S2 E10 - Therapy for Designers

Join Vinita and Sam in our last episode of the series, as they reflect on their IxDA podcasting journey. The IxDA podcast emerged in 2022 as a unique approach to the IxDA Sydney mentoring program, interviewing design leaders around career progression and mentoring. This year we've delved more into the 'zeitgeist of design', covering topics from Web3 to design accessibility. We'll be taking a short break from the podcast while the team focuses on delivering an amazing program for Interaction 24. You can find the the audio transcript for this episode as well as any resources mentioned at ixdaysydney.org. 

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of the Sydney IxDA Podcast. In this episode, Vinita and Jess are chatting with the team at Therapy for Designers. Simone Attanasio - Product Design Lead at Canva, Benaz Irani - Product Design Manager at OpenTable and Milly Schmidt - Experience Design Manager at Atlassian. We've all heard of career growth programs through ADPList and IxDA's mentoring program. Therapy for Designers is looking at doing this in a way that incorporates meaningful conversations, connections, food and wine. Creating a space for designers to safely share their challenges, be heard and learn to build a growth mindset and leadership capabilities as a group. We'll be covering:   The origin, inspiration, and purpose behind the program Differentiating themselves from other career growth initiatives The connection to conversations, connections, and food Leadership styles within the facilitators Their learnings with "experiments" and scaling going forward You can find the the audio transcript for this episode as well as any resources mentioned at ixdaysydney.org. 

In our ninth episode of the season, Vinita and Jess are having a chat with Amy Howard. Amy is the Lead Designer for IAG’s Design System, leading the creation and implementation of tools and resources that support designers using the design system. She works closely with designers and digital teams across the company to support its adoption and ensure it meets the needs of the organisation and its users. We’ll be covering the following themes: The landscape of design systems and design ops How design systems reflect branding  Consumption of a design systems by different stakeholders Accessibility, scalability, and documentation within design systems The role design systems play in a designer’s career You can find the the audio transcript for this episode as well as any resources mentioned at ixdaysydney.org. 

In this episode, Vinita is joined by Elise Margaritis, the Creative Director of TEM. Elise built the brand and marketing function for TEM which has grown to become Asia Pacific’s most trusted carbon offset provider. In this session we dive into the following themes: Her philosophy and approach to helping organisations achieve net-zero emissions through carbon offsetting. How designers can take the initiative to investigate sustainable claims made by businesses and not to promote greenwashing. What designers can do to make an impact within the sustainable space. How Australian organisations can learn from Europe's stricter sustainability measures If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

In this episode, Jessica and Sam are joined by Kent Eisenhuth, a data visualisation thought leader at Google and author. As the leader of Google's data accessibility program, Kent has designed visualisations for various products, including Fitbit, Google Fit, Material Design, Workspaces, Google Cloud, and X.company. This episode is a deep dive into the world of data, covering topics such as accessibility, visualisation, and more! We cover: The value of data visualisations in the UX world. How education played a pivotal role in building a data visualisation practice within Google. Data accessibility maturity in an organisation. Making sketching approachable for people who aren’t designers Kent's work and ideas have been featured in several prominent publications, including Fast Company, Tech Crunch, The Guardian, and Smashing Magazine. He has presented talks and ideas at prestigious conferences such as IxDA's Interaction and SXSW, and he frequently guest lectures at universities across the United States. For more information about Kent and his book, "Drawing Product Ideas: Fast and Easy UX Drawing for Anyone," please visit https://www.kenteisenhuth.com/. If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

In this episode, Vinita and Sam speak with Rich Brophy, Head of Design at Blue Egg, a Behavioral Design Consultancy. As a former stand-up comedian, Rich shares his perspectives on the connection between comedy and design facilitation, as well as the significance of design principles and personal branding. We cover the following themes: How Rich's experience in comedy and advertising has given him an unfair advantage in the design field. The importance of storytelling, empathy, and improvisation in design facilitation. How design principles guarantee a more predictable path to quality work. The significance of design research in shaping design decisions. If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

In this episode, Jessica and Vinita speak with Grishma about the importance of data science within product development. Grishma is a data scientist with the UX research operations team in IBM in San Francisco. In her team, she supports a design and research team of over 80 where she uses data to understand user struggles and opportunities to enhance user experiences. We cover the following themes: The value of data in storytelling and using successful case studies to demonstrate the impact of research on business metrics How to communicate the importance of research to organisations that may not have fully embraced it How data scientists can collaborate with researchers and designers The future of research in design and product development If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

In this episode, Vinita and Sam talk to software engineer and SHE codes mentor, Nina Ajnira Karisik, to discuss how to break into the tech industry as a self-starter, dealing with unconscious bias, and how to overcome these barriers to achieve success. We cover the following themes: Finding her feet in tech as a self-starter How unconscious bias has affected her career The benefits and limitations of AI in programming The co-dependence between design and programming Nina is a software engineer and a sustainable fashion enthusiast with a background in digital marketing, branding and journalism. She looks at code holistically, being equally interested in back-end and front-end development, as well as being very passionate about how said code makes a difference in people's lives. If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

Join hosts Jessica and Sam as they sit down with Kate Linton, the Global Design Lead at ThoughtWorks, to discuss the critical role of accessibility in designing successful customer experiences. Discover how Kate has used her experience to gain valuable insights into creating intuitive and accessible designs that cater to a diverse range of users. We cover the following themes:  How incorporating accessibility after launching your product can be quite difficult. The challenges of working with stakeholders to ensure accessibility is top of mind Tips for incorporating neurodiversity into your design choices.  How small improvements can lead to a big impact on accessibility By taking small steps to improve your digital accessibility, you can make a huge difference for people with disabilities and ensure your content is accessible for all. Let's make the digital world a more inclusive place for everyone! If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's podcast show notes, resources, events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org

In this episode Sam and Vinita speak with Mark Monfort, co-founder of NotCentralised and the Australian DeFi Association. We travel with Mark on the journey through the Web3 space - from tracing the history of blockchain, crypto and NFTs, to breaking down popular buzzwords.  Whether you're just breaking into Web3, or a full-blown degen - this episode is not to be missed!  We'll be covering the following themes: How Web3 is pushing the boundaries of innovation and pivoting to community feedback in order to find product market fit. WHY there needs to be a shift change in how we interact with services and products. Where Web3 is being used effectively Where Web3 needs to improve to be widely adopted from a user experience perspective. If you want to learn more about IxDA Sydney's events and mentorship programs, please visit: www.ixdasydney.org