Bear Academy

Bear Liu

Bear Academy is a series of candid conversations with founders, designers, and builders about the decisions behind what actually ships. Product bets, design craft, AI workflows, and the messy middle of turning an idea into something people use. Hosted by Bear Liu.

  1. #55 The Golden Cage: Former Xero Design Director Lee Young on Leaving Tech for Art Therapy

    1d ago

    #55 The Golden Cage: Former Xero Design Director Lee Young on Leaving Tech for Art Therapy

    Bear Academy Season 4. Lee Young spent nearly 20 years as a designer, most recently as Product Design Director at Xero in Auckland, where he and Bear were colleagues. Then he left, retrained, and became a creative arts therapist. He now works at two ends of life: neurodivergent children at Rainbow House, and hospice patients nearing the end at Dove Hospice, while running his own private therapy practice. In this conversation we discuss why his 20-year detour through web design, e-commerce, product design, and design leadership was not wasted but necessary. We talk about the illusion of corporate job security, why "design is creating for others and art is creating for yourself", the relationship between creativity and play, and practical ways to find presence in a distracted world. Lee also shares stories from his practice: the woman who spent an hour filling a page with yellow pastel, the six-year-old who released his anger by throwing clay at a tree, and his involvement in New Zealand's first psilocybin-assisted therapy programme. Chapters 00:00 Intro: Lee made a choice most of us think about but rarely make 00:52 Monday mornings now vs as a designer 01:12 The 20-year detour: web design to product to leadership to coaching to art therapy 03:00 Was the career counsellor's advice a wrong turn? 04:30 Trust your gut at each stage 05:20 What transferred: Double Diamond and the coaching process 07:30 Freelancer skills that most therapists do not have 08:20 Corporate salary as a runway for career change 09:50 The first weeks after leaving: freedom or void? 11:20 Golden cage: high salary makes it hard to leave 14:00 The illusion of corporate job security 15:50 Freelancing gives you more transparency and control 17:00 Creativity in corporate vs agency vs independent work 18:30 "Design is creating for others. Art is creating for yourself." 20:00 Creativity and play share the same root 22:00 Xero Design Jam: the most fun project was in month one 23:00 What is art therapy? Using things other than words 26:00 Pastels, clay, twigs, drama, dance: all languages 27:30 An art therapist is a guide, not a fixer 28:30 The woman who filled a page with yellow pastel for an hour 30:30 The six-year-old throwing clay at a tree 33:00 Measuring impact: why CBT gets funded and art therapy struggles 36:00 How therapists maintain their own wellbeing 38:00 Systemic challenges for neurodivergent children 41:00 Working with adults vs children: adults have more wiggle room 42:00 Hospice work: a privilege and an honour 44:00 Presence is a rare commodity 46:00 Anxiety lives in the past and future; presence anchors you 48:00 Neurographic drawing: a 5 to 10 minute stress release 50:00 The simplest reset: face the sun, close your eyes, two minutes 51:00 Mini nature therapy: prioritise touch, sound, smell over sight 53:00 What's next: peer supervision training and psilocybin-assisted therapy 55:00 Dr Fee Caracott and NZ's first psilocybin prescriptions 56:00 Possibly returning to Whitecliffe as a guest lecturer 57:00 "Enjoying beginner's mind, not rushing to the next step" Hosted by Bear Liu. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FFu5nH4V_tA More at https://bearliu.com

    58 min
  2. #56 He Handed In His Notice at 9:50pm: Xinran Ma on Side Hustles, Privilege, and the Safety Net You Build Before You Leave

    1d ago

    #56 He Handed In His Notice at 9:50pm: Xinran Ma on Side Hustles, Privilege, and the Safety Net You Build Before You Leave

    Most designers spend their careers shipping other people's products. Xinran Ma decided to build one of his own. He trained as an architect at Columbia, moved into product design, and spent four years in a stable remote role at Redfin before walking away to run Design with AI full time. The newsletter now reaches more than 40,000 designers, alongside a Maven course and three books. This conversation is about the thinking behind that move. Xinran talks about the exact night he resigned, the moment his wife showed him a finance app where his side income had passed his salary, and why he refuses to turn any of it into a "quit your job" sermon. The throughline: build a safety net for your own growth while you still have the job, follow your curiosity rather than the trend, and keep the feedback loop short enough to stay motivated. Chapters 00:00 From architecture to product design 16:40 Leaving a stable job 24:52 Books, then newsletter, then course 31:26 Input and output 33:24 The newsletter takes off 35:46 Growing intentionally and sustainably 38:16 AI, design, and what lasts 46:15 What sustainability really means 49:27 Start small, start early, start hungry 56:48 Finding clarity and your North Star Resources Design with AI newsletter: https://designwithai.substack.com/ Maven course (AI for Product Designers): https://maven.com/xinran Xinran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmaxinran/ Xinran's website: https://www.xinranma.com/ Hosted by Bear Liu. More at https://bearliu.com

    54 min
  3. #51 Product Design Glossary Podcast

    11/01/2024

    #51 Product Design Glossary Podcast

    In this episode, Bear breaks down essential UX and product design terms, providing a roadmap for anyone starting their journey in the field. From “Agile” to “Kanban,” “UX” to “UI,” we dive into practical definitions, explore how these terms play out in real-world projects, and discuss the critical role of shared vocabulary in building cohesive, user-centered products. Disclaimer: This content was generated via NoteBookLM AI and based on NNGroup’s UX glossary pages, intended purely for learning. There may be occasional AI-generated inaccuracies, so please consult the original articles for accurate details. Links to the original NN Group glossary articles are available in the show notes. Show Notes: Highly suggest reading the original Nielsen Norman Group articles for accurate information: • Agile Glossary • Research Methods Glossary • Quantitative UX Glossary • Typography Terms in UX • Visual Design Cheat Sheet • UX Deliverables Glossary • Product UX Glossary Nielsen Norman Group UX Glossary TermsI. Agile Development (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/agile-glossary/) Agile Development: Defines Agile as an iterative approach to software development that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer value.Scrum: Outlines the Scrum framework, a popular agile methodology with specific roles, events, and artifacts.Sprint: Details the sprint cycle within Scrum, a time-boxed period for completing a set amount of work.Kanban: Explores the Kanban method, a visual system for managing and improving workflow.Lean UX: Explains Lean UX principles and practices, focused on minimizing waste and maximizing user value.II. User Research Methods (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/research-methods-glossary/) Usability Testing: Defines usability testing as a method to evaluate a product or service by testing it with representative users.Heuristic Evaluation: Explains heuristic evaluation, a method where experts identify usability issues based on established principles.Eye Tracking: Describes eye tracking, a technique for measuring eye movements to understand user attention and behavior.Card Sorting: Defines card sorting, a method used to understand users' mental models and group information.A/B Testing: Explains A/B testing, a method for comparing two versions of a design to see which performs better.Tree Testing: Defines tree testing, a method for evaluating the findability of information within a website or app’s structure.III. Quantitative UX Research (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/quant-ux-glossary/) Statistical Significance: Explains the concept of statistical significance and its role in determining the reliability of research findings.Confidence Interval: Defines confidence intervals and how they are used to estimate the range of possible values for a population parameter.Sample Size: Discusses the importance of sample size in quantitative research and how to determine an appropriate sample size.Conversion Rate: Defines conversion rate as the percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase.Task Success Rate: Explains task success rate as a measure of how effectively users can complete specific tasks within a product.IV. Typography in UX Design (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/typography-terms-ux/) Font Family: Defines font families and explores the different types, including serif, sans-serif, and display fonts.Font Weight: Explains font weight, the relative lightness or darkness of a typeface, and its impact on readability.Line Height (Leading): Defines leading, the vertical space between lines of text, and its effect on readability.Kerning: Explores kerning, the adjustment of space between individual characters, to improve legibility.Tracking: Defines tracking, the adjustment of space between characters across an entire block of text, to influence density and readability.V. Visual Design Principles (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/visual-design-cheat-sheet/) Visual Hierarchy: Explains the use of visual cues like size, color, and contrast to guide users' attention and understanding.Gestalt Principles: Outlines Gestalt principles, such as proximity, similarity, and closure, and their application in design.Color Theory: Discusses color theory, including color harmony, contrast, and emotional associations of colors.White Space (Negative Space): Explores the use of white space to improve readability and create visual breathing room.Grid Systems: Defines grid systems as frameworks for organizing content on a page, enhancing consistency and visual flow.VI. UX Deliverables (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-deliverables-glossary/) Persona: Defines user personas as fictional representations of target users, capturing their characteristics and needs.User Journey Map: Explains user journey maps as visualizations of a user’s interactions with a product or service over time.Wireframe: Defines wireframes as low-fidelity representations of a design’s structure and layout.Prototype: Describes prototypes as interactive representations of a design, allowing for testing and user feedback.Usability Test Report: Explains usability test reports as documents summarizing findings and recommendations from usability testing.VII. Product UX (Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/product-ux-glossary/) Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Defines MVP as a version of a product with just enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea.Product-Market Fit: Explains product-market fit as the degree to which a product satisfies market demand and meets customer needs.User Onboarding: Discusses user onboarding as the process of helping new users get started with a product and understand its value.Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Defines customer lifetime value as the predicted net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer.Net Promoter Score (NPS): Explains Net Promoter Score as a metric that measures customer loyalty and satisfaction.

    47 min

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About

Bear Academy is a series of candid conversations with founders, designers, and builders about the decisions behind what actually ships. Product bets, design craft, AI workflows, and the messy middle of turning an idea into something people use. Hosted by Bear Liu.