The Creative Block

Congrats to the new grads on the Block! We were in your shoes at the beginning of this podcast, and to celebrate growth we have repackaged a hit Q&A episode. In case you missed it, here is the aptly named "Missed Connections."

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We've reached a milestone and embarked on a new era.. check out our highlight moments from the last 50 episodes.

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We relish our bond and our journey as podcasters as we navigate our field and challenge ourselves creatively and personally. We tried to decipher what the hell "Experience Design" is (03:57), and investigate the "Dark Patterns" of online design (09:03). We grew together in our racial identities and allyship (15:29) which is a testament to our vulnerability and transparency. We are imperfect, but we do our best to keep transforming. One time we even applied design thinking and problem-solving to situationships and dating (24:15)! But we ultimately are dear friends that truly enjoy geeking out on our shared interests (like overhauling the strip club experience at the Pynk (33:20)). We got deep in to the morality and ethics of Brands taking advantage of the image of black women, with Judge Jeremy presiding over the court of law (41:43). That one was a riot. We are always down to play and encourage the silly sides of our bond. You gotta check out Treasure in the gameplay sequence of Among Us (49:29). LOL!

The subtractive method is about design thinking that gives the people what they came for! In these instances, less would have been waaay more…

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To discuss the substractive method, SP complained about social media algorithms (05:49) and we gave white board challenges for interviews the axe (15:40). This can apply to the Lion King remake (34:36), go haywire with the new Apple TV remote (43:42) or change the game of personal computers (53:20). We even talked about work meetings (59:20), Aunt Viv (1:03:35), saying “Bless You” (1:08:0) and Instacart (1:16:15).

But the real question is, how difficult is this to implement on real life product teams? (1:23:40)

So are we getting vaccine passports or..? Today we don our thinking caps (and PPE) to discuss the best systems for integrating back into our long-lost activities at our favorite venues.

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We take you through a background on immunization verifications (4:05) and consider diverse scenarios that require a coordinated effort to satisfy safety measures. Skip to 10:45 to jump into our discussion of Burning Man, ComplexCon (16:55), the Champagne Room at the Pynk (20:43) Atlantis Aquaventure Water Park (23:30). We also go in on your aunties and uncles for how they gone act at Cousin Joy’s baby shower (29:12) and returning to the office (34:14).

We also asked “Will businesses that have been operational during the pandemic even be willing to apply more resources to the vaccine passport system (21:50)?" and “Do you think instituting vaccine passports will turn customers away (25:38)?"

Do NFTs pose a threat to society?

Is this the first time you are hearing about NFTs? Not to fear!

Today we're decrypting the hot new trend in cryptocurrency.

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We take you through a background on blockchain (2:00) and bring up our worst-case scenarios from identity theft and privacy (6:40) to black market and dark web dealings (11:24) and of course, the impact on the wealth gap resulting from lack of access (14:20). This topic is interesting, complex, and forward-thinking… what is the future we're creating?

Communi-tea:

-Follow @wall_street_trapper for finance gems

-Watch "Blockchain for Kids" video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPMDpb9ho4s

So…how ya’ll New Year’s resolutions going? Today we’re talking fitspo and how fitness brands can leverage user motivation. Walk and talk with us on the Creative Block!

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[Show Notes]

Summary: This episode explains how “marker moments” make the difference (05:10) in brand experiences and with our own fitness goals (09:00) So we each tried new fitness products (16:30) and discussed how brands like Nintendo Peleton and YouTube (20:20) can design for the psychology of motivation and appeal to their customers (33:30).

Communitea 1 (16:05) Mental health is fitness, too!

Communitea 2 (32:45) Live Rich (2017) Documentary

Other Links

https://sweatco.in

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-self-determination-theory-2795387

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRBXFzOOKkg

Our handpicked a jury of peers deliberate on Tessica Brown, Aunt Jemima, and Flo Milli in light of recent brand activities. We cross-examine Gorilla Glue, Quaker, and Beats about creative choices involving black women. Court is in session!

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(04:00) Tessica Brown v. Gorilla Glue: the missed opporttunity; (18:51) Aunt Jemima v. Quaker (PepsiCo): too little, too late; (43:36) Flo Milli v. Beats: a half-baked concept.

Special thanks to our special guest jurors Barbie Adams & Danielle, our underprepared public defenders, and the box of cracker jacks Judge Jeremy got his law degree from.

Is Black History Month whack? Stick with us here, as we dissect the decades-old tradition of uplifting black historical figures in America.

WOTD— Iconicism

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[RESOURCES]

Evolution of Black History by Olivia B. Waxman

Hidden Colors Documentary, Volumes 1-5

Association for the Study of African American Life and History ASAALH

Black Futures by Kimberly Drew & Jenna Wortham

Black Ourstory by KRS-One

Jazz Trumpeter Victor Haskins

Finally, everything you love rolled into one: bae, UX, and the Creative Block! We are problem-solving romantic relationships with our favorite UX frameworks.

WOTD— Relinquish

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[Time Stamps]

PART 1: Presenting our favorite UX Tools

(6:35) "Researching" the patterns of your potential bae with Empathy Mapping

(10:55) Defining the root problem with the Five “Why’s”

(15:40) Situationships are complicated... get some clarity by applying the MoSCoW method

(20:53) The affordances and constraints of dating during COVID-19!

(23:31) Communicating with hierarchy and repetition

Part 2: Reactions and Discussion

(32:42) The Five “Why’s” must be handled delicately

(40:54) Is SP's User Journeys and Empathy Mapping tidbit insightful or psycho?

(47:00) Gaining perspective in "situationships" with Treasure's MoSCoW method

(50:42) And finally, some disclaimers and caveats to our advice today

Need inspo? We digested our thoughts from https://trends.uxdesign.cc (100 Design Lessons for 2021) (UX Trends Report). Kick things to the next level with us this year!

Timestamps and Brief Summary

(2:05) Promote Truth by balancing opinions and fact. We are recommitted to citing our sources and taking responsibility for what we released.

(6:27) Being a designer is a privilege, but is designing while black a privilege or responsibility?

(9:35) The best design conversations aren't televised.

(15:00) Not every project needs to follow the same process!!

(19:50) Throwing “How might we...?” at complex problems is chaotic AF

(23:42) Empathy is nothing without compassionate action

(28:54) What has grown our empathy/compassion recently?

(33:50) Here is your sign to get started on (that thing you want to do).

(36:50) The world is looking for different designers... ones like you!

(38:42) Don’t discount yourself, run their pockets.