Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis đșđŠ
Welcome to the Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis podcast, your go-to destination for exploring the intersection of UX research, design, and product. Do you share a passion for developing and launching products that deliver superior and ethical experiences? If so, join your host, Brendan Jarvis, as he talks to industry and thought leaders in UX, product management, and product design. Get inspired and informed, and challenge yourself to become a better leader and think outside the canvas, both in what you do and occasionally in who you are.
Episodes

Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
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 Influxâs practices too âforeignâ 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.Â
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 worldâs 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).
Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/
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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/

Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Andy Vitale shares his experiences as an executive design leader, how heâs successfully scaled several design orgs, and why a career in pro wrestling wasnât for him.
Highlights include:
Why do you create a five year plan for the design orgs you lead?
How has Greyâs Anatomy informed the design of your design organisations?
Why go to the trouble of helping someone whoâs struggling in an interview?
How do you navigate the expectations of being the most senior design leader?
How do you feel youâve 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 Universityâs 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).
Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/
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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/

Tuesday Jun 11, 2024
Tuesday Jun 11, 2024
Ben Sauer shares why designers need to be better presenters, how to keep stakeholders awake and engaged, and what to do when disaster inevitably strikes.
Highlights include:
Is how design is presented more important than the design itself?
How do you help stakeholders to relate more powerfully to design work?
What is the Goldilocks Zone and how can designerâs find it quickly?
Why can it be useful to show stakeholders design work bit-by-bit?
How do you deal with difficult people when presenting design work?
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Who is Ben Sauer?
Ben is an independent product and design strategist, coach, and trainer, helping companies to craft the vision for their products, and to inspire better internal processes and practices.
Drawing on over 20 years of experience, he has written and spoken about strategic storytelling, voice UI design, and how slowing down can help organisations to speed up. And his insights have been put to use at organisations such as NASA, Amazon and the BBC.
Benâs most recent mission is helping designers to become more influential by becoming more confident communicators of their work. Thatâs why heâs recently published a book called âDeath by Screensâ, a practical how-to guide for presenting high stakes design work.
Before becoming an independent consultant, Ben worked at Babylon Health, where he was first a Director of Design and then a Director of Product. There, he led a large team of over 100 designers, clinicians, data scientists and engineers.
He has also been a Senior UX Designer at Clearleft, the world-renowned and perhaps first UX design consultancy in the United Kingdom.
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Find Ben here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensauer/Website: https://bensauer.net/X: https://twitter.com/bensauer
Death By Screens: How to Present High-Stakes Digital Design Work and Live to Tell the Tale -Â https://bensauer.net/deathbyscreens/
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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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/
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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/

Tuesday May 28, 2024
Tuesday May 28, 2024
Aylin Uysal shares her story of leading enterprise design, the reality of being an exec and a parent, and how patience and perseverance have served her well.
Highlights include:
Why is it important to have a good grasp of the details as a senior design leader?
How do you know when you havenât got the work-parent balance quite right?
What changed at Oracle to enable the culture to significantly support design?
How do you work across Oracle to ensure that usersâ experience great design?
Why canât business apps be as simple and delightful as consumer apps?
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Who is Aylin Uysal?
Currently the VP of User Experience for Cloud Applications at Oracle, Aylin is at the forefront of design at one of the tech industry's most established companies, helping its customers to see data in new ways, discover insights and unlock endless possibilities.
During over two decades at Oracle Aylin has held several senior leadership roles, serving previously as a Senior Director of User Experience, a Director of Applications User Experience, and as a Senior Manager of HCM User Experience.
Before her long-standing tenure at Oracle, Aylin was a valued member of the design team at SAP, where she was a lead designer. She also made her mark as a senior designer at Silicon Graphics, a legendary Silicon Valley icon.
Originally from Turkey, Aylin graduated from Middle East Technical University with a Bachelor's in Industrial Design. She further honed her craft, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts from San Francisco's Academy of Art University.
Aylin's influence is not just corporate; she's been celebrated as one of the top thirty influential Turkish-American women by Turk of Amerika, she is a board member of the TUSIAD Silicon Valley Network, and is credited on 8 US patents.Â
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Find Aylin here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aylinuysal/X: https://twitter.com/aylinuysal
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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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Tuesday May 14, 2024
Tuesday May 14, 2024
Monal Chokshi shares the lessons learned from growing three UX research orgs, what makes research impact a reality, and reflects on the next step in her career.
Highlights include:
What do you wish you knew about management before becoming a manager?
What do researchers leaders need to do to increase their impact and influence?
Did you become a manager to have more influence on product decisions?
What do you look for in a company when deciding whether to apply for a job?
What is the right way to socialise and influence partners with insights?Â
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Who is Monal Chokshi?
Until recently, Monal was a Senior Director and Head of Research & Insights at Dropbox, the company behind the cloud-based file storage and synchronisation service that helps over 700 million people, in over 180 countries, keep life organised.
At Dropbox, Monal led an organisation with researchers embedded in teams working across the companyâs diverse range of products. As well as a centralised research team that contributed to Dropboxâs strategic direction through foundational research.
Before joining Dropbox, Monal was the Head of UX Research at Lyft. It was here that her visionary leadership enabled the discipline to grow from just her, to over 30 researchers, design strategists, and research operations specialists, working across all of the companyâs products and services.
A generous contributor to the community, Monal has shared her insights at popular events, such as at UX Liveâs UXR Conference, and on podcasts like the UX STRAT Podcast, Noam Segalâs UXR Conversations, and UserZoomâs UX Peditious.
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Find Monal here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monal/X: https://twitter.com/MonalChokshi
How to Succeed as a UXR Manager:Â https://youtu.be/JhjCOljQDHA
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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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Jakob Nielsen addresses some of the criticism heâs faced, calls on UXers to urgently adopt AI, and shares why he believes the commoditisation of UX is a good thing.
Highlights include:
Are you surprised by how much youâve offended some people?
Why do UXers need a greater sense of urgency about adopting AI?
Were the hiring practices at your previous company elitist?
What is the state of UX today and where is the growth potential?
Will AI impede our ability to develop our professional judgement?
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Who is Jakob Nielsen, PhD?
Jakob is the founder of UX Tigers, the website and associated substack he uses to bring his 41 years of UX knowledge and experience to the world, in what he has described as a plainspoken, hard-hitting and not bowing to orthodoxy kind-of-way.
Before founding UX Tigers, Jakob was the co-founder and principal - for 25 years - of a rather well known UX consultancy, the Nielsen Norman Group.
His other notable roles include being a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems, and a member of the research staff at Bell Communications Research - one of the worldâs top three HCI labs in the 1990s.
Jakob is known for many other things, among which are being the founder of the discount usability movement, the foundational 10 usability heuristics for user interface design, and the eponymously named Jakobâs Law of Internet User Experience.Â
He is the holder of no less than 79 United States patents and the author of 8 books, including the best-selling âDesigning Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicityâ, âUsability Engineeringâ, and the pioneering âHypertext and Hypermediaâ.
In 2013, Jakob received the Lifetime Achievement Award for HCI Practice from ACM SIGCHI and in 2024 he was named a âTitan of Human Factorsâ by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
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Find Jakob here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakobnielsenphd/Website: https://www.uxtigers.com/
======
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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Justin Dauer shares how he conquered his ego to become a better designer, why heâs left executive design leadership, and how unfulfilled designers make bad products.
Highlights include:
Has digital visual design become a little bit boring?
Why is humility the most important trait for a designer?
What made you realise you were done with in-house design leadership?
Why is it unacceptable for design leaders to âcoastâ in their careers?
How have youâve been able to reach a high level of professional fulfilment?
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Who is Justin Dauer?
Justin is the Founder of Anomali by Design, a consultancy specialising in design strategy, product design, and engagement. Through Anomali, Justin helps organisations to develop their design leaders, so that they in turn foster healthier processes, methods, and cultures.
Before founding Anomali, Justin was the Vice President of Human-Centred Design and Development at bswift, a tech company owned by CVS Health, that transforms the way millions of employees perceive and engage with their benefits.
Justin also spent a number of years as Design Director of Nansen, a Swedish-American design firm. In this role, he established the Chicago office and managed a multi-disciplinary team of designers, front-end developers, and UX architects.
He is the author of two celebrated books on design. His first, the beautifully illustrated âCultivating a Creative Cultureâ was published in 2017, with a second-edition released in 2020. His latest book, âIn Fulfillment: The Designerâs Journeyâ was released is early 2022.
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Find Justin here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pseudoroom/Website: https://anomalibydesign.com/X: https://twitter.com/pseudoroom
Books:
In Fulfillment: The Designerâs Journey -Â https://www.in-fulfillment.com/
Createive Culture: Human-Centered Interaction Design & Inspiration -https://www.the-culturebook.com/
======
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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Rob Hamblen shares his insights on effective sprint facilitation, why he asks clients if theyâre designing for today or tomorrow, and why design sprints have a PR problem.
Highlights include:
What do you do when senior leaders arenât willing to be wrong?
What types of business challenges are most suited to a design sprint?
What have you learned from facilitating sprints with tricky team dynamics?
Does dot voting to enable effective group decisions to be made?
Does it matter if design sprints are performative if alignment is the result?
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Who is Rob Hamblen?
Rob is the Founder of Be the Leap, a company specialising in the combination of rapid innovation frameworks, like the Design Sprint and Design Thinking, with leadership accelerators. Why? To help product teams launch more successful products!
With over three decades of experience working in and leading teams that make digital products, Rob has worked with clients like AMEX, Adidas, HSBC Bank, McKinsey and âthat company formerly known as Twitterâ.
Before founding Be the Leap, Rob served as a Product Design Director at AJ&Smart in Berlin. In this role, he honed his facilitation expertise, leading the B2B sprint team and overseeing both the client experience and the development of the product offering.
Prior to that, Rob spent some time in sunny Dubai as the Creative Director of UX for IBM iX, where he helped to establish IBM Studios and managed a cross-functional team that supported clients as they sought to transform their businesses.
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Find Rob here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robhamblen/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betheleap/Website: https://www.betheleap.com/X: https://twitter.com/bamberlingling
======
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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Adam Perlis shares why itâs important to always treat interns well, how heâs trying to solve bad recruitment practices, and some practical advice for navigating the job market.
Highlights include:
How did an intern play a pivotal role in your career?
What do the most successful design portfolios demonstrate?
Why are you deeply surprised that youâve become a design recruiter?
How do you assess a candidate before deciding to present them to a client?
Where and how should designers go the extra mile when applying for jobs?
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Who is Adam Perlis?
Adam is the CEO and founder of Academy, a flexible staffing and recruitment agency that helps companies like Under Armour, NBC Universal and Wish.com, to scale their UX orgs and UXers to further their careers.
Before founding Academy, Adam spent a decade working in various design roles in New York, including as a Head of UX for AKQA, Head of Design for B-Reel and notably, Head of Design for TIME magazine, where he led the team responsible for TIME.com, FORTUNE.com and MONEY.com.
Adam has also been a Creative Director at AT&T, guiding the design of AT&T AdWorks and AT&T AdWorks Lab, and at Dish Network, where he was a manager of Interactive Television.
A dedicated contributor to the field, Adam has spoken at events around the world, such as SXSW, Web Summit and Tech Open Air. He is also the host of âHow We Scaled Itâ, a podcast that explores the journey of growing a successful design practice from 0-100.
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Find Adam here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamperlis/Website: https://adamperlis.com/X: https://twitter.com/AdamPerlis
Academy - UX Staffing & Recruiting Agency:
Website: https://www.academyux.com/Blog: https://blog.academyux.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/academyux/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8wVKD8NG7uhrcPSuylrPnQX: https://twitter.com/academyuxdesign
======
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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/

Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Ash Ivory shares what theyâve learned from burning out as a product leader, why gender and orientation canât be left at home, and why inclusive design matters.
Highlights include:
Why is it important not to seperate personal from professional values?
What work experiences made you feel you had to keep your identity at home?
Why is it important to get comfortable with saying ânoâ in a product role?
How can not celebrating wins negatively impact a product team?
Do people need to take self-responsibility for avoiding burnout?
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Who is Ash Ivory?
Ash is the newly minted Chief Product Officer at Ivory Common, after recently wrapping up their role as Head of Product at Askable, a global participant recruitment and research platform that empowers organisations to make better product decisions.
In their role as Head of Product, Ash led the product vision as well as the people responsible for delivering on that vision, including product managers, designers, engineers, and researchers.
Before joining Askable, Ash was the Head of Product at Outfit, an automation platform for large-scale brand management and production, and which was recently acquired by Smartsheet for an undisclosed sum.
When Ash is not enabling great product to be built, they can be found coaching others in the office in the art of brewing great coffee, or riding their motorcycle in an act of active meditation.Â
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Find Ash here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashivory/
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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!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
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/