The Experience Designers

What happens when leadership training stops being something you sit through and becomes something you step inside?In this episode, theatre director and experience designer Donnacadh O’Briain shares the story of a bold leadership programme that replaced slides, frameworks, and role-play with a fully immersive live theatre experience. Set inside a 1930s dockyard, leaders became participants in an unfolding story forced to navigate complex conversations, power dynamics, trust, and decision-making in real time.Together, Steve and Donnacadh explore why theatre creates deeper learning, how immersion accelerates behavioural change, and what organisations can learn from rehearsal rooms about leadership, presence, and human connection.Chapters00:00 – From Theatre to Leadership Learning07:10 – Why Traditional Leadership Training Falls Short14:30 – Inside the Live Theatre Leadership Experiment24:40 – Freezing Time: Learning Through Real Decisions34:50 – The Impact on Leaders and Organisational Culture44:10 – What Theatre Teaches Us About Leading Humans51:00 – The Future of Experiential Leadership DevelopmentBio:Donnacadh is an Olivier and Offie Award-winning Director, Experience Designer and Story Architect specialising in live theatre, immersive experiences and experiential learning. He is a cross-industry expert in story and narrative. His wide-ranging career has seen him working on everything from musicals, Shakespeare, West End comedies, and large-scale immersive LBE's, to consulting on story and branding and creating innovative learning projects for major companies in the US and Europe.Recent clients have ranged from entertainment IP giants to Fortune 500 finance and tech companies and Hollywood production houses. He is a TEDx speaker, has given lectures and mentored at institutions such as Cambridge University & RADA, and spent a year as an Associate Fellow of Creativity at Warwick University.Connect with Donnacadhhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/donnacadh-o-briain-35788837/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) is an experiential artist collective that believes in the power of storytelling to spark the senses and shift perception. Their work guides audiences through multisensory journeys where imagination and information collide.Bringing together coders, poets, chemists, ventriloquists, brands and institutions, MLF collaborates across disciplines to explore new cultural forms, question our relationship with the world, and leave a characteristically playful trail as they move through the cosmos.They create stories that untangle, entangle and flavour reality, blurring the boundaries between art, immersive experiences, XR and film.Their work lives in public spaces, galleries, museums, parks, nature reserves and the metaverse. Everything they produce is grounded in research and designed to carve out space for people to expose, explore and expand their relationship with the living world.MLF has exhibited internationally at institutions including ACMI, Aviva Studios, the Barbican Centre, DDB Seoul, Fundación Telefónica, Museum of the Future, Phi Centre, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Sundance Film Festival and SXSW.Their work has been featured in publications such as The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired, The Independent, Creative Review, The Times and more.Website: https://marshmallowlaserfeast.comBarnaby Steel bioBarnaby Steel is an artist and creative director of London-based experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. His practice centres on the senses; enticing audiences into states of expanded perception, a space where the boundaries between bodies blur. His work is deeply rooted in scientific observation as a window to look through and beyond our own experience.Connect with Barney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barneysteel/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this conversation, Ben Robinson takes us on a journey from skateboarding in Liverpool and the golden age of UK clubbing, all the way into the cutting edge of immersive experience design and climate communication.Ben shares how those early subcultures. DIY, community-led, rebellious, and embodied shaped his worldview and eventually his career, leading experiential work for global brands. But the real energy of this episode lies in his current mission: "Using experience design to shift behaviour, mindset, and, ultimately, our relationship with the planet"We explore how immersive experiences can move people beyond information and into transformation, not just thinking differently, but being different. Ben breaks down concepts like aesthetic vs. extractive attention, embodied cognition, ritual, liminality, and how the “before and after” of an experience is often more important than the moment itself.Most importantly, he argues that experiential design might be one of the most powerful tools we have to communicate climate realities in a way people can actually absorb, feel, and act on.If you care about the future of human connection, creativity, or the planet, this conversation will light you up.Chapters00:00 – Meeting Ben Robinson & Setting the Scene - Why his world begins in subculture, community, and embodied experiences.02:00 – Liverpool, Skateboarding & The Roots of Flow - How Ben’s early life shaped his philosophy of movement, cadence and design.06:45 – Clubbing, Communitas & Designing Collective Energy - The lessons nightlife teaches about pacing, emotion and immersion.10:50 – From Serendipity to a Career in Experience Design - Ben’s path from DIY culture into global experiential work.14:25 – When Experiences Create Real-World Impact - The Deutsche Telekom example and why “proving value in the real world” matters.15:55 – The Experiential Boom & The Battle for Attention - Why experiential is exploding and why attention has become the new currency.23:10 – Can Experiences Change Our Relationship With the Planet? - The potential for experiential to shift mindsets, behaviour and being.29:25 – Climate Communication, Immersion & Ontological Change - Why climate facts fail and how immersive experiences reach deeper parts of us.37:50 – Ritual, Memory & Designing for Transformation - What makes an experience meaningful, not just memorable.50:15 – The Future of Experiential: From Entertainment to Evolution - Ben’s research, liminality, and the role designers play in shaping future mindsets.Ben Robinson bioAward-winning Agency Founder, Experience Designer and Academic Researcher. Growing up in Liverpool during the late 80’s and early 90’s Ben’s life was shaped by two things: skateboarding and clubbing. Experiences that shaped not just what he did, but how he saw the world, and who he was, proving that consciousness is not just embedded (a function of what we think), but embodied (shaped by how we feel), enacted (what we are doing) and extended (and the environment we are in).Whilst finishing a Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship, Ben started working at KLP Entertainment in London. Alongside seminal agencies like Cake, Slice and Exposure, KLP created what we now know as Experiential marketing and was where the likes of V-Festival,T in the Park and Creamfields were born. From KLP Ben moved onto TBWA where he co-created GT Academy and Nissan Sports Adventure. After a number of years as Creative Director at PR agency Freuds, Ben went on to found Proud Robinson and Partners (PRP) an award winning Culture led Creative Practice and Experiential Agency working for the likes Oracle Redbull Racing, General Motors, Diageo, EY, Deutsche Telekom and Samsung. 2 years ago Ben started a PhD in Design and Informatics at the University of Sussex in an effort to better understand exactly how Immersive experiences might be used to promote more positive pluralistic futures.ConnectBen@proud-robinson.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-robinson-630b2326/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We’re live at FRAMELESS, London’s #1 immersive art experience, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how art, technology, and emotion converge. Host Steve Usher sits down with Rosie O’Connor, the art historian and curator behind this groundbreaking space, to uncover how timeless masterpieces are transformed into living, sensory worlds.Located in Marble Arch, FRAMELESS is redefining the immersive art experience as the largest permanent multi-sensory venue in the UK. Across four galleries, visitors step inside reimagined works of some of the world’s greatest artists—where art breaks free from the frame and connects directly to our senses.From accessibility and sensory design to the choreography of sound, light, and movement, this episode explores how immersive storytelling turns art into an experience that moves both heart and mind.Websitewww.frameless.comConnect with Rosiewww.linkedin.com/in/rosie-oconnor/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What if the future of experience design starts not on a screen but on your tongue?In this episode, food anthropologist Caroline Hobkinson invites us into her London kitchen to explore the connection between taste, sound, and human emotion. Through a live sensory experiment, she reveals how our brains respond to flavor, sound, and ritual and why modern life has numbed our ability to truly feel. From seaweed that “sings,” to the psychology of coffee rituals and the intimacy of blindfolded dining, this conversation reawakens our senses and reframes how we connect with food, with others, and with ourselves.00:00 – Welcome to Caroline’s Kitchen02:00 – What Is a Food Anthropologist?06:00 – The Ritual of Coffee: Modern Communion09:30 – Why Taste Is the Most Intimate Sense12:00 – The Seaweed Experiment: Eating With Sound18:00 – The Science Behind It: What the Brain Does24:00 – Blindfolded Bananas & the Art of Surrender33:00 – Designing for the Senses: Lessons for Brands and Experience Creators41:00 – The Smell of Memory44:00 – Bringing Mindfulness to Everyday Eating46:00 – Closing Reflections: Reawakening the SensesCaroline's bioImmersive Experience Director - MultiSensory FoodArtist – Food Anthropologist investigating behaviour, ritual and interrelationships of sensory modalities Born in Cologne in 1979, trained at Central Saint Martin’s where she gained a degree in Fine Art and SOAS where she earned a master’s degree in Anthropology, she has been creating events and food installations, in galleries, museums and public spaces worldwide.She has published and co-authored numerous research and academic papers on the neuroscientific workings of eating behaviour and conducted anthropological qualitative research into food and drink habits and rituals. She is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute.Operating within the intersections of technology, food and the senses, Caroline has been giving numerous interactive talks and lectures that reimagine people‘s food rituals. Her work and research has appeared in numerous publications and she has collaborated on events for Unilever, Disney, Barilla, Magnum, Selfridges, Bang & Olufsen, Kensington Palace and Pink Lady Apples.Contactwww.carolinehobkinson.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-hobkinson-creative-director/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Tim Hill shares his unique insights into the magic of live events and the communal experiences they create. Drawing from his ethnographic research at Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium and Berlin's underground techno clubs, he shares how rituals, community, and emotional connections shape unforgettable experiences. He emphasises the importance of co-creation in designing atmospheres that resonate deeply with audiences, illustrating how these moments of togetherness can be both powerful and transformative. 00:00 — Opening: The Magic of Live Events 01:42 — Understanding Anfield's Unique Atmosphere 04:19 — Researching Local Football Culture 05:21 — The Challenges of Ethnographic Research 08:19 — Exploring Fan Demographics 11:36 — The Role of Rituals in Atmosphere 14:19 — Designing Experiences at Anfield 16:20 — The Impact of "You'll Never Walk Alone" 18:51 — Community Identity and Solidarity 22:46 — Designing Emotionally Engaging Experiences 24:34 — The Four-Step Ritual Design Process 31:27 — Thinking Beyond Football: Broader Applications 36:47 — Insights from Berlin Nightclubs 41:42 — The Paradox of Fitting In and Standing Out 48:39 — The Importance of Exclusion in Experience Design 51:45 — Final Thoughts on Designing Rituals Bio & linksTim Hill is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Bath and Director of Studies for the BSc Business program. His research explores the edges of consumer culture, from hardcore football fandom to Berlin’s exclusive techno scene, uncovering what these fringe worlds reveal about belonging, identity, and community. Tim’s work has been published in leading journals, and he’s also the co-author of The Dark Side of Marketing Communication and an Associate Editor at the Journal of Marketing Management.LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-hill-99425b378/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Sally Earnshaw brings her trademark “oomph” to this high-energy conversation about leadership, life, and the messy, brilliant realities in between. From middle-aged business travel mishaps to the humor of raising teenagers while running a company, Sally grounds leadership in humanity and positivity. We explore her philosophy of energizing and focusing people, the gaps in leadership depth today, and why creating “space to lead” matters more than ever in a world of noise, AI, and constant change. A refreshing reminder that leaders are human first and that energy and authenticity are free.Episode Chapters:0:00 – Oomph: Energy Meets Delivery5:00 – Positive Energy & Early Influences9:00 – Midlife, Normality & Humour14:30 – Business Travel Tales18:00 – Leadership Depth in a Changing World23:00 – Strategy, Agility & Speed of Execution28:30 – Cutting Through Noise & Creating Space to Lead38:30 – Communication, Energy & Authenticity43:00 – The Future of Leadership & Generational Shifts46:30 – Gratitude & Closing ReflectionsBio and LinksSally Earnshaw, the Chief Oompher, is a leadership and organisational culture expert with over 20 years' experience. Sally’s insights on the importance of clarity, how to get everyone aligned and engaged to drive execution have helped hundreds oforganisations build a high-performance culture.Sally emphasises that "your strategy is worth nothing if you can’t communicate". Effective communication in leadership fosters resilience, boosts productivity, and enhances overall performance. Sally is known for her ability to bring out the best in people, using practical, impactful leadership tools that deliver immediate results. Sally is a TEDx speaker, a published author and top tier leadership facilitator and coach.www.linkedin.com/in/sally-earnshaw-oomphwww.oomph.life ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Brian D’Souza has spent his life exploring the power of sound—from late-night radio discoveries and Glasgow club culture to pioneering sound design for wellbeing, workplaces, and psychedelic therapy. In this episode, Brian shares how music and psychology came together in his work, from building Open Ear, a platform that reimagined how businesses use sound, to founding Swell Studio, which creates soundscapes for health, creativity, and connection with nature. We dive into active listening, rhythmic entrainment, sound therapy, and the role of music in transformative experiences. This is an invitation to tune in more deeply to how sound shapes our lives.Episode Chapters0:00 – Early Influences & Discovering Music5:00 – Psychology, Rhythm & Flow States12:00 – Active vs. Passive Listening18:00 – Sound Design in Hospitality & Workplaces27:00 – Business Lessons from Open Ear34:00 – From DJing to Sound Therapy45:00 – Redefining Music as Function, Not Just Entertainment53:00 – Swell Studio & Nature-Based Soundscapes59:00 – Sound, Psychedelics & Healing1:08:00 – Creativity, Bio-Sonification & What’s NextBio and LinksBrian d’Souza is the founder and CEO of Swell Studio, a London-based creative agency working between the intersection of sound, music and well-being. Brian is also an award-winning sound artist, DJ, music producer performing under the alias Auntie Flo, and successful entrepreneur, notably as founder of leading music consultancy Open Ear Music from which he exited in 2023.Swell Studio delivers creative projects that use sound to positively benefit the listener, and is based on three principals: biophilic sound, sound therapy and generative music composition. Its clients include IHG, Imperial College, Muuto, Farfetch, Hotpod Yoga and more. It has been featured in GQ, Forbes, The Times, BBC, Discovery Channel and more.As Auntie Flo,  Brian is a DJ renowned for ‘taking World Music into the future’ (The Guardian). Over a career spanning ten years, he’s played everywhere from Panorama Bar to Glastonbury, making his name as one of the most adventurous DJs around: performing in Cuba, Latin America, Asia, Africa and even the Arctic Circle. He has released four critically acclaimed albums, most notably Radio Highlife (Brownswood, 2018), which won the SAY award for Scottish Album of the Year. His fourth studio album ‘In My Dreams (I’m a Bird and I’m Free) in November 2024. It was awarded Global Album of the Month in the Guardian and Single of the Year by Disco Pogo and DJ History.He currently runs A State of Flo records and blog, which is home to his dancefloor tracks, global collaborations and nature-based sound art and writing on music and the environment. His work most often centres around the creation of bioelectrical music from living things: plants, fungi and humans. His Plants Can Dance event series uses biodata to trigger notes on his specially built modular synthesizer in a process called bionsonification, with the intention of bridging the gap between the natural world and electronic music realm. This work has been commissioned by the likes of Art Angel, National Trust, Het Hem, V&A etc and featured in New Scientist, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 4, Tate Modern, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 1 and more.www.swellstudio.iowww.astateofflo.comwww.briandsouza.in ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In this episode, we’re joined by Nick Cawthon, a design leader with decades of knowledge in user experience (UX), service design, and the evolving discipline of experience design. From his childhood discovery of creative flow to shaping the culture of UX in San Francisco, Nick reflects on the pivotal shifts that transformed design from skeuomorphic interfaces to design systems, and now to the rise of AI and agents. Together, they explore what is left behind in each wave of transformation, why core human skills and principles remain essential, and how curiosity and experimentation will shape the future of design.0:00 – Childhood Creativity & Early Flow States6:30 – The Evolution of UX in San Francisco12:44 – Designing for Humans: Early UX Insights17:27 – The Impact of AI on UX23:41 – What Gets Left Behind in Transformation28:42 – Reinvention & The Ouroboros Mindset32:01 – The Next Generation of Designers38:35 – Synthetic Users & Experimentation45:57 – Optimism for UX and Experience Design53:19 – Core Principles That EndureNick Cawthorn BioNick helps design teams stay ahead of the curve with their AI transformation. He has been curating self-assessments for UX & Design Teams at retrain.gauge.io, helping analyze industry trends and removing barriers to adoption. Nick founded Gauge in 2001 in the San Francisco Bay Area to help organizations with evidence-based strategy and product decisions. Clients have grown to include Electronic Arts, Genentech, Airbnb, Adobe and many others. Nick is a professor in Data Literacy and Visualisation in the Design Strategy MBA program at his alma mater, California College of the Arts.Linkshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nickcawthon-ux-digital-agency-product-design-leadership/https://gauge.io/ ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

From his early fascination with synths and soundscapes to touring the world as a DJ, Tom Middleton has spent decades exploring the neuroscience and emotional power of music. In this conversation, Tom shares how his journey through burnout led him to pioneer “experience as medicine,” using sound intentionally to promote well-being, focus, and recovery. We explore neuroaesthetics, spatial audio, vibroacoustics, and how environments—from wellness spaces to workplaces—can be sound-designed to improve health and human connection. This is a deep dive into the future of sensory wellness and functional sound design.#SoundDesign #WellnessInnovation #TheExperienceDesigners #ExperienceDesignEpisode Chapters00:00 – Beginnings & Sonic Fascination06:30 – From Cornwall to Global DJ14:09 – Nature Sound & Soundscape Ecology18:44 – Touring, Burnout & Recovery30:31 – Therapeutic Music & Sleep Science39:33 – Soundscaping Everyday Life47:14 – White Mirror & Sensory Wellness Innovation54:21 – Experience as MedicineBio and LinksTom Middleton is a multi-award-winning composer, sound and sensory designer, and pioneer of Sonic Therapeutics for sleep, stress, pain, and performance. As co-founder of White Mirror, he creates health-promoting audio and sensory content grounded in salutogenic design - spanning digital therapeutics, immersive environments, and multi-sensory experiences. Originally mentored by Aphex Twin, Tom draws on classical and electronic roots, as a designer, orchestral cellist, DJ, and neuroscience researcher. His work continues to help millions via Calm, Apple Music, Sleep Cycle, and UMG’s Sleep Better.He also created the world’s most relaxing noise and explores acoustic ecology, archaeo-acoustics, and sonic storytelling to raise awareness for planetary and human wellbeing. Tom serves on the Global Wellness Institute’s Music for Health & Wellbeing board and co-authored the sleep chapter in Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual. He’s committed to scaling evidence-based, humanity-first interventions in a world craving calm, care, and connection - where empathy becomes exponential, and design becomes medicine.Linkswww.whitemirror.studiohttps://www.linkedin.com/in/tommiddletonmusicMusicHere's the track 7-year-old Tom heard by Isao Tomita - https://open.spotify.com/track/2w0URaMReZtoWWDkboobkL?si=d884d327d15e4098Also, here are two albums we love here at The Experience Designers Podcast - Enjoy!Spatial Focus Music - https://open.spotify.com/album/0AVuGKpxfe3d9xJM90YbmN?si=XtqG2P1eTuu4BaCoScSrqQSpatial Sleep Music - https://open.spotify.com/album/6Ifo4VtUVq1a3evYQ6zMtM?si=Z5ZOIgsjTYGRmrScuF1i-Q ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★