Nodes of Design

Varun is co-founder and Head of Research at Apple & Banana, where he believes that everyone can do fruitful research. Varun has spent his career immersed in psychology, technology, and design at organizations like Facebook, UnitedHealth Group, and Best Buy, along with rising startups across the country. In this episode, Varun shared great knowledge on Breaking into UX Research, where he shared great advice on how to break into the field of UX research with three fundamental methods on which 90% of research is based; we then spoke on the UX research process and how to prepare the right instrument and choose the right sample size to conduct research. We then concluded by how to combine research insights and present them to the team and stakeholders involved by being a good collaborator and bridging the gap between the users, designers, and stakeholders.  Takeaways:- How to get into UX Research, UX Research Process, What is usability testing?  Books by Varun  The Complete Guide to Writing Questionnaires: How to Get Better Information for Better Decisions by David Harris The Field Study Handbook by Jan Chipchase Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life) by Kat Holmes Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favorite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

MAMIMU (aka June Mineyama-Smithson) is a London-based artist on a mission to inject optimism into the world. Special lecturer at UAL, D&AD judge and speaker at YOOX Net-a-Porter, Design Manchester and Ladies, Wine & Design. Her bold joyful work has been featured internationally on ITV, Creative Boom, SCMP and Cow Parade Niseko. In this episode, June shared great insights on how to design for delight and the process of crafting these patterns? We then discussed the different ways we can design for optimism, build great empathy with end-users, collect and combine different stories of emotions, and convert them into meaningful learnings.  Takeaways- How to design for delight, Building great empathy with end-users, Designing for optimism and safety.  Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and many more.  If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge.  This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

R. Michael Hendrix is a design leader and musician currently; he is a Partner and Global Director of Design at IDEO and an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music. As a graphic designer, he has received more than 50 awards from major U.S. design associations and publications. He is also a keynote speaker on various occasions and a regular guest lecturer at universities including Harvard, Mass Art, RISD and the University of Tennessee. He co-authored the book with Panos Panay, SVP of Global Strategy & Innovation at Berklee, on shared mindsets of musicians and designers named two beats ahead.  In this episode, Michael shared great insights on Design + Music. He spoke on the connection between music and design in narrating a story and how designer and musician's creative process and mindset are similar. We then discussed how designers could get inspired by musicians to unlock creative inspiration and innovation through active collaboration.  Takeaways:- Collaboration is a key aspect of music and design, How to follow a passion and create a roadmap, Building a seeking mindset.  The Book by Michael - two beats ahead - https://twobeatsahead.com Book Recommended by Michael Hendrix How to see - George Nelson Daily Rituals: How Women Work How to Write One Song - Jeff Tweedy Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Craig Black is a Scottish artist and independent designer specialising in typography and lettering. He currently runs his own art and design studio in Greenock, Scotland. Craig’s work has been celebrated and exhibited worldwide: from London, New York, Sydney and Dubai. He is also known across the public speaking circuit for sharing his inspirational creative journey at conferences and creative events worldwide.  In this episode, Craig shared great insights on Lettering and how different is it from typography. We then discussed how to narrate a story via letters and how to creative use san-serifs and serifs. Craig shared his process on how to combine all the different insights into beautiful letters.  Takeaways: - What is lettering, How to narrate a story via letters, Combing insights into beautiful letters.  Portfolio: https://craigblackdesign.com & FS Renaissance Books by Craig Black The Lettering Workshops: 30 Exercises - Francis Chouquet Little Book of Lettering - Emily Gregory Drawing Type: An Introduction to Illustrating Letterforms - Alex Fowkes Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Nancy Kumar is a design practitioner with a decade of experience in experience design and design strategy. Currently, she is a strategic design manager at Airbus and previously leads teams in Boeing and Honeywell Aerospace. Nancy believes, "Every design has a problem to solve and a purpose to meet, but a good design has the capacity to change and improvise the lives around us".  Nancy is also a keynote speaker on various occasions.  In this episode, Nancy shared great insights on Design in Aviation and discussed designing for aircraft and how design decisions are taken to design these complex systems. We discussed how data from aircraft are used to generate design strategies and how usability and user experience are tested out in these complex scenarios. In the latter part, Nancy shed some light on different ways to identify key insights and opportunities to plan strategies.  Takeaways: - Process of design strategy in Aviation, Different ways in which data aids in making design decisions, Usability testing for complex aircraft equipment.  Books by Nancy Kumar  Managing Strategic Design - Busayawan Lam and Ray Holland  Emotional Design - Don Norman  Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and many more.  If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge.  This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Steve Portigal helps companies to think and act strategically when innovating with user insights. Over the course of his career, he has interviewed hundreds of people and helped many organisations to understand their users. He’s also the Dollars to Donuts podcast host, where he interviews people who lead user research in their organizations. He is also the author of two famous titles - Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights & Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories. He has been a keynote speaker on various occasion like CHI, IxDA, Lift, SXSW, UIE, UPA, UX Australia, UX Hong Kong, UX Lisbon, and WebVisions.  In this episode, Steve shared wonderful insights on user interviews and why we do user interviews in design; we then discussed the framework of interviews using which we can gain great insights from users and few tips on actively listening and note-taking during interviews. In the latter part, steve recommended five do's and don'ts that designers/researchers must avoid while doing user interviews. We then concluded the show by steve recommending few tips on how could we combine all the insights and convey them into a narrative across teams that can create an impact.  Takeaways - What are user interviews, Meaning of insights, Combining insights to narrate a story.  Books by Steve - https://portigal.com/books Dollars to Donuts - https://portigal.com/podcast Resources shared by Steve Portigal The organization’s design research maturity model-Chris Avore The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket - Benjamin Lorr It Chooses You - Miranda July Communicating the New: Methods to Shape and Accelerate Innovation - Kim Erwin Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Ekta Rohra Jafri, a design leader with over two decades of experiences in the design & user experience of digital entities. From web to mobile to TV, short-form text to 3D reality. She is currently Design Director at IBM iX, where she was instrumental in launching design-led opportunities and strategies. She is also a visiting professor of interaction design at Anant National University and a keynote speaker on various occasions.   In this episode, Ekta shared great insights on responsible design and what role does ethics play in design. We then discussed the various ways to recognise the consumer voices and implement them in the design strategy while building a product. In the latter part, we spoke on the key parameters that make a design sustainable and how designers could avoid designing dark patterns.  Takeaways- What is responsible design, What is sustainable design, How to avoid dark patterns. Different ways in managing the business goals and ethics while designing.  Books recommend by Ekta Rohra Jafri Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty & the Ways to End it Shiva Trilogy Collection by Amish Tripathi Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Roberta Virzi is a designer with over a decade of experience specialised in the e-commerce sector. Currently, she is in a hybrid leadership role as a senior individual contributor and manager of interdisciplinary and multicultural teams at booking.com.  In this episode, Roberta shared great insights on Design strategy and its importance in creating an effective design strategy that fits all the use cases. We then discussed how to utilise the design strategy to bring in the culture of innovation across teams and the various metrics or tools to measure the success/failure of a design strategy.  Takeaways- What is Design strategy, How to utilise the design strategy to bring in the culture of innovation, Measuring the success or failure of a strategy. Resources recommend by Roberta Virzi  Don't make me think by Steve Krug Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman How to make sense of any mess by Abby Covert 100 things every designer needs to know by Susan Weinschenk Ph.D. Design strategy: Strategic design by Giulia Calabretta The design of business by Roger Martin Design works by Heather M. A. Fraser Leadership and management: 7 habits of highly effective people by Steven Covey The making of a manger by Julie Zhuo Radical candor by Kim Scott. Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Claudio Baptista, a design leader with over 20 years of experience. He had worked with some of the best brands throughout his career – from fashion to consumer goods, from global agencies to entertainment. Currently, he is the Director of User Experience for GoPro, and previously he acted as head of design for the Walt Disney Studios. In this episode, Claudio shared great insights on Hyper-Personalization and the benefits of hyper-personalization and how designers could leverage the various strategies or framework to create these experiences. We then discussed how to craft hyper-personalised experiences considering the accessibility and inclusion perspective. Takeaways- What is hyper-personalisation, How to craft hyper-personalised experiences, Measuring the success or failure of a crafted personalised experience.  Books recommend by Claudio Baptista Creativity Inc. - Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace The Ride of a Lifetime - Bob Iger Org Design for Design Orgs - Peter Meholz The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition - Don Norman Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge. This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.

Jason Forrest is a data visualization specialist, writer, and designer living in New York City. He is the director of interactive data visualization for McKinsey and Company's COVID Response Center. In addition to being on the board of directors of the Data Visualization Society, he is also the editor-in-chief of Nightingale: the journal of the Data Visualization Society. He writes about the intersection of culture and information design and is currently working on a book about pictorial statistics. In this episode, Jason shared great insights on what is information design and its importance; we then discussed how different is information design compared to Data Visualisation and the information design process. In the later part, we discussed how to design Information for Usability and accessibility.  Takeaways- What is information design? How to design with a beautiful blend of data and user experience. Designing information for accessibility.  Thank you for listening to this episode of Nodes of Design. We hope you enjoy the Nodes of Design Podcast on your favourite podcast platforms- Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts and many more. If this episode helped you understand and learn something new, please share and be a part of the knowledge-sharing community #Spreadknowledge.  This podcast aims to make design education accessible to all. Nodes of Design is a non-profit and self-sponsored initiative by Tejj.