Jakob Nielsen addresses some of the criticism he’s faced, calls on UXers to urgently adopt AI, and shares why he believes the commoditisation of UX is a good thing.

Highlights include:

• Are you surprised by how much you’ve offended some people?
• Why do UXers need a greater sense of urgency about adopting AI?
• Were the hiring practices at your previous company elitist?
• What is the state of UX today and where is the growth potential?
• Will AI impede our ability to develop our professional judgement?

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Who is Jakob Nielsen, PhD?

Jakob is the founder of UX Tigers, the website and associated substack he uses to bring his 41 years of UX knowledge and experience to the world, in what he has described as a plainspoken, hard-hitting and not bowing to orthodoxy kind-of-way.

Before founding UX Tigers, Jakob was the co-founder and principal - for 25 years - of a rather well known UX consultancy, the Nielsen Norman Group.

His other notable roles include being a distinguished engineer at Sun Microsystems, and a member of the research staff at Bell Communications Research - one of the world’s top three HCI labs in the 1990s.

Jakob is known for many other things, among which are being the founder of the discount usability movement, the foundational 10 usability heuristics for user interface design, and the eponymously named Jakob’s Law of Internet User Experience.

He is the holder of no less than 79 United States patents and the author of 8 books, including the best-selling “Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity”, “Usability Engineering”, and the pioneering “Hypertext and Hypermedia”.

In 2013, Jakob received the Lifetime Achievement Award for HCI Practice from ACM SIGCHI and in 2024 he was named a “Titan of Human Factors” by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

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Find Jakob here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakobnielsenphd/ Website: https://www.uxtigers.com/

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Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Justin Dauer shares how he conquered his ego to become a better designer, why he’s left executive design leadership, and how unfulfilled designers make bad products.

Highlights include:

• Has digital visual design become a little bit boring?
• Why is humility the most important trait for a designer?
• What made you realise you were done with in-house design leadership?
• Why is it unacceptable for design leaders to ‘coast’ in their careers?
• How have you’ve been able to reach a high level of professional fulfilment?

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Who is Justin Dauer?

Justin is the Founder of Anomali by Design, a consultancy specialising in design strategy, product design, and engagement. Through Anomali, Justin helps organisations to develop their design leaders, so that they in turn foster healthier processes, methods, and cultures.

Before founding Anomali, Justin was the Vice President of Human-Centred Design and Development at bswift, a tech company owned by CVS Health, that transforms the way millions of employees perceive and engage with their benefits.

Justin also spent a number of years as Design Director of Nansen, a Swedish-American design firm. In this role, he established the Chicago office and managed a multi-disciplinary team of designers, front-end developers, and UX architects.

He is the author of two celebrated books on design. His first, the beautifully illustrated “Cultivating a Creative Culture” was published in 2017, with a second-edition released in 2020. His latest book, “In Fulfillment: The Designer’s Journey” was released is early 2022.

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Find Justin here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pseudoroom/ Website: https://anomalibydesign.com/ X: https://twitter.com/pseudoroom

Books:

In Fulfillment: The Designer’s Journey - https://www.in-fulfillment.com/

Createive Culture: Human-Centered Interaction Design & Inspiration - https://www.the-culturebook.com/

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Rob Hamblen shares his insights on effective sprint facilitation, why he asks clients if they’re designing for today or tomorrow, and why design sprints have a PR problem.

Highlights include:

• What do you do when senior leaders aren’t willing to be wrong?
• What types of business challenges are most suited to a design sprint?
• What have you learned from facilitating sprints with tricky team dynamics?
• Does dot voting to enable effective group decisions to be made?
• Does it matter if design sprints are performative if alignment is the result?

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Who is Rob Hamblen?

Rob is the Founder of Be the Leap, a company specialising in the combination of rapid innovation frameworks, like the Design Sprint and Design Thinking, with leadership accelerators. Why? To help product teams launch more successful products!

With over three decades of experience working in and leading teams that make digital products, Rob has worked with clients like AMEX, Adidas, HSBC Bank, McKinsey and ‘that company formerly known as Twitter’.

Before founding Be the Leap, Rob served as a Product Design Director at AJ&Smart in Berlin. In this role, he honed his facilitation expertise, leading the B2B sprint team and overseeing both the client experience and the development of the product offering.

Prior to that, Rob spent some time in sunny Dubai as the Creative Director of UX for IBM iX, where he helped to establish IBM Studios and managed a cross-functional team that supported clients as they sought to transform their businesses.

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Find Rob here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robhamblen/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betheleap/ Website: https://www.betheleap.com/ X: https://twitter.com/bamberlingling

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Adam Perlis shares why it’s important to always treat interns well, how he’s trying to solve bad recruitment practices, and some practical advice for navigating the job market.

Highlights include:

• How did an intern play a pivotal role in your career?
• What do the most successful design portfolios demonstrate?
• Why are you deeply surprised that you’ve become a design recruiter?
• How do you assess a candidate before deciding to present them to a client?
• Where and how should designers go the extra mile when applying for jobs?

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Who is Adam Perlis?

Adam is the CEO and founder of Academy, a flexible staffing and recruitment agency that helps companies like Under Armour, NBC Universal and Wish.com, to scale their UX orgs and UXers to further their careers.

Before founding Academy, Adam spent a decade working in various design roles in New York, including as a Head of UX for AKQA, Head of Design for B-Reel and notably, Head of Design for TIME magazine, where he led the team responsible for TIME.com, FORTUNE.com and MONEY.com.

Adam has also been a Creative Director at AT&T, guiding the design of AT&T AdWorks and AT&T AdWorks Lab, and at Dish Network, where he was a manager of Interactive Television.

A dedicated contributor to the field, Adam has spoken at events around the world, such as SXSW, Web Summit and Tech Open Air. He is also the host of “How We Scaled It”, a podcast that explores the journey of growing a successful design practice from 0-100.

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Find Adam here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamperlis/ Website: https://adamperlis.com/ X: https://twitter.com/AdamPerlis

Academy - UX Staffing & Recruiting Agency:

Website: https://www.academyux.com/ Blog: https://blog.academyux.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/academyux/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8wVKD8NG7uhrcPSuylrPnQ X: https://twitter.com/academyuxdesign

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Ash Ivory shares what they’ve learned from burning out as a product leader, why gender and orientation can’t be left at home, and why inclusive design matters.

Highlights include:

• Why is it important not to seperate personal from professional values?
• What work experiences made you feel you had to keep your identity at home?
• Why is it important to get comfortable with saying ‘no’ in a product role?
• How can not celebrating wins negatively impact a product team?
• Do people need to take self-responsibility for avoiding burnout?

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Who is Ash Ivory?

Ash is the newly minted Chief Product Officer at Ivory Common, after recently wrapping up their role as Head of Product at Askable, a global participant recruitment and research platform that empowers organisations to make better product decisions.

In their role as Head of Product, Ash led the product vision as well as the people responsible for delivering on that vision, including product managers, designers, engineers, and researchers.

Before joining Askable, Ash was the Head of Product at Outfit, an automation platform for large-scale brand management and production, and which was recently acquired by Smartsheet for an undisclosed sum.

When Ash is not enabling great product to be built, they can be found coaching others in the office in the art of brewing great coffee, or riding their motorcycle in an act of active meditation.

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Find Ash here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashivory/

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Rakesh Patwari shares what’s made him a better manager, why a career in acting wasn’t for him, and how designers can give better portfolio presentations.

Highlights include:

• Is Information Architecture still relevant in today’s practice of UX?
• What has and hasn’t worked well for you when facilitating 1-on-1’s?
• How do you engage with your team on the topic of work-related stress?
• How do the dynamics of product and engineering change how you lead design?
• What’s the biggest mistake you see designers making in portfolio presentations?

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Who is Rakesh Patwari?

Rakesh is a Director of Product Design and Research at Cisco, a NASDAQ listed company that was founded in 1984 by a small group of Stanford computer scientists, and that helped to create the IP networking technologies that power today’s Internet.

Before joining Cisco, Rakesh was a Product Design Manager at Meta, where he supported the design organisation working on privacy infrastructure.

Rakesh has also been a Director of Product Design at Salesforce, where he led the design team working on the experience platform. Prior to that at Salesforce, Rakesh served as a Product Design Lead, focusing on B2B commerce products.

A dedicated member of the design community, for the past five and half years Rakesh has been a UX Instructor at UC Berkley Extension, designing curriculum and delivering lectures on information architecture.

He is also a member of the Design Leadership Forum, an advisor at Berkley SkyDeck, where he provides guidance to startups, and a speaker, mentor and coach for Startup Weekend.

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Find Rakesh here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakeshpatwari/ Website: https://rakeshpatwari.design/ X: https://twitter.com/rakeshpatwari

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Janna Kimel shares her remarkable story of meeting Stephen Hawking, how she's growing grassroots accessibility, and how to better navigate today’s job market.

Highlights include:

• How did you come to meet Stephen Hawking?
• What approaches to increasing inclusive design have worked for you?
• Do people without accessibility needs care about accessibility?
• Why should people bring some of their personal life into job interviews?
• How can people paint a flattering self-portrait of their work in a job interview?

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Who is Janna Kimel?

Janna is the founder and principal of Third Brain Studio, the consulting practice through which she mentors current and aspiring UX researchers, and helps organisations to plan and execute UX research and inclusive design.

Alongside her consulting, Janna is also the founder and principal researcher at the Chronic Pain Project; a personal initiative that she hopes will bring visibility to the experience of people living with chronic pain, like her.

Until recently, Janna was a senior manager of UX research at Hinge Health, where she built the UX research practice from the ground up. She has also led design research at Dexcom, overseeing the company’s software, hardware, and overall experience projects.

Winding the clock back a little further, Janna worked in digital health design and research at Intel, conducting a range of research studies that helped seniors stay in their homes for as long as possible, and it’s during this time that she crossed paths with Stephen Hawking.

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Find Janna here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannakimel/ Website: https://www.jannackimel.com/ Chronic Pain Project: http://www.chronicpainproject.com/ Resource Bank for Job Seekers: http://tinyurl.com/4m89trcx

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/

Alen Faljic shares the gap he observed between design and business while at IDEO, what he’s doing to address it, and how quantitative data can lead to greater empathy.

Highlights include:

• What does a business confident designer look like?
• Where does the disconnect between design and business come from?
• What do designers who have the most business impact do differently?
• What is the difference between being strategic and understanding strategy?
• How do designers and business people view the value of design differently?

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Who is Alen Faljic?

Alen is the Founder and CEO of d.MBA, a company he started in 2017 to help designers become business confident, which is part of d.MBA’s mission - to show that companies can be run more thoughtfully and also be financially successful.

d.MBA seems to be making progress in that mission, with a 97% completion rate and a 9+ out of 10 student rating. That’s been achieved from over 600 designers, hailing from more than 60 countries, and who work at companies like Apple, Frog, Google, Logitech and Amazon.

Before founding d.MBA, Alen was a Business Designer at IDEO in Munich, Germany, where he practiced human-centred design, while working on digital experiences, services, physical products, and new ventures for Fortune 500 companies.

Alen is a generous contributor to the field, sharing his insights freely through d.MBA’s podcast and other online resources. He has also been a guest on the Disco, Design MBA, and Bonanza podcasts, as well contributing his thoughts to UX Collective on Medium.

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Find Alen here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alenfa/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alenfaljic Website: https://d.mba/

Prototyping with numbers: https://d.mba/webinars/prototyping-with-numbers

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Liked what you heard and want to hear more? Subscribe and support the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen).

Follow us on our other social channels for more great Brave UX content!

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheSpaceInBetween/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-space-in-between/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespaceinbetw__n/

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Hosted by Brendan Jarvis:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/
• Website: https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis/