Design Kaffé
Episodes
End of Season 5 of Design Kaffé
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 up...
083: Making Yourself Visible as a Designer
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In episode 83, we unpack the often uncomfortable, but essential, topic of visibility at work for designers. From the challenges of self-promotion to n...
082: Simplifying your Design Process
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
081: Navigating Shifting Priorities
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 resilienc...
080: Will AI Replace Designers? How to Design in the Age of AI
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 arou...
079: Designing with AI: Navigating Bias, Trust, and Transparency
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 A...
078: Concepting & Bringing Ideas to Life
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 start...
077: The State of UX in 2025
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ch...
076: Creating Space for Introverted Voices
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we dive into the unique challenges and strengths of introverts in the workplace, especially in design roles. We discuss navigating ex...
075: Analysis Paralysis & Making Decisions
29 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
074: Onboarding to New Design Roles
15 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 fr...
Season 5 - Trailer
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Design Kaffé, a podcast where we have mindful, candid conversations for designers in tech. In our fortnightly episodes, we discuss a wide ...
073: Do We Need Product Managers?
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 prod...
072: Speed of Delivery, at All Costs
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
071: Money as Designers
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about money. How transparent should we be about salaries with our peers, recruiters, and companies? How should salary negotiations be handled ...
070: Discrimination in the Workplace
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back this week with a heavy topic on discrimination. We're trying to unpack how being discriminated feels like, what discrimination look...
069: Nepotism & Other Toxic Workplace Signs
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 systemi...
068: Stigmas of Taking Time Off for Mental Health
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 upfro...
067: Tiia Meuronen & Tom Kerwin on Redundancy & Pay Cuts
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 abou...
066: Poorly Delivered Feedback
21 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
065: Mediocrity & Low Standards
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about mediocrity and low standards where design over time doesn’t deliver impact or meet the standards set by ourselves and others. We discu...
064: Toxic Productivity & Goal-Setting
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about toxic goal-setting and productivity. We reflect on the best way to evaluate growth at work and best practices to set goals for...
063: Being Human at Work
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about being human at work, whether that's our emotional states or more enduring traits of our identities and personalities which all influence...
062: Bad Job Search Experiences & What to Do About Them
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back for another design conversation, this time about bad job search experiences. We share our own past experiences searching for a design role ...
061: Being Introverted in an Extraverted Workplace
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In our first episode of season 4, we share our experiences of being introverted designers in extraverted workplaces. What challenges have we found, ho...
Bonus: Reflections — End of Season 3
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this last episode of season 3, we look back and reflect over the season’s episodes and format. We talk about what felt challenging to us and what...
060: Gathering Insights
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We complete our last theme for season 3 by exploring the when and how of gathering insights. When during design do we know we should gather insights? ...
059: Getting To & From Insights
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we continue our theme on Insights and deep-dive into identifying and using insights. We talk about the best ways to analyse data and extract...
058: Léa Samrani on Product & Design Collaboration
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We have the wonderful Léa Samrani on as a guest this week to discuss how product managers and designers can collaborate well with each other. We expl...
057: Being Data-Driven vs Data-Informed
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re starting a new theme on Insights and discuss the differences of being Data-Driven vs Data-Informed. We dive into how team dynamics or design p...
056: Managing Yourself
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We round off our Management theme by talking about managing ourselves. How do we manage our goals—whether they’re project goals or career goals—...
055: Managing Upwards
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re continuing our Management theme this week and talk about managing upwards. We share our experience and lessons on how to challenge or give fee...
054: Being Managed
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are kicking off a new theme on Management, starting with some reflections on what it’s like ‘to be managed’. We explore what qualit...
053: Making Decisions & Bias For Action
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We round off our Productivity theme by discussing how we can be better at making decisions and be biased towards action. How do we create an environme...
052: The Value of Slack
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our second episode on Productivity, we deep-dive into the value of slack: why is it important — and not counterproductive — for productivity to...
051: Yuri Martins on Accessibility
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this week’s episode, Yuri Martins joined us to talk about accessibility and his approach at Typeform! We dive into accessibility by design, what ...
050: Efficiency vs Effectiveness
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We kick off a new theme, Productivity, by discussing the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. How are they different, and how do they go h...
049: Beyond The Core Design Skills
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we cover our last topic in our theme of The Designer Role where we talk about those valuable skills that sit outside the core product desig...
048: UX/UI Designer vs Product Designer
05 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We continue exploring the theme of The Designer Role by discussing whether or not a UX/UI Designer is the same as a Product Designer. Where are they s...
047: UX vs UI — The Great Divide?
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We start a new theme about The Designer Role. Our episode this week tackles the controversial topic about UX vs UI 🙈. We talk about the differences...
046: Dealing With Ambiguity
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our last episode about Discovery, we discuss how we deal with ambiguity in discovery: when and how do we run into ambiguity in our discovery work? ...
045: Continuous Discovery
15 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week is about Continuous Discovery! We explore how it differs from project-based discovery as well as some of the best practices about when and h...
044: Designing the Right Thing vs Designing the Thing Right
08 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we are tackling the big mighty theme of Discovery. Starting with a first topic on how to design the right thing VS designing the thing right...
043: Knowing Your Value
01 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For our last episode in our trilogy on how to not lose your soul, we talk about knowing our value as designers: when do we think we’re being underva...
042: Staying Creative
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our topic on how to not lose your soul by deep-diving into the challenges of staying creative as a designer. What is creativity in UX and ...
041: Sarah Doody on Treating Your UX Career Like a Product and Finding Your Next Role
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah Doody joins us this week to talk about UX career and job search. She tells us about how we can benefit from treating our career like a product a...
040: Being a Product Designer
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We explore a new theme: how to not lose your soul. How do we keep our soul as product designers? How do we stick to our user-centred values and princi...
039: Empathy With Ourselves
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we dive into our last empathy topic and talk about the importance of building empathy with ourselves. We discuss how self-empathy impacts u...
038: Empathy With Stakeholders
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We continue our empathy theme and talk about why it’s important to build empathy with stakeholders. We also share thoughts on how we might be better...
037: Empathy With Users
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our first theme for the season is empathy: we define empathy, talk about the importance of building empathy with our users, and share ways we can be m...
036: Switching Careers Into UX + End of Season 2 Reflections
04 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our last episode of season 2, we share our thoughts and opinions on what’s valuable to consider when switching careers into UX. See you in season...
035: Active Listening
25 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about active listening: what it is, why it’s important, and tools and techniques to improve how we actively listen to our users, stakeholder...
034: Conflict Resolution With Joshua Mauldin
18 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joshua Mauldin talks to us about conflict resolution: what is a healthy conflict and what is an unhealthy conflict? How do we create safe spaces that ...
033: Fun and Whimsy at Work
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the importance of fun and whimsy at work, and how it fosters creativity, interpersonal relationships, and a redefinition of work itself....
032: Comfort Zones and How to Get Out of Them
04 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about comfort zones: what are they, how do we get out of them, and why should we get out of them? We touch on growth mindsets, being comfortab...
031: Content Strategy With Kay McMahon
28 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Kay McMahon talks to us about content strategy: what it is, why it’s important, and what skills are involved to ensure the right content is delivere...
030: Discovering While Delivering With Tom Kerwin
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tom Kerwin talks to us about how we can do discovery and delivery at the same time: Pivot Triggers is a lightweight scaffolding framework he’s devel...
029: Loving the Problem, Not the Solution
14 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the importance of falling in love with the problem rather than getting attached to solutions, the value of continuously learning and ide...
028: Is Everyone a Designer?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is everyone a designer? We talk about what role we have in helping people in other disciplines understand the impact their decisions have on end user ...
027: Impostor Syndrome
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what impostor syndrome is, why we might have it, and how we can manage it better. The more psychological safety we create at work to tal...
026: Succeeding as an Introvert With Tim Yeo
10 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tim Yeo (https://www.thequietachievr.com/) talks to us about being introverts in the design industry, how introversion is a strength and not a weaknes...
025: Tending the UX Garden
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we avoid deterioration of user experiences by neglecting design debt and UX maintenance? We talk about the importance and value of fixing UX is...
024: Managing Stakeholders
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Stakeholder management is a nuanced skill we all need to learn as practitioners. We talk about why it's important to manage stakeholders, discuss tech...
023: Creating Space for Learning and Development
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we make sure we continuously grow and learn as UX practitioners? We talk about techniques to keep developing our craft and career, how we learn...
022: Hiring the Best Talent
12 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's the best design talent and how do you hire them? We talk about how to design better hiring processes, good and bad experiences we've had oursel...
021: Making Mistakes
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 is here! In this episode, we talk about learning from mistakes, how to foster a positive culture, how to grow together by reflecting on our a...
020: Reflections — End of Season 1
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on the first season, what we learned, what it takes to launch a podcast or a new project, and what we are expecting from season 2. See you ...
019: Design Maturity = Uniformity?
08 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We reflect on what it means that a growing number of companies are more design mature than ever. We talk about how branding can be a differentiator an...
018: The Optimum Team Size
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We give our opinions and highlight pros and cons about working in small and big teams. We Touch upon culture, scale, structure, and chaos.
017: Dealing With Conflict
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How do we deal with conflict? How important is it? What do we usually do when people disagree in a team? How can we use conflict to learn and move for...
016: Being Happy in Your Role
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We share our opinions on what it means for us to be happy in our roles, touching upon independence, flexibility, and personal values. We also talk abo...
015: Side Projects
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how we manage side projects, how we motivate ourselves, and what works for us. We also cover how they improve us as designers.
014: Giving and Receiving Feedback
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's the best way to deliver feedback? Is there a structure that we can follow? How do we make sure that the other person takes action on the feedba...
013: Promotions and Career Progression
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about promotion, both from the employee and manager perspectives. We unpack key aspects related to it like career progression and owning your ...
012: The Future of Design With Federico Francioni
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Federico Francioni talks to us about the future of design and how design roles will evolve in the future, highlighting the most important skills to ha...
011: Creativity and Innovation
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We define creativity and talk about how to set up a creative environment. We talk about why it's crucial to innovate and improve people's lives. ...
010: Boundaries
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about how to set healthy boundaries in the team, and how to use them to encourage collaboration and improve the design process. Follow us on T...
009: The Role of the Design Manager
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are the most important aspects of being a design manager? What are the key responsibilities? How do design managers manage themselves? Foll...
008: Advice for Early-Career Designers
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what we believe is the best approach to start a career in design. We cover dealing with insecurities, learning, and mindsets. Foll...
007: Types of Designers
22 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about the different types of designers, and cover important aspects of designers' lives like being empathetic, being facilitators, and learnin...
006: Portfolio, How To Make It Work
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We talk about what works in a portfolio at different career stages, and what we believe can be more attractive for a company. Follow us on Twitt...
005: Design Tasks
08 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We have a discussion on design tasks during interviews, how we can better assess candidates and how we can design a fairer interview process. Fo...
004: How We Learn
01 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We exchange ideas and points of view on how we learn as humans and designers, and reflect on failure and creativity in the workplace. Follow us on Twi...
003: Inclusivity and Accessibility With Susan Zhuang
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Susan Zhuang talks to us about the principles of inclusive and accessible design, how it can be strategically important, and also a competitive advant...
002: Who Are Your Users? How Do You Design for Everyone?
10 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we cover the different users that designers have, how to make a bigger impact, and how equity plays a role in our design decisions. Fo...
001: Understanding and Increasing the UX Maturity of Your Org
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to UX Maturity! In the first episode we give our definition of UX Maturity and tell you what to expect from the next episodes. Follow us...