Design Downtime

It’s the season 3 finale, and to celebrate, Erika Hall joins us to talk about her unique artistic journey of painting chicken portraits. What began as a creative sabbatical evolved into an unexpected obsession, when she recognized that most of us take chickens for granted despite their dinosaur-like nature, and committed to painting individual chicken portraits that treat them as more than mere objects. Erika has grown the project beyond personal art therapy into a digital presence with a website and an interactive game where visitors compare chickens using random adjectives like "pedantic" or "rambunctious." Her chicken portraits serve as both a meditation on seeing overlooked creatures as individuals with distinct personalities and a broader commentary on taking time to truly observe and appreciate what we often dismiss as mundane.Guest BioErika Hall (she/her) is the co-founder of Mule Design Studio and Mule Books, and the author of Just Enough Research and Conversational Design, as well as the forthcoming The Business Model is the Grid. Her primary professional interests are design and communication strategy, collaboration, and evidence-based decision making. She is based in San Francisco and used to fly around the world giving talks, but now she does everything remotely and really only travels as far as she can ride her bike. LinksErika’s chicken portraits website: https://www.chicken.pics/Clickens game: https://clickens.chicken.pics/Erika on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/erikahall.bsky.socialErika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikahallMule Design: https://www.muledesign.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Put the kettle on and get ready to hear Dominika Noworolska talk to us about her love of tea. She describes her journey from discovering tea culture as a teenager in Krakow's atmospheric tea houses to becoming a dedicated tea enthusiast in the UK, and how those early experiences in dimly lit basement tea houses created lasting associations between tea and meaningful dialogue. She explains the difference between Western and Eastern brewing methods, discusses how different teas create distinct moods and effects, and shares her discovery of Scotland's tiny craft tea industry. Dominika emphasizes tea as both a sensory experience and a ritual for focus and relaxation, while offering practical advice for newcomers to move beyond tea bags—most importantly, investing in a temperature-controlled kettle!Guest BioDominika Noworolska (she/her) is a Polish (turned Scottish) monotropic researcher and facilitator driven by her desire to support meaningful change by making sense of complexity, in our social world and ourselves. She has worn many hats over the years: commercial semiotician, ethnographer, user researcher, and mediator. Through her company Cosense, she aspires to facilitate collective sensemaking and better dialogue across differences; with warm tea in hand.LinksDominika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominika-noworolska/Dominika on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dominikanow.bsky.socialScottish Tea Factory https://scottishteafactory.co.uk/Mei Leaf channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeiLeafCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

This episode is bursting with neon colours, coming-of-age movies, and acid-washed jeans, as Ryan Rumsey joins us to talk about his deep connection to the 1980s. He shares about moving across the country as a child, growing up as a "latchkey kid”, and how MTV, movies, and music became transformative influences during his youth. Ryan explores how the ‘80s represented a unique cultural moment with the advent of cable television, 24-hour news channels, and the transition of movies from art to commercial blockbusters during the Reagan era. While he appreciates modern ‘80s nostalgia in shows like Stranger Things, he notes how his children connect more with ‘80s music than films, bonding with him over classic tracks during car rides.Guest BioRyan Rumsey (he/him) is a former tech executive turned author, coach, consultant, and tiny business owner. He’s the CEO of Second Wave Dive, founder of Chief Design Officer School, and partner at Jump Ship!. Ryan has extensive hands-on product, management, and executive experience at companies like Apple, Electronic Arts, and USAA. He’s the author of the books Business Thinking for Designers and Play Up Your Impact.LinksRyan’s website: https://www.ryanrumsey.com/Second Wave Dive: https://www.secondwavedive.com/Chief Design Officer School: https://thecdo.school/Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrumsey/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab a pen, paper, and maybe some dice, as Anthony Hobday joins us to discuss his journey into solo tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). He talks about discovering pen-and-paper solo TTRPGs while exploring dungeon crawling games, and finding the format appealing because it allowed him to create complete games as simple documents. Anthony describes his design philosophy, talks about creating games around a gimmick, like fitting all rules into 36 words, and touches on the crucial role of online platforms in supporting independent game creators. Throughout the conversation, Anthony talks about the strengths and weaknesses of solo TTRPGs compared to group games and video games, and shares surprising feedback from his community of players.Guest BioAnthony Hobday (he/him) thinks about interface design a lot. He shares everything he knows on his website. He prefers a systematic approach to design, but has a passionate interest in visual design.LinksAnthony’s website: https://anthonyhobday.com/Anthony’s games on itch.io: https://ahobday.itch.io/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

All quiet in the studio, as Homer Gaines joins us to share his lifelong journey with music production. He recounts developing his skills creating music with fellow students in high school, composing an original score for the school's production of “Fame”, and his evolution through college, where he worked in studios and performed with hip-hop groups. A devastating theft in 2003 caused him to abandon music entirely until his wife gifted him a Roland keyboard in 2016, prompting his return as an independent artist. Throughout the conversation, Homer reflects on the differences between producing for himself versus others, and his current focus on educating young artists about the business side of music.Guest BioHomer Gaines (he/him) is a designer, UI engineer, and certified accessibility professional with over 30 years of experience. With a background in behavioral psychology and neurology, he focuses on leading, promoting, and advancing accessibility at every stage in the product development lifecycle.LinksHomer on YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC6q3s2LMS9YmUXrnL4vz7cgHomer’s website: https://www.homergaines.comHomer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/homergainesHomer on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/xirclebox.comCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s sticker time, as Stéphanie Walter joins us to talk about her love for paper crafting. After starting with stickers, she “branched” to colorful (and deliberately unrealistic) paper plants, focusing on fun rather than natural accuracy. Since then, Stéphanie expanded into creating 3D projects including earrings and lampshades, working with vinyl, thin leather, and shrink plastic. She talks about her design style and inspirations, how she prefers to gift her creations rather than selling them, and tells us about "Crafternoons" with friends where they gather virtually to work on creative projects.Guest BioStéphanie Walter (she/her) is a UX Researcher & Strategist based in Luxembourg with over 13+ years of experience, specialized in enterprise UX, inclusive design and accessibility. She teaches, speaks, and writes about design, UX research, cognitive biases, and the design-dev relationship, among other topics. She enjoys good tea, bike rides, and drawing illustrations. Her D&D alignment is chaotic neutral, and she is better at keeping her teammates alive in video games than her plants, though she makes an effort.LinksStéphanie’s website: https://stephaniewalter.design/Stéphanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniewalterproStéphanie on Mastodon: https://front-end.social/@stephaniewalterStéphanie on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stephaniewalter.bsky.socialCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Dye your hair blue and rip your jeans, because Bill Kurland is joining us to talk about his love for punk rock. He talks about getting exposed to punk at a young age and embracing the do-it-yourself ethos. Bill criticizes the policing of authenticity within punk communities, and describes having a "meta-punk" approach where he sometimes deliberately went against punk norms. He rejects the nihilistic "destroy everything" attitude associated with some in punk, and instead talks about his appreciation for the sense of community punk represents for him, before recommending albums for newcomers to the genre.Guest BioBill Kurland (he/they) is a misfit. A former musician, he's spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of brand strategy and experience design. He's built, grown and led high-performing teams through transformation at organizations of all sizes—from unicorn startups to Fortune 15 corporations. Currently, he's a Global Experience Design Director at McDonald's, leading the cross-disciplinary Design Foundations group, consisting of Accessibility, Design Systems, Design Technology, and UX Writing teams.LinksBill’s website: billkurland.comDesign Downtime Punk playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1sBLGREySZYXfrCHdccCWs?si=JeCfE0V_S1OnrH2Im7xquw&pi=jHy53RCdRlS0hBill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-kurlandCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

They’re good dogs, especially when Kasey Labelle joins us to share her lifelong connection with puppies. She recounts her childhood with two family dogs before introducing Rhino, her beloved blue nose pitbull who chose her when he was just three weeks old and remained her companion for nearly 15 years. Kasey discusses how she's coped with Rhino's passing by becoming a dog walker, speaks passionately about the misconceptions surrounding pitbulls, and shares how Rhino's loving personality challenged those stereotypes. She also offers thoughtful advice for potential dog owners, emphasizing the importance of viewing dogs as family members and the different factors to consider when choosing the right dog.Guest BioKasey Labelle, CPWA (she/her) is a UX and design engineering leader with a passion for design systems and accessibility. In her current role as a Design Architect at iSeatz, she’s leading the evolution of a design system that powers a white-label travel loyalty platform. Previously, she built and led the multi-disciplinary design system team and accessibility program at Boston Scientific, establishing 0-1 and 1-n strategies and serving as a player-coach. In her downtime, you can find her at the beach, an art museum, concert, or game night; walking dogs; obsessing over spreadsheets; traveling; or attending fine arts and crafts workshops with friends.LinksKasey’s website: kaseyllabelle.comKasey on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kaseyllabelleCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s time for puppets and Shakespeare (?!) as Cheryl Platz joins us to talk about her journey into live streaming. She shares how her background as a professional actor and improviser led her to stream with her puppet Sprinkles, initially performing Shakespeare as part of a Twitch creative competition. While she didn't win the contest, she developed a loyal community that encouraged her to continue, adding video gaming to the mix. Cheryl reveals her background working at a Sesame Street theme park as a teenage puppeteer, explains how Sprinkles developed a distinctive personality of "hyper confidence”, and shares how maintaining this community has renewed her faith in the internet.Guest BioCheryl Platz (she/her) is an internationally renowned interaction designer, game designer, teacher, writer, and actress best known for her innovative work in a variety of industries ranging from video games to B2B cloud platforms and from consumer products to global philanthropy. Her design work has empowered billions of customers with fun, creativity, immersion, and sometimes just a little less friction at the office thanks to her work on some of the world’s biggest products, including Amazon’s Alexa and Echo Look, Microsoft Windows and Cortana, the Disney Parks PhotoPass system, the Sims family of games, and Microsoft’s Azure platform. Her recent roles include Director of Experience Design for Marvel Strike Force at Scopely and Director of User Experience for the Player Platform at Riot Games. Through her design education company Ideaplatz, Cheryl has delivered talks and workshops on 5 continents and over a dozen countries. Her first book, Design Beyond Devices: Creating Multimodal, Cross-Device Experiences, is the “manual for those who aspire to design the starship bridge of their dreams," and her newest book, tentatively titled Enduring Play: Creating Video Games that Thrive, is the design manual for anyone looking to build engaging video games with a holistic understanding of player needs, basic game design, the production process, and modern business considerations in the video game industry. Cheryl can be seen streaming most weeks on Sunday mornings answering game development and UX design questions at her Twitch channel.LinksCheryl on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/funnygodmotherCheryl on Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/funnygodmotherCheryl’s first book: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-beyond-devices/Cheryl’s second book: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/enduring-play/Cheryl’s website: https://cherylplatz.com/Cheryl on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/funnygodmother.bsky.socialCheryl on Instagram: https://instagram.com/@funnygodmotherCheryl on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylplatz/Cheryl’s Medium articles: https://cherylplatz.medium.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Enjoy a foamy cup of coffee decorated with a heart, as Amy Ogg joins us to talk about her adventures in the world of competitive latte art. She provides an insider’s view of coffee competitions, describing the various events from latte art contests to espresso tastings and "best coffeehouse", and shares how she navigated the male-dominated competitive coffee scene. Amy tells us about her training approach that was focused on consistency and repetition, pouring hundreds of drinks to perfect specific patterns, and reveals her own personal signature design.Guest BioAmy Ogg (she/her) is a Seattle-based design systems nerd & coffee-lover. She is currently working on the Mindful Design System at Ensora Health, and enjoys giving back to the community in her free time. Amy serves as the Seattle Chapter Lead for Into Design Systems USA meetups, serves as the Mentor Team Lead at IterateUX, and also provides design mentorship through the iMentorship program at University of Washington’s iSchool. When not immersed in something design-related, Amy enjoys making craft coffee at home, roller skating along the Seattle waterfront and making music with her flute.LinksAmy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyoggCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.