The Way of Product Design with Caden Damiano

Repost of one of my top listened-to episodes. With a couple of Google conversation designers. Michael is currently working on conversation design at Meta.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Audio essay on impact in stops in your career.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Season 6 finale! In this episode, I talk with Anthony Armendariz about the culture he and his wife have built at Funsize, the prolific Austin TX-based design agency. We talk about reducing designer churn and the lessons he had to learn so he could grow Funsize.  Connect with Anthony: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyarmendariz/ Work at Funsize: https://www.linkedin.com/company/funsize/ Listen to Anthony's podcast If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

I have personally never worked in a company with a dedicated UX researcher, so I reached out to, Varun Murugesan, one of the contributors to UX Research publication Apple & Banana, to learn how to properly utilize a full-time research role in a design org. Connect with Varun: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varunsmurugesan/ Check out Apple & Banana's new book. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Imagine hiring a company whose value proposition is more revenue? That's the promise of Wunderkind, an agency based in NYC that uses creativity and design as levers to drive business growth. In this episode, I chat with their VP of design, Richie Lokay, about running a large design org the levers they focus on at Wunderkind to drive business growth.  Connect with Richie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richielokay/ Work at Wunderkind: https://www.wunderkind.co/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I discuss the product design role with Peter Loving, owner of the agency, UserActive, and the differences between UX and Product Design. I recommend this interview to anyone wanting to figure out what specialty they are going to focus on in their career.  Connect with Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterloving/ Work with UserActive If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I talk with Senior Director of Product Erica Gann Kitaev about how emotion and sentiment can be big indicators of product success. This episode is a great deep dive on delight. Connect with Erika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/egann/ Careers at Thomson Reuters: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en.html If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I chat with Ian Peterman, Founder of the Peterman Design Firm, about the value of time and consistency when working out innovations. This interview will get you hyped to stick to something long-term because that's what it takes to be an impact player in the industry.  Connect with Ian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianpeterman/ Work with the Peterman Firm If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I talk with serial entrepreneur Richard White, founder of Fathom, about how he balances vision and execution, and how to translate research insights into actual product roadmap moves. Connect with Richard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rrwhite/ Download Fathom  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I talk to Pek Pongpaet, CEO of the almost decade-old agency Impekable, about the lessons he has had to learn to grow his agency by not designing. This is a great episode for designers who want to grow into business operators. Connect with Pek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pekpongpaet/ Careers at Impekable: https://www.impekable.com/ Listen to Pek's Podcast  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

A discussion on what good and bad strategy is and how innovation actually works.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Essay on how to carry yourself as a professional designer.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

How to identify ideas and requirements that are not backed by real discovery work. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

An essay on what it takes to create a meaningful career and life. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Season 5 Finale!  In this episode I learn about excelling in your career by talking to Taylor Palmer. Taylor has found that he grows most quickly on teams and in environment where there is a culture of experimentation. He tries to set aside 20% of his time to always be working on something that's not on the roadmap. Taylor has had a steep growth curve since starting at Lucid fresh out of college. Within 5 years he became a director of UX there, and helped build a team of 20 designers. He also started an awesome side project called UX tools which is now the go-to resource for showing the top UX tools in the industry.  Connect with Taylor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-palmer-6264a171/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

The design thinking philosophy outlines a way to think and approach product development. It isn't a process. In this episode, I talk with co-creator of UX tools, Jordan Bowman, about the real day to day of a product designer.  We discuss: -The job is not a linear process, so your methods change based on the problem. -The best way to learn about UX, by breaking down methods and using scenarios to practice them. -How to do consistent customer interviews by reducing your planning to a single focus you need solved right now.  Connect with Jordan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrdnbwmn/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

William needed a job, and even with a strong portfolio and track record, it took him three months to land on his feet.  William talks about how he learned to take control of his career from that day forward, so it no longer took "3 months" to find a new job. William is the author of "101 Random UX Facts" and a Senior Designer at PayPal and former designer at Home Depot. This episode is a masterclass on hustling to get better career prospects.  Get Williams book: https://101randomuxtips.com/ Connect with William: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamntim/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

The key to performance as designer is getting to a point where you are relaxed in the role.  I chat with Bobby Lloyd, a Principal at United Health and a former UX/UI Strategist at Goldman Sachs, about what needs to happen to become relaxed as a designer. Bobby calls it being "organic" and a lot of it has to do with practice and getting over imposter syndrome. We dive deep in this one.  Connect with Bobby: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobby-lloyd-52a8b35/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode I chat with Janet Lee on operating a design business. Janet is Director Of Operations, Digital Agency for the prolific agency Impekable. Where she started off as a design intern. We discuss her shift from designing to becoming an operator of the business itself. Recommend this episode with anyone who is curious about operations in a design or product organization.  Find Janet here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janplee/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

This episode is about creating products that are designed to "generate value" for consumers, in place of "extracting value" from consumers. There is a big difference!  George Serediuc is a Principal Designer based in Romania. He runs a consultancy gig to help companies & institutions build inclusive digital products that are purposeful & human-centered.  We talk about the philosophy of user-centered design and I make a prediction of the end of free trials, as more regulation is created in digital products. Connect with George: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgeserediuc/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Why are designers moving into Product Managment roles? I bring on an old guest, Bryan Mortensen, to talk about our recent discussions on why we both are considering moving into Product Managment one day.  We discuss designers losing influence at the business seat of the table, how product management is taking over aspects of design thinking we both like doing, and why having a solid PM is a game changer for a company.   Connect with Bryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmortensen/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, Carey Jenkins and I talk about Digital Optimism, a school of thought that empowers technologists to believe in the power of technological innovation to improve our lives and society. Carey Jenkins is CEO of Substantial, a world-class product development studio based in Seattle, serving a diverse set of clients - from Fortune 50s like Google and Amazon to emerging start-ups and social impact organizations. (They are also hiring remote friendly positions)  Connect with Carey here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/careyvjenkins/ Check out Careers at Substantial Here: https://substantial.com/careers If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

UX can be romanticized as a profession that can airdrop into any business and work miracles, when it's really just another stakeholder.  In this episode, I chat about the pitfalls of UX's rising popularity with Michael Tinglin. We also talk about the non-linear career, which is giving yourself the freedom to jump back and forth between IC and management roles as a design professional.  Michael has a lifetime of experience in the field, and provides some awesome nuggets of wisdom based off his decades of experiences working on innovative products and services for companies like 7-Eleven and Fanny Mae. Connect with Michael here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltinglin/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode I chat with Adam Fry-Pierce, a former director of the design leadership forum at InVision and current head of design ops at Docusign. He has personally onboarded and interacted with over 3200 design leaders in the DLF and has some takeaways and lessons from those experiences that you might find interesting. Topics we cover: - If all design leaders have everything together. - Leadership and Culture lessons. - Diversity. Connect with Adam here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfp/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Audio Essay on Winning Companies If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

An audio essay on critical thinking If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Why product work is about making complex things complicated.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode I interviewed Terell Cobb, design leader at Microsoft and active leader in the Black UX community about diversity in design. He eloquently reframed the diversity argument in a way that really resonated with and made sense to me: "Its about exposing future designers to successful people that look like them, so they know what's possible in their career" Connect with Terrell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terellcobb/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I chat with Patricia Dwyer, about designing for ecosystems.  Patricia is a content designer on Intuit's Platform Design team, and shares what the design challenges are in a platform environment.  Anyone interested in how design contributes to huge architectural efforts should give this a listen.  Connect with Patricia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciabdwyer/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Let's talk about the next iteration of the internet. Web 3.0. In this episode, I chat with Tian Zhao about what kind of products and experiences will be possible with mass adoption of distributed computing.  Connect with Tian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tntyzhao/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Drew Bridewell is the head of design and product at GrowthDay. and is the CEO and Founder of Next Level UX an education company designed to help designers level up their, planning, systems thinking, and soft skills so they can be a better contributor to their teams and be high performing UX designer overall.  We talk about what it takes to actually solve complex problems, how to map complex problems and how to effectively plan your work for maximum impact.  Find next level UX here: https://www.nextlevelux.me/ Connect with Drew:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/abridewell/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I get together with Johnathan Shariat, author of "Tragic Design", cohost of the "Design Review" podcast, and interaction designer at Google. We chat about the concept of his book "Tragic Design" and the consequences, big and small, poor design brings to people.  Connect Johnathan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshariat/ Buy Tragic Design: https://www.tragicdesign.com/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this interview I chat with Tait Wayland about how the industry evaluates designers. Tait recently wrote an article that resonated with a lot of people, including me,  called, "Stop Evaluating Product Designers like we’re Visual Designers" on how hiring managers give preferential treatment to visual design over other disciplines like interaction design and systems thinking.  Find the Article here: https://uxdesign.cc/stop-evaluating-product-designers-like-were-visual-designers-a470cff49990 Connect with Tait: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taitwayland/

Aaron Moncur is the owner of Pipeline Design and Engineering. A physical product design shop. In this episode we talk about physical product design, the Parallels it has with the digital world, and picking what kind of work you do depending on your interests.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I chat with Bryan Sebestia, a modern day renaissance designer, about planning an information diet and charting out how broaden your design skillset. We talk courses, how to learn, and how to be be an eclectic generalist.  Connect with Bryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryansebesta/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

How do you define what we do, and how does that influence hiring? Michael Canar and I discuss hiring designers, and how good hiring managers know how to build a team based on the strengths and specializations of each designer they evaluate when hireing. Connect with Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ca%C3%B1ar-747a104/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Ben Crabtree and I talk about the discovery process in this episode.  It comes down to defining the problem. Ben provides practical ways to define the actual problems you are solving in a project.   Connect with Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-crabtree-582b0180/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Lucid software is known for its high-performing design team, and today I interview one of their A-Players, Sanjana Mathur. In this episode, we discuss the end of the "dev handoff", how to not cut corners on UX, and how we can better blur the lines of responsibility in the product team to quickly collaborate and learn as a unit.  Connect with Sanjana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjana-mathur/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Sam provided so much value in the last episode, we had to record a part 2!  Sam is known for his UX Careers business, Conscious Career Shift, where he helps Jr Designers land their first role. For part 2, we discuss tools, tactics, and techniques to stand out in the hiring process.  Sam also shares a technique that is guaranteed to turn hiring managers heads if you pull it off correctly. Enjoy! Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharperux/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Today I chat with Sam Harper, who is a UX Designer at Entrata. Sam is better known for his UX Careers business, Conscious Career Shift UX, where he helps Jr Designers land their first role. Today we talk about the hard truths of being a Jr UX Designer and try provide some tempered expectations so you can start out with the right experience in mind.  Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharperux/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

🎉Episode 50!🎉 I'm going to celebrate by talking with one of my design heroes! Matt D. Smith is the quintessential company of one. A true design entrepreneur. Matt has independently run his own design shop for 15 years, designing for awesome companies, shipping his own products, and launched some of the best courses on UI design.  In this episode, we talk about his newly launched course, "Shift Nudge", which covers the nitty-gritty details of UI design and discuss the value of UI design and how it fits in the overall Product Design process.  Find Shift Nudge here: https://shiftnudge.com/ Connect with Matt: https://twitter.com/mds If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

This is a reshare of my appearance on Sam Harpers LinkedIn livestream where we talk about the way you can get discovered in a competitive job market. 

How to design systems and products that benefit from bad luck. 

Bonus voice essay on why most designs don't make it to production. 

How does luck play a role in your career? 

Thoughts on talent and being expendable. 

This interview is one I wanted to do for a long time. I can't think of a better way to close season 3 of the podcast. In this episode, I interview Joe Natoli on critical thinking in UX, the problems with prescribed frameworks, and what it's like to work as a UX consultant. See Joe's work at: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joenatoli/ UX360 Academy:  https://learn.givegoodux.com/ "Think First" Book: https://www.amazon.com/Think-First-No-Nonsense-Successful-Experiences-ebook/dp/B015DC4SCU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=think+first&qid=1593558785&s=digital-text&sr=1-1 "Give Good UX Company of Friends" Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/316409165395165/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

The path to the executive suite as a designer is not paved in pixels.  You have to adopt new behaviors to have that "executive presence". In this episode, I interview Sybil Mulokwa, VP of User Experience at JP Morgan Chase to talk about what it takes to level up to a design business operator.  Contact Sybil at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sybil-mulokwa-m-s-5433043/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

Amazing episode and amazing guest! Today I chat with Denise Hurtado, a Design Project Lead at USAA about design critiques.  We discuss how to not only critique the mocks and deliverables designers are known for but also questioning the critical thinking behind those design decisions.  We go over frameworks, techniques, and strategies to get the most out of the critique practice.  Trust me, you'll get a lot out of this.  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisehurtado Denise's article on critiques: https://www.thedailydennis.com/blog/design-critique-why-only-critiquing-work-isnt-enough If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, I talk about how I evaluate my career growth as a designer, and how to differentiate between Junior, Mid, and Senior. 

Brandon is a PM over a new product at Intuit that helps entrepreneurs start companies.  In this episode, we explore the value of side projects and how they can 10x your work performance.  We also discuss getting that first job in product, diversity in tech, and how to "own more and do less". Contact Brandon at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcmitchell13/

In this exploratory episode, Chris Liu and I get Philosophical on the indicators of product success. If you are curious about how to articulate good business outcomes with your design decisions, then you'll find this conversation interesting.  Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-liu-ux/

I reflect on a system that makes successful products possible, and in response, sucedió product designers. If you want great design to win, you need to play nice with this system.

I catch up with my professor and mentor Michael Harper today. He is the department head at UVU for what is Utah's first 4-year bachelor's program in digital product design.  We chat about what he has learned from graduating the first full cohort (which I was a part of) and what he is adjusting in the curriculum to adapt to the changing times.  The most important thing we discuss is how to stand out as a design student. We are of the opinion that Product Design isn't something you can be accredited with and instantly be qualified. It's a craft that requires practice and dedication.  This episode talks about how you can become that kind of designer who is amazing at the craft and stand out from the influx of students coming into the field.  Contact Harper at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelharperut/ https://twitter.com/academictrekker?lang=en

In the morning walk I talk about designers block, what causes it and the antidote for it.

In this episode, a coworker and I discuss discovery work.  A big thing I'm trying to reconcile is doing the right amount of discovery work (due diligence) while being a fast iterating agile team member.  Billy provides some great insights on how to accomplish that in this interview, and how you can maximize learning output in shorter periods of time without sacrificing quality in discovery work.  Contact Billy at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billygast/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this interview, I chat Product Management with Anisha Carter,  Product Manager at Tax Act, and formerly at Intuit. Anisha breaks down the lessons she "unlearnt" by moving from a very established product culture like Intuit, to working on at Tax Act. There are a lot of good insights in this episode for people who want to have the experience of transforming a company to be more product-centered. Contact Anisha at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anisha-carter-one/

What happens when moving fast doesn’t work? How do you define speed? Does the definition of good speed change from project to project? I explore this concept in this edition of my morning walk.

I have my first return guest on the show! Excited to welcome back JB Chaykowsky to talk about his principles of design leadership.  If you are trying to figure out what value design brings to the executive decision making table, this is the episode for you.  Contact JB at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uexui/ https://www.instagram.com/jbchaykowsky/

Morning walk episode! Today I reflect on politics and the roadblocks that come in every project. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

This was a bombshell episode. If you want to know if the management path is right for you, I'd give this one a listen.  In this interview, I chat with James Helms, VP of Design for Intuit's Platform, on topics like design management, and how to level up the performance of the designers you work with (even if you are still an individual contributor). Contact James at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameshelmsad/

I reflect on my understanding of the value of visual design and how it can help in the job search. 

I'm going to introduce you to my secret weapon. My friend, uncle and mentor Red Roze, or to me "Uncle Red".  He has helped me understand the world of marketing and positioning in a way that has changed how I approach work. I can tie a lot of my growth hack moments in my career to his coaching calls.  Red has worked for brands like Tony Robbins and Intel.  Now, he is a successful independent positioning and growth strategist who helps companies tell better stories.  In this episode, we discuss the power of the story, and how most companies are telling stories the wrong way.  Contact Red at: https://touchofstory.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/redrze/

In one of my morning walks, I reflect on the things that help designers get jobs. I cover the base requirements and then the differentiator for designers with accelerated growth. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

I'm excited to introduce Aladrian Goods, who is a content designer at Intuit.  What is a content designer? What do they do?  Short answer: They make sure your messaging is intentional across the whole product experience.  If that is too general for you, then listen to this episode! We go in-depth on how Intuit pulls off their iconic user experiences with the content design being top of mind.  Contact Aladrian at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aladriangoods/

WELCOME TO SEASON THREE! I kick it off interviewing the author of Invison's new book, "Business Thinking for Designers", Ryan Rumsey! Ryan is the CEO of an "Un-Consulting" firm Second Wave Dive, which helps design organizations and individual designers improve their design maturity and better articulate business value. Before that SWD, he was a design executive at Apple and EA. Do we talk about defining good design, tying it to business outcomes, driving business impact as an individual contributor, and design manager!  Connect with Ryan at: https://www.ryanrumsey.com/ https://www.secondwavedive.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrumsey/

🎉Bonus episode🎉 In preparation for season three, I want to share ideas I have been developing through synthesizing of all my past interviews. When hiring, there is a bias towards hiring people with great visual production skills.  That makes sense, a high level of visual polish gives the secure feeling that their work will transfer to good business outcomes. That will probably work in use cases where you have already built out the foundation of the product and need incremental improvements. But what happens when your company needs to execute on digital transformation? What happens if you need to rearchitect legacy systems, and set the strategic vision of your product moving forward? How do you find candidates that can pull that kind of work off? My hypothesis is to hire designers with robust side projects.

How do you measure your counterpart's critical thinking? What does critical thinking look like? What does it sound like? What are the results of it? In this episode, I have a deep discussion with one of the best critical thinkers in the industry, Albert Packer.

Today, I wanted to learn more about how to work better with product managers. So I interviewed one for the podcast.  In this episode, I chat with Trae Winterton, a product manager at Workfront.

I really enjoyed this interview with @Sean Qureshi from Lucid on increasing learning velocity.    In this episode, we chat about the concept of lean startups MVP and we openly discuss our qualms about it.    We also discuss what is so misunderstood about the lean startup MVP framework.   Sean also shares how product discovery is done at Lucid which allows product teams to increase learning velocity while not compromising in the quality and the experience.

We know design is valuable, but how can you unlock its true value and tie your design work to business impact? This show interviews, product designers, product managers, and tech leads from places like Google, Domo, Podium, Divvy, IBM, Intuit, and Uber to find out what makes a valuable product designer and how you can be one as well.

How do you know that you're on the right track when performing research? To answer that question, I talked about the subtle art of research rigor with DJ Green, research manager at Jane. In this episode, we take a deep dive into her process of translating research insights into actionable steps that product managers and designers can use to execute great work. If you're struggling to influence product strategy with your research work, this episode is for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for a 10 step process to better automate product discovery, then look somewhere else. At the end of the day, research is just structured critical thinking and like any other skill set, is something that needs to be practiced to get better at. DJ provides invaluable insights into some of the most asked questions in the research rigor debates that we're currently having in the product community. So pay attention. She is super generous with her expertise in this interview. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

How do you know if you've done enough research? With tight deadlines, competing priorities, and potentially millions of dollars on the line, getting that right amount of research to mitigate the business risk is critical to your product's success.  In this episode, I interviewed Jenny Taylor, a product designer at Divvy.  We take the time to chat about when it's appropriate to apply more rigor to the research process and when it isn't worth your time. Jenny demonstrates an incredible depth of process in her work and knowledge drops on how you can create distance between everyone's opinions and the problem at hand. One thing Jenny shares in this episode is her checklist for designing a research plan for a project.  If you're trying to level up your research skills, this is definitely worth a listen.

All right! You guys are in for a treat!  In this episode, I talked with an OG designer from Silicon Valley, Robin Hayes. Back in the day, he worked on a little thing called TiVo, helping design one of the most iconic user experiences in the history of our profession and helping TiVo become one of the first brands that had a reputation for good CX (which wasn't very common back then). We talk about the rise and fall TiVo and discuss what happens when you nail the user experience and the company no longer wants to innovate. We then discuss his pivot from engineering to UX because of the lack of rigor from a designer that worked with him. He holds over two decades of experience working at Samsung's UX lab, consulting for VR companies and is now an indie VR game developer making  Oculus VR games. So take notes. He shares a ton in this episode.

in this episode, I catch up with a buddy of mine to talk about what we have learned from our product design internships, and he has a lot to say on the matter clocking in five internship experiences before settling in his current full-time role outside of school.  The guy I'm talking about is Jacob artisan, who is UX designer, IBM's design studio in Austin, Texas.  We talk about the kinds of internships you should look for if you're interested in the path of digital product design and how you could get the most out of those internships. Something really important that we discuss is the red flags that show you are in a bad internship for the product design career path. So take notes.

I have a great nugget today on how you as a design org can build stakeholder confidence in the strategic direction that you propose. In this interview, I chat with Matt Davis, who is a UX designer at Lenovo. We talk about the challenge of designing and context switching across a very large portfolio of products  He works on smart speakers. every think pad you could point at and now is working in Lenovos competitor to the Hololense. When you're working on so many products, how can design become a strategic partner with the product org if they can't focus on the big problems each product faces? At Lenovo, they have an approach to developing thought leadership as a design org that I found pretty interesting, and it's something that every designer or big or small can apply to influence those critical decisions making moments in business and really provide business value.

Hey, product community. I have an idea I want to share with you and I wrote it in an article a couple of months back. It's called don't work for brands. in this essay, I get pretty open about my experience interviewing with Facebook and the introspection I had after not making the cut for the job. I think anyone trying to figure out their career right now needs to hear this message.  there are only so many jobs offered at so-called big brands. They can't possibly hire every designer who applies, but there are plenty of great opportunities in companies around the globe. You might not be able to brag about your first job to your friends and family, but it doesn't mean your career trajectory is shot if you don't work at one of the big tech companies starting out. What I have noticed in the designers I admire is that they didn't start at Google, Intuit or Facebook out of design school. They worked in mostly obscure companies building their craft before getting such high visibility,  If you want my philosophy on long game career growth, take the time to listen to this article. Enjoy.

Hey listeners,  This episode we interview with Kamalei Logan, a UX designer at Overstock and a former student of the Dev Mountain UX boot camp.  During the interview, we talk about his experience from going to a boot camp to transitioning into the workforce.  One thing we discuss is what path is right for you?  When should you go to a boot camp and when does it make more sense to get a four-year degree in design? It depends, Kamalei had a good reason for going to Dev Mountain and we unwrapped that in this episode. If this is something you're thinking about, give it a listen. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

We met Serena when Cam and I visited New York City with our design school cohort to visit companies. She just recently started working there at the end of last year, and she was awesome enough to let us visit the IBM office at Astor place.  In this episode, we talk about leveling up after getting that first role. The game has changed. Before you had a job, you had to hustle and say yes to every opportunity. But once you get that job, you're shifting gears.  it becomes more of a marathon. Serena lays out a pretty solid process of continuing to improve after being hired, how to find the work you want to do and positioning your career to do more of it. 

We finally got to editing this gem. This interview is with Joey Isaacson, who is a senior product designer at Uber freight.  Before that, he was a product designer at Facebook and before that he helped design Songkick's platform,  Joey was super generous in this episode, breaking down the nuance of getting through multiple design interviews to what managers should look for when they're interviewing candidates and how they should handle the hiring process.  He also talks about what to do in your first job as a UX designer, how to crush those first 90 days, and how to start charting your growth into a senior design position from day one.  We talk a lot about leveling up and what the market is looking for in new designer talent. His answers might surprise you.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeisaacson/ Support the podcast: https://anchor.fm/cadendamiano/support Book recommended by Joey "The first 90 days": https://www.amazon.com/First-90-Days-Strategies-Expanded/dp/1422188612/ref=asc_df_1422188612/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=266118767273&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3059560243205749901&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1026980&hvtargid=pla-404766147599&psc=1

New format! Audio Articles! Having trouble finding a fit in a company?  In this episode, I share the idea that you shouldn't work for "Tech" companies, you should work for value propositions.  This leads to higher job satisfaction if you are interested in the way of a product designer who wants to build massive value in your products.  If you understand the companies value proposition you can better understand where your personal expertise as a designer or product manager would fit in that organization. Then you can do work that excites you! As always, DM me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano/ if this article resonated with you. I'd love to hash out and refine the idea more with your feedback. And if it really changed your perspective on your career, please share this episode with your network! Let's make more happy designers!

The podcast is back with more episodes!  In this episode, we recap on what we've learned in the last season on advanced tools and techniques to network and land jobs in the design industry. This episode is about our next knowledge quest. We know that design and product as a core business function is valuable, so we're not going to beat a dead horse on evangelizing the value of design. We know it's valuable! We're more interested in how you as an individual contributor can provide that value. We cover some key insights on crushing the design interview process in this episode. We share some opinions about design frameworks, when they are useful and when they are an issue to the design process. Enjoy! Reach out on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano/

In this episode, we talk about conversation design with Margaret Urban and Michael Greenberg, two interaction designers at Google. You can connect with Margaret and Michael on LinkedIn: Margaret Michael Also, Google has a great resource to learn more about Conversation Design: Conversation Design with Google If you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: Cam Sackett Caden Damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Jan. 15, 2019.

In this special crossover episode, we talk with Patrick Cox and Andy Page, two designers at Canopy Tax. We interview them, they interview us—good times! You can connect with Andy and Patrick on LinkedIn: Patrick Andy Also, go listen to the Design Much podcast: https://www.designmuch.org/ If you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Feb. 13, 2019.

In this episode, we chat with Ben Peck, Cofounder of Front and Director of Product Hive about building community and sharing your voice as well as other people's stories and experiences. You can connect with Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bpeck Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Jan. 7, 2019.

In this episode, we chat with Joseph Newell, a sprint facilitator and UX Designer at Xactware—An hour dedicated to the Last Unicorn. We talk about designing at “boring companies” and how they aren’t “boring.” We discuss evangelizing UX and learning to bring your passion with you into every project.  You can connect with Joseph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephnewell Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Dec. 14, 2018.

In this episode, we chat with Alfredo Ruiz who is leading the design and product strategy of IBM Immersive Insights as well as the Augmented Reality Program at IBM Analytics. We discuss how to get started in AR. You can connect with Alfredo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredoruizc Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Dec. 11, 2018. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.

In this episode, we had an excellent conversation with J.B. Chaykowsky, design manager at Intuit. We talk about giving and receiving feedback, finding your voice in design, solving the right problem, becoming design leaders, and so much more. You can connect with J.B. on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uexui Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Nov. 13, 2018.

In this episode, we met with Noah Sparks from Brainstorm to discuss how to design for AR, VR, and MR  to augment people's experiences in the real world. You can find Noah on Twitter @noahsparks and connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahsparks Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Nov. 1, 2018.

In this live episode, recorded at Utah Valley University in front of a group of students and young professionals, we had the opportunity to learn from the CEO of Unbird, Jeff Whitlock. Have you considered using jobs-to-be-done theory to make life and career decisions? Listen to Jeff explain how we "hire" the schools we go to and the career paths we pursue because we have a "job" we want to be done. Make sure to check out Unbird to learn how you can seamlessly aggregate and analyze your customer feedback: https://unbird.com You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffreyWhitlock, on Medium at https://medium.com/@jeff_whitlock or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-whitlock Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 https://www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett. This episode was recorded on Oct. 11, 2018.

In this episode—our first podcast done in collaboration with another podcast—we got together with Dillon Winspear, Lead Mobile Designer at Domo and host of the podcast Designed Today to discuss how to set yourself apart as a designer by failing, being humble, and practicing empathy. You can watch a video version of this episode on Dillon's podcast, Designed Today: https://youtu.be/3Afyay39ea4 Make sure to subscribe to Designed Today and follow Dillon on Twitter @dwinspear. Additionally, you can connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonwinspear Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Aug. 30, 2018.

In this episode, we met with Bryan Mortensen and Clay Walter from Progressive Leasing to discuss poutine and traditional vs non-traditional design education. Bryan coming from a traditional educational background and Clay coming from a non-traditional. Both have interesting points of view. We gained a lot of valuable insights on the paths we can take to get into design. You can find Bryan on Twitter or Medium @Bemorte and connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryanmortensen You can find Clay on Twitter, Dribbble, etc., as @ClayHero or connect with him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/clayhero Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Aug. 15, 2018.

The very first episode of Pivot! In this episode, we met with Danno Ard from Willow Tree to discuss how we can sell empathy, design artifacts for stakeholders, and why we need to sell every idea like the Christmas ghosts in a Christmas Carol sell empathy to Scrooge. You can find Danno everywhere as @doseofdanno (Twitter, Dribbble, etc) or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doseofdanno Also, if you have comments or questions from today's episode or would just like to connect, you can connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cam-sackett-b6495567 www.linkedin.com/in/caden-damiano Pivot by Cam Sackett and Caden Damiano. Pivot Intro Music by Cam Sackett This episode was recorded on Aug. 4, 2018. If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to get the distilled learnings on being a staff-level individual contributor.