Design Table Podcast

Nick Groeneveld, Tyler White
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Get a seat at the table and build the design career you want. This podcast is for designers looking to break in, level up, and take control of their careers—whether you're freelancing, climbing the corporate ladder, or just trying to get noticed. Every two weeks, we dive into career fundamentals, design best practices, and the hottest topics in the design community.

  1. 3일 전

    I Got Fired Over Christmas And Nobody Told Me - Product Design Horror Stories

    In 2015, Nick drove to an interview in his moms car. Three minutes in, the hiring manager told him he would never make it as a designer. 10 Years later, he loses his product design job over Christmas. And that's just the start... In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick share the worst moments of their careers so far. Nick gets torn apart in his first ever interview, prints a batch of flyers that come back the wrong color (because nobody told him about RGB and CMYK), and takes on a small favor for a client that turns into a project so big it costs him two clients. In the meantime, Tyler gets thrown into a print job with zero training, discovers his own company was quietly interviewing outside UX agencies behind his back, and gets let go about a month later. Nick turns down a request to fly to Asia for work, gets let go over the Christmas break, and finds out because nobody bothered to tell him. They weren't bad at their job (is what they're telling each other). Sometimes it is just not the right fit, for either side, and the only way to find that out is to live through it. In this episode you will learn:🔸 Why RGB and CMYK color spaces catch almost every designer off guard the first time they print something🔸 The scope creep mistake that can cost a freelancer a client, or two🔸 How to notice the warning signs that a company is quietly replacing you🔸 Why a job can end without anyone telling you directly🔸 The real lesson buried in every one of these stories, that not being a fit is not the same as not being good Chapters:0:00 Setting up the horror stories episode0:39 Nicks first ever interview goes wrong in three minutes3:01 The shock of an early career rejection4:01 Tyler gets thrown into a print job with zero training5:52 Tyler admits he still cant do print design today6:46 Why the founders had no budget for a second designer7:00 The flyers that printed orange instead of pink9:28 The lesson that stuck for over ten years9:51 Tylers packaging design job with no test prints allowed11:20 Judging a print run from a blurry iPhone photo12:06 Why print has no undo button13:16 A small client favor that turns into a scope creep disaster15:09 Losing two clients over one miscommunication16:02 The lesson on asking more questions before agreeing to scope 17:01 Why the client relationship has to go both ways18:37 Tyler discovers his company is secretly interviewing outside UX agencies19:35 Finding out through a leaked calendar21:44 Confronting his manager about it directly22:55 Being let go about a month later23:21 Layoffs lining up with review and budget season24:39 Nicks story, turning down a work trip to Asia26:26 Coming back from Christmas break to total silence26:52 Finding out he was let go through a different manager entirely 28:18 The real takeaway, horror stories are what build great designers 29:29 Final takeaway, not being a fit goes both ways Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  2. 8월 19일

    The 4 Skills Every Product Designer Needs Right Now (Figma isn't One of Them)

    You can master every product design AI tool that exists and still get overruled in the meeting that matters most. That's because tools matter way less than what you read online. There are way more important things to learn if you want to make it as a modern-day product designer. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick lay out the four skills they think actually separate strong product designers from everyone else. It's inspired partly by Josh Puckett's Interface Craft course, and partly by more than a decade of getting these wrong themselves. Conceptual range. Conceptual depth. Tool mastery. And selling your ideas to people who did not ask for them. They dig into why going wide before going narrow is the step most designers skip, how competitive research outside your own niche unlocks better ideas, and why Nick refuses to send client work the same day he finishes it. They also get into knowing when to kill a direction instead of pushing it further, a $300K AI experiment that should have been an $11K hire, and why does this solve the problem beats what do you think every time you present. Then they each rank the four skills, and they land on different answers. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 The four skills Tyler and Nick think will still matter in ten years🔸 How to go wide before you go narrow, and why most designers skip it 🔸 The competitive research trick for finding inspiration outside your industry🔸 Why sleeping on your work is a real strategy, not procrastination🔸 How to know when to reset a direction instead of pushing it further 🔸 The real ROI test for deciding when AI is actually worth the spend🔸 Why does this solve the problem beats what do you think in every review🔸 How to avoid getting turned into a design by committee circus act🔸 Which of the four skills Tyler and Nick each rank as most important, and why they disagree Chapters:0:00 Naming the four skills every strong product designer needs1:10 Skill 1, conceptual range, why going wide comes first2:51 The trap of jumping straight to the obvious solution4:51 Using competitive research to break out of the happy path6:10 Going wide across industries, not just design patterns7:36 The monthly brainstorm exercise that surfaces better ideas9:35 Why Nick never sends client work the same day he finishes it11:23 Skill 2, conceptual depth, narrowing 20 ideas into one14:45 Loom recordings as a feedback safety net16:25 The mobile use case Nick almost designed his way around16:57 Knowing when to reset a direction instead of pushing through 18:00 The baby analogy, staying detached until it ships19:35 Are your deadlines actually real?22:46 The $300K AI experiment that should have been an $11K hire 26:30 Skill 3, tool mastery, why principles matter more than the tool 29:35 Skill 4, selling your ideas to stakeholders30:26 The worst question you can ask in a feedback meeting33:49 Avoiding design by committee34:11 Which skill Tyler and Nick each rank as most important Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  3. 8월 12일

    Is AI replacing designers? Not Really. There's A Bigger Danger

    Someone on your team just built a landing page with Claude and skipped you entirely. It used to be a product designer's nightmare, but now... it is called 'Tuesday'. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick get into the question lots of product designers are asking right now. Is AI actually coming for your job? Or is that all social media nonsense? They map out why the risk of losing your job has nothing to do with AI itself. Instead, it comes down to company size and UX maturity, and where you land on that grid decides whether you're a strategic partner or the first person cut when a non-designer thinks they can just 'do the UX in Claude.' They break down why junior designers need political skills that senior designers take for granted, why showing messy work early gets you better feedback than a polished reveal, and why an unmonitored session recording can prove design's value faster than a giant slide deck. Then they answer a listener's question from a medtech intern who was told to use AI to improve his workflow. They unpack what that feedback is really saying, and what it isn't. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Why should I even go into design is the wrong question to be asking right now🔸 The two part test for reading how seriously your company actually takes design🔸 How junior and senior designers should handle pushback differently🔸 Why showing your messy, unfinished work gets better feedback than the polished version🔸 How session recordings can prove design's value faster than any deck🔸 What use more AI to improve your workflow really means when a manager says it🔸 Why design is still the moat, and why the craft can't be outsourced Chapters:0:00 Is design still a safe career? Setting up the real question2:16 The two lines that determine how seriously your company takes design3:49 Junior vs senior designers, handling pushback and politics6:45 Why showing messy work early gets you better feedback9:20 The dangerous game of skipping design due diligence14:18 Why world changing features usually belong in a dropdown16:21 Why companies that ignore designer judgment are setting themselves up to fail18:37 Session recordings, the fastest way to prove design work matters 19:57 A bank's accessibility wake up call, caught on video23:12 Listener question, use more AI, a medtech intern's performance review26:06 Why shadowing a senior designer beats guessing on your own 29:40 Doing manual design work on purpose to build real craft 34:17 Closing thoughts, design is still the moat Subscribe to The Design Table Podcast https://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audit https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprint https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design community https://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resources https://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and Nick Tyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-white Nick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  4. 8월 5일

    10 Things Companies Hiring Product Designers Want From You Right Now

    Zero to one product design work. That's the main skill companies are hiring designers for right now. You'd expect Figma knowledge or being 'native' with the latest AI tools to be the main thing, but that's not the case. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick react point-by-point to a breakdown of what companies currently want from product designers according to Tom Scott, recruiter and owner at Verified. The list includes communication skills for designers, ownership, design systems, AI-native skills, and why both the take-home task and the old-school work trial are creeping back into the product design hiring process. They also discuss why the "builder" mindset is better than pure execution as teams get leaner, why design systems are becoming a full-time discipline of their own, and why an app store flooded with AI-generated products is making branding and UI craft more and more important. Finally, Tyler and Nick cover the AI-native skill gap between senior and junior designers, why fractional and freelance design work is booming, and close on the reminder that your career is a vehicle for your life, not the whole thing. Tom Scott on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomscottt/Tom Scott's newsletter - https://verifiedinsider.substack.com/p/design-hiring-observations In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Why communication matters more than craft when presenting your work🔸 The "builder" mindset companies are hiring for over pure execution🔸 Why design systems are becoming a full-time discipline again🔸 How the flood of AI-generated apps is making branding the real differentiator🔸 Why take-home tasks and work trials are both making a comeback🔸 The AI-native skill gap between senior and junior designers🔸 Why fractional and freelance design work is booming🔸 The closing reminder: your career is a vehicle, not your identity Chapters:0:00 - What companies are actually looking for right now2:24 - The "builder" mindset beating pure execution4:54 - Design systems becoming a full-time discipline9:17 - How vibe coding is reshaping the design process12:43 - What junior portfolios need now vs. shipped work15:47 - Why branding is the differentiator in an AI-flooded app store20:54 - Interview processes changing: tasks and work trials return24:11 - The AI-native skill gap between senior and junior designers26:12 - The rise of fractional and freelance design work30:52 - Closing reminder: your career is a vehicle, not your identity Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career:Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audithttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprinthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design communityhttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resourceshttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and NickTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  5. 7월 29일

    Live Portfolio Review - Your Hero Section Is Costing You The Interview

    Two seconds. That's how long you have before a hiring manager bounces off your portfolio. Most product design hero sections that time. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick roast real, anonymized hero sections pulled straight from product design portfolios. Examples include the generic portfolio, one that looks like a resume-dump, and the rare ones that work. They break down why "I deliver thoughtful designs, seamless solutions, and creative experiences built for impact" tells a recruiter nothing, why your name doesn't need to be the headline, and how to turn a degree, a hobby, or even a personal reason into the differentiator that makes someone stop scrolling. They also get into productized service messaging, why "curious about X" reads weaker than "expert in X," and the two-line hero Tyler thinks is more than perfect. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Why generic hero copy makes you disappear into the pile🔸 The "dream job" exercise that instantly sharpens a vague hero section🔸 How to turn your background, education, or a personal story into a real differentiator🔸 Why "curious about X" is weaker than "I'm an expert in X"🔸 How to signal scarcity without lying about your availability🔸 The two-line hero Tyler said needed zero notes🔸 Why a specific niche beats a generic "design partner" tagline Chapters:0:00 - Roasting a generic hero section opener2:00 - Why "thoughtful, seamless, creative" says nothing3:39 - The dream-job exercise for sharpening your positioning5:45 - Nick's pivot into music tech through a personal hook9:31 - Communicating scarcity without overselling12:20 - Why unlimited-design subscriptions can feel like a factory14:11 - The hero section that read like an entire resume15:18 - Turning a Master's in AI into a differentiator21:54 - "Curious about X" vs. "I'm an expert in X"25:19 - Cutting AI-sounding buzzwords like "facilitating transparent communication"27:42 - The two-line hero that nailed it29:43 - Roasting a personal brand hero section33:36 - "Design partner for non-technical SMEs" — niching done right35:52 - Why the hero section is still your most important real estate Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career:Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audithttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprinthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design communityhttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resourceshttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and NickTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  6. 7월 22일

    The take-home design challenge is broken. Here's how to survive it anyway.

    Four hours of unpaid work. Seven rounds of interviews. And then a generic rejection email that reads like it was written by a robot. If you're hunting product design jobs right now, none of the above is news to you. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick have their opinions on the modern design hiring process; take-home challenges, endless interview rounds, and the red and green flags you should keep in mind to figure out if a company is worth your time. They get into why take-home tests rarely test what companies think they're testing, why a whiteboarding challenge is the better alternative, and why paying candidates for their time is the bare minimum. Nick shares his own experience walking away from an unpaid "trial day." Tyler mentions the exact questions he asks recruiters to flush out red flags before he wastes his time on a dead-end process. They also get tactical. How to actually win a take-home challenge if you have to do one. Why a Loom walkthrough can be the difference-maker over a stack of Figma files. And what interviewers are testing when they ask you to present your work. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Why take-home design challenges rarely test the right thing🔸 The one alternative Tyler would actually agree to🔸 Red flags that should be an instant no🔸 Green flags that mean a company is worth your time🔸 How to actually win a take-home challenge, step by step🔸 Why a Loom walkthrough can outperform your entire portfolio🔸 What interviewers are really testing when they watch you present Chapters:0:00 - Is the take-home design challenge broken?1:29 - Horror stories: stolen work and wasted hours2:01 - Why Tyler refuses to do take-home tests5:37 - The better alternative: a whiteboarding challenge7:39 - Interview rounds are spiraling out of control9:52 - Just pay people for their time12:23 - Take-home test vs. portfolio review: what's actually different?18:06 - The rejection email that annoys us most21:56 - Red and green flags every candidate should watch for25:18 - Green flag: pay transparency and salary bands28:13 - Red flag: AI-generated, outdated job descriptions31:14 - How to actually win a take-home challenge33:32 - The Loom walkthrough that ranks S-tier34:21 - What interviewers are really testing for35:34 - The "if we could dream" trick that makes you stand out37:05 - A disclaimer: we can afford to say no. You might not be able to.39:02 - It's a two-way street. Look for green flags too. Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career:Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audithttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprinthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design communityhttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resourceshttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and NickTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  7. 7월 15일

    Do you have to use AI to get a design job? (our listener asks)

    One of our listeners wrote us while being stuck between two things: loving the product design craft and needing a job badly. He likes doing the actual product design work by hand, because that's how he learns and how he gets better. That's how he finds solutions. Yet, every job posting wants you to be "AI native" with a ton of "AI experience." So what do you do? Fake it? Give in? Hold the line and risk staying unemployed? Or something in between? In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick answer a real question from a listener: a recent grad, currently out of work, torn between using AI because "everyone else is" and sticking to the hands-on process he actually loves. They dig into where AI helps, where it doesn't, and why using it doesn't have to mean losing your craft. They talk through the difference between using AI in a way that touches your pixels and AI that just clears the annoying stuff out of the way. You know, things like meeting notes, research, and transcripts. Tyler shares how he feeds meeting transcripts straight into Claude to turn messy feedback into a task list. Nick shares how a Figma plugin took a redraw job from hours to minutes, while every design decision stayed within his control. The conversation gets personal, too. Both tell stories on early day jobs they had to do just to get started and why the early, unglamorous grind is not something to skip. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Where AI actually helps your job search, and where it doesn't🔸 How to use AI without losing your craft or your taste🔸 Why chasing every LinkedIn hot take wastes your time🔸 How to turn meeting transcripts into a real task list with AI🔸 Why the "grind" phase of your career isn't optional🔸 How to find your own path instead of copying someone else's Chapters:0:00 - A listener's dilemma: love the craft, need a job1:07 - AI is a tool, not a threat to your craft3:31 - LinkedIn isn't the job — stop treating it like gospel6:44 - Why a minimum level of AI use is non-negotiable now8:02 - Use AI for the boring stuff, not the pixels8:48 - How a Figma plugin turned hours into seconds14:05 - Feeding meeting transcripts into Claude for real output15:44 - Are you actually having fun as a designer?18:24 - Stop copying someone else's playbook20:04 - Learn to eat shit for a while (Pepsi factory & mail route stories)25:14 - The Darwin trick: fit in first, be yourself later28:37 - Bottom line: use it. It's fine. Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career:Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audithttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprinthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design communityhttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resourceshttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and NickTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

  8. 7월 8일

    Is Everything You Design Already Copied?

    Every product. designer has had this thought at some point: "Someone's already built this. Am I even doing anything original?" It creeps in during a login screen, an onboarding flow, a pricing page, and it makes you second guess whether you're actually adding value or just repeating and copying something else. In this episode of The Design Table Podcast, Tyler and Nick tackle a listener question: is it a problem if your designs look like things that already exist? They dig into why copying isn't the same as stealing, why juniors should absolutely study and replicate great work before they try to reinvent it, and why chasing "never been done before" is a fantasy that doesn't hold up in practice. From there the conversation gets very practical. Nick is deep in pricing page work for multiple clients right now, and the two of them break down the psychology behind free trials, forced plan selection, upsells, and smart business strategy becomes a dark pattern. They also get into why product design best practices exist for a reason, why users don't like unfamiliar patterns even when they're technically better, and how uniqueness in product design shows up underneath the surface, in the business logic, the user base, and the tiny decisions you can't see on a screenshot. The episode also covers Dribbble and pattern recognition, why copying UI without understanding UX gets you in trouble with engineers fast, and how prototyping is changing the feedback loop between designers and developers, including a story about a "faster horse" redesign that only became a real breakthrough once a developer challenged the whole premise. Tyler closes it out with a surprising story about connecting Claude, GitHub, and a Mixpanel AI agent to diagnose a UX problem in an afternoon instead of a multi sprint investigation, and how it completely changed the scope of what needed to be fixed. In this episode you'll learn:🔸 Why copying is a normal and healthy part of learning design🔸 Why "nothing new" isn't actually a problem worth panicking over🔸 The psychology behind pricing pages, free trials, and forced choice🔸 Where the line sits between a smart upsell and a dark pattern🔸 Why best practices exist and when it's actually safe to break them🔸 How to use Dribbble for inspiration without copying blind🔸 Why prototyping is closing the gap between designers and developers🔸 How connecting AI tools to real product data can shrink weeks of work into hours🔸 Why the real uniqueness in design lives beneath the surface Chapters:0:00 - Is it bad if your design looks like something else?1:06 - Building a better mousetrap2:47 - Does this apply to designers at every level?4:02 - Why juniors should copy to learn5:48 - Real example: designing pricing pages right now8:00 - One button vs. forcing a plan choice9:59 - Using forced choice to measure intent11:34 - Giving full access during a free trial as an upsell14:02 - Dark pattern or just smart business?15:30 - Full circle: why pricing pages all look the same16:55 - The iceberg model of design17:50 - Why "200 high-converting templates" packs don't actually work20:47 - A quick word from the Design Table community21:39 - Explaining what you do for a living to non-designers24:06 - Using Dribbble for pattern recognition, not one-to-one copying25:33 - Prototyping and the designer-developer feedback loop26:50 - The faster horse problem and the developer's breakthrough idea28:53 - Killing main character syndrome in collaboration31:16 - AI win of the week: Claude, GitHub, and Mixpanel solving a UX mystery36:04 - Wrap up Subscribe to The Design Table Podcasthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/subscribe Resources to help you level up your design career: Get your portfolio and career strategy reviewed with a Design Table Audithttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/design-table-audit Download the Product Design Blueprinthttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/product-design-blueprint Join our UX and product design communityhttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/products/ux-and-product-design-community In need of support? Take a look at our resourceshttps://www.designtablepodcast.com/learn More about Tyler and NickTyler: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/tyler-whiteNick: https://www.designtablepodcast.com/hosts/nick-groeneveld

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소개

Get a seat at the table and build the design career you want. This podcast is for designers looking to break in, level up, and take control of their careers—whether you're freelancing, climbing the corporate ladder, or just trying to get noticed. Every two weeks, we dive into career fundamentals, design best practices, and the hottest topics in the design community.

정보

  • 제작진
    Nick Groeneveld, Tyler White
  • 방송 연도
    2025년 - 2026년
  • 에피소드
    60
  • 등급
    무삭제판
  • 저작권
    © 2026 Nick Groeneveld, Tyler White
  • 웹사이트 보기
    Design Table Podcast

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