This is experience by design, a podcast that brings new perspectives to the experiences we have everyday. Does standing in line always have to suck? Why are airports so uncomfortable? What does it mean to be loyal to a brand? Why do you love being connected but dislike feeling tethered to your smart phone? Can we train people to care about the climate? Join Sociologist Gary David and Anthropologist Adam Gamwell on an expedition to the frontiers of culture and business through the lens of hum ...
…
continue reading
One of the reasons that I originally went into sociology, and doing ethnographic research, is learning about people’s stories. We are a species that likes stories, and likes hearing about people’s stories. I think this is why “human of New York” is as popular as it is. People have their stories rooted in their lives and experiences. And when it com…
…
continue reading

1
Human Factors and Energy Experiences with Tucker Perkins
1:01:40
1:01:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:40I miss my gas stove. I used to have one in a home I first lived in after moving to Massachusetts. There was something about the click-click-click and then the spark of the flame. Being able to see it and adjust it accordingly based on how much heat I wanted to generate for whatever I was cooking. It felt magically. Come to think about it, my love f…
…
continue reading

1
Designing for Community with Mack Garrison
1:01:33
1:01:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:33Being creative ain’t easy. There is something about putting yourself into your work that can be hugely rewarding, but also massively exhausting. Doing something without putting your heart and soul into it can come with its own drawbacks, but at the end of the day the results of your work are not tied directly into how you see yourself. For people w…
…
continue reading

1
The Harley-Davidson Experience with Ken Schmidt
1:07:51
1:07:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:51I never expected the term “branding” or “brand” to be part of my lexicon, but here we are in 2025 where it seems that “branding yourself” and “what is your brand” are common concepts to discuss. Trying to figure out which version of me will “land” or resonate with not just my “audience”, but anyone. Iconic brands are something that seem to last for…
…
continue reading

1
Engineering Customer Experiences with Michelle Spaul
1:11:29
1:11:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:29The New Year is a great time to reflect on our past, and to think about what we want to accomplish in the upcoming year. After all, it is the season of the Annual Performance Review! Whether in our personal or professional lives, it can be hard to identify what is important in terms of our evaluations. How do we know if we are making progress towar…
…
continue reading

1
Customer Experience Reckoning with Valerie Peck
1:07:17
1:07:17
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:17One of the ways that I describe experience design, and more specifically for the purposes of this episode customer experience, is by asking people to imagine the worst customer experience that they have had. And unfortunately for all of us, there are a lot of them. It is probably easy to remember the bad experiences. But what about our best experie…
…
continue reading

1
Designing Connection through Immersive Experiences with Leigh Sachwitz
1:21:04
1:21:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:21:04Many months ago now, I had the chance to go to the WNDR Museum in Boston. If you google that, it will come categorized as a “tourist attraction.” but it is a lot more than that, especially considering that I wouldn’t classify myself as a “tourist” since I live outside of Boston. More specifically, and even importantly, WNDR is an interactive art mu…
…
continue reading

1
Designing User Experience Ethos with Karen T. Lin
1:02:09
1:02:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:09The original goal of those in the field of usability was pretty simple: to make products and environments that were more usable for those who were interacting with them. By looking at how to make better products, there was the potential to make life better as well. If greater profitability could be gained through these efforts, then great. At the s…
…
continue reading

1
Designing the Future with Donna Dupont
1:02:25
1:02:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:25As American troubadour Bob Dylan said, “The times they are a changin’.” I’m recording this one week after the 2024 presidential election. Without delving into the specifics of any particular outcome, one thing that is clear is there are going to be some major changes. Change can produce a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, even when there are positive…
…
continue reading

1
Solar-Powered Experiences with Alex Nathanson
1:01:47
1:01:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:47Today we have a fascinating discussion lined up with Alex Nathanson, a technologist, artist, and founder of Energy Transition Design LLC. In this episode, we'll explore the intricate challenges and opportunities that come with solar-powered technology, particularly solar roof tiles and the broader adoption of renewable energy solutions. Alex will s…
…
continue reading

1
Communicating Insights and Experiences with Nick Kindler
1:05:04
1:05:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:04When you work in academia, you come across some very smart people. This should be surprising given that academics spend an enormous amount of time exploring whatever topic they study. And people become academic experts by digging into the particulars of areas that can be pretty narrow and focused. This is the nature of academia: develop niche knowl…
…
continue reading

1
Disaster Experiences with Patrick Hardy
1:09:05
1:09:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:09:05Maybe it just is the way that I am viewing the world, but it seems like everyday reveals another fresh disaster. It could be that disasters have always been with us, and now we are just more aware of them. Global news at our fingertips doesn’t necessarily help as we can tap into events that occur anywhere at any time. Even with this, it seems like …
…
continue reading

1
People-Centered Construction with Jesse Hernandez
1:12:23
1:12:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:12:23There is something about building something with one’s hands that seems to resonate. There is a resilience in being able to bring forth out of different parts and ingredients a thing that is whole and new. Of course, in American culture there is a deep notion of creation and springing forth from hard work, and with experience and knowledge that can…
…
continue reading

1
Intelligence and Algorithms with Tyler Schmoker
1:08:06
1:08:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:06I never expected the word “algorithm” to play such a significant role in life and society. Growing up, I thought an algorithm was something that we would leave to math classes. The last time I took a math class to complete my undergraduate degree requirements. After that, I figured I was done with algorithms. But nope. Algorithms have been thrust b…
…
continue reading

1
Highly Sensitive Entrepreneur Experiences with Heather Dominick
59:32
59:32
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:32When I was growing up, it was not uncommon to hear someone being told “Don’t be so sensitive.” Typically this was said when a person was being accused of reacting too strongly to some minor action. Another similar statement could be “why are you so sensitive?” Sensitive skin is referred to as being problematic and requiring special care. A sensitiv…
…
continue reading

1
Communication and Healthcare Experiences with Jessica Mudry
56:30
56:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
56:30There is a saying that nothing is certain in life but death and taxes. Clearly, there is a lot more certain in life, with perhaps the most important one being healthcare. Healthcare is something that we all encounter throughout our lives. Health is something that many of us may take for granted, but is always something that is in flux. We might pon…
…
continue reading

1
Inclusive User Experience with Oak Theory
1:11:26
1:11:26
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:26One of the central questions in experience design is how to not only engage the audience for whom we are designing, but also how do we best include them in the process of design. But such a statement can sound more like a platitude than an actual instruction. It is one thing to say “be inclusive”, but another to be truly inclusive. This can seem ch…
…
continue reading

1
Designing Reverent Spaces with Jonathan Cohen
1:12:07
1:12:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:12:07In today’s episode of Experience by Design, we welcome Jon Cohen, an expert in transformative experience design from G&A, an experience design company. We do a deep dive into the potential risks and implications of emerging technologies, particularly the Apple Vision Pro, and its impact on distraction and deployment in various settings, including m…
…
continue reading

1
Matt B Davis and Experiencing Obstacles
1:08:09
1:08:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:09I’ve been involved in the creation and promotion of a number of athletic events, more specifically a cycling discipline called cyclocross. I’ve also participated in my fair share of events, from local road running races to Ironman and the Boston Marathon. I like to think that I have a decent understanding on the design of sporting events from the p…
…
continue reading

1
Curiosity Creation and Museum Experiences with Sitara Systems
1:04:40
1:04:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:40The field of education and learning is shifting in a lot of ways. Some of this is related to the new technologies, and the opportunities that are created through them. At the same time, we can see the duplication of traditional approaches through new technologies. Afterall, what does PowerPoint really accomplish if all we do is just put our lecture…
…
continue reading

1
Creating Connected Experiences with Unni Turrettini
57:06
57:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:06One of the things that we know as social scientists is that people need connection. It is not that we want connection, or would prefer connection, but that we need it to be part of our lives. Some of the foundational figures in sociology were all concerned with the onset of isolation and disconnection that came with industrial society. Durkheim loo…
…
continue reading

1
Humanizing the Real Estate Experience with Liz Rossof
1:12:22
1:12:22
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:12:22The home buying process is not great. And while it might not ever be great, it should be better than it is. While home may or may not be where the heart is, the home is definitely where the stress starts. The whole venture of buying a home is a pain from start to finish. Anyone who has been through this knows what I’m talking about. The financing, …
…
continue reading

1
eLearning Experience Design with Tim Slade
1:09:07
1:09:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:09:07There is the old saying that ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ This could be the slogan for education in the pandemic world. All educators were thrust into a situation that many vowed they would never do: teach online. But what could we do? It wasn’t like there were a lot of options. We had to make due with what we had, and hope that it worke…
…
continue reading

1
Human Elements of Customer Experiences with Karl Sharicz
1:11:18
1:11:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:18Here on Experience by Design, we like to think we are experts, or at least pretty knowledgeable, about the concept of culture. A couple of PhDs and training in ethnography will at least yield a working understanding of culture, as well as how it permeates all aspects of our lives. Regardless of how ubiquitous, it also is hard to nail down in terms …
…
continue reading

1
Interiors for Better Experiences with Carolyn Boldt
1:02:52
1:02:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:52It might seem like an obvious statement, but different kinds of environments require different kinds of designs. Thinking about my kids for instance. As they got older, their tastes and interests changed, which as a result changed their room decor. One of my daughters is always seeking to ‘level up’ her room schwag, looking for design ideas to refl…
…
continue reading

1
Grounded Leadership and Employee Experience with Tony Martignetti
1:06:49
1:06:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:06:49What is business all about? Is it about profit? Or people? Or both? Another question we can ask is why is there the belief that if you are profitable, then you cannot be people focused, or even people concerned. Such a philosophy is going to seep into every aspect of workplace culture, creating a situation in which people are not only disconnected …
…
continue reading

1
Designing an Authentic Brand with Vladimer Botsvadze
57:18
57:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
57:18Before, our work lives were defined by our relationship with the brands we worked for. Growing up in Detroit, a person might be a “Ford person” or a “GM person”. The same can be said for those who worked for Mary Kay or Tupperware. Through our association with the brand, we gained a sense of self that was enriched by that association. Today, people…
…
continue reading

1
Designing Environments for Learning with Mary Ruppenthal
1:01:24
1:01:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:24It is not like we need a building in which to teach. Thinking back to Socrates, he was conducting his teaching in an open-air market, influencing younger generations to the point where he was forced to drink hemlock. At the same, a good educational structure can help. I have taught in a variety of environments, and have seen educational technology …
…
continue reading

1
Creating Serendipitous Experiences with David Adler
59:23
59:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
59:23While technology may make it seem like we are constantly connected, the truth is that in many ways we have never been more disconnected from one another. The same devices that can bring the world to our fingertips can at the same time drive a barrier in between real moments of authentic connection. In many ways, this divorces us from ourselves rega…
…
continue reading

1
Execution for Customer Experience with Rick Denton
34:07
34:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
34:07Much of our lives, especially in organizations, is governed by process. In fact, organizations can be evaluated based on how mature their processes are. Technological systems are set up to implement processes that employees are supposed to follow. At the same time, process can be a killer of innovation. When we are wedded to processes, we can lose …
…
continue reading

1
Repurposing Your Purpose with Maximillian Piras and Headliner App
1:08:29
1:08:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:29When I was growing up, I used to hear a lot of commercials for a group called The Starving Artists Group. The ad would talk about how you could go to a local mall and get paintings and other art work really cheap, because after all the artists were starving and apparently desperate to find food. It also was not a good ad for going into the arts. Af…
…
continue reading

1
Putting Employees First with Paul ter Wal
1:08:04
1:08:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:04We’ve all heard the saying that change is hard, but it is more than that. Change is not only hard, but can be threatening, as well as inevitable. Change is something that takes place naturally, and is impossible to stop. When things change around us and we fail to change with it, then what was once familiar can now feel foreign. While before we mig…
…
continue reading

1
Diversity and Inclusion in Video Game Design
1:12:09
1:12:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:12:09Gary was part of the first generation to have home video games, and can still remember his Odyssey game console while everyone else was getting an Atari. You might say that left a mark. But he also remembers the fun that you could have just by sitting in front of the television, or computer, and playing some video games. As the games evolved, so di…
…
continue reading

1
Communicating Healthcare and Information Design with Kristie Kuhl
1:04:33
1:04:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:33Good health is one of the things that we value as most important in our lives. When other tragedies strike, people often will remark that at least they have their health. And even when all other things are going well, being in poor health (even momentarily with a minor illness) can completely through us out of balance. But despite the importance of…
…
continue reading

1
Designing Educational Comics with Sequential Potential
1:07:54
1:07:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:54Anyone who is in education knows the challenge that exists when we are trying to deliver content that connects with students. It can be hard to remember that the material that exists us might not be that exciting for the students. Although, I do find it hard to imagine that sociological theory isn’t fascinating for everyone. At the same time, there…
…
continue reading

1
Jon Strassner and Designing for Sustainable Change
1:11:03
1:11:03
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:11:03By Jon Strassner, Adam Gamwell, Gary David
…
continue reading

1
EPIC Customer Experiences with Alex Mead
1:08:16
1:08:16
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:16The idea of pleasing customers goes back as far as the beginnings of human history. A 3,800 year old clay tablet with cuneiform writing from the city of UR is perhaps our evidence of customer complaints. A man named Nanni complained about the quality of copper he received to Ea-Nasir, along with issues with subsequent delays. A quote from the table…
…
continue reading
In today’s data saturated world, businesses are looking for ways to cut through the noise, and consumers are looking to feel seen and heard. Tools and techniques from the social sciences like Anthropology and Sociology can help organizations thrive in today's complex world by focusing on people’s lived experience in context. Learning to see connect…
…
continue reading

1
Intercultural Frolicking and Design with Kiran Varri
1:07:37
1:07:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:37Designing for an international audience can provide challenges to the experience designer. If we are going to design with the cultural norms and expectations in mind, how do we handle when the number of cultures we are catering to seems to always increase? This also is a major challenge when living in a multicultural society where we have people fr…
…
continue reading

1
Rock-It Fueled Experiences with Wanda Toro Turini
1:10:40
1:10:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:10:40In a media environment where we are beset on all sides by messages, it can be hard to connect with your audiences. More challenging still is educating and impacting. We are all familiar with ads on television for different medications, from restless leg syndrome to depression to atrial fibrillation to skin problems to Wilfred Brimley “diabetus” adv…
…
continue reading

1
Doug Shapiro and Future of the Workplace Design
1:08:09
1:08:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:08:09One of the lessons of the pandemic is raising the relevance of the workplace as a physical location in which people come together to accomplish their tasks. There are numerous stories of empty locations and attempts by employers to bring people back. Some of these attempts involve enticements, while others involve threats. Both speak to the growing…
…
continue reading

1
Experience Strategy and Umami with Aga Szostek
1:13:30
1:13:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:13:30In experience design, there is design thinking, design doing, and design strategizing. Seldom do all three things come together in one package. This clearly presents a problem. Thinking isn’t enough without the doing. And doing isn’t enough without a strategy for what we are doing and why we are doing it. How to tie these things together becomes no…
…
continue reading

1
Constraints and Creative Experiences with Jaci Badzin
53:55
53:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:55One of the most enjoyable aspects of being an experience designer, or a designer of any kind, is the opportunity to make unexpected connections in order to deliver new experiences. Often this starts in our backgrounds of study. Because there are so few programs targeted in experience design, the majority of designers combine their educational backg…
…
continue reading

1
Transactional to Transformational Experiences with Vaishali Dialani
1:02:38
1:02:38
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:02:38One of the fascinating things about doing experience design is the innumerable ways in which we can apply our understanding and work. While we might talk about silos such as customer, user, employee, patient, and the like, it always comes down to people. Or, some might say, humans. And it is not just that we are dealing with humans in our design, b…
…
continue reading

1
Creating Online Learning Experiences with Dr. Mohamed Latib
1:01:39
1:01:39
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:01:39Anyone who has been involved in education knows that education ain’t easy. It can be tricky and challenging to figure out how best to learn, integrate, and distill information to an audience. From the days of Socrates in the Agora and even before, the challenge of reaching learning with information that connects and educates has existed. The emerge…
…
continue reading

1
Designing Activism with David Johnson
1:19:37
1:19:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:37When confronted with all of the wicked problems that we are facing as a country, global community, and species, it can all seem pretty hopeless. The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass famously said, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and never will.” When looking at the challenge…
…
continue reading

1
Drew Bonfiglio and Designing Business for Good
1:03:06
1:03:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:06As social scientists in sociology and anthropology, we are well-versed in the examination of business as a source of disruption in society. The privileging of profits over people, the extraction of resources for the benefit of shareholders, question ethics and legality rationalized as a necessary evil. Especially looking at the slash-and-burn era o…
…
continue reading

1
Accelerated Leadership with Jennifer Chapman
1:05:23
1:05:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:05:23The field of leadership coaching has been expanding with many different types of offerings provided by just as many different approaches. And it is hard to say that it is not needed. People in management positions can be beset on all sides by demands and limitations, making even thinking about leadership just another thing to add onto an already pa…
…
continue reading

1
Doing Design that Drives Change with Michael Kirkpatrick
1:04:09
1:04:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:09In many ways, Experience Design is a new field of work in terms of how it has become focused on and prioritized in companies and across sectors. In other ways, there is nothing new about it at its core. Experiences have been designed and delivered throughout human history. Perhaps what is most different about today is the awareness and intentionall…
…
continue reading

1
Architecting Curiosity and Designing Wonder
1:04:27
1:04:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:04:27We might have all heard that curiosity killed the cat. But as with all stories, the reality of that statement is a bit more complicated. It turns out that the initial version of that phrase referred to how excessive worry or concern for others killed the cat, and that is a concept we can all relate to. Curiosity, on the other hand, did not cause ha…
…
continue reading