Design and a Half

Ever wondered what the best design tool is ? Ever wondered how to choose between them ? Today I'm debating over how to properly chose design tools within your organisation and why a design budget is quite important to have. If the subject is of interest to you, let me know either by commenting or messaing me, and I'll dive a bit more indepth on the subject.

Whenever we're talking about a project, we're talking about stakeholders. Project manager, designers, developers, Architects. You name it ! But each of them has their own agenda, their own objectives and thoughts. Is it possible to all coexist in harmony without ripping each other to shreds? Let's find out.If you liked it, subscribe, leave a thumbs up and if you fancy, join Design and a Half Facebook community for more tips, news, and discussions.For the video version, check out my youtube channel

Just why ? What is it that makes companies not want to add juniors on to their rosters ? Why do they keep adding additional hurdles on them, when they know perfectly fine that a junior does not have any type of experience whatsoever ? Is it some sick fetish ? Now more than ever, we need juniors with the correct motivation and mindsets to join organizations. And organizations need to make sure to have juniors on their teams to invest in. School never built professionals. Work has. School was a always a way to educate them and point them in the general direction. Help people uncover their paths.

Is there such a thing as too much collaboration ? Well, as a matter of fact, YES. There is. Every person out there is an individual, and while, some thrive on just having endless conversations and ideation sessions, or shadowing session over zoom, slack or skype, some, like me, tend to enjoy when they get some alone time. Time to think for themselves. Time to grab a pen, and just go wild sketching whatever scratches your brain to find a solution. Not worrying about complying to XYZ constraint, or making sure ABC collegue will agree with you or find your solution acceptable. Why does this happen ? We're individuals and, as individuals, we all want and need to stand out and be validated. Within a crowd, nobody stands out. Within a team, everything is done together. But when you have to change your job, your team won't be there to support you. That's when your achievements need to speak for themselves ! Paradoxal ? You betcha.Sub if you found the episode thought provoking, and share with a friend who is struggling with all of this over-collaboration-thing that we're going through. And if you have something you'd like to get off of your chest ? Comment ! I'd love to know your stories ! :)

Or the challenges of creativity. Problems, own experiences, battle scars... Stuff that is wrong about design right now, and stuff that I would have benefitted me know before diving into design. Every time you do something as a designer, you expose a bit of who you are to the world, and you hope the world will be as gentle as possible. Oftentimes that's now the case. Often times, we break down because of how much we are invested into this passion that is more than just a job. Into this career path...A like, share and comment is greatly appreciated, but if not, the time you spent listening to my episode is equally valuable and I thank you for sharing it with me. :)

We as consumers, can drive and steer the behavior of product companies towards something that adds value and brings change, rather than overselling and underdelivering. Oftentimes, we fall prey to our own vices, but oftentimes, we're manipulated or just purely forced into accepting predatory product tactics from companies that are seeking aggressive profit margins. What we can do, is be more mindful about our purchases, and say NO more often, by making a conscious choice, instead of an impulsive one.If you liked this episde, a follow/subscription, a like or a share would be greatly appreciated !

In this episode I'll talk about the 5 why technique and its use cases, origin as well as some tips related to UX interviews. This technique along with a lot of other popular concepts in IT nowadays actually originated in automotive, and more specifically, in the Toyota company, in Japan. Why ? Well, for starters, the Toyota company was one of the pioneers of making things more efficient and reducing waste, as well as Quality Management. Things like Poka Yoke or The fishbone diagram also originated in Japan.If you want to learn more about the inventor of the 5 why technique, you can do so by reading about him on his wikpedia page:Sakichi ToyodaEvery like, share or subscribe is greatly appreciated and it nudges me to push myself for more content ! :)

This episode talks about the drawbacks and the advantages of early adopters, applied to the current case of the newly released iphone. I'm not going to debate specs, since there are lots of ways people can get their hands on them, but I will look at some reasons behind the choices of this new version that was just released. I believe, now, more than before, early adopters look a lot more like angel investors whenever we're talking about products, because of how unstable and insufficient new products are. Tune in for more information !Don't forget to subscribe and share with a friend, if you feel like it :)

We've all been there. Beating ourselves up for not finishing something on time, trying to squeeze in those extra work hours to finish something up that needs to be polished juuuuust a little bit more. Ever think why we do that ? What causes that ? Today's episode is a foray into our own selves as we discuss about perfection and the downsides of always trying to be perfect as well as how this ties into our current society.Seeking approval, wanting validation and feeling the need to be appreciated. We all do it. What about some self-love ? Make more mistakes. Enjoy playing the game more than the outcome and the score. Focus more on what's important for us, than what's important for the world. As usual, hit subscribe if you liked this, or share this with someone in need of some mistakes, and imperfection. After all we're all human. :)And before I forget, here's that book I was talking about:No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work:  https://amzn.to/349LMox

Thinking about today's status quo, and the economic situation we find ourselves in, it might not be that farfetched for education to become fully online and more accessible to people that would otherwise not afford a college or university education via traditional means. Looking at you United States ! That's right ! Imagine how great it would be for companies to accept people with online education as often as ones with ivy league education  and to give people access to jobs. This would be especially crucial in developing countries, but also in countries where the cost of education still means only some get to pursue it. We live in interesting times, and the ones ahead look even more colorful !If you liked this episode, don't forget to follow or subscribe, and if you're on Apple Podcast, give it a rating ! Much appreciated ! Stay amazing !