We sat down with Trevor Nielsen, Sr. Product Designer at Giddy and discussed his career trajectory and what to expect as a sole designer at a startup. Trevor breaks down what to look for and what to run from in a company culture and approach to building products. Thanks so much for joining us Trevor!

Find Trevor on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevordesign

Music by: @halfcoolmusic

We sat down with Eric Han, a full-stack developer at Inkblot Therapy to discuss what a successful relationship with your developer will look like and how to build it. Eric is more than just a developer, he is also an accomplished designer in the fashion world and now runs his company Pillar Brand when he's not pushing code. With Eric's background as a designer and as a creative, his perspective as a developer defies the stereotypes and the insights he provides us made for a great interview.

Find Eric's work with Pillar here: https://www.instagram.com/pillarbrand/?hl=en

Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-han6/

Music by:  @halfcoolmusic 

In this episode we interview best selling author, Nir Eyal as a continuation of our conversation in episode 004 where we cover the concepts covered in his book, Hooked: How To Build Habit Forming Products. We discuss the Morality of Manipulation, where designers will find themselves on the Manipulation Matrix and what to do when you find yourself in a spot you're less happy with on that spectrum.

Find more of Nir's work at: https://www.nirandfar.com/

Music by: @half.coolmusic

We discuss the relationship between developers and designers and how best to communicate and align on goals early. Meredith also shares how they found community and mentors they could relate to in their identity and queerness. Meredith discusses how important finding and building community is for underrepresented juniors entering the field of tech.

Music by @half.cool

We had a great talk with our friend Wes, who champions security by creating allies within other teams to advocate with him for the users. We learn what we can do as designers to integrate security into our design process and advocate for it early.

For a better look at the web of security Wes mentions and we show briefly: https://images.app.goo.gl/Jmk1Jnth7wznD5CB7

Music by  @halfcoolmusic 

In this episode, Meg, Mel and Cam discuss the benefits of hiring junior designers, drawing from Jared Spool's appearance on the Design Hires podcast and his corresponding Medium article. Meg breaks down how to assess a candidates “learnability” and how to sell this from the perspective of a junior and Mel contrasts it with their own experiences with hiring, particularly with take home design challenges. Cam highlights the need to create a workplace where learning on the job is inherent to the job and proposes a pipeline for hiring and training juniors. The hosts explain Spool’s “Achiever Pattern” and how it can be used to assess the viability of junior talent to thrive within this environment. The hosts also explore the top reasons for hiring junior designers, including introducing new design practices, building a diverse team, and the return on investment from juniors supporting production work and the reallocation of senior resources to strategic, larger projects. They hosts also offer advice for other junior designers, particularly the importance of transferrable side hustles/skills. They provide stats that speak to the ROI for supporting hiring UX designers at diverse talent levels within an organization. The episode concludes with takeaways, including the qualities that employers look for in junior designers and how to stand out as a junior designer.**Sources Mentioned:** Jared Spool Design Hires episode: [https://spotify.link/OsttefOjbzb](https://spotify.link/OsttefOjbzb)Jared Spool Medium Article: [Medium, 2020, Jared Spool - UX Strategy Playbook](https://medium.com/creating-a-ux-strategy-playbook/the-ux-strategy-of-hiring-juniors-over-seniors-6cf52220ae72)

In this episode we discuss the highly popular product design book "Hooked: Building Habit Forming Products" by Nir Ayal. We share our thoughts on the author and his work and delve into the ethics and responsibilities of designers crafting products with our users mental health in mind.

On this episode of The Huddle, we'll be taking you through the history of UX design as we see it and some of the design processes commonly followed by designers performing UX design. Mel demystifies some of the terms we felt were interchangeable not so long ago and the scope of the different roles a designer can have under the umbrella of UX design.

Music provided by @half.cool

Unveiling the Stories Behind the Huddle Hosts

Welcome to Huddle, a podcast where we dive deep into the world of User Experience (UX) design, sharing insights, best practices, and personal experiences to help you level up your design game. In this inaugural episode, we want to take a moment to introduce ourselves and share our personal journeys into the exciting and ever-evolving field of UX design.

Host 1: Meet Meg, a Product Designer with a Passion for Empathy

Meg, our host, comes from a background in psychology and has always been fascinated by how people interact with technology. She shares her journey from studying journalism and working on Parliament Hill to shifting into optimizing the e-commerce experience at lululemon, which opened for her the doors to the world of UX design. Meg believes that empathy is at the heart of UX design, and her background in telling other people’s stories through journalism has shaped her approach to understanding user needs, motivations, and behaviours. She shares how her love for observing people and conducting research has informed her design process, allowing her to create meaningful and impactful experiences for users.

Host 2: Meet Mel, a Product Designer with a Knack for Crafting Delightful Experiences

Mel, our second host, comes from a background in graphic design and has always been passionate about creating aesthetically pleasing and delightful experiences. They share how their love for art and graphic design eventually led them to the world of UX design. Mel believes that aesthetics play a crucial role in shaping user perceptions and emotions, and their background in visual design has helped them develop a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of visual hierarchy, colour theory, and typography, which inform their design decisions.

Host 3: Meet Cam, a Product Designer with an Eye for Optimization

Cam, our third host, comes from a the exciting world of bike shops and has always been interested in optimizing processes for efficiency. Cam's passion for problem-solving and attention to detail led him to the world of UX design, where he applies his expertise his diverse background to inform his design process. He shares how his love for tinkering with bikes and fixing mechanical parts has taught them the importance of iteration and constant refinement, which he brings to his UX design work.

Sharing Our Design Philosophy

As hosts of Huddle, Meg, Mel and Cam also share their collective design philosophy, which revolves around the user-centered approach. They believe that putting users at the centre of the design process is crucial to creating successful products and experiences. They also emphasize the importance of iterative design, constant feedback, and collaboration with cross-functional teams as key pillars of their design process.

In this episode, Meg, Mel and Cam highlight the diverse backgrounds that inform their design approaches, from journalism to bike shops, and how these unique perspectives come together to create a well-rounded UX design philosophy. They encourage listeners to reflect on their own backgrounds and experiences and how they can bring their unique perspectives to shape their own UX design process.

So, whether you're a seasoned UX designer or just starting out in the field, this episode will surely inspire you to embark on your own UX design journey with renewed enthusiasm. Don't forget to subscribe and join us on this exciting journey of exploring the world of UX design!

Unfiltered Stories from the Huddle Hosts

In this episode, we have a candid conversation about the different paths to learning UX design, including the rise of bootcamps, and our own unfiltered experiences with them. Join Meg, Mel, and Cam, your hosts, as we dive into the good, the bad, and the ugly of UX bootcamps.

The Rise of Bootcamps: A Brief History and Analysis

We start by exploring the history of bootcamps and how they have gained popularity as an accelerated way to learn UX design. We discuss the pros and cons of bootcamps, including the intensive and immersive learning experience, the structured curriculum, and the opportunity to build a portfolio quickly. We also address some of the criticisms around bootcamps, such as the high costs, the variability in quality, and the emphasis on speed over depth of learning.

Our Personal Experiences: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

As hosts of Huddle, we open up about our own journeys with bootcamps. The hosts highlight the positives, such as the supportive community, the hands-on projects, and the mentorship that helped kickstart their UX design careers. They offer an unfiltered glimpse into the challenges of a fast-paced curriculum and the need for additional self-study to deepen skills after the bootcamp.

Navigating the Bootcamp Landscape: Tips and Insights

Our hosts wrap up the episode by sharing tips and insights for those considering a bootcamp or other paths to learning UX design. We discuss the importance of doing thorough research, reading reviews, and talking to alumni to make informed decisions. We also emphasize the need for continuous learning and self-directed study, even after completing a bootcamp, to truly excel in the field of UX design.

Don't forget to subscribe and stay tuned for more engaging conversations on the world of UX design!