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Life and career (re)focus this year have brought me to a place where I need to hit pause on this show's production, foreseeably throughout 2022. Will definitely revisit cadence in 2023. Check out this broadcast for further info on this.
Keep fighting the good fight, dear Defender!
👊 Jason
linkedin.com/in/jasonogle
I'm a highly self-aware design servant-leader with over 25 years experience leading and crafting digital experiences that solve complex problems, delight the users, and exceed business outcomes. As a seasoned HCI practitioner, I'm passionate about designing thoughtful, innovative and elegant user interfaces and interactions that reduce friction and make life better for the users. I'm comfortable with ambiguity and borderline obsessed with solving problems. As a personal growth/mindset enthusiast, I'm convinced that being a great designer begins and ends with being a great human. I'm also the founder, host and producer of the industry-leading/celebrated User Defenders Podcast.
Continue reading Hitting Pause (2022)
This is the last episode of 2021. After nearly two years of outlining the content for this episode and nearly two months (at time of writing) of recording & editing, here's everything I know (so far) on landing a job in UX. I hope this content is not only useful to you and anyone you know looking to land their first (or next) job in UX, but I sincerely hope this episode is greatly inspirational and even life-changing for you. I forgot to say it at the end of the episode, so Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Joyous New Year dear Defenders! Take care of yourself and each other, and I'll see you on the other side of this year with more amazing UX/Design content! 👊 Jason Ogle
Jason Ogle is human, not dancer. He's a growth-minded, avid reader and listener whose vehicle is a rolling university. He's an innovative and strategic design leader focused on product creation, growth and conversion. He's a passionate user defender who fights for the users who are victims of bad design decisions. He's an influential podcaster who uses the enchanting magic of audio to inspire and equip an audience of hungry and ambitious designers. He's an evocative (often contrarian) writer who believeth in the power of the written word. He's a confident, highly self-aware servant-leader who believes that humans are so much more than resources. He's a loving husband (22 yrs and counting) and father of six here on earth (which speaks to his leadership abilities), and one already in heaven (which speaks to his deep capacity for empathy).
Fun facts: He once had to get a manicure to be a hand-model for a tech ad, got his uvula surgically removed while recovering from ankle surgery, and has a rare essay titled "Altars of Satan" given to him and signed by Eldridge Cleaver.
Origin (4:50)
Count the Costs (9:53)
Portfolio (21:18)
Resume (29:49)
Networking (35:03)
Applying (40:38)
Interviewing (50:11)
Negotiating (1:02:32)
In Closing (1:09:45)
Continue reading 080: Everything I Know (So Far) on Landing a Job in UX with Jason Ogle
Here's a fun treat I've never done before. In this episode I shine the spotlight on listeners Jordan Burke + Joel Ryerson who recently landed their first job in UX! Hear them tell their inspiring stories of their journey getting here while gaining some valuable insights on how you can too! I was blown away at the depth, insight, authenticity and value they both added with their motivational and entertaining stories of struggle and ultimately triumph!
Continue reading 079: Listener Spotlight – Landing My First UX Job
Artwork by Eli Jorgensen
Bob Baxley, a Silicon Valley pioneer, takes us back in time through the history of Silicon Valley and gives us a glimpse into the future of it. Spoiler alert: He's got concerns. He reveals how every little interaction matters and motivates us to be proud enough of the work we do to want to show our friends and family…otherwise, we've got more work to do. He challenges us to challenge the status quo and constantly be looking for ways to improve our work by asking, 'How could this be better?'. He also likens our work to building sandcastles on the beach, causing us to reflect on the brevity and temporal nature of it, and inspires us to make everything we make with our friends (for others) count.
Bob Baxley is a design executive, advisor, mentor, and advocate that has built, managed, and led UX teams at some of Silicon Valley's most respected companies. With a career spanning three decades, Bob's work at Apple, Pinterest, Yahoo!, and elsewhere has touched hundreds of millions of users around the world. Currently, Bob serves as the Senior Vice-President of Design at ThoughtSpot, a business intelligence and data analytics platform. An advisor to Project Invent, Bob is committed to recruiting and inspiring the next generation of designers by mentoring individuals and advising organizations that are working to improve the profession and practice of digital product design. When he was a kid, he was attacked by a baby goat at a petting zoo and to this day he can't stand goats.
Crash Course History of Silicon Valley (7:52)
Love at First Byte: (Re)Discovering the Magic of Computing (14:17)
The Beautiful 'Burden' of Doing Great Work That We're Proud Of (21:11)
The Question Steve Jobs Was Known to Ask In Design Reviews (24:55)
Technology: Wonderful Servant, Terrible Master (26:53)
Employing Analogue Tools for Deeper Creativity (34:10)
There Are No Rolling Credits for Interaction Designers (52:51)
We Need More Designers and Less Roadblocks (54:45)
Is There a Growth Trajectory for IC's Besides Mgmnt? (1:10:01)
What's Your Recommended Path for Design Leadership? (1:21:54)
Where is Silicon Valley Going? Do You Have Concerns? (1:27:35)
What's Your Design Superpower? (1:34:28)
What's Your Design Kryptonite? (1:35:19)
What's Your UX Superhero Name? (1:37:41)
Habit of Success? (1:38:23)
Invincible Resource or Tool? (1:42:37)
Recommended Books (1:45:25)
What's the Best Lesson You Learned From Steve Jobs? (1:48:30)
Best Advice? (1:53:44)
Connect & Keep Up (2:03:16)
Continue reading 078: There and Back (and Forward) Again with Bob Baxley
077: Conflict Resolution for People Who Hate Conflict with Josh Mauldin
Josh Mauldin shows us how resolving conflict not only makes us better humans, but better designers. He challenges us to approach conflict with a growth mindset and the question, "What can I learn from this?" to help us become less anti-conflict and more pro-resolution. He articulates the difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict and teaches us why healthy conflict is good and even worth pursuing. He reminds us that it all comes back to empathy which does not mean agreeing with someone, but making an active effort to understand where they're coming from. He also reveals how embracing conflict is the catalyst for building the best teams, the best products, and the best you.
Joshua Mauldin is Director of Design at Artium and an expert who speaks all over the world on conflict resolution. He is currently writing a book on the subject. He's also written and spoken extensively about design for Smashing Magazine, O'Reilly Media, and more.
Joshua loves approaching design with as much curiosity and humanity as he can muster. Also, he's a big fan of dogs. Cats, too. But mostly dogs.
His nickname in high school was Gumby because he could tie himself into a pretzel and jump rope with his arms.
How Long Have you Been Thinking About Conflict Resolution? (4:38)
Has Team Conflict Increased Since We've Gone Remote? (9:48)
How Can We See Past the Emoji's? (13:53)
What Does Your Conflict Resolution Framework Look Like? (18:54)
How Does Your Cranky Conclusions Approach Work? (20:53)
Conflict Resolution for Leaders (28:14)
How Do You Address Conflict with Your Leadership? (32:08)
What's the Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Conflict? (35:10)
How Does Healthy Conflict Create Better Products? (38:28)
Is Agile a Double-Edged Sword When it Comes to Team Conflict? (41:20)
Design Superpower? (46:13)
What's Your Design Kryptonite? (47:08)
UX Superhero Name (47:57)
Habit of Success (48:36)
Invincible Tool or Resource (49:26)
Best Advice (54:11)
Connect & Keep Up (55:44)
Continue reading 077: Conflict Resolution for People Who Hate Conflict with Josh Mauldin
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