If you've played Monument Valley then you've seen a slice of the ustwo pie. Three years ago, ustwo explored the state and future of the digital consultancy industry, posing the question “How, When, and Where Will The First Truly Great Digital Design Studio Emerge?“. Now, three years later, Jules followed up with his essay "The State of the Digital Nation 2016" where he provided an in-depth, four-pronged approach to building the digital studio of the future.

"The industry has experienced seismic shifts and a sweeping wave of consolidation. So let’s take another look at the state of the digital nation and why, for the bold, great opportunity lies ahead."

On this episode, I get an opportunity to talk to Jules about this important piece of writing and what the future of agencies look like in order to remain relevant, build trust, and create meaningful impact.

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Dann​ is a full-time freelancer and is known around the world for his skill and encouraging personality. If you've seen HBO's Silicon Valley, Google, Airbnb, Uber, Medium, Boosted Boards and Luxe Valet; then there's a chance you've seen his work. He's also the Founder and organizer of the Epicurrence and Montues events, which are life experience inspirational and adventure oriented events for designers. They're EPIC.

Dann has been traveling around the United States interviewing designers for a movie he's making about freelance designers. Over the last couple of months, he's gained some new personal perspectives on work, life, balance, and the meaning of success.

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Tony Sanchez, Product Designer at Funsize discusses the journey of his career path from textile design, to print, to screen printing, to digital product designer. Anthony and Tony talk about Funsize's Design Apprentice Program, and Tony sheds light on his experience at Funsize and shares a few tips for new designers.

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A few months ago, Andre, one of Funsize's product designers decided he wanted to move on to greener pastures in Bend, Oregon. But he still wanted to work with Funsize and we didn't want to lose him either. As he's gone out to live in a tiny house on some beautiful mountain land in Oregon, he's learned a whole new curve to working entirely remote. Rick and Anthony chat with him about how the adjustment has been going.

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Victor is a user experience (UX) researcher with a passion for representing the voice of the end user in product design decisions. He writes and speaks on the application of psychology to design. He's written for A List Apart, Smashing Magazine, UX Booth, User Experience Magazine, and more.

He's the author Design for the Mind, a book from Manning Publications on the application of principles of psychology to design.

about the book:

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Rick & Anthony discuss a recent article entitled State of the Digital Nation 2016 by Jules Ehrhardt.

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Rachel Gertz, Partner, Systems Consultant & Trainer at Louder than ten discusses some philosophies around project management. And roles and disciplines as teams grow and projects evolve over time.

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Companies are looking for a partner these days, not just a design agency to throw a marketing budget at. When working with people and trying to establish trust, it takes a little time. There is also another side of the coin, in that It's possible to deteriorate trust. Finding out how to gain trust and not deteriorate it is step one.

Listen in as Aaron O'Hearn discusses his path to Funsize, and also the nature of selling design work to product companies. We discuss some philosophies, as well as some practical aspects of business development.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

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Engineering has made leaps and bounds towards a more efficient process of building software since the early waterfall days. Agile methodologies have helped guide the way. As design has become more important to a product's success, designers have earned a seat at the table. Now design too has adapted to similar approaches to building software.

What has helped us get to where we are and how we build? What has taken design so long to catch up with engineering?

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Now that we've had a chance to get back to real life, we are left with a few memories at Epicurrence Montues. There we're some fantastic experiences. In this episode Rick sits down with fellow Funsizers Natalie Armendariz, Phi Hoang and Edgar Briseño to discuss our experience at Epicurrence Montues.

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