Design Better

Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and pioneer of computer graphics and digital animation techniques, discusses his transition from creating things himself to leading creative teams. He shares insights on fostering a creative culture, giving and receiving feedback, the impact of new technologies on the creative process, and the intersection of technology, film, and visual arts. He also reveals stories about his collaboration with Steve Jobs.

David Sedaris, known for his acute observation skills, discusses his unique process of prototyping essays in front of live audiences. They also explore the role of fear in his creative process. The podcast covers topics such as the importance of observing people in the design process and the challenges of writing about sensitive subjects with honesty and respect.

Design Better is a podcast that explores the creative process and design's intersection with technology. It features conversations with inspiring guests across various creative fields. The show aims to inspire and inform, providing valuable insights for building a more innovative world.

The hosts celebrate their 100th episode of the podcast and announce exciting changes. They reflect on their journey, express gratitude, and discuss their newfound independence. They tease upcoming guests and highlight upcoming series on the creative process and design history. The importance of curiosity in design is explored, and exciting future episodes and AMAs are teased.

Renowned scholar and author Don Norman leads a panel discussion on how design can solve humanity's biggest challenges. Topics include the role of design in socio-economic challenges, humanity-centered vs human-centered design, and creating a better future for all.

Subscribe for free to our show on Substack to receive episodes a week early, bonus content like post-show discussions, and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/ole-lutjens-evidence-based-designWhat was it like to lead product design at Disney through the creation of Disney+, one of its biggest launches in the digital age? And how did a designer from Germany become a design leader for Major League Baseball, when he knew almost nothing about the sport? We talk to Ole Lütjens, former VP of Product Design at Disney, about the arc of his career, from his early days in the electronic music scene through his roles at MLB Advanced Media, Hulu and Disney. We also talk about evidence-based design, the Nemawashi method, and why designer storytelling can be too fast.BioOle Lütjens is a design executive with over 25 years of experience building and leading product design teams. He was formerly the Vice President of Product Design at Disney Streaming where he oversaw UX for Disney+, Hulu and Star+.Throughout his career, he’s been generating and implementing new ideas about the design and technology of content interaction. He’s interested in new models of experience and storytelling and has been fortunate to work with thought leaders in diverse industries on the cutting edge of technology since the 90s. This episode is brought to you by:Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 🤓 : https://methodicalcoffee.com/(use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).Freehand by InVision: The intelligent whiteboard that's half the price of Miro and Mural: https://freehandapp.com/Help us make the show even better by taking a short survey: www.dbtr.co/surveyIf you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.comIf you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.com

Subscribe to the Design Better Podcast on Substack to get episodes a week early and other bonus content: https://designbetterpodcast.com/Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/georg-petschnigg-product-design-and#details***The New York Times has gone through many challenges and evolutions during its storied history. Founded in 1851—when it was called the New-York Daily Times—it faced draft riots during the Civil War, received the first telegraph transmission from a naval battle in 1904, and was involved in libel suits in the 1960’s that helped establish freedom of the press through the US Supreme CourtBut it’s within the past 25 years or so that the “Newspaper of Record” has undergone some of its most radical transformations: shifting much of its focus away from the printed page to the web and app ecosystem, and expanding into food with NYT Cooking, consumer product reviews with The Wirecutter, and podcasts with The Daily.Today we chat with Georg Petschnigg, SVP of Product Design at the New York Times, about what it takes to balance the tension between the rich legacy of the Times with the rapidly evolving digital landscape. We also talk about designing across products and platforms for a more unified experience, creating a tight coupling between design and engineering, and what the future holds for news products in a world where AI and ML can facilitate content creation but also manufacture deception.Before we get to the show, we wanted to let you know about a cool project that our friend Felix Lee started called ADPList.If you’re early in your career, or if you’re in the midst of a transition, you might want to connect with top-notch professionals in design.Well, now you can now tap into the knowledge and wisdom of some of the most prominent figures in the design industry. And best of all, it's completely free! ADPList is a community platform on a mission to democratize mentorship for all, with over 16,000 verified mentors contributing worldwide; opening up an entire world of possibilities for mentorship and networking.Join ADPList today—for free—and accelerate your career growth.Visit https://dbtr.co/adplistBioGeorg Petschnigg is an executive, entrepreneur, and product leader. He feels most comfortable at the intersection of design, technology, and business. He currently serves as Head of Product Design at The New York Times.Throughout his career, he’s created products that changed how people work, create, and see the world. He believes technology needs to serve the human need to create. Georg co-founded FiftyThree in 2011 and served as CEO until WeTransfer’s acquisition in 2018. FiftyThree are the makers of Paper®, the fast and beautiful productivity app for getting ideas down, Paste® the fastest way for teams to share and gather around their ideas, and Pencil, the award-winning stylus. Internationally recognized for design excellence and innovation, they’ve received awards from Apple, IDSA, Communication Arts, and IxDA. FiftyThree’s products reach more than 30 Million creative thinkers worldwide and defined mobile creativity. This episode is brought to you by:Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 🤓 : https://methodicalcoffee.com/(use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).Help us make the show even better by taking a short survey: www.dbtr.co/surveyIf you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.comIf you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.comLinksGeorg Petschnigg on Design Matters by Debbie Millman

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-eileen-fisher-embracing-imperfectHi Folks-We hope that everyone is enjoying their summer so far. We’re taking a few weeks off to be with our families, and to prepare for an exciting announcement that we plan to share soon. In the meantime, we’re rewinding to one of our favorite episodes with Eileen Fisher, founder of her eponymous fashion brand Eileen Fisher, Inc. Enjoy the episode, and we’ll see you in a few weeks.You can subscribe to our Substack to receive episodes a week early, our monthly newsletter with job opportunities and career advice, and more bonus content: https://designbetterpodcast.com/We’d also like to give a huge thank you and shout-out to our sponsors so far this season. Please help us continue to bring you great guests by visiting the links below:Fable: Build inclusive products: https://makeitfable.com/designbetter/Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 🤓 : https://methodicalcoffee.com/ (use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).Freehand by InVision: The intelligent whiteboard that's half the price of Miro and Mural: https://freehandapp.com/Cruise: Cruise is a team of researchers and designers creating a self-driving transportation service for the people and cities we love. Visit design.getcruise.com to learn more about how you can help design the future of transportation! In his book The Laws of Simplicity, John Maeda says that “simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.” Our final guest this season, Eileen Fisher, is a master at making the simple, meaningful.Eileen is the founder of her eponymous and iconic fashion brand Eileen Fisher, Inc., which is known for its ethical & sustainable practices, and elegant yet simple clothing. She started the company in 1984, and grew it from her first sale of $3000, to annual revenue of over $300 million.We speak with Eileen about her design principles, how she thinks about form, function, and sustainability, and how systems thinking has helped her develop a brand that stands the test of time.We’re so glad you joined us for the sixth season of our show, and hope you were inspired along the way. Stay tuned for the next season, and in the meantime, we’ll be sharing some of our best episodes from past seasons, in case you missed them. Thanks for listening.Bio Eileen Fisher founded her women's fashion brand in 1984, with $350 of startup money. It's since grown into a company with over 1200 employees and hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue.The company focuses on producing simple, timeless clothing, with sustainability initiatives including selling used pieces in excellent condition, resold through their Renew take-back program, as well as a Waste No More program which transforms damaged clothes into a new felted fabric, used to create wall hangings, pillows, and other accessories.

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/donna-lichaw-the-leaders-journey“Management is a job, whereas leadership is a quality you have to earn,” as we learned way back in Episode 21 from our guest Julie Zhuo. Today, we’re diving deeper into the topic of leadership with Donna Lichaw, author of the new book The Leader's Journey: Transforming Your Leadership To Achieve the Extraordinary Donna is also the author of The User's Journey: Storymapping Products That People Love. We chat with Donna about why leadership often gets conflated with management, how to find your own narrative, and why your product isn’t the hero. One more thing before we get to the show: our newsletter this month is going to feature a new column by Margaret Lee, who founded the UX Community & Culture program for Google's global User Experience organization, and who is now an executive and leadership coach.If you’re looking for solid leadership advice from someone who’s been in the trenches, subscribe at designbetterpodcast.com so you get the newsletter when it comes out later this month. Thanks for subscribing, and for listening.BioDonna Lichaw is an executive coach, keynote speaker, and author of the bestselling books, The User’s Journey and much-awaited follow-up, The Leader’s Journey. She helps high-growth startup CEOs, tech executives, and senior leadership teams scale their leadership so that they can amplify their business growth and make a positive impact in the world.Before coaching, she was a product leader and consultant working with some of the most successful companies on the planet. What she found was that teams would bring her in to help solve product problems…and that their biggest challenges were actually people problems that could be easily solved with a little bit of design thinking, psychology, and ingenuity.This episode is brought to you by:Fable: Build inclusive products: https://makeitfable.com/designbetter/Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds: https://methodicalcoffee.com/(use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).Freehand by InVision: The intelligent whiteboard that's half the price of Miro and Mural: https://freehandapp.com/Help us make the show even better by taking a short survey: www.dbtr.co/surveyIf you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.comIf you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.comLinks SCARF: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/robert-brunner-where-art-and-commerceOur guest today, Robert Brunner, once joked that his tombstone will say: “Here lies the guy who hired Jonathan Ive.” But there’s much more to Robert than that. He did indeed build out the industrial design team at Apple in the 90’s, but he’s also been a partner at Pentagram Design, and was the chief designer of Beats by Dr. Dre, a brand that sold to Apple for $3 billion dollars.We talk with Robert about the arc of his career, what it takes to run a successful design consulting business, and why great products are more about ideas than objects.Before we get to the episode, we’ve got something new to share. We just released the first issue of our monthly newsletter. It includes a guest post from April Luelling, former Senior Product Design Recruiter and Program Manager at Meta, who shares tips on working with recruiters as well as current job openings in the design world. We also share highlights from some of our recent interviews, and links to interesting tools and summer reads. You can subscribe for free to the newsletter, and also get the podcast a week early, at designbetterpodcast.com. Thanks for subscribing, and for listening.BioRobert Brunner is an industrial design leader with broad experience in consumer electronics, personal computers, communications, and appliance industries. He was the co-founder of Lunar Design and former Director of Industrial Design at Apple Computer. Robert was also a Partner at Pentagram Design in San Francisco, after which he formed Ammunition LLC, a product design and brand development group in San Francisco, CA. He co-authored the book Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company, published by Financial Times Press.This episode is brought to you by:Fable: Build inclusive products: https://makeitfable.com/designbetter/Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds:https://methodicalcoffee.com/(use code "designbetter" for 10% off of your order).Cruise: Cruise is a team of researchers and designers creating a self-driving transportation service for the people and cities we love. Visit design.getcruise.com to learn more about how you can help design the future of transportation!Freehand by InVision: The intelligent whiteboard that's half the price of Miro and Mural:https://freehandapp.com/Help us make the show even better by taking a short survey: www.dbtr.co/surveyIf you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.comIf you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.comLinksRethinking Everyday Things - Robert Brunner keynoteHow Design Drives The World's Best Companies w/ Robert Brunner | Chase Jarvis LIVEDo You Matter? Robert Brunner, Stewart Emery, Russ Hall