Design Downtime – Details, episodes & analysis

Season one of Design Downtime is ending on a high (musical) note, as Brad Frost joins us to talk about how much he loves making music. Brad recounts the early days of his musical journey, playing bass guitar in a family band, and his taste evolving from classic rock to punk and ska, and eventually embracing a wide musical spectrum. He talks about shedding the pressure to commercialize his music and how it allowed him to enjoy it purely for fun. This culminated in organizing "Frostapalooza," a one-night-only concert involving 40 musicians from his network, and Brad shares the massive planning effort to curate and coordinate such an event.

Guest Bio

Brad Frost (he/him) is a design system consultant, front-end developer, speaker, writer, musician, and artist located in beautiful Pittsburgh, PA. As a principal and design system consultant at Big Medium, he helps teams establish and evolve design systems, establish more collaborative workflows, and create better software together. He is the author of the book Atomic Design, which introduces a methodology to create and maintain effective design systems. He co-hosted the Style Guides Podcast and has helped create several tools and resources for web designers, including Pattern Lab, Styleguides.io, Style Guide Guide, This Is Responsive, Death to Bullshit, and more.

Links

Brad’s website: https://bradfrost.com/

Frostapalooza: https://frostapalooza.bradfrost.com/

Frost Frost on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/frostfrost-1

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Angelina Severino joins us to talk about her love of poster art. She discusses the evolution of the poster from a practical advertising tool to a recognized art form, and her personal project to celebrate poster graphic design, detached from its commercial use. The conversation gets quite philosophical as Angelina explores the intersection of design and art, and questions the traditional view that design lacks personal expression.

Guest Bio

Angelina Severino (she/her) is an inspirational design leader with more than 15 years of combined Branding and Product experience in renowned advertising agencies and various tech companies. As a Design Lead at Gamgee, Angelina has brought this innovative startup from 0 to 1, from the very first product MVP to a full, complex product with an advanced multi-brand design system. Angelina is a Top Design Mentor at ADPList, and a Mentor and Advisory Board member at Women in Tech.

Aside from her design work, Angelina creates art posters inspired by graphic design and typography. She and her husband are raising three lovely daughters who undoubtedly keep them busy and inspired.

Links

Angelina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelina-severino/

Angelina’s website: https://www.angelinaseverino.com/

Angelina’s Postress project: https://posteress.com/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Ben Callahan shares his journey and passion for coffee, a fascination that began in childhood. This curiosity led him to explore the science behind coffee preparation, and his quest for the perfect cup of coffee led him to experiment with various brewing methods, equipment, and even water quality. Throughout the conversation, Ben emphasizes his love for sharing coffee with others and his enjoyment of both the ritualistic and authentic aspects of coffee culture, highlighting his deep passion, continuous learning, and exploration within that world.

Guest Bio

Ben Callahan (he/him) founded Sparkbox in 2009 with a mission to build a better web. He has helped lead and grow the organization while they work alongside clients like Gap, The Oklahoma City Thunder, and Stanford University. He’s focused his energy most recently on developing a maturity model for design systems, articulating the anatomy of design systems, and chronicling his findings about workplace culture in the tech space. When not knee-deep in these explorations with others, Ben is a father, partner, poet, and home barista. His personal motto is, “Stay in learning mode” and this helps him to remember that every interaction is an opportunity to grow.

Links

Espresso Vivace: https://espressovivace.com/

Bialette Moka Express: https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/moka-express.html

Hario v60: https://www.hario-usa.com/products/v60-coffee-dripper-02-ceramic

Kalita Wave flat bottom brewer: https://kalitausa.com/collections/waves-series

Flair Lever Espresso Maker: https://flairespresso.com/

Bellman Stovetop Steamer: https://bellmanespresso.com/products/bellman-stovetop-steamer-50ss

Comandante hand grinders: https://www.comandantegrinder.com/

Niche coffee grinder: https://www.nichecoffee.co.uk/

Fellow Opus grinder: https://fellowproducts.com/products/opus-coffee-grinder?variant=41510665715812

Acaia coffee scales: https://acaia.co/collections/coffee-scales

PRESS Coffee in Dayton Ohio: https://www.pressdayton.com/

Wood Burl Coffee Roasters in Dayton Ohio: https://www.woodburlcoffee.com/

Ben’s site: bencallahan.com

Ben’s company: sparkbox.com

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Holly Camponez shares with us her lifelong passion for cooking which began in a tiny kitchen at the age of six, how it’s been a way for her to contribute to her community, and the shift in her cooking approach that led her to view food as medicine. Throughout the conversation, Holly emphasizes the joy, creativity, and sense of service that cooking has brought to her life, and reveals the one dish she still struggles with.

Guest Bio

Holly Camponez (she/her) is VP of Design & Head of Adobe Practice at Avenue Code. During her time in this role she's had the pleasure of collaborating with clients from the Fortune 100 to create functional, beautiful, and innovative products and services globally and observe design trends in action. She is passionate about the potential of design thinking to create a positive impact both socially and economically. Holly lives in Northern California with her husband, son, daughter, and three cats.

Links

Holly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollyvw

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

PJ Onori joins us to talk about his lifelong love of photography. He discusses his introduction to a manual camera in art school, finding deeper meaning through street photography, sharing his art (or not) with others, and the essential role the camera plays in documenting his family throughout the years.

Guest Bio

PJ Onori (he/him) has been working on software for close to 20 years and has been most focused on design systems for the past decade. He's worked for companies like Adaptive Path, Disney and Pinterest.

Links

PJ’s website: https://pjonori.com/

Matt Black: https://www.mattblack.com/

Darcy Padilla: https://www.darcypadilla.com/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Ermi Isais joins us to share her fitness journey; from viewing it as a mere obligation to discovering its transformative power. Through the unexpected challenges of obstacle course races, Ermi found joy and fulfillment in pushing her limits. Now, she reflects on the importance of embracing new experiences and viewing failures as valuable lessons. Throughout her journey, Ermi learned to overcome inhibitions and fear of failure, finding strength in vulnerability.

Guest Bio

Ermi Mendoza-Isais (she/her) is a design leader with over 20 years of experience, (15 years in visual design, branding, studio management and 7+ years in UX/UI design), working with agencies, corporates, fintech and small startups and has managed a freelance business. She's built design teams from the ground up and established cross-team collaboration processes to help companies with low UX maturity digitally transform and elevate their products and services.

Ermi's an active mentor of the global design community, ADPList, where she shares career advice and EQ skills not taught in UX boot camps. She is a keynote speaker and is regularly invited to speak on design panels and podcasts to share valuable insights through her diverse journey to help inspire designers to thrive in their careers. When Ermi’s not designing, she challenges herself in her fitness journey, an experience that has been life-changing and helped her develop a “fit for life" mindset.

Links

Ermi’s fitness Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ermi_fitness

Ermi’s design Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ermi_isais

Ermi’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ermiisais

Ermi on ADPList: https://adplist.org/mentors/ermi-isais

City2Surt: https://city2surf.com.au/

Spartan race: https://au.spartan.com/en

True Grit: https://truegrit.com.au/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

We talk with Raquel Breternitz about her love for comics. Raquel has a particular interest in indie comics and autobiographical work, appreciating how they can tell unique and often painful stories. She recounts her personal history with comics, starting with reading them as a child, and rediscovering her passion for them during college through works that profoundly impacted her life. She reflects on how comics blend the literary and visual arts, creating a unique medium that matches the complexity of human communication. The conversation touches on the comics community's openness and supportiveness, Raquel's evolving taste in comics, and her current reading list.

Guest Bio

Raquel Rubio Breternitz (she/they) is an award-winning designer with a unique bent for research-driven work built with craft and polish. She is dedicated to inclusion, accessibility, and keeping tech human (and human-focused).

With a diverse background in purpose-driven work across product design and brand, Raquel has served as Design Director for Senator Elizabeth Warren and has contributed to organizations including the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Shopify, the New York Times, Pivotal Labs, and IBM. Currently, they are a founding lead designer at GoodDay software.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, Raquel is a writer, public speaker, panel moderator, and sketchnoter. In their free time, they draw comics, tear through fiction novels, play rhythm guitar, and take waaay too many photos of their cat.

Links

Raquel on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/RaquelDesigns/

Raquel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raquelbreternitz/

Alison Bechdel and Fun Home: https://dykestowatchoutfor.com/fun-home-2/

Black Hole: https://50wattsbooks.com/products/black-hole-pantheon-graphic-library

Ghost World: https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/ghost-world-softback

Adrian Tomine: http://adrian-tomine.com/Booksandcomics.html

Lenore Yerkes: https://lenorayerkes.com/about

Jillian Tamaki: https://www.jilliantamaki.com/books;

Mariko Tamaki: http://marikotamaki.blogspot.com

Squire: https://sara-alfa.com/books/squire/

- and writer Nadia Shammas: https://www.nadiashammas.com/comics

Eden ii, K. Wroten: https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/eden-ii

Tillie Walden: https://www.tilliewalden.com/books

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz herself!

In our first episode, we talk with Emilie Mazurek about her passion for travel. Emilie discusses her first time traveling solo, and how that adventure has shaped her approach to life. She highlights the importance of adaptability in addition to planning, the joys and challenges of traveling with others, and her preference for quality experiences over quantity in her travels. Emilie also shares surprising destinations she's visited and her future travel aspirations.

Guest Bio

Emilie Mazurek (she/her) grew up thinking she wanted to be a doctor. She received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from University of Calgary, worked in a microbiology lab, wrote the MCAT, volunteered in Guatemala and even won two World Champion marching band titles. However, when the application cycle rolled around, she had more anxiety that she would be accepted rather than rejected–that’s when she knew something wasn’t right.

When she discovered UX Design it was like a lightbulb went on. After graduating bootcamp she landed a full-time, remote role in less than 3 months and was promoted to senior designer in just over a year. Now she’s helping others do the same.

When she’s not working you can find her arguing with her parrot Cheeto, giving unsolicited hot chocolate reviews, or finding any excuse possible to book another vacation.

Links

Emilie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilie-mazurek

Emilie’s website: https://www.dandydesign.ca/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.

Have you ever felt the pressure to constantly hustle, grind, and push yourself to the limits in your design career? I know I have. In a world where hustle culture reigns supreme, it's easy to get caught up in the frenzy of productivity, always striving for that next big breakthrough.

But here's the thing – it's okay to hit the pause button. It's okay to slow down, take a breath, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life beyond the confines of our screens and workstations. That's why I created "Design Downtime".

This podcast is a sanctuary for anyone in the realm of product design who believes that life is about more than just work. It's about rediscovering the joy of hobbies, passions, and interests that light up our souls and feed our creativity in unexpected ways.

Credits

Cover art by Raquel Breternitz.

Grab your clay and join us as Amelia Marschall-Miller shares her journey with pottery, rekindled after a long hiatus since her childhood fascination with ceramics. She is self-taught and enjoys the creative and experimental process of wheel-throwing, where getting comfortable with unpredictability is the key to having fun. Amelia describes her artistic style and influences, and looks to deepen her expertise while keeping pottery an enjoyable and fulfilling activity, rather than a stressful obligation.

Guest Bio

Amelia Marschall-Miller (she/her) is a Senior Director of Experience Design at EPAM Systems. She has spent her career in digital design consulting, having previously worked for Deloitte Digital and TCS. She also co-founded a web and mobile development company in Michigan called Gravity Works - which she led for four years and grew from 2 to 13 people, and is still operating today. After earning a degree in Graphic Communications from Northern Michigan University, her roles have included work in UX and UI design, user research & discovery, front-end development, project management, and operations. After spending 8 years in Colorado and Utah, she now lives in the woods near Traverse City, Michigan. When she's not making pottery in her home studio she enjoys hiking, mountain biking, boating, swimming, and cross country skiing with her husband, John, and blue heeler, Bitsy.

Links

Amelia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleepingsandspottery/

Amelia’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameliamarschall/

Credits

Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.