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Fuego’s podcast series interviews design and product leaders and covers the latest in user experience.
Subscribe to YouTube ChannelOn this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Christopher Nguyen, Founder of UX Playbook. They discuss the shortcomings of current UX education, emphasizing the need for practical, real-world experience and soft skills development. Christopher explains his initiative to make UX education more accessible through playbooks, courses, and coaching. Join the conversation as Christopher and host Alex Smith delve into the challenges of UX education.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Su Milazzo, Sr Manager of Design and Product Operations. Su shares insights of her journey to Design Ops, highlighting pivotal moments and challenges along the way. She discusses the evolution of her role, emphasizing the importance of addressing communication gaps and streamlining processes within design teams. Su provides valuable advice for individuals aspiring to enter design ops, stressing the significance of understanding change management and fostering empathy towards team members.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Louis Rosenfeld, Publisher and Founder at Rosenfeld Media. The conversation delves into Rosenfeld's journey into publishing and the emphasis on publishing books on user experience design. They discuss how to successfully structure a conference environment, and what the next big UX book to hit the shelves should be about.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Sam Horner, Head of Apps UX at Google Play, takes us on a journey through his extensive career in design, from his beginnings at the BBC to his current role at Google. Sam shares insights on fostering creativity in UX design teams, emphasizing the importance of finding moments of creative peace and empowerment. He discusses the evolution of mobile devices and the future of user interfaces, highlighting the need for technology to adapt to users' specific needs. Sam also offers valuable advice for both new designers and managers.
On this Design Leader Insights episode, Alex Smith chats with Farid Sabitov, DesignOps Consultant at EPAM Systems. Over the past couple of years, Farid has focused on design operations, particularly in areas like content design, product design, and design systems. His expertise lies in evolving practices and defining metrics to communicate value within large organizations. The discussion touches on the importance of strategic metrics, particularly in the context of design system adoption. Farid advocates for breaking down silos between design ops, product ops, and dev ops, highlighting the need for collaboration and visualizing the product development lifecycle.
In this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex Smith interviews Ridhima Gupta, Lead Product Designer at Databricks. Ridhima shares her journey in UX, starting as an architecture student and transitioning into digital design during the rise of mobile apps. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the product, domain, and users when designing in complex spaces. They discuss the challenges of catering to diverse user personas in the ML field and she advocates for designers to diversify their skill sets, including coding and technical aspects, to enhance collaboration with engineers and product teams.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with J.B. Chaykowsky, Global Design Leader at Intuit. They discuss the transformative impact of AI on the design landscape. J.B. Chaykowsky emphasizes the need for designers to navigate the evolving role of AI carefully, ensuring that they continue to add value in a world where AI democratizes design creation. He also provides valuable advice for designers entering the field today, encouraging them to embrace the 'high minimum' and focus on continuous improvement in their field.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Calvin Robertson, Sr Director, Experience Design - Best Buy. Calvin delves into the nuanced challenges of balancing digital and human interactions, especially at a retail giant like Best Buy. The conversation with Alex Smith covers the importance of understanding customers' diverse behaviors and needs while embracing both DIY and assisted shopping experiences. Calvin also shares valuable leadership insights, emphasizing the need for design leaders to empower their teams and delegate effectively.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Tommy Geoco, Owner and Educator at UX Tools. In April 2022, he embraced education for design, founding uxtools.co in 2024. Alex and Tommy discuss the changes to the freelance industry, and hustle culture. He advises new designers to gain experience, and encourages content creation as a powerful tool for personal and professional growth. Tommy also shares insights on starting a business, differentiating between performance and value activities, and avoiding burnout.
On this episode of Design Leader Insights, Alex chats with Glen Lipka, VP, Product Design at CrowdStrike. Glen Lipka advocates for improving design education to equip young designers with practical skills and a deeper understanding of the industry. Additionally, Lipka delves into the concept of design fundamentals, using examples from Salesforce and Excel to illustrate the importance of designing for functionality rather than just aesthetics. He encourages designers to envision a better future and leverage their superpower of imagining and illustrating a compelling vision.