There are many reasons that today is the best day to begin your own freelance UX career. Many in my network were laid off at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic and rehiring has been slow. Others are just unhappy with their job and have found it difficult to leave just yet. Whatever your reason, its not too soon to start the journey. My guest today is the perfect guest to get you started. Michael Janda has an extensive background in design as a service including a successful agency with top c...
Jul 21, 2020•46 min
Are you avoiding the glaringly obvious issues of your product because of how familiar you've gotten with the glaring mistake? Maybe you're not even sure how to answer it because if it was still glaringly obvious, then you'd address it. Well, it's not that simple. Stockholm Syndrome in the Design world is when we've become all too familiar with whatever hardship we've created in our product that we find workarounds for ourselves and call it finished. Your audience won't feel the same way. Give to...
Jul 14, 2020•5 min
Today you get to meet a friend and mentee of mine, Uliti Fangupo. I met him over two years ago when he was in the middle of a UX Bootcamp. He reached out trying to better himself and his career. It was clear to me that he had the "Drive" and "Ambition" to succeed in the real world. I took him under my wing and gave him a couple of opportunities and he spun it into gold. After 120+ applications for different jobs, he re-evaluated his approach and landed a great job with a start-up in which he's b...
Jul 07, 2020•46 min
Building off of Episode 76 with the Boxing analogy, I'm going to keep that thought process moving forward and share with you today why you need to keep those gloves up and protecting your face. Among the many punches that will be thrown at a designer as they go along their design process, is the unintentional biases that could slip in and knock us off balance. The outcome is a project that will feel a bit wobbly, and your confidence in the right course of action will diminish. Today we take a lo...
Jun 30, 2020•6 min
Mariah Hay has built product organizations for some years now, most recently for the publicly traded company, Pluralsight. She was directly involved in growing its product team from 150 to 600 contributors in just a short couple of years. In today's episode, she shares some of the insights gained in helping design those organizations to function at a high level, and what it takes to distribute information to all key players on those teams. Additionally, we spend a lot of time talking about job t...
Jun 23, 2020•39 min
Even when I go to the gym, it's hard for me not to continue thinking about the world of UX. As I'm throwing punches into a bag and trying to better my footwork, lessons, and relations flood my mind that would have otherwise been a stretch. UX Designers can throw a combination of punches. But as the fight progresses we've got to be able to pivot and stay in a good position. All that comes down to our footwork. A UX Designers' footwork is our unique ability to adapt to changing conditions and info...
Jun 16, 2020•5 min
Last year I met with and had lunch with a recent UX Bootcamp graduate. Throughout that lunch, I was impressed by her level of understanding and knew that her realizations since Bootcamp could help so many who were still in school. With that, I invited her to the show and it was well worth it. My guest today is Olivia Laboriel, shes a freelance UX Designer who graduated last year from a local 13 week Bootcamp. This episode isn't a knock or slander towards her Bootcamp or any Bootcamp for that mat...
Jun 09, 2020•41 min
Today we depart from the topic of UX and dissect what makes a champion. I'm going to guess that if you listen, watch Designed Today, or are reading these show notes, you are in the pursuit of becoming better. But we often struggle to figure out where to begin. Setting goals should come easily, but getting lost in the details of that goal is all too common. Today's episode is designed to help you understand what I've been doing recently to get me out of a extra-mile rut. Please Subscribe either o...
Jun 02, 2020•5 min
The Twitter legend himself, Mr. Doug Collins (aka @DougCollinsUX) is here to teach you some fundamentals and specifics of designing for accessibility. Whether you're new to the field of UX or 5+ years, you'll be able to take something away from the insights he's garnished with over 19 years of experience. Additionally, he is offering his course on accessibility for FREE to the first 100 listeners to sign up. That link can be found here: https://skl.sh/2H14HV9 Please Subscribe either on Youtube o...
May 26, 2020•31 min
Did the title get you to come here for a story about how I was a design diva and I've overcome that? Or maybe for a spiteful story about design divas? Wow, what a clickbaity title. Sure there is a bit of design diva in all of us. It's hard to find a pure-bred design diva. But lets self assess to make sure that that design diva which IS in each of us, doesn't take the mainstage all too often. Please Subscribe either on Youtube or on any of the popular podcasting platforms. Just search Designed To...
May 19, 2020•7 min
Catherine Wong is the Chief of Product at Domo, a company that gives other companies BI leverage at cloud scale in record time. Her downline includes around 200 Engineers, Product Managers, and UX Designers. When asked "What advice do you have for someone in tech who is early in their career?" Catherine's response was simply, "Hustle". This isn't just lip service either. I don't know very many people who've portrayed that mentality more than her. Catherines "Come-Up" story is filled with advice ...
May 12, 2020•33 min
Every now and then its fun to go un-scripted and answer a bunch of audience submitted questions. On this episode, we answer the questions How do I increase the phone calls I receive after applying for a job? And how can I get around the whole "no work experience" issue? What is Nuemorphism? How can I avoid getting frazzled at morning stand-up meetings? Is it a good time to get into the UX industry given our current conditions? How do you repair broken trust in the workplace? These questions came...
May 05, 2020•18 min
Finding a mentor is one of the first things every new designer should be doing. But who should that person be? What if on the other side of the coin its now your turn to mentor the next designer. How do you set them down the right course? Patrick Cox has had his time on both sides of that coin and has come to bring insights for your journey. Resources: https://www.designmuch.org/ Please Subscribe either on Youtube or on any of the popular podcasting platforms. Just search Designed Today. *******...
Apr 28, 2020•38 min
Don't for a second believe that you're the only one struggling in this new world we are living in. We've had so much throw at us over the last couple of months, things that nobody has had time to prepare for or practice. But we are problem solvers and creators, don't let the apathy created by today's environment get you to slow down. Learn more about 'The Rule of Three' : https://pod.link/designedtoday/episode/aHR0cHM6Ly93aW5zcGVhcmRlc2lnbnMuY29tLz9wPTY5MTY= Please Subscribe either on Youtube or...
Apr 20, 2020•6 min
Inclusion and diversity is a tough topic to tackle, but it must be tackled. Knowing how flat it would fall if I tackled this topic in a rant, I decided to seek out someone who could enlighten all of us from a different perspective. Nissa Farley has been in management for most of her career. Today she is the Director of Product Management at CHG Healthcare, where she continues to place a focus on attracting, hiring and retaining people from different diverse backgrounds. In today's episode, she w...
Apr 14, 2020•30 min
I've been thinking about this concept for a few weeks now, ever since a friend of mine shared it on social media. It's not necessarily a design principle that you'd have learned about in school, but it applies here none the less. Before you attempt your next redesign, or before you start on a new project which you inherited from a previous designer, consider this principle. Please Subscribe either here on Youtube or on any of the popular podcasting platforms. Just search Designed Today. ********...
Apr 07, 2020•4 min
Nir is an author of two awesome books that you’ve probably heard of. His first became a wall street journal bestseller, titled Hooked: How to build habit-forming products. His second, released last year in which I devoured in just a couple weeks, is called Indistractable: How to control your attention and choose your life. For those who’ve gotten to know me, you know this was something I was eager to read. When Nir came to Utah and spoke at a local event, I couldn’t hold back from asking him to ...
Mar 31, 2020•38 min
Its the end of March, but its the first episode of 2020. Welcome back to Designed Today, I've got a lot to catch you up on including what's happened over the last few months, how my time was spent, how I've been inspired, and what you can expect next from the show. Links mentioned in Episode: All new Designed Today website: http://designedtoday.com/ Shia Labeouf & Kristen Stewart - Actors on Actors - Full Conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDUIZqXNk-M Demi Lovato - Anyon (Grammys ...
Mar 24, 2020•14 min
Imposter Syndrome. It sucks. And you’re not alone in feeling it. After doing some research I found that 70% of the people in this country have at least a passing acquaintance with the feelings or symptoms that are associated with imposter syndrome. These thoughts come along with feelings of anxiety, self-doubt, unworthiness, perfectionism, and fear of failure. I feel it too. But I’ve also found that talking about these thoughts and feelings is one of the best ways to move past these thoughts and...
Nov 19, 2019•6 min
Danno stopped by to talk collaboration.
Nov 12, 2019•40 min
I won't be the first or last to add my thoughts here, but what I do offer is the pro's and con's of this situation and some tips to figuring out where you need to be personally, depending on what you're trying to achieve.
Nov 05, 2019•5 min
Over the years she and I have both connected with TONS of students who graduate from UX Bootcamps and find themselves stuff not knowing what to do next... Well, listen close cause Sarah has some thoughts for you.
Oct 29, 2019•53 min
With any new tool, focus on understanding how to use it and the value it delivers. From there you'll know when its appropriate to pull out which tool for the job.
Oct 22, 2019•3 min
There is a lot of options for someone wanting to get an education for a career in User Experience.
Oct 15, 2019•40 min
Over the last couple of months, I've given this analogy to dozens of UX students trying to understand where they fit into the larger spectrum of building a project at a business.
Oct 08, 2019•3 min
Joining me all the way from Italy is Debbie Levitt, a UX speaker, trainer, and author. Her newest book titled Delta CX will shake what you think you know about UX and our place within a business.
Oct 01, 2019•42 min
Over the last week, I've collected a handful of questions sent in from listeners like yourself who just want to hear my take on any given topic. Today on the show we explore some of those questions in hopes to really get to the heart of what you still desire to learn more about.
Sep 24, 2019•8 min
Alli shares her 3 core concepts to getting started in data viz.
Sep 17, 2019•34 min
I've got some tips to get the right feedback after your interviews so you can really know where you can improve.
Sep 10, 2019•6 min
My guest on this episode is Grady Kelly, a local fan favorite as he’s very involved...
Sep 03, 2019•38 min
