Design Better

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/joanna-pena-bickleyJoanna Peña-Bickley has had an amazing arc to her design leadership career: from Chief Creative Officer at Matter Worldwide and IBM, to her current role as Head of Research and Design for Alexa Devices at Amazon, Joanna has always sought to design things that are “useful, usable, and magical.”In this interview, we talk with Joanna about working cross functionally with both software and hardware teams, and what she’s learned about building a more connected workflow. We also get Joanna’s take on speaking design in the language of business, and how she works to bring more diversity into leadership at the companies where she's worked.Takeaways: How Joanna approaches building high-functioning teams. What the opportunities and challenges are when designing for invisible interfaces. How to create partnerships that will make your team successful.

Natalya Shelburne and Emily Campbell dive into the synergy between design and development at The New York Times and IBM, respectively. Natalya shares her journey from designer to Tech Lead for Design Engineering, highlighting her approach to bridging the gap between disciplines. They discuss the importance of respect in cross-functional teams and strategies to overcome fears when transitioning roles. Additionally, Emily explores the challenges and successes of implementing design systems in large organizations, advocating for a startup mindset and adaptability in tech.

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/kristin-wisnewskiIn the tech world, it's rare these days to spend more than a few years at one company. So we were curious to learn more about Kristin Wisnewski after hearing she’d been at IBM for 18 years. In her words, she “basically grew up at IBM,” and made a rapid transition from an individual contributor role to a leadership position in 2016, where she now leads an award-winning design team.We got to know the story of that career transformation, and what it took to get there. We also spoke with Kristin about clearing roadblocks for better work, and how to bring women into more leadership roles at technology companies.Takeaways: How to remain authentic to yourself as a leader The keys to peak team performance The way DesignOps works at IBM

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/nancy-douyonNancy Douyon has a remarkable story that lead her into a career in technology. From her childhood in Haiti, to moving to Boston and taking part in an MIT program as a kid, to running away from home and then teaching as a teenager, and on to design roles at Google and Uber, Nancy’s unconventional path gives her a unique perspective on how to approach product design for an audience that includes everyone.We chat with Nancy about her initial reluctance to enter a technical field despite her talent, how she thinks about making sure research represents a diverse set of users, and understanding global perspectives in product design. Takeaways: Approach hiring by looking at someone’s story Tips for making user research more representative How to tackle ethical product design Quick episode summary: 2:03 Roundtable discussion 35:39 Interview with Nancy Douyon

https://www.designbetterpodcast.comNext week we'll be launching our fourth season of the Design Better Podcast by InVision. Listen now for a special preview of the new season and get ready for new episodes coming to you weekly starting February 18th. In this new season we’re taking a closer look at how teams can work better together for greater impact across design, engineering, business, and product.We speak with Joanna Peña-Bickley about bringing more diversity into leadership, the head of cloud engineering at Atlassian, Steve Deasy, about psychological safety and the keys to high velocity teams, and Kristin Wisnewski of IBM discusses how to inspire teams to go farther and empower managers to build trust and vulnerability. Jehad Affoneh from VMWare shares his philosophy on how empathy for his colleagues and assuming good intention helps him create the best experiences possible for customers. And Marty Cagan from Silicon Valley Product Group shares his behind-the-scenes lessons on the differences between product teams and feature teams, and why product management is often misunderstood.Hear from the people shaping design and engineering transformation at The New York Times, Uber, Amazon, Pinterest, IBM, and even NASA. And you'll learn more about how to communicate the business impact of design at your company and how teams are leveling up their design maturity for even greater influence at work.

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/david-kelley-creative-confidenceTo celebrate 1 million listens to the Design Better Podcast, we're rewinding to our episode with David Kelley, Founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school, in honor of David just receiving the Edison Award for Innovation. And we're sending a special thanks to YOU for listening and helping us reach this 1 million milestone. We're tremendously grateful to you, your friends, and colleagues for tuning in and joining the journey with us.David Kelley doesn’t like to claim to have come up with the term design thinking, even though most people would say he did. But regardless of who coined it, as founder of IDEO and the Stanford d.school he has been one of the most influential proponents of design thinking, and human-centered design in general.When it comes to bringing together engineering, product, and design teams early in the design process, and aligning those teams towards a common goal, design thinking has few equals, and should be part of the toolkit for every product driven company.In this episode, Eli and Aarron speak with David about what it takes to bring designers and engineers together, how our workspace influences our work, and how we can encourage creative confidence in our companies.Enjoy the chat and cheers to 1 million listens to the Design Better Podcast. Thank you so much for listening.

Stephen Gates, Head Design Evangelist at InVision, discusses his findings on hiring and employment in the design field. The podcast also includes a roundtable discussion on design topics and explores the significance of intentional communication in meetings. They highlight the inclusive nature of critique for creating psychological safety and discuss the importance of involving diverse perspectives in the design process. The speakers also explore the difference between leadership and management and discuss the evolving nature of design portfolios.

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/season3recapThe third season of the Design Better Podcast recently wrapped up, where we explored the connected workflow: how designers can work more effectively and efficiently with their engineering and product counterparts to create incredible customer experiences. We interviewed guests ranging from Julie Zhuo, VP of Product Design at Facebook and author of The Making of a Manager, to Diego Rodriguez, Chief Product and Design Officer at Intuit.In this episode, Aarron and Eli share what they learned from some of the brightest minds in digital product design.Here are a few of the top takeaways: Learn how Google’s Abigail Hart Gray approaches measuring the value of design. Hear how Lori Kaplan from Atlassian explains “designing across the seams” to create a unified customer experience. Listen to Benjamin Evans discuss how practicing inclusivity can create a framework for inviting roles outside design into the design process. So while we’re hard at work producing Season 4 of the podcast, enjoy this look back at some of the best moments in Season 3. And for more free articles, videos, books, and stories to level up your design practice, visit https://www.designbetter.com.

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/jina-anneIf you’re engaged in any sort of community surrounding Design Systems, whether it’s the Design Systems Slack, or the Clarity Conference, then you have likely benefited from Jina Anne’s work. A self-styled Design Systems Advocate, Jina has been passionate about creating events, content and resources that bring together communities of people who care about design systems and how they impact product design. In this bonus episode of the Design Better Podcast, we chat with Jina about how she got into Design Systems, what she has learned from building these communities, and how being a hybrid designer-developer influences her understanding of Design Systems.Takeaways: How having a Design System affects company culture. What to consider when deciding to go public with your Design System, or keeping it private. How Design Systems can be effectively maintained.   

Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/diego-rodriguezDiego Rodriguez has had a remarkable career at the intersection of design, business, and education. He has served as Global Managing Director of design firm IDEO, founding faculty member of Stanford’s d.school, and is currently Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Design Officer at Intuit. In this episode, we discuss how design can influence broader business goals. Diego shares Intuit’s unique approach to product design, and the need to build a certain level of trust and empathy with customers when designing financial products.Takeaways: How to build design into the culture of an organization How Intuit acts on its mission to Design for Delight How design thinking brings a diversity of perspectives to the design process