Design Downtime

Grab your paints and tiny brush, as James Mathias joins us to talk about his passion for miniature painting. He explains how the hobby, primarily centered around Games Workshop's Warhammer universe, encompasses building, painting, gaming, and engaging with the lore. After discovering an accessible painting technique, James began with low-stakes terrain pieces before progressing to more complex models, developing an unbroken daily painting streak over two years while continuously experimenting with new approaches. He discusses his evolution to more advanced techniques, emphasizing the importance of positive self-talk and his philosophy of doing one's best in the moment rather than pursuing perfection. James also explores the creative freedom available in miniature painting, and how it creates a deeper emotional connection to the gaming experience.Guest BioJames Mathias (he/him) is a father of four and partner of one. In his heart he’s an artist, writer, and outlaw; using his brain he spends his days debating the attributes of rectangles; by night he fills his soul, using his hands to grant vibrant life to minuscule soldiers and monsters.LinksJames’ miniature painting website: https://outlawstandard.comJames’ personal website: https://artisticoutlaw.com/James on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/artisticoutlaw.comCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Shantay, we all stay, when Connie Chen joins us to talk about her love of drag and drag queens. She describes how drag culture became a lifeline for her when she was struggling to adjust to life in California, and how a week-long stay in the hospital watching RuPaul's Drag Race provided hope and laughter. Connie talks about her journey from watching the show to attending drag events and finding an unexpectedly welcoming and positive community, discusses the artistry of drag performance, and explores the significance of drag names as expressions of personal identity and creativity. She also reflects on how drag culture has boosted her confidence, helped her embrace vulnerability, and taught her not to care about others' judgments.Guest BioConnie Chen (she/her) is an accomplished UX designer and mentor with over 10 years of experience. Starting her career as a graphic designer in Boston, she later transitioned to UX design in California, where she contributed to companies such as Ancestry, Apple, and Dell EMC. After a transformative two-year sabbatical, she now works as a UX Designer at Disney on the Enterprise Design team, where she supports tools and platforms for Disney's global supply chain and distribution processes for films and TV shows worldwide.LinksConnie’s website: https://conniechen.design/Connie on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/conniechiiiwa.bsky.socialConnie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conniewzchen/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Get on your dragon and join our magical quest, as Bahar Espiritu talks to us about her lifelong passion for fantasy novels. She recounts listening to her Iranian grandmother’s bedtime stories, which inspired her to paint the scenes since she couldn't yet read or write. Bahar’s reading journey progressed from Persian classics to Western fantasy staples, before arriving at contemporary dark fantasy series, featuring strong female protagonists who overcome childhood trauma to become heroes. She discusses how fantasy serves as a boundless creative space that triggers the imagination, draws parallels between fantasy literature and ancient mythology in teaching moral lessons, and describes her active participation in online fantasy reading communities. Guest BioBahar Espiritu (she/her) is an award-winning designer and internationally recognized artist, a visionary leader, and an Honorary Marquis Who’s Who Listee, celebrated for her innovative contributions to design systems and brand development at Amazon Prime and Amazon Web Services Cloud. Her work has been instrumental in creating user-centric experiences that merge technology and art, delivering scalable and inclusive solutions for global audiences. Currently, she serves as a Creative Director at Essence of Hockey, where she continues to push boundaries in art, design and storytelling.LinksBahar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baharespiritu/Bahar on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com//baharespirituCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Watch out for creepers, as Shell Little takes us on a journey to the blocky world of Minecraft. They progressed from vanilla gameplay to modded Minecraft, drawn to the game's complete transparency—where the mechanics are fully documented—which satisfies their need for efficiency and deep knowledge. The game serves multiple roles in Shell’s life: a source of min-maxing satisfaction, a social connector for building relationships with geographically dispersed friends, a therapeutic outlet for burnout, and a reliable comfort activity they can return to whether seeking stimulation or social connection. Shell is excited to see where the modding community takes the game next, viewing it as essential for keeping the game fresh, accessible, and educational for new generations of players.Guest BioShell Little (she/they) is a Senior Accessibility Specialist, Inclusive Design Leader, and International Keynote Speaker. With over 10 years of experience in the accessibility field, Shell is known for her contributions to cognitive accessibility in both digital & gaming spaces. She is dedicated to integrating accessibility into the beginning of the product lifecycle by partnering with & educating design teams. Her current venture is creating classes aimed at teaching designers how to use and understand the accessibility standard called the Web Content Accessibility Guideline or WCAG. Her other passions are speaking about disability rights & disability inclusion in the workplace. Outside the office, Shell is a cat parent, gamer, and overall Neurodivergent dork.LinksShell’s website: https://shellelittle.com/Shell on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/shellelittle.bsky.socialShell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellelittle/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

This episode is going downhill fast, as Chela Giraldo joins us to talk about her love of extreme longboarding. She describes her journey from discovering longboarding while working at a skate shop in Bogota, to becoming a competitive downhill racer who reached the top eight women internationally. Chela talks about the unique feeling of downhill longboarding as "flying just inches off the ground" - a moving meditation that combines pure adrenaline with total calm, and requires complete presence. She shares the story of the serious accident where she broke her femur, leading her to retire from competitive racing, only to return to casual skating mere months later. Through longboarding, Chela discovered her competitive nature, learned to trust others, and found a community that shaped her entire social world.Guest BioChela Girlado (she/her) is a Colombian senior product designer based in Austin, Texas, who recently joined realtor.com to work with their design system team. She specializes in design systems and accessibility, and brings over 10 years of experience across visual, motion, UX, UI, and product design. She’s also a first-time mom to a wild little toddler who keeps her on her toes and when she’s not chasing her around or smothering her with a million kisses, you’ll probably find Chela bombing hills on her longboard — something she’s been doing since 2011.LinksChela’s website: https://chelagiraldo.com/Chela on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chela-giraldo/Chela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chelagiraldoChela on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HellaChelaaaa/Chela’s skate videos: - https://youtu.be/Xnhqy7NVdz8?si=5WM55R76YZG3j3s_- https://youtu.be/o-alztDnEiQ?si=3yun_tUb9yDRuvKJ- https://youtu.be/SJX_rrU69jM?si=8sOw3fW64TL8OeOU- https://youtu.be/SJX_rrU69jM?si=XhQYlBaegxB-fh3tCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

In the first episode of season 4, Dan Brown joins us to share about his love of hobby board games. He talks about transitioning from games like Monopoly to discovering the more advanced Carcassonne, which became his gateway into modern board gaming. Dan explores the relationship between game themes and mechanisms, saying he’s drawn to games where these elements work together cohesively. He discusses his collection's evolution from simple games he could play with his family to more complex strategy titles, and touches on his fascination with observing how people interact with game systems. Dan emphasizes the tactile, screen-free nature of board gaming as an important escape from digital experiences, and offers advice for newcomers to the hobby on how to look for the right game for them.Guest BioAfter running boutique design firm EightShapes for 18 years, Dan Brown (he/him) struck out on his own, starting Curious Squid Design Lab to continue providing high quality information architecture and UX consulting to enterprise organizations. Through Curious Squid, Dan helps product teams build complex products to align with user needs while meeting business objectives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he produced the podcast A Lens A Day, conversations about information architecture, and currently co-hosts and produces the podcast Unchecked, the architecture of disinformation. Dan’s passion for information architecture is eclipsed only by his passion for board games.LinksDan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmbrown/Dan’s podcast, Unchecked: https://unchecked.buzzsprout.com/The IA Conference: https://www.theiaconference.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s the season 3 finale, and to celebrate, Erika Hall joins us to talk about her unique artistic journey of painting chicken portraits. What began as a creative sabbatical evolved into an unexpected obsession, when she recognized that most of us take chickens for granted despite their dinosaur-like nature, and committed to painting individual chicken portraits that treat them as more than mere objects. Erika has grown the project beyond personal art therapy into a digital presence with a website and an interactive game where visitors compare chickens using random adjectives like "pedantic" or "rambunctious." Her chicken portraits serve as both a meditation on seeing overlooked creatures as individuals with distinct personalities and a broader commentary on taking time to truly observe and appreciate what we often dismiss as mundane.Guest BioErika Hall (she/her) is the co-founder of Mule Design Studio and Mule Books, and the author of Just Enough Research and Conversational Design, as well as the forthcoming The Business Model is the Grid. Her primary professional interests are design and communication strategy, collaboration, and evidence-based decision making. She is based in San Francisco and used to fly around the world giving talks, but now she does everything remotely and really only travels as far as she can ride her bike. LinksErika’s chicken portraits website: https://www.chicken.pics/Clickens game: https://clickens.chicken.pics/Erika on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/erikahall.bsky.socialErika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikahallMule Design: https://www.muledesign.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Put the kettle on and get ready to hear Dominika Noworolska talk to us about her love of tea. She describes her journey from discovering tea culture as a teenager in Krakow's atmospheric tea houses to becoming a dedicated tea enthusiast in the UK, and how those early experiences in dimly lit basement tea houses created lasting associations between tea and meaningful dialogue. She explains the difference between Western and Eastern brewing methods, discusses how different teas create distinct moods and effects, and shares her discovery of Scotland's tiny craft tea industry. Dominika emphasizes tea as both a sensory experience and a ritual for focus and relaxation, while offering practical advice for newcomers to move beyond tea bags—most importantly, investing in a temperature-controlled kettle!Guest BioDominika Noworolska (she/her) is a Polish (turned Scottish) monotropic researcher and facilitator driven by her desire to support meaningful change by making sense of complexity, in our social world and ourselves. She has worn many hats over the years: commercial semiotician, ethnographer, user researcher, and mediator. Through her company Cosense, she aspires to facilitate collective sensemaking and better dialogue across differences; with warm tea in hand.LinksDominika on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominika-noworolska/Dominika on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dominikanow.bsky.socialScottish Tea Factory https://scottishteafactory.co.uk/Mei Leaf channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeiLeafCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

This episode is bursting with neon colours, coming-of-age movies, and acid-washed jeans, as Ryan Rumsey joins us to talk about his deep connection to the 1980s. He shares about moving across the country as a child, growing up as a "latchkey kid”, and how MTV, movies, and music became transformative influences during his youth. Ryan explores how the ‘80s represented a unique cultural moment with the advent of cable television, 24-hour news channels, and the transition of movies from art to commercial blockbusters during the Reagan era. While he appreciates modern ‘80s nostalgia in shows like Stranger Things, he notes how his children connect more with ‘80s music than films, bonding with him over classic tracks during car rides.Guest BioRyan Rumsey (he/him) is a former tech executive turned author, coach, consultant, and tiny business owner. He’s the CEO of Second Wave Dive, founder of Chief Design Officer School, and partner at Jump Ship!. Ryan has extensive hands-on product, management, and executive experience at companies like Apple, Electronic Arts, and USAA. He’s the author of the books Business Thinking for Designers and Play Up Your Impact.LinksRyan’s website: https://www.ryanrumsey.com/Second Wave Dive: https://www.secondwavedive.com/Chief Design Officer School: https://thecdo.school/Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanrumsey/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab a pen, paper, and maybe some dice, as Anthony Hobday joins us to discuss his journey into solo tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). He talks about discovering pen-and-paper solo TTRPGs while exploring dungeon crawling games, and finding the format appealing because it allowed him to create complete games as simple documents. Anthony describes his design philosophy, talks about creating games around a gimmick, like fitting all rules into 36 words, and touches on the crucial role of online platforms in supporting independent game creators. Throughout the conversation, Anthony talks about the strengths and weaknesses of solo TTRPGs compared to group games and video games, and shares surprising feedback from his community of players.Guest BioAnthony Hobday (he/him) thinks about interface design a lot. He shares everything he knows on his website. He prefers a systematic approach to design, but has a passionate interest in visual design.LinksAnthony’s website: https://anthonyhobday.com/Anthony’s games on itch.io: https://ahobday.itch.io/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

All quiet in the studio, as Homer Gaines joins us to share his lifelong journey with music production. He recounts developing his skills creating music with fellow students in high school, composing an original score for the school's production of “Fame”, and his evolution through college, where he worked in studios and performed with hip-hop groups. A devastating theft in 2003 caused him to abandon music entirely until his wife gifted him a Roland keyboard in 2016, prompting his return as an independent artist. Throughout the conversation, Homer reflects on the differences between producing for himself versus others, and his current focus on educating young artists about the business side of music.Guest BioHomer Gaines (he/him) is a designer, UI engineer, and certified accessibility professional with over 30 years of experience. With a background in behavioral psychology and neurology, he focuses on leading, promoting, and advancing accessibility at every stage in the product development lifecycle.LinksHomer on YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/channel/UC6q3s2LMS9YmUXrnL4vz7cgHomer’s website: https://www.homergaines.comHomer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/homergainesHomer on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/xirclebox.comCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s sticker time, as Stéphanie Walter joins us to talk about her love for paper crafting. After starting with stickers, she “branched” to colorful (and deliberately unrealistic) paper plants, focusing on fun rather than natural accuracy. Since then, Stéphanie expanded into creating 3D projects including earrings and lampshades, working with vinyl, thin leather, and shrink plastic. She talks about her design style and inspirations, how she prefers to gift her creations rather than selling them, and tells us about "Crafternoons" with friends where they gather virtually to work on creative projects.Guest BioStéphanie Walter (she/her) is a UX Researcher & Strategist based in Luxembourg with over 13+ years of experience, specialized in enterprise UX, inclusive design and accessibility. She teaches, speaks, and writes about design, UX research, cognitive biases, and the design-dev relationship, among other topics. She enjoys good tea, bike rides, and drawing illustrations. Her D&D alignment is chaotic neutral, and she is better at keeping her teammates alive in video games than her plants, though she makes an effort.LinksStéphanie’s website: https://stephaniewalter.design/Stéphanie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniewalterproStéphanie on Mastodon: https://front-end.social/@stephaniewalterStéphanie on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/stephaniewalter.bsky.socialCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Dye your hair blue and rip your jeans, because Bill Kurland is joining us to talk about his love for punk rock. He talks about getting exposed to punk at a young age and embracing the do-it-yourself ethos. Bill criticizes the policing of authenticity within punk communities, and describes having a "meta-punk" approach where he sometimes deliberately went against punk norms. He rejects the nihilistic "destroy everything" attitude associated with some in punk, and instead talks about his appreciation for the sense of community punk represents for him, before recommending albums for newcomers to the genre.Guest BioBill Kurland (he/they) is a misfit. A former musician, he's spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of brand strategy and experience design. He's built, grown and led high-performing teams through transformation at organizations of all sizes—from unicorn startups to Fortune 15 corporations. Currently, he's a Global Experience Design Director at McDonald's, leading the cross-disciplinary Design Foundations group, consisting of Accessibility, Design Systems, Design Technology, and UX Writing teams.LinksBill’s website: billkurland.comDesign Downtime Punk playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1sBLGREySZYXfrCHdccCWs?si=JeCfE0V_S1OnrH2Im7xquw&pi=jHy53RCdRlS0hBill on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-kurlandCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

They’re good dogs, especially when Kasey Labelle joins us to share her lifelong connection with puppies. She recounts her childhood with two family dogs before introducing Rhino, her beloved blue nose pitbull who chose her when he was just three weeks old and remained her companion for nearly 15 years. Kasey discusses how she's coped with Rhino's passing by becoming a dog walker, speaks passionately about the misconceptions surrounding pitbulls, and shares how Rhino's loving personality challenged those stereotypes. She also offers thoughtful advice for potential dog owners, emphasizing the importance of viewing dogs as family members and the different factors to consider when choosing the right dog.Guest BioKasey Labelle, CPWA (she/her) is a UX and design engineering leader with a passion for design systems and accessibility. In her current role as a Design Architect at iSeatz, she’s leading the evolution of a design system that powers a white-label travel loyalty platform. Previously, she built and led the multi-disciplinary design system team and accessibility program at Boston Scientific, establishing 0-1 and 1-n strategies and serving as a player-coach. In her downtime, you can find her at the beach, an art museum, concert, or game night; walking dogs; obsessing over spreadsheets; traveling; or attending fine arts and crafts workshops with friends.LinksKasey’s website: kaseyllabelle.comKasey on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kaseyllabelleCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

It’s time for puppets and Shakespeare (?!) as Cheryl Platz joins us to talk about her journey into live streaming. She shares how her background as a professional actor and improviser led her to stream with her puppet Sprinkles, initially performing Shakespeare as part of a Twitch creative competition. While she didn't win the contest, she developed a loyal community that encouraged her to continue, adding video gaming to the mix. Cheryl reveals her background working at a Sesame Street theme park as a teenage puppeteer, explains how Sprinkles developed a distinctive personality of "hyper confidence”, and shares how maintaining this community has renewed her faith in the internet.Guest BioCheryl Platz (she/her) is an internationally renowned interaction designer, game designer, teacher, writer, and actress best known for her innovative work in a variety of industries ranging from video games to B2B cloud platforms and from consumer products to global philanthropy. Her design work has empowered billions of customers with fun, creativity, immersion, and sometimes just a little less friction at the office thanks to her work on some of the world’s biggest products, including Amazon’s Alexa and Echo Look, Microsoft Windows and Cortana, the Disney Parks PhotoPass system, the Sims family of games, and Microsoft’s Azure platform. Her recent roles include Director of Experience Design for Marvel Strike Force at Scopely and Director of User Experience for the Player Platform at Riot Games. Through her design education company Ideaplatz, Cheryl has delivered talks and workshops on 5 continents and over a dozen countries. Her first book, Design Beyond Devices: Creating Multimodal, Cross-Device Experiences, is the “manual for those who aspire to design the starship bridge of their dreams," and her newest book, tentatively titled Enduring Play: Creating Video Games that Thrive, is the design manual for anyone looking to build engaging video games with a holistic understanding of player needs, basic game design, the production process, and modern business considerations in the video game industry. Cheryl can be seen streaming most weeks on Sunday mornings answering game development and UX design questions at her Twitch channel.LinksCheryl on Twitch: https://twitch.tv/funnygodmotherCheryl on Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/funnygodmotherCheryl’s first book: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/design-beyond-devices/Cheryl’s second book: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/enduring-play/Cheryl’s website: https://cherylplatz.com/Cheryl on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/funnygodmother.bsky.socialCheryl on Instagram: https://instagram.com/@funnygodmotherCheryl on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylplatz/Cheryl’s Medium articles: https://cherylplatz.medium.com/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Enjoy a foamy cup of coffee decorated with a heart, as Amy Ogg joins us to talk about her adventures in the world of competitive latte art. She provides an insider’s view of coffee competitions, describing the various events from latte art contests to espresso tastings and "best coffeehouse", and shares how she navigated the male-dominated competitive coffee scene. Amy tells us about her training approach that was focused on consistency and repetition, pouring hundreds of drinks to perfect specific patterns, and reveals her own personal signature design.Guest BioAmy Ogg (she/her) is a Seattle-based design systems nerd & coffee-lover. She is currently working on the Mindful Design System at Ensora Health, and enjoys giving back to the community in her free time. Amy serves as the Seattle Chapter Lead for Into Design Systems USA meetups, serves as the Mentor Team Lead at IterateUX, and also provides design mentorship through the iMentorship program at University of Washington’s iSchool. When not immersed in something design-related, Amy enjoys making craft coffee at home, roller skating along the Seattle waterfront and making music with her flute.LinksAmy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyoggCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Here comes the literary trope of the “interview podcast”, when Steve Portigal joins us to talk about his journey into creative writing. Known for his non-fiction books on user research, he shares how he discovered a passion for writing fiction during the pandemic when he hit a personal wall, and enrolled in a creative writing course. Steve talks about balancing clarity with ambiguity, learning that not every reader needs to understand every reference, and his exploration of different writing styles and formats, from short stories about eccentric small-town characters to linked short stories about alien invasions.Guest BioSteve Portigal (he/him) is an experienced user researcher who helps organizations to build mature user research practices. He is the author of Interviewing Users: How To Uncover Compelling Insights (now in a second edition, including an audiobook version) and Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories. He’s also the host of the Dollars to Donuts podcast.Steve is also generously offering a discount on his book. Use discount code DOWNTIME for 10% off of Interviewing Users when purchased from Rosenfeld Media. The discount code is good for the next 30 days, and you can also find this information in the show notes. LinksSteve’s book, Interviewing Users (2nd Edition): https://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/interviewing-users-second-edition/.Use promo code DOWNTIME for 10% off when purchased from Rosenfeld Media. The discount code is good for the next 30 days.Steve’s website: https://portigal.com/Steve’s books: https://portigal.com/books/Steve’s podcast, Dollars to Donuts: https://portigal.com/podcast/Steve on LinkededIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveportigal/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

You have 30 minutes to find the code to the exit, as Shelby Corbella joins us to talk about her love of escape rooms. Shelby, who has completed over 220 escape rooms worldwide, tells us how her first immersive experience of a well-designed escape room helped her "escape" everyday life. She explains that escape rooms fulfill a unique need for her, as they engage multiple aspects of her brain simultaneously, and outlines the key elements that make an escape room memorable. As an experienced escape room player, Shelby describes her role as an "escape room sherpa," helping to identify team members' strengths and ensuring everyone has a positive experience. She also shares stories about her most memorable escape rooms, as well as those that are on her "bucket list".Guest BioShelby Corbella (she/her) is a Senior Product Designer specializing in design systems and diving into the emerging field of designing for AI. Her work balances functionality with innovation, aiming to elevate digital experiences while setting high standards for design consistency. Currently based in Colorado, Shelby spends her free time exploring scenic hiking trails before the chill of winter arrives. When not immersed in the great outdoors, she’s dedicated to achieving a perfect score on Astro Bot and is in the early stages of launching an escape room-themed blog and podcast, merging her love for puzzles with storytelling.LinksShelby’s escape rooms website: https://www.gtfoescapes.com/Shelby’s podcast, GTFO Escapes: https://rss.com/podcasts/gtfo-escapes/CreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

We’re reaching new heights, as Katie Langerman joins us to talk about her adventures in indoor rock climbing. She introduces the different types of climbing (bouldering, top rope, and lead climbing), and talks about how climbing has become a way for her to confront her fear of heights. Katie discusses a serious ankle injury she sustained in 2023 while bouldering, and explains how returning to climbing after the injury was challenging yet therapeutic. She explores the problem-solving nature of climbing, and how that helps her achieve a near-meditative state. Katie also shares advice for people afraid of heights (like the host of this podcast), who are interested in giving rock climbing a try.Guest BioKatie Langerman (she/her) is an interface designer specializing in design systems, currently contributing to GitHub’s Primer. She focuses on creating flexible, scalable systems that help bridge the gap between design and code. Katie is also passionate about fostering collaboration across teams, sharing insights on leadership as an individual contributor, and tackling challenges like design tokens and asynchronous teamwork.LinksKatie’s podcast, Complementary: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/complementaryKatie’s website: https://www.langermank.com/Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/langermankKatie on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/katielangerman.bsky.socialKatie on Twitter/X: https://x.com/KatieLangermanCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Get your brush and easel ready as Amy Hupe joins us to share her newfound passion for watercolour painting. She talks about reconnecting with the hobby as an adult when a friend suggested painting together as a distraction, and how she discovered watercolour painting uniquely silenced her normally busy mind. Despite not considering herself naturally artistic or visually creative, Amy appreciates watercolour's forgiving nature - it allows for mistakes and corrections in a way that complements her otherwise perfectionist tendencies, and has become a rare exception where she embraces imperfection and enjoys the process over the result.Guest BioAmy Hupe (she/her) is a UK based design systems and content design consultant. Over the past 8 years, she's worked on design systems for some of the biggest names around, including GOV.UK, BT, Springer Nature, the BBC and the Wellcome Trust. Whether she’s leading systems work or designing content, Amy works to champion simplicity and inclusion in the face of increasing complexity.LinksAmy’s website: https://amyhupe.co.uk/Amy on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/amyhupe.bsky.socialAmy on Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@Amy_Hupe@social.design.systemsCreditsCover design by Raquel Breternitz.