Growing Design Podcast

Join us as we explore the role of design in business, art, and creativity.

20
episodes, plus a trailer
18
guest interviews
Dec 2020 – Aug 2023
when it ran

Between December 2020 and August 2023, I hosted Growing Design, a podcast about the role of design in business, art and creativity. It ran for 20 episodes plus a trailer.

Most episodes are long-form conversations with designers, agency founders and strategists, usually 45 to 75 minutes long. Five of them also have a written transcript on this site. Every episode is below, newest first.

Topics covered

  • Pricing design services
  • Value-based pricing
  • Niching down
  • Selling design expertise
  • Sales enablement
  • Winning bigger clients
  • Design strategy and research
  • Brand strategy
  • Design sprints and workshops
  • SEO and UX
  • Remote design agencies
  • Music production UX
  • Freelancing and career growth

Listen anywhere

Spotify YouTube Apple Podcasts RedCircle

All episodes, newest first

  1. Episode 20 · Aug 10, 2023 · 53 min

    Justin Dauer

    With Justin Dauer, Founder of Anomali; former VP of design at CVS Health

    Justin Dauer is a lifelong student and practitioner of design. He was the VP of design at CVS Health a top 10, Fortune 500 company. He’s the author of two books and the founder of Anomali, his own design consultancy.

    In this episode, Justin and I talk about

    - The importance of being a life-long learner - Designing during the dot-com era - Growing a design team with a focus on human connection - The importance of putting yourself in environments where you can find meaning and do your best work - In-person vs remote work. Pros and cons.

    Connect with Justin

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/pseudoroom/

    https://twitter.com/pseudoroom

    Justin’s agency

    https://www.anomalibydesign.com/

    Get the books

    https://www.in-fulfillment.com/

    https://www.the-culturebook.com/

    Justin’s recommended pizza in Chicago

    https://pequodspizza.com/chicago/

    Listen on Spotify
  2. Episode 19 · Mar 29, 2023 · 51 min

    Addie Johnson

    With Addie Johnson, Designer based in Richmond, Virginia

    Addie is a designer based in Richmond, Virginia. In this episode, we chat about tools to organize our work, her experience as a brand designer before switching to UX, and he fascinating work on the branding for October Audio guitar pedals.

    Addie’s case study on October Audio’s branding → https://addiejohnson.com/projects/october-audio

    October Audio’s website → https://octoberaudio.com/

    Listen on Spotify
  3. Episode 18 · Nov 15, 2022 · 47 min

    MobilePay w/ Peter Gregersen

    With Peter Gregersen, Co-founder and Chief UX Designer of MobilePay

    Peter Gregersen is the co-founder and Chief UX Designer of MobilePay.

    MobilePay is Denmark’s largest mobile payments app with more than 90% of the market.

    In this episode, you’ll hear about Peter’s challenges and successes and his approach to design.

    If you’re into FinTech, this episode is definitely for you.

    Listen on Spotify
  4. Episode 17 · Jul 3, 2022 · 51 min

    Webflow Freelancing w/ Jonathan Fors

    With Jonathan Fors, Webflow developer from Sweden

    Jonathan is a Webflow developer from Sweden. We spoke about the value of hands-on experience for accelerated learning and how YouTube and online content are great, free alternatives to formal education in creative fields.

    Connect with Jonathan

    https://twitter.com/JonathanFors

    https://www.forsjonathan.com/

    Listen on Spotify
  5. Episode 16 · Dec 4, 2021 · 51 min

    Ross Chapman Head of Design at Obodo

    With Ross Chapman, Head of Design at Obodo

    Ross Chapman is the Head of Design at Obodo.

    In this episode, we talk about using workshops as a way to collaborate with clients and gather feedback, the importance of moving fast in the startup world, and using Airtable to manage your day-to-day operations.

    Ross' newsletter → https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/product-design-by-ross-chapman-6861746713904889856/

    Obodo's website → https://www.obodo.co.uk/

    The Product Design Podcast by Obodo and Ross → https://open.spotify.com/episode/20E9DA9zY7pZrZ1MsmAeHv?si=MxwejzK8RvahZVxFE-G-ww

    Listen on Spotify
  6. Episode 15 · Aug 28, 2021 · 46 min

    The History of UX w/ Jared Spool

    With Jared Spool

    I had the honor to chat with Jared Spool, one of the most recognized names in UX. In this episode, Jared walks me through the beginnings of usability and what the early usability tests looked like.

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube
  7. Episode 14 · Jul 26, 2021 · 58 min

    Music & UX w/ Resonant Design

    With Resonant Design (Simon Martin, Fabian Ruf, Hauke Scholz), Berlin-based design agency specialized in interfaces for music production

    Resonant Design is a Berlin-based design agency specialized in interfaces for music production.

    In this episode, we talk about their product design process, taking inspiration from the physical world, and the advantages of being specialized in a well-defined niche.

    GUESTS

    - Simon Martin - Fabian Ruf - Hauke Scholz

    HIGHLIGHTS

    00:00 Intro

    08:00 Starting Company & First Clients

    11:00 Market Research & Validation

    13:00 Desktop Music Production & Hardware

    18:00 Product Design Process

    20:00 Specific Ux Expertise

    25:00 Design & Visual Language

    27:00 Deconstructing The Real World

    30:00 Tools Blenda, Adobe Ai, Figma

    33:00 Sprites

    36:00 Designing For Stage

    40:00 Testing

    48:00 Future Of Ux In Music

    CONTACT

    - resonant.design (https://resonant.design/) - Behance (https://www.behance.net/ResonantDesign) - LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/resonantdesign/)

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube
  8. Episode 13 · Jun 21, 2021 · 65 min

    Articulating Design Concepts w/ Bao Vo

    With Bao Vo, Musician and visual artist based in Los Angeles

    Bao Vo is a musician and visual artist based in Los Angeles, California. In this episode, we talk about the importance of clearly communicating your ideas. Whether as an artist, musician, UX designer, or entrepreneur.

    CONNECT WITH BAO

    heyitsbao.com

    mingping.com

    www.linkedin.com/in/baovocreative

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Intro

    09:45 Ad Agencies & Digital

    19:00 Good Design Is Accessible

    26:00 Attention To Detail

    33:00 Catching Typos. Using Editors

    39:00 Providing Design Feedback. Respect Their Talent, Act As A Partner, Be Concise

    44:00 Explaining Design Concepts To Clients – Connect To What They Care About

    48:00 Be A Better Communicator - Deliver The Key Concepts Firsts

    55:00 How Design And Communication Improves Creative Expression

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube
  9. Episode 12 · Apr 13, 2021 · 61 min

    Social Business Development w/ Walker Raigh

    With Walker Raigh, Design director and podcast producer

    Walker Raigh is a design director and podcast producer. In our conversation, we talk about the advantages of creating relationships with your prospects to ramp up your business development efforts.

    Among other things, we talked about networking, the law of reciprocity, and sharing your "secret recipe" with prospects to build relationship leverage.

    CHAPTER MARKERS

    00:00 Intro

    02:00 Story of Agency

    04:00 Chamber of Commerce Networking and Reciprocity

    06:00 Give Away Your Recipe and Leverage

    10:00 Focus on the Good Clients

    11:00 Format - Very Personal Free Sessions

    12:00 Packaging Your Expertise

    14:00 Switching From Advertising and Branding to UX

    21:00 Message

    26:00 Client Skipping Research

    33:00 Building Teams and Design Ops

    37:00 the One Trait

    39:00 Interviewing and the School of Life

    42:00 The Scratch and Sniff Podcast

    CONNECT WITH WALKER

    https://www.walkerraigh.com/

    https://www.instagram.com/scratchandsniff_podcast

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube
  13. Episode 8 · Feb 23, 2021 · 59 min

    Landing Bigger Clients w/ Laura Khalil

    With Laura Khalil, Marketing consultant

    In this episode, Laura Khalil walks us through her career as a successful marketing consultant. From working with startups to building her own firm and consulting some of the largest tech companies.

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Read the transcript
  14. Episode 7 · Feb 16, 2021 · 75 min

    Brand Science w/ Stæven Frey

    With Stæven Frey, Principal and Senior Brand Strategist at Quantum Branding

    Stæven Frey is the principal and Senior Brand Strategist at Quantum Branding, a strategy-focused branding agency based in Nashville, TN. In this episode, Stæven walks us through the memory structures that make people recognize and remember brands.

    In our conversation, we chat about building your agency's core offering, how to price based on your client's revenue, and how to overcome the fear of turning away bad clients.

    Contact Stæven Frey

    Quantum Branding Agency https://www.quantumbranding.agency/

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/staeven

    The Brandometry Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandometry

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Read the transcript
  15. Episode 6 · Feb 9, 2021 · 48 min

    Share What You Know w/ Zach Hill

    With Zach Hill, UX Strategist at Scorpion

    In this episode, Zach Hill and I chat about sharing what you know, how to be more effective when selling design outcomes, and the importance of always having a growth mindset and be willing to learn from others.

    Zach is a passionate design-centered strategist that combines an obsession for user experience, product strategy, and process with a foundation in visual communication. Zach uses the experience from the variety of creative disciplines he has been involved in to inform his decisions as a consultant and strategist and inspire his visual solutions as a design communicator.

    Zach is currently a UX Strategist at Scorpion, a marketing and technology company.

    Connect with Zach:

    Website - zachhill.io (https://zachhill.io/)

    Dribbble - https://dribbble.com/zrhill (https://www.instagram.com/zachrhill/)

    Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zrhill/

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Read the transcript
  16. Episode 5 · Feb 2, 2021 · 53 min

    Sales Enablement w/ Crystal Nikosey

    With Crystal Nikosey, Sales and Sales Enablement leader

    Crystal Nikosey explains the concept of Sales Enablement and how to implement it in your agency.

    Crystal is a Sales & Sales Enablement Leader with 10 years of inside and field sales experience. Currently, Crystal, most recently, served as the Director, Customer Success/Enablement @ Tribyl; the industry's first Digital Value Selling™ platform that helps virtual Reps become experts at selling into different Industries, Buyers, and Use Cases, driving pipeline and productivity.

    Previously, Crystal served in the Sales Enablement function with Endurance International and Cisco Systems, focusing on aligning go to market teams, creating content-rich sales assets, and managing large scale product launches across the sales org.

    Prior to sales enablement, Crystal started as a BDR moving into inside sales, and finally an Enterprise Account Executive, selling SaaS solutions.

    Crystal lives in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and 3 children.

    Crystal's Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalnikosey/

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Read the transcript
  17. Episode 4 · Jan 19, 2021 · 51 min

    Design Sprints w/ Steph Cruchon

    With Steph Cruchon, Founder of Design Sprint Ltd.

    In this episode, Steph Cruchon chats with us about the history of design sprints, their value, and why they work.

    Steph is the founder of Design Sprint Ltd., the first company in the world to offer design sprints commercially. He had an important role in the rate of adoption of the methodology in Europe and around the world. He's organized several events around design sprints and has personally run over 120 sprints since 2015.

    Steph's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-cruchon/

    Design Sprint Ltd's website - https://design-sprint.com/

    iToday Conference - https://itoday.ch/

    iToday Monthly Apéros - https://itoday.ch/itoday-aperos/

    Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Read the transcript
  18. Episode 3 · Jan 5, 2021 · 21 min

    Why Niching Down is a Good Idea

    In this episode we explore the concept of niching down and why it is so important to specialize in order to compete.

    We take a look at three of the most important reasons why you should focus your agency into a specific niche:

    - Easier sales - Easier production and delivery - Easier scaleability

    You can find more resources on growing your agency in my blog edorozco.com/blog.

    Listen on Spotify
  19. Episode 2 · Dec 11, 2020 · 72 min

    The Value Of Strategy w/ Romina Kavcic

    With Romina Kavcic, Design Strategist

    In this episode, Romina Kavcic talks about the value of implementing a design strategy. We discuss how to communicate the value of research and the profound impact it can have on the success of a design project.

    Romina is a Design Strategist who holds a Master of Business Administration. She has more than 14 years of experience in design and consulting in tech. She has worked with unicorns like Stellar.org (http://Stellar.org), Databox, Xamarin, Singularity.NET (http://Singularity.NET), and others. She also has a post-graduate credential from Blockchain Strategy (Oxford University).

    Romina has a course on design strategy that you can sign up for on her website designstrategy.guide (https://designstrategy.guide/) that I recommend to check out.

    You can reach out to Romina on

    - Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/rominakavcic/ - Twitter https://twitter.com/rominadesigner - https://designstrategy.guide/

    Listen on Spotify
  20. Episode 1 · Dec 2, 2020 · 10 min

    Value Based Pricing For Designers

    In this episode, we'll explore the concept of value-based pricing. This is a powerful technique for design agency owners to increase their revenue while improving their client satisfaction. Sounds great, right? Let's look at whether this is the best pricing model for your agency and what you need to get started.

    Listen on Spotify
  21. Trailer · Dec 1, 2020 · 0 min

    Trailer

    Hello!

    Welcome to the Growing Design Podcast

    Where we help you grow your design agency

    If you want to learn how to

    - How to price your services

    - How to sell your expertise

    - And how to attract the right type of clients

    You've come to the right place.

    I’m your host, Ed Orozco - let's get started

    Listen on Spotify

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