New Layer

What's the best way to present your design work in a critique? There are a number of designers can do to ensure the feedback they get in critique is helpful, actionable, and levels-up not only themselves but their team too. Things like preparing by considering the feedback you're looking for, the stage of work, who will be attending the critique, and more. As well as learning how to be a great facilitator and using critique as a means for not merely sharing work but also uncovering new or different ideas.

What is self awareness and why does it matter? In this episode of New Layer Jasmine and Tanner explain how the more you understand yourself, the more impactful you can be. If you're going to be an impactful designer you have to know how you work best and why, as well as how and why your peers do their best work. Thankfully there are a lot of things you can do to build your self awareness, like building an environment of feedback, taking a persona or archetype personality test, journaling, or getting a coach. All will help you improve your understanding of yourself as others see you, which is a powerful key to doing impactful work.

How do you scope the work of a design project? What do you do when someone asks: "How long will this take to design?" An important component of product design is the ability to estimate how much time and effort a task or project will take, but estimations can be tricky to determine. In this episode Tanner and Jasmine discuss everything that goes into project estimates and why they can be so daunting for designers just starting out (and why estimates can be tricky for experienced designers too).

This is the second part of a two-part episode. Previously, Jasmine and Tanner discussed why it's important to give constructive and timely feedback to those we work with, as well as how to best take critical feedback even when you disagree with it. In this follow-up episode the co-hosts dive deeper into examples of good and bad feedback they've experienced in their careers, and highlight why good feedback can often make or break a team, and organization.

As product designers it's important to learn how to give constructive, actionable, and timely feedback to everyone we work with. That means not only feedback for our design peers, but also to product managers, engineers, researchers, writers, and more. Learning how to give (and take) feedback effectively is a powerful skill that will help you and your team grow. In this part one of a two part episode of the podcast, Tanner and Jasmine discuss best practices (and some not-so-great practices) for providing feedback.

What should designers focus on in order to build a future-proof and sustainable career? VR, AR, AI, blockchain, neumorphism, what's next for design? In this episode Jasmine and Tanner discuss emerging predictions about the future of design and why the best designers are more flexible than specialized. Rather than focusing on any one specific area or industry, product designers who excel at the fundamentals of product design—things like product strategy, research, visual and interaction design—are best setup to adapt as the world changes. That doesn't mean you can't focus on an area you're passionate about, of course.

As a designer, how do you pick the right tool for the job? What should you look for in your design tools and what should you avoid? Trending tools might not be all they're hyped up to be, and there will always be a new and exciting tool in the market, so with so many options it can be hard to define what tool is right for your job. In this episode of New Layer, Tanner Christensen and Jasmine Friedl discuss how design tools have evolved and what designers can do to ensure the tools they're using or trialing are best for the job at-hand.

Should you work to become a director-level individual contributor (IC) or work to become a people manager? Both roles are critical in a mature organization, but each has distinctive responsibilities. One focuses on the craft of the product design work while the other is responsible for the team—people working together. Despite common myths around moving between IC roles and that of people management, there are reasons to make the switch or not, depending on what you're passionate about and where your strengths are.

In this episode of New Layer, Tanner and Jasmine shine a light on some of the most important aspects to being a hyper-senior individual contributor or that of a people manager.

What is design research, how does it work, and what can product designers do to integrate research into their process today? In this special episode of New Layer, Tanner is joined by special guest Paul Derby, UX research manager at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Tanner and Paul discuss common pitfalls designers encounter when looking to do research, as well as strategies and specific tactics designers can use to conduct better research as part of their design process.

When it comes to interviewing the last thing you want to do is follow a template of questions to ask. Instead, treat the interview as an opportunity to learn the deep truth about the company you're interviewing with and give them a chance to learn about you. When we approach interviewing as a step-by-step, templated process to get through we miss out on discovering ways we can contribute and things we can learn. In this episode of the podcast, Jasmine and Tanner share perspective on how to identify the right questions to ask when it comes to interviews.