžWhy Co-Creation is critical for innovations to survive?
âïžWhy great CX Design requires great EX (Employee Experience) Design?
âïžHow technology is becoming an extension of the human body, and how to design for it?
âïžThe mission and journey behind the Design Capital 2024 (San Diego and Tijuana)
and many more!
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learning Scott!
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The Guest
Scott Robinson is the founder of FreshForm, an experience design consultancy that leverages a combination of design thinking, business thinking and customer experience principles to grow and differentiate companies.
Scott has been in the field of design and digital experiences for over 20 years and at the helm of FreshForm since 2001.
Scott is an advocate for the business value of design and was the Founding President of the Design Forward Alliance from 2016-2020, where he led the non-profit to bid and win the designation of World Design Capital 2024 for the San Diego/Tijuana region.
Scott is intensely interested in the intersection of design, technology, business and human behaviour in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
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"The circular design is about really eliminating the concept of waste by designing it in a way that every material can be reused." - Karel J. Golta
Circular design: the next step of design thinking?
Circular design, by bringing the subject of resources to the forefront, also creates an opportunity to integrate increasingly more important strategic dimensions in an ever-changing world.
Shifting to a circular mindset when it comes to design can prove to be delicate.
Thrilled to launch our EP66 which is all about circular design thinking.
In this episode, we had the pleasure to chat with Karel J. Golta, Founder and CEO of INDEED Innovation, about circular design, strategic innovation, and speculative design.
His team had the chance to bring a strong perspective of circular design into recent projects and he shares the learnings on scaling from user-centric design to circular design.
Where not just incorporate more data and more stakeholders into the project but also approach your design with a new mindset.
Further, we also discussed the overlap between speculative design and circular design.
We also talk about AI and how the tools and the processes actually going to change and influence the future job of the designer.
In the episode, we jump into,
How to design for circularity.
The role of ESGs for designers.
User-centered design vs circular design.
Why sustainability requires system thinking.
Creating frameworks for circularity.
Importance of Co-Creation on designing a circular product.
Why designers should be more focused on the circular design.
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learning Karel!
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The Guest
A humane innovation advocate, Karel J. Golta is on a mission to reverse human impact on the planet by using the power of design to build a more livable future for all life on earth.
With the undeniable effects of climate change and major planetary boundaries at tipping points, Karel demands for businesses and innovation to turn their focus from a human-centric model to a planet-centric one in order to preserve not only humanity, but our entire global ecosystem.
A strong believer in boldness and courage, he never does things halfway. The declared business romantic thrives when he is contributing and sharing visionary ideas with others â whether as an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, lecturer or author.
As founder of multiple companies and CEO of INDEED Innovation Karel loves to discuss big ideas, poke at rigid thinking, and ultimately unearth previously unrealized possibilities.
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âWith Play, we just serve up all of these amazing things that Apple has created and give designers the ability to kind of play in the sandbox that Apple has created we layer our essentially our play UI on top o that and we give them the properties to manipulate.â â Dan LaCivita
What if it were possible to design and build a mobile product all on your phone â and what if it were a better way of working?
As designers, we are used to designing on our computer - which is often not the end-device of interaction. There are easy ways to transfer the content to phones but with our new guest Dan LaCivita we discuss a bold new idea:
What if you could design directly on your phone and it would be even better then designing on a different device?
Are a keyboard, mouse, and desktop the best tools for creating mobile products⊠or have they become barriers?
That question started the journey of what came to be Play which Dan founded together with colleagues.
Play is the first native iOS design tool built for creating mobile products.
What does it mean for the future of design?
Design, iterate, and collaborate directly from your phone, experiencing your design as you create it while taking full advantage of native iOS features to bring your product to life.
We are thrilled to launch our EP65 with Dan LaCivita, Co-Founder of Play.
In the episode, we chat about the role of mobile interactions for innovation.
Also why innovation often starts by saying "NO" when it comes to product requirements. The approach of focus actually opens up the field for innovation.
We also dig into cross-device interaction and his experience leading a major design agency in New York called Firstborn, which got later acquired where you can learn about how to run a large design business and grow it even further.
Thanks a lot for your time and for your learnings Dan!*************
The Guest
Dan LaCivita is an entrepreneur and servant leader who has built, grown and led successful teams and businesses in the digital space for over 15 years.
His latest venture, Play, is transforming how teams create mobile products by empowering them to design, build and experience their product in real timeâall on the medium theyâre designing forâtheir phone.
Previously, as CEO of award-winning agency Firstborn, Dan led teams to create powerful digital products and experiences for a client roster that includes PepsiCo, LâOrĂ©al, Adidas, S&P Global, Supercell, Jet & NYU Langone.
Under his guidance, Firstbornâs work has been recognized with numerous awards including Clios, Cannes Lions and One Show Pencils; the agency, itself, has been placed on prestigious rosters such as Fast Companyâs Most Innovative Companies (2x), Advertising Ageâs Agency A List and Crainâs Best Places to Work in New York City (4x).
A thoughtful commentator thanks to his diverse roles within the industry, Dan has penned his point of view for Fast Company, Forbes, Advertising Age and Adweek and has spoken at the Financial Times, Ad Age Digital, 99U and FITC conferences, to name a few.
Dan was also named to the 4Aâs â100 People Who Make Advertising Greatâ list, Direct Marketing News' 2016 '40 Under 40' list and sat on the Digital Board of Directors of the 4A's.
Outside of work, Danâs passions include participating in GORUCK Challenges, team-based endurance events that push your physical and mental limits.
Inside and outside the office, Dan can often be found shuffling a deck of cardsâa nod to his passion for the art of close-up magic.
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âThereâs such a business aspect to design that doesnât exist in the creative artistic world, and we got to remember that when we are doing design itâs artistic by nature but itâs a lot different than artâ
â MICHAEL JANDA
So you are planning to launch your own creative business or youâve already launched, and youâre starting to grow.
Thatâs great!
But good growth wonât just happen. Just like a junior designer starts with small projects and slowly builds skills, a new business needs time to mature, test new ideas, and prepare itself, too.
We are happy to tell you that this episode is packed with tips and strategies that can help you with your business.
In EP64 we chat with Michael Janda on the intersection of business and design.
We talk about how you set up a design agency so you can actually sell the business at some point and also how you scale the design business and drive sales.
That means how you get clients or get better ones and how you can convince them to spend more money with you.
We also drive into some of the biggest mistakes designers are doing, and how you can communicate the value of design towards business and marketing in the most powerful way.
Mike is running one of our absolute favorite Instagram channels where he inspires and shares his insights on business aspects of design.
So we are really honored to have him on the show.
With Mike, we jump into;
Why systemising the business is key.
How to design your business as a system.
How to communicate design deliveries when negotiating with clients.
Communicating the positive business impact of design.
Disadvantages of value-based pricing.
How to find new customers and boost sales.
How to convince price-sensitive customers to invest into design.
Thanks a lot for your time and for learning Mike!
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The Guest
Michael Janda is an award-winning creative director, designer, and agency veteran.
In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, which provided design and development services for clients that included Disney, Google, Warner Bros., Fox, NBC, ABC, National Geographic and many other high-profile brands.
Michael sold his agency in 2015 and now spends his time speaking, developing books, courses, and social media content to help creatives level up.
He is the author of âBurn Your Portfolioâ and âThe Psychology of Graphic Design Pricingâ
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"Unfortunately or fortunately UX design is now being the hot topic everybody wants to give you suggestions. So how not get irritated but understand that why people are showcasing so much of interest is because our discipline matters and take it constructively and take that opportunity to educate people about not being a pretty picture but how it is driving strategy is important." - Kadambari Sahu.
We are super excited to launch another episode of Designdrives where we explore why, how, and what design drives forward.
In EP63 We chat with Kadambari Sahu SVP Design at ValueLabs, about her learnings working as a design leader for many years.
Recently she has been winning many global design awards and building up her design competence at Value Labs India.
Kadambari creates design cultures by infusing design thinking within organizations and businesses to create a holistic strategy and marketing experience.
We learn how she positioned up and build design within the company from scratch and grow raw responsibilities of design and value of design within the organization.
We also have a super interesting chat on one of her most awarded projects called "Sniffing out the differences" where we not only learn about the challenges and opportunities designing with smell as a creative medium but also the business value considering it in a commercial setup and what it could be if brands would invest into the design with sniffing.
With Kad, we jump into;
What were the key challenges that she had to face in the âSniffing out the differencesâ project?
How can interaction designers and companies incorporate the sense of smell more into their projects?
What are the positive outcomes when designing with the âsmell in mindâ.
How does she grow and position design within the company?
What strategies she uses to communicate the business value to design.
Thanks a lot for your time and for learning Kad!
*****
The Guest
Kadambari Sahu is a Design Leader, working as SVP Design at ValueLabs.
She founded the award-winning design team, User Experience Group at ValueLabs, and is currently leading 50+ designers to create world-class and award-winning products and services to have a positive impact on businesses.
Kad is the founder of Sniffing out the Differences collective, which started with the grant received from Prince Claus Fund and the British Council to explore storytelling through multisensory installation with a focus on smell interactions.
Her forte lies in building, growing, coaching, and mentoring high-performance design teams from scratch.
She creates a design culture by infusing design thinking within organizations and businesses to create a holistic strategy and customer experience.
Her practice in design allows her to work on intangible and tangible aspects of design breaking the boundaries between physical, digital, and service design and creating a seamless experience across media, devices, touchpoints, cultures, and geographies.
She has worked for clients across geographies spanning, North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
She has won many awards for her work.
The latest includes Red Dot awards 2020, Vega Digital Award, DNA Paris 20 awards for Interactivity and Graphics, Indiaâs Best Design Project 2019, Indiaâs Best in-house design team, and many others.
She has been part of many national and international fellowships such as BMW Doathon, VR storytelling guild, etc.
She is an international speaker on design and has given talks at many design conferences such as Interaction 20, Interaction 18, organized by IxDA, UXindia, and many others.
She is on the international committee of World interaction design day and organizes and hosts the same in Hyderabad.
She is an alumna of the National Institute of Design, India, where she did her Post-graduation in New Media Design, which has led her to examine the impact that technologies have on human interactions and culture.
She has been curious about the role of design in everyday life and how human interactions can be mediated, shaped, enhanced, or augmented by technologies.
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