Design Kaffé

We reflect a little bit on the challenges and successes of Season Five before taking a nice, long summer break. For season 6, we're planning on updating our format a little bit. Thank you so much to all our listeners, we look forward to continuing in the autumn!

In episode 83, we unpack the often uncomfortable, but essential, topic of visibility at work for designers. From the challenges of self-promotion to navigating cultural dynamics and finding the right moments to share your impact, we share practical tactics for making your work seen. ☕️ Grab some coffee and listen to us talk about visibility as designers. Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.New episode every other Tuesday.

In this episode, we talk about what makes a design process helpful vs. what makes it bloated. From spotting common bottlenecks to knowing when to cut steps (or when to keep them), we share how our own approach to design has evolved over time. It's all about finding that balance between structure and speed, depth and delivery.☕️ Grab some coffee and enjoy some reflections on a lean design process.Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. New episode every other Tuesday.

We've all been there when priorities keep changing and we have to adapt. We talk about classic examples of priorities shifting, how to build resilience to cope with those changes, and how we can make better quality priorities in the first place to avoid having to change them. ☕️ Grab some coffee and listen to us reflect on shifting prioritiesSubscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. New episode every other Tuesday.

Will AI replace us as designers? Or will it simply evolve the way we design?In this new episode, we unpick the hot debate and different buzzwords around AI, and its impact on our design industry. From tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney to the ethical and creative dilemmas they bring, we explore how designers can stay relevant, learn to work with AI (instead of against it), and rethink the value we bring in an increasingly automated world☕️ Grab some coffee and listen to us reflect on how AI is impacting our industry Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. New episode every other Tuesday.

In this episode of Design Kaffé, we're exploring the ethics of AI and key considerations for designing with it. How do we design ethically with AI? Can we design ethically with AI? How can we empower users and preserve their trust? We discuss bias, transparency, user trust, and the challenges designers may face in creating responsible AI-driven products.☕️ Grab some coffee and listen to us reflect on how AI is impacting our industry Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠. New episode every other Friday(ish).

We talk about concepting and bringing ideas to life. How do we balance pragmatism and innovation in design? How do we relate to thinking big but starting small?☕️ Tune in to listen to us share advice on how we organise our design space for creative conceptualising yet remain focused on the user problem, challenges we face when sharing concepts with stakeholders, and more.Subscribe to our⁠⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠.New episode every other Friday.

In the first episode of the year, we talk about the state of UX in 2025. What changes have we found in our design roles? How are embracing or being challenged by those changes? What is the role of AI in all of this? We explore how design has shifted towards generalism, dip into the ongoing debate about job titles, discuss the job market, and discuss the role of research and creativity. ☕️ Grab some coffee and listen to us reflect on where UX has been and where we feel it’s going. Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠. New episode every other Friday.

In this episode, we dive into the unique challenges and strengths of introverts in the workplace, especially in design roles. We discuss navigating extroverted environments, finding ways to make our voice heard, and the value of thoughtful leadership. We share practical tips on everything from running inclusive conversations to managing energy as an introverted leader. Whether you’re an introvert yourself or work with one, this chat is full of useful takeaways to help teams work better together and make sure everyone’s voice is heard. ☕️ Grab a cup and join us for practical tips, personal stories, and a fresh take on what it means to embrace introversion in tech and design. Link to our previous episode on introversion in the workplace Subscribe to our ⁠⁠Substack⁠⁠ or follow us on ⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠. New episode every other Friday.

Sometimes it can be hard for us as designers to know when to finish analysing research insights or evaluate which design directions to move forward with. Similarly, when we present users with too many options, they often end up not choosing any. We talk about analysis paralysis and how we can break out of it. Subscribe to our ⁠Substack⁠ or follow us on ⁠Linkedin⁠. New episode every other Friday.

Breaking into a new design role can feel daunting and overwhelming. In this episode, we share how we get ready before joining a team, the goals and frameworks we follow for onboarding, and our priorities in our first month(s) to set ourselves up for success. Subscribe to our Substack or follow us on Linkedin. New episode every other Friday.

Welcome to Design Kaffé, a podcast where we have mindful, candid conversations for designers in tech. In our fortnightly episodes, we discuss a wide range of topics to explore what it means to be a designer, the challenges we face in the tech industry and share thoughts about our craft. Our first episode this season will come out on the 15th November. Happy listening!

In our last episode of season 4, we ask ourselves: do we need product managers? Can people in other disciplines, like designers and engineers, do product management, or is it essential that there is a dedicated PM on every team? When does it make sense to have PMs and when does it not?

This week we're talking about delivery speed and the fine balance to find with delivering quality. We explore why it matters, the impact delivery speed can have on the quality of the team's outputs and how we as designers can face this challenge.

We talk about money. How transparent should we be about salaries with our peers, recruiters, and companies? How should salary negotiations be handled or not handled? What about raises and promotions? Follow us on Twitter @designkaffe and check out our website designkaffe.com.

We're back this week with a heavy topic on discrimination. We're trying to unpack how being discriminated feels like, what discrimination looks like and why it occurs in the workplace. We also explore how we can be better allies and improve our work environments. Follow us on Twitter @designkaffe and check out our website designkaffe.com.

We talk about nepotism and other signs of toxicity in the workplace. We discuss why it’s so damaging to individuals and teams when there’s systemic toxicity at work, and share thoughts on what to do when you find yourself in these situations. Follow us on Twitter @designkaffe and check out our website designkaffe.com. New episode every other Friday!

We explore the challenges and difficult feelings of taking time off from work due to mental health. We discuss why it is tricky to be honest and upfront about it, and fears we may have about the perception others have of us and our reliability at work. Follow us on Twitter ⁠@designkaffe⁠ and check out our website ⁠designkaffe.com⁠. New episode every two weeks on Friday

This week Tiia Meuronen and Tom Kerwin guest our podcast to share their experiences with redundancies and having their hours and pay cut. We talk about how you can look after yourself while going through such challenging experiences, how companies handle redundancies and pay cuts well and not so well, and what the wider design community can do to look after each other. Find Tom on LinkedIn, his Innovation Tactics deck on Pip Decks, his Pivot Triggers on Maven, and his consulting services on Trigger Strategy Group. Follow Tiia on LinkedIn and check out her company Béa Fertility. Follow us on Twitter @designkaffe and check out our website designkaffe.com. New episode every other Friday!

Today we’re discussing feedback and how it can sometimes be delivered poorly. We explore in what contexts or situations poor feedback tends to occur and how we can best react to it.  Follow us on Twitter @designkaffe and check out our website designkaffe.com. New episode every two weeks on Friday