UX Banter

In this episode we are joined by Luis Berumen, Executive Director of Calgary UX. He brings deep experience working across enterprise platforms, government initiatives, and grassroots communities. He is passionate about shaping meaningful product direction, championing inclusive and accessible design, and mentoring the next generation of designers while actively contributing to the global design community. Discussion Points - Share your story, what experiences shaped you into who you are today? 2:00 How did your professional journey evolve from your early roles to where you are today? 6:26 How has growing up across different cultures and languages shaped the way you approach design? 15:02 You’ve built a strong UX community in Calgary through meetups, conferences, and mentorship. What drives you to invest in this, and what does mentorship mean to you when it comes to giving back? 25:13 What advice would you give to someone from a country under construction who wants to build an international design career? 35:51 Show notes - If you always feel like you're fighting your environment, the means of the environment is wrong, not you. If what you love dies with you, then you never really loved it enough. You have to share it. You need to know that you can do it. As soon as you are in the room with creative people and you participate, you will be at the level. It doesn't matter where you're coming from. If you're going to migrate, you're going to experience rejection and loneliness. But that shouldn't define you. It's just one way to build resilience and keep going. Humour in UX is not just about being funny. If it's functional for the goal, like recovering from an error, then it's welcome. Otherwise it just humiliates the user when they're already down. People have three different feelings at the same time, influenced by so many things that are not just your application. You need to dig deeper into how people feel and keep understanding the human heart. Luis’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisberumen/

In this episode, we’re joined by Bryan Dávila, Design Director at Hook Studios and a creative leader known for shaping award-winning digital experiences for global brands. With experience spanning top agencies and iconic organizations, including being one of the key designers at Apple, he brings a thoughtful perspective on design direction, branding, and creative leadership. He’s also deeply involved in industry juries and creative forums, where he continues to influence and mentor the design community. Discussion Point - Take us through your journey from Ecuador to Silicon Valley and how you got to where you are today. 3:16 You started in print and physical design before moving to digital. How has that shaped the way you approach design compared to those who started natively in digital? 10:46 As a design leader, how do you guide your team through the constantly shifting landscape of AI and new tools? 14:15 Rapid fire round 16:14 Tell us about the Google Language Inclusion and Language Explorer projects and what drove you to work on them. 34:32 You have worked both in-house at Apple and at an agency working with Google. What is the key difference between those two worlds? 42:09 What advice would you give to someone who wants to get a job at a company like Apple? 49:23 Show notes - Discipline counts double than talent. Talent might get you noticed early, but discipline is what compounds over time. Good design doesn't happen solo. Leading a design team is mostly about creating the right environment for smart and thoughtful work to come to life and thrive. The work I'm most proud of isn't just the work that wins awards. It's the work that actually helps someone understand, feel and act with less friction. Design used to be seen as decoration. Now it's infrastructure. It shapes how people learn, communicate and make decisions and that's a huge shift in responsibility. The medium has changed but the perception hasn't. Good design still starts with people, not platforms. It's not necessarily something that looks good, but something that truly impacts the world. That is what makes the work meaningful. Bryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davilabryan/ Explore the Google Language Inclusion initiative: https://sites.research.google/languages/

In this episode, we are joined by Justin, a designer, author, and speaker who focuses deeply on the human side of design. Justin has spent years exploring how culture, values, and craft shape the way designers build products and teams, helping creatives think beyond tools and trends to create more meaningful work. He’s also the author of Creative Culture and In Fulfillment: The Designer’s Journey, where he shares reflections on growth, humility, and lifelong learning in design. Discussion Points - What was your journey from deciding to become a designer to building your own studio? 2:11 Has your perspective on agency work evolved over time, or is it what you originally envisioned? 5:28 How do you balance your day job with personal creative pursuits without feeling like you’re missing out on other opportunities? 14:53 How has your workflow evolved from traditional tools to today’s AI-driven design processes? 24:18 When choosing new projects, do you prefer working with specific types of clients or project sizes? 27:53 What advice would you give your younger self, and do you think it still holds true today? 30:06 Show notes - Designers need to think beyond tools and trends if they want to create work that truly matters. People are engaging with our experiences in real, imperfect environments, and that responsibility should guide how we design. Design is a profession, but for many of us, it’s also a passion and a calling. Early success can be dangerous if you’re not prepared for it. Ego can quietly hurt the work. Leveraging humility while still respecting your expertise is one of the most important lessons in a design career. Never stop learning. Never stop being a student of your craft—this advice will always be relevant. Justin’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pseudoroom/ Company’s Website: https://anomalibydesign.com His books, In Fulfillment: The Designer's Journey (https://in-fulfillment.com) and Creative Culture (https://the-culturebook.com)

In this episode, we’re joined by Michael Miller, Associate Creative Director at Level Studios, who brings over a decade of experience designing and scaling digital products across enterprise platforms. Michael leads multidisciplinary teams focused on UI strategy, design systems, and cross-functional collaboration. With a background spanning experiential design, marketing, and product design, he shares a grounded perspective on building systems that balance structure, creativity, and real business impact. Discussion Points ~How did your journey into creative leadership begin? (1:39) ~Do your past experiences in marketing and creative projects influence the work you do today? (4:28) ~Why is understanding the business and domain critical for enterprise-level UX and product design? (6:26) ~Rapid fire round (9:35) ~Do UX designers often take on business analyst responsibilities, from understanding requirements to envisioning how solutions will be executed? (20:14) ~How is AI changing your role today, and where do you see it taking the future of design? (27:42) ~What advice would you give your younger self 10–15 years ago? (34:13) Show Notes ~Design isn’t just about visuals—it’s about understanding people and what makes them engage. ~The real through line in my work has always been human connection, whether it’s the user or the client. ~Strong systems thinking and organization naturally translate into great product design. ~You don’t need to be the subject matter expert, but you need to understand how the business works. ~Good design comes from working closely with experts and understanding what actually works in the real world. ~Design systems aren’t about control; they’re about creating structures that allow things to grow. ~UX isn’t just about solving the problem given; it’s about understanding what the real problem is. Michael’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/creationmod/

In this episode, we are joined by Ranjithkumar Rajarethinam, Director of Design & Strategy at Esperia Studio. With over 20 years of experience, Ranjit has worked across industries from banking to manufacturing, blending empathy, process, and AI-driven tools to shape user experiences. He is also the founder of Learner at Large, a platform that mentors UX designers at every stage of their careers. Discussion Points ~ How did your design journey begin, and what were the turning points that shaped your career? ~ How do you see AI impacting design careers today, especially for junior designers entering the field? ~ Rapid fire round ~ Can you walk us through your stakeholder management framework and why stakeholder buy-in is critical in enterprise UX? ~ How do you adapt your design approach across diverse industries like banking, manufacturing, and energy? ~ What’s one key piece of advice you’d give to someone just starting out? Show Notes ~ Everything I learned so far has come full circle with AI—today I can scale my skills in ways I couldn’t before. ~ When you build a portfolio, make sure it carries your stamp—don’t try to be another designer in the market. ~ Resources are the same for juniors and seniors now; the difference lies in vision and the willingness to iterate. ~ In enterprise UX, you’re not just designing screens—you’re designing alliances. ~Time is money. To succeed, you must understand the customer’s business context, not just their users. ~ The three skills that will define careers in the next decade are creative problem-solving, analytical thinking, and lifelong learning. Ranjith’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/learneratlarge/

In this episode, we are joined by Ryan Brink, Senior Product Designer at Michigan Software Labs. With a background that spans business, sports, and marketing, Ryan’s journey into UX is anything but traditional. His experience coaching soccer shaped his collaborative, people-first design mindset, while his early work in marketing and analytics honed his ability to combine creativity with data. Today, Ryan designs enterprise platforms, compliance tools, and AI-powered workflows—all with a focus on clarity, collaboration, and user-centered thinking. Discussion Points ~ How did your journey into UX design begin? 2:15 ~Since sports are data-heavy, do you see a connection between that and digital design dashboards? 6:36 ~ Do you think people from non-design backgrounds challenge or enrich your perspective in UX? 8:40 ~ Rapid Fire Round 10:16 ~ What unique challenges do you face when designing for enterprise software and compliance-heavy products? 15:25 ~ How are you leveraging AI in your design process, and what opportunities or risks does it bring? 20:31 ~ What inspired your book, Phony Confessions of a Designer, and how does humor play a role in your approach to design? 24:54 ~ What advice do you have for young designers starting their careers today? 26:57 Show notes ~ UX is all about creating alignment; it’s not about who has the best idea, but about what’s best for the end user. ~ Coaching soccer taught me leadership and teamwork—skills I bring into every design project. ~ Metrics bridge the gap between creativity and strategy; they tell us what’s working and where we need to improve. ~ AI can’t replace the UX process. If you put in garbage, garbage will come out. ~ Creativity was the missing piece in my career. Once I found design, tinkering with problems stopped feeling like work. ~ Enterprise UX isn’t just about usability; it’s about navigating red tape, earning stakeholder buy-in, and still keeping the user at the center. ~ Humor helps us stay honest about our flaws as designers; sometimes laughing at our “confessions” makes us better at what we do. Ryan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-brink/ Ryan’s Website: https://brinkryan.com/

In this episode, we are joined by Cathy Davenport Lee, Principal Creative Director of Product Design & Marketing at Eluvio. With over 15 years of experience blending product design, brand storytelling, and emerging tech, Cathy has led award-winning projects across industries. Formerly VP of Interaction Design at HBO, she has shaped iconic campaigns for series such as Game of Thrones and Westworld, while continually pushing the boundaries of digital experiences. Discussion Points ~ Can you take us through your journey from studying digital design to leading creative roles at HBO and Eluvio, and what it was like working on household names like Game of Thrones and Westworld? 1:33 ~ Can you tell us about your current role at Eluvio and the direction you’re headed in your career? 12:00 ~ Rapid fire round 13:00 ~ How do you feel about the creative industry's emphasis on awards and recognition? 16:23 ~ How are you using AI in your day-to-day work right now? 35:09 ~ Can you tell us about your podcast? 35:44 ~ What advice would you give to aspiring designers who want to follow in your footsteps? 37:10 Show notes ~ Back then, nobody knew what a digital designer was. We were inventing the role while still trying to explain what the internet could even do. ~ I spent years dreaming of working at HBO. When the call finally came, it felt surreal, like a moment I had manifested years before. ~ Awards are great, but they depend a lot on access. If your company can't afford to submit, your work might never get seen. ~ AI isn’t just something happening to creatives. If we want to influence where it's going, we have to engage with it now, not later. ~ Tools and technologies are shifting so fast that by the time you plan a project, the platform you started with may already be outdated. ~ Sometimes the most powerful thing a creative can do is pause, to protect their imagination, recharge, and create from a place of clarity. Links: Cathy’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathydavenportlee/ Cathy’s Podcast: https://podcast.thecreativeleadworkshop.com/

In this episode, we are joined by Ruwan Fernando, a seasoned UX leader with expertise in AAA games, SaaS, and gamification. With experience across five countries, he brings a unique perspective on design, storytelling, and user engagement. Tune in as we explore his journey, industry insights, and the evolving role of UX in gaming. Discussion points: ~ How did your journey into UX and game design begin? 1:45 ~ How did your expectations of the gaming industry change over time? 7:20 ~ Do you need to be a gamer to succeed in the industry? 12:50 ~ Rapid fire round 17:55 ~ What are you looking forward to at GDC, and how can people connect with you? 22:59 ~ Which of your work/accomplishments are you most proud of? 23:23 ~ What’s your top advice for aspiring game designers and UX professionals? 29:33 Show notes: ~ UX is a job of communication. Design just happens along the way. UX is all about communicating your vision as someone making a product to the expectations of a user who's expecting to use it. It's shortening the distance between the two. ~ Technology is experienced through the interface. If you don't build the interface, then you've built a technology that will never be experienced. ~ The longer we leave people out of the discussion, the more the product itself fails to connect with its audience. ~ We use things like pressure, time, scarcity, and tension to ramp up or down the emotional connection to a story. If a game isn’t emotionally engaging, it’s not an engaging story. ~ If you only ever observe other people's solutions, what you're observing is a list of compromises that you have never seen. So you take that solution and all the compromises with it without understanding what they were. Then you build something based on compromises on which you further compromise. ~ The minute you say ‘I prefer it this way,’ you take what is a wide-angle perspective and narrow it to one. But we need to appeal to millions of people, not just ourselves. ~ Instead of going wide, I recommend you narrow focus, become incredible at it, and then graduate to the next. Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruwan-f/ https://adplist.org/mentors/ruwan-fernando

In this episode, we are joined by Wayne Pelletier, Founder and CEO of Resonant Pixel Company. With extensive experience in web design and digital strategy, Wayne is transforming the industry with a subscription-based model that simplifies website management for businesses. A Squarespace expert, he’s passionate about delivering scalable, high-value web solutions that empower brands to grow effortlessly. Discussion points - ~ How did you start your career? 1:17 ~ What differentiates low-code and no-code platforms from traditional coding, and how has your experience in web development shaped your perspective on them? 4:16 ~Every business is essentially in the business of content creation. Can you elaborate on that concept and its importance for website success? 6:23 ~Do you think we are moving toward a 'post-website world,' and what role do social media and AI-driven feeds play in this shift? 8:21 ~ Rapid fire round 17:23 ~Your business operates on a subscription-based web design model. What makes this approach successful, and how does it benefit small businesses? 20:01 ~ How do you ensure a strong user experience for websites focused solely on information rather than business outcomes? 24:00 ~What advice would you give to young professionals or designers looking to build a long-term career in web design and digital strategy? 27:55 Show notes - ~ Understanding how things are built goes a long way to building better things, no matter your platform. ~ When you have a website, you have a shack in the woods—without content and marketing, there's no traffic and no one around. ~ The idea behind productizing services is to level out revenue so that it's mostly only ever-growing instead of dealing with the feast-or-famine cycle. ~ Hiring you is a ton of work, and hiring someone else is also a ton of work—so clients don’t just leave as easily as people fear. ~ From a UX standpoint, I’ve made hundreds of websites over the years, and I have a deep understanding of how user behavior differs across industries. ~ Going to lunch and getting to know the people you work with now pays dividends—because one day, they’ll be decision-makers who need what you do. ~ Social platforms sell fast, but the problem is when you make sales on another platform, those customers are not yours—you can’t contact them, and u don’t own that relationship. Links - www.linkedin.com/in/waynepelletier/ www.resonantpixel.co

In this episode, we are joined by Ben Shown, Head of Design at Blink UX. With over a decade of creative leadership experience, Ben has led design teams to collaborate with top-tier brands like Amazon, eBay, Microsoft, and NASA. We dive into his journey, his expertise in human-centered design, and how he approaches creating seamless digital experiences. Discussion points: How has your journey been? What steps would you recommend for those who want to follow in your footsteps? 1:41 Do you feel there is a difference in the design approach when working with heavily funded organizations compared to corporate giants like Amazon? 4:19 As a kid, you probably dreamed of working with your nation's space agency (NASA). Do you feel that satisfaction was somewhat achieved? 6:00 How do you define design leadership in your current studio or agency setup, and what processes do you implement to ensure your team's success? 7:12 As a design leader, how do you juggle the diverse responsibilities that come your way? 8:38 Rapid fire round 12:54 Do you think there's a secret to building a sustainable team, tracking progress, and setting a North Star for leadership? 17:26 On BlinkUX.com, there’s information about UX workshop ideas and how to conduct them. Can you tell us more about that? 19:07 Any advice for young followers or those just starting out or looking into a studio practice? 22:46 Show notes: I remember very distinctly getting into the high school yearbook and getting my hands on digital publishing tools from Adobe, like PageMaker and Photoshop, and just loving that process. Our job was to untangle that knot—find commonalities through UX research around which stories were the most effective that NASA was telling—and ultimately consolidate those 3,000 websites into one. Understanding how to create great UX at the government level is a different challenge compared to working with tech clients that have had design embedded in their culture for a long time. If I could have next-level time management, that would be ideal. I feel like I’ve gotten better at it, but that would definitely be a superpower. Making sure your design activities are really set up for the end goal is crucial. You need to get people talking, have them take their guard down, and position the activities to help us read between the lines and understand the project's big ambitious goals. Throughout the course of a project, our clients take a journey in learning user-centered design. We often teach our clients how to run workshops and how to progress in a design project Links: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/benkshown/ Company’s Website: www.blinkux.com

In this episode, we are joined by Christopher Miller, Principal UX Designer at OneTrust with over a decade of experience. Christopher is a master in design thinking, product design, and service design. He excels in creating seamless user experiences, mentoring UX teams, and collaborating across functions to solve complex user challenges. Discussion points - How did you start your journey in UX design? 1:27 How does team culture differ in freelancing, agencies, startups, and larger teams, and how does it impact the design process? 3:45 How do you perceive the pressure and mental health challenges that designers often face in their roles? 8:36 Rapid fire round 18:13 Could you tell us more about your experience with teaching and mentoring in your career? 23:22 How can people reach out to you for one-on-one design sessions and mentorship in UX design? 27:26 Do you think it's easy to go out and network, and do you participate in any networking activities in your area? 28:53 What advice would you give your younger self entering UX 10 years ago, and what tips do you have for new professionals today? 34:08 Show notes - Working at an agency provides more variety of clients, challenges your comfort zone, and pushes you to take on more responsibilities compared to freelancing or working at a larger organization. Establishing good relationships with product managers and developers is important to collaborate on projects and set constraints effectively. Learning to say no and establish boundaries is important for mental health when working on multiple projects simultaneously. Creating design sprints that are separate but aligned with development sprints helps provide clarity on timelines and capacity. Teaching and mentoring allow you to be the kind of support you wish you had when starting out and help you remember the basics of UX design. The pandemic has allowed an experiment of teaching based on user experience design, creating an opportunity for virtual one-on-one connections and supporting individuals Running podcasts is a fun way to connect with other designers and blow off steam by discussing movies and pop culture from a design perspective. Links - Christopher’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uxchrism/ Company’s Website: www.onetrust.com Podcasts: www.youtube.com/@whathefux https://popcornandplotholes.transistor.fm/

In this episode, we are joined by Lacey Picazo, the Founder & CEO of ZoCo Design. She is an award-winning creative force known for her expertise in transforming and growing nonprofits, startups, and Fortune 500 clients. Lacey is also a renowned speaker and presenter, and a member of the prestigious Business First 2016 Forty Under 40 class. Discussion points - How did you start it in design? And, what made you choose this career? 1:29 How do the recognition and accolades received by ZoCo design for being rated as the best place to work and appearing on prestigious lists like Columbus Business First, Fast 50, and the Inc. 5000, validate your agency's mission? How does one plan to build a business like this? 6:02 Rapid fire round 10:33 How did you navigate through the difficulties of being a young woman entrepreneur when you started out your career? What was your support system like? And, do you think the times have changed? 17:25 You are focused a lot on your team and the cultural building that you do within ZoCo. Would you mind shedding some light on how you go about it? 20:19 What advice would you give to someone who is starting a career in design? 25:31 Show notes I enjoyed making things, and iterating and experimenting, even as a young child. And so, when I got into this career, as a designer, I was focused mainly on digital design, creating software, and creating websites. While our team feels very energized, to be recognized and to see the power and potential of their work, they are most motivated by the impact we make for our clients. The vision is to bring more user-centricity to design and technology and product. That is still the case and still what we champion and what we fight for. There's so much complexity in different parts of UX, which is fascinating. Because I think for those of us who want to learn about diverse industries and see different parts of the business, it's the best role to be able to get into that. I found the most value in my own learning and development by creating a community and finding other folks who are trying to solve similar problems to me. I learned early on at ZoCo, that cultivating a team and creating a path positive and very connected culture is probably the most central motivator for me and building my business more than anything else. I hope people feel empowered today more than ever to build the career that they want and not feel like it has to fit into a box. We apply a lot of UX principles and design thinking principles to how we operate the business. But the last piece related to building what you want is making sure you ask for what you want. Being verbal, candid, and transparent is important in building any career, whether you're an entrepreneur or an agency CEO like I am, or if you're just trying to be the best UX-er in the land. Links - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laceypicazo/ Company website: https://zocodesign.com/

Season 1 - Ep. 7 - Importance of Authenticity in Branding - Neal Foard On this episode of UX Banter, we chat with Neal Foard who is the Chief Marketing Officer at Within Inc. He is an eloquent storyteller, a TED Talk Speaker, a creative thinker, and a strategic marketer. Discussion Points: What makes a good brand? 1:26 What has been your key learning while working with big names like Toyota, Sony, HSBC, Heineken, etc.? 5:10 Rapid Fire Segment. 13:44 What is some advice that you’d like to give someone who’s just starting out in the industry? 27:02 What is your success mantra? 31:59 Show notes: “The most important thing for a brand is authenticity, that is they have to conduct themselves in the world in a way that people will be satisfied with.” - Neal Foard 1:38 It isn't enough to simply create a public persona, because it's quite easy for people to discover how false that might be. 2:17 The focus should not so much be on the marketing and brand messaging, it's really about what the brand is from an experience standpoint. 2:36 When the people that represent the brand are enthusiastic about it, when they believe in it, or they believe in the leadership, that gets reflected out into the world. 3:18 In marketing it's not really the cleverness of the message, it's the sincerity of it. 8:53 You can work, you can find work. And when you can, it can be well-paid work. But unless you are working for someone you admire, I don't know that you're ever going to really learn what you need to learn. 27:21 Life advice from Neal: Our accents are simply the result of us imitating the people that we learn from. We've adopted their manner of speech. And we do that with everything. We mimic their body language, we mimic their gestures, and we mimic their postures. But most of all, we mimic their behavior without realizing that's an accent and to work for a great person, to find someone you admire. Maybe take a little less money to work for something you admire. The dividend will be paid back to you not in money, but in becoming a great person like them. 28:59 Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-foard-3727403/