Design Downtime

Love is in the air, when Helen Gaskell joins us to talk about writing rom com novels. She shares the story of her accidental path to publishing — from writing a fan letter to a mobile game, to landing a deal with just 10,000 words written. Helen reveals the surprising structural discipline behind the genre, and passionately defends romantic fiction as a misunderstood feminist art form, arguing it...

Get your fill of chlorophyll, when Mike Perrotti joins us to talk about his passion for plants. He shares how a therapist's recommendation to add greenery to combat seasonal depression unexpectedly spiraled into a tropical obsession. Mike describes how he catches himself coveting rare expensive plants and consciously redirects back to the meditative joy of caregiving and cultivation. He also revea...

It’s time to wax on, wax off as Daniel Sanchez Griborio joins us to talk about his lifelong love of karate. He describes how his parents enrolled him at age five, and how the structure and rigor created a sense of belonging. Daniel explains karate's core philosophy of seeking perfection while understanding it's unattainable, and how focusing on incremental progress sustained him through five conse...

In the first episode of season 5, Mike Monteiro is "still listening to wax, he's not using the CD" when he joins us to share about his lifelong love of vinyl records. From his parents' 70s console record player to a 4,000-record music room, he traces how music became a path of self-discovery. Mike explains how he keeps track of his incredible collection, talks about the Platonic idea of the prefec...

In this conversation, host Guy Segal and returning guest Pavel Samsonov challenge the recurring claim that the design process is dead — arguing that for many, it was never really alive in the first place. Pavel makes the case that process isn't a rigid framework imposed from above, but a set of self-imposed, iterative constraints that help designers make better decisions. The conversation explores...

In this inaugural episode, Pavel and I dig into the history and dysfunction of Agile, not to relitigate waterfall vs. Agile, but to examine why modern Agile practice has drifted so far from its original intent. We explore how the Agile manifesto was written entirely without designers in mind, how the "Scrum industrial complex" turned a flexible philosophy into a rigid checklist, and why two-week s...

It’s the season 4 finale and we’re celebrating at 150 bpm, when Vitaly Friedman joins us to talk about his lifelong journey through techno music. It all began in Belarus when, as a child, he discovered The Prodigy on cassette, continuing into his teens, that were spent obsessively exploring every possible musical avenue. Vitaly explains his preference for minimal, melodic, and "honest" techno over...

We’re getting in motion with Sera Tajima, as she joins us to talk about her lifelong relationship with movement. She explains how ballet taught her precision, control, and the ability to withstand "good pain”, creating a meditative practice of syncing mind and body, that continued to martial arts. Sera’s athletic journey took a turn three years ago when she developed long COVID, forcing her to com...

Get ready to be swept away into a sprawling space opera, when Erika Flowers joins us to talk about her passion for writing fiction novels. She approaches writing fiction as entertainment rather than high literature, comparing her creative goals to producing Marvel-style blockbuster experiences. Erika traces her journey from discovering fantasy worlds through the Dragonlance series in middle school...

It’s time to be one with nature, as Priyanca D'Souza talks to us about her passion for outdoor swimming. She shares how immersing in cold water offers a transcendent experience that pulls her into the present moment, from still lakes where she floats under the sky to challenging rivers that demand complete mental focus. Priyanca explains how outdoor swimming differs fundamentally from pool swimmin...

Tune your banjo and join Sidra Mahmood, as they tell us about their unexpected passion for bluegrass music. Despite a musical journey through heavy metal, punk rock, and electronic music, they found a strong connection to bluegrass with its themes of labor solidarity, poverty, and anti-capitalism, being played with incredible speed and precision through improvisation. Sidra notes the genre's diver...

You don’t need a Cajun accent to enjoy this episode, when Jeremy Miller tells us all about his hometown of New Orleans. He explains what makes New Orleans unique, including its complex history as a city shaped by French, Spanish, Caribbean, and African influences, its world-renowned music genres, and the rich culinary tradition that distinguishes between urban Creole and rural Cajun cuisines. Jere...

Get stoked to shred some pow, when Jess Paris joins us to talk about her passion for snowboarding. She describes how getting kicked out of ski school at age 12 led her to discover snowboarding, shaping major life decisions and eventually settling in Denver near the mountains. Jess reflects on how the once-rebellious snowboarder culture has evolved from being banned to becoming more integrated with...

Gotta catch 'em all! Including this episode, when Lex Lofthouse joins us to talk about her passion for collecting Pokémon cards. She’s been collecting them since they first came out in 1999, taking a break as a teenager, and returning in 2016 when Pokémon Go's release reignited her passion. Lex explains how the pandemic and influencers transformed the hobby from an affordable niche into a volatile...

It’s time to Caps Lock in and Esc into another episode, as Tim Van Damme joins us to talk about his passion for designing mechanical keyboards. He describes how a pre-made keyboard that he customized by designing his own keycaps, ignited a passion for treating keyboards as both functional tools and artistic statements. Tim collaborates with a local CNC machine specialist to prototype and manufactu...

Happiness is a warm puppy, when Lauren LoPrete joins us to talk about her love of Snoopy. She describes creating "This Charming Charlie", a Tumblr mashup project combining Smiths lyrics with Peanuts comic panels that unexpectedly became Time Magazine's Tumblr of the Year. Lauren talks about evolving into an adult collector and curator focused on "Snoobies" (Snoopy bootlegs), valuing folk art inter...

Grab your paints and tiny brush, as James Mathias joins us to talk about his passion for miniature painting. He explains how the hobby, primarily centered around Games Workshop's Warhammer universe, encompasses building, painting, gaming, and engaging with the lore. After discovering an accessible painting technique, James began with low-stakes terrain pieces before progressing to more complex mod...

Shantay, we all stay, when Connie Chen joins us to talk about her love of drag and drag queens. She describes how drag culture became a lifeline for her when she was struggling to adjust to life in California, and how a week-long stay in the hospital watching RuPaul's Drag Race provided hope and laughter. Connie talks about her journey from watching the show to attending drag events and finding an...

Get on your dragon and join our magical quest, as Bahar Espiritu talks to us about her lifelong passion for fantasy novels. She recounts listening to her Iranian grandmother’s bedtime stories, which inspired her to paint the scenes since she couldn't yet read or write. Bahar’s reading journey progressed from Persian classics to Western fantasy staples, before arriving at contemporary dark fantasy...

Watch out for creepers, as Shell Little takes us on a journey to the blocky world of Minecraft. They progressed from vanilla gameplay to modded Minecraft, drawn to the game's complete transparency—where the mechanics are fully documented—which satisfies their need for efficiency and deep knowledge. The game serves multiple roles in Shell’s life: a source of min-maxing satisfaction, a social connec...

This episode is going downhill fast, as Chela Giraldo joins us to talk about her love of extreme longboarding. She describes her journey from discovering longboarding while working at a skate shop in Bogota, to becoming a competitive downhill racer who reached the top eight women internationally. Chela talks about the unique feeling of downhill longboarding as "flying just inches off the ground" -...

In the first episode of season 4, Dan Brown joins us to share about his love of hobby board games. He talks about transitioning from games like Monopoly to discovering the more advanced Carcassonne, which became his gateway into modern board gaming. Dan explores the relationship between game themes and mechanisms, saying he’s drawn to games where these elements work together cohesively. He discuss...

It’s the season 3 finale, and to celebrate, Erika Hall joins us to talk about her unique artistic journey of painting chicken portraits. What began as a creative sabbatical evolved into an unexpected obsession, when she recognized that most of us take chickens for granted despite their dinosaur-like nature, and committed to painting individual chicken portraits that treat them as more than mere ob...

Put the kettle on and get ready to hear Dominika Noworolska talk to us about her love of tea. She describes her journey from discovering tea culture as a teenager in Krakow's atmospheric tea houses to becoming a dedicated tea enthusiast in the UK, and how those early experiences in dimly lit basement tea houses created lasting associations between tea and meaningful dialogue. She explains the diff...

This episode is bursting with neon colours, coming-of-age movies, and acid-washed jeans, as Ryan Rumsey joins us to talk about his deep connection to the 1980s. He shares about moving across the country as a child, growing up as a "latchkey kid”, and how MTV, movies, and music became transformative influences during his youth. Ryan explores how the ‘80s represented a unique cultural moment with th...