The Experience Designers

Tom Middleton - From dance floors to deep rest: A journey of sound and healing

From his early fascination with synths and soundscapes to touring the world as a DJ, Tom Middleton has spent decades exploring the neuroscience and emotional power of music. In this conversation, Tom shares how his journey through burnout led him to pioneer “experience as medicine,” using sound intentionally to promote well-being, focus, and recovery. We explore neuroaesthetics, spatial audio, vibroacoustics, and how environments—from wellness spaces to workplaces—can be sound-designed to improv...

Jessica Weickert - The power of inscapism - Going inward to connect outward

Jessica Weickert joins The Experience Designers to explore how emotional regulation, neuroscience, and story-living are reshaping the future of experiential design. Drawing from her personal journey with ADHD and her role at XDA, Jessica shares how neuroaesthetics is helping brands design immersive, purposeful experiences that support well-being and create real emotional impact. From luxury as presence to collective rituals, we unpack trends transforming events, retail, and hospitality. It’s a d...

Colin Nightingale - Punchdrunk and beyond: Colin Nightingale on Art, Space, and Immersive

In this rare and deeply personal conversation, Colin Nightingale, Associate Artist at Punchdrunk and Co-founder of Right/Left Project, takes us on an immersive journey through his creative evolution. From his early days immersed in London’s underground music and DIY culture to co-shaping some of the most iconic immersive theatre productions of the 21st century, Colin shares the moments that shaped his path. We explore the origin story behind Punchdrunk’s masked worlds, the power of atmosphere in...

James Warren - Empathy at Scale. The Future of Story-Driven Insights

In this episode of The Experience Designers, Steve is joined by James Warren, expert storyteller, experience strategist, and founder of Share More Stories to explore how storytelling unlocks deep human connection and business insight. Together, they unpack the true power of stories: as tools for building trust, designing immersive experiences, and revealing hidden emotional truths that traditional surveys and metrics often miss. James shares his personal journey from childhood storytelling to la...

Laura Hess - 500 Experiences in 5 Years. A quest for the remarkable!

Join us as we talk with Laura Hess, who attended 500 experiences in 5 years, about building a 25-point “Remarkable” rubric for scoring immersive theatre, fine-art installations, XR activations, brand activations, and more.... Learn how intentionality, multi-sensory design, and post-show reflection can help creators craft moments that truly resonate, transport audiences into flow states, and leave a lasting impact. Tune in for practical experience design tips, real-world case studies (including H...

Tom Hitch - Co-create or coerce? Why the best office experiences are built with their people

What makes a workplace worth the commute? In this episode, we sit down with workplace experience explorer and content creator Tom Hitch to uncover how the best office environments are co-created , not commanded. From sensory design to return-to-office (RTO) policies, Tom shares powerful insights from his travels into global workplaces, highlighting where companies get it right (hello, Miro and Santander) and where they fall flat with flashy but functionless design. Expect bold ideas, real-world ...

Pigalle Tavakkoli - What if emotion is the real design tool?

Steve sits down with experience-design pioneer Pigalle Tavakoli to explore what she calls "StoryFeeling". The shift from telling stories at people to orchestrating the feelings they live through. Building on her recent keynote at the London Experience Week and forthcoming book - The Building Blocks of Experience Design. She explains how emotion-first design unlocks deeper narrative power. Starting with detective-grade audience research, designing for a full spectrum of feelings (not just "happy"...

Stefan Moritz - Are We Ready for Experiences Co-created with AI?

In this episode, we explore Stefan's career journey, sparked by an epiphany during a friend's 50th birthday in Italy. This experience led him to prioritize quality over quantity in his work. Stefan shares his approach to restructuring his workload by focusing on fewer projects, which fosters creativity and personal growth. The discussion explores how AI can transform work dynamics, emphasizing the importance of intentionality, collaboration, and leadership. Highlighting AI's potential to enhance...

Claus Raasted - Imagination is your most undervalued business tool!

What if life, work, and transformation were just better versions of play? In this episode, you’ll meet Claus Raasted, Experience Designer, Viking impersonator, and founder of The College of Extraordinary Experiences. From a childhood spent LARPing to advising McKinsey, Klaus shares how designing intentional, immersive worlds can lead to real-world change. Whether you're building onboarding for a sales team or a castle-based retreat, this one’s for anyone curious about how experiences can shape w...

Mat Duerden - Unlock the Experience Ladder. How to Elevate Experiences from Memorable to Transformative

Dive into a captivating discussion on experience design with Mat Duerden, Department Chair of Experience Design and Management in the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University and Co-Author of the book Experience Design. Reveals how intentional design can transform everyday moments into powerful experiences. Mat shares his journey from adventurous childhood whitewater rafting to pioneering leadership in experience design education, illustrating the “experience ladder” from ordinary...

Dr Paul. Zak: Why Building Trust, Engagement & Emotional Fitness is the Key to Creating Unforgettable Experiences and Thriving Relationships—at Work, in Business, and in Life.

In this episode of The Experience Designers , I sit down with Dr. Paul Zak , the neuroscientist who wrote the book on trust and human connection. A TED speaker, best-selling author, and founder of Immersion Neuroscience , Paul has spent decades uncovering the brain’s hidden responses to experiences, brands, and relationships. Link to Six App - https://your6.com/ Connect with Paul - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-j-zak-91123510/ TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_o...

Goc O'Callaghan part 2 - The secrets and learnings from the dark side of Disney's magic

What if the magic behind your favourite experiences wasn't just a coincidence? In this second part two of this two-part series with Goc O'Callaghan, Co-owner of ArcTanGent Festival and Global Experience Lead at Buro Happold. In this episode, we peel back the curtain on the often-overlooked and unknown 'dark side' of Disney's magic. From the hidden infrastructure at Disney parks to designing festivals that feel like second homes, Goc reveals how intentional design can transform ordinary spaces in...

Goc O'Callaghan part 1 - Beyond the music: What festival design teaches us about crafting unforgettable experiences

We're taking you behind the scenes of an incredible journey, exploring the power of memorable experiences and the lessons we can learn from one of the major memory makers out there: music festivals. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Goc O'Callaghan, co-founder, owner, and festival director of the legendary ArcTanGent Festival in the UK. This is a festival that started as a childhood dream in a bluebell forest and grew into a multi-award-winning independent festival. This is the first of a ...

Tina Squire - Through a neurodiverse lens: What happens when we design workplaces for every mind?

In this episode of The Experience Designers , we dive deep into the world of neurodiversity with Tina Squire, an expert in fostering neuro-inclusive environments. Tina shares her personal journey with ADHD and how it has fueled her passion for creating workspaces where neurodiverse individuals are not just accommodated, but truly celebrated. This episode explores the importance of designing work experiences that embrace every individual's unique strengths, from recruitment to retention, and ever...

John Sills - Lessons from a broken-down train and why it became one of the best experiences ever?

In this episode, we’re joined by John Sills, managing partner at The Foundation and author of The Human Experience . John shares an incredible story of how a broken train in Switzerland became one of the most memorable customer experiences he’s ever had—and not because it went wrong, but because of how it was handled. Together, we dive into the heart of what makes customer experiences truly remarkable: human connection, ownership, and care. We explore why so many business leaders feel disconnect...

Elena Aylott: Why Are Authentic Communities Essential at Work? Insights into Building Unstoppable Networks for Growth

In this episode, Elena Aylott shares her unique journey from executive assistant to Vice President of Global Communications and Employee Experience at Oriflame Cosmetics to founding her own company, The Aylott Group. She emphasizes the importance of trust, adaptability, and community-building within organizations. Key takeaways include the impact of personal and corporate trust, the role of HR as a mega facilitator, and leveraging employee communities for organizational success. Elena also highl...

Mette Aagaard - Sharing leadership

We are used to leadership being hierarchical. Always talking about the tone from the top. But what happens when we share leadership and power throughout the organization? And challenge our current ways of working in the most profound ways? With Mette Aagaard we explore the benefits, guiding principles and biggest challenges of shifting our corporate paradigm from delegated to truly distributed. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Nele De Peuter - Vertical development. A path to meaningful growth.

We often talk about growth as some race to the top. A climb of the ladder, an improvement of our skills, but that narrative actually misses a core aspect of our evolution. Developing our ability to hold and make use of our new capacities. Nele is an organisational psychologist and coach who specialises in vertical development. We dive into what vertical development even is. Why do we need it? And what you can do to make space for it on your journey consciously. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ...

Stephanie Denino - Why building an employee experience (EX) muscle can revolutionize your business

Pia Lauritzen - Designed to doubt

Anna Mindelöf - Building a highly efficient people experience team and why HR needs to embrace the new paradigm

Linda Jarnhamn - Sustainably human

Performance and productivity are two important words in today’s work environment. And also, two charged words, because - what do they actually mean? Many of us will have experienced some kind of arbitrary, unfair, strange administrative process that attempts to evaluate the work that we do. With Linda, we take a scientific and neurological perspective to human thriving and guides organizations on how to uncover sustainable human potential and performance. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Laura & Sam - Lighting an EX fire in The British Red Cross

What does a humanitarian business such as the British Red Cross do to ensure they’re also human-centric on the inside when creating an experience for their people? Well, they commit to a dedicated people experience team and start their journey of introducing a way of working that puts the employee at the heart of everything. Applying a human-centric approach, whilst delivering benefit for the people involved and showcasing the methods and mindset along the way, all the whilst using the process t...

Lieven van Linden - From body to mind - engineering human performance

The cognitive and rational mind dominates our conversation about performance in the workplace, but unlocking our full potential and abilities - and doing so sustainably over time - demands us to engage more than our brains. Only when we listen, learn to understand, and respond to the signals that our body sends us, are we able to actually enhance our contribution, health and well-being. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Malin Moezzi - Augmenting tech, data and human to create better interviews

The humble job interview. Did you know that the first offical job assessment was creating in 1921 by Thomas Edison who designed a written test to evaluate candidates' knowledge. Since then it’s safe to say, the interview has gone various developments. But at the core, it’s two humans coming together. Where so much is going on from a psychological, bias and human perspective. But it’s not until you really lean in and take a forensic lens that you truly start to understand where things can go seri...

Eleni Jacobs - Building teams from scratch

What distinguishes a well-functioning team from a friction-ridden one? How do we know what to spend time on as we start building a team? And what do we need to take ownership of as leaders and co-workers? With Eleni Jacobs we break down the concept of psychological safety and look at the conscious and unconscious dynamics that rule and create our teams - as a group and as individuals. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Stephanie Robinson - Learning from moments of discomfort

When was the last time you felt discomfort? Did you notice how you reacted? Was it subtle shifts in your body? Or major knee-jerk! How did it feel? What level of discomfort was it? 1 out of 10? 10 out of 10? Regardless of the situation. What's clear is we have a reaction. Sometimes subtle, other times more profound and impactful. This is where the learning and growth opportunities exist in these moments and how we reflect and react. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Andre Fangueiro - Making space and managing for design

Design is a buzzword for everything from products to customer- and employee experiences. But beyond that, it is a mindset and skill-set that requires dedicated practice both by individuals and organizations. With Andre Fangueiro we explore different facets of design, from individual behaviors to leadership, career development and organizational structures. What does it actually take to do design (successfully)? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Ian Golding - Connecting customer & employee experience

As employee experience continues to evolve from buzzword to creating impact inside of organizations. I was curious to explore the world of customer experience. How did they go from buzzword to a discipline, business function and career choice? What learnings can we leverage for the EX evolution? How can we make better use of connecting these two sides of the same coin to bring value to people and business? ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★...

Shani & Steve - 10 lessons from our first year in business together

In this special episode Shani and Steve look back on their first year of running Wonder together and what it means to do life and business in a more human way. They share 10 big lessons they’ve learnt over the course of the year and the different facets of more human. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★