Hustle

On this episode throwback, we discuss:Eric's experience running and growing a startup called Perkville in the bay areaCreating a culture of mentorshipBeing a Chief Design Officer of one, and how running a startup helped Eric refine his focus and purposeEric walks us through the Facebook Groups team, their mission and how they workThe importance of "north star" concepts and their ability to help you sell an idea and a vision to your teamWhy shorter (3 day) sprints can be more effective than 5 day design sprintsThe "People/Problem" framework at Facebook and how Facebook designers drive the products and determine what to shipThe value of diverse job experiences and how working in an agency can help you learn skills to create and sell ideasHaving a diverse team of designers gives you awesome collaboration and outcomes.Testing incremental changes get you incremental results, but when you test big bold ideas you can see huge angle changes in your metricsDesigners need to get out of their bubbles (most of your users

In this episode, we sit down with Heather Korczynski, a dedicated pop-culture aficionado and UX Lead at IBM. Heather offers a deep dive into her life—discussing her role at IBM, her passion for Austin FC, and her aspirations of launching her own business. We explore her growth journey, covering the importance of community, the value of tackling new challenges, and how she balances her career with evolving interests. Heather also shares her excitement about recent pop culture highlights, like the buzz around the Barbenheimer double feature, and reveals her approach to continually learning new skills, from advanced design techniques to project management fundamentals. Wrapping up, Heather provides thoughtful advice for those aiming to embrace new opportunities, step out of their comfort zones, and confront anxieties head-on, all in the pursuit of authentic growth and self-discovery.

In this episode, Nina Sanchez, Tony Sanchez, Bobby Dixon, and Nhi Nguyen delve into the Big Little Poster Show, exploring its value for Austin's design community, sharing personal connections with food, and uncovering the inspiration behind Bobby and Nhi's desire to get involved. They discuss how the show brings together a diverse group of designers and creators, fostering a unique space for collaboration, creativity, and community. Each guest shares their perspective on the relationship between design and food culture, revealing how flavors, colors, and textures inspire their creative processes. Bobby and Nhi share their excitement about the works these artists will bring to life, anticipating how each piece will uniquely capture the theme and celebrate the spirit of Urban Roots. Tune in to hear why this event is more than just an art showcase—it's a celebration of design, community, and the connections that drive creativity forward.Follow THe Big Little Poster Show, Bobby Dixon, Nhi Nguyen, and Nina at:Web:

In this episode, Tony and Anthony explore the nuanced distinctions between good and beautiful design. They consider the subjectivity of beauty, influenced by cultural and individual preferences, and the importance of usability and business objectives and what constitutes “good” design. Citing a mobile game that succeeds commercially and the unconventional design of the Cybertruck, they underline the tension between aesthetics and functionality. The conversation shifts to natural phenomena like the Northern Lights and the balance between awe-inspiring visuals and the tendency to overlook everyday wonders.Follow Tony and Anthony on X: Tony Sanchez Anthony ArmendarizLinkedin: Tony Sanchez Anthony Armendariz----Check out more exciting episodes on the Funsize Show Website.Web: www.funsize.co. |  Instagram: @funsizeco  |  X: @funsize 

In this episode, we chat with Brian Simpson, a creative professional who took the leap from Florida to Austin, Texas, back in 2008. Brian started in flash design and later co-founded an experiential design agency, showcasing incredible innovation and adaptability along the way. We’ll hear about his work on high-profile projects, including a groundbreaking app for Rupert Murdoch, and dive into the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Things get personal as we discuss how parenthood and a pandemic-inspired move to small-town Wimberley have shaped his journey. We’ll also explore Brian’s latest passion project, Small Town Locals, which is all about supporting rural communities through commerce and storytelling. So join us for an inspiring conversation on risk-taking, continuous learning, and finding balance in the ever-evolving world of creative business.Follow Brian and Small Town Locals on Web: www.smalltownlocals.comInstagram: @smalltownlocals @whatsupwithbrian----Check out more exciting episodes on the Funsize

Ten years ago, Funsize launched the Hustle Podcast. Since then, we have had nearly one hundred conversations with exciting people in the design industry.Today, we're excited to announce and discuss the next generation of the Funsize podcasting, The Funsize Show!This podcast, now rebranded as The Funsize Show, is a variety show with many exciting segments hosted by many brilliant people at Funsize. The content will span the gamut of design leadership to design expertise, conversations with our clients about our relationship and our work, taking risks and trying new things, fun and inspiring conversations with our team,  and more.We're about to launch a new website for the show and will be making that announcement on our social media and on future podcast episodes. Please stay tuned. We think you'll like it. Check out more exciting episodes on the Funsize Show Website.Web: www.funsize.co. |  Instagram: @funsizeco  |  X: @funsize 

Juliana Vislova is the VP of Design at Mercury, an all-in-one banking platform for startups. A former linguistics major, Juliana is career switcher who spent time as an art director for a digital marketing agency before her design career. After moving to the U.S., she stumbled upon product design and immediately loved its intersection of pscyhology, art, storytelling and problem-solving. Her design path has taken her from the founding designer at Mercury to now leading a team of 20. In this episode we cover: Career SwitchingBurnoutPersonal agency in workGiving up control and trusting othersMeetings as workAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

During our party for SXSW 2022, we interviewed designers and tech workers to understand how their careers were affected by the pandemic and what it means for their futures. We'd like to extend a huge thanks to Johnny Abowd, Carlos Menchaca, Dina Williams, Ali Metall, AC Cowart, Steven Parvaresh, Rick Messer, Isabelle Encela, Steven Ray and Katy Beightol for sharing their perspectives on this unique episode. In this episode we cover:How people's work was affected by the pandemicThe differences in team dynamics created over the last two yearsWhere designers see their careers headed nextAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

Brian Peterson is a a multidisciplinary creator supporting, connecting, and empowering organizations through strategic design. Brian’s background is in fine arts with a brief stint in animation/illustration. His path to design has taken him through freelance visual design, to a founding team startup, to the design studio at Funsize. Currently, he leads design teams at Affirm, where he works to bring honest financial products to the world.Brian is a strong believer in collaboration and he sees design as a vehicle for connecting people and transforming organizations. When not thinking about design management, operations, methodologies, etc., Brian likes to build worlds through drawing.In this episode we cover:Design managementIndividual contributorsGrowthManagementDesign operationsLeveling upAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

Kevin Hawkins is the director of product design at BookClub—an online platform that brings authors and readers together. He is also an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design leader and educator with over 12 years of experience building communities and launching products.Kevin is a self-taught front-end developer and started his career doing freelance web design for local businesses and science NGOs in his home town: Washington D.C. He transitioned to his first full-time job in UX at 16. Since then, he's been a UX leader for Booking.com, PwC, EY, Gap Inc., and more. Kevin now resides in Amsterdam where he teaches UX and directs the production and launch of innovative products. In his spare time, he likes to travel, learn new perspectives, and desires to be challenged while doing good work. In this episode we cover:Outcome vs. intentWorkaholism Cultural inspiration20% timeSofas  & interior designHyggeAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest 

Michael Holzer is the director of UX at Google Payments and has been at Google for over eight years. He is a passionate, entrepreneurial design leader currently focused on building and operating large-scale creative teams working on new mediums and technologies.Michael grew up in Silicon Valley and started his career studying mechanical engineering and industrial design by prototyping bicycle helmets for Bell Sports. After dropping out, he pivoted to designing irrigation systems for a landscape architecture firm and soon found himself exploring and learning more about web design while working on the company's first website.When not "working" in the traditional sense, Michael is passionate about biking and building his athletic cred.In this episode we cover:Technology & securityPOS systemsGovernment incentivesSociety at largeBuilding teamsAutonomous teamsAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

Alli Metall is a husband, father, and designer living in Reykjavík, Iceland. He was born in Húsavík, Iceland--a small town on the northern coast (also famed as the setting of Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest). He began his career playing guitar in death metal and jazz bands and soon combined his interests in music and computer games to a career in design. After a brief agency stint as an intern in New York City, he returned home to work at a game company, a fin-tech startup, and an airline. Nowadays, Alli is the owner, founder, and creator of his own studio: Metall.Alli shares his fears (running out of $$$) and dreams (surfing in Hawaii before turning 80) and what he's seen as the silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic.In this episode we cover:Job  switchingAgency formationEgo vs. teamworkThe pandemic & the future of workDesigning for screensWhat we're looking forward toAnd more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest 

Aaron “Ron” Irizarry, is the Sr. Director, Servicing Platforms Design at Capital One. He loves all things user experience, problem-solving, and design process. Having worked for Fox/IGN, HP, Nasdaq, and now Capital One, Aaron loves sinking his teeth into complex problems. In addition to his day job, Aaron speaks at events and provides training for companies on design team structure, communication, and collaboration. He is also the co-author of Discussing Design.Most importantly, Aaron is a master of the BBQ arts, a lover and player of heavy metal music, and a lifelong Dodgers fan.In this episode we cover:Design systemsThe critiquing processCollaboration between levelsFacilitation techniques and frameworksEstablishing ground rulesIdentifying emotional responsesFeedback vs. critiqueVisit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

In this first episode with Tony Sanchez as an official co-host, we were honored to be joined by a design legend. Toke Nygaard is the Chief Creative Officer at Zendesk. With more than 20 years of experience designing digital experiences, Toke Nygaard oversees Zendesk’s brand and product UX/UI. In this role, he is constantly developing and building the Zendesk brand with his global team of passionate creatives, keeping the product experience true to its origins of being simple and easy to use. Before joining Zendesk, Toke was a founding partner of one of the largest pioneering design communities, K10k. He was also the founder and creative director at Cuban Council, a digital-design company, where he helped design the original Facebook identity, and worked with a range of clients from Tyra Banks and Francis Coppola, to Apple and NASA. Previously, he worked for Danish web-design frontrunner Araneum and later helped start the Oven Digital offices in London. Outside of the office, Toke enjoys spending quality time

For the last episode recorded in 2020, we flip the spotlight onto our founders, Anthony and Natalie Armendariz, to walk us through the challenging, chaotic and — at times — exciting journey that was 2020. In a year that provided surprises and obstacles for just about every human being on the planet, we wanted to tell our agency's part of the story. We hope you enjoy.We cover:Our mindset going into 2020Business and culture goals entering 2020Q1 happenings at the beginning of the pandemicSurprising new client relationships in 2020How/why did Funsize actually grow in 2020?The "staff augmentation" niche during the pandemicThe pandemic's effect on team cultureTeam perspectives during the pandemicExpectations when starting Funsize years agoThe launch of Funsize Ventures and what it meansWork differences between designers and developersWhat will 2021 bring? Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest  

Ted Boda is currently a Product Design Manager on the Well-Being team at Instagram. He is also a former Director of Design at Udacity, former Senior Designer at Nest Labs, former Lead Mobile Designer at Netflix and a former Lead UI Designer for Keynote at Apple (where, interestingly enough, he worked on some of the slides used for Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth). With all that experience to draw on, we loved having Ted on the show — for a second time — to hear what he's been up to and gain some insight into how design management is done at one of the largest social media platforms on earth. We cover:Guesswork at the beginning of design leadershipDesign leadership at InstagramDesign tools at Instagram and FacebookThe Well-being team at Instagram and what they doWhat an average week looks like for Ted.His "cameo" on NetflixQualities to look for in Design ManagersTed's childhood interests

Margaret Lee is the Director of UX Community & Culture at Google. A self-described "reluctant leader," she heads up programs that unite departments across the company and create Google career opportunities for those who might not typically have access. Margaret created this role for herself a few years ago when she noticed there was an opportunity to put more intention behind efforts of inclusion and community within Google. After a manger's encouragement, she took a leap of faith and began sharing her passions on-stage. She hasn't looked back since. We cover: Her path to designGoogle's shift to a design focusHow Margaret created her own niche careerThe differences  intentionality can createHow Google is improving access to UX jobsThe complex challenge of inclusionReluctant leadershipHow her role at Google has changed her personallyConnecting with new team members during the pandemicVisit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest 

Braden Kowitz is a former design partner at Google Ventures, where he had the opportunity to work with startups like ClassPass, Gusto, Slack, Medium, Flatiron Health, TuneIn, BlueBottle Coffee, 23andMe, One Medical Group, HubSpot, RetailMeNot, Nest and more.  He is the co-author of NY Times Best Seller, Sprint, and the co-founder of Range, a tool that keeps teams connected and productive. We're extremely grateful to Braden for sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience with us. Get your notepads out for this one! We cover:Some of the differences in Google design from when he entered and leftHow he got into Google Ventures and whyHis experience watching the explosion of the Design SprintWhat Range does and who it servesThe agency challenge of working with multiple culturesWorking the way clients want to work during COVID-19Testing and validating new work methodologiesVulnerability and connection for teamsThe challenge of jumping responsibilities as a business ownerPersonal manualsMore!Visit the Funsize web

Douglas Ferguson is an entrepreneur and human-centered technologist with over 20 years of experience. He is the founder and president of Voltage Control, an Austin-based facilitation agency that specializes in helping teams work better together through participatory decision making and design inspired facilitation techniques. He has helped transform teams from U.S. SOCOM, the Air Force, Adobe, Dropbox, Fidelity, Vrbo, Liberty Mutual, Humana, and SAIC. We really appreciated hearing Douglas's thoughts on facilitation in the era of COVID and are excited to see what's next for Voltage Control. We cover: Starting out in developmentHow his career in facilitation has changedBuilding a facilitation communityAdaptability vs DogmaPrescribing different workshopsKnowing when it's time for a design sprintWhat happens after a design sprintThe differences in remote sprintsA lot more!Visit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest

In a first for The Hustle, we're tackling important subject matter outside the realm of design. In a conversation led by our Guest Host, Tony Sanchez, a Design Lead at Funsize, Chas Moore joined us to discuss the public outcry and wave of activism in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Chas is the Executive Director of Austin Justice Coalition, an activist-led organization that educates and builds community power for people of color who live in Austin, Texas. We're extremely grateful to have him on the show to provide insight into this important time in American history. We cover: Austin Justice Coalition's missionWhy George Floyd's murder was so impactfulWhat it's like to be in the local spotlight during this important movementResulting change from increased attention on racial violenceWhat liberation looks likeBeing authentically engaged with the causeThe current undertakings of Austin Justice CoalitionVisit the Funsize websiteSubscribe to The Funsize Digest