People Nerds Category: Conversations

Listening Beyond the Lab
Ximena Vengoechea literally wrote the book on listening. Here’s her advice for richer conversations—both in and outside of the workplace.

UX: Our Past and Future
Jared Spool reflected on his decades-held defining role in the UX space—giving us insights into where the field has been, and predictions to where it could be heading.

Beta Testing: A Mixed-Methods Playground
Beta testing offers ample mixed-methods opportunities, providing rich insights on lean timelines.

To Build A Better Research Practice, Build Better Relationships
Solo-UXRs are often tasked with filling research gaps while building an orgs research acumen. Dave Chen from Flipp has suggestions for growing our volume of research, alongside our company’s research maturity.

How to Design for a Global Audience
The lessons learned from CMF design aren’t just good for consumer products. They can help you conduct good digital research too.

The Art (and Importance) of Building Rapport
Connecting with our users not only opens them up for more discussion, it makes them feel safe, secure, and ready to be vulnerable.

The Human-Centered Philosophy That Transcends
30+ years of making experiences more intuitive, natural, and delightful—Ed Halpern of AbbVie on carrying a human-centered ethos across contexts and questions.

Connecting People with Policy
Dana Chisnell explains why voting has never been safer (and more important) than it is today.

Who We Design For
Crystal Yan talks to us about the beauty of working in the public sector and what happens when our careers hit close to home.

What Research Looks Like Now
Starting a career in UX research comes with a lot of questions. Gregg Bernstein’s upcoming book Research Practice attempts to answer them.

Every Space is Political
Transformative justice is more crucial than ever. Sarah Fathallah believes researchers are primed to assist in this critical moment if we can “move at the speed of trust.”

Defense Against Harmful Patterns
It’s one of the most pernicious design choices out there—and Vidhika Bansal wants to fight it.

How to Design for the Margins
Designers need to be mindful that they’re designing with their users and not just for them. Dr. Christina Harrington believes community-based participatory design can get us there.

How We (Re)Define “Having It All”
What it means to “have it all” has changed. Etienne Fang, Principal Researcher at Amazon, wants to explore how people around the world redefine it.

How to Redesign for Justice
If systems of injustice and inequality can be designed, that means they can be redesigned too. Antionette Carroll, founder of the Creative Reaction Lab, teaches us about redesigning for real, community-led change.

How We Can Tell Better Stories
Telling a good story is more than a beginning, middle, and end. Meg Ferrill of The Moth and Nimbly breaks down the fundamentals of storytelling.

Good Design is Cross-Cultural
Every day, the world around us becomes more and more globalized — and, as a result, so must our work.

Why (and How) to Pay Attention to Accessibility in Design
When it comes to design, there’s no such thing as edge cases. Lauren Isaacson explains why.

Discovering the Art of Creative Rebellion
He’s been a starving artist in Europe, painted for Shugendo priests in Japan, and gotten rip-roaringly drunk with Beat poets. Now John S. Couch wants to help designers everywhere remember how to do the most crucial aspect of their craft: create.

How to Find the Bears in Your Forest
Autumn Sanders Foster believes orgs can face challenges around racial injustice and inequity in the world head on. To do that, they need to start by facing them in the office.

At the Intersection of Tech and Commerce
After working in some of the biggest publications in tech, Dan Frommer decided to strike out on his own with his latest venture: The New Consumer.

How to be a Teacher—Not an Oracle
Democratizing UX is crucial for any scaling org—but what does that look like in practice?

How to Listen To (and Learn From) Your Body
Learning is more than what we take in with our brain. Dr. Simon Roberts shows us how we can unlock the potential of “embodied knowledge.”

How We Empathize in UX Matters
Social UX researcher Alba Villamil tells us how designers can better impact disadvantaged communities.

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