#3 Joel Califa @GitHub: Business, yes. But users first.

 
Joel Califa - designers learning about business

Joel Califa is a product designer who has led teams at GitHub, DigitalOcean, and Amicus. He recently wrote a very interesting and popular blog post Subverted Design, which describes what happens if designers forget that their first responsibility is still the user. You can read the full article on Joel's blog. 

In this episode we spoke about:

  • examples of subverted design and how you can fight against it,

  • why users are designers first priority,

  • and why you should still learn about business.

Listen to the episode

Show notes:

  • 1:55 Which of many design titles (interaction, UX/UI, product, full stack designer) is right for me?

  • 9:55 Joel's process and criteria for finding a new design job (+ Joel's spreadsheet)

  • 18:30 Joel's journey to becoming more business-focused designer

  • 24:00 Should designers even learn about business?

  • 26:30 The premise of the article Subverted Design

  • 29:40 Examples of subverted design

  • 34:50 How to argue against subverted design?

  • 40:40 KPIs and metrics for designers at GitHub

  • 40:30 How can designers get their business education?

  • 47:00 What categories of business knowledge are relevant for designers?

  • 50:20 What advice would Joel give to a young designer who is just starting out?

InterviewAlen FaljicComment