Digitally Diverse

On this episode of Digitally Diverse, Ellen talks to Joseph Hallahan, Head of Design at StarRez. Joseph recounts his 15 year career journey from agency work to becoming a part owner and eventually launching his own startups. He shares insights from his current role as Head of Design at Starres, a global student housing platform, and the differences between agency and in-house work. Joseph discusses how he helps maximize value for Starres' university customers, and is motivated by continuous learning and new challenges like implementing customer research practices. With his background in multimedia design, Joseph brings a breadth of experience across industries that informs his current work. Throughout the conversation, Joseph provides an inside look at his multifaceted career path and approach to design leadership.

Join us as we speak with Paul Kelly, Head of Experience Design at Mudbath, about his journey from studying visual arts to leading design at a digital agency. Paul discusses pivoting to study design in university and getting his start at Bicycling Australia magazine. He then did freelance work before moving to Glasgow and learning coding. After returning to Sydney, Paul spent 8 years at a digital agency before joining the growing team at Mudbath. He talks about Mudbath's expansion from 4 to 17 designers after merging with Endava and the variety of industries they work in. Paul reflects on the value of developing critical thinking skills in university despite the challenges. Tune in to hear Paul's insightful experiences transitioning from visual arts to leading design!

This episode of Digitally Diverse features Nusa de Melo, a Product Designer at Atticus. Nusa opens up about her journey from studying math at UC Berkeley to becoming a product designer at a legal tech startup in Australia. She talks about pivoting from sales to design, taking online courses, and landing her first product design role. Nusa discusses life as the only designer at Atticus, working on software that verifies legal documents, and why she finds the small startup environment more rewarding than big companies. She also shares how Atticus's remote work policy allows her to live outside the city, and how she stays inspired through side projects, books, and podcasts. Tune in to hear Nusa's thoughtful perspectives on math, design, startups, and carving your own path.

This week's episode of Digitally Diverse features James Kwong, Chief Product Officer at Unleash Live. James discusses his career journey in the Australian design industry, from studying industrial design in university to starting his own agency to working in strategic design consulting. He then transitioned into product management roles before joining Unleash Live, a video analytics startup using computer vision and AI. James opens up about challenges he's faced, including ageism as a young leader and his design degree not being initially respected. James reflects on coming full circle to lead with an agile, startup mindset and shares his approach to mentoring others now that he is in a leadership role. 

Join us as we chat with Chelsea Wilkinson about her lifelong passion for building and creating. She studied user experience design in university and landed internships that allowed her to combine her interests in tech and design. Chelsea shares her experiences working at major companies like ANZ and Coles Group, the challenges of juggling music and career, and her recent ADHD diagnosis. She talks about how she used the pandemic as a time for self-improvement and dove into hobbies like building mechanical keyboards. Chelsea also provides some wise advice to her younger self about focusing on short term goals. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about following your passions through the ups and downs of life.

In this episode, Luisa Lombardo shares her career journey from print designer to product design manager. After studying graphic design in college, she worked at agencies and companies as a visual and UI designer. Seeing the field change, Luisa took a UX course and found her passion in digital product design. She's since progressed to lead and manager roles on product teams for B2B and B2C companies. Luisa gives an inside look at her current role at Mabel, a platform connecting people with disabilities to support workers. She discusses the product problems her team tackles, like streamlining services and adapting to reforms. Tune in to hear Luisa's insightful story of transitioning from print to digital design and leading product teams making a difference.

This episode features Christian, the global design and quality practice lead at Telstra Health. Originally from Venezuela, Christian has lived in Australia for over a decade. Beginning his career as a graphic designer, he transitioned to UI design across various industries. Driven by curiosity about user experiences, Christian has focused on UX for the past 8 years while maintaining a full-scope view. With experience in ecommerce, finance, energy, aviation, and now healthcare, he discusses the rewarding purpose and impact of improving patient health. Christian shares the challenges of growing Telstra Health's global team while ensuring quality and consistency. He talks about diagnosing collaboration needs as the team expands internationally. So far, Christian has enjoyed the curious, open culture at Telstra Health. Join us as we explore Christian's user-centered design journey and insights into building healthcare technology that improves lives.

Benaz Irani joins us to discuss her career journey from discovering user experience design during a study abroad program to leading product teams at Open Table today. She shares lessons learned from struggling with being a people pleaser early on and the importance of setting boundaries to grow in your career. Benaz opens up about the identity crisis she faced transitioning into management and not doing hands-on design work anymore. She finds inspiration from women leaders in tech and enjoys learning different leadership styles from her managers. Tune in to hear Benaz's insightful perspectives on product design, personal growth, and leading teams in tech.

On this episode of Digitally Diverse, host Ellen Bennett talks to Lisa Jacquiot, Product Design Manager at Airwallex. From the vibrant city lights of San Francisco to the serene waters of the Great Barrier Reef, Lisa's journey spans the globe in pursuit of her passions. Her interest in UX design took root at Glassdoor, prompting a mid-career shift. Venturing to Australia for new experiences, she polished her skills at a startup in San Francisco before settling downunder. However, the onset of COVID forced her to adapt once again. Despite the challenges, Lisa found an opportunity and secured her dream role of leading product design for Airwallx. Now based in tropical Cairns, she oversees a distributed team across time zones and discusses the challenges of managing a distributed team.

In this episode we talk to Kelly Weiss, a Senior Product Designer at Salesforce. Kelly has spent half her career working in corporate and half in tech, mostly for startups. We discuss the differences between corporate and start-up work cultures, and Kelly highlights that the main skill you can develop in either is adaptability. We delve into a range of topics including advice on getting started with UX and UI, building creativity into your way of work, creating healthy cultures and more.