

This is HCD – Human-Centered Design, UX & Service Design Thinking Podcast
Gerry Scullion
Welcome to This is HCD – Human-Centered Design, UX & Service Design Thinking Podcast, the global show for designers, innovators, and changemakers who want to create better products, services, and experiences.
Hosted by Gerry Scullion, with over 1-million downloads worldwide.
Each episode dives into conversations with leading voices in service design, UX design, interaction design, customer experience, and design strategy. Together, we explore the methods, mindsets, and real-world stories that bring human-centered design and design thinking to life.
Whether you’re a UX researcher, service design practitioner, product manager, or design leader, you’ll find actionable insights, practical tools, and inspiration to elevate your practice and drive meaningful change.
Tune in and join the global human-centered design community — learn how to design with purpose, create inclusive solutions, and shape a more thoughtful future.
Hosted by Gerry Scullion, with over 1-million downloads worldwide.
Each episode dives into conversations with leading voices in service design, UX design, interaction design, customer experience, and design strategy. Together, we explore the methods, mindsets, and real-world stories that bring human-centered design and design thinking to life.
Whether you’re a UX researcher, service design practitioner, product manager, or design leader, you’ll find actionable insights, practical tools, and inspiration to elevate your practice and drive meaningful change.
Tune in and join the global human-centered design community — learn how to design with purpose, create inclusive solutions, and shape a more thoughtful future.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 24, 2018 • 31min
Jay Hasbrouck 'The power of ethnographic thinking in Design'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.In this episode, we chat with the author of Ethnographic Thinking, Jay Hasbrouck. We go through what ethnographic thinking is and how it should be applied to inform richer contextual insights for design teams and how designers have abused or misunderstood ethnography and even touch on some retail rituals in the US and talk about how going off-piste in Jay's research plan in Japan led him to a shoe hotel and all the rich insights about the culture that followed.Jays websiteJay Hasbrouck on LinkedInCreators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Apr 10, 2018 • 39min
Jon Hicks 'Understanding the differences between brand design and icon design'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.In this episode, we caught up with Gentleman designer himself, Jon Hicks. Jon is a graphic designer and illustrator but has worked across a broad spectrum of mediums in his career. Most of us will be familiar with Jons work, whether it be the first Firefox logo, or Spotify's icons, or ANZ customers in Australia will recognise his icons in their applications. Having worked with Jon many times over the years, I can honestly say he’s one of the best in the world at what he does, so was incredibly happy to have him on the show.Also joining in on the conversation was Principal Designer at Intuit, Aman Braich who is a brand expert and helping reshape the brand identity for Intuit both in Australia and the US. So I sandwiched between icon and brand gurus in this episode. We discussed the differences and similarities between icon and brand, governance of both, the importance of context in design, and much more.LinksView Jons work at Hicks DesignWatch Jon talk about The Icon Design ProcessRead Jons blogFollow Jon on TwitterConnect with Jon on LinkedInConnect with Aman Braich on LinkedInCreators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Mar 26, 2018 • 32min
Greg Bernarda 'Designing businesses for the new world'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.So, today's topic is an absolutely massive one "most organizations still largely live in the 20th century, in a world where the key currency for success has been ‘exploitation’. But in the 21st century, the name of the game is ‘innovation’. Those are two very different capabilities. Exploitation is about excelling at executing, and scaling products and services in a largely known environment. Innovation is about navigating the unknown, exploring possibilities, and experimenting with new ways of creating value for people with ever-evolving needs." Service Design, Product Management, UX are all part of the later. I'm really excited to get into this. Also joining this episode is the wonderful Nick Coster, co-founder of Brainmates.comRead the transcript of this interviewConnect with Greg on LinkedInGregBernarda.com Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Mar 12, 2018 • 33min
Andy Polaine & Simon McIntyre 'Service Designing Education' (Part 2 of 2)
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.This episode is the second part in a two-part series with Andy Polaine, the regional APAC design director for Fjord and Simon McIntyre who is the Associate Dean of Education in UNSW, formally COFA, the College of Fine Art and Design.In the first part, we spoke about the problems faced in education and spoke about some of the origins of these problems. This episode builds on that but goes deeper into the work that UNSW is undertaking about redesigning the university with a focus on enabling a culture that will better place their students for the future.What's so good about this combination of Andy and Simon is not only have they worked together before but is the relationship between Andy's service design history and his academic past in teaching in Europe. Together with Simon, they approach the subject of the future of education with pragmatism.Simons email mentioned in this episode S.McIntyre@unsw.edu.auCreators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Feb 26, 2018 • 38min
Chirryl-Lee Ryan 'Are we making things better with Design'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.Hello, welcome to another episode of This is HCD. My name is Gerry Scullion, and I’m a Human Centered Design Practitioner based in Australia. The episode that you are about to hear was recorded in Melbourne CBD so would like to acknowledge the Boonwarung people of the Kulin nation as the traditional custodians of the land where we meet today and pay respect to their elders, both past and present.Chirryl-Lee Ryan is what she calls, a transdisciplinary design practitioner, merging many design disciplines into a super force. Anyone who is familiar with Chirryl will know she is a no-holds-barred speaker. She says what she means, and mean what she says and is a force to be reckoned with.We were recently together on a Design Panel about Designing for Social Impact for Academy XI in Sydney and had a whale of a time.Kelsey Schwinn (GM of Today), Gerry Scullion (Director of Humana), Chirryl-Lee Ryan (Transdisciplinary Designer), Andy Polaine (Regional APAC Design Director for Fjord) at the Academy XI ‘Design for Social Impact’ in Sydney, February 2018. Photo credit: Kimberley RyanWe caught up in Melbourne to extend that conversation and go deeper into areas that we touched on such as ‘are we making things better’ ‘what shoes would chirryl wear in a zombie apocalypse, and what the future of design looks like through Chirryl’s eyes.Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Feb 12, 2018 • 31min
Rachael Mullins 'Bring out your inner UX writer'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.Over the course of the last year or so, I’ve heard whispers in the UX community of a new role emerge called a UX Writer and instantly was drawn to it as I have identified the issues many times in my career of the solutions that a role like this can address. She also published a really great article on Medium that I’ll also add to the show notes. We caught up online to record this episode, and had a good chat about how Rachael got into the industry, what she does, the principles of good UX writing, what tools she uses and much much more.Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Jan 29, 2018 • 42min
Andy Polaine - 'Is Education Broken?' (Part 1)
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.In this episode, we caught up with Andy Polaine who is Regional APAC Design Director for Fjord and also professor Simon McIntyre from UNSW to discuss the future of education and ask the mammoth question of, "Is education broken?".Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Jan 15, 2018 • 25min
Elizabeth Pek - 'What makes a good designer?'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.Hello! In this episode, we spoke with Elizabeth Pek, Director of Experience Design at BT Financial Group, about what she believes makes a good designer. This episode is jam-packed with information for both Designers and Design Managers alike.This episode was hosted by Adrienne Tan and Mark Catanzariti.Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Jan 2, 2018 • 29min
Eduardo Kranz - 'The intersect of Service Design and User Experience Design'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.In this episode, we caught up with Eduardo Kranz who is a design director at Fjord Canberra. We discussed where the service design and UX professions intersect in respects to the skills and activities that are done on a day to day basis. We didn't get into the definition of what service design is or isn't or any of the other semi contentious issues around the two practices. We did, however, drill deeper into the practices and daily rituals that Eduardo believes better serves both service design and UX practitioners, and most importantly the client and/or project in question.Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Dec 18, 2017 • 38min
Gerry Gaffney (Live audience) 'How forms reveal the true nature of an organisation'
If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.This was a show of firsts! Our very first live podcast in front of an audience, and also the first time we had the wonderful Gerry Gaffney on the show. The show was recorded at the incredible offices of FutureYou, a boutique recruitment consultancy based in downtown Sydney.It's also our 10th episode of This is HCD!Creators & Guests
Gerry Scullion - Host
Stef Murphy - Producer
Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdSponsor links10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-upCheck out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10


