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The Product Design Podcast - Best of Season One

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Highlights

It is beyond exciting to celebrate our first full year of The Product Design Podcast! Seth looks back on some of the top fan-rated advice from season one in this episode. This episode is perfect for everyone; whether you are thinking about getting into product design, currently managing design teams, or somewhere in between - there is advice to help you level up.

These highlights summarize some key points to always consider during your product design career path. Read the article below to dive deeper into the tactical advice shared in season one and listen to more of the great advice collected from the last year in the full episode!

🔥 When you are getting started - say yes to everything! -Elizabeth Alli

You can figure out how to do things after you take ownership. By saying yes to new projects and opportunities, you allow yourself to grow in new directions that can help you truly learn what you are interested in doing long term.

🌱 As you continue to grow - create a 360 feedback loop. -Jake Taylor

Set up reoccurring meetings with peers in other disciplines and departments to ask for feedback and ensure your work is on track. This practice opens up communication with other departments and will ensure you receive the feedback you need to create a plan for improving your skills.

💪 When you start to lead and mentor other product designers - understand when you need to teach and when you need to learn. -Dennis Cortés

As a manager, there will be many times that you are teaching your team members about areas where you are strong. There will also be times when your team members can teach you something to fill in your knowledge gaps. Be open to that!

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The Product Design Podcast: Best of season one

In episode 27 of The Product Design Podcast, Seth Coelen celebrates the end of season one by looking back on the top fan-rated clip from each featured guest on the show! It is hard to believe a year has passed since we initially launched the podcast, and it is really fun to hear the best pieces of advice from throughout the year. It has been quite the ride, and we genuinely hope that you have gotten as much out of it as we have!

Over the last year, your support helped us reach over 14,000 downloads, and we have received so many comments on how helpful the conversations on the show have been! You all are the reason we do what we do. Bringing valuable advice to our audience is our number one goal, and it means so much to have all of your support!

Advice for anyone in product design, regardless of time in our industry

In the first 26 episodes of the show, we have covered topics and collected advice ranging from how to get started in product design to how to manage design systems and mentor Junior Product Designers. The conversations can benefit anyone in product design, regardless of how long they have been in the game.

In this article, we have collected a handful of the most valuable pieces of advice we have collected from our featured guests. Listen to the full episode to hear even more tactical advice and if any of the featured guest conversations spark your interest, listen to their full episode to get insight into how they got their start and what steps they took to get them to where they are today in their career!

Just getting started?

As a new or aspiring product designer, there is so much to learn that it can become overwhelming. In season one, so many of our featured guests offered fantastic advice to anyone looking to make a move to product design or those just getting their start. Here are just a few tips to take to heart, but check out all of the episodes for even more golden advice!

💪 Find ways to get your name and work out there! -Furquan Ahmad

Whether you immerse yourself in the design community, create a YouTube channel, attend design meet-ups or build something to help others learn, creating your personal brand is a great way to expand your network. Plus, you will have something to look back to later and see how far you have come!

💡 Top 2 areas to focus on as you navigate a career in product design. -Denise Francis

1. Learn how to tell stories. This skill will help you communicate in a more engaging way for your audience, which leads to better understanding.

2. Spend time figuring out what your superpower is and then apply it to everything you do. Denise's ability to draw has given her the gift of bringing whimsy into the tech world!

“There are always going to be peaks and valleys, and anytime you feel yourself in a low position, all that means is that something really awesome is right around the corner.” -Denise Francis

📢 Use your portfolio as an opportunity to learn how to ask for and receive feedback. -Danielle Justilien

Being a designer requires thick skin, and the feedback process can sometimes be painful. When you have a good start on your portfolio, send it to 10-15 of the contacts you have established a relationship with during your learning process and ask them for feedback on your portfolio. This process allows you to improve your portfolio so it is ready to share with your potential future employer and prepares you for what it will feel like to receive feedback during the interview process and at your first UX job!

📢 “Hype is not real.” -Jesse Showalter

There is no such thing as an overnight success, and Jesse believes that the formula for success is consistency over time equals success. Put in the time, dedicate yourself, stay the course and ask others if they can see the change in you.

Pro tip: Stop believing everything you see on social media. Everyone who finds success has been working behind the scenes for years to get to where they are. Just because you finally heard of them doesn't mean they came out of nowhere!

“Don't believe the hype. Hype is not real. What's real is you putting in the time and dedicating yourself to something and then staying the course.” -Jesse Showalter

Been in the game for a while?

As a Senior Product Designer, it is essential to continue growing while you help your team to do the same. Here are some tips we have collected over the last year on the show that can help you continue growing in your role as a manager or mentor!

🗝️ Stand out through creating content and share your knowledge! - Femke

When you have built up some industry experience and knowledge, share it! You can do this through a newsletter, YouTube Channel, podcast, or blog. Stay consistent with it, and your efforts will be recognized when you least expect it.

“The fact that I was talking about design on the side and having the newsletter. I definitely feel like those things lead to opportunities.” -Femke

🦸 Be a strong leader. - Jon Moore

Strive to identify each team member's superpower to help them grow and expand in their career path in a way that makes the individual happy and benefits the company..

🦸 Keep your team motivated! -Peter Loving

Top talent will stay engaged and motivated when they have two key things:

1. Interesting and exciting projects

2. Opportunity to work with other talented people

Peter takes the projects that he knows will excite his team and hires people that will help inspire his team!

“What I've learned from my experience is that talented people are motivated by projects that they're excited to work on and also working with other talented people.” -Peter Loving

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Thank you so much to all of our Featured Guests and to all of you for listening and following along during season one!

It was so fun to look back over the last year and all of the fantastic advice our featured guests have brought to the show. We genuinely hope that you took away some new things to consider as you move into the next phase of your product design career path. Listen to the complete episode on The Product Design Podcast, which includes advice from all of our featured guests.

We are looking forward to season two and all of the featured guests that continue to share their insight with all of us so we can continue to learn and grow together in this incredible industry. We want to send you all a massive shoutout for being such a fantastic community. We can't wait to see what is coming next!

If you would like to follow any of our featured guests, check out the links to their episodes below! Each episode link includes the featured guest's social media links to keep an eye out for what they are up to now!

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Where to find our featured guests:

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