This is a story about finding a path from struggle to satisfaction and from frustration to way more fun. In yet another solo episode (we promise we’ve got some interviews coming up!), Sophia goes way back to her childhood, high school, college days, and early UX career to make sense of the current state of OOUX and ORCA. Sophia gets into the frustrations of designing in the dark, shares a few juicy life lessons, and reveals the early principles that make up the foundation of her career — and the...
Mar 09, 2023•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of the podcast, Sophia kicks off the first in a 15-part series on her ORCA (Objects, Relationships, CTAs, and Attributes) process. This first installment will cover the process of Noun Foraging. Learn Sophia's 10 hot tips for getting started with noun foraging. Plus, how artificial intelligence can help you do the work, and how noun foraging might not be just for nouns. Enjoy! LINKS: OOUX Happy Hour: Noun Foraging with Rik Williams, Sophia Prater, and Robots Take The Self-Paced O...
Feb 17, 2023•43 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast In this first episode of 2023, Sophia lays out her findings after successfully rolling out the ORCA Sprint envisioned in episode 033 from last season. She talks about manifesting the ORCA Sprint from concept to deliverable, what worked and what didn't work (and what can probably be skipped) while running the first ORCA Sprint, and why ending Day 2 of the ORCA Sprint with a nav flow is guaranteed to blow people's minds. LINKS: For background on this episode, check out episode 033 - The ORCA...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast In this solo episode of the podcast (and final episode of this season), Sophia talks about a new concept called "The ORCA Sprint." A week-long OOUX journey teams can take to tackle their projects head-on with the methodology of ORCA (tackling objects, relationships, calls-to-action, and attributes). Sophia will take you through each day of the ORCA Sprint schedule going step by step with recommended tools and templates included. And she's looking for feedback! We recommend you listen to this epi...
May 12, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Keith Rich and Anthony Gallo join us from Think Company, a bespoke UX and software firm out of Philadelphia. Anthony, the "engineer" of Think Company, began his career in system administration. He took learning how things work "under the hood" to a new level when he later became a self-taught developer. Keith, the "midfielder" at Think Company, comes from Pharma advertising and is passionate about prototyping new ideas and bridging the gaps between design and development. In this episode of the ...
Apr 21, 2022•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Samuel Hulick runs UserOnboard where he researches, writes about, and implements successful user onboarding for companies around the world. In this episode, Sophia and Samuel chat about Value Paths and how they hone in on the deeper value of our products. Listen as they lay this lens over a medical prescription app design challenge, the Headspace onboarding experience, and even OOUX.com's offerings. LINKS: OOUX Fundamentals workshop recording — mentioned in the intro! OOUX Podcast Episode 024, V...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 28 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Caroline Sober-James is the Director of UX at Acumium, where she and her team have successfully instituted OOUX to great success. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Caroline discuss why designers should cultivate empathy toward developers, how to be "a designer devs swoon over," and how quickly Caroline's conversations with developers turn into "OOUX lovefests." LINKS: Follow Caroline on Twitter: @wildwend Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinesober/ Tune...
Mar 10, 2022•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Scott Kubie is "a designer who writes." He's the author of "Writing for Designers," a must-read for anyone who writes, and the brain behind "Content Ecosystem Mapping," a visual way to represent your content reality—what you have and where it is. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Scott discuss is-ness versus ought-ness, the rhetorical nature of creating a content ecosystem, plus how exactly one goes about making a content ecosystem map. LINKS: Follow Scott on Twitter: @scott...
Feb 17, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast Lou Rosenfeld needs no introduction. If you are listening to this podcast, you have most likely read or are aware of the Polar Bear book he co-wrote, or one of the many other design books published by his company, Rosenfeld Media, or have attended one of his many excellent IA conferences. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Lou discuss why portals should be banned, what precisely is the definition of "moment prison," and why we shouldn't get emotional about our professional metaphors.&nbs...
Jan 28, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Steve Smith is a software engineer, a UXer, and a serial entrepreneur. His early company, Ordered List, was acquired by GitHub and after a long stint as a product designer at GitHub, we met when we were both consulting to NineLabs. He is the founder and lead designer at Box Out Designs, which is basically Canva for the sports industry. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Steve discuss what designers and developers have in common with potters and woodworkers, which programming language is ...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Transcript available on Metacast As you probably know, Brad Frost is the author of "Atomic Design," the creator of pattern lab, and a design systems advocate and educator. He writes front end code, writes about writing code, and consults to companies looking to create successful, effective design systems. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Brad discuss how technology is like a river, why it's important for everyone on a project to have a shared language, and how design systems are like furniture parts. If you like...
Dec 03, 2021•2 hr 30 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Sondra Eby Eisenstat is a Certified OOUX Strategist and UX Designer at web development agency Oddbird. Miriam Suzanne is a self-described software engineer and artist. She is co-founder at Oddbird, as well as an Invited Expert with the W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium) CSS Working Group where she works with other experts in the field to develop open standards that ensure the long-term growth of the Web. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Sondra, and Miriam discuss the adaptability of the ...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Samuel Hulick runs User Onboard, where he researches, writes about, and implements successful user onboarding for companies around the world. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Samuel discuss how OOUX helped with a crisis of faith, how there's more than one way to learn to ride a bike, and why the right objects at the right time are the answer to good UX. LINKS: Useronboard.com — Samuel’s website The Elements of User Onboarding — Samuel’s book Value Paths — Samuel...
Oct 21, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cassie Eddy is a UX Designer and Researcher at Health Catalyst in Boston. She is also a Certified OOUX Strategist and active mentor in the OOUX Certification Program. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Cassie discuss learning to code, the information architecture of Crossfit, and how OOUX can help with combining passions in career and life. LINKS: Join the waitlist for " Fundamentals of Object-Oriented UX - A collaboration between Joe Natoli and Sophia Prater " Connect with Cassie ...
Sep 30, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Harrison Wheeler is a Senior Design Manager at Linkedin and is the host of his own user experience design podcast: Technically Speaking. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Harrison discuss how OOUX provides a chance to take a principled approach to design, why social media websites are like old enterprise software, and how inheritance can be used to build user trust. The script got thrown out the window on this one. Enjoy! LINKS: Get 20% off the UX Hustle Summit: https://hopin.com/events...
Sep 16, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of the podcast, Sophia goes solo once again to address a question someone in the OOUX Self-Paced Masterclass Program brought to her from a senior UXer who just didn't see the value of OOUX when information architecture already exists. It's one she's heard more than once from those familiar with IA. Is OOUX just a rebrand of IA that no one asked for and no one needs? LINKS: Learn more about the 4 unintuitive objects: ooux.com/4mistakes Get your ticket for the UX Hustle Summi...
Sep 02, 2021•42 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, your host Sophia Prater flies solo to show you how to sell more UX research using Object-Oriented UX—more specifically, the first two steps of the ORCA process. We will talk about how to make your stakeholders and biz folks aware of gaps in the team’s understanding and become more invested in important questions that need to be brought to users. LINKS: Get one of the last spots in Cohort 5! www.OOUX.com/certification Start the OOUX Masterclass today: www.ooux.com/masterclass See...
Aug 19, 2021•40 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast Today we have a discussion with an amazing UX designer Duo -- Andrea Neuhoff and Kristen Kite. Andrea is a Certified OOUX Strategist and a Senior Product Designer at Duo. Kristen is a Senior Product Designer at Detroit Labs and has designed products for enterprise users at companies including Duo Security, GE, and Google. In this episode of the podcast, Andrea, and Kristen talk with Sophia about their work together at Duo Security, how they have started bringing OOUX to Duo for a double whammy o...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amanda Worthington is the creator of the UX Portfolio Powerplay course, where she teaches other designers how to use OOUX to build and sustain a portfolio that's uniquely them. She's also the the host of the UX Hustle Podcast and the organizer of the UX Hustle Conference, the world's only UX career conference. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Amanda talk about OOUXing your portfolio and making real connections at the UX Hustle Conference, How everything in your career has its season, a...
Jul 23, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Caroline Sober-James is the Director of UX at Acumium, where she and her team have successfully instituted OOUX to great success. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Caroline discuss why Caroline calls OOUX a power tool for digital design, what it's like to have a user call your system "seamless," and the parallels between OOUX and API design. LINKS: Follow Caroline on Twitter: @wildwend Connect with Caroline on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinesober/ Tune-In to Carolin...
Jul 08, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Imogen Levy is head of digital at Moorfields Eye Hospital. She is an active mentor in the OOUX Forum, and an emerging leader in the OOUX movement. She’s using OOUX to shepherd Moorfields through a true digital transformation. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Imogen discuss how PDFs are bad for accessibility, why OOUX is not waterfall design, and exactly how many times you have to repeat yourself for your message to sink in. LINKS: Connect with Imogen on LinkedIn: Imogen Levy Keep...
Jun 24, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Jorge is an independent information architecture consultant who helps companies gain clarity, confidence, and traction. He is the author of “Living in Information," and a coauthor on the fourth iteration of the Polar Bear book. Jorge's podcast, “The Informed Life,” explores how people organize information to get things done. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Jorge discuss why the tension between top-down and bottom-up is the greatest challenge to designers, how to recognize signs that y...
Jun 11, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Michael Metts and Andy Welfe are the authors of "Writing is Designing," a must-read book on content strategy and UX writing that fits right in with the principles of OOUX. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Michael, and Andy discuss why team clarity brings user clarity, how new UX writers should go about developing a company voice, and why communicating trade-offs is a killer skill. Enjoy! LINKS: Register for Design at Scale and use code: PRATER-DAS2021 : https://rosenfeldmedia.com/design-a...
Jun 07, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode of the podcast is a replay of episode 19 of the UX Hustle Podcast. We are revisiting this episode because Ahren and Bob will be the featured speakers at the June OOUX Happy Hour Meetup where they will connect the dots between Ontologies, knowledge graphs, and Object-Oriented UX. You'll find the link for the meetup below! Now onto the podcast... In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Ahren, and Bob discuss how taxonomies differ from folksonomies, how folksonomies differ from ontolog...
Jun 07, 2021•2 hr 43 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Jeremy Kieth is the cofounder of Clearleft, a design agency specializing in building resilient, future-proof, backwards compatible, and just super elegant web experiences. He is also the author of "Resilient Web Design," which he has made available for free to all of us through Creative Commons licensing, as well as many other books on super-geeky topics like DOM Scripting, Ajax, and HTML5. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Jeremy discuss how responsive design made the truth about the I...
May 06, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sarah Barrett is Principal Information Architecture Manager and Rachel Price is Senior Information Architect at Microsoft. Together they have used OOUX to untangle, among others, the insane complexity of Microsoft's technical library, Microsoft Docs, as well as Microsoft Learn, which provides interactive learning paths and certifications for beginners and pros alike. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia, Sarah, and Rachel discuss how to think like a library scientist, how being conventional ca...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Ren Pope is the Senior Staff Data Modeler and Ontologist at a little company called Etsy. Ren's background is in technical writing, data analysis, and knowledge management. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Ren discuss how to build a taxonomy around cosplay, how information architecture is more like information archaeology, and why it's important to understand the context of meta metadata. LINKS: Connect with Ren on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rlpope3/ Try CMap: https://...
Apr 08, 2021•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Andrew Hinton is the Senior Manager of Design Strategy and Research at Honeywell. He is a seasoned public speaker who has graced the stage at the IA Conference, UX Lisbon, UX Week, and the IA Summit. He is also the author of the must-read information architecture book, "Understanding Context." In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Andrew discuss the meaning of embodied cognition, the pitfalls of being a physical creature in a digital environment, and why sometimes, creating inconsistency ca...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cornel Hillmann is a CG Artist, XR Designer, and Entrepreneur. He is the owner and creative director at STUDIO.CGARTIST.COM and Emerging Entertainment and has worked with brands including Panasonic, Jaguar, the Singapore International Film Festival, and other big names. Hillmann is a leader in XR (Extended Reality) design and he wrote the handbook on getting started in designing for the Unreal VR game engine, "Unreal for Mobile and Standalone VR: Create Professional VR Apps Without Coding." His ...
Mar 12, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is our last episode of 2020! We are revisiting the December 2019 episode with Ben Callahan. Ben is a design system expert and the founder and president of Sparkbox. At Sparkbox , Ben has created an amazing workplace that facilitates learning, exploring, asking questions, and pet projects. We talk about how that awesomeness came to be and what’s working well today. (Team leaders, please take notes.) We also talk about taking time to tinker and figure yourself out—while the world ...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
