Design Edu Today

Rachel Inman UX Designer at Google joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the education necessary for a someone to become a User Experience Designer. We go into specifics on the different education paths open to students, and what is specific to User Experience Design that can be applied to all forms of design from graphic design to industrial design. Finally, we talk about the types of information gathered by the UX team and how it could be a basis to start graphic design projects from.

Ji Su Hiatt Experience Designer at Capital One joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the difference between user experience design and service design and just how much visual designers need to embrace these disciplines. We also cover more in depth the different types of user research and how it’s used at Capital One, and discuss the role bootcamps such as the Iron Yard and Generally Assembly play in the role of user experience education. Finally, we talk about what makes a good user experience design portfolio.

Karelia Jo Moore Experience Lead at Huge joins Gary Rozanc to discuss what makes User Experience Design different from Interactive Design. We will also discuss the User Experience Design process and how it fits into the overall design process. We finish up the conversation talking about the specific User Experience Design principles Design Educators should be teaching to Interactive Design students.

Marne Pike Chief Operating Officer and Senior Digital Strategist, and Mike Brophy Creative Director at Veracity Media join Gary Rozanc to discuss the process behind designing a political campaign for an individual and the process designing for an organization. We go in-depth on digital strategy, interactive design, and website development and how those different disciplines fit into the entire project.

Anne Petersen Director of User Experience at Fastspot joins Gary Rozanc to discuss what makes user experience design different from interactive design. Anne also describes the user experience design process in detail and how it fits into the overall design process. Anne finished the conversation talking about what user experience design principles design educators should be teaching to interactive designers in the classroom.

Alexis Findiesen Senior Developer, and Zaid White Senior Art Director at CHIEF join Gary Rozanc to discuss the ins and outs of how designers and developer work together. The discussion goes into the details of when they work side by side, what kind of files they hand off to each other, and how micro interactions are designed and developed. Alexis and Zaid also share how their academic backgrounds, different from what their daily work, lead them to where they are today.

Kelly Driver, Senior Interactive Designer at idfive, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the interactive design process including how designers and developers work together, how much HTML and CSS designers really need to know, and how entry level designers have trouble keeping up with the pace necessary to be successful in the industry.

Vijay Mathews, W&CO Co-founder, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the interactive design process for the Newark Walks app. The conversation goes into specific details on curating the user’s journey through Newark, how designers and developers work together, who creates the content and the production timeline from initial client meeting to product launch. We also discuss why the Newark Walks was an Android/iOS app instead of a web based app.

Robyn Kanner, UX Designer at Amazon, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss non-traditional paths to becoming a graphic designer and the differences between Brand Design and User Experience Design. We will also go in depth about creating a user journey and what lengths are truly necessary for designers to properly research the end user of their products. We finish up the episode with a call to designers to get involved in politics beyond posters and safety pins.

Emelyn Baker, Product Designer with Brit + Co., joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the staggering number of industry specific titles out there used to categorize designers, and the not always perfect step by step design process including where content strategy fits in on a classroom project. We also cover designing with real content vs. lorem ipsum and ways to expose students to working in multidisciplinary teams while still in school.

Shannon Crabill, Email Developer at T. Rowe Price, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the design of emails for a global investment management firm. Shannon goes in-depth on the need to research and understand the purpose and goal of sending emails to inform the visual design. Shannon also shares tips for designing calls to action with the body of an email, and she reveals the struggles to code emails for all the different email clients.

Jay Fanelli, co-founder of Cotton Bureau, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the skills necessary to be a contemporary designer such as designing micro interactions, and design systems (not style guides). Jay also discusses the specifics on the need to produce high fidelity prototypes before getting too far along in the visual design process. Finally, the conversation goes into what a designer’s portfolio should like, what it shouldn’t, and how non visual design choices can say more about the portfolio than the work itself.

Chris Hallahan, User Experience Designer and Design Educator at Kent State University, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the nuts and bolts of teaching responsive web design in a single class including different strategies for teaching HTML and CSS, User Experience, and Visual Design. We also touch on how that class fits into a larger curriculum and what an idea set of courses or program would look like.

Gary Rozanc reflects on what he has learned from hosting the Design Edu Today podcast on its two-year anniversary by revealing his top five takeaways. Gary also discusses the upcoming hiatus so he can redesign the show's website.

Lucas Roe, User Experience Designer at Fastspot, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss what the hiring process looks like for web and user experience designers, what should be in a student’s portfolio if they want to get a job as an interactive designer, and how User Experience Design is different from Graphic Design and Interactive Design and requires different training.

Meagan Petri Digital Art Director at Planit joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the pitfalls of responsive web design, from site performance to digital typography. Meagan also shares her thoughts on HTML and CSS, and how the web is a different medium and needs a different skillset from print design. The conversation ends with a discussion of information architecture, wireframes and other user experience disciplines.

Meagan Petri Digital Art Director at the Baltimore firm Planit joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the details of the design workflow at a large agency. Meagan covers tools for design through team communication. She also discusses the importance of working in teams including working with project managers and developers, not just fellow designers. Finally, Meagan discusses the importance of email design, and taking great notes along with version control.

Tsilli Pines Digital Creative Director, and Mark Hoffmann Director of Interactive Technology at FINE joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the pitfalls of responsive web design including how visual designers anticipate breakpoints and work alongside developers. Tsilli and Mark also discuss how the web is a different medium and needs a different skillset from print design. Finally we chat about how hard it is for educators to find the right balance of HTML and CSS for interactive designers.

Tsilli Pines, Digital Creative Director at FINE joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the in-depth details of the digital design workflow at FINE. Tsilli starts from the very beginning of the process, the initial client meeting. She then goes into specifics on file naming conventions and version control. Tsilli ends the conversation discussing creating prototypes. Her colleague Mark Hoffmann Director of Interactive Technology at FINE also joins the conversation to talk about the design and front-end developer relationship.

Dana Pavlichko, Designer at Happy Cog, joins Gary Rozanc to discuss the ins and outs of content strategy from the graphic design perspective. This includes where content strategy fits into the overall design process, how it identifies the voice of the client, and how that voice should be driving the visual design. We also briefly discuss ways to safely get students into better drawing habits.