Technically Speaking with Harrison Wheeler

What does it take to start a business? Is it by having the money or by having investors? Does it depend on having social capital? Or both? Would you believe that it all starts in your head? It all starts with ONE idea that solves a problem. And it's not impossible that 3,000 miles away, someone will pay for that solution you came up with. By taking that first baby step, you're choosing to embark o...

Summary Did you know that technical writing is all around us? From manuals, recipes, to tribal codified values, they have served as guides and instructions about how to live our lives for ages. But what would you do if instructional design didn't apply to you? How do you ensure that all voices are heard, included, and valued? To help with that, listen to this episode as Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq...

Summary Wouldn’t it be nice to do every day for our careers the same thing that brought us joy when we were kids? Keith Rich was able to do this by merging his creativity in the soccer field with his work in design and development to come up with solutions for people to use and enjoy throughout their day. With his combined love for soccer and design, he’s created a unique career that allows him to...

Summary Mic test. 1, 2, 3. You know, this interview should have been done in between karaoke songs. Why? Because Harrison and his guest share a love for singing. As a creative since the age of 3 and a pioneer in the field of UX and design, Mindy Duong is an eyewitness to its challenges and improvements, one of which is being the only woman in the room. So to give back to the community and show str...

Summary If you were told you were about to die, how would you respond? Steven Wakabayashi didn’t wait long to use it as opportunity to turn his health, life, and career around. His three programs are his best approach to prevent others from going through the same thing he did. Do not wait until something bad happens to start taking your health seriously. Steven's story provides valuable informatio...

Summary One positive thing about the pandemic is quarantine scheming. Many innovative ideas were born out of it, one of which is HmntyCntrd. What the industry needs are finally being addressed, thanks to Vivianne Castillo and her team. They are passionate about it and can call it out for what it is: How to be human-centered. Because to be human-centered, you must go above and beyond being relevant...

David Silva is a web developer and founder of Techqueria, the largest community of Latinx professionals in the tech industry, with over 18,000 members. In this episode, we explore his tech path, from learning to code as a young child in Colombia to studying religion in Israel, working in startups in San Francisco, and finally settling in New York. We also talk about how difficult it can be to star...

Temi Adeniyi is a design leader and product designer who’s making wonderful things for the internet. In this episode, she takes us through her journey into the design industry, from London to Berlin, always following her curiosity. We also dive further into her four principles, which are: collaboration in all directions openness, giving trust, and fairness. Join us to know more about leadership in...

Kevin Bethune is an author, designer, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Dreams Design + Life, an agency that offers design and innovation services with a human-centered approach. In this episode, we explore his remarkable background, which ranges from engineering to finance to design, while maintaining a creatively curious eye. We also discuss the future of design i...

Technically Speaking is a podcast by Harrison Wheeler about BIPOC designers, entrepreneurs & technologists sharing their unique stories of triumph and resilience. Episode description Monique Wray is a San Francisco-based animator, illustrator, director, and the founder of Made by Small Studio. In this episode of Technically Speaking, we discuss Monique's path as a black artist and the challeng...

Eva PenzeyMoog is the author of "Design for Safety," the founder of The Inclusive Safety Project, and the principal designer at 8th Light. She is a strong supporter of protecting the weakest, particularly when it comes to interpersonal violence. In this episode, we addressed design ethics, how technology may harm other people, and the most frequent and alarming violations. Join along and learn mor...

Episode description In this episode of Technically Speaking, the Experience Designer at NWEA (and my Clubhouse friend) Chris Thoms joins the show to unravel the events that led him into the creative business after dedicating his life to soccer coaching. We touch upon the value of transferable skills and creating safe spaces to reframe the conversations inside a work environment. Plus, he shares ho...

Timothy Bardlavens is a Product Design leader that works to combat misinformation and harmful content inside Meta apps. In this episode, Timothy has some interesting advice and views around chaotic-good leadership, transparency and accountability. Join us while we discover more about how integrity manifests itself organizationally and within a product inside Meta! Jump straight into: (01:13) - Int...

Catt Small is a cat lover, karaoke singer, writer, and gamer. She’s currently leading the design of Goals at Asana and in this episode, we go deep into her vision of design management and the key elements to building a successful design team, as well as senior designers’ leadership. Do you want to know what the day-to-day work inside Asana’s Goals Product Team is like? Get ready to join this inter...

The Creative Director Dan Mall joins the show to talk about his career path and the moments that led him to start SuperFriendly, his own agency that is all about design systems. Dan shares his ethos and explains why he considers himself as an intentional person. We explore some of the key moments within the foundation of SuperFriendly and we talk about the practices that companies value the most w...

Jasmine Orange works as UX lead at Ernst & Young. In this episode, we talk about her background in industrial design and her passion for designing beyond the screens. Jasmine shares her vision on design principles that need to be fixed and the value of open communication within design environments. Join us and connect with Jasmine’s philosophy of hard work (and taking breaks)! Jump straight in...

Season 5 is right around the corner. Our featured guests include Jasmine Orange, Dan Mall, Timothy Bardlavens, Catt Small, and Chris Thoms. The new season kicks off on Tuesday, April 26th with new episodes released every other week. Jump straight into: (00:00) - Introduction (01:26) - Figma Config (02:18) -  The Technically Speaking Product Design Glossary (02:48) - Jasmine Orange, designer at EY...

Join Harrison as he walks through notable moments of 2021 with the Technically Speaking podcast. In this show, he talks about the growth of the pod, most downloaded episodes, some of his favorite things about the internet, tools, and what he's looking forward to touching on next year. Get full access to Technically Speaking at technicallyspeakinghw.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Technically Speaking we are joined by the great May Li-Khoe (former Khan Academy and Apple) designer, engineer, DJ, and writing enthusiast. We take a look back at her career and the generational changes that are now leading to a new way of working in the creative industry, as well as the value of creative production and the new possibilities that are rising in the remote work sc...

In this episode of the Technically Speaking Podcast, Harrison Wheeler talks with a designer, creative strategist, and podcaster who doesn’t need introductions, Maurice Cherry. Maurice’s podcast Revision Path is an award-winning weekly showcase of Black designers, artists, developers, and digital creatives from all over the world. Today, Maurice shares his experience going into design, how he found...

In today’s episode our host Harrison Wheeler is joined by David Hoang, Director of Design at Webflow, to have a dynamic conversation around coding, remote work, the importance of community building, and why everyone should have their own “Hype Doc” around. Self gratitude is so important, yet we all tend to care for others while forgetting about our own needs. You don’t want to miss this inspiring...

In today’s episode our host Harrison Wheeler is joined by David Dylan Thomas, speaker, filmmaker, and author of Designed for Cognitive Bias, to talk about the fascinating world of cognitive biases, how they influence our day-to-day lives, the importance of sticking to a growth mindset and how to deal with impostor syndrome. Googling and learning from Wikipedia will never make you an expert, but it...

In today’s episode our host Harrison Wheeler talks to Rafe Chisolm, product designer, twitter veteran, writer and design generalist, to talk about the potential of Twitter’s DMs, the value of networking, his trajectory in design, and the importance of using your talents in smart ways. Join this conversation to learn why a single weekend could transform your entire life if you’re willing to take th...

In this episode of Technically Speaking, our host Harrison Wheeler talks to Mathew Barnes, Senior Art Director of Brand Design at Amazon Web Services. Mathew is an artist in the B2B space and a passionate beer brewer who knows that having a strategic process is key to a successful outcome. Join in and learn how this art director works focusing on the user experience and the edge this perspective g...

In this episode of Technically Speaking, our host Harrison Wheeler talks to Jay Demetillo, lead designer at Grab in the Singapore team. Jay tells us about the differences he’s found since moving to South East Asia almost four years ago, both in the social aspect of life as well as in the design scene and the workflow within companies. What can we learn about Asian design and what has Jay been brin...