The UX Level-Up

Dan Brown is the kind of person who will walk into your organization, look at your product, and immediately see the structural problems nobody else will name — because he's been doing exactly that for enterprise teams for over two decades. After 18 years co-founding 8Shapes, he now runs Curious Squid Design Lab, where he focuses on product information architecture and the deep craft work that...

Angie King went from contractor to VP of UX Design at US Bank in five years — not because she had all the answers, but because she was the person in the room asking the right questions. She's now the content strategy manager at Mayo Clinic, where she's putting the ORCA framework to work on one of the most complex content systems in healthcare. In this episode of The UX Level-Up Podcast, So...

Sophia Prater is the founder of OOUX and the creator of the ORCA process, a practical system for untangling complexity and designing more intuitive digital products. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia shares what she’s learning from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book Flow , why so many status quo UX practices actually keep designers stuck between boredom and overwhelm, and how ORCA helps create th...

Jon Alderink is a UX consultant with experience in Industrial IoT, where he’s worked on complex machine software systems, and he previously worked at Twist Think. He has also worked as a color artist for Marvel and DC, and recently created his own website, Norn Forge, where he’s been experimenting with OOUX, AI workflows, and connected tools. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Jon talk abo...

Meghan Logan is a Lead Product Designer at Stripe, and her work sits at the intersection of systems thinking, systems architecture, product strategy, and neurodiverse thinking. She also speaks at conferences about how design frameworks can better support neurodivergent brains and create safer, more effective ways of working. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Meghan talk about Meghan’s ADH...

Mandi Geiselman has worked as Senior UX Designer at Autodesk, where she designs for complex media & entertainment tools (like Maya and 3DS Max), and she is an Advanced OOUX Strategist who’s created resources on building an OOUX community of practice inside big organizations. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Mandi talk about OOUXing Horizon Forbidden West, why game UX isn’t about “mak...

In this short solo episode, Sophia shares a big mistake she made in 2025 — one that directly contradicts a core OOUX principle she teaches. Using real examples from EdTech, Mighty Networks, and OOUX’s own course offerings, she breaks down the problem of overlapping objects and the three ways teams can handle them: combine, differentiate, or live with confusion. She also announces an important shif...

Elena Haskins is the founder of Anele UX Studio, where she helps B2B companies design clearer, more intuitive software across industries ranging from early-stage startups to enterprise giants like Prudential, Party City, and the NFL. She’s also an Advanced OOUX Certified practitioner—one of the earliest Cohorts to complete the training—and a sought-after workshop facilitator known for making compl...

Allie Ofisher has worked as a UX consultant for complex systems, served as the lead instructor for the Representation Round in the OOUX Foundations program, and is a Certified Advanced OOUX Strategist. She’s also one of the core contributors to the newly refilmed OOUX Masterclass, leading the way on rethinking CTA Representation and object integrity. In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Alli...

Ryan Young and Kayla Ferris are Certified OOUX Strategists and UX leaders at P3+Uplift, an IT consulting firm based in Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan serves as Senior Director of Product and Design, while Kayla is a UX and Product Designer and mentor for the OOUX Certification Program. In this episode of the UX Level-Up Podcast, Sophia talks with Ryan and Kayla about how OOUX became P3’s “test-driven desi...

Allie Ofisher is a UX designer and consultant with deep roots in systems thinking, visual design, and user research. She’s worked with countless teams to help them understand what they’re building, why they’re building it, and how to bring clarity to complex products using OOUX. As the lead steward of the Representation Round at OOUX, Allie brings her sharp visual eye and her obsession with relati...

Allie Ofisher has worked as a UX consultant across AgTech and nonprofit product spaces, teaches the OOUX Representation Round in Foundations, and co-hosts the YouTube series “OOUX: We Did It Again.” In this episode of the podcast, Sophia and Allie talk about using OOUX since 2020 to navigate the trickiest projects, why designing against the four UX “fails” (especially masked objects) helps teams o...

In this 12th installment of the ORCA Series, Jake Z is back to wrap up the Prioritization Round with Attribute Prioritization. In this episode we discuss content clashes, marketing demands, and how to align across teams when everyone wants their data front and center. LINKS: Check out Jake's previous appearances on the UX Level Up Podcast: 079 - ORCA Series #11 - CTA Prioritization 077 - ORCA...

After leading a major gov site launch, Philippe Fara is back to share how OOUX helped him deliver better outcomes with less chaos. From mastering the ORCA Process to mentoring others, he spills the tea on scaling UX strategy, building confidence, and making complexity intuitive. OOUX LINKS: Check out Philippe's last appearance on the UX Level-Up Podcast! Admire Philippe's work on Renfrewshire.gov....

Jobs To Be Done meets Object-Oriented UX! Sophia and JTBD legend, Jim Kalbach, nerd out on frameworks, the magic of teaching to learn, and evolving your process. It’s a fun, honest convo about clarity, complexity, and cringey first diagrams. Enjoy! #UX #JTBD # OOUXLINKS: Check out the JTBD Toolkit! Connect with Jim on LinkedIn Join OOUX Foundations! Discuss this episode in the OOUX Forum!

Jake Zukowski has worked as Vice President of Global Design and Research at HelloFresh, led design teams at Frog and Fjord (now Accenture Song), and contributed his expertise to innovative companies like Magic Leap, Microsoft, and Expedia. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of Cosmic Plumbing, where he creates professional astrology and tarot tools. In this episode, Sophia and Jake unpack CTA priorit...

A viral LinkedIn post claims UX is “just battles and compromises.” In this episode, Sophia gets spicy about why that’s wrong. Tune in for a soapbox rant on why we shouldn’t settle for burnout culture — and how to reclaim UX as the world-changing craft it was meant to be. LINKS: Join Cohort 11 of the OOUX Masterclass! Doors close August 29th at 11:59 PM EDT! Follow Sophia on LinkedIn ! Continue the...

What if prioritizing relationships could boost your bottom line? In this 10th ORCA Series installment, Sophia is joined by former VP of design at Hello Fresh, Certified OOUX Strategist, and Cohort 11 Mentor, Jake Zukowski, to explore how ORCA’s Relationship Prio helps businesses build trust, create clarity around revenue objects, and design strategies that work for both users and businesses. LINKS...

Advanced OOUXer Karen Hewell joins me to share how she’s helping government agencies shift from page-based chaos to object-based clarity. We talk breaking silos, creating shared ownership, and making massive content ecosystems easier to manage (and actually intuitive). 🎯 LINKS: Keep up with Karen's work at Anthro-tech Follow Karen on LinkedIn Get on the waitlist for Cohort 11 of The OOUX Cert...

In this ninth installment of the ORCA Series, Sophia kicks off the Prioritization round with Object Prioritization. Tune in as she shares how this step can bring clarity to your design process and your project backlog — plus a personal story on tackling creative chaos with compassion and strategy. LINKS: Get 20 powerful strategies to elevate your practice IMMEDIATELY with the UX Level-Up! Start yo...

In this episode, Sophia gets real about the tension between OOUX in theory vs. the messy reality of the real world. Learn how to ask those jaw-dropping, scope-shifting “why?” questions without annoying leadership. She breaks it down into four pro-level steps so you can bring more clarity, alignment, and confidence to your work. LINKS: Join the UX Level-Up free on OOUX.com/levelup !  Join the conve...

In this episode of the podcast, Sophia announces a rebrand of the OOUX Podcast: The UX Level-Up! Going forward, the show will center around the five Level-Ups ( featured in The UX Level-Up ).  She also asks a game-changing question that reframes the purpose of our OOUX work, and gives her own answer to that question, laying out an ambitious vision for OOUX and the ORCA process going forward. LINKS...

Frameworks don’t kill creativity — they set it free. In this episode, we're breaking down why UX designers who jump into UI too soon miss the real opportunity for innovation. I’ll show you how ORCA (Objects, Relationships, Calls-to-Action, Attributes) gives you real material to build with — fueling true creativity, better ideas, and a serious competitive edge. 🎧 Tune in to rethink your brains...

In this more personal solo episode, Sophia shares how she uses OOUX to help her learn and understand complicated things faster, why it's important to budget for and invest in self improvement, plus why OOUX is great for helping you step away from the screens to embody what you're trying to understand. Join us for OOUX Foundations!

The UX job market is rough. Veterans are being laid off, juniors are struggling to find jobs, and yet, digital experiences are clunky and getting worse. What gives? In this raw and honest solo-episode, Sophia explores why UX has been set up to fail — why big problems remain unsolved, and why leadership often undervalues UX work. You'll hear how we've been pushed into pixel-pushing and spac...