How many people have you actively networked with lately—and why does it matter? In this episode, I answer a question on a very common topic: Networking.

And the question is: How do you successfully network?

I break down networking as a skill you can train, not a personality trait you either have or don't. We reset what networking actually is, why it's critical early in your career, and how to approach it without awkwardness or transactional pressure. I share a simple, repeatable playbook you can start using immediately.

• Build relationships before you need them
• Use curiosity, not asks, to open conversations
• Run better coffee chats with clear intent
• Leave something valuable behind every time
• Follow up without being performative

Networking compounds when done consistently. Start small, get your reps in, and let relationships do the long-term work.

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10x Essentials for Designers In this episode of Design Office Hours, I revisit Michael Sorkin's 250 Things an Architect Should Know (which Curtis Mikkelsen introduced me to in episode #18 of DOH) and reframe a set of Sorkin's "statements-as-wisdom" for designers and innovators.

Rather than a checklist, this is more a way of passing down lived experience—more about judgment and humanity than rules and technique.

Curtis and I started this exercise together but didn't finish our picks. I wanted to come back and run through mine in a more holistic way—what I think they mean, and why they feel especially relevant right now.

1. The feel of cool marble on bare feet

   I think we over-glorify the virtual. I'm trying to remind myself (and you) that we're analog beings shaped by physical sensation.

2. The distance of a whisper

   Ideas start fragile. I've seen too many good ones get stamped out because they don't sound rational fast enough. I think designers have to protect the whisper.

3. Something about Vastu (or Feng Shui)

   I trust the body's read on a space. When the energy is off, we usually know immediately—then we talk ourselves out of it.

4. The color wheel

   I think we're becoming afraid of color. I want us to relearn its emotional and energetic power—especially in a product world that's getting increasingly bland.

5. What the brick really wants (material intelligence)

   I care deeply about material intelligence—what a material wants and doesn't want. Just because we can manufacture something doesn't mean we should.

6. Why

   I try to stay connected to "why" because it changes. If I can notice when I've drifted, I can pivot earlier and with less pain.

7. The reason for your tenacity

   This one reminds me to ask: am I persisting out of courage—or ego? Not every hill is worth dying on.

8. The need for freaks

   I believe design needs to be weirder again. And teams need antibodies—diversity of mind, temperament, culture, and background.

9. It is possible to begin designing anywhere

   I love this because it gives permission. I don't think there's a single correct starting point. You can begin with a detail, a hunch, a sketch, a whisper.

10. How to ride a bicycle

    I see the bicycle as a near-perfect system: simple, efficient, elegant, joyful. It's a great metaphor for what good design can feel like.

11. The thrill of the ride

    I've learned that the process matters. If I can access play, I get access to better ideas—especially in high-pressure environments.

12. Several other artistic media

    Some of the best designers I've worked with create beyond design. I think working in other media expands taste, questions, and range.

13. What to refuse to do even for the money

    This one is personal. I've watched people stay for the paycheck while everything else in them says "leave." I think knowing when to say no is a core life skill.

14. The golden (and other) ratios

    I don't think we should worship proportions as dogma—but I do think we should learn them, challenge them intelligently, and break them on purpose.

References:

250 Things an Architect Should Know — Michael Sorkin

The online "250 Things…" list

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Innovation, Design Fiction & Team Fine-Tuningwith Curtis Michelson

In this episode of Design Office Hours, I'm joined by Curtis Michelson—innovation strategist and facilitator—for a wide-ranging conversation on how real innovation happens inside organizations.

We trace Curtis's journey from early environmental activism and the dot-com boom to his current work helping mid-sized companies unlock internal capacity for change. We talk about what it means to lead innovation efforts when the pressure is real, resources are limited, and the solution isn't another chatbot.

We cover:

– Designing corporate innovation beyond trend-chasing

– Using AI tools in workshops—when to accelerate, when to hold back

– A gamified approach to mapping value networks and future ecosystems

– Meta-prompting and fine-tuning teams instead of models

– Small gestures that spark big cultural shifts

– And reflections on creative restraint, analog experience, and boundaries

Whether you're navigating change from the inside, running strategy sessions, or simply curious about how to design better futures—this one's for you.

For the DOH Library, Curtis recommends the 3x reads below:

'Navigating The Age of Chaos

We might have touched on 'BANI' (brittle, anxious, nonlinear and incomprehensible) in our conversation. This book is an exploration of that state of affairs and how we can cope and respond to it.

Reshuffle

Sangeet Choudary's latest, which penetrates the cheap, easy arguments on AI and gets into how AI will radically reorient business models and organizations. In other words, the world will not be cheaper, faster, but very different.

The Art of Noticing

Rob Walker's book on how to 'pay attention' - a nice echo of our riff on Sorkin's 250 observations.'

And as mentioned in the episode: Two Hundred Fifty Things An Architext Should Know https://www.readingdesign.org/250-things

🎧 Listen now, and send me your takeaways.

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In this episode of Design Office Hours, I speak with Tim Hulford, designer, leader, and former Director of Industrial Design, VR Accessories at Meta.

We talk about:

• Navigating early design roles and finding your footing under pressure
• Building and leading design inside engineering-heavy environments like Intuitive
• The transition from engineering-led to design-led organizations—and what that actually changes
• How to sustain motivation during long product cycles or after a project is sunset
• What shifts when you lead in times of crisis, not calm

Tim shares lessons from building surgical robots at Intuitive, leading Portal at Meta, and navigating career challenges and transformations along the way. Tim's Website: https://timhulford.com Tim's Book recommendations: / The Vignelli Canon / Sketching User Experiences by Bill Buxton / Super Normal by Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison

If you're interested in design leadership, career resilience, and the realities of working inside complex companies—this one's for you.

Listen now and send in your take.

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In this episode of Design Office Hours, I respond to a question that comes up more often than you'd think:

"How do I show released work in my portfolio if I don't have any assets from the project?"

There are many reasons this might happen—NDAs, unreleased products, or simply not having access to the final materials. It can be especially frustrating if it was your best or most recent work.

In this episode, I cover:

– What to consider when leaving a job without approved portfolio assets

– How to reflect your role without overstepping confidentiality

– What matters more than showing the final result

– Why conversations with former teammates (or managers) can make a difference

– When passion projects or personal studies can fill the gap

– And how to stay honest, clear, and strategic in how you tell your story

If you're navigating this challenge, you're not alone. This episode offers practical ways to approach it—and a few things to consider as you prepare for your next move.

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In this episode of Design Office Hours, I take a practical look at a question about AI in portfolios.

In this episode of Design Office Hours, I reflect on one of the most practical and uncomfortable questions designers are facing:

Should we use AI to cover for the skills we don't have?

We explore:

– Why using AI isn't cheating—it's adapting

– What your AI use says about your values and process

– The difference between "organized creativity" and true creative insight

– How AI is lowering the threshold of skill—and what that means for designers

– What happens when the learning curve disappears

– Why education (not just design education) must evolve fast

The goal isn't to defend your relevance—it's to understand where your value shifts next.

Got a question or a topic for a future episode? Email: [email protected] Follow: IG @designofficehours Follow: YouTube @DesignOfficeHours Submit: peterboeckel.com/designofficehours

In this episode of Design Office Hours, I sit down with Blair Hasty—founder of Crafted By—to unpack the disconnect many designers are feeling in the field today.

Blair has spoken to over 300 designers—from students to senior leads—and a recurring theme emerges: designers are being pushed away from what they trained for and into roles that feel misaligned. This episode dives into what's missing in design education, the impact of shifting industry expectations, and why communication is now the most critical design skill.

We explore:

– Why many designers still self-identify as industrial designers, even after moving into tech, strategy, or leadership

– The gap between design school training and what's required in real-world projects

– How AI is reshaping the value of design execution—and what remains essential

– The importance of learning to sell your thinking, not just show your work

– Blair's advice to early-career designers: talk to people, build your network, and get curious

Whether you're questioning your next move or trying to reconnect with your voice as a designer, this episode will offer clarity, community, and perspective. Join his LinkedIn Group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13176226/ And find his Discord here: https://lnkd.in/eFCXC4V4

🎧 Listen now and send in your thoughts.

Got a question or topic for a future episode? Email: [email protected] Follow: IG and YouTube @designofficehours Submit: peterboeckel.com/designofficehours

Have you ever felt like a fraud, despite clear proof of your success? You're not alone. In this episode of Design Office Hours, I explore imposter syndrome—what it is, why it shows up so often in creative careers, and how to manage it.

We'll cover:

– The root causes of imposter syndrome and how it shows up

– The link between perfectionism, burnout, and self-doubt

– Three practical categories of support: cognitive, behavioral, and long-term strategies

– Why designers need to reframe "good enough" and avoid perfection traps

– How to build confidence with achievement logs and mindset shifts

– Why therapy and coaching aren't last resorts, but valuable tools

Whether you're early in your career or leading teams, this episode offers practical ways to ground yourself, rewire your inner narrative, and own your success.

Got follow-up questions? Email me at [email protected] Sign up for updates: peterboeckel.com/newsletter

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In this episode of Design Office Hours, I dive deep into a question I hear often—especially from hiring managers, educators, and design leads:

How do you assess if a designer can apply critical thinking on a project?

We talk a lot about "thinking like a designer," but what does that really look like in practice? In this episode, I break it down into clear, observable traits—and how to spot them.

We cover:

• Why critical thinking shows up more in process than in outcomes

• How to frame vague problems and ask the right questions

• What design decisions say about a person's reasoning

• How adaptability reveals a mature creative mind

• The importance of collaboration, and how to balance feedback with your POV

• Why portfolios miss the mark—and how to fix that

If you're reviewing portfolios, preparing for interviews, or just trying to grow your own design instincts, this episode gives you a practical lens to recognize (and cultivate) deeper thinking in creative work.

🎧 Listen now, and let me know: where do you apply critical thinking best—and where are you still working on it?

Got a question or a topic for a future episode? Email: [email protected] Follow: IG @designofficehours Follow: YouTube @DesignOfficeHours Submit: peterboeckel.com/designofficehours

In this episode of Design Office Hours, I join Sushant Vohra and his community Young Designers of India (YDOI) for a live Q&A covering everything from skill mastery in the age of AI to how we reshape design education for the future.

This one's full of bold questions and even bolder takes.

We cover:

• What makes someone great at facilitating creative collaboration

• Why lifelong learning is a designer's most important skill

• How to navigate large organizations with fragmented design teams

• The real value (and limits) of design thinking workshops

• Why mastering a skill will never disappear—but what you need to master will change

• How to find purpose and stay unstuck in a world that's constantly shifting

Whether you're a student, a team leader, or a solo designer wondering how to stay relevant, this episode offers both honest takes and future-facing strategies.

🎧 Listen now, and DM me your favorite takeaways.

Got a question or a topic for a future episode?

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