036: No Designer Left Behind with Nick Finck

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Mentorship
036: No Designer Left Behind with Nick Finck
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User Defenders "UX-Toreador" Nick Finck

Nick Finck teaches us the value of being a connector, and mentoring other designers. He gives us a really compelling, dare I say accurate look into the future of UX. He inspires us to make sure we unplug every once in a while. He also motivates us to find the sweet spot between users, the business, and technology.

Nick Finck at the time of this interview was the Product Design Manager at Facebook. Now, he’s a User Experience Design Immersive Instructor at General Assembly. Prior to Facebook, he was Head of User Experience at Amazon Web Services. He’s been working on the web for two decades solving complex problems for Fortune 500 companies such as Adobe, Intel, REI, Boeing, Google, and Oprah.com. He spent one of those decades also running one of our community’s leading blogs in the early days called Digital Web Magazine. He’s been an active speaker since 2001, who’s spoken at many of our esteemed conferences. He recently started a really exciting project called “UX for Change” with a two-fold goal: to bridge the experience gap many designers have after graduation, and address the mentor deficiency. He also happens to be runner up for Seattle’s Sexiest Geek thwarted by none other than “The Oatmeal’s” Matthew Inman.

  • Secret Identity/Origin Story (4:13)
  • What Inspired Your Career? (6:12)
  • Biggest Superhero (11:20)
  • Second Career Choice (14:00)
  • Biggest Failure (15:33)
  • What Do You Look For When Hiring? (20:40)
  • Awkward Testing Story (26:44)
  • Design Superpower / Superhero Name (33:23)
  • Design Kryptonite (36:56)
  • Fight For Users (41:28)
  • Future Of UX Design (46:58)
  • Rise Against The Machines? (54:28)
  • Habit Of Success (58:22)
  • UX For Change (62:13)
  • Book Recommendation (70:54)
  • Invincible Resource (73:12)
  • Best Advice (74:40)
  • Contact Info (77:35)

LINKS
Nick’s Twitter
Nick’s Facebook
Nick’s Website
UX for Change
We Make Seattle
[RESOURCE] People
[BOOKS] Design Is a JobA Project Guide to UX Design

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Continue reading 036: No Designer Left Behind with Nick Finck

008: There’s a Lot of Opportunity for Those Who Are Willing to Take Some Risks with Ben Callahan

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Leadership
008: There’s a Lot of Opportunity for Those Who Are Willing to Take Some Risks with Ben Callahan
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User Defenders "Mr. Middleman" Ben Callahan

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)


SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | Stitcher | Android | Google Podcasts | RSS Feed

USE YOUR 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 Apple Podcasts? I’d also be willing to remove my cloak of invisibility from your inbox if you’d subscribe to the newsletter for superguest announcements and more, occasionally.

SUPER-CRED
Artwork by Cesar Lemus | Editing by Chris Combs | Music by Wyman Gentry

Continue reading 008: There’s a Lot of Opportunity for Those Who Are Willing to Take Some Risks with Ben Callahan