Have you ever wondered how product managers turn chaos into a symphony? Our latest episode, featuring the perspicacious Simon Berry who shines a light on the crucial role these maestros play in harmonizing user needs with project realities. From the stormy beginnings of a product's life to its standing ovation in the market, we chat about everything that makes or breaks its success. We promise you'll come away with a renewed appreciation for the delicate balance of art and science in p...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Season 5Ep. 2
In this episode of "Faster Horses," the hosts, Paul and Mark, delve into the world of AI and UX. They discuss how AI has become increasingly prevalent in various industries and platforms, with a particular focus on social media. Paul shares their experience in creating their own AI tool, GhostPosts.ai, with the aims to assist users in generating better social media posts and written content. The hosts emphasise the importance of making AI accessible and ethical, with the goal of enhanc...
Sep 30, 2023•46 min•Season 5Ep. 1
It seems that people are very often confusing a Design System with a component library . The differences are nuanced, drawing the line between those two will be hard, and there’s no right or wrong — but maybe this story might help us understand those differences a little bit better, and maybe it will help us understand the effort it takes to build and maintain a Design System. It is more than just a UI Library. The whole purpose of a Design System is to define the design principles, style guide,...
Sep 20, 2022•2 hr 33 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Design systems have become a key part of user experience, design and development, but what should it consist of? We have a good old poke around, question atomic design, figure out audiences and how to effectively communicate what the core concept of design systems are, why we use them and is Brad Frost right. Should print and digital guidelines fit into a single system? We chuck in the patterns and chuck out the chintz, with topical tangents, wrapped in the UX of a squidgy scotch egg. All this a...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 10
So what’s the difference between design language and tone of voice? Where are the boundaries between the tone of voice and design language, and who leads the strategy of these? Are they interchangeable? In literature, the Tone of Voice refers to the author’s feelings towards the subject, as expressed through the writing itself. Writing for the web is obviously different from writing prose (or at least it should be since web users read very little .) Still, every scrap of writing on a page (from ...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 9
In this episode we talk to Scot Whitney, Podcast Host – The All4Inclusion Pod, an advocate for inclusion and wheelchair user looking to help others see society's boundaries. Find him on Linkedin, https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottjwhitney/ Scott founded All4inclusion with their amazing philosophy: “We believe everyone is born equal and every person should be able to access the same education, job opportunities and be able to socialise in the same ways.” Find out more and support them here: h...
Jul 26, 2022•58 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Stock photography – the perfect solution for small business owners, bloggers, and marketers who need to create high-quality visual content without breaking the bank? With over 6 million photos and more added every day, you’ve got choice, but is it always the ideal solution? Do you find yourself spending hours looking for the right photo? Do you still have to heavily adapt the photo or illustration? Do you love or loathe stock photography? Do you even care? Can one stock photo ruin your brand ide...
May 10, 2022•2 hr 30 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Discover the journey that we've been on – transitioning from being team members to a leadership position. What have been the pain points, and how have we overcome that? What traits do leaders exhibit? Our top tips on becoming a leader and how to improve your leadership in a creative field (also general). Find out what we choose as our leadership tactics and what's essential when leading a team. How can you build rapport and trust with a team? What's leading by example mean? How to...
Apr 26, 2022•2 hr 36 min•Season 4Ep. 6
What are the biggest fails of gaming experiences? In this episode, we explore those dreaded button-mashing mishaps. What makes games sticky? Why is everyone playing Elden Ring? We look at the mechanics of in-app purchases, being immersed in complex menus. We all know the essential part of a video game is gameplay. But what about the UX? In this podcast, we talk about video game user experience is better by improving your UI and UX design. The frustrations of mashing that button accidentally make...
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 4Ep. 5
In this short, Paul Wilshaw takes on the subject of colours, their use and accessibility. The way you can think about this in every single colour in your design system should have a definition. What does it do? Exactly the same as a button or an icon or some other piece of design colours should do exactly that same thing. And why do we do this? Because colours are used, and with accessibility and colours, they shouldn't be used on their own to define things, but colours do have the impact –...
Mar 26, 2022•18 min•Season 4Ep. 3
In this episode, we look at the UX of video games. We all know the most important part of a video game is the gameplay. But what about the UX? In this podcast, we talk about video game user experience better by improving your UI and UX design. The frustrations of pressing that button, that accidentally drops all of your inventory. We talk about Elden Ring and why players and reviewers are praising the game, despite its difficulty. What about the all-important menu experiences, accessibility and ...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 4
In this episode, we debate whether designers should code. We find out that there are many different opinions about this topic – what should you be doing? In the past few years, has coding become an essential skill in design? But with so many new technologies popping up every day, is it really necessary? We also tackle the tricky UX Tombola machine to discuss the UX of a random object, place or service. What will it be – how will Mark Steeler sell this one? All these questions, and even ones you ...
Feb 15, 2022•1 hr 29 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Learn from the people who've been there and are currently doing it, what to look for, how to recruit and what you need to know. How to Scale a Design Team From a One-Man Show to a Well-Functioning Design Team. What is the Problem with Scaling a Design Team? and Why You Should Treat Your Hiring Process Like an Investment for Long-Term Sustainability. We ask these questions while keeping you entertained with humorous chat, off-topic tangents and lots and lots of important information to keep ...
Feb 01, 2022•2 hr 40 min•Season 4Ep. 1
3 brand new UX tombolas, unwrapped. Mark, Nick and Paul delve into the UX of Christmas traditions, can we fix the UX of stocking, Christmas dinner and wrapping paper. We also play a game of guess the object. What is it, what’s it for? Join us for a little UX insight and musing in this special. 🐎 80% comedy, 20% UX, 0% filler 💎 Sign up for exclusive content: https://jubb.ly/ba4a52 🎙 Spotify: https://jubb.ly/3d0d0a 🎙 Apple: https://jubb.ly/c75cca 🎥 Watch: https://youtu.be/GYjaKrOt1VE #Podcast...
Dec 24, 2021•1 hr 4 min
🔥 Logs on your fire - Join us for a retrospective of design and UX in 2021 and what are the current trends to look out for in 2022? Faster Horses Christmas Special 🎄 out now. We got together, braved Omnicron and huddled around a virtual fire and shared one mic – find out what we think of design and user experience in 2021 and some of our insights and musings about life in product design. 🐎 80% comedy 20% UX 0% filler 💎 Sign up for exclusive content: https://jubb.ly/ba4a52 🎙 Spotify: https:/...
Dec 19, 2021•57 min
In this episode, we look at packaging design and how different needs and requirements can change the way you design. We also discuss how consideration for disabilities, care for our environment, and other factors can influence your decisions as a designer. Brackish Mung or Is it time to rethink packaging design? Some packaging is overly bloated and psychologically affects our purchase decisions, we look at some of the dark UX around packaging and how clear consistent labels, braille and colour a...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Who's shouting the loudest and whose voice carries the most weight? Make it pop, add some design magic, can we do something cool – heard these phrases when you've done a design? We're here to help. In this episode, we talk about our experiences with design by committee. What is it, how do you quell those loud opinionated voices? It's difficult, right? We're joined by special guest @jamesmedd to help us make sense of it all. We'll help you to navigate the potential p...
Nov 02, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Like every good superhero, they have an origin story. Faster Horses Podcast is no different, in this special episode we talk about the name of our podcast and that famous quote (somewhat dubiously) attributed to Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. ” What does this mean for user experience? We talk about the meaning behind the quote and why talking to your customers really matters. Also, find out if Patrick Stewart is really a shit and what&apo...
Oct 16, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 6
What are MVPs? What do they mean to you? Should you even ship an MVP? We explain what an MVP is, how it fits into the design, and throw in a bag of fish eyes for good measure. Have you ever tried to ship a product and wanted to make a luxury car but you sent out a skateboard then this episode is for you. What's an MVP? Why do we all have different perceptions of MVPs? Is everything an MVP? We're talking about MVPs (Minimum Viable Products and not Most Valuable Players), fish eyeballs, ...
Sep 25, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this episode we discuss Job titles, are they even useful even more? Who decides what titles mean? Does your Job title sum up what you do? And of course, everyones favourite, UX Tombola, featuring Mark Stealer Music by James Medd Patreon Producers for this episode: Rob Singleton Ant Jones Support the show All this and more are answered in this episode of Faster Horses, a podcast about UX, UXR, UI design, products and technology (sometimes!) 🐎 80% comedy, 20% UX, 0% filler 👕 Get stickers and ...
Sep 10, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode we discuss the phenomenon known to some as 'Corporate Memphis' a style of illustration that has crept into corporate UX and UI designs from Facebook to Pornhub. We discover where it came from and theorise where it might be going. As well as the usual conversational detours and of course, the madness that is, UX Tombola. How do you feel about this style? Do you agree you shouldn't say you 'hate' it? Let us know on Twitter @FasterHorsesUX Music by James Med...
Aug 27, 2021•1 hr 10 min
In this episode we discuss what Mobile First means and how it is viewed at various levels, in various industries, as well as a few interesting conversational detours and of course, the madness that is, UX Tombola. Do you think mobile first is always the right approach? Do you think it's a separate skillset? Let us know on Twitter @FasterHorsesUX Music by James Medd Patreon Producers for this episode: Rob Singleton Support the show All this and more are answered in this episode of Faster Hor...
Aug 13, 2021•1 hr 18 min
Welcome to Season 3 and a slightly new format! In this episode Paul introduces the topic of Design Systems as we discuss what they are, their benefits and how to identify opportunities to create them. ...... for about 5 minutes until someone brings up melon f*****g Everyones favourite segment UX Tombola is back, we have a new random topic to pick apart and take on humorous solutions. Featuring an audio striptease from Mark Sutcliffe. More UX, more tangents and more fun! Support the show All this...
Jul 30, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this episode regular hosts Mark Sutcliffe, Nick Tomlinson, and Paul Wilshaw discuss if UX (user experience) is an art or science. We talk about what makes UX and how much is art and how much is science. We also look into current design trends and explore how success is measured and by what standards. In UX Tombola we have a new random topic to pick apart and take on humorous solutions. More Lamas, more weirdness and fun, with a hint of Star Wars geekiness thrown in. Support the show All this ...
Jul 17, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 2Ep. 6
<p>Complicated systems, in this episode we explore how to design complicated systems.</p> </br></br> <p>Who are the Wobble People?</p> </br> <p>What are complicated systems?</p> </br> <p>How do you factor in use beyond the happy path?</p> </br> <p>How do you cater for the needs of very different use cases?</p> </br> <p>How do you make the complex simple without dumbing the experience down?</p...
Jun 26, 2021•2 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 5
What design software do you use? Regular hosts Mark Sutcliffe, Nick Tomlinson and Paul Wilshaw are joined by the award-winning artist, musician, and UX expert James Medd to explore what our favourite design software is and why? Does it matter if you're using a different platform from the designer next to you? What's the most important thing in the design process where software helps (or hinders)? ++ UX Tombola, we take an everyday task and UX the hell out of it (or just gently nudge it...
Jun 08, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 2Ep. 4
<p>In this episode Mark, Nick and Paul, with special guest host James Medd, explore UX misconceptions.</p> <br></br> <br></br> <p>Featuring guests, Maria Panagiotidi – https://twitter.com/mariapage and Stacey Rey – https://twitter.com/ReiStacey</p> <br></br> <br></br> <p>What are UX misconceptions, what are the problems behind these misconceptions. How have our other experiences defined how we see digital experiences.&...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 3
<p>In this episode Mark, Nick and Paul explore loading bars.</p> <br></br> <br></br> <p>We delve into our pasts and discuss how loading bars have evolved.</p> <br></br> <br></br> <p>We talk about games and how they've defined our load bar experiences from the classic Spectrum loading, playing mini games, reticulating splines and how we all expect our experiences to be the super fast and accurate.</p> <br&...
May 11, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 2Ep. 2
🐴 Welcome to the new season of Faster Horses, with 100% more randomness and 10% more UX (user experience) insights. In this episode Mark, Nick and Paul explore the Dribbble effect on design and user experience. Do you love or loath Dribbble? 😍 / 🤬 You'll also get to hear about Mark's room divider and Nick introduces the new UX tombola feature. Support the show All this and more are answered in this episode of Faster Horses, a podcast about UX, UXR, UI design, products and technology...
Apr 27, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 1
A short podcast about hackathons and my personal experiences, attending, organising and judging them. Hackathons are generally techno-creative events where delegates form teams in a physical location (Richterich, 2017) to solve a problem statement or brief defined by the organisers. Hackathons are generally competitive, with teams competing under the confines of limited time pressures for incentives such as prizes (Richterich, 2017). The conventional aim of a hackathon is for teams, or individua...
May 19, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 5
