Show notes: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/vas-natarajan There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to scaling design, but there are similarities between fast-growing companies that prime them for lasting success. In this episode, Accel Partners’ Vas Natarajan talks about effective ways design leaders can operationalize hiring and scaling. He also discusses the hallmarks of a healthy team at any growth stage, what designers and developers can to do collaborate better, and why storytelling is key to growing a company. “Storytelling capability—especially at the founding stages—can really make the difference between something that gets up and off the ground and something that doesn’t.” Listen as Eli and Aarron chat with Vas about design’s role in making companies successful, the importance of balancing data with customer insights, and more.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vas Natarajan: Hallmarks of a healthy team and better designer/developer partnerships

Design Better co-hosts Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter explore the intersection of design, technology, and the creative process through conversations with inspiring guests across many creative fields. Whether you’re design curious or a design pro, Design Better is guaranteed to inspire and inform. Episodes are released semi-weekly. Vanity Fair calls Design Better, “sharp, to the point, and full of incredibly valuable information for anyone looking to better understand how to build a more innovative world.”

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Hey, everybody. We're sharing something special today from our pals over at the Say More podcast, where in a special series, Boston Globe columnist Shirley Leung is opening up the conversation about stress and burnout to help listeners feel less alone and inspired to get help. She connects with experts like Krista Tippett and Emily Nagoski, who use medical science, social science, and philosophy to answer deep questions about how stress works on our bodies and our minds so we can work better and live better. In this episode that we're sharing with you, computer scientist and best selling author Cal Newport says we've been thinking about productivity all wrong. We are big fans of Cal Newport. Shirley talks to Cal about the ways the modern office worker is primed for professional burnout, how hybrid work is just making it worse, and what we can do about it. He's not a Luddite by any stretch, but he says that we should quit social media and leave our phones behind whenever possible. Okay, here comes the preview. You can listen to Say More here: https://link.chtbl.com/saymore?sid=designbetter   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special Episode: "Say More" Feed Drop from The Boston Globe with guest Cal Newport

Visit our Substack for a video of the live interview, transcript, and more: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/hillary-coe This is our 100th episode of Design Better. 

Hillary Coe: Emmy Award-winning designer, certified commercial pilot, astronaut candidate, and drag-racing record holder on designing for SpaceX and Vast

Generative AI is finding its way into the tools and processes that power creative work. Exciting? Terrifying? Maybe a little of both. Adobe has been not only shipping impressive generative AI tools and features, but thinking about the implications this new technology could have on creative careers.  Adobe invited us to their offices in San Francisco for a conversation with a panel of leaders including Rachana Rele, Samantha Warren, Danielle Morimoto, and Laura Herman who shared how they and their teams are building and training AI models ethically while bringing innovation to the creative process. Find the transcript, show notes and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/bonus-ai-and-the-creative-processPanelists
Rachana Rele, VP of Design, Generative AI, Emerging Products, & Adobe Ventures Rachana is at the forefront of shaping the future of design and technology. In her role, she leads the charge in harnessing the power of generative AI, and Adobe Firefly, to unlock creativity for creatives, communicators, and marketers. She serves as a product leader, shepherding incubations from zero to one and guiding emerging businesses like Adobe Stock to achieve scale. With a deep-seated passion for fostering world-class design teams, Rachana thrives on crafting experiences that resonate with customers and drive tangible value for businesses. Rachana holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in industrial engineering with a specialized focus on human-computer interaction. Her student-always mindset has led her to pursue an Executive MBA at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley (class of 2025). Samantha Warren, Sr Design Director, Machine Intelligence and New Technologies Samantha is the Senior Design Director for MINT (Machine Intelligence and New Technologies), where we focus on Emerging projects, Adobe Firefly, and Artificial Intelligence across Adobe software. Samantha specializes in product strategy and user experience design. Her superpower is leading teams with vision while managing practical execution. Danielle Morimoto, Sr Design Manager, Adobe Firefly Danielle Morimoto a Sr. Design Manager for Generative AI with the Machine Intelligence and New Technologies team at Adobe. I’ve worked on a range of projects from initiatives supporting emerging artists ages 13 to 24 that are using creativity as a force for positive impact, to the next evolution of Creative Cloud on the web. I've helped define the most compelling experiences for development over the next 1–3 years by uncovering untapped potential and ultimately identifying how people could be using Adobe in the future. I’m an avid road cyclist, NBA Golden State Warriors fan and lover of ice cream. Laura Herman, Sr Research Manager, Adobe Firefly Laura Herman is the Head of AI Research at Adobe and a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford’s Internet Institute. Laura’s academic research examines the impact of algorithmic curation on global visual cultures, taking an inclusive and international approach with a particular focus on the Global South. At Adobe, Laura leads the team that researches Generative AI for Creative Cloud. Previous technologies that she has worked on have been acknowledged as Apple’s “App of the Day” and as a Webby People’s Choice Award winner. Laura has previously held research positions at Intel, Harvard University, and Princeton University, from which she graduated with honors in Neuroscience & Psychology. 
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Bonus: AI and the Creative Process

Get access to the full episode on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/ben-clymer Aarron fell down a rabbit hole when the Apple Watch came out. He knew nothing about watches, their design history and the immense investment of human effort it’s taken to engineer accurate timepieces until he bought an Apple Watch. He loves wearing a watch, but notifications and tracking caused him to abandon it for something simpler and mechanical. Anyone curious about watches will inevitably end up at Hodinkee.com, the premier publication about watches and the rich culture around them. Hodinkee was founded by Ben Clymer, who found his way into watches when his grandfather gave him the Omega watch right off his wrist. It sparked not only a deep passion for watches, but a company that has built a community of enthusiasts around the world. You might be thinking, watches are a strange topic for Design Better to cover. But they represent a beautiful intersection of design and technology that has been pursued for centuries. They’re also one of the few trans-generational objects in our lives that connect us with the people we love, as Ben Clymer shared with us in our conversation. We spoke with Ben about consulting with Jony Ive on Apple’s watch design, Jony’s deep dive into horology, how Ben went about creating such a compelling content brand, and his journey from being a founder and CEO back to being an individual contributor to the company he started.BioBenjamin Clymer is widely considered to be a leading voice in the wristwatch industry. He is regularly quoted in major publications including The New York Times, Reuters, Forbes, Departures, GQ, and the Financial Times, and was dubbed “The High Priest of Horology” by The New York Times in 2013. Benjamin has acted as a consultant and guest speaker for Apple, and was named to “The Hypebeast Hundred” as one of the 100 most important influencers in global culture in both 2013 and 2014.  ***Premium Episodes on Design BetterThis is a premium episode on Design Better (learn more in the announcement here). We’ll be releasing two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.  Upgraid to paid *** Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 

Ben Clymer: Hodinkee founder on watch design and creating a compelling content brand

View show notes, transcript, and more on our Substack: https://designbetterpodcast.com/p/natsai-audrey-chieza Steve Jobs perfectly described the creative process when he said, “Creativity is just connecting the dots”. Innovation and new ideas are often found by combining the familiar in new ways. Natsai Audrey Chieza, founder of Faber Futures, is doing just that.  Natsai started her education as an architect, became fascinated by materials and transferred into biology, and today is designing new textiles, design processes, and manufacturing methods by harnessing biological technology. She’s a rare individual who can hop between disciplines to design in new ways. We talk with Natsai about the work she and her team at Faber Futures are doing to help governments and large organizations design more sustainable products using bacteria, fungi, and algae as building tools, and how biophilic design technology could help us address climate change.BioNatsai Audrey Chieza is a visionary designer and thought leader. She is the founder and CEO of Faber Futures and a co-founder of Normal Phenomena of Life (NPOL). Launched in 2018, Faber Futures is a pioneering design agency that melds consumer biotechnology advancements with real-world applications. In 2023, Chieza co-founded NPOL, a consumer brand offering biotech products online. NPOL makes tangible how biotechnology can generate new materials that can be beautifully designed to support climate goals and the cultivation of resilient bioeconomy value chains. ​Chieza's approach involves broad-ranging partnerships across biotech, consumer sectors, and cultural institutions. It uses collaborative, story-driven strategies to catalyse engagement and concrete action on critical issues. Notable clients and commissioning bodies include Ginkgo Bioworks, adidas, the Design Museum, MIT Media Lab, and the World Economic Forum (WEF).  ​As a member of the WEF's Global Futures Council on Synthetic Biology, Chieza advocates the integration of design and culture in policy development for bioeconomies powered by biotechnology. Her insights and leadership are sought after on various stages, including as a speaker at SxSW, TED, and Design Indaba. Chieza's contributions to biophilic design have earned her significant media coverage and accolades, including the 2019 INDEX award, known as the Nobel Prize for design.Premium Episodes on Design BetterThis ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you’d like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you’ll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, and our new enhanced newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. Upgraid to paid Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show: Methodical Coffee: Roasted, blended, brewed, served and perfected by verified coffee nerds 

Vas Natarajan: Hallmarks of a healthy team and better designer/developer partnerships

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