Design Untangled | A UX & design podcast in plain English

How do design approaches and techniques work when it comes to designing spaces rather than digital products? We speak to Anna Lee, Senior Interior Designer at HLM Architects. She shares how she works with clients to deliver spaces that add value to the people using them. What is the difference between Interior Design and decorating? How do Interior Designers work with clients? How do brand and values feed into the design process? What are the elements of good Interior Design? How do digital elements form part of a space? How has Coronavirus changed the way spaces and buildings are being designed? How do you measure the effectiveness of a design? Show notes A Pattern Language - Christopher Alexander Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things - Don Norman

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has changed the way organisations are thinking about and delivering Design. For many, getting things designed, developed and out the door is a matter of survival. Discovery Research or strategic UX work seems to be on the back burner for now, in favour of tactical approaches. Chris and Carla talk about the changes they have seen in industry hiring. They discuss: How can UX and Research specialists fit into this new world? What risks are there to focussing on Product Design? What vegetables is Chris growing? How can Product Designers step outside of their day to day to look at the big picture? Transcript Coming soon.

Design thinking is a powerful framework for implementing user-centred thinking and outcomes. But you shouldn't apply it to everything if it's not the most appropriate approach for your brief. Chris and Carla get together in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic to talk about ways you can apply it in a sensible way to your projects. When should you use design thinking? How can you use parts of design thinking in your projects? When shouldn't you use design thinking? How can you use design thinking as a communication tool to stakeholders? Why should you stop panic buying toilet roll?

Trying to balance work and parenthood is always challenging. How can organisations support both expecting and recent parents more effectively? What are the differences between supporting parents before and after they have their child? Carla talks about her experience at Google and her newfound LinkedIn fame.

Not having your developers nearby can be tough. It's even harder when they are in a totally different country, timezone and perhaps even speak a different language. We discuss some tips on how best to work with remote development teams to ensure that everyone is aligned on delivering good outcomes for customers.

Chris sits down with Stuart Davis, Head of Consumer Product at notonthehighstreet.com to talk about product strategy and leadership. We also talk about how product, design and engineering teams can work together to deliver products customers love. How do you define an effective product strategy within your organisation? How does a product team work with Design and Engineering? How does the product strategy tie back to your company objectives? How do features move from inception through to end of life? Is a product strategy different in different types of organisation? How do you use OKRs? What is product leadership?

Designers operate and thrive in a world of uncertainty. However, very often businesses and stakeholders don't. Fear of the unknown can be a big barrier to delivering effective solutions that meet the needs of both users and the organisation. Chris and Carla talk about how you can help guide your project stakeholders through the process of going from the unknown to the known, and how you can use the powerful technique of assumption mapping to help scope your project.

Power users are experts in your product. It is easy to fall into the trap of only designing products which are easy to use the first time. Behaviour changes as users become more familiar with your product. Often they want to achieve different things. Chris and Carla give you some tips to help make sure power users are included in your design thinking.

Chris and Carla chat about burnout – the state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by stress, which is a growing problem in the whole digital space. Designers themselves, and now even agencies and consultancies are aware of the stress factors, such as modern life’s pace, peer pressure, never having the time to fully detach from work or not having some quiet time cause our mental health to suffer. Fortunately we have some ideas on how you can spot if you’re getting burnt out, and a few things you can try to help improve your physical and mental wellbeing at work. Contractor’s concern – as a contractor, you get paid by the day. Still, it’s important to get some time off to recharge, and while doing so, don’t think about the money you’re not earning at the moment. Work – life balance – while there is nothing wrong with participating in social events after work with your peers, it’s important to separate work from life, and have your social life not completely tied to your work environment. When your job doesn’t fulfil you – do something on the side that you care about. To feel like you’re making some change and positive in the world even if it’s not your main job, is a great motivation booster. Getting lost in the agile project approach – you can find yourself getting stuck to solve a particular design issue, or not experimenting with new ideas, or even feel being distanced from the people that you’re designing for. This can happen in case of not enough/lack of user research. Take a step back from time to time and look at the big picture – don’t forget what you’re aiming to accomplish. Take the time to understand the problem, the user, plan your project, and put your thoughts into that specific design. Managing expectations – of your own and others’. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. This applies if you’re trying to demonstrate you’re good as a woman in the digital world, or you’re managing a project with junior people with a tight project time frame. If you feel you can not function at your best, it’s not the end of the world to change your situation or mindset and leave that pressure behind. Watch your internal conversation with yourself, because many times the pressure that exists is created by your own perception of yourself. Give yourself time – there are many things from which you can choose from to disconnect your mind from design issues such as doing yoga, exercising, listening to music, take on hobbies or meditation – doing something you love. You can train yourself to create that space for your mind to breath, and find those things that make yourself happy outside of work. Have and make the time for switching off – do things that you like. Life is more important than a wireframe! And remember you’re not alone. You can always ask tips and help from others in the community.

In a bit of a play on words, Chris speaks to Andy Farmer – Solution Consulting Partner at ORM about how to design platforms. We talk about the challenges in designing for complex technical systems and infrastructure and why it is important to use insight and data from multiple sources to design solutions. 6 lessons transport operators can learn from Uber3 Trends Driving Change in the UK Bus Sector5 digital challenges transport groups face Transcript Transcript coming soon

The D&AD New Blood awards are for students, grads, and aspiring creatives between 18 and 24. Real briefs, set by real clients, judged by top creatives. Carla interviews two fellow judges from the DNDA awards – Sila Nur Isik and Daniel Hirschmann. They discuss new technology trends, advice for young designers and recommendations for the next generation of entrants.

Design thinking is a methodology that works anywhere. You don’t have to be designing an app or website to apply it to problem solving both in business and in your every day life. Chris and Carla talk about how you can apply this powerful set of tools anywhere, any time.