chris and carla Archives - Design Untangled

DU059 – Can UX Specialists exist after Coronavirus?

Chris Mears — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 23:01:00 +0000

The Coronavirus 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. How can UX and Research specialists fit into this new world?

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DU057 – Think about Design Thinking

Chris Mears — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 12:00:00 +0000

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.

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DU055 – Working and Parenthood

Chris Mears — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 12:00:00 +0000

Trying to balance work and parenthood is always challenging.

How can organisations support both expecting and recent parents more effectively?

Carla talks about her experience at Google and her newfound LinkedIn fame.

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DU054 – Christmas 2019

Chris Mears — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 00:01:00 +0000

2019 comes to a close so we talk about beards. Thank you to all of our listeners for making 2019 so memorable and we wish you a great festive season!

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DU053 – Working with Remote Development Teams

Chris Mears — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 10:00:00 +0000

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.

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DU052 – Agency vs Client-Side

Chris Mears — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 13:00:41 +0000

The choice between going agency or client-side as a Designer can be a tricky one.

Chris & Carla reflect on their experiences working in both and talk about what you can expect.

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DU050 – Networking

Chris Mears — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 08:17:58 +0000

Networking can strike fear. But it is an essential skill for a Designer. We talk through different approaches, and why it doesn't have to be terrifying.

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DU049 – Designing for Uncertainty

Chris Mears — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 09:11:59 +0000

How do you help organisations navigate a world of uncertainty? Through the use of techniques like assumption mapping, you can use design and research to help answer the big questions.

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DU046 – Designing for Power Users

Chris Mears — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 23:01:20 +0000

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 expert in your product - they become power users.

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DU044 – Avoiding Burnout

Chris Mears — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 02:01:39 +0000

Ever felt emotionally, physically or mentally exhausted at work?

You might be burnt out.

We talk about how you can identify the warning signs and give some tips on things you can try to improve your wellbeing.

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DU043 – Transitioning to UX

Chris Mears — Sun, 23 Jun 2019 23:01:53 +0000

Chris and Carla sit down over a pint of beer to discuss how you can transition into UX from both related and unrelated industries.

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DU039 – Design Systems

Chris Mears — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 23:01:14 +0000

Design systems or design languages are a holistic set of instructions that help Designers and product teams understand how to build their products, and why to build them that way. This is more than your bog standard pattern library or style guide and is intended to give direction to your design. They come in all […]

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DU038 – Design Thinking for Business Transformation

Chris Mears — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 23:01:33 +0000

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. Transcript The Design Untangled Podcast […]

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DU037 – The Design of Introverts

Chris Mears — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 21:21:21 +0000

Supposedly 1 in 3 of us are introverts. In the world of UX, Design and Research you are often expected to talk in front of large groups of people, run workshops and talk to users – typically things you might associate with extrovert personality traits. However, it is possible to do these things as an […]

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DU034 – Designing ethically

Chris Mears — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 00:01:57 +0000

What should designers keep in mind when they are releasing things into the world? Is what you’re letting lose going to benefit humanity? Is it going to screw them over? Why is just designing for 80% of users a bad idea? All this and more from a freezing cold rooftop at Google HQ. Transcript The […]

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DU033 – Testing Propositions

Chris Mears — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 00:01:11 +0000

What is a proposition? How do you identify a proposition? How do you test a proposition? Great questions everyone! Let’s do an episode on just that. Transcript The Design Untangled Podcast Episode: DU033 – Testing Propositions Host: Chris Mears and Carla Lindarte Length: 21:41 minutesFebruary 4, 2019 (00:16) Chris: Hello and welcome to Design Untangled […]

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DU032 – Design Critiques

Chris Mears — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 00:01:06 +0000

Nobody likes being criticised. But as a Designer, getting critiques is an essential way to help power up your designs and your thinking to the next level. We talk about what makes a healthy and productive design critique and what you can do to improve how you handle feedback. Transcript The Design Untangled Podcast Episode: […]

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DU031 – Designing with Data

Chris Mears — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 20:12:11 +0000

What do we mean when we talk about ‘data’? How can you use data and insights to create design hypotheses that allow you to create and test your designs effectively and help remove bias? What did we get up to at Christmas? Transcript The Design Untangled Podcast Episode – DU031 – Designing with Data Host: […]

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[Bonus Episode] – DU 1st Birthday

Chris Mears — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 23:01:17 +0000

It's our birthday and we'll cry if we want to.

Over the past year we have pumped out 27 episodes, covered topics from UX portfolios to Jobs to be done, interviewed some amazing Designers and had a whole lot of fun doing it.

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DU021 – Slack Questions Special

Chris Mears — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 18:50:45 +0000

As Chris and Carla didn't prepare for this episode we are going to go through and answer some of your questions from the uxmentor.me slack channel.

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DU019 – User Needs

Chris Mears — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 23:01:19 +0000

Users have needs. They are the foundation of everything you do as a UX Designer and should be taken seriously. But how do you uncover user needs and what do you do with them once you’ve found them? What do you do when the business poops on them? Transcript Episode – DU019 – User Needs.Hosts: […]

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DU018 – How to interview users and stakeholders

Chris Mears — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 17:26:54 +0000

No we aren't talking about job interviews this time, we are talking about how to extract juicy insights out of your users and stakeholders.

We have tips for interviewing when using different research methodologies, how to deal with different personalities in your research sessions and find out why Carla looks like a bear.

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DU017 – Prototype or Protohype?

Chris Mears — Mon, 28 May 2018 21:58:14 +0000

Prototyping is the process you go through to get design in front of real users.

Paper prototyping, Axure mockups, Invision, Sketch - there are a hundred ways to get an output you can use in user research. But which is best and what should you use when? There's only one way to find out..

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DU016 – UX Portfolios

Chris Mears — Sun, 13 May 2018 23:01:50 +0000

UX portfolios are how you sell yourself to potential employers. But what goes into a portfolio? How much UX work should you show? What format should a UX portfolio be in? Chris and Carla pass on some tips from both sides of the fence as hirers and candidates which should help you craft a winning […]

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DU015 – Guerrilla User Testing

Chris Mears — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 23:01:10 +0000

Guerilla user testing is the art of approaching complete strangers and getting them to test your designs out in the real world.

It can be scary, but with the right preparation it doesn't have to be a shot in the dark at getting the insight you need.

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DU014 – UX Job Interviews

Chris Mears — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 16:54:57 +0000

The format of UX job interviews can vary a lot. Some contain design challenges, most will want to explore your design thinking and process and some just involve having a coffee.

Chris and Carla talk through some of their experiences from being both interviewers and candidates and pass on some tips to help you prepare.

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DU013 – Design Workshops

Chris Mears — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 19:20:14 +0000

What is a design workshop and how can you run one effectively? Chris and Carla talk about this mysterious UX activity.

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DU010 – When Agile Goes Wrong

Chris Mears — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 00:01:57 +0000

Agile isn't always the best solution.

Chris and Carla talk about when Agile isn't the best way to build great products and what you can do instead.

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DU008 – The Grand Design of Information

Chris Mears — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:01:14 +0000

Information Architecture means different things to different people. Chris and Carla attempt to untangle this confusing term whilst freezing their buttocks in Liverpool Street station.

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DU007 – Content first, guy

Chris Mears — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 00:01:10 +0000

Fresh faced from new years eve Chris and Carla tackle the often overlooked subject of content in UX design.

We also choose our favourite North Korean hairstyle.

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DU006 – UXmas Mulled Wine Special

Chris Mears — Mon, 25 Dec 2017 00:01:22 +0000

In this Christmas special Chris and Carla play the UX drinking game, exchange shitty presents and talk about Carla's replacement.

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DU004 – Wireframe or wirelame?

Chris Mears — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:01:57 +0000

Are wireframes redundant in the new Agile way of delivering projects or do they just need to change?

Chris and Carla explore the changing way these traditional UX deliverables can help or hinder our projects.

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DU003 – Persona or Perso-nah?

Chris Mears — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 00:01:29 +0000

Personas are one of the more controversial tools in the UX design toolkit. Chris and Carla take a look at the common issues with them, when they can be useful and why you should never print them out larger than you are.

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DU002 – User centered human service design thinking

Chris Mears — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 00:01:38 +0000

Service design, systems thinking, user centred design, human centred design...what does it all mean? Chris and Carla untangle these terms and talk about how great the intro music is.

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DU001 – Untangling Design

Chris Mears — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 00:01:24 +0000

In this first episode Chris and Carla give a quick overview of why it can be hard to get started in UX.

They talk about some common UX portfolio problems and why personas can drive you to play the ukulele.

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