The Way of Product with Caden Damiano

In this episode, I get together with Johnathan Shariat, author of "Tragic Design", cohost of the "Design Review" podcast, and interaction designer at Google. We chat about the concept of his book "Tragic Design" and the consequences, big and small, poor design brings to people.  Connect Johnathan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanshariat/ Buy Tragic Design: https://www.tragicdesign.com/ If you...

In this interview I chat with Tait Wayland about how the industry evaluates designers. Tait recently wrote an article that resonated with a lot of people, including me,  called, "Stop Evaluating Product Designers like we’re Visual Designers" on how hiring managers give preferential treatment to visual design over other disciplines like interaction design and systems thinking.  Find the Article her...

Aaron Moncur is the owner of Pipeline Design and Engineering. A physical product design shop. In this episode we talk about physical product design, the Parallels it has with the digital world, and picking what kind of work you do depending on your interests.  If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for free to...

In this episode, I chat with Bryan Sebestia, a modern day renaissance designer, about planning an information diet and charting out how broaden your design skillset. We talk courses, how to learn, and how to be be an eclectic generalist.  Connect with Bryan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryansebesta/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thi...

How do you define what we do, and how does that influence hiring? Michael Canar and I discuss hiring designers, and how good hiring managers know how to build a team based on the strengths and specializations of each designer they evaluate when hireing. Connect with Michael: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-ca%C3%B1ar-747a104/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in an...

Ben Crabtree and I talk about the discovery process in this episode.  It comes down to defining the problem. Ben provides practical ways to define the actual problems you are solving in a project.   Connect with Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-crabtree-582b0180/ If you get any value out of this show, or if it has helped you in any way, please subscribe to “Thinking Out Loud About Design” for...

Lucid software is known for its high-performing design team, and today I interview one of their A-Players, Sanjana Mathur. In this episode, we discuss the end of the "dev handoff", how to not cut corners on UX, and how we can better blur the lines of responsibility in the product team to quickly collaborate and learn as a unit.  Connect with Sanjana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjana-mathur/ If...

Sam provided so much value in the last episode, we had to record a part 2!  Sam is known for his UX Careers business, Conscious Career Shift, where he helps Jr Designers land their first role. For part 2, we discuss tools, tactics, and techniques to stand out in the hiring process.  Sam also shares a technique that is guaranteed to turn hiring managers heads if you pull it off correctly. Enjoy! Co...

Today I chat with Sam Harper, who is a UX Designer at Entrata. Sam is better known for his UX Careers business, Conscious Career Shift UX, where he helps Jr Designers land their first role. Today we talk about the hard truths of being a Jr UX Designer and try provide some tempered expectations so you can start out with the right experience in mind.  Connect with Sam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sh...

🎉Episode 50!🎉 I'm going to celebrate by talking with one of my design heroes! Matt D. Smith is the quintessential company of one. A true design entrepreneur. Matt has independently run his own design shop for 15 years, designing for awesome companies, shipping his own products, and launched some of the best courses on UI design.  In this episode, we talk about his newly launched course, "Shift N...

This is a reshare of my appearance on Sam Harpers LinkedIn livestream where we talk about the way you can get discovered in a competitive job market.  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

How to design systems and products that benefit from bad luck.  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

Bonus voice essay on why most designs don't make it to production.  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

How does luck play a role in your career?  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

Thoughts on talent and being expendable.  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

This interview is one I wanted to do for a long time. I can't think of a better way to close season 3 of the podcast. In this episode, I interview Joe Natoli on critical thinking in UX, the problems with prescribed frameworks, and what it's like to work as a UX consultant. See Joe's work at: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joenatoli/ UX360 Academy:   https://learn.givegoodux.com/ "Think Firs...

The path to the executive suite as a designer is not paved in pixels.  You have to adopt new behaviors to have that "executive presence". In this episode, I interview Sybil Mulokwa, VP of User Experience at JP Morgan Chase to talk about what it takes to level up to a design business operator.  Contact Sybil at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sybil-mulokwa-m-s-5433043/ If you get any value out of this...

Amazing episode and amazing guest! Today I chat with Denise Hurtado, a Design Project Lead at USAA about design critiques.  We discuss how to not only critique the mocks and deliverables designers are known for but also questioning the critical thinking behind those design decisions.  We go over frameworks, techniques, and strategies to get the most out of the critique practice.  Trust me, you'll...

In this episode, I talk about how I evaluate my career growth as a designer, and how to differentiate between Junior, Mid, and Senior.  Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

Brandon is a PM over a new product at Intuit that helps entrepreneurs start companies.  In this episode, we explore the value of side projects and how they can 10x your work performance.  We also discuss getting that first job in product, diversity in tech, and how to "own more and do less". Contact Brandon at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcmitchell13/ Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Cade...

In this exploratory episode, Chris Liu and I get Philosophical on the indicators of product success. If you are curious about how to articulate good business outcomes with your design decisions, then you'll find this conversation interesting.  Connect with Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-liu-ux/ Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

I reflect on a system that makes successful products possible, and in response, sucedió product designers. If you want great design to win, you need to play nice with this system. Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

I catch up with my professor and mentor Michael Harper today. He is the department head at UVU for what is Utah's first 4-year bachelor's program in digital product design.  We chat about what he has learned from graduating the first full cohort (which I was a part of) and what he is adjusting in the curriculum to adapt to the changing times.  The most important thing we discuss is how to stand ou...

In the morning walk I talk about designers block, what causes it and the antidote for it. Get full access to The Way of Product w/ Caden Damiano at www.wayofproduct.com/subscribe

In this episode, a coworker and I discuss discovery work.  A big thing I'm trying to reconcile is doing the right amount of discovery work (due diligence) while being a fast iterating agile team member.  Billy provides some great insights on how to accomplish that in this interview, and how you can maximize learning output in shorter periods of time without sacrificing quality in discovery work. ...