Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis 🇺🇦

Dave Hoffer shares why design demands empathy 🧠, courage 🛡️, and long-term thinking 🌱—and how amplifying others can transform leadership in uncertain times 🚀. He explores design’s shifting role in business, the disruptive rise of AI, and why resilience and critique will shape the future of design. ====== Episode Chapters 00:00 – Why Empathy Matters in Design 01:02 – Introducing Dave Hoffer 03:17 – Amplifying Others Over Self 05:00 – Layoffs, Resilience, and Mission-Driven Work 12:12 – Hope and Long-Term Thinking in Design 14:20 – Courage, Critique, and Speaking Truth to Power 17:24 – Design Under Pressure and the AI Disruption 22:20 – Why Designers Must Experiment With AI Tools 31:30 – Lessons from Kasparov on Humans + Machines 33:00 – Spectral Thinking and Understanding People on a Spectrum 37:11 – The Hard Cost of Empathy in Design 42:05 – Why Executives Need Firsthand Empathy 50:30 – Empathy, Judgment, and Learning from Outliers 58:13 – Physical Labor and Shifts in Perspective 1:04:00 – Think Like a Gardener, Not an Architect ====== Who is Dave Hoffer? Dave Hoffer is a seasoned design leader and strategist whose career spans product design, digital innovation, and design transformation 🌎. He has: Led design teams at Frog Design, PwC, and McKinsey & Company Grown McKinsey’s global design practice from a handful of designers to hundreds 📈 Brought design strategy into the heart of business and policy change Advised mission-driven organisations like Safe Kids AI 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Advocated for amplifying others and championing empathy and critique as foundations for impactful leadership ✨ Today, Dave advises organisations as an independent consultant, helping them embed human-centered design practices into strategy and transformation initiatives. ====== Find Dave Hoffer here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-hoffer/ Website: https://www.mpqd.com/ ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Like what you heard? 🎙️ Subscribe to Brave UX for more conversations with world-class voices in UX, design, and product leadership. Your support helps others discover the show! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/brave-ux-with-brendan-jarvis/id1552607805 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7j2ocni6A00fzgHkj6TtCK YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSpaceInBetween Podbean: https://braveux.podbean.com/ ====== Follow Brave UX for more great content! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brave_ux Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/ ====== Hosted by Brendan Jarvis: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/ The Space InBetween Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/

Josephine Wong challenges us to design with intention, build cultures that care, and recognise the quiet power of everyday interactions to create truly meaningful work. ====== Episode chapters 00:00 – Curiosity, Systems Thinking, and Adding Value 00:30 – Welcome and Introduction 01:13 – Meet Josephine (Jo) Wong 03:27 – Starting in Advertising and Early Career Lessons 05:44 – Multicultural Roots and Open-Mindedness in Research 09:00 – Studying in Melbourne and Founding Apogee 13:00 – Building a Life and Business Partnership With Dan 14:12 – Interest in Political and Economic Systems 18:29 – Why Intention Matters in Research Conversations 22:00 – Inspiration From Deng Xiaoping and China’s Transformation 27:58 – East Meets West: Finding Common Ground in Hong Kong 33:54 – Make Meaningful Work and Creating Culture Through Interactions 39:15 – Sparkle Studio: Teaching Kids Human Skills 50:54 – A Second Book in the Works and Who It’s For 56:33 – The Contribution Question and Closing Reflections ====== Who is Josephine Wong? Josephine Wong is a co-founder and principal at Apogee, a pioneering user experience consultancy founded in 1998 with a vision to bring human-centred design to Hong Kong and the wider region. Over the past 25 years, Apogee has played a significant role in advancing UX across Asia. She’s also the co-founder of Make Meaningful Work, a studio and learning platform helping people unlock their potential by focusing on meaningful work in environments where they can learn, improve, and thrive together. If that wasn’t enough, Jo is also the co-founder of UX Hong Kong, an annual learning event that brings together passionate practitioners from across product and service design to explore and celebrate exceptional experience creation. A committed and influential contributor to our field, Jo has shared her expertise on global platforms including Beat Camp, We Can Do Better, the Reorient podcast, and UXpod. Her work is deeply informed by her multicultural upbringing and global perspective, allowing her to bridge cultural nuance and inspire designers and researchers around the world. ====== Find Josephine here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephine-wong-6801922/ X: https://x.com/igiwong Apogee: https://www.apogeehk.com/ Make Meaningful Work: https://www.makemeaningfulwork.com/ UX Hong Kong: https://uxhongkong.com/ ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn TikTok Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website

Roberta Dombrowski invites us to rethink success, tune into our intuition, and lead with intention —sharing how mindfulness, healing, and self-compassion can transform the way we work and live. ====== Episode chapters 00:00 – Defining Success on Your Own Terms 00:30 – Welcome and Introduction 01:17 – Meet Roberta Dombrowski 04:25 – Growing Up as a Transracial Adoptee 09:04 – Reading Other Adoptees’ Stories and Finding Comfort 13:42 – Owning Her Story and Entering a Healing Phase 14:30 – A Restless Career Journey in Learning, Research, and Coaching 20:00 – An Anxiety Injury and Learning to Slow Down 23:00 – Family Influences, Perception, and Letting Go of Control 26:18 – Founding Learn Mindfully and Levelling the Playing Field 31:00 – Coaching as Gardening: Planting Seeds and Managing Weeds 36:30 – Helping Clients Face Their Inner Critic and Emotions 42:30 – Challenges Researchers Face: Stress, Layoffs, and Recognition 50:30 – Work, Burnout, and the Shadow Side of Empathy 57:30 – Intuition, Listening to the Body, and Trusting Your Gut 1:10:30 – Closing Reflections: Curiosity, Fun, and Reconnecting With Joy ====== Who is Roberta Dombrowski? Roberta Dombrowski is a certified leadership coach and experience strategist, dedicated to transforming the way people live, learn, and work. She is the founder of Learn Mindfully, a coaching and training company she launched in 2022. Since then, Roberta has supported hundreds of leaders from companies such as Adobe, Instacart, ServiceNow, Zapier, and Zoom. Previously, Roberta was a Research Partner at Maze, where she helped clients maximize the platform’s potential. Before that, she was VP of User Research at User Interviews, where she built and scaled the research function while tackling the meta-challenge of researching researchers. Roberta is also the author of Consciously Crafting Your Career Path, a self-reflection and career planning workbook designed to help people shape fulfilling and intentional careers. Her insights have been featured on podcasts like Lead the People and BLOC, and at events such as Rosenfeld Media’s Advancing Research conference. ====== Find Roberta here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertadombrowski/ Company website: https://learnmindfully.co/ Personal website: https://robertalearns.com/  ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn TikTok Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website

Gloria Osardu, Senior Director and Global Head of UX Research at Yahoo, emphasizes the power of slowing down in research to foster meaningful insights. She shares how her journey from Ghana shapes her empathetic approach to leadership and the importance of perspective in technology adoption. The discussion dives into aligning research with business goals and the significance of asking the right questions. By promoting collaboration and understanding stakeholder dynamics, Gloria highlights how these elements can drive impactful change in organizations.

Esther Ahn reflects on the twists and turns of her creative journey, shares how critique can unlock better design without breaking spirits, and reveals why embracing the oops is essential for building resilient teams and products. Highlights include: 12:13 – How do you make sense of your career’s twists and turns? 28:52 – What does a healthy culture of critique look like? 35:24 – What works best when presenting design work to executives? 42:19 – Where is the most tension between business goals and user needs? 01:06:36 – How is the children’s book Beautiful Oops! relevant to your career? === Who is Esther Ahn? Esther is the Director of User Experience for YouTube TV and Primetime Channels on YouTube—a role in which she brings deep expertise in human-centered design and research to enhance the viewing experience across platforms and at scale. Throughout her career, Esther has pioneered new participatory design methods and conducted global research across the US, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Before YouTube, she was Director of Digital Health UX at Stanford Health Care and a Creative Director at the world-renowned innovation firm Frog Design. She’s also worked at two other giants of design—IDEO and Smart Design—where she shaped experiences through multidisciplinary practice. Esther holds a BA in Architecture from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Interaction Design from Carnegie Mellon University. === Find Esther here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estherahn/ ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn TikTok Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website

Meryl Evans shares why accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, how captions can create connection—not just convenience—and why progress over perfection is the mindset that drives lasting inclusion. Highlights include: 11:30 – How did publishing your first video in 2018 change everything? 20:28 – Why progress over perfection is essential in accessibility 29:06 – How do you carry the responsibility of being an advocate? 49:34 – What does it take to build a culture of accessibility? 59:15 – Why equitable design matters for dignity and inclusion ====== Who is Meryl Evans? Meryl is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC), a sought-after speaker, trainer, and accessibility marketing consultant who has spent over two decades championing inclusive digital experiences. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top 12 Voices for Accessibility Advocacy, Meryl’s work has been recognised by organisations such as the North Texas Disability Chamber and featured in The Wall Street Journal, MarketingProfs, and The Dallas Morning News. She’s the author of The Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook and co-author of Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites, and her speaking credits include TEDx, SXSW, and the American Marketing Association. Beyond her consulting and speaking, Meryl is a passionate volunteer, contributing to the W3C’s Immersive Captions community group and XR Access, helping ensure emerging technologies are accessible to everyone. === Find Meryl here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meryl/ Website: https://meryl.net/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/merylkevans/videos  X: https://x.com/merylkevans ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn TikTok Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website

Tammy Everts unpacks why web performance is a fundamental UX issue, how slow websites affect user perceptions and business outcomes, and why designers need to take ownership of performance alongside developers. Highlights include: 02:14 - How did you come to own uber.com? 15:27 - What does performance have to do with UX? 28:54 - How do you identify the best executive champion for performance? 35:24 - Is measuring the business impact of performance as easy as it sounds? 46:37 - Why aren’t designers more involved in performance? ====== Who is Tammy Everts? Tammy is the Chief Experience Officer at SpeedCurve—a platform that enables organisations to unlock the full potential of their web performance. In her role, Tammy champions the connection between site speed, user experience, and business success, working closely with customers to deepen their understanding of how people use with their websites. Tammy's career journey also includes senior UX roles at Soasta and Radware, and over two decades of pioneering research involving EEG headsets, facial action coding, and advanced machine learning. She is the author of “Time is Money: The Business Value of Web Performance” and a sought-after speaker, having shared her expertise at prominent events like Chrome Dev Summit, Smashing Conference, and Beyond Tellerand. Tammy also co-chairs the annual performance.now() conference in Amsterdam and co-curates WPO Stats, a valuable resource of web performance case studies. Find Tammy here: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyeverts/ Website: https://tammyeverts.wordpress.com/ Mastodon: https://webperf.social/@tammy X: https://x.com/tameverts ====== Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn TikTok Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website

In this episode of Brave UX, host Brendan Jarvis interviews designer, author, and educator Carla Diana, a leader in human-centered product design and technology. Carla is the D Designer-in-Residence and Head of Program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and works part-time as the Design Advisor at Diligent Robotics. Join Carla and Brendan as they explore the future of smart technologies, including Carla’s work on humanizing healthcare robots and her project "Mobility Town," which reimagines public transportation in Detroit. Carla also discusses the challenges of designing relatable robots, societal misconceptions about AI, and the ethical implications of technology. The conversation delves into the roles of designers in shaping how people interact with technology innovations like autonomous systems and social robots, urging a thoughtful consideration of technology’s impact on society.   Highlights include: 00:00 - Getting to Know Carla Diana 05:31 - The Importance of Critical Engagement 12:01 -  Mobility Town: Reimagining Transportation in Detroit 18:01 - The Social Aspects of Public Transport 24:01 - The Narrative Around Robots 30:01 - Designing Relatable Robots 36:01 - Ethical Implications of Design 42:01 - The Role of AI in Robotics 48:01 - Autonomous Vehicles and Society's Responsibility 55:01 - Reflections on Design Education and Technology Who is Carla Diana Carla Diana is a highly influential designer, author, and educator known for her work at the intersection of technology and human-centered product design. She is the founder and designer-in-residence of the Interaction Design Programme at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where she leads an innovative exploration into smart objects, immersive environments, and intelligent systems. Carla also serves as a design advisor at Diligent Robotics, shaping healthcare robots to assist workers better.  Her extensive experience includes roles at Smart Design and Frog Design, where she worked on diverse products, from robots to connected home appliances. Carla authored "Leo, The Maker Prince," the first children’s book about 3D printing, and "My Robot Gets Me," which focused on intuitive design for intelligent technologies. She’s a frequent speaker at prominent events like TEDx SXSW, and her writing has been featured in Fast Company, The New York Times, and Popular Science. Find Carla Diana Here Carla Diana on LinkedIn Cranbrook Academy of Art Website Diligent Robotics Website Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website  

Join Kelly Goto, CEO of gotoresearch and gotomedia, a pioneer in UX design, as she discusses her rich Japanese American heritage and its influence on her work. She highlights the vital role of emotional connections in product design and reflects on the challenges technology poses to attention spans. Kelly shares insights on generative AI's impact on research and underscores the importance of continuous learning in design. Her thoughts on mindfulness and embracing cultural perspectives provide a fresh take on enhancing user experience.

In this episode of Brave UX, Brendan welcomes Lawton Pybus, Principal and Co-Founder of Drill Bit Labs. Join them as they dive into the evolving landscape of UX amidst recent tech layoffs. Lawton shares insights from his extensive research on UX job markets and discusses the importance of valuing UX in organizations. With a blend of personal anecdotes—including a ‘fun’ story about a venomous snake—this conversation highlights key trends, challenges, and the potential role of AI in UX. Listeners will find valuable advice for navigating their careers and fostering resilience in the UX field. Don’t miss this insightful and entertaining discussion!   Highlights include: 00:00 - Introduction 02:15 - Job Market Analysis 05:45 - Real-Time Tracking of UX Roles 10:30 - Lawton’s Personal Journey 15:00 - Impact of Recent Layoffs in UX 20:40 - The Demand for UX Skills 25:15 - The PAIR Framework and AI in UX 30:00 - Ethical AI Use in UX Research 35:10 - The Importance of Independent Thought 40:00 - Closing Thoughts Who is Lawton Pybus Lawton is a Principal and Co-founder of Drill Bit Labs. With a background in human factors, he has prior experience leading UX research teams at UserTesting, UserZoom, and MeasuringU and executing research on teams at Charles Schwab and Cabela's. He is the author of many insightful blog posts and regularly speaks at industry conferences like UXPA.   Find Lawton Here Lawton Pybus on LinkedIn Drill Bit Labs Website Subscribe to Brave UX Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen). Apple Podcast Spotify YouTube Podbean Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content! LinkedIn Instagram Brendan Jarvis hosts the Show, and you can find him here: Brendan Jarvis on LinkedIn The Space InBetween Website