
AIGA Design Podcast
The official podcast feed of AIGA, the professional association for design. We explore various facets of the design discipline, profession, and industry to help our listeners learn about the past and present and prepare for the future. The theme of our 2024-2025 season is "Design and Performance."
Latest episodes

8 snips
Mar 18, 2024 • 43min
Crafting a Career Roadmap with Sarah Doody
In this engaging discussion, Sarah Doody, Founder of Career Strategy Lab™, shares her insights on navigating job searches for UX and product professionals. She emphasizes the importance of crafting a career roadmap with clear goals. Sarah explains how to create a compelling compass statement to filter opportunities aligned with individual aspirations. The concept of 'anti-networking' is introduced, focusing on building meaningful relationships rather than traditional networking. Listeners also learn strategies for revitalizing their cover letters to stand out in the job market.

Mar 7, 2024 • 1min
Clip: Designing Your Career with Sarah Doody
On the next episode of the AIGA Design Podcast, guest Sarah Doody discusses applying product design principles to your career, crafting a career roadmap, and more. Full episode release: March 18, 2024.
🤝 Sarah Doody is the founder of Career Strategy Lab, a program that helps UX and product professionals at all career stages navigate their job search and articulate their skills and experience through individualized and group coaching. She is also the host of the Career Strategy Lab podcast.
Topics include:
1️⃣ Crafting a career roadmap: Discover the value of setting short and long-term goals to guide your professional journey.
2️⃣ Building your compass statement: Learn how to articulate your vision and filter opportunities that align with your career aspirations.
3️⃣ The power of anti-networking: Explore strategies for building meaningful relationships and standing out in a crowded job market.

Feb 20, 2024 • 47min
Why design research is stuck with Danny Spitzberg and Humphrey Obuobi
Has design research hit a plateau?
In this episode, Danny Spitzberg and Humphrey Obuobi, two design researchers in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Lee-Sean Huang, senior director of learning and programs at AIGA delve into the challenges and explore the gap between personal and professional learning in design research.
Topics include:
the value of co-design catchphrases and why they keep resurfacing
the challenges and rewards of collaborating with marginalized communities on designing solutions that address their needs
how design and policy can intersect more effectively to address social challenges and promote equity
🔍 Danny Spitzberg, a user research expert in the cooperative economy, co-founded the Workers’ Algorithm Observatory. He sheds light on auditing algorithms for workers and allies, advocating for concrete improvements in digital technology standards.
🔍 Humphrey Obuobi, founder of LETS Studio, focuses on building infrastructure for a healthier democracy. A student-researcher with UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab, Humphrey is dedicated to local, community-powered social innovation.
📖 Read Danny and Humphrey's Q&A article published on AIGA.org
🙋 LETS Studio, Humphrey's professional practice, invites collaborations and volunteers at letsstudio.org.
🔬 The Workers’ Algorithm Observatory advocates for algorithmic accountability; explore their studies at wao.cs.princeton.edu.
📫 Subscribe to AIGA newsletters for the latest podcast and content news.

Feb 14, 2024 • 59sec
Clip: Why Design Research is Stuck
Preview clip of our upcoming episode with Danny Spitzberg and Humphrey Obuobi on Why Design Research is Stuck. Full episode release on February 20, 2024.

Feb 5, 2024 • 7min
Welcome to the 2024 Season of AIGA Design Podcast: MARGINS
Designing success outside the lines – AIGA's 2024 journey begins at the margins.
Welcome to the first episode of the 2024 season of the AIGA Design Podcast! Join Lee-Sean Huang, senior director of learning and programs at AIGA, as he explores the theme "MARGINS" and sets the stage for an exciting year of AIGA Design programming.
🎟️ Register for the Yale BPCL Open House webinar.
📚 Learn more about the AIGA Professional Design Certification.
🏆 Learn more and enter AIGA Design Competitions.
📫 Subscribe to AIGA newsletters for the latest podcast and content news.
Want to join us as a guest on a future show? Fill out this form here.

Dec 12, 2023 • 5min
Clip: Colton Schweitzer on UX bootcamps and gaps in design curricula
Listen to the full interview with Colton Schweitzer, co-founder of Kickass UX here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aigadesign/episodes/Colton-Schweitzer-on-Kickass-UX-e2ci2ke
Use code AIGA75 for $75 off your first month of Kickass UX's UX/UI Expert course

Dec 4, 2023 • 48min
Colton Schweitzer on Kickass UX
In this episode Colton Schweitzer, co-founder of Kickass UX and Lee-Sean Huang, senior director of learning and programs at AIGA talk about:
How Banksy inspired Colton to get into graphic design
How creating a board game introduced Colton to UX and landed him a job
The differences between a design bootcamp and a college degree program
How to identify and address common gaps in UX design education
How recent design graduates can make their portfolios stand out and some hope for current UX job seekers
What makes the Kickass UX program different and how graduates of the program have found success
Why graphic designers should learn UX even if they aren’t planning a career pivot
How can designers overcome subjectivity when dealing with stakeholders
What are the “Treasure Map” and “Kung Fu Master” metaphors for the UX process and how do they make you a more powerful designer with a “why skillset”
How Colton applies UX principles to designing the pedagogy and business model for his venture, Kickass UX
And more!
Use code AIGA75 for $75 off your first month of Kickass UX's UX/UI Expert course
AIGA's Design Futures research referenced in the episode
Colton's cartoon alter ego, Kitty AF recently released a holiday book How the Cat Ruined Christmas
Irish Bouzouki clip by PhotoCapeBreton via Pixabay
This is the final episode of 2023. Happy holidays! See you next year.

Nov 9, 2023 • 46min
Maigen Thomas on career changes and starting a new design job
Maigen Thomas, a senior UX designer and career switcher, talks about leveraging life experiences into design and gives tips for starting a new job. They discuss the importance of personal experience and user perspectives in design, the lack of diversity in the industry, and the lessons learned from a career change. They also touch on creating site maps, the effectiveness of boot camps, learning styles, gamification in HR tech, the 'Alfred effect,' and the impact of design in enterprise software.

Oct 28, 2023 • 51min
Pentagram 50 at the 2023 AIGA Design Conference
Debbie Millman interviews Pentagram partners Emily Oberman, Giorgia Lupi, Marina Willer, Natasha Jen, and Paula Scher. Recorded LIVE at the 2023 AIGA Design Conference in New York City!

Sep 27, 2023 • 4min
Clip: Steven Steiner on Designer Archetypes
What is your designer archetype? Are you a generalist, strategist, researcher, architect, artist, author, or design operations person? How does knowing your archetype help you progress in your career? We discuss these archetypes and more in the full episode of the AIGA Design Podcast with Steven Steiner: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/aigadesign/episodes/Steven-Steiner-on-designer-archetypes--career-coaching--and-communicating-your-value-e29h0h4
Steven Steiner is a Career Coach for Designers who helps them get what they want next with the right levels of industry knowledge, rigor, and moral support.