Revision Path

It's a rare occurrence when I get the chance to talk with someone at a crossroads in their career, so this conversation with Isaak Hayes is especially interesting. Isaak has worked in a variety of roles in both large tech business and startups, most notably perhaps as a former product designer at Facebook. We spoke just days before he and his family embarked on their latest adventure — moving to China!

Isaak and I talked about how he first fell in love with design, and he discussed his early career as a UX designer, his work at Salesforce and RealCrowd, and how that prepared him for this current stage in his career. Isaak says that this time in life feels like a rebirth to him — from Seattle to Shenzhen, he is definitely making moves!

We're kicking off August with an inspirational conversation with Jeremi Dudu. By day, Jeremi works at Salesforce as a UX designer on Philanthropy Cloud, a platform that turns employees into citizen philanthropists by empowering them to give back and make change. Outside of work, Jeremi's keeps that same charitable energy going, paying it forward to his community through mentoring and tutoring in his community.

I started by asking Jeremi what drew him to Salesforce, and from there we talked about his past work experiences at Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, growing up in South Los Angeles, and how DJing became a gateway into working on the Web. According to Jeremi, "it's the journey that made it fun", and I think after you hear his inspiring words, you'll feel that way as well. Enjoy!

Sarah Huny Young is an ambitious and thoughtful award-winning creative director and artist. Her accomplishments and accolades are well deserved and humbly appreciated. Her passion project, 'American Woman', uniquely and profoundly showcases black women's relationship with America and identity.

Huny is a leader and organizer in this industry. She strives to bring people together and make them feel comfortable in any space from hosting gatherings to collaborating on projects. Huny's career trajectory as shifted in the last few years with an emphasis on events, photography, and art bringing her closer to her ultimate goals. And we know that whatever path she continues on she will reach her ultimate creative destiny.

This is Revision Path, an award-winning weekly interview podcast that showcases the world's best Black designers, developers, and digital creatives.

If you're looking to get inspired, then tune in each week for in-depth conversations that explore the creative journey, including the processes, thoughts, and motivations behind these awesome creators shaping the future of art, design, and technology.

Some past guests include Kimberly Bryant (founder and executive director of Black Girls Code), Eddie Opara (partner at Pentagram), Fahamu Pecou (international artist and scholar), Gail Anderson (National Design Award winner), and Hannah Beachler (Academy Award winning production designer).

Whether you're a product designer, web designer, software developer, or just someone who works in the tech, design or creative industries, then this podcast is for you!

New episodes of Revision Path are available every Monday! We'll see you then!

This week, I sat down with Samuel Green -- a product designer at Airbus Aerial in Atlanta, GA and a visual artist. Samuel is also the owner of Studio Mobius, which they call "a small creative group composed of like-minded humans who think differently." Samuel's trajectory hasn't been a conventional one, but that didn't stop them from achieving their goals. If anything this proves that there is a multitude of different paths for people to take to get to their destination.

Our chat covered many interesting topics including impostor syndrome, higher education, and creating a design directive in a very engineering-based environment. Give this episode a listen if you want to hear an insightful point of view on the future of design and how to carve out space for yourself in this competitive industry.

Brian Cherry is driven and passionate about design! He's a true hustler--not only is he the Creative Director of Nutrisystem but he also runs his own design agency Cherry Fresh Designs. Brian is a nonstop force to be reckoned with in this industry and he has no signs of slowing down anytime soon!

We chatted about everything from his career trajectory and education to hopes for the future of the industry. Brian is truly humble and inspiring while his insights and observations are keen and on point. If you've ever been afraid to pivot in your career or path this is the episode to listen to!

Jamil Bonnick isn't just an experienced Product Designer, with a keen eye for design but he's also a storyteller. While we discussed his background and career journey, and his new job at Etsy, our conversation was so much more! Our chat spanned a number of interesting and surprising topics from design all the way to eastern philosophy and to effective business strategy. He truly is a renaissance man and his vast knowledge shines through during this conversation.

How do you celebrate 300 episodes of dynamic conversations and thought-provoking opinions? You invite two leaders in the industry to sit down and dig even deeper!

We recorded this episode live in New York's Green Space with over 50 guests for an intimate and passionate discussion and Q+A with Gail Anderson and Catt Small. Gail and Catt have both had impressive journeys and continue to push the conversation around inclusivity and the future of design forward. Their insights into the industry and design academia are a must listen! If you're an aspiring designer or an experienced professional this is an episode you do not want to miss!

Fruitvale Station. Miles Ahead. Creed. Moonlight. If you've seen any of these films over the past few years, then you're familiar with the work of Hannah Beachler. You may also know her for her Afrofuturist design direction on Black Panther, becoming not just the first Black person to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Production Design, but also being the first one to win it as well. She's even worked with Beyonce on Lemonade, as well as the On The Run II tour with Beyonce and Jay Z! In short, Hannah Beachler is definitely #goals when it comes to Black design.

While we did discuss Hannah's career highlights, we also talked about her life growing up in Ohio, her early work in production design, and how she first met Ryan Coogler. Hannah also shared how she prepares for working on films, what life is like after winning an Oscar, and how she stays inspired. Hannah is definitely proof that if you do your best, it is definitely good enough!

Netflix is a major player in the entertainment industry, and their streaming video service is available nearly worldwide on smart TVs, game consoles, mobile phones, and more. But how do they provide such a consistent visual experience to millions of customers? It's thanks to people like Netflix's senior UI engineer, Rich Smith. As a member of the marketing tech team, he focuses on the web app experience.

Rich explained his process behind designing at Netflix, and talked about what drew him to work there after moving out to the Bay Area. Rich also shared a tale about his journey from design to software engineering, mentioned what first got him interested in tech, and talked about his mentoring and volunteer work with /dev/color. Rich's story is proof that even when you're stuck, something as simple as a change in perspective can help empower you to move forward.

Next week: episode 300!