User Defenders – UX Design & Personal Growth

Welcome to this very special, quite literally out of this world episode with my father, G.A. “Jim” Ogle. You know how they say it doesn’t take a rocket scientist? Well, my Dad is one. On a recent vacation to Florida to celebrate his 80th birthday, he spent nearly three hours telling me his compelling story. G.A. "Jim" Ogle fell in love with airplanes at the early age of 8 years old. The circumstances that presented this initial passion were far from ideal. He was recovering in a hospital bed following a 7-hour surgery to essentially re-attach his badly mangled right leg from a horrible school bus wreck. He awoke from the operation to see a model airplane hanging down from a wooden structure over his bed that was to be used as a traction device to slowly pull his left leg back into place. It was broken at the hip and rammed almost three inches into his lower torso. His injuries would prevent him from being a pilot in the Air Force. But this reality would not deter him from being in the air with airplanes because 12 years later he became involved in space with missiles and rockets on his first job at Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1958. This was the beginning of his 51-year career of being associated with every manned moon mission and all 135 Space Shuttle missions. He finally got his layoff notice along with 8,000 other space workers following the final Shuttle mission, STS-135, in July 2011. He likes to tell folks questioning his unusual longevity in this field that he was fortunate to be “in the right place at the right time and the right age.” He considers himself blessed for having had the opportunity to be a part of this truly exciting time in America’s beginnings in space. Fun fact: Jim requires 10 lemons and multiple servings of tartar sauce with every seafood meal. The last lemon squeeze after the meal is used to clean his hands! Tragic Beginnings (08:50) Missiles (21:58) Meeting Wernher von Braun (42:36) Apollo I Fire (48:36) Moon Missions (55:55) How in the World Was this Possible? (67:27) Space Shuttle (87:57) Challenger: What Went Wrong? (105:35) Columbia: What Went Wrong? (112:08) Next Chapter of Space Travel (118:50) Takeaways from Space Stories (132:32) What Drove You to Overcome Your Adversity? (136:15) Advice for Those in the Midst of Adversity (139:48) In Closing (144:11) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen's astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/rocketman

Joshua Oluwagbemiga motivates us to allow different inputs to influence our visual outputs. He shows us the effective power of determination when pursuing the craft of design. He also reminds us that inspiration is all around us...if we’re looking for it. Secret Identity/Origin Story (7:05) Biggest Superhero (18:50) Biggest Failure (22:26) Awkward Testing Story (26:14) Design Superpower (29:59) Design Kryptonite (30:55) UX Superhero Name (33:37) Fights for Users (35:15) Habit of Success (38:21) Invincible Resource (40:55) Recommended Book (43:29) Listener Question (45:40) Best Advice (51:07) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/044 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.  

On this special episode, Eric Meyer, Jeffrey Zeldman and I discuss the premiere web and UX design conference they started over a decade ago. We talk about the game-changing innovations that have come out of An Event Apart, as well as what to expect at User Defenders' very first Denver appearance on December 11-13, 2017.

Rachel Nabors gives us a deep-dive into the art & science of web animation. She motivates us to sell animation as a UX enhancement, rather than a delight factor. She also exhorts us to animate ethically and responsibly. Animation Origin Story (5:44) Getting Animation Buy-off (14:01) Animation is Not About Delight (20:47) Do I Have to Draw to Animate? (33:42) Web Animation Resources (36:41) Future of Banner Ads (46:27) Listener Question (50:59) 24 Hour Comic (55:44) Check out the detailed show notes at userdefenders.com/aaw This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.  

Laura Klein shows us how User Experience happens whether we design it intentionally or not. She paints a picture of what the the future of UX Design looks like. She teaches us if we’re too close to a project, we ought to step back and let others do the research. She also uses a really effective medical analogy to remind us of the value of specialization. Secret Identity (5:44) Origin Story (10:56) Where is Design Going? (16:04) Do Titles Matter? (24:50) It Just Works? (29:20) Is Everyone a Designer? (32:56) What Drew you to User Research? (39:16) Awkward Testing Story (44:44) Listener Question? (49:58) Habit of Success (55:42) Invincible Resource (59:24) Recommended Book (63:00) Best Advice (65:30) Contact Info (68:55) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/043 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Dan Brown inspires us to get great at asking questions because 'the question' is one of our most invincible resources. He reminds us to maintain a spirit of collaboration with the the team members we’re struggling with since they care as much about the project as we do. He encourages us to always peer beneath the surface at the underlying structure of whatever we’re working on. He also motivates us to never settle. Secret Identity (7:47) Origin Story (9:29) Biggest Failure (20:23) Awkward Testing Story (23:27) Design Superpower (28:04) Design Kryptonite (30:52) UX Superhero Name (33:50) Fights for Users (36:08) Habit of Success (40:54) Invincible Resource (43:27) Recommended Book (51:23) Practical Design Discovery (53:40) Overcoming Team Tension (57:00) Best Advice (69:04) Contact Info (71:48) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/042 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Matt Griffin shows us how empathy and sensitivity to the world around us is the key to great design. He teaches us how as a leader, the worst decision is no decision. He explains how hands are his most invincible UX resource or tool. He also inspires us starting out to take 'every damn opportunity we can get'. Secret Identity (4:46) Origin Story (7:18) Bearded Closing its Doors (17:04) Biggest Failure (31:45) Awkward Testing Story (43:21) Design Superpower (45:44) Design Kryptonite (46:54) UX Superhero Name (50:07) Fights for Users (51:48) Habit of Success (63:25) Invincible Resource (65:22) Recommended Book (70:54) Best Advice (78:12) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/041 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Laura Elizabeth believes developers can learn design. She articulates the importance of reflecting on our users’ needs more than our personal tastes. She touches on how making a product makes us better designers. She also inspires us to always be genuine in our dealings with our customers if we want to build (and keep) trust. Secret Identity (4:05) Origin Story (9:55) Biggest Superhero (13:32) Biggest Failure (16:23) Design Superpower (20:54) Transition from Freelance to Product (23:04) Design Kryptonite (26:13) Design Superhero Name (29:34) Should Developers Design? (34:10) Habit Of Success (42:59) Invincible Resource (48:55) Book Recommendation (52:09) Listener Question (54:58) Best Advice (59:39) Connect & Keep Up (64:08) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/040 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

Joe Leech shows us how psychology helps frame what we’re seeing in user research. He articulates why the superpower we need is understanding how business works. He inspires us get out of our seat and talk to executives in the organization more about the business. He also challenges us to not just always be shipping, but always be shipping the right things. Secret Identity/Origin Story (4:39) Biggest Superhero (14:50) Biggest Failure (22:37) Awkward Testing Story (30:03) Design Superpower (32:03) Design Kryptonite (33:34) Design Superhero Name (36:52) Fight For Users (42:03) Psychology & Design (43:05) Habit Of Success (49:48) Invincible Resource (51:26) Book Recommendation (54:40) Best Advice (57:49) Contact Info (59:46) Check out the detailed show notes and Eli Jorgensen’s astonishing superhero artwork at userdefenders.com/039 This episode is brought to you by Adobe, makers of XD. Try it free at userdefenders.com/xd Get your FREE audiobook from Audible at userdefenders.com/freebook. No commitment. Cancel in 30 days, and you won't be charged. The book is still yours to keep.

"Do yourself a favor and show this to as many people as you possibly can, because this is going to be the world that we’ll be living in. Being able to show this to somebody and see that click happen, and hear them say, ‘Oh my God, my whole life just changed’ is a really cool thing to witness." – Austin Knight Check out the detailed show notes at userdefenders.com/mr-2