On building respect for designers in an organization, with our guest Scott Zimmer.

In part 2 of this guest episode, Juli and Scott continued their hike on the Buda Hills, discussing hiring designers, giving them a seat at the table, and building a culture that respects design.

The path we took:

• Treating designers as a partner, not a resource;
• The risks of hiring external design help;
• Explaining and selling the idea of iteration;
• Why the first impression is important, and how a bad experience with a designer can feed bad stereotypes;
• The dangers of the agency model, and a better alternative for dedicated persistent internal design teams;
• Pleasing versus challenging the client;
• Hiring for aptitude and interest, and filling the rest with mentorship;
• And finding upsides for AI, supercharging human connections.

Further reading:

• https://www.tmpt.me/
• https://medium.com/user-experience-design-1/this-is-why-i-dont-call-myself-a-service-designer-any-more-5dcf639bebe0
• https://www.amazon.com/Elements-User-Experience-User-Centered-Design-dp-0321683684/dp/0321683684/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Grab your headphones, and come walk with us!

Ps. If you want to chime in, DM us, comment on our Instagram, or find us on Threads - we're @paths.puddles.products and would love your feedback!

On building respect for designers in an organization, with our guest Scott Zimmer.

In this guest episode, Juli and Scott hiked the Buda Hills and talked about hiring designers, giving them a seat at the table, and building a culture that respects design.

The path we took:

• Making connections over a Medium article;
• Building design teams and the dangers of naive hiring;
• Entrepreneurship as a creative output;
• How a culture that respects design can look like;
• Designers getting a seat at the table, and going from receivers to influencers of decisions;
• The importance of apprenticeship and mentorship in designer careers;
• And treating designers as a partner, not a resource.

Further reading:

• https://www.tmpt.me/
• https://medium.com/user-experience-design-1/this-is-why-i-dont-call-myself-a-service-designer-any-more-5dcf639bebe0
• https://www.amazon.com/Elements-User-Experience-User-Centered-Design-dp-0321683684/dp/0321683684/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/adaptive-path/about/

Grab your headphones, and come walk with us!

Ps. If you want to chime in, DM us, comment on our Instagram, or find us on Threads - we're @paths.puddles.products and would love your feedback!

On Service design as mediation, on the borders of organizational development, with guest Morten Pedersten.

In this guest episode, Juli, Morten, and guest dog Max hiked around the Hålandsvatnet lake near Stavanger and talked about Scandinavian design and business culture.

The path we took:

• A brief intro to Morten, and the step to leave a management role to build something new;
• How a background in psychology and organizational development can merge with service design;
• A dream Scandinavian company: transparency, open salaries, sharing burdens and ownership at Canoe;
• The Scandinavian design world, with a history of collaboration, flat hierarchies, and government support for design;
• Designers who help and serve vs designers who want to impress;
• Changing definitions and expectations around design work;
• And a brief glimpse into AI, as a mediator between people, not a shortcut to cheaper work.

Further reading:

• https://servicedesignnext.com
• https://www.canoe.no/
• https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/bld/nedsatt-funksjonsevne/norway-universally-designed-by-2025-web.pdf
• Mauricio Manhaes' article in Touchpoint Magazine about Design as Female Characteristics can be downloaded here. Ongoing conversation on the subject on Linkedin can be followed here.

Grab your headphones, and head to the nearest lake to walk with us!

Ps. If you want to chime in, DM us or leave a comment on our Instagram, or find us on Threads - we're @paths.puddles.products and would love your feedback!