The Curious and Creative

Cristina Mendez Palencia
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The Curious & Creative is a podcast about strategy under real-world pressure. In each episode, I examine real products and services I’ve personally interacted with — not to review how they look, but to understand what they reveal about decisions, priorities, and trade-offs. I’m particularly interested in the gap between what companies say they want to be, and what customers actually experience when they use the product. Each episode is a concrete analysis of how strategy shows up (or doesn’t) in the real world.

Episodes

  1. 6D AGO

    The User FemTech Wasn't Built For

    A strategic design look at FemTech’s biggest blind spot — and the user it was never built to support.

    12 min
  2. Designed by Default (and That’s the Problem)

    06/24/2025

    Designed by Default (and That’s the Problem)

    Ever heard the riddle about the surgeon who says, “I can’t operate on him—he’s my son”? If your brain short-circuited for a moment, you’re not alone. In this episode, Cristina unpacks the quiet yet powerful force of unconscious bias. From everyday language to the assumptions baked into our systems, she explores how these hidden mental shortcuts affect the way we think, build, and connect. It’s an invitation to slow down, get curious, and ask: What defaults are we unconsciously designing into the world around us?

    19 min
  3. Onboarding is a Party And Bookbeat Forgot to Say Hi

    06/16/2025

    Onboarding is a Party And Bookbeat Forgot to Say Hi

    I signed up for two audiobook free trials. I only kept one. This episode unpacks why I deleted Bookbeat and became a paying subscriber of Storytel — all because of their onboarding experience. From chaotic libraries to curated welcomes, I explore how intentional and crafted design choices shape business outcomes — and what it really means to say “hi” to your users.

    12 min
  4. Lunar: The Bank That Forgot the Pipes

    06/06/2025

    Lunar: The Bank That Forgot the Pipes

    You know that moment when a house looks stunning from the outside—sleek facade, modern windows—but then, once inside, you turn on the tap and… no water comes out? That’s exactly what it felt like using Lunar, one of the Nordics’ most hyped digital banks. In this episode, I take you inside a real-life user experience: ordering a simple physical card (twice!) and never receiving it—despite being a premium customer. We’ll unpack how a beautiful interface can’t save you when the operational plumbing is missing. From silent customer support to vanishing cards in the postal void, this story isn’t just about one bank—it’s a cautionary tale for any digital service trying to scale without strong foundations. Let’s talk about pipes, promises, and the price of forgetting your customer.

    9 min
  5. The Feedback Loop You Didn’t Know You Needed (Until It Was Too Late)

    06/02/2025

    The Feedback Loop You Didn’t Know You Needed (Until It Was Too Late)

    Ever walked in on someone in a public toilet? I did—and it wasn’t (just) my fault. In this episode, we dive into the weirdly invisible world of feedback loops in design. From toilet locks that don’t lock loudly enough to digital services that leave users guessing, I explore how small failures in communication lead to big user experience flops. Join me for a very human story with a very design-y lesson.

    15 min

  6. 10/22/2021 · BONUS

    Visibility Is Realness: Why Sharing Our Work Matters

    What makes something real? In the world of podcasting—and design, and creativity—visibility plays a huge role. In this very first episode, Cristina reflects on what held her back from hitting publish, and what finally pushed her to do it anyway. Because if it’s not out there, does it even exist? This is a story about fear, perfectionism, and the creative leap we all have to take at some point.

    4 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

The Curious & Creative is a podcast about strategy under real-world pressure. In each episode, I examine real products and services I’ve personally interacted with — not to review how they look, but to understand what they reveal about decisions, priorities, and trade-offs. I’m particularly interested in the gap between what companies say they want to be, and what customers actually experience when they use the product. Each episode is a concrete analysis of how strategy shows up (or doesn’t) in the real world.

Information

  • Creator
    Cristina Mendez Palencia
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Cristina Mendez Palencia
  • Show Website
    The Curious and Creative