041: Everything’s Terrible, and That’s Great with Matt Griffin

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Leadership
041: Everything's Terrible, and That's Great with Matt Griffin
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User Defenders

Matt Griffin shows us how empathy and sensitivity to the world around us is the key to great design. He teaches us how as a leader, the worst decision is no decision. He explains how hands are his most invincible UX resource or tool. He also inspires us starting out to take ‘every damn opportunity we can get’.

Matt Griffin is a designer and founder of Bearded and Wood Type Revival, and the director of What Comes Next is the Future, a documentary film about the web. He’s a speaker, writer, and an avid advocate for collaboration in design. He’s also a letterpress printer, and one of the creators of Wood Type Revival, a project which seeks out lost historic wood type and converts it into digital fonts for modern designers. Matt lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Elizabeth, and his son Argus. Previous to entering the world of design, Matt was an active musician (drums, mostly). He toured all over and played on a fair number of records. His band in college got kind of famous in Japan.

  • Secret Identity (4:46)
  • Origin Story (7:18)
  • Bearded Closing its Doors (17:04)
  • Biggest Failure (31:45)
  • Awkward Testing Story (43:21)
  • Design Superpower (45:44)
  • Design Kryptonite (46:54)
  • UX Superhero Name (50:07)
  • Fights for Users (51:48)
  • Habit of Success (63:25)
  • Invincible Resource (65:22)
  • Recommended Book (70:54)
  • Best Advice (78:12)

Continue reading 041: Everything’s Terrible, and That’s Great with Matt Griffin

040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Web Dev
040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth
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User Defenders "Reflection" Laura Elizabeth

Laura Elizabeth reveals how developers can learn design. She articulates the importance of reflecting on our users’ needs more than our personal tastes. She touches on how making a product makes us better designers. She also inspires us to always be genuine in our dealings with our customers if we want to build (and keep) trust.

Laura Elizabeth is an independent designer with a hankering for cross stitch and rockets. She runs Design Academy which aims to help developers conquer their fear of design. She recently launched her first product called Client Portal—a client-friendly way to keep projects organised. When she’s not writing or speaking, she’s likely watching reruns of Star Trek Voyager or Next Generation.

  • Secret Identity (4:05)
  • Origin Story (9:55)
  • Biggest Superhero (13:32)
  • Biggest Failure (16:23)
  • Design Superpower (20:54)
  • Transition from Freelance to Product (23:04)
  • Design Kryptonite (26:13)
  • Design Superhero Name (29:34)
  • Should Developers Design? (34:10)
  • Habit Of Success (42:59)
  • Invincible Resource (48:55)
  • Book Recommendation (52:09)
  • Listener Question (54:58)
  • Best Advice (59:39)
  • Connect & Keep Up (64:08)

LINKS
Laura’s Twitter
Laura’s Website
Design Academy
Client Portal
Laura Elizabeth at Smashing Conference on Selling Design Systems [VIDEO]
William Shatner Sings Rocket Man At the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards [VIDEO]

[RESOURCE] Styleguides.io
[BOOK] Badass: Making Users Awesome


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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.


Continue reading 040: Should Developers Design with Laura Elizabeth

037: Design in Life or Death Situations with Andy Vitale

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Empathy
037: Design in Life or Death Situations with Andy Vitale
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User Defenders "UXecutioner" Andy Vitale

Andy Vitale is using design to literally save lives. He shows us how empathy is the key to any product’s success. He motivates us to stay driven, and bring our own seat to the table. He shows us how true leaders take the time to understand what drives their team. He inspires us to always keep the user at the forefront of our designs, and to be comfortable with discomfort.

ABOUT ANDY
Andy Vitale is a UX Design Principal at 3M, where he is focused on translating human insights into actionable experiences in order to improve the healthcare industry. He is responsible for leading a team that creates immersive, emotional experiences for 3M Health Care’s enterprise solutions. With 17 years of experience in the design industry, Andy has held multiple roles as a designer, entrepreneur, education department chair and team leader. He’s developed strategies and design solutions for diverse organizations ranging from startups to Fortune-ranked companies. He’s a relentless user experience evangelist, driven by a shared vision and a user-centered passion. Fun Fact: He was involved in the professional wrestling business for quite a long time, starting out as a wrestler and working his way to behind the scenes. Not-so-fun fact: He was working at a company that suffered the first anthrax attack in the United States back in 2001.

TIMESTAMPS
– Secret Identity/Origin Story (2:37)
– Biggest Superhero (13:26)
– Biggest Failure (18:59)
– Awkward Testing Story (29:57)
– What Do You Do at 3M? (31:44)
– Design Superpower (41:22)
– Design Kryptonite (44:23)
– How Do You Manage Timelines? (47:17)
– Design Superhero Name (53:01)
– Fight For Users (55:17)
– What’s a Customer Journey Map? (57:33)
– Habit Of Success (60:07)
– Invincible Resource (63:38)
– Book Recommendation (66:43)
– Best Advice (69:34)
– Contact Info (70:49)

LINKS
Andy’s Twitter
Andy’s LinkedIn

[RESOURCE] People
[BOOK] Banish Your Inner Critic


BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Adobe XD
Design at the speed of thought with Adobe XD, the first all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing, sharing and prototyping experiences. Try the free beta today.

RealtimeBoard
Whiteboard. Finally in your browser. The simplest visual collaboration platform for agile product teams, UX/UI designers, project leaders, marketers and creatives. Try it free!


SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | 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.

Continue reading 037: Design in Life or Death Situations with Andy Vitale

035: Minding the Product Gap with Samuel Hulick

User Defenders podcast
Product Design
035: Minding the Product Gap with Samuel Hulick
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User Defenders "Mr. Helpful" Samuel Hulick

Samuel Hulick shows us how to build bridges for our users. He motivates us to make sure that the effort put into building the software is not wasted in the onboarding experience. He also inspires us to stay curious, and always be learning.

Samuel Hulick is the man behind UserOnboard.com where he creates popular teardowns of onboarding user flows on some of the most popular digital products around. He’s also an author of a book he’s definitely the authority on called “The Elements of User Onboarding”. He’s a consultant, UX designer and front-end developer based out of beautiful Portland, Oregon. He’s also a prolific writer publishing some pretty viral posts on Medium these days. You might be surprised to learn that Samuel is a high-school drop out.

  • Secret Identity/Origin Story (5:04)
  • Onboarding Defined (9:30)
  • Biggest Superhero (16:08)
  • Biggest Failure (17:00)
  • Weirdest Teardown (32:00)
  • Design Superpower (39:20)
  • Design Kryptonite (41:24)
  • Design Superhero Name (42:40)
  • Habit Of Success (48:30)
  • Invincible Resource (50:23)
  • How Much Is Too Much (52:00)
  • Best Advice (64:20)

LINKS
Samuel’s Personal Twitter
Samuel’s Professional Twitter
Samuel’s Website
Product People, Mind the Gap! [ARTICLE]
Never Mix Up Features with Benefits Ever Again [ARTICLE]
The Art of Building (or Burning) Product Bridges [ARTICLE]
Kathy Sierra (Business of Software 2009) [VIDEO]
Extra Credits (YouTube) [VIDEO]

BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Adobe XD
Design at the speed of thought with Adobe XD, the first all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing, sharing and prototyping experiences. Try the free beta today.

RealtimeBoard
Whiteboard. Finally in your browser. The simplest visual collaboration platform for agile product teams, UX/UI designers, project leaders, marketers and creatives. Try it free!


SUBSCRIBE TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | 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.

Continue reading 035: Minding the Product Gap with Samuel Hulick

034: Great Products Start with Empathy with Jonathan Pimento

User Defenders podcast
User Defenders podcast
Product Design
034: Great Products Start with Empathy with Jonathan Pimento
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User Defenders "Photoshop Ninja" Jonathan Pimento

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 TO AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE NEW EPISODES
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Amazon Music | 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.

Continue reading 034: Great Products Start with Empathy with Jonathan Pimento