The Way of Product with Caden Damiano

All right! You guys are in for a treat! In this episode, I talked with an OG designer from Silicon Valley, Robin Hayes.Back in the day, he worked on a little thing called TiVo, helping design one of the most iconic user experiences in the history of our profession and helping TiVo become one of the first brands that had a reputation for good CX (which wasn't very common back then).We talk about the rise and fall TiVo and discuss what happens when you nail the user experience and the company no longer wants to innovate.We then discuss his pivot from engineering to UX because of the lack of rigor from a designer that worked with him. He holds over two decades of experience working at Samsung's UX lab, consulting for VR companies and is now an indie VR game developer making  Oculus VR games.So take notes. He shares a ton in this episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

in this episode, I catch up with a buddy of mine to talk about what we have learned from our product design internships, and he has a lot to say on the matter clocking in five internship experiences before settling in his current full-time role outside of school. The guy I'm talking about is Jacob artisan, who is UX designer, IBM's design studio in Austin, Texas. We talk about the kinds of internships you should look for if you're interested in the path of digital product design and how you could get the most out of those internships.Something really important that we discuss is the red flags that show you are in a bad internship for the product design career path.So take notes. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

I have a great nugget today on how you as a design org can build stakeholder confidence in the strategic direction that you propose.In this interview, I chat with Matt Davis, who is a UX designer at Lenovo. We talk about the challenge of designing and context switching across a very large portfolio of products He works on smart speakers. every think pad you could point at and now is working in Lenovos competitor to the Hololense.When you're working on so many products, how can design become a strategic partner with the product org if they can't focus on the big problems each product faces?At Lenovo, they have an approach to developing thought leadership as a design org that I found pretty interesting, and it's something that every designer or big or small can apply to influence those critical decisions making moments in business and really provide business value. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

Hey, product community. I have an idea I want to share with you and I wrote it in an article a couple of months back.It's called don't work for brands.in this essay, I get pretty open about my experience interviewing with Facebook and the introspection I had after not making the cut for the job.I think anyone trying to figure out their career right now needs to hear this message.  there are only so many jobs offered at so-called big brands. They can't possibly hire every designer who applies, but there are plenty of great opportunities in companies around the globe.You might not be able to brag about your first job to your friends and family, but it doesn't mean your career trajectory is shot if you don't work at one of the big tech companies starting out.What I have noticed in the designers I admire is that they didn't start at Google, Intuit or Facebook out of design school. They worked in mostly obscure companies building their craft before getting such high visibility, If you want my philosophy on long game career growth, take the time to listen to this article. Enjoy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

Hey listeners, This episode we interview with Kamalei Logan, a UX designer at Overstock and a former student of the Dev Mountain UX boot camp. During the interview, we talk about his experience from going to a boot camp to transitioning into the workforce. One thing we discuss is what path is right for you? When should you go to a boot camp and when does it make more sense to get a four-year degree in design?It depends, Kamalei had a good reason for going to Dev Mountain and we unwrapped that in this episode.If this is something you're thinking about, give it a listen.If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

We met Serena when Cam and I visited New York City with our design school cohort to visit companies. She just recently started working there at the end of last year, and she was awesome enough to let us visit the IBM office at Astor place. In this episode, we talk about leveling up after getting that first role.The game has changed. Before you had a job, you had to hustle and say yes to every opportunity. But once you get that job, you're shifting gears.  it becomes more of a marathon.Serena lays out a pretty solid process of continuing to improve after being hired, how to find the work you want to do and positioning your career to do more of it.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

We finally got to editing this gem. This interview is with Joey Isaacson, who is a senior product designer at Uber freight. Before that, he was a product designer at Facebook and before that he helped design Songkick's platform, Joey was super generous in this episode, breaking down the nuance of getting through multiple design interviews to what managers should look for when they're interviewing candidates and how they should handle the hiring process. He also talks about what to do in your first job as a UX designer, how to crush those first 90 days, and how to start charting your growth into a senior design position from day one. We talk a lot about leveling up and what the market is looking for in new designer talent. His answers might surprise you. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeisaacson/Support the podcast: https://anchor.fm/cadendamiano/supportBook recommended by Joey "The first 90 days": https://www.amazon.com/First-90-Days-Strategies-Expanded/dp/1422188612/ref=asc_df_1422188612/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=266118767273&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3059560243205749901&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026980&hvtargid=pla-404766147599&psc=1 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

New format! Audio Articles!Having trouble finding a fit in a company? In this episode, I share the idea that you shouldn't work for "Tech" companies, you should work for value propositions. This leads to higher job satisfaction if you are interested in the way of a product designer who wants to build massive value in your products. If you understand the companies value proposition you can better understand where your personal expertise as a designer or product manager would fit in that organization. Then you can do work that excites you!As always, DM me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano/ if this article resonated with you. I'd love to hash out and refine the idea more with your feedback. And if it really changed your perspective on your career, please share this episode with your network! Let's make more happy designers! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

The podcast is back with more episodes! In this episode, we recap on what we've learned in the last season on advanced tools and techniques to network and land jobs in the design industry. This episode is about our next knowledge quest. We know that design and product as a core business function is valuable, so we're not going to beat a dead horse on evangelizing the value of design. We know it's valuable!We're more interested in how you as an individual contributor can provide that value.We cover some key insights on crushing the design interview process in this episode. We share some opinions about design frameworks, when they are useful and when they are an issue to the design process. Enjoy!Reach out on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com

In this episode, we talk about conversation design with Margaret Urban and Michael Greenberg, two interaction designers at Google.You can connect with Margaret and Michael on LinkedIn:MargaretMichaelAlso, Google has a great resource to learn more about Conversation Design:Conversation Design with GoogleIf you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn:Cam SackettCaden DamianoPivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano.Pivot Intro Music by Cam SackettThis episode was recorded on Jan. 15, 2019. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.wayofproduct.com