Revision Path

This week's episode picks up a few weeks after Qa'id Jacobs and I first talked. (If you missed Part 1 of this interview, listen to it here.) The presidential election just ended here in the U.S., and I wanted to get Qa'id's feedback on how he was feeling. What follows is pretty surprising! I ask Qa'id if he and his family are still planning to move back to the United States, and he shares his thoughts on how and what these turbulent times mean for designers and for Black Americans...

I don't remember exactly how I first found out about Qa'id Jacobs, but based on our conversation, he's someone that I will never forget...

We're headed back to the Caribbean this week and talking with designer and creative director Tanya Marie. Tanya is the creator of Designer Island, an online publication that curates the modern Caribbean aesthetic. We talked about why Tanya started Designer Island, and from there explored a bit about the Caribbean design aesthetic and what it means...

We're closing out the month out with a conversation with Facebook product designer Jacklyn Laryea. Jacklyn's relatively new at Facebook, but her background includes work at PBS, The Atlantic, and AOL. Although we started off talking about what Jacklyn does at Facebook, we ended up discussing a lot of different topics, including how Jacklyn's Ghanaian roots influence her work, what she wants to see from the design community, and her advice for up and coming designers...

John Angelo is a product design lead for Facebook News. He uses his specialty with emotive psychology and interaction design to make sure users are not just easily using the service, but that they're happy while doing it. John started off telling me about his passion for news and about how growing up all over the world left an impression on him as a designer. We also talked about the ins and outs of interaction design, how he approaches new projects, and some of the highlights of his career...

We've got a special bonus episode for you this week! I had the opportunity to talk with Maya Patterson, a product designer for Trunk Club in Chicago, Illinois. After a few chats in our Slack community about diversity and the state of design media, I thought she would me a fantastic guest. Our conversation began with a look into a typical day for her at Trunk Club, and she shared how she got into product design, as well as the challenges she's faced being a Black woman in this field...

I first heard about Karla Cole through a past guest -- Allan Cole (no relation). As one of Facebook's newest product designers, Karla works on one the composer unit, one of Facebook's most vital features that asks "what's on your mind" when you want to make a Facebook post. Karla and I touched on a lot of topics, including design curriculum, how she approaches new projects, some of her dream projects, and her journey as a designer from North Carolina to Virginia to NYC to Facebook...

Last month, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- visiting Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, CA! I recorded some interviews while I was there that will air this month, and I spoke as part of Facebook's Design Lecture Series. First up, I'm talking with UX research manager Reggie Murphy. We started off by going into what UX research is and why it's important for designers, and Reggie shared how studying radio websites in the mid-90s turned into the career he has today...

You're really in for a great conversation this week! Sela Lewis described herself to me as "a designer who writes", but I think it's better to describe her as a designer who thinks. Whether she's expressing herself through her blog or taking on lofty design projects, Sela is always figuring out how her design skills can exist in multiple spaces to make the best impact on the world...

If you're not inspired after hearing Jonathan Key talk about design, you might need to check your pulse! Jonathan's design work is all about representation, whether it's through his creative collective Codify Art or by taking a stand against state-sponsored violence by the police via Artists Against Police Violence...