New Layer

What is a "strategy" and why does it matter? What responsibility do product designers have to be good strategists? In this episode Tanner and Jasmine discuss the meaning of strategy, why it's important to invest in, and how anyone—at any level—can become better strategic thinkers.

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Have you ever been wrong? Of course you have, we all have. What matters more than being wrong or right is what you do when you're wrong (and therein after). In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine Friedl and Tanner Christensen talk about what it means to be wrong as a product designer and leader, and why building cultures where "strong opinions, loosely held" is optimal for teams and individuals alike.

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What's the value of being a certified designer? For designers interested in getting certification or those hoping a certificate program will help them land a job, what should they know before signing onto a bootcamp or similar program? In this episode Tanner and Jasmine share their personal—spicy—opinions on the subject.

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How do designers track their work? Should they? In this episode, Tanner and Jasmine discuss the importance of tracking your work—through journaling, screenshots, video, and more. When it comes time to reflect on your growth, your toolkit of processes and knowledge, or sharing with peers or stakeholders, tracking work plays a major role.

What do you do when you get blocked? That is: what's the best course of action when something is obstructing your path forward, to success? In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner share examples of times they've been blocked in their career and the variable ways to get unblocked. From naming the block to exploring the landscape around it, this episode is packed full of what we hope to be helpful tips (and some very unhelpful jokes).

What are you responsible for at your job? To find out you'll have to talk with your team, your manager, and even your customers. But often we don't have those conversations, why? To do your best work you must understand not only what your role and responsibilities are, but what those are for your team too. In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner discuss responsibility as it relates to expectations and the ever-expanding circle of responsibilities we each have when it comes to the work we do.

Mentioned in this episode: How to define roles and responsibilities, a playbook from Atlassian (https://www.atlassian.com/team-playbook/plays/roles-and-responsibilities).

What should you look for when choosing a manager? What type of manager would you work with best and what signals might you use to determine as much? In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine discuss their past experiences with good (and not so good) managers, as well as what types of managers are out there and how to identify the right manager for you.

Recruiters are a vital, but often neglected or otherwise belittled, part of the job-finding process. In this episode of New Layer, Jasmine and Tanner share what it is exactly recruiters do, how they do it, and why it's so important that designers treat recruiters as any other member of the team. From being your authentic self to getting to know the recruiters, negotiating, and more.

Personal values are how we measure our lives and evaluate trade-offs. They enable us to quickly and effectively make decisions while ensuring a high quality of work and livelihood. In this episode of New Layer, both Tanner and Jasmine share their personal values and how each came up with them. Spoiler: there's no right or wrong way to define your personal values. What matters is that you identify what matters most for you in your life and career so you can ensure you're making decisions toward those values.

For more on values check out: https://www.lifehack.org/866227/personal-values

What does remote communication offer that in-person can't? What challenges, opportunities, and unique value does communicating remotely provide designers and the teams we work on? We discuss all this and more in this episode of New Layer!