Design Better co-hosts Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter explore the intersection of design, technology, and the creative process through conversations with inspiring guests across many creative fields. Whether you’re design curious or a design pro, Design Better is guaranteed to inspire and inform. Episodes are released semi-weekly. Vanity Fair calls Design Better, “sharp, to the point, and full of incredibly valuable information for anyone looking to better understand how to build a more innovative world.”
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Over the years, Eli spent a lot of time diving and doing photography—from designing underwater photography equipment, to running an underwater photography magazine in the early 2000’s, to doing research work using towed underwater camera systems. And both he and Aarron have a huge amount of respect and admiration for folks that are at the top of their craft. After watching the Academy-award winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, both of us knew that we needed to learn more about the cinematographer Roger Horrocks
Visit our Susbtack for the full episode, transcript, and other bonus content: https://desi...
Episode 105 • 23 July 2024 • 16m and 28s
There’s an art to interviewing customers. It’s so much harder than just asking a few people some questions. If we’re not careful, bias can throw off our findings. And sometimes the most salient information that may inform the next generation of your products can slip by even the most seasoned researchers. Few people have mastered interviewing users as well as our guest today—author and independent research practitioner Steve Portigal.
Steve’s just released a second edition to his popular book, Interviewing Users, that expands upon the principles and techniques introduced in the first edition, an...
Episode 104 • 16 July 2024 • 58m and 47s
There’s a reason why we’ve been talking about design systems for a number of years now—it’s the key to collaboration at scale. Few people get that more than Dan Mall who has helped the world’s most recognizable brands create design practices that are truly sustainable and successful.
We spoke to Dan about his new book, Design That Scales, which dives into how to create, manage, and sustain a successful design system. And he shares where the people involved in a design system fit and how they can best collaborate.
In case you mis...
Episode 102 • 9 July 2024 • 15m and 43s
Find full show notes, bonus content and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/rewind-sara-seager
It’s a holiday week—happy 4th of July to those celebrating it 🎆—so we’re rewinding to one of our favorite episodes. NASA has been making a lot of headlines with the discovery of planets outside of our solar system that may harbor life, and our guest, Sara Seager, is a big part of these pioneering projects.
While we have you here, make sure to check out some of our upcoming workshops and a Design Better happy hour in August, in...
Episode • 3 July 2024 • 39m and 4s
Find show notes, transcripts, and bonus content on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/carissa-carter-scott-doorley
Most of us are too busy with the present to think far into the future—work, kids, pets and other obligations can make it feel like planning for anything more than a week away is a fool’s errand.
But we also live in a time of rapid change, where technologies from biological design to artificial intelligence threaten to mold the future in ways we might have trouble imagining. So it’s comforting to know that we have bright, creative minds...
Episode 102 • 25 June 2024 • 51m and 32s
Get access to the full episode on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/celene-aubry
Back in 2010, Aarron visited Hatch Show Print, a small print shop with a storied history that began in 1879. Hand cut wood block type and illustrations filled the shelves around presses busy producing posters for famous bands and artists. Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and so many other legendary folks have used Hatch Show Print to promote their tours, and their aesthetic has been a major influence on design for more than 100 years. They’re still producing beautiful print work today an...
Episode 101 • 18 June 2024 • 18m and 4s
Hey, everybody. We're sharing something special today from our pals over at the Say More podcast, where in a special series, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is opening up the conversation about stress and burnout to help listeners feel less alone and inspired to get help. She connects with experts like Krista Tippett and Emily Nagoski, who use medical science, social science, and philosophy to answer deep questions about how stress works on our bodies and our minds so we can work better and live better.
In this episode that we're sharing with you, computer scientist and...
Episode • 14 June 2024 • 27m and 44s
Visit our Substack for a video of the live interview, transcript, and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/hillary-coe
This is our 100th episode of Design Better. 🥳 It’s an amazing milestone! Whether you’ve been with us for years or you’re brand new to the show, thanks for listening and supporting our work.
We saved something very special for our 100th episode: a live episode with Hillary Coe, formerly a design leader at SpaceX who is now leading design at Vast, who are building commercial space stations.
When we first learned about Hillary...
Episode 100 • 11 June 2024 • 1h, 3m and 22s
Generative AI is finding its way into the tools and processes that power creative work. Exciting? Terrifying? Maybe a little of both. Adobe has been not only shipping impressive generative AI tools and features, but thinking about the implications this new technology could have on creative careers.
Adobe invited us to their offices in San Francisco for a conversation with a panel of leaders including Rachana Rele, Samantha Warren, Danielle Morimoto, and Laura Herman who shared how they and their teams are building and training AI models ethically while bringing innovation to the creative process.
F...
Episode • 4 June 2024 • 1h, 1m and 4s
Get access to the full episode on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/ben-clymer
Aarron fell down a rabbit hole when the Apple Watch came out. He knew nothing about watches, their design history and the immense investment of human effort it’s taken to engineer accurate timepieces until he bought an Apple Watch. He loves wearing a watch, but notifications and tracking caused him to abandon it for something simpler and mechanical.
Anyone curious about watches will inevitably end up at Hodinkee.com, the premier publication about watches and the rich culture around them. Ho...
Episode 99 • 28 May 2024 • 14m and 42s
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