Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis 🇺🇦

Abby Covert - Ethical Design in Tech Spaces

Today, our special guest is Abby Covert, Chief Sensemaker at the Sensemaker Club. Join Brendan as he interviews Abby, an information architect, author, and community leader in UX design. Abby shares insights into her work in UX design, the importance of customer feedback, and her journey as an author. They discuss topics such as misdiagnosis, neurodivergent experiences, the evolution of information architecture, ethical responsibility in tech, and effective communication through diagrams. Take advantage of this insightful and thought-provoking conversation.
Highlights include:
0:00 - Introduction and Abby's Accomplishments
3:17 - Abby's Experience of Buying a House
6:45 - Abby's Book "How to Make Sense of Any Mess"
13:01 - Friendship with Christina Wodtke
16:56 - Abby’s Work and Life OKRs
20:45 - Decision to Become a "Digital Recluse"
26:10 - Experience of Being Diagnosed with ADHD
37:56 - Abby's Journey in Information Architecture (IA)
44:28 - Challenges in Promoting Ethical Responsibility in UX Design
 
Who is Abby Covert
Abby Covert is an information architect, writer, and community organizer with two decades of experience helping people make sense of messes. In addition to being an active mentor to those new to sensemaking, she has also served the design community as President of the Information Architecture Institute, co-chair of the Information Architecture Summit, and Executive Producer of the I.D.E.A Conference.
 
Abby is a founding faculty member of the School of Visual Arts’ Products of Design graduate program. She also managed the team that helped Rosenfeld Media start the Design Operations Summit and Advancing Research Conference. Her most proud achievement is coming up with the idea for World Information Architecture Day, which brings accessibly priced education to thousands in their local communities annually.
 
Abby has written two books for her students. In 2014, she published How to Make Sense of Any Mess, a book to teach IA to everybody. In 2022, she released her much-anticipated follow-up, Stuck? Diagrams Help. She currently spends her time making things that help you make the unclear clear, many of which she makes available for free on her website, abbycovert.com or at accessible price points in her popular Etsy shop, AbbytheIA.
 
Find Abby Here
Abby Covert on LinkedIn
Sensemaker Club on LinkedIn
Sensemaker Club Website
Abby Covert’s Book How to Make Sense of Any Mess
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Whitney Hess - Coaching with Presence and Purpose

Today, our special guest is Whitney Hess, Founder and Executive Coach of Vicarious Partners Inc. We discuss the power of bravery, vulnerability, and personal growth. Discover how to overcome fear, cultivate self-awareness, and embrace failure as a stepping stone toward success. With practical tips and inspiring stories, this podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to live a more courageous and purposeful life.
Highlights include:
0:00-4:25 - Whitney discusses her perspective on failure
04:26-8:17 - Whitney shares her backstory, including living on a sailboat
08:18-14:03 - The importance of being present and fully engaged with clients
14:04-19:48 - A closer look at the power dynamics in coaching relationships
19:49-24:12 - Whitney shares a personal anecdote
24:13-29:45 - More on coaching, UX, and the challenges facing the field
29:46-33:58 - Whitney’s perspective on the risks of pursuing the management track 
33:59-38:20 - Coaching dynamics and the importance of an opt-in relationship
43:03-46:26 - Brendan and Whitney highlight the importance of self-reflection
Who is Whitney Hess
Whitney Hess is a coach, writer, and designer on a mission to put humanity back into business. She believes empathy builds empires, and she helps progressive, creative leaders design their careers and accelerate their missions. Her techniques help people gain self-awareness, identify blind spots, navigate obstacles, and bring their whole selves to their work.
 
Whitney has been a user experience (UX) consultant for over a decade, hired to make technology easier and more pleasurable. She has been recognized for her work with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Foundation Center, Seamless, Boxee, and WNYC. She is named as a co-inventor on a U.S. patent with American Express.
 
Whitney is a two-time Carnegie Mellon University graduate with a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction and a Bachelor’s in Professional Writing and HCI. She is a Certified Integral Coach through New Ventures West and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation. She writes on her blog Pleasure & Pain, co-hosts the podcast Designing Yourself, and speaks at conferences and corporations worldwide.
 
Find Whitney Here:
Whitney Hess on LinkedIn
Whitney Hess Website
Whitney Hess Blog
Vicarious Partners Inc. on LinkedIn
Whitney Hess Email
 
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Doreen Lorenzo - Design is a Craft, Perfected With Practice

Today, our special guest is Doreen Lorenzo, Assistant Dean at the University of Texas School of Design and Creative Technology. Doreen discusses the challenges and opportunities in the design industry and shares her insights as a design leader while emphasizing the importance of training and skill development. They also explore her journey from Frog Design to the University of Texas and her passion for education and diversity in design.
Highlights include:
03:15 - Introduction and Doreen's background
10:52 - Doreen’s decision to pursue a career in design
15:50 - Challenges of managing a large design firm
24:59 - Benefits of promoting diversity in the design industry
26:39 - Importance of confidence in design
31:29 - Doreen's Journey from Frog to the University of Texas
44:04 - Doreen’s leadership philosophy and balancing profitability with risk-taking
Who is Doreen Lorenzo
Doreen Lorenzo is a successful leader of global creative firms who advises and consults with companies from Fortune 100 to startups on design and innovation issues. The former president of the global design firms Frog and Quirky, she is now the Assistant Dean in the School of Design and Creative Technology at the University of Texas, a co-founder of the mobile video insights firm Vidlet, a board member and advisor of several startups, and a columnist for Fast Company Co.Design. 
A recognized thought leader on business and design issues, she speaks publicly about her signature leadership style and the power of empathy to drive business results. Most recently, Texas Monthly named Doreen one of the 15 innovators reshaping Texas, a testament to her innovative leadership approach.
Doreen is an ardent believer in the advantages of “soft skills” like empathy and humor in business. She speaks at industry conferences, at private events, and to the media about her experience using these often overlooked skills to understand and motivate creative people. A driven and successful woman in a male-dominated industry, Doreen also speaks about women in leadership and coaches aspiring women leaders to help them find their own paths to success. 
Find Doreen Here
Doreen Lorenzo on LinkedIn
University of Texas School of Design and Creative Technology Website
Quirky Website
Doreen’s personal Website
 
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The Show is hosted by Brendan Jarvis, and you can find him here:
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Nick Fine, PhD - The Future of UX in an AI World

Today, our special guest is Nick Fine, PhD, Principal UX Research Consultant and Strategist at Adaptavist. Nick touches on several topics, including dealing with ADHD, why user-centric design has lost its way, and the impact of economic cycles and AI on the industry. Nick also talks about the need for UX researchers to focus on insight rather than ‘depth’, stating that the goal is to “get the gold and get out.” And that’s just the start!
Highlights include:
00:00 - Guest introduction
02:31 - Discussion on ADHD and "Chorus of Bastards"
09:15 - Nick's background in hacking and hyperfocus 
17:56 - Frustration with the current state of UX
23:50 - Future of UX and AI agents
30:31 - Making yourself indispensable in UX
35:16 - Over-intellectualization of UX research
39:31 - The role of managers and leaders in UX
44:11 - Conclusion and key takeaways
Who is Nick Fine, PhD
Nick is a user experience researcher and designer with 20 years of experience in digital and over 12 years of experience as a practitioner. He holds a PhD and MSc in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and a BSc in Psychology. He successfully defended his PhD thesis in 2009, entitled “Personalizing Interaction Using User Interface Skins,” where he established a novel means for determining personality type from keyboard and mouse usage and discovered relationships between design elements (color, shape, meaning) and personality type. 
By combining academic research skills and HCI knowledge with commercial UX experience, Nick has successfully delivered a number of complex and mission-critical projects, including air traffic control, financial systems, and pharmaceutical R&D. He has led UX on projects for a number of brands, including Coca-Cola, SAB Miller, Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, EY, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, BT, Virgin Media, Camelot, and both the Home and Cabinet Office.
Find Nick Here:
Nick Fine, PhD on LinkedIn
Adaptavist Website
Proskin.org Website
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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
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The Show is hosted by Brendan Jarvis, and you can find him here:
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Q Walker - The Information Architecture of Emojis

Q Walker draws a line between circus and UX, shares their experience of being cyber stalked, and unpacks the IA intricacies of emojis.
Highlights include:
What can designers learn from circus performers?
Why did you start researching the information architecture of emojis?
Are changes to emojis a form of benevolent censorship?
What makes the presentation of the gun emoji interesting?
How has embracing your queerness helped you reclaim your bravery?
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Who is Q Walker?
Since late 2023, Q has been the General Manager of The Circus Hub, the centre for circus arts in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
Before joining The Circus Hub, Q was an Experience Lead at PaperKite , where they plied their trade of UX strategy and UX research to helping brands like the All Blacks, Volkswagen, The New Zealand Ministry of Health, and Hell Pizza, to better serve their customers.
Q’s career in design started in the United States at Fidelity Investments in 2012, where they worked as a Communications Design Manager and - among other things - used UX and graphic design skills to create data visualisations, interactive reports and web app interfaces.
It was during their time at Fidelity that Q both started and completed a Master of Science in Human Factors in Information Design at Bentley University. 
They have also shared their expertise and experiences with audiences at UX New Zealand (more than once) and UXPA’s Boston conference.
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Find Q here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/q-walker/
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Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Greg Petroff - Practical Executive Design Leadership

Greg Petroff discusses the practicalities of executive design leadership, why he believes in ‘make to think’, and the ins-and-outs of working with product and engineering.
Highlights include:
How much advocacy for design is too much?
Why do you prefer project-based teams over product-based teams?
How do you align the engineering, product and design organisations?
How have your recent experiences in the labour market changed you?
What does effective compromise look like in enterprise software design?
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Who is Greg Petroff?
A 25 year veteran of the design field, for the past 10 years Greg has led significant design organisations at some of the world’s largest and most recognisable companies. 
Until recently, he was the vice president and chief design officer of Cisco Secure, where he led the design innovation and transformation of one of the world’s largest cybersecurity solutions providers.
His highlight reel also includes being the chief experience officer at GE Digital, managing director of Google Cloud, vice president and global head of design at ServiceNow, and senior vice president of design at Compass.
One of the early members of our emerging field, Greg is a founding board member of the Interaction Design Association, where he also contributed as the treasurer and as an early conference chair. 
A generous contributor to the field, Greg has shared his insights on stages across the world, including at TedX, the Interaction conference, UX Australia, Enterprise UX, and on the most-excellent Finding Our Way podcast.
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Find Greg here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gpetroff/ X: https://twitter.com/gpetroff
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Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Ari Zelmanow, PhD - Becoming a More Influential Researcher

Ari Zelmanow shares insight into his life as a police detective, how he transformed into a PhD and then UX researcher, and how researchers can become strategic partners.
Highlights include:
What insight did your time as a detective give you into your fellow humans?
How do you communicate the value of research to the business?
What is the most impactful way to present research findings?
Why is it important to associate a level of certainty with research findings?
What is the most important thing for researchers to focus on right now?
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Who is Ari Zelmanow?
Ari is he Head of UX Research at Twilio, where he leads the ‘small but mighty’ research and research ops teams for the industry-leading platform that efficiently powers customer engagement, marketing and innovation.
He is also the Managing Director of Customer Forensics, where he helps companies to capture and keep more customers - informed by his time in the research field, and former life as a metropolitan police detective.
Ari has also held a number of senior research roles, including as vice president of analytics, research and insight at Gtmhub, As a UX research manager at Indeed, a director of analytics, research, and insights at Panasonic, and as a UX and Market Research Lead at Twitter.
Complementing Ari’s decade of experience as a police detective and years in the field as an applied researcher and research manager, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice, and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology.
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Find Ari here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zelmanow/Personal website: https://arizelmanow.com/Customer Forensics: http://customerforensics.com/Blog: https://zelmanow.medium.com/X: https://twitter.com/arizelmanow
The Influential Researcher course:https://maven.com/interrogate/the-influential-researcher
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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Vidya Dinamani - The Rebel's Guide to Making Great Products

Vidya Dinamani shares important strategies for building belief, healthy product cultures, and positive cross-functional relationships. 
Highlights include:
How have you increased your chances of your initiatives being supported?
How do you determine what is needed for a product org to improve?
What do you do when a leader is preventing the product org’s success?
How do the best leaders manage the demands on their team’s time?
What advice do you have for teams being crushed by their backlog?
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Who is Vidya Dinamani?
Vidya is the co-founder of Product Rebels, a company that has provided world-class and hands-on product management coaching, by tenured product management executives, to over 1,200 product leaders and founders.
She is also a founding partner of Ad Astra Ventures, a specialist early-stage venture investment firm and accelerator that helps female founders to get funded.
Before founding Product Rebels, Vidya was the VP of Innovation and Design at Mitchell International, where she established and grew a team that was focused on new growth products and the development of an innovation framework, metrics and process.
Vidya also spent a little over a decade at Intuit, where her last role was as the Director of Product & Customer Experience Development for TurboTax.
She holds 9 US software patents. Is a member of both GroupSolver’s and Sash Group’s board of directors. A limited partner of the Neythri Futures Fund. A mentor for Techstars and GrowthMentor. And the founder and lead organiser of Product Tank San Diego.
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Find Vidya here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vdinamani/Website: https://vidyadinamani.mystrikingly.com/X: https://twitter.com/vdinamani
Product Rebels: https://productrebels.com/Ad Astra Ventures: http://www.adastra.ventures/ 
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Suj Premachandran - Bringing the Power of UX Design to Children

Suj Premachandran shares how Digital Influx brings UX to children, how they integrate Eastern educational philosophy, and the challenge of changing archaic education systems.
Highlights include:
How are you helping children to become creative thinkers and designers?
Are some of Digital Influx’s practices too ‘foreign’ for UK educators?
How are you bringing design to people of colour through Digital Influx?
What inspiration have you taken from non-Western education systems?
Why do students create projects related to UN Sustainable Development Goals?
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Who is Suj Premachandran?
Suj is the CEO of Digital Influx, an international, industry-led, and interactive EdTech platform that helps children, teens and adults to develop UX design skills and to think differently about problems, large and small. 
Suj is also the Vice President of the recently established Digital Influx Foundation; a US based non-profit that aims to make design education accessible to all children, regardless of their socio-economic background.
Before founding Digital Influx, Suj worked in design recruitment as a senior talent partner for Revolut, one of the world’s first global super apps. And also as a creative talent consultant for product and UX people at Salt in London.
Suj is an advocate for design & UX education at Tech London Advocates, a network of more than 15,000 tech leaders, entrepreneurs and experts across the globe. He is also a member of the Design Leadership Forum.
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Find Suj here:
Website: https://digitalinflux.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suj-premachandran-b630b444/X: https://twitter.com/CEOinflux
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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Andy Vitale - Scaling Your Design Organisation

Andy Vitale shares his experiences as an executive design leader, how he’s successfully scaled several design orgs, and why a career in pro wrestling wasn’t for him.
Highlights include:
Why do you create a five year plan for the design orgs you lead?
How has Grey’s Anatomy informed the design of your design organisations?
Why go to the trouble of helping someone who’s struggling in an interview?
How do you navigate the expectations of being the most senior design leader?
How do you feel you’ve enabled people on your team to speak to you as an equal?
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Who is Andy Vitale?
Andy is the Chief Design Officer of Constant Contact, an automation platform that helps small businesses to simplify and amplify their digital marketing. In this crucial role, Andy is responsible for providing executive leadership for the design organisation.
A master when it comes to scaling design teams, while at Rocket Companies Andy grew the design team into a multidisciplinary organisation with over 170 people working across design, research and brand.
Aside from his busy day job, Andy is also helping to shape the thinking of future user experience professionals, through his work as an adjunct professor for Kent State University’s Masters of Science in User Experience Design programme.
Andy is the co-host of the Surfacing Podcast where, alongside Lisa Welchman, he engages designers, technologists, and business leaders in inspiring conversations.
He is a member of the Fast Company Executive Board, an Adobe Education Leader, and - believe it or not - he still finds time to mentor designers on ADPList.
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Find Andy here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyvitale/Website: https://www.andyvitale.com/Medium: https://medium.com/@andyvitaleX: https://twitter.com/andyvitale
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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/
======
Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/