Design Party

In this episode, hosts Antonija and Helena dive into the complexities of job hunting, discussing the importance of self-awareness and asking the right questions to find an optimal job fit. They explore the notion that the "perfect" job may not exist but emphasize the value of knowing what you want in a workplace. The conversation then shifts to Figma's new enterprise-level features, examining how these updates cater primarily to large companies and may inadvertently gatekeep freelancers and smaller teams from certain career opportunities. Finally, they spotlight the upcoming "Be More" festival by ADP List, an event that promises to cover a range of relevant topics for designers. Whether you're on the job hunt, interested in design tools, or looking to stay updated with industry events, this episode has something for you.

"Be More" festival by ADP List

https://bemore.adplist.org/

Join Antonija, Vitali, and Helena in this episode as they discuss the latest trends and developments in the design industry. They share their insights on Figma's new features and the potential of its new developer mode, fresh from Figma Config 2023. The hosts also delve into the recent acquisition of Diagram by Figma and its implications for the future of design. They discuss the current state of Figma's animation features and express the need for more advanced tools for enterprise-level projects. Towards the end, they share their vision of organizing a design event with workshops to foster learning and collaboration in the design community. Tune in for an engaging and insightful discussion.

In this episode of Design Party, the hosts dive into a thought-provoking Twitter discussion about design collaboration and the role of tools like Figma. Antonija, Helena, and Vitali share their perspectives on the topic, highlighting the importance of healthy work environments, effective processes, and open communication. They discuss the impact of micromanagement, the need for better commenting practices, and the challenges faced by designers in today's fast-paced and evolving industry. Join the conversation as they explore how collaboration can be optimized and offer insights on managing burnout in the design field.

In this episode, Antonija delves into designers' work anxieties by gathering insightful responses from the Posts app. Join Antonija and Vitali as they unpack these candid answers, offering thoughtful commentary on the struggles and pressures designers face in the workplace.

Antonija welcomed a guest this time, Dima, who suggested to chat about simplicity and complexity in context of product design. It's not so simple! Defining what is simple and what is complex requires a lot of context and us two are trying to figure out what this actually means!

Check the links mentioned in the episode

- Bret Victor talk about the novel interface to understand complex idea https://vimeo.com/23839605
- https://dimaveremchuk.com
- @vrmchk@mastodon.design

In this episode, Antonija, Helena, and Vitali are chatting about the recent Twitter fiasco involving the firing of Halli, the famous designer from Iceland. As always lately, OpenAI squirmed into our thoughts once again.

In this episode, hosts Antonija Pek and Helena Bukovac discuss the value of customer support in informing and inspiring better user-centered design decisions. They also share their own horror stories where customer support saved the day. Tune in to learn how customer support can provide valuable feedback on user experience, identify pain points, and help designers stay up-to-date on user trends and changing needs. You'll also hear how customer support can collaborate with designers to develop training materials, troubleshoot issues, and track user feedback and sentiment. Join us for an insightful conversation on the importance of customer support in creating a positive brand image and increasing customer loyalty and retention.

In this episode we dive into the world of design tokens and explore the relationship between designers and developers. Join us as we delve into the world of UI/UX and product design and explore the future of collaboration. 

- https://design-tokens.github.io/community-group/format/ 

- https://www.fraktio.fi/blogi/mikä-erottaa-design-systemin-ja-komponenttikirjaston (in Finnish still) 

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Hp-bHLftM

Antonija and Vitali share their experiences around error handling and some good practices.

Check out Vitali's presentation https://youtu.be/cwLepGcOANs

In this episode, Antonija and Vitali chat about prototyping — why do we need it? What tools are out there? And share our own experiences.

Antonija and Vitali are recording for the first time ever in the same room!  We are talking about the future of Figma, going into detail about what we like, dislike, and would like to see happen in the next years with our favorite tool for designing. Send us a message if you're listening on Spotify! Leave us a rating if possible — it helps reach more designers.

In this episode, Vitali and Antonija go through responses Vitali got from designers on a meetup. The question was, "what are your biggest frustrations in your role as a designer". We think responses are pretty relatable, and we decided to take a few and share our thoughts.

Hi, your host Antonija here. I met Riley through Good News and we had a little discussion about the new breed of designes. Who are they? What do we mean? Well, hit play and find out.

Antonija and Vitali are chatting about getting rejected from job applications. We are sharing tips on how to apply, how to handle rejects, and sharing some salty personal stories.

Antonija, Helena and Vitali are discussing about services and apps they don't like because of a bad UX

Vitali and Antonija are watching Apple event and sharing their thoughts.

Antonija invited a guest co-host Stefan to talk about startups and being the only designer.

Contact for design help
@heystefan_
@antonijapek

In this episode, Antonija and Vitali talk about handling stress and avoiding burnout. We all know recovery is important, but what are the signs we should look out for and how can we manage being overworked? how does the parasympathetic nervous system help us feel balanced? We reflect on our experiences and offer techniques to help tackle these important challenges.

Helena and Antonija share tips on how not to embarrass yourself when you are naming your product that will ship globally. We share a little anecdote from rebranding our podcast and examples of big brands. 

Today’s episode discusses user research: what it is, what types of research are there, how it can help your work, and where to begin.

Resources mentioned:

Don’t make me think by Steve Krug https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515

Just enough research by Erika Hall https://www.amazon.com/Just-Enough-Research-Erika-Hall/dp/1937557103

Article on how to do remote user research https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-do-user-centered-design-during-the-remote-work-period-9ed223673451

CareerFoundry UX research playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGZGDnTY454&list=PL4GEkVtNYGlIcHp9lPMD9KHMlfc-Jbyjp

Norman Nielsen Group - Why you only need to test with 5 Users https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users

Startup Graveyard https://startupgraveyard.io

Growth.design https://growth.design

Baymard Institute https://baymard.com/blog

Don’t make me think by Steve Krug https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515

Just enough research by Erika Hall https://www.amazon.com/Just-Enough-Research-Erika-Hall/dp/1937557103

Article on how to do remote user research https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-do-user-centered-design-during-the-remote-work-period-9ed223673451

After a long 6-month break, Helena and I decided to catch up and talk a bit about what had happened.

In this episode, we deep dive into what happened in Figma Config 2021. Helena didn't watch so I am going through features and how I see them as a product designer.

What are hard skills

• knowing your tools (adaptability)
  for designing
  prototyping
  communication
  coding?

Design theory

• typography
• colors
• rules of visual perception
• common UI patterns
• HIG, Material Design

Management - deep dive next time

Other valuable skills

• Strategic thinking
• networking
• negotiation
• teamwork
• independence
• marketing knowledge
• business knowledge

Tools mentioned

Productivity tools

Notion

Toggl/Clockify

A timecube!

Linear

Jira

Todoist

Trello

Communication

Slack

Teams

Around

Zoom

Meet

Skype

Design tools

Sketch 🧡

Figma 💜

Principle

ProtoPie

Blush

Spline

Adobe

iPad

Procreate

GoodNotes

In today's episode, Antonija and Helena discuss iOS vs. Android. Weirdy, we both use Android as our daily driver. Antonija is thinking about switching to iOS, but Helena stays loyal to Android, and why is that? Listen and find out.

Helena and Antonija are discussing non-digital and digital products and ask themselves are they designed for everybody or is accessibility an afterthought?

What are soft skills and why do we need them as a designer and a human being? In this episode Helena and I are talking about — soft skills. Remember to leave us a voice message on Anchor!

In this episode, I had a guest from Belarus living in Finland and a master of languages Maryna! We chat about the struggle to learn Finnish and what do we like about Finland.

In this episode we are discussing design trends, we also visit into accessibility in design and then we share our views on trends and what's "in" these days.

Helena and I are chatting about design systems!