Unthinking Space (formerly Design Feeling)

#031 - The future can seem like a figment of our imagination and devoid of reality. Our mind naturally creates multiple scenarios of how the future might unfold but we either ignore them or get worried about them. In this episode, I speak with designer, facilitator and futures literacy educator Lena Tünkers on futures literacy and how we can use the future to shape the present. Lena mentions how a...

#030 - Do you leave a networking event or a conference with a stack of business cards but not much connection? That’s because most of our conversations are limited to small talk and stay on the surface. In this episode, experience designer, facilitator, TEDx speaker and small-talk detoxer Jan Keck shares his advice on facilitating conversations that go deeper whilst building trust and connection....

#029 - Are you a designer or problem solver who wants to be more creative but are stuck in the routine of the daily grind? In this episode, I chat with Radim Malinic. Radim is a designer, creative director and best selling author of multiple books on branding, creativity and mindfulness. Radim takes us on a journey into his creative mind and how he thinks and feels creativity and incorporates mind...

#028 - Welcome to Season 3! As designers, we are good at thinking and doing. But what about being? How does that look and feel like? In this first episode of Season 3, I spoke with Andrea (Andi) Mignolo, designer, executive coach and the President of the Interaction Design Association. Andi talks about self-awareness but also awareness of the system the self is part of. In this episode: Ontology:...

In this final episode of Season 2, Nirish recaps his top highlights and learnings from the 12 episodes of the season. Share your ideas and suggestions with Nirish at nirish@designfeeling.co Shownotes Tim Yeo, the Quiet Achiever https://www.thequietachievr.com/ Courtney Carlsson, Paradym app https://theparadym.com/ Solve Problems That Matter: Design, Build & Launch Your Social Enterprise Idea b...

#026 - To wrap up the year, I had a candid chat with 3 friends who are all design leaders and creatives. Egle is a designer, researcher and lifestyle photographer who leads design teams for a global corporation. Rafa is a Design Director, Product Design Consultant, and Visiting Lecturer at The Bartlett (UCL) and London College of Communication (UAL). Sinem is a Principal UX Designer and Design Lec...

Iranian-born architect and recent UX design graduate shares her experience of moving from Iran to the UK, studying UX at General Assembly and looking for her first UX job. Nirish answers her mentoring questions too. In this episode: Moving from architecture to UX design Creativity as self-expression Overcoming the language barrier The benefits of an interactive teacher-led course Coming out of you...

#024 - We’ve seen a lot of layoffs in the tech industry. Whatever the reasons might be, it can be one of the lowest points in your career and your life. Whilst our natural reaction is to find another role as quickly as possible especially if finances are a concern for you, using this transition to stop, reflect and recalibrate your career trajectory can help you grow and find the next step that al...

#023 - You’re a talented and hard-working doer but have you been putting off putting yourself out there and creating content to help others? In this episode, I chat with Robbie Swale, leadership coach, author and podcaster, who, in 2016, started writing blog-posts on his 12 min train journey to work and after 6 years, he’s now the author of the 12-Minute Method series of books, including How to St...

#022 - Would you like to get cozy, juicy and real with your colleagues, friends and family? Most of the time, we stay on the surface while interacting with people . We do a lot of small talk on topics like the weather, TV shows or just work. But those conversations don’t allow us to connect with people at a deeper level and get to know the real person behind the social mask. In this episode, I spo...

#021 - Too much human-centricity is killing the planet and we’re part of the problem. In this episode, I chat with Dr. Martin Tomitsch on life-centred design, a new way of building products and services that considers the needs of non-human stakeholders and the planet. Martin is a Professor in Interaction Design at the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning. He teaches...

#020 - Advisor and coach to CEOs and recovering neuroscientist and UXer, Joe Leech, gives a pep talk for designers who’re feeling bored or trapped and encourages them to question what they’re doing and why. Most designers pride themselves on their craft. After all, that’s what clients are paying for, right? But is that what they need? In this episode, Joe Leech challenges the notion that deliverin...

#019 - We are all neurodiverse but we’re encouraged to leave our neurodiversities at the door just so we can “fit in”. However, neurodivergent designers can bring in a lot of lived experiences helpful for innovation, especially when designing for neurodivergent users. In this episode, I chat with Matthew Bellringer, creative innovation consultant, neurodiversity advocate and social entrepreneur. M...

#018 - As designers and problem solvers, we pride ourselves on our craft and hard skills. But those will only take you halfway. Beyond that, you’ll need people skills to really be an impactful designer. In this episode, I speak with Trenton Moss, Founder of Webcredible, one of the first UX agencies in the UK and author of ‘Human-Powered’, a book on emotional intelligence for digital product teams....

#017 - Design can change the world but many of us designers work in jobs we hate, solving problems we don’t care about. In this episode, I speak with Ben Pecotich on solving problems that matter without compromising your own values and wellbeing. Ben is a designer, coach, and founder of the social enterprise Dynamic4. He recently wrote a book called ‘Solving Problems that Matter’ where he lays out...

#016 Councillors, therapy, meditation - Courtney Carlsson tried them all but what she needed was a structure to ask herself deliberate questions consistently to learn more about herself. Courtney is a CEO and Founder of the mental health app Paradym which she started after battling with her own mental health challenges. Courtney shares her personal journey of self-awareness and how she build Parad...

015 - We’re kicking off Season 2 with Design Director of IBM Consulting, Founder of the Quiet Achiever and proud introvert, Tim Yeo. In this episode, Tim shares his personal journey in his career as an introverted designer and design leader and the learnings he picked up along the way to be comfortable with his introversion and do the things that don’t come naturally to him as an introvert. Tim no...

It’s the end of the first season of the Design Feeling Podcast! In this episode, host, Nirish Shakya, recaps the 12 guest interviews and shares his top learnings and reflections from them. If this is your first time listening to the Design Feeling Podcast, this might be a good start to start. It’ll give you a taster of all the conversations we’ve had in the show so far so you can pick and choose t...

#013 - Designing involves innovating. However, innovation requires a lot of guesswork. Making intentional guesses requires the right mindset, techniques and courage. In this episode, Hattie Willis, founder of the entrepreneurship education company, Guessworks, shares her biggest learnings from the world of venture building and corporate innovation. Hattie unlayers the real drivers that help change...

#012 - Throughout my design and technology career, I believed that marketing was just fluff. Hence, I never invested much time and energy into it, even to market myself. In this episode, Frances Khalastchi reframes that common notion of marketing into a tool for self-growth. With a background in graphic design, cultural theory, sociology and art history and 20 years in corporate, third sector star...

#011 - It’s no secret that change is the only constant but the events of the past two years (or two months!) have certainly got our heads spinning. If you’re anxious about how all of this is going to affect your life and career, you’re not alone. So how do you make sense of your past and clarify your direction towards the future? Sometimes, you need more than just intellect to make better decision...

#010 - You’ve designed and launched a shiny new product. Engagement is high. Your company hits the success metrics. Everyone celebrates. But deep inside, you’re still questioning whether your design is actually making people’s lives better. In this episode, James Breeze, Chief Experience Officer, at Objective Experience, shares his ongoing work on a framework he’s designed to help makes designers...

#009 - If you’re a user researcher, you probably put your users first. But maybe it’s time to put yourself first. In this episode, user researcher and  former civil servant Jane Reid and user researcher and psychodynamic therapist Janice Hannaway stress the need for self-care in user research. User researchers working in complex areas such as homelessness, drug abuse and domestic violence, user re...

#008 - As designers, we take on the responsibility to make the world better through design and we feel we have to come up with new ideas and solutions. But sometimes, reusing a solution that already works might be a faster and more impactful approach. In this episode, author of Business Thinking for Designers and CEO of Second Wave Dive shares his stories of making business impact through re-engin...

#007 - Many think UX is something new but it’s not. A lot of UXers have been working in the industry for decades now and starting to experience a mid-career crisis. In this episode, user researcher and author of the UX Careers Handbook, Cory Lebson, shares his honest stories of experiencing the mid-career crisis and how he handled it. We also talk about using biometrics to learn about your own emo...