Design Downtime

We’re going to a land down under, as Shannon Leahy joins us to talk about her love for Australia. She reflects on growing up as a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia and how it has shaped her life, with childhood summers in Melbourne, the unique family traditions that anchored her to the country, and the value she finds in regular, “mundane” family gatherings. Through family stories, memories of local foods, and Australian treats that hold sentimental value, Shannon expresses her gratitude for being part of a multicultural family and the joy she finds in revisiting and sharing these experiences. Plus, she also offers tips for visitors to Melbourne!Guest BioShannon Leahy (she/her) has worked at the intersection of words, strategy, design, and people for 15 years. In that time, she's been a web copywriter, an SEO specialist, an instructional designer, and a senior UX manager. These days, Shannon’s a senior content design manager at Capital One, and she organizes a meetup called RVA Content Strategy, which is running 12 years strong now. Shannon lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and their dog, Ginger Snap. Melbourne, Australia is her home away from home (she's a dual citizen!). Her favorite neutral is leopard print, and her superpower is asking questions…lots of questions.LinksShannon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonleahyShannon on ADPList: https://adplist.org/mentors/shannon-leahyRVA Content Strategy: https://www.rvacontentstrategy.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Laura Worrick had a farm and on that farm she had a… well, you’ll have to listen to this episode to find out! Laura shares her journey from childhood farm work in rural Massachusetts to creating a backyard homestead in Austin, Texas. She talks about her evolving relationship with food, her and her partner's efforts to adapt to Texas's unique climate, and how her partner has come to embrace their homestead lifestyle—now complete with two dogs and seven chickens. Laura also shares about the deep satisfaction she finds in nurturing plants from seeds to harvest, and how these small acts of cultivation help her feel grounded in nature.Guest BioLaura Worrick (she/her) is a neurodivergent design leader living in Austin, TX. With over 15 years of experience, Laura has collaborated with various brands including Amazon, Bayer, BBC, IBM, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, United Nations and others. She is an advocate for neurodiverse talent in the design field and has written and spoken about the topic in various forums. Currently she is a design manager at Cisco, leading the design system team and visual design program for Cisco IT. Outside work you can find her hanging with chickens, dogs and horses, or giving people hand poked tattoos.LinksLaura’s Instaram: https://www.instagram.com/wawawawick/Laura’s hand poke tattoos: https://www.instagram.com/wawapokes/Laura’s farm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothershipfarmatx/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab your skates but don’t forget your helmet and knee pads, as Anna Cook joins us to talk about her newfound passion for roller derby. She explains how a friend’s invitation to watch a match sparked her interest, how having no prior skating experience made her first day challenging, and how the encouragement from fellow teammates and coaches gave her the support she needed. Anna provides insights into the structure and rules of roller derby, the various roles within a team, and the rigorous training required to participate in bouts. She talks about the inclusive and nurturing community she discovered in the sport, particularly highlighting its embrace of diversity, including those who are queer, neurodivergent, or disabled. Guest BioAs a Senior Designer at Microsoft, Anna Cook (she/they) specializes in building inclusive products, focusing on accessibility and inclusion for Azure and beyond. She has over ten years of experience in digital product design and a Masters in Creative Technology + Design from the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.LinksBoulder County Roller Derby League: https://bouldercountyrollerderby.com/Anna’s website: https://annaecook.com/Anna’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaecook/Anna on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/annaecook.comAnna on Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@annaecookCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Let’s take to the sky, as Ian Murchison flies us into the thrilling world of drone racing. He shares his background in racing remote control cars and how that competitive spirit led him to racing drones. Ian recounts his first race, the nerves he felt racing indoors, and how the drone racing community helps newcomers ease into the sport. He describes the complexities of controlling drones in 3D space, explains how tracks are designed, and emphasizes the balance between technical skill and competitive racing. The conversation also touches on his experience designing and building his own drones, and how it allows him to stay connected to building objects in physical space.Guest BioWith a background as an industrial designer and as someone who has made the switch from the physical to the digital world, Ian Murchison (he/him) has had the joy of working for some major brands like Blackberry and Nokia while also building up his own consultancy, designing, building and shipping award winning products globally. Ian’s work has crossed all scales, from products that are consumed by hundreds of millions, to newborn ideas without a customer in sight. Ian is currently a Principal Designer working on the design system team at Autodesk. Beyond the 9-5 Ian focuses on the outdoors, not hiking or camping, but he’s started his own hop farm, providing locally sourced ingredients to craft breweries. He spends countless hours cycling the countryside and, what we’re going to talk about today, competing in FPV drone racing. LinksIan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmurchisonIan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianmurchison/Ian on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ianmurchisonMultiGP drone racing league: https://www.multigp.comCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Let’s dive into the intersection of design, art, and craft, as Anne Hjortshøj joins us to talk about contemporary fine art, which she finds more abstract and intriguing than traditional figurative art. She explores the common misconceptions surrounding design as an art form, and explores the contextual nature of art. Anne touches on the role of museums, the evolution of art trends, and her personal encounters with significant artworks, as well as the economic structures of the fine art world, its small and elitist nature, auction house controversies, and the tension between artistic intent and market value.Guest BioAnne Hjortshøj (she/her) has successfully led design as an executive across B2C industries, including automotive, CPG, retail, financial services and EdTech. She has built design capabilities at three organizations, assembling UX teams from the ground up, while scaling the function and advancing a strong, consistent design culture.LinksAnne’s website: https://annehj.com/Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annehjAnne on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/annesaurus.bsky.socialAnne on mastodon: https://better.boston/@annesaurusCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s not just IKEA and fjords, as Katharina Koberdamm joins us to share her deep passion for Scandinavia. Her fascination began in her 20s with Swedish music, which inspired her to take her first solo trip through Sweden and Denmark. Looking at the cultural differences between Scandinavia and her home in Germany, Katharina highlights the minimalist design, the more uniform style, and the serene landscapes of the Nordic countries, and dreams of future trips with her growing family to further share the lands she loves.Guest BioKatharina Koberdamm (she/her) is a design leadership expert and coach from Germany. She is best known for creating the Design Leadership Framework, which helps design leaders be more strategic and structured in managing their teams. Before fully dedicating her time to coaching, Katharina worked as a UX Designer and Lead, collaborating with organizations across Europe. Her passion has always been to make complex things easy to understand, whether it's a user interface, a customer journey, or the abstract challenges of managing a UX team. She holds a degree in Business Administration and specialized in Human-Computer Interaction and User-Centered Design for her diploma thesis. This combination has enabled her to bridge the worlds of business and design effortlessly throughout her career. In her personal life, Katharina loves listening to music, drinking coffee, and traveling. She is married and has a two-year-old son who keeps her very busy. LinksKatharina’s website: https://designleadershipframework.de/Katharina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/designleadershipThe mentioned artists:Ane Brun: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/2L3kwZFd16zjHz9a5kEPAmChristian Kjellvander: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/2NNMCcN4t0zn04kTzdVAS6Frida Hyvönen: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/58XdW0XyGukvmGatf7NC2RTina Dico: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/6AHLjrNUzvqs8jg5JntmeLAsgeir: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/7xUZ4069zcyBM4Bn10NQ1cCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Get into the groove, as Donnie D’Amato shares his journey into the world of dance, from dancing in the kitchen with his family to mimicking moves from video games. His passion for dance continued into high school, where he joined a breakdancing group, and an unexpected audition led him to his first paid job for a DJ company. Donnie touches on his unique journey in the dance world, including his appearances on “So You Think You Can Dance” and his involvement with the New York Dance Parade. He also reflects on the balance between following patterns and finding room for personal expression.Guest BioDonnie D’Amato (he/him) is the Founder & Chief Architect of Design Systems House; a consultancy dedicated to the future of design systems.He is also the moderator of the Slack, Twitter, and Mastodon design system communities, author of gridless.design; a thesis on mismatching the design grid to the web medium, and instructor for User Research and Interaction Design at Parsons School of Design. Previously, Donnie was the first UX Engineer at Compass, and currently he is engineering lead for the UXCore library at GoDaddy.LinksDonnie’s website: https://donnie.damato.design/Donnie’s podcast: https://wireframe.fm/New York Dance Parade: https://danceparade.org/Central Park Dance Skaters Association: https://cpdsa.org/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Let’s travel into the third dimension with Amy Lee, as she shares about her journey of discovering 3D printing with an initial understanding of the technology as merely a tool to create figurines, and how it evolved, leading her to experiment with more complex items. She tells us of her fascination with the intricacies of 3D printing, including the steep learning curve, the challenges of designing 3D objects on a 2D screen, and the practical hurdles she encountered in her early projects. Amy also talks about how 3D printing has influenced her view of other aspects of life, and how this technology has opened up a world of possibilities for creating custom objects tailored to her specific needs, rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions.Guest BioAmy Lee (she/her) is a design system leader who believes in the power of collaboration. She has created and led design system teams at large companies like Salesforce and DocuSign, as well as smaller startups. Amy believes that design systems can be a party where everyone is invited. Amy is also an engineer and a musician. She loves the process of creating things and wondering how to make things exist. She has no formal audio engineering training but has built two shipping iPad-based music-making apps. She'll be performing guitar live on stage; she has 4 more months to learn to play guitar. And lately, she's gotten pretty deep into 3D printing and CAD modeling–because why not. Amy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and enjoys going for walks with her husband.LinksAmy’s website: https://www.jumpingrobot.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab your longboard and join us on the beach, as Val Poon shares her unique journey from growing up in the urban environment of Hong Kong to becoming an avid surfer. Her first surfing experience in Hawaii, which she fondly remembers despite the challenges, set the stage for her lifelong passion. That passion has profoundly influenced her life, from her daily routines to her mental and emotional well-being. She discusses the patience she’s developed, the way surfing has shaped her approach to life’s uncertainties, and how it has even helped her navigate feelings of imposter syndrome. Val recounts experiences surfing in various locations around the world, how each place has offered a different perspective on surfer culture, and reveals her surfing bucket list.Guest BioAs a curiosity and UX-driven product designer, Val Poon (she/her) experiments with sensory-rich elements to create digital experiences that captivate and communicate intuitively. Her superpower lies in keenly discerning the right timing to act on user and business needs, much like navigating through waves when surfing. Now learning to code, Val is looking forward to deepening her understanding of our ever evolving digital landscape. A gentle reminder for listeners from Val is to embrace every moment, because then your journey unfolds into a rewarding map of destinations.LinksVal’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valpoon/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab on to your character sheet and roll for initiative, as Chris Strahl shares about his lifelong love of Dungeons & Dragons. He reflects on his early experiences of storytelling and shares insights on his growth as a Dungeon Master, adapting to the unexpected decisions his players make. Chris also talks about his involvement in professional DM'ing, running public games and corporate events, and how he navigates toxic behaviors to ensured a safe, inclusive environment for all players. Guest BioChris Strahl (he/him) is the CEO and co-founder of Knapsack and the host of the Design Systems Podcast. Knapsack helps the world's leading enterprises go from design to code quickly and accurately using design systems. A respected speaker, he has shared his visionary perspective on the use of generative design and AI technology in next-generation design systems at organizations like Google, Meta, Dribble, Clarity, and other pioneering companies. Outside of work, you can find Chris in the PNW on a river, climbing a trail, or dreaming up new worlds for his latest tabletop game. Chris started tabletop gaming with friends in his teenage years, and he used to be a professional game master in Portland, OR where he lives today. While being a CEO takes up a lot of time, he still holds a weekly game with his friends and spends time organizing games for friends and family.LinksChris’s LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisstrahlChris’s company: https://www.knapsack.cloud/Chris’s podcast: https://www.designsystemspodcast.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.