Designing for People, Not for Theory: A Conversation with Giles Airey

Pragmatic Institute Design Chats Podcast

This podcast has some strong language, so if you’ve got any little ones around, you might want to pop in some headphones.
 
“Not everyone needs to hear all the language or the terminology—all the fun stuff that we think makes us sound cool. They need to hear what they can relate to, and they can feel that they’re not excluded. We are people designing for people. We’re not people designing by theory and then trying to make it out that we’re really intelligent and clever.” – Giles Airey
 
Rebecca Kalogeris, VP of marketing and product strategy at Pragmatic Institute, interviews Giles Airey, Principal UX Designer at Evri, about convincing people that UX is how we change the world.
 
Giles Airey is a passionate and talented designer with a background in architecture, graphic design, advertising, and UX. Throughout his career, Giles has been dedicated to understanding his clients’ needs and creating compelling messages that drive action.
 
During this episode, Rebecca and Giles discuss:

  • Why moving from “how might we” to “what if” energizes design teams and sparks creativity
  • While the user is the center of any project, why you should still think about the project by putting stakeholders first.
  • Being excellent in your design role starts with authenticity—knowing who you are, what you’re good at and your values.
  • A few books that aren’t related to design but might make you a better designer

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  • Pragmatic Editorial Team

    The Pragmatic Editorial Team comprises a diverse team of writers, researchers, and subject matter experts. We are trained to share Pragmatic Institute’s insights and useful information to guide product, data, and design professionals on their career development journeys. Pragmatic Institute is the global leader in Product, Data, and Design training and certification programs for working professionals. Since 1993, we’ve issued over 250,000 product management and product marketing certifications to professionals at companies around the globe. For questions or inquiries, please contact [email protected].

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