Jonathan teaches us how product managers are the glue between design and engineering. He reminds us that the most important role we can play in the success of a product is being a voice for the customer. He encourages us to never give up on our personal projects. He also motivates us as designers to always stay inspired.

Jonathan Pimento is a Product Manager for Adobe XD. He has a deep passion for design, technology and their intersection. In 2009, he had to pick one of his passions to pursue academically so he chose computer engineering at the University Of Mumbai. He’s been a freelancer, worked with a few startups and has taken many small steps up the big ladder. Solving problems and connecting with the end user is what drives this passion. His interests span across design to writing code, and balancing both with research & data. He also enjoys running and swimming on the weekends.

LINKS
Jonathan’s Twitter
Jonathan’s Website
Signal Noise (Portfolio of James White)
[RESOURCES] Dribbble
[READING] UserTesting.com, Twitter, Medium, Airbnb Lottie

SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Android | Subscribe on Google Play | RSS Feed

SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcement]]>

Jonathan teaches us how product managers are the glue between design and engineering. He reminds us that the most important role we can play in the success of a product is being a voice for the customer. He encourages us to never give up on our personal projects. He also motivates us as designers to always stay inspired.

Jonathan Pimento is a Product Manager for Adobe XD. He has a deep passion for design, technology and their intersection. In 2009, he had to pick one of his passions to pursue academically so he chose computer engineering at the University Of Mumbai. He’s been a freelancer, worked with a few startups and has taken many small steps up the big ladder. Solving problems and connecting with the end user is what drives this passion. His interests span across design to writing code, and balancing both with research & data. He also enjoys running and swimming on the weekends.

LINKS
Jonathan’s Twitter
Jonathan’s Website
Signal Noise (Portfolio of James White)
[RESOURCES] Dribbble
[READING] UserTesting.com, Twitter, Medium, Airbnb Lottie

SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Android | Subscribe on Google Play | RSS Feed

SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcement]]> clean No no no 1:07:28 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/podcast/demystifying-public-speaking-with-lara-hogan/ Mon, 06 Mar 2017 20:55:25 +0000 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/?post_type=podcast&p=617 Read more Demystifying Public Speaking with Lara Hogan

Andrea Picchi reminds us that the core of design is always about people. He dives deep into the importance of design thinking. He motivates us to embrace ambiguity, and to fail as often as possible without losing the job. He also inspires us to believe in design and to always defend the user’s point of view.

Andrea Picchi has 20 years of experience in UX, UI and Product Design. He combines his skills in Cognitive Psychology and Computer Science with his passion for UX and Human-Centered Design to create integrated, multi-device experiences. He believes in design and connecting customer needs to business opportunities. He also practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kick-boxing and mixed martial arts.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (1:40)
• Biggest Superhero (7:42)
• Biggest Failure (12:18)
• Awkward Testing Story (18:26)
• Design Superpower (22:48)
• Design Kryptonite (25:12)
• Design Superhero Name (30:42)
• Fight For Users (33:43)
• Design Thinking (37:09)
• Habit Of Success (47:06)
• Invincible Resource (50:25)
• Book Recommendation (52:08)
• Best Advice (55:46)
• Contact Info (60:57)

LINKS
Andrea’s Website
Andrea’s Twitter
Andrea’s LinkedIn

[RESOURCE] Interviewing people.
[BOOK] Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Android | Subscribe on Google Play | RSS Feed

SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.

(more…)

Sarah Doody inspires us to break out of our comfort zones early & often if we want to achieve great things. She teaches us that our drawings should serve more as a communication tool than an art project. She encourages us to tap into our superpowers of using both sides of our brain. She also motivates us to not let anything stand in the way of becoming great at our craft.

Sarah Doody is a user experience designer and product strategist based in New York City. She helps product teams create products people need and love. She does this through smart and fast research, prototyping, and experience design. She produces a highly acclaimed weekly newsletter called the UX Notebook. She created and taught General Assembly’s first 12 week User Experience program back in 2011. She was originally going to be a neuroscientist.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (4:38)
• Biggest Superhero (8:48)
• Biggest Failure (11:26)
• Awkward Testing Story (16:07)
• Design Superpower (19:34)
• Design Kryptonite (23:56)
• Design Superhero Name (29:32)
• Fight For Users (34:21)
• Habit Of Success (36:44)
• Invincible Resource (43:16)
• Book Recommendation (45:06)
• Best Advice (48:11)
• Contact Info (50:39)

LINKS
Sarah’s Twitter
Sarah’s Newsletter
Sarah’s Website
Sarah’s User Research Fundamentals Course
Sarah’s Morning Routine
[VIDEO] Hillman Curtis
[VIDEO] Catapulting Chance into your Stupid Head
[VIDEO] Greg McKeown: “Essentialism”
[RESOURCES] Sketch, InVision, Reddit, LinkedIn
[BOOK]

LINKS
Sarah’s Twitter
Sarah’s Newsletter
Sarah’s Website
Sarah’s User Research Fundamentals Course
Sarah’s Morning Routine
[VIDEO] Hillman Curtis
[VIDEO] Catapulting Chance into your Stupid Head
[VIDEO] Greg McKeown: “Essentialism”
[RESOURCES] Sketch, InVision, Reddit, LinkedIn
[BOOK] clean No no no 53:15 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/podcast/031-getting-scrappy-with-mat-marquis/ Wed, 18 Jan 2017 04:46:26 +0000 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/?post_type=podcast&p=535 Read more 031: Getting Scrappy with Mat Marquis

 

Mat Marquis reminds us that web design is scrappy business. He inspires us to fight for what we truly believe in. He shows us how we can take our designs and skills further by learning a little code. He motivates us to continue to hone our communication skills by writing a lot. He also encourages us to surround ourselves with people who inspire us, and make us better.

Mat Marquis is an Inclusive Web Developer at Bocoup where he makes fast, accessible and responsive websites. He’s the Chair of the Responsive Issues Community Group where he spearheaded the effort to bring native responsive image solutions to the HTML5 specification. He’s the author of A Book Apart published “JavaScript for Web Designers”. He’s a former editor at A List Apart, and member of the jQuery team. Mat is a frequent speaker at one of my favorite web conferences, An Event Apart. He’s an ex-carpenter, amateur boxer and also bakes a mean batch of croissants.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (7:25)
• Biggest Superhero (15:35)
• Second Career Choice (17:17)
• Biggest Failure (18:55)
• Awkward Testing Story (21:49)
• Design Superpower (27:11)
• Design Kryptonite (29:00)
• Design Superhero Name (34:25)
• Fight For Users (39:58)
• Future Of UX Design (43:00)
• Habit Of Success (53:54)
• Invincible Resource (55:37)
• Book Recommendation (59:55)
• Best Advice (62:52)
• Most Excited About (70:12)
• Contact Info (71:27)

(more…)

]]>

 

Mat Marquis reminds us that web design is scrappy business. He inspires us to fight for what we truly believe in. He shows us how we can take our designs and skills further by learning a little code. He motivates us to continue to hone our communication skills by writing a lot. He also encourages us to surround ourselves with people who inspire us, and make us better.

Mat Marquis is an Inclusive Web Developer at Bocoup where he makes fast, accessible and responsive websites. He’s the Chair of the Responsive Issues Community Group where he spearheaded the effort to bring native responsive image solutions to the HTML5 specification. He’s the author of A Book Apart published “JavaScript for Web Designers”. He’s a former editor at A List Apart, and member of the jQuery team. Mat is a frequent speaker at one of my favorite web conferences, An Event Apart. He’s an ex-carpenter, amateur boxer and also bakes a mean batch of croissants.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (7:25)
• Biggest Superhero (15:35)
• Second Career Choice (17:17)
• Biggest Failure (18:55)
• Awkward Testing Story (21:49)
• Design Superpower (27:11)
• Design Kryptonite (29:00)
• Design Superhero Name (34:25)
• Fight For Users (39:58)
• Future Of UX Design (43:00)
• Habit Of Success (53:54)
• Invincible Resource (55:37)
• Book Recommendation (59:55)
• Best Advice (62:52)
• Most Excited About (70:12)
• Contact Info (71:27)

(more…)

]]>

 

Mat Marquis reminds us that web design is scrappy business. He inspires us to fight for what we truly believe in. He shows us how we can take our designs and skills further by learning a little code. He motivates us to continue to hone our communication skills by writing a lot. He also encourages us to surround ourselves with people who inspire us, and make us better.

Mat Marquis is an Inclusive Web Developer at Bocoup where he makes fast, accessible and responsive websites. He’s the Chair of the Responsive Issues Community Group where he spearheaded the effort to bring native responsive image solutions to the HTML5 specification. He’s the author of A Book Apart published “JavaScript for Web Designers”. He’s a former editor at A List Apart, and member of the jQuery team. Mat is a frequent speaker at one of my favorite web conferences, An Event Apart. He’s an ex-carpenter, amateur boxer and also bakes a mean batch of croissants.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (7:25)
• Biggest Superhero (15:35)
• Second Career Choice (17:17)
• Biggest Failure (18:55)
• Awkward Testing Story (21:49)
• Design Superpower (27:11)
• Design Kryptonite (29:00)
• Design Superhero Name (34:25)
• Fight For Users (39:58)
• Future Of UX Design (43:00)
• Habit Of Success (53:54)
• Invincible Resource (55:37)
• Book Recommendation (59:55)
• Best Advice (62:52)
• Most Excited About (70:12)
• Contact Info (71:27)

(more…)

]]>

Aaron Gustafson inspires us to build a web for all people. He encourages us to keep an open mind about perspectives that are different than our own. He motivates us to keep focused on context when it comes to the users we’re designing for. He also challenges us to plant seeds of growth in others by making ourselves available and open to new opportunities.

Aaron Gustafson is passionate about web standards and accessibility as would be expected from a former manager of the Web Standards Project. In his two decades working on the Web, he’s worked with companies such as Happy Cog, Major League Baseball, McAfee and The New York Times. He joined Microsoft as a web standards advocate to work closely with their browser team. He loves sharing his knowledge through writing. His three-part series on progressive enhancement for A List Apart is a perennial favorite and his seminal book on the subject, Adaptive Web Design, has earned him numerous accolades and honors. When he’s not writing, he’s probably on the road presenting at conferences and running workshops across the globe. He is a longtime member of Rosenfeld Media’s “experts” group and former technical editor for A List Apart. He and his wife also brokered and produced the DVD release of Drawing Flies which was also produced by Kevin Smith (of Clerks fame who also happens to be a fellow comic book nerd).

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (3:43)
• Biggest Superhero (10:11)
• Second Career Choice (15:17)
• Biggest Failure (20:48)
• Awkward Testing Story (30:50)
• Design Superpower (49:37)
• Design Kryptonite (51:03)
• Design Superhero Name (51:41)
• Fight For Users (53:23)
• Future Of UX Design (55:18)
• Habit Of Success (60:20)
• Invincible Resource (63:30)
• Book Recommendation (66:45)
• Best Advice (69:31)
• Most Excited About (74:16)
• Contact Info (79:55)

(more…)

Ling Lim inspires us to be relentless in our pursuit of the person we want to become. She teaches us to create products that connect with our users and their lives by becoming them as much as possible. She challenges us to not sacrifice the sentimental quality of a product when we design for it in the future. She also motivates us to take care of ourselves outside of our work so we can continue to grow in our careers and personal lives.

Ling Lim is a Product Designer currently working at Yahoo based in San Francisco by way of Singapore with an award-winning background in architectural design. She is passionate about using design as a tool to highlight and solve social and urban issues. She mentors students, fellow designers and founders at design events including CascadeSF. When she’s not designing, she’s a competitive powerlifter, solo traveler, snowboarder, writer, and speaker. She also lives relentlessly, values integrity…and tight pants.

• What Got You Into Lifting (2:41)
• Secret Identity (3:38)
• Origin Story (4:58)
• Ways Architecture Influenced Design (8:59)
• Do Designers Miss The Importance of Research (12:54)  
• Biggest Superhero (16:36)
• Second Career Choice (19:33)
• Biggest Failure (20:53)
• Failure Takeaway (25:53)
• What Do You Say To Uninspired Designers (29:07)
• Awkward Testing Story (33:49)
• Design Superpower (34:26)
• Design Kryptonite (36:10)
• Design Superhero Name (38:35)
• Fight For Users (40:28)
• Future Of UX Design (41:49)
• Habit Of Success (46:41)
• How Do You Stay Inspired (47:58)
• Invincible Resource (30:34)
• Book Recommendation (49:14)
• Best Advice (51:23)
• Most Excited About (53:50)
• Contact Info (54:37)

(more…)

Chris Coyier teaches us that if we care about succeeding in something, we need to be willing to persist for a long time. He inspires us to grab hold of the joy that comes from building for ourselves, too. He encourages us to not just use a framework because we’re “supposed to”, but to use whatever tool is right for the job. He also enlightens us to the superpower of using SVG in practical ways.

Chris Coyier is the founder of everybody’s favorite CSS resource CSS-Tricks, and the author of newly released A Book Apart published “Practical SVG“. He’s a fellow podcaster co-hosting the Shop Talk Show. He co-founded the incredibly innovative web coding playground, CodePen. He loves to share his knowledge as an international speaker and avid blogger. His life goal is to be a banjo player in an old time string band.

(more…)

After nearly a year of consistent podcasting, it’s time for me to hit pause…

You can also read about this.

I have a listener survey and one of you suggested Nir Eyal as a superguest. Today (thanks to your suggestion) I got to interview the man himself. Nir is the author of the buzz-worthy book Hooked: How To Build Habit-Forming Products.

Nir did not disappoint. The guy is a wealth of knowledge and you’ll notice listening to him that he’s definitely got his 10,000 hours focusing on the fascinating topic of behavioral design. How do we design products that hook our users and create healthy habits? Should designers of addictive and potentially unsafe products be a little more vocal about offering help to its users? We touch on these provocative topics and much more in today’s episode!

(more…)

Aarron Walter inspires us to always try and see the big picture. He challenges us to produce more grounded work by getting outside our bubbles, and feeling a bit more pain. He shows us how storytelling is central to the human experience and transcends our medium. He also inspires us to maintain plenty of inputs in order to craft more interesting experiences for our users.

Aarron Walter (The Falcon) is the VP of Design Education at InVision. Prior to this he founded the UX practice at MailChimp (along many other accomplishments too numerable to mention here). He’s the author of A Book Apart published Designing for Emotion. He’s a frequent speaker at conferences around the world, and his design guidance has helped the White House, the US Department of State, along with dozens of startups and venture capitalists. He’s run with the bulls in Pamplona, met 3 presidents, been blessed by the Pope, and bungee jumped off a 10 story crane. Eat your heart out most interesting man in the world.

• Secret Identity (2:34)
• Origin Story (4:47)
• How Important Is Storytelling To Our Work? (9:49)
• Has Film Influenced You As A Designer? (13:08)
• Biggest Superhero (19:45)
• Second Career Choice (22:37)
• Biggest Failure (25:38)
• Awkward Testing Story (33:44)
• Design Superpower (39:29)
• Design Kryptonite (40:58)
• Design Superhero Name (43:50)
• Fight For Users (44:28)
• Future Of UX Design (46:39)
• Habit Of Success (51:45)
• Invincible Resource (53:02)
• Book Recommendation (55:25)
• Best Advice (57:35)
• Most Excited About (58:16)
• Contact Info (1:00:16)

SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for superguest announcements and my Usable Thoughts.

(more…)

Nikkel Blaase reminds us that we are not our users. He encourages us to make time for deep thinking. He teaches us that without failing, there’s no learning. He guides us to not spend too much time figuring out a solution if we don’t know what the problem is. He shows us how creating value for our users creates value for our business. He also motivates us to never stop learning, practice as often as we can…and stay curious.

Nikkel Blaase (Deep Thought) is a product and interaction designer from Hamburg, Germany currently working at XING. He’s the founder of “Design Made For You” studio. He’s a fantastic writer who’s published viral articles on Medium, FastCoDesign and InVision. He’s passionate about bringing product thinking to the world of product development in order to as he says build products that people actually want. When he was a teenager, he played guitar in a punk rock band.

• Secret Identity (2:55)
• Origin Story (5:18)
• Biggest Superhero (7:55)
• What Is Product Thinking (9:26)
• Second Career Choice (11:10)
• Biggest Failure (12:08)
• Do Designers Lack Empathy For Their Businesses? (17:32)
• Awkward Testing Story (20:45)
• Design Superpower (24:17)
• Design Kryptonite (26:42)
• Design Superhero Name (29:51)
• Fight For Users (35:46)
• Future Of UX Design (39:01)
• Generalist vs. Specialist (44:05)
• Habit Of Success (44:58 )
• Invincible Resource (46:11)
• Book Recommendation (48:24)
• Favorite Conference (51:13)
• Best Advice (52:20)
• Most Excited About (54:07)
• Next Big Blog Ideas (55:07)
• Contact Info (56:00)

(more…)

Ashley Karr teaches us that we can’t be exceptional at generalizing. She encourages us to always work with the people for whom we are designing. She motivates us to always trust ourselves and our instincts. She shows us how planning and organization are key contributors to success. She also inspires us to give back by teaching what we know.

Ashley Karr is an academically trained human factors engineer and anthropologist focusing on human computer interaction, user experience, research and design. She has her B.A. in anthropology from UCLA and M.S. in human factors and systems engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Included among her many published writings is a behavioral psychology textbook for Oxford University Press. She has worked with organizations, such as: Walmart, Frontier Communications, and The Veteran’s Administration. Currently, she teaches and designs instructional material for User Experience Design Immersive courses with General Assembly and manages all immersive courses at General Assembly Seattle. She is passionate about teaching tech and encouraging creative confidence. She also happens to be a descendant of Kind Edward the 1st and Queen Eleanor of Castille.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:58/3:58)
• Has Your Varied Background Helped You? (8:54)
• Specialize or Generalize (12:05)
• Biggest Superhero (15:01)
• Second Career Choice (18:38)
• Biggest Failure (21:04)
• Awkward Testing Story (27:37)
• Design Superpower (32:02)
• Design Kryptonite (37:41)
• Design Superhero Name (37:55)
• Fight For Users (40:41)
• How To Get Involved (50:37)
• Future Of UX Design (54:10)
• Habit Of Success (56:21)
• Invincible Resource (56:47)
• Book Recommendation (57:16)
• Best Advice (57:49)
• Most Excited About (58:09)
• Contact Info (58:31)

(more…)

Francisco Inchauste teaches us that the best design is invisible. He enlightens us to how we can learn something from anyone, and to appreciate the people who surround us. He reminds us of the importance of validating our work. He also inspires us to always add value to even the smallest things and to not be afraid to take initiative.

Francisco Inchauste (Mr. Invisible) has an extensive user experience background, with a focus on interaction design. He’s been involved with the Web industry for almost two decades, leading teams and clients—enterprise to startups—on projects ranging from customer brand experiences to complex software applications. He’s the UX Principal at Universal Mind. He’s co-founder of Simplebots, where he creates apps like Rise. He helped start Smashing Magazine’s UX section and still uses his superpowers to help edit books and review articles. He also used to work for the US Postal Service delivering mail on the weekends.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:20)
• Inspiration To Pursue Career In UX (3:43)
• Biggest Superhero (6:26)
• What’s Writing Process Like (9:25)
• Second Career Choice (12:36)
• Biggest Failure (14:57)
• Awkward Testing Story (19:43)
• Design Superpower (22:10)
• Design Kryptonite (22:48)
• Design Superhero Name (24:44)
• Fight For Users (25:38)
• How To Cope With Imposter Syndrome (30:58)
• Future Of UX Design (34:36)
• Habit Of Success (37:27)
• Invincible Resource (39:23)
• Book Recommendation (41:44)
• Best Advice (44:17)
• Most Excited About (48:11)
• Contact Info (52:30)

(more…)

Austin Knight motivates us to just start making things. He encourages us to keep designing, even if it isn’t our job yet. He teaches us how the future of UX is all about expansion and that there’s never been a better time to be a designer. He also inspires us to not only fight for the user, but the stakeholder, the company and the client.

Austin Knight (Mentor Man) is a Senior UX Designer at Hubspot where his work impacts more than 8 million visitors per month. He’s an international speaker and author. He’s a fellow podcaster co-hosting the UX & Growth podcast. He serves as a UX and IxD mentor at Columbia University and General Assembly. He also has a popular UX Design blog and newsletter at AustinKnight.com. Fun fact about Austin: He’s terrified of flying. Even though he flew 150,000 miles last year and has willingly jumped out of three planes skydiving…he has yet to overcome that fear.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:41)
• Biggest Superhero (8:20)
• Second Career Choice (10:42)
• Biggest Failure (12:06)
• Awkward Testing Story (21:32)
• Design Superpower (28:51)
• Design Kryptonite (31:19)
• Successful Culture Building (34:07)
• Design Superhero Name (40:47)
• Fight For Users (41:13)
• Should designers get a BA (45:43)
• Future Of UX Design (47:44)
• Habit Of Success (50:10)
• Invincible Resource (52:42)
• Book Recommendation (55:08)
• Best Advice (57:26)
• Most Excited About (1:00:11)
• Contact Info (1:03:50)

(more…)

Jordan Dobson inspires us to never stop learning and be generous in sharing knowledge with others. He encourages us to craft prototypes in order to gain valuable insight early and often. He challenges designers to gain empathy for their developers by learning a bit about code. He also shows us how the little details can make a big difference.

Jordan Dobson (Minutia) is a hybrid designer, developer and prototyping visionary with over 17 years of experience. He brings motion into visual, product & UI design to build amazing digital products. He’s a freelancer currently contracting at Skype. He’s worked at Microsoft and is also co-founder of the Seattle FramerJS Meetup. Back in the day he could ollie off a launch ramp clearing four trash cans & land it.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:16/5:18)
• Biggest Superhero (13:44)
• Second Career Choice (14:43)
• Biggest Failure (16:47)
• Awkward Testing Story (22:12)
• Design Superpower (25:22)
• Design Kryptonite (28:52)
• Design Superhero Name (33:48)
• Fight For Users (35:07)
• Future Of UX Design (37:21)
• Habit Of Success (39:50)
• Coder Who Designs Or Designer Who Codes (42:34)
• Should Designers (43:01)
• Best Path To code (51:18)
• Invincible Resource (54:28)
• Book Recommendation (56:52)
• Best Advice (58:29)
• Listener Question (1:00:17)
• Most Excited About (1:04:06)
• Contact Info (1:06:33)

(more…)

Drew Lepp encourages us to learn the business side of technology in order to achieve greater success with our designs. She encourages us to always know why we’re doing what we’re doing, and to be able to clearly articulate why every element on the page is there. She inspires us to fight on in our work especially when we grow weary because what we’re doing can make a world of difference in the lives of many. She also motivates us to be our authentic selves and to follow our values and what we think is important.

Drew Lepp (Pizazz) is the UX Director and Co-Founder at TimeKat which is a delightful time tracking, task and project management tool. She’s runs her own UX Design consulting biz where she designs incredibly beautiful and usable digital experiences. She believes in putting her heart into everything she creates while focusing on delivering thoughtfully simple experiences that are engaging, compelling, memorable and fun. She lives almost entirely on sugary snacks.

• Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:27)
• Biggest Superhero (12:02)
• Second Career Choice (14:18)
• Biggest Failure (17:38)
• How Do You Measure Delight? (26:04)
• Awkward Testing Story (30:38)
• Design Superpower (36:05)
• Design Kryptonite (38:30)
• Fight For Users (49:10)
• Design Superhero Name (52:55)
• Future Of UX Design (54:10)
• Habit Of Success (59:55)
• Invincible Resource (1:02:30)
• Book Recommendation (1:04:49)
• Best Advice (1:08:00)
• Advice On Color Usage (1:10:20)
• Most Excited About (1:16:25)
• Contact Info (1:18:26)

(more…)

Don’t miss Part I of this unforgettable interview.

Jeffrey Zeldman inspires us to not underestimate our users by always testing our assumptions–because we’re often wrong. He reminds us of the tremendous value of writing and synthesizing our thoughts. He teaches us to never underrate our gut instincts. He also encourages us to stay enchanted in our work.

Jeffrey Zeldman is the Godfather of Web Design, and unquestionably the greatest friend of the Web. He’s a guy behind highly esteemed Web Design content initiatives such as A List Apart, An Event Apart and A Book Apart. He’s a prolific speaker and heavily influential blogger. He’s the Author of the our industry’s staple: Designing with Web Standards. He’s the host of one of my favorite design podcasts: The Big Web Show. He’s also the founder of renown Web Design studio Happy Cog. Back in the day, he played synth and Casiotone with The Insect Surfers, a DC post-punk techno-surf band.

LINKS
Jeffrey’s Twitter
Jeffrey’s Website

[RESOURCE] I think it’s your brain. Everything else is replaceable. If you’re bored, start learning something new. If you’re bored, you shouldn’t be in this field. If you’re restless and easy easily distracted–that’s good. That means you’ll keep learning.
[BOOK] Don’t Make Me Think

SUBSCRIBE
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SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Don’t miss Part II of this unforgettable interview.

Jeffrey Zeldman dives deep into his origin story to enlighten us on how he got started on the Web. He inspires us to not get caught up in the buzzwords, but to keep it simple and clear. He also gets vulnerable to reveal how overcoming his biggest failure has led to his greatest successes.

Jeffrey Zeldman is the Godfather of Web Design, and unquestionably the greatest friend of the Web. He’s a guy behind highly esteemed Web Design content initiatives such as A List Apart, An Event Apart and A Book Apart. He’s a prolific speaker and heavily influential blogger. He’s the Author of the our industry’s staple: Designing with Web Standards. He’s the host of one of my favorite design podcasts: The Big Web Show. He’s also the founder of renown Web Design studio Happy Cog. Back in the day, he played synth and Casiotone with The Insect Surfers, a DC post-punk techno-surf band.

LINKS
Jeffrey’s Twitter
Jeffrey’s Website

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

Design for Real Life is a profound and hugely inspiring book. The more things become automated and robotic, the more evident the need to remain human becomes. This book compels us to strive to stay human especially in our approach to how we design for other humans. It deeply challenges the long-held status-quo of resistance to serving so-called edge-cases in our work. It shines a floodlight on our biases that prevent us from looking at the harmful effects our design decisions can have on others when they lack thoughtfulness, compassion & empathy.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher is a content strategy consultant, writer, and the former editor-in-chief of A List Apart. She is the author of Content Everywhere from Rosenfeld Media. She’s also a frequent conference speaker and content strategy workshop facilitator. She’s lived in South Philly for three years, but has still never had a cheesesteak.

Eric Meyer has been working on the web since late 1993 and is an internationally recognized expert on HTML, CSS, and web standards. He’s a widely read author and the founder of Complex Spiral Consulting. He’s technical lead at Rebecca’s Gift, non-profit organization dedicated to providing healing family vacations after the death of a child. He’s also the co-founder of one of my favorite Web conferences…An Event Apart. His first paying gig was working the fry station at a very busy McDonald’s.

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Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

Pek Pongpaet teaches us that the key to successful UX is in pattern recognition and application. He reminds us of the power of visual hierarchy in that if something’s important, it should never be buried. He reminds us of the power of observation and in testing our product with users. He also inspires us to not just do the work we’re given, but to do the work we want to do.

Pek Pongpaet is the Managing Partner at Silicon Valley based studio imPekable. He crafts outstanding mobile and web products for clients that include Google, HP, Motorola and Groupon to name a few. He’s quite the ninja…literally. He’s an actual motion capture model in the Mortal Kombat games. He’s one of the rare and coveted breeds we would call a unicorn, but he would call a Diviner (Developer/Designer). One of the things you may not see on his resume is his experience working as a stock photography model.

LINKS
Pek’s Studio (impekable)
Pek’s Twitter
Pek’s Instagram

[RESOURCE] Study design patterns.
[BOOK] Don’t Make Me Think

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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David Demaree reminds us of the value of simplicity, brevity, and editing. He encourages us to know who are users are and where they’re coming from. He inspires us not to get too wrapped up into the closeness of our own material and not take the criticism of our work too personally. He also teaches us the importance of staying in touch with the community and to read as much as we can.

David Demaree is a software maker, speaker and blogger. He’s the author of newly released A Book Apart published, Git for Humans. He’s a product manager, designer and web developer for everyone’s favorite groundbreaking font-service software, Adobe Typekit. He’s one of the lucky ones who can say he works really close to a great coffee place…called his kitchen.

LINKS
David’s Twitter
David’s Website

[RESOURCE] Following other product and UX people on Twitter and clicking on interesting links. Staying in touch with the community. Read as much as you can.
[BOOK] The Idea Factory

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Victor Yocco teaches us that standing out in our work involves identifying human needs, and always being willing to address them. He enlightens us that failure leads to greater things, but our motivation should be not to fail. He shows us how practicing perseverance is a great habit to get into because it always pays off. He also expounds upon his noble and provocative message that it’s okay to not drink in office and industry events.

Victor Yocco is an author of the Manning Publications release Design for the Mind: Seven Psychological Principals of Persuasive Design. He’s an active speaker who’s been invited to speak at notable UX conferences such as IXPA and IA Summit. He’s a prolific blogger who’s published articles on Smashing Magazine and A List Apart. His interests and expertise include the application of psychological theory to digital design, user research, innovation and reducing the abuse of alcohol in design and tech. He’s also a husband and father and has engaged in guerrilla research while standing in front of gorillas.

• Secret Identity (3:37)
• Origin Story (9:00)
• Biggest Superhero (16:19)
• Second Career Choice (20:37)
• Biggest Failure (23:22)
• Awkward User Testing (32:14)
• Design Superpower (37:25)
• Design Kryptonite (38:22)
• Design Superhero Name (42:11)
• Fight For Users (43:14)
• Future of UX Design (45:27)
• One Habit (49:56)
• Invincible Resource (55:10)
• Book Recommendation (57:28)
• Best Advice (1:03:54)
• Most Excited About (1:05:07)

LINKS
Victor’s Website
Victor’s Twitter
[ARTICLE] Incorporating Social Identity Theory Into Design
[ARTICLE] What It’s Like to be a Recovering Alcoholic in an Office Where Booze is Everywhere

[RESOURCE] Join.me
[BOOK] Don’t Make Me Think

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chri]]>  

LINKS
Victor’s Website
Victor’s Twitter
[ARTICLE] Incorporating Social Identity Theory Into Design
[ARTICLE] What It’s Like to be a Recovering Alcoholic in an Office Where Booze is Everywhere

[RESOURCE] Join.me
[BOOK] Don’t Make Me Think

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chri]]> clean No no no 1:09:44 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/podcast/016-meaning-comes-from-making-with-alexa-herasimchuk/ Mon, 14 Mar 2016 08:00:27 +0000 User Defenders http://userdefenders.com/?post_type=podcast&p=344 Read more 016: Meaning Comes From Making with Alexa Leigh Herasimchuk

Khoi Vinh teaches us that designers can do their best work by drawing on many different sources and working on different challenges simultaneously. A big fan of breaking large problems up into actionable chunks and making lists of all those things that need to get done, Vinh enjoys articulating the value of the design process to colleagues and executives. And for a guy with his hand in some of the latest new software tools for mobile, his advice for getting better at your design may surprise you: write.

Khoi Vinh (Mr. Subtraction) is an experience designer, prolific blogger, and the Principal Designer at Adobe. He has already and continues to make huge impacts in the creation of tools and methods toward designing on-the-go using mobile devices. He’s the former New York Times Design Director and one of the 50 most influential designers in America according to Fast Company. He’s also an author who’s written books like “Ordering Disorder”, “Grid Principles For Web Design”, and recently released “How They Got There” that interviews top designers and how they got where they are which is a great parallel and compliment to this show.

LINKS
@Khoi on Twitter
Khoi’s Website
[MOVIE] Design is One: Lella & Massimo Vignelli
[BOOK] How They Got There by Khoi Vinh
[BOOK] The Inmates Are Running the Asylum by Alan Cooper

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Artwork: Cesar Lemus | Editing: Chris Combs | Prep: Win Goodbody | Music: Wyman Gentry

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Dan Mall inspires us to get really good at what we do by constantly practicing it. He reminds us of the importance of work/life balance and setting the right priorities. He also reminds us that there’s a big difference between being a leader and being a boss, and how great leaders are always looking for ways to serve their people. He also shares with us that the future of good UX is the same as it’s always been…invisible.

Dan Mall (Vision) is the founder and Design Director of the magnificent design collaborative “SuperFriendly” based in Philadelphia where he teams up with his own Justice League of top-notch design superheroes such as Josh Clark (a.k.a. Dr. Touch) and Brad Frost. He’s the author of A Book Apart published “Pricing Design“. He’s been the Design Director at Big Spaceship, Interactive Director at Happy Cog, technical editor for A List Apart, and singer/keyboard player for contemporary-Christian band Four24. He has a passion for playing matchmaker between surprising art direction and intuitive interaction design. His most significant role I’d wager is as an enthralled husband and Dad.

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KaL MichaeL teaches us that empathy is less of something we practice and more of a result of patience and perseverance. He challenges us to remain humble enough to know that we do not know everything, and what we don’t know will always far surpass what we do know. He also encourages us to own our skill sets and to not do anything blindly like following trends for the sake of trends.

KaL is a passionate UI and Experience Designer and has been affecting change and improving lives through his design work for the past 14 years. Five and a half of those years were spent as Lead Creative at Apple improving the retail corporate site experience and building internal sites for enhanced communications. He’s utilized his expertise in iOS and Mac design solutions through his design of the award-winning PDF Expert app. He also has a meticulous attention to detail always remains open and teachable in advancing the tech industry. One way he’s doing that is through his work as a Mentor with Cascade SF.

LINKS
KaL’s Website
KaL’s Twitter
ODI
Spark
Plaaying for Mac

[RESOURCE] Draw everything.
[BOOK] What Customers Want

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Golden Krishna teaches us that it’s possible to reduce our amount of screen time and still solve people’s problems elegantly in the background. He enlightens us to how much we’re all drowning in screens. He also shares with us that our stuff isn’t good enough, and it never will be because as designers we’re always striving to make things better.

Golden Krishna is a deeply thoughtful design innovator. Even though his website introduces him with the humble title of “UX Designer”, he’s the visionary superhero creating a powerful ripple effect in the UX world through his pioneering of the “No UI” movement starting with his popular essay that turned into his essential-reading book, “The Best Interface is No Interface“. In his work at Samsung, he’s been a part of the creation of products that the market has not even defined yet. He’s also worked at Cooper solving big UX problems for Fortune 50 companies.

LINKS
Golden’s Website
Golden’s Twitter
[BOOK] The Best Interface Is No Interface
[VIDEO] SXSW Talk

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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In lieu of our normal episode, I wanted to do a quick Year End Review to offer a retrospective of 2015 and a glimpse into 2016 by addressing these three things:

1. Things Accomplished
2. Top 3 Learnings From Guests This Year
3. What to expect from UX/UD in 2016

I can’t thank you enough for your enthusiastic support Defenders and can’t wait for all 2016 has in store!

Jeff Barnaby inspires us to pay attention to the unseen and always keep it simple. He shares with us that organization is the most important factor to success. He also encourages us to keep ourselves and our clients educated and that ours and our clients personal preferences should come last and our users’ should come first.

Jeff Barnaby (Incognito) is a Creative Director, UI Designer, Web Developer and branding aficionado, He’s the man behind the powerful UX Design and creative agency Brandhorse based in Los Angeles. California. He’s also quite the chef and always a sharp-dressed man.

LINKS
Jeff’s Twitter
Brandhorse

[RESOURCE] Sketch
[RESOURCE] Framer
[BOOK] The Design of Sites

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Josh Clark inspires us to not forget to splash in puddles and give ourselves permission to play in our work. He encourages us to not just tell our story, but to find out our users’ story and craft our experience and technology around that. He also shares with us that the things we make are not who we are and to think deeply about what kind of world we want to make…because we’re the ones shaping it.

Josh Clark (“Dr. Touch”) is a designer specializing in mobile design, strategy and user experience especially as it relates to touch. He’s the founder of the powerful design laboratory Big Medium (formerly Global Moxie). He’s the author of five books including the O’Reilly published Tapworthy and the newly released A Book Apart published “Designing for Touch”. He’s also a prominent blogger and speaker, the creator of the popular Couch to 5K running program, and he happens to be Maine’s 11th strongest man.

LINKS
Josh’s Website
Josh’s Twitter

[RESOURCE] Spending time with people.
[BOOK] Enchanted Objects
[BOOK] Designing Connected Products
[BOOK] The Circle

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Ben Callahan inspires us to be passionate about the interfaces we design and put ourselves in the shoes of the people who are using them to do amazing things. He shares a really interesting parallel from Jazz music to the work we do. He reminds us to make every day count by first thinking about what’s truly important and impactful for that day. He also encourages us to not be afraid to make stuff and put it out there because we’ll only get better by trying.

Ben Callahan is the president of the insanely talented and nimble web design studio Sparkbox in beautiful Dayton, Ohio. Ben is unquestionably one of today’s foremost experts on Responsive Web Design and building responsibly. He’s an active blogger and TedX speaker who has been invited to speak at pretty much any notable web design conference that exists. He’s also a family man, a fellow coffee snob, and one of the nicest, down-to-earth guys I’ve met in this industry.

LINKS
Ben’s Twitter
Ben’s Website
Ben’s Blog
Sparkbox
Codepen Redesign
[VIDEO] Ben’s TedX Talk

[RESOURCE] UIE Library
[BOOK] On The Run (A Fugitive Life In An American City)

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Rafal Tomal inspires us to focus more on solving complicated problems for clients, and less on Dribbble likes. He also emphasizes the importance of keeping our UI and layouts minimal to make room for typography and especially to limit the number of choices we want our users to make to the most critical ones. He also inspires us to not shy away from starting with the most important tools we have…our brain, paper and a pencil.

Rafal Tomal (Typography Man) is the Lead Designer at Rainmaker Digital where he designs effective digital brands and experiences that convert for some of the most successful and respected digital entrepreneurs around. He’s also a blogger and eBook author focusing on teaching others how to make simple, smart, and effective designs that connect with the audience.

LINKS
Rafal’s Website
Rafal’s Twitter

[RESOURCE] InVision App
[BOOK] Don’t Make Me Think

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SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

(more…)

Chloë Bregman inspires us to not get caught up with titles like UX Designer, but to find what we’re great at and focus our energy on building those strengths to build products that not only solve problems, but bring happiness to people. She reminds us to focus on the team and that all ideas are valuable. She also shares that the most satisfaction we’ll ever find in our work happens when we invest time in helping others.

Chloë Bregman is the Director of Design & Brand Experience at OneLogin where she leads a team of designers and developers. She’s a blogger who has a published article on TechCrunch. She’s the founder of Street Art SF which showcases the evolving art landscape throughout the San Francisco’s bay area. She’s also a wonderful human being who thrives on finding inspiration anywhere and investing in others everywhere.

LINKS
Chloë’s Website
Chloë’s Twitter
Street Art SF
Going For “Pretty First” Is Wrong: A Designer’s Take On App Development

[RESOURCE] Rely on your own power of observation and measure everything.
[BOOK] 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
[BOOK] The Call of the Mall

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Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

(more…)

Andi Galpern inspires us to ask where do we want to go, and then encourages us to meet a mentor who can help take us there. She states that community is the key to becoming all we can be and that five minutes with the right person can change our lives.

Andi Galpern is founder of the design and technology organization Cascade SF. Located in the Bay Area, Cascade SF puts on events as a go-to space for designers to learn new skills, connect with industry leaders, mentor and stay relevant to the job market. She also is a fantastic designer and UX strategist who designs for human emotion.

LINKS
Cascade SF
Andi’s Twitter
CooperU

[RESOURCE] Your brain and the community. Pinterest is great for design inspiration. Revisiting 3rd grade and learning grammar, English and how to construct a really clean sentence. Because that’s the core of User Experience. You’re combining visuals and words and people have to be able to comprehend what you’re creating.
[BOOK] Just Enough Research
[BOOK] Mobile First
[BOOK] Lean Analytics

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

(more…)

Christopher Schmitt reminds us to use the materials that we’re given and that we can learn something from everybody if we keep an open mind. He also encourages us to share what we know through exercising our superpower of writing and we can never go wrong with practicing kindness in our field.

Christopher Schmitt (Teleject) is a pioneer of Web Design. He’s a member of the Web Standards Project and author of several books including the O’Reilly published CSS Cookbook. He’s the Founder of Heatvision: a web design and new media publishing studio. He’s also cofounder of Environments for Humans, in which he hosts well-attended online conferences such as CSS Summit and jQuery Summit.

LINKS
Christopher’s Website
Christopher’s Twitter
Environments For Humans
Christopher’s Github

[RESOURCE] Evernote
[BOOK] Understanding Comics
[BOOK] The Design of Everyday Things
[BOOK] Rocket Surgery Made Easy

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SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

(more…)

Craig Morrison inspires us to know why we’re building what we’re building by looking for an opportunity in a market that needs something, and then by giving it to them. He also reminds us to do all the user research needed until we’ve built a product that people want to use.

Craig Morrison (Validation Man) is an extremely curious and generous UX Design Consultant focusing in the area of startups. He’s an active blogger who’s authored some very popular UX articles including “Why You Shouldn’t Hire a UI/UX Designer” and my personal fave “How to Land a Job in UX with No Experience“. He’s also quite the comedian and has a video channel where he and a buddy set some really peculiar records.

LINKS
Craig’s Website
Get Kwilia
Craig’s Record Setting Site
[BOOK] Rejection Proof
[ARTICLE] How to Land a Job in UX with No Experience
[ARTICLE] Why You Shouldn’t Hire a UI/UX Designer

[RESOURCE] UserTesting.com
[BOOK] Lean UX,

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Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Jason Ogle | Music by Wyman Gentry

(more…)

Josh Tucker shares with us the importance of determination and resolve when building whatever it is you desire to build. He also stresses the importance of knowing everything you possibly can about your users and designing experiences that delight them and improve their lives.

Josh Tucker (The Interactioneer) is an Interactive Designer at Google and an insatiably curious prototyping innovator. He’s a master of one of my favorite prototyping tools “Framer.js” and is constantly experimenting with and documenting super-creative, out-of-the-box gestures and innovative UI solutions for users. He’s a very generous knowledge contributor to our great community, and in the time I’ve gotten to know him, just one heck of a friendly, smart and enthusiastic guy.

LINKS
Josh Tucker’s Website
Follow Josh on Twitter

[RESOURCE] Sketch and Framer.js
[BOOK] The Illusion of Life

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SUPER-CRED
Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Jason Ogle | Music by Wyman Gentry

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Daniel Hooper declares that any designer who desires to code, can and even should. He shares about how the industry still has a lot to learn from the amazing things that have been accomplished (and sadly forgotten) by the brilliant software design engineers of old. He also shares his excitement of how prototyping really is design now, and how as designers we need to balance modern trends with an understanding of first principals and the root truths that are not going to change over time.

Daniel Hooper is a former Apple engineer and creator of the exciting new prototyping software application Principal. He designed and engineered a super-innovative iOS keyboard concept and the YouTube video is approaching a million views. He’s also created some creative game concepts like “Percepto” for iOS.

LINKS
Principle App
Daniel’s Tumblr
Daniel’s Twitter

[RESOURCE] Brett Victor’s Website
[BOOK] The Inmates are Running the Asylum
[VIDEO] Inventing on Principle

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SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.

SUPER-CRED
Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Jason Ogle | Music by Wyman Gentry

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The story behind the mission, the host and the future of User Defenders Podcast.

SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe on iTunes | Subscribe on Android | Subscribe on Google Play | RSS Feed

SUPERPOWER OF SUPPORT
Here’s your chance to use your superpower of support. Don’t rely on telepathy alone! If you’re enjoying the show, would you take two minutes and leave a rating and review on iTunes? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the Bi-Weekly Bugle for my best UX/Personal Growth tips and superguest announcements.