Shape.Cool Podcast

Golden Krishna, senior designer at google and author of The Best UI is No UI, explains why he craves critical feedback in the context of his primary career goals and what it might take to accomplish his dream of pushing the industry forward.

Show notes: Bethany Fong is a senior interaction designer at Google who's done a lot of work in the field of accessibility. In this episode, Bethany recounts some impactful childhood memories that shaped her into who she is today and the big problems in the world she wants to solve. If that weren't enough, we also talk about what we'd do with 100 years of time before we finish up with some more personal stories.

Dan Park is a Korean American motion designer at Google. In this episode, we discuss the challenges of cultural identity, the role of motion in UX, and taste. Show notes: 0:41 What it was like coming to America at age 6 4:10 Returning to Korea after 17 years and the importance of family 6:25 Justin compares and contrasts his experience with Japanese culture 9:00 Dan opens up about the life questions he’s facing 10:12 The roundabout journey: from music production in Boston to music business in LA 12:40 Studying fine art before moving to motion design (and why) 14:20 When Google came knocking and why it was a surprise 15:30 Unique challenges of motion design in UX 17:00 How working in UX has grown Dan as a designer 18:30 Why working in UX is scary 20:57 Dan switches gears by quoting Ira Glass on taste 22:50 The role of taste and what makes it so challenging 26:40 Who has the best taste? How do you know? 28:34 How taste factors into successful design 31:00 A game of word association 32:45 Dan offers some concluding thoughts and advice

Show Notes: 0:30 Ayan introduces herself 2:20 Growth through internships and Google (and the difference between the two) 8:00 The challenges of being young in the workplace 12:10 How Ayan got into design 15:00 What it was like being hired at Google and the best parts of working there 17:20 How being an outsider has impacted Ayan as a designer and person 19:10 Justin asks Ayan what it means to her that she’s a young, black, woman in design 20:40 Justin asks Ayan what’s important for him to know about Ayan’s experience as a minority 22:00 Focusing on commonalities, celebrating differences, and dealing with privilege 24:20 Ayan describes what it was like watching Beyonce’s Lemonade as the only black person in the room 28:45 Justin talks about what it was like watching Lemonade while not being the intended audience 30:00 The beauty and importance of Lemonade 34:50 Lemonade as modern day art 37:40 Favorite lines and moments from Lemonade 42:50 Ayan closes it out with @ayansmodernlife on everything