Dan Park – Across Countries and Creative Disciplines Shape.Cool Podcast

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