We’ve got a little update for you about UX podcast. We’ve been publishing an episode every other Friday without fail for just over a decade since episode 33, which is absolutely insane. It’s a streak of 277 episodes. 554 weeks. We’ve quite recently actually surpassed 2.5 million downloads.

What we’re going to do now is take the opportunity to change how we produce UX Podcast a little bit and move to having seasons of shows.

Which means that we’ve reached our first ever “end of season”. So episode 310 was the last episode of this current, ten year long, first season of UX podcast!

Season Two of UX podcast is going to be out in August of 2023.

We have already planned to bring you interviews from UXLx in, Lisbon, From Business to Buttons in Stockholm, and some other handpicked exciting guests. We might even throw in the odd link show. So  make sure you are subscribed to us wherever you usually listening. There also our mailing list where we will let you know details about the next season.

To keep your podcast devoted brain cells in prime condition. You may also want to check out Per’s new podcast where he reads aloud a selection of his blog posts on digital ethics. Carefully with Per Axbom.

Remember to keep moving and see you on the other side (for season Two)

References:

• Carefully – Where Per reads his articles as podcasts
  • Omtänke (Per reading his Swedish articles)
• Our Backstage mailing list get a heads up about the new season: Sign up here
• Contribute with your time as a volunteer: Support UX Podcast

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The post An update from James and Per appeared first on UX Podcast.

Power dynamics, egos, “I know best”. The ways in which we go about solving problems need to be challenged and changed. Anna Kirah joins us to help us facilitate that change and make a move from design thinking towards transdisciplinary thinking.

We talk about what transdisciplinary thinking is and how this differs from teamwork and collaboration. We talk about the importance of connecting with people and self-reflection. We also try putting our egos in the bin.

“What if we created those tools together with the people we’re trying to understand? I think that just understanding that we think we sit with this expert hat, thinking that we know best, when in fact we’re closing doors to the beauty of the process…”  

(Listening time: 39 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 310 
• Anna Kirah:
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-kirah-06615a/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/annakirah
  • Website: https://www.annakirah.com/
• F*ck design thinking – Anna’s 2022 FBTB talk (YouTube)
• All episodes tagged with design thinking: Design thinking
• From Business To Buttons
  • Make sure to use the code UXPodcast when you buy your ticket for the 2023 conference for 10% off
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #310 Fudge design thinking with Anna Kirah appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 309 is a linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about container queries being available to use in all major browsers and how design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?

Article one is… Container queries land in stable browsers by Una Kravets. “Container queries are especially handy for responsive design and reusable components. For example, enabling a card component that can lay out in one way when placed in a sidebar, and in a different configuration within a product grid.”

Our second featured article is… Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong? by Rebecca Ackermann. “Key to design thinking’s spread was its replicable aesthetic, represented by the Post-it note: a humble square that anyone can use in infinite ways. Not too precious, not too permanent, the ubiquitous Post-it promises a fast-moving, cooperative, egalitarian process for getting things done.”

(Listening time: 36 minutes, transcript)

References:

• Full transcript for episode 309
• Article 1: Container queries land in stable browsers
  • By Una Kravets
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/una-kravets-a3582730/
  • Mastodon: end.social/@Una">https://front-end.social/@Una
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/Una
  • Can I use page for container queries
  • A primer on CSS container queries
• Article 2: Design thinking was supposed to fix the world. Where did it go wrong?
  • By Rebecca Ackermann
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaackermann/
  • Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@rebackermann
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/rebackermann
• Related listening:
  • All episodes featuring Cyd Harrell
  • Episode 283: Core web vitals with Katie Hempenius
• Cover art image by Kelvin_Kevin Gan (cropped to 1:1, CC BY 2.0)
• Send us your thoughts at: hej@uxpodcast.com
• Backstage mailing list: Sign up here
• Enjoy the episode? Support UX Podcast

The post #309 Container queries and design thinking appeared first on UX Podcast.

What is systems thinking and how can designers make use of it in their work? In her book Closing the loop, Sheryl Cababa lays out her answer and approach to this question. We talk to her and discuss some of the core definitions and concepts. 

We talk about the difference between soft and hard systems, and even how design systems can be get muddled with system thinking. We look at three concepts of system thinking, how bounding is important,  and stakeholder inclusion – as well as engaging in analysis and mapping in order to reduce, and avoid negative consequences.

“..systems thinking helps unearth, so that in many ways, we don’t waste time and effort and money, in doing duplicative things – as well as thinking about creative solutions that might not might not have occurred to us before..”  

(Listening time: 51 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 308
• Sheryl Cababa:
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherylcababa
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/SherylCababa
  • Medium: https://medium.com/@SherylCababa
• Closing the loop: Systems thinking for designers (Rosenfeld Media)
• Systems Thinking, Systems Practice by Peter Checkland 
• Tools for Systems Thinkers: The 6 Fundamental Concepts of Systems Thinking
• Causal Loop Construction: The Basics
• Karl Popper – Clocks and clouds
• Designing environments – A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
• Systems Thinking: A Balance Between Reductionism and Emergence
• The Fifth Discipline (Wikipedia)
• Systems Thinking For Social Change by David Peter Stroh
• labs.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Systems-Mapping-Omidyar-Workbook-012617.pdf">Systems mapping Omidyar
• Merton’s Unintended Consequences Theory
• Techno-Optimism: Why Money and Technology Won’t Save Us
• The Airbnb Effect On Housing And Rent
• Melinda Gates: What nonprofits can learn from Coca-Cola (Ted Talk)
• Ethical systems thinking with Peter Senge (YouTube)
• Episode 274: Privacy practitioners
• Ambition Empower and UX Podcast
  • Make sure to use the code uxpodcast if you sign up for a $100/€100/1000 sek discount and at the same time help support UX Podcast
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #308 Systems thinking with Sheryl Cababa appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this conversation with Alex Schmidt, author of Deliberate Intervention, we discuss “policy” in relation to digital design and tech. We discuss how even though designers intend to do good and have a positive impact, harm can still happen as a result of our designs.

We talk about how it is natural for systems to produce unintended consequences and that understanding and accepting this is important to make things less harmful. 

When we talk about how organisations prioritise certain groups of people over others and how that can be harmful, Alex mentions “the dance of policy creation”, where technology is introduced into society, society reacts, and then the policies have to change.

“As designers, we look at the detailed journey of a user or try to identify the pain points, the points of friction. But harms aren’t usually something that users identify in the course of research. They accrue to society on a broader level, not necessarily to individuals, and become apparent later on in time.”  

(Listening time: 38 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 307
• Alexandra Schmidt:
  • Website: https://www.alexandraschmidt.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandraschmidt/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexschmidt
• Deliberate Intervention (Two Waves, Rosenfeld Media)
• Ambition Empower and UX Podcast
  • Make sure to use the code uxpodcast if you sign up for a $100/€100/1000 sek discount and at the same time help support UX Podcast
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #307 Policy and design with Alexandra Schmidt appeared first on UX Podcast.

We are constantly simplifying the world around us and the people within it. This is a perfectly understandable reaction to the messy things we have to work with. But with every step back we are building a wall between the user and what it is to be human. We talk to Alastair about human centred design. How to use your senses and perception and take in the world around you.

“If you reduce humans to only being users then you remove large swathes of what it is to be human… the world of what it is to be human is vast and we really need to properly consider our humanity”  

This classic episode features both the original interview with Alastair, plus parts of our “Journey number 6” conversation originally only available on SoundCloud.

(Listening time: 36 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 306
• Alastair Somerville:
  • Website: https://acuity.design/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastair-somerville-b48b368/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/Acuity_Design
• Walking Through Information – Alastair’s slidedeck from his 2017 EuroIA workshop
• design.medium.com/making-sense-of-sensory-design-b566f698587">How to make sense of designing for all our senses? (Article by Alastair)
• User Experience as Embodied Experience – Considerations for UX Designers
• Structures for clarity and confidence in workshops 
• White Christmas (Episode of Black Mirror)
• Tech used in Black Mirror that exists or is on the horizon
• The art of unseeing in China Mieville’s The City and The City
• The City & the City (book by China Mieville)
• design.medium.com/the-meaning-of-things-information-architecture-in-time-and-space-86b47e3cdca3">Homological Design and the meaning of things (Article by Alastair)
• Beyond vision: Sound design as sensory design
• Saying no to normality (YouTube, Talk by Alastair)
• Sensory UX: A New approach that improves user experiences
• tech.com/news/2022/sep/26/the-importance-accessibility-first-effective-ux-design/">The importance of accessibility first for effective UX design
• Photos from Alastair to accompany our conversation:somerville-photos-episode-175.jpg">somerville-photos-episode-175-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Collage of 18 small photos and two larger ones. The first large photo is of a man and his small white dog, standing outside in a park. The man has his back to the camera and is looking down, seemingly on a mobile screen. The dog, on a leash, is sniffing a bush. The second large photo is of a table covered with wooden Jenga blocks in various structures and shapes. One of those structures is a portal, or rectangular gateway, with a small Lego figure looking through it. Other Jenga blocks are placed as if radiating outwards from this portal, and they have sticky notes in various colors attached, with words written on them, too small to read. The rest of the collage are many smaller pictures with further variants of Jenga blocks and sticky notes in different shapes and structures, often more portals. Lego figures sometimes stand around or atop these structures." width="1024" height="1024">
• Original show notes for Episode 175
• Journey Number 6 – extra interview with Alastair from EuroIA 2017
• Episode 105: Sensory experiences with Alastair Somerville
• Episode 144: Anticipatory design and cross-channel ecosystems
• UX Podcast on Mastodon
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #306 Human centred design with Alastair Somerville (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 305 is a linkshow. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we feature articles about designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy, and How ChatGPT is blowing Google out of the water: a UX breakdown.

Article one is… Designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy by Jane McFayden, Rachel Malic and Laura Parker. “There are simple ways we can design to help people make better sense of numbers. And this is vital. It could mean the difference between people using a service to access the support they need or not being able to use it at all.”

Our second featured article is… How ChatGPT is blowing Google out of the water: a UX breakdown by Megan Ng. “One potential weakness of ChatGPT is its lack of transparency. It should be able to provide clear and transparent reasons for its decisions or predictions, along with the sources of its data.”

(Listening time: 37 minutes, transcript)

References:

• Full transcript for episode 305
• Article 1: Designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy
  • By Jane McFadyen, Rachel Malic and Laura Parker
  • Mastodon:
    • https://mastodon.social/@LauraParkerUX@mstdn.social
  • Twitter:
    • https://twitter.com/mcfadyen_jane
    • https://twitter.com/LauraParkerUX
    • https://twitter.com/GirlCalledMalic
  • Dyscalculia and What is dyscalculia
  • Accessibility is a design tool – Derek Featherstone (YouTube)
  • manual.dwp.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/accessibility-posters#designing-for-users-with-dyscalculia-or-low-numeracy-skills">Download the dyscalculia poster in different formats
  • blog.com/2016/09/27/dyscalculia-brain/">Dyscalculia And The Brain
  • WCAG quick reference
  • Inclusive by design – Derek Featherstone (YouTube)
• Article 2: How ChatGPT is blowing Google out of the water: a UX breakdown
  • By Megan Ng
  • Google on alert after seeing ChatGPT’s potential
  • What is ChatGPT and why does it matter?
  • ai-twitter.html">The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT
  • 3 Ways to Tame ChatGPT
  • How will ChatGPT impact the translation industry?
  • Exploring the Power of OpenAI ChatGPT for product designers
• Related listening:
  • Episode #209: Accessibility for Designers
  • Episode #253: The state of accessibility with Derek Featherstone
• Cover art image by Kelvin_Kevin Gan (cropped to 1:1, CC BY 2.0)
• Send us your thoughts at: hej@uxpodcast.com
• Backstage mailing list: Sign up here
• Enjoy the episode? Support UX Podcast

The post #305 Dyscalculia and ChatGPT appeared first on UX Podcast.

Getting anything up and running takes both time and planing. Content strategist Natalie Marie Dunbar joins us to talk about her content strategy practice blueprint and how it can help you when building a practice. What to do in order to avoid being an unheard and unappreciated silo as you grow from being a solo practitioner to being an embedded part of the organisation.

Natalie’s book From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice has a 5-point blueprint as it’s core. It is an incredibly useful and applicable process, taking you from making a business case to measuring your success. 

“We want the experience for our users to be seamless. They don’t need to know that there’s two different teams doing things. But in order to do that, building those strong relationships is absolutely key. And it’s also key to the longevity of the practice.”  

(Listening time: 40 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 304
• Natalie Marie Dunbar:
  • Website: https://www.nataliedunbarcontentstrategist.com/
  • LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliedunbar
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLiterati
• From Solo to Scaled: Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice (Rosenfeld Media)
• Ambition Empower and UX Podcast
  • Make sure to use the code uxpodcast if you sign up for a $100/€100/1000 sek discount and at the same time help support UX Podcast
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #304 Building a content strategy practice with Natalie Marie Dunbar appeared first on UX Podcast.

We take a dive into neuroscience and metacognition. Thinking about thinking and thinking about other minds. We are joined by Professor Stephen Fleming, neuroscientist and author of the book Know Thyself to learn more about how our cognition works and the implications for our work as mind-creating creatives and in the development of AI.

We discuss metacognition, self-realisation, prediction error signals and dopamine, theory of mind, AIs and confidence estimation, 

“Metacognition literally means cognition, about cognition, or thinking about thinking. So it’s the capacity we have this weird and wonderful capacity, we have as humans to reflect on a know something about the operation of our own minds.”  

(Listening time: 41 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 303  
• Steve Fleming:
  • LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-fleming-76969b13/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/smfleming
  • Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@smfleming
  • UCL profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/research/experimental-psychology/person/steve-fleming/
• Know Thyself: The science of self-awareness
• Being You by Anil Seth
• Metalab
• Ambition Empower and UX Podcast
  • Make sure to use the code uxpodcast if you sign up for a $100/€100/1000 sek discount and at the same time help support UX Podcast
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #303 Metacognition with Steve Fleming appeared first on UX Podcast.

We talk to Tom Greever about Articulating Design Decisions. How do we talk about our designs effectively with stakeholders? Every designer has to explain (and justify) their design decisions to non-designers but what are the skills tactics and methods that are needed to pull this off in a way that opens the door for your project to create or improve the user experience?

In this classic episode Per and James are joined by Christopher McCann to talk to Tom. 

“We become facilitators in a discussion about design with people that don’t know how to talk about design. I think if we see that as our role, it becomes a lot easier to jump into that meeting and be effective. The problem is that we don’t always see ourselves in that role. We see ourselves as being there to receive feedback from them.”  

(Listening time: 45 minutes, transcript)

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References:

• Full transcript for episode 302
• Tom Greever:
  • Website: https://tomgreever.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomgreever/
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomgreever
• Articulating design decisions 
• Stakeholder analysis
• Turning Stubborn Stakeholders Into UX Allies in 3 Easy Steps
• Discussing design (book)
• Leading with a “Yes and”
• How to win friends and influence people (book summary)
• What Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” Can Teach the Modern Worker
• Documenting design decisions is important for product designers
• How to Rehearse for an Important Presentation
• 4 simple steps to designing a strong user experience
• Articulating design designs: Tom Greever video presentation
• What Is the Dunning-Kruger Effect?
• Episode 168: Articulating more design decisions with Tom Greever
• UX Podcast on Mastodon
• Backstage mailing list (show notes to your inbox, plus extra stories, news and offers): Sign up here
• Enjoying UX Podcast? Contribute with your time as a volunteer, or make a small financial contribution to help keep the podcast running: Support UX Podcast

The post #302 Articulating design decisions with Tom Greever (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.