In this episode of Design Party, Antonija and Vitali dive into the hot topic of AI in design. They discuss Figma's new AI features and the excitement around its Slides tool, expressing concerns about AI potentially stifling creativity by reusing existing designs. The hosts also touch on Canva's significant price hike due to new AI features and worry about the future of Affinity's products after its acquisition.

In this episode of Design Party, Antonija and Helena dive into the intricacies of Figma's Dev Mode pricing, explore Zeppelin as a valuable alternative, and share their experiences with design critiques. They also touch on moving libraries in Figma and the launch of Superlist. A blend of technical insights and personal anecdotes, this episode is a must-listen for designers and tech enthusiasts alike. Links mentioned Zeplin, an alternative to DevMode: https://zeplin.io/ Superlist, a new task management app: https://www.superlist.com/

Antonija and Ali discuss the pros and cons of different mentorship platforms, including the importance of finding the right fit for individual learning styles and the potential problem of mentees ghosting their mentors. Antonija and Ali also touch on the stresses and responsibilities of being a designer, including the anxieties that come with the job.

Check Ali online!

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliangco/⁠ 

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aliang.co/⁠ 

Posts: ⁠https://posts.cv/aliangco⁠

In this episode of Design Party, the hosts dive into a thought-provoking Twitter discussion about design collaboration and the role of tools like Figma. Antonija, Helena, and Vitali share their perspectives on the topic, highlighting the importance of healthy work environments, effective processes, and open communication. They discuss the impact of micromanagement, the need for better commenting practices, and the challenges faced by designers in today's fast-paced and evolving industry. Join the conversation as they explore how collaboration can be optimized and offer insights on managing burnout in the design field.

In this riveting episode, our hosts dive into the fascinating and sometimes controversial world of AI. They explore the cutting-edge tool Supernormal, a game-changer that transcribes and summarizes video calls, revolutionizing user research. The conversation takes a thrilling turn as they delve into the darker side of AI, highlighting the potential threats of convincing deepfakes and an over-reliance on technology. But it's not all doom and gloom; they end on a high note, buzzing with anticipation about the rumored release of Apple's AR glasses. Tune in for an exhilarating journey into the future of AI!

Subscribe to Victor's newsletter Presentable: https://presentable.substack.com/

Find Victor online at https://read.cv/victorkernes

In this episode, Antonija delves into designers' work anxieties by gathering insightful responses from the Posts app. Join Antonija and Vitali as they unpack these candid answers, offering thoughtful commentary on the struggles and pressures designers face in the workplace.

Antonija welcomed a guest this time, Dima, who suggested to chat about simplicity and complexity in context of product design. It's not so simple! Defining what is simple and what is complex requires a lot of context and us two are trying to figure out what this actually means!

Check the links mentioned in the episode

- Bret Victor talk about the novel interface to understand complex idea https://vimeo.com/23839605
- https://dimaveremchuk.com
- @vrmchk@mastodon.design

Antonija and Helena met once again to continue from where they have left of a couple of weeks ago. The chat start with sharing good and bad customer support stories, then it derails into brainstorming if reading human emotions would be a viable source of data for design... And AI again drag itself into our minds!

Links from the episode
https://octopus.do
https://toffeeshare.com

In this episode, Antonija, Helena, and Vitali are chatting about the recent Twitter fiasco involving the firing of Halli, the famous designer from Iceland. As always lately, OpenAI squirmed into our thoughts once again.

In this episode, hosts Antonija Pek and Helena Bukovac discuss the value of customer support in informing and inspiring better user-centered design decisions. They also share their own horror stories where customer support saved the day. Tune in to learn how customer support can provide valuable feedback on user experience, identify pain points, and help designers stay up-to-date on user trends and changing needs. You'll also hear how customer support can collaborate with designers to develop training materials, troubleshoot issues, and track user feedback and sentiment. Join us for an insightful conversation on the importance of customer support in creating a positive brand image and increasing customer loyalty and retention.

In this episode, we're joined by Antonija and Vitali to discuss their views on ChatGPT and generative AI, and the impact it will have on design. One of our guests believes that AI will help us become better designers, while the other thinks that the future of AI could lead to even less demand for designers. Listen in to find out who holds which view, and what it could mean for the future of the design industry.

Links mentioned in the episode

• ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com/chat
• Dall-E https://labs.openai.com/
• Bing AI https://www.bing.com/new
• WriteSonic https://writesonic.com/
• Jasper https://www.jasper.ai/
• Contentinator https://contentinator.com/
• FigGPT https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1207913933994957698/FigGPT
• Diagram - Magician and Genius https://diagram.com/

In this episode we dive into the world of design tokens and explore the relationship between designers and developers. Join us as we delve into the world of UI/UX and product design and explore the future of collaboration. 

- https://design-tokens.github.io/community-group/format/ 

- https://www.fraktio.fi/blogi/mikä-erottaa-design-systemin-ja-komponenttikirjaston (in Finnish still) 

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Hp-bHLftM

In today's episode of Design Party, we dive into the nuances of Figma's Dev mode and explore the benefits of organizing a Figma file efficiently. We discuss the recent changes Figma has made, pushing code inspection behind a paywall, and how this impacts the handoff between designers and developers. Additionally, we share our experiences with Lunacy, praising its potential as a robust design tool. For those interested, we've linked to resources and tools mentioned in the episode: Lunacy, and our favorite weather app, Carrot. Don't forget to check out our newsletter, Design Party Digest, for curated insights and tips in the design world.

Antonija, Helena and Vitali share their experiences in using music apps and comment their usability, features and everything in between.

Finally, we have the magical trio - Helena, Vitali and Antonija gathered for one last episode of 2022. Check Vitali’s design course https://fraktio.teachable.com/p/get-started-with-facilitation

Vitali shares his experiences from an agency life!

Antonija and Vitali share their experiences around error handling and some good practices.

Helena and Antonija visit their list of apps with paid subscriptions and come to a shocking realization. Do we live in the era of subscription hell? Is there a better way forward?

Antonija's favorite apps
Grammarly
Flow
Keystroke Pro
Cursor Pro
Spark

Here are resources for further reading.

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/design-operations-101/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDed18OVdY

https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/843461159747178978/Figma-Tokens

Check out Vitali's presentation https://youtu.be/cwLepGcOANs

In this episode, Antonija and Vitali chat about prototyping — why do we need it? What tools are out there? And share our own experiences.

In this episode, Vitali and I went to the public library Oodi in Helsinki and recorded our episode there. We took a walk down a memory lane and reflected on our beginnings in design, where we are now, and where our future is, or at least wishful thinking about where we see ourselves in the next few years.

Antonija and Vitali are recording for the first time ever in the same room!  We are talking about the future of Figma, going into detail about what we like, dislike, and would like to see happen in the next years with our favorite tool for designing. Send us a message if you're listening on Spotify! Leave us a rating if possible — it helps reach more designers.

In this episode of Design Party Podcast, our hosts Antonija, Vitali, and Helena delve into several pressing topics in the tech and design industry. They discuss the recent wave of tech layoffs impacting companies like Google and Figma, exploring potential reasons behind this trend. The conversation shifts to Figma's new policy of charging for DevMode, sparking a debate on its impact on developers and the industry's reaction. Alongside, the hosts explore innovative tools including Notion Calendar, Amie's public launch, and the Posts iOS app, highlighting their unique features and how they're shaping workflows and collaboration.

Antonija and Vitali share tips and insights on design processes.

Tools mentioned:
https://spline.design/
https://rotato.app/
https://jitter.video/
https://rive.app/
https://motionplugin.com/

In this episode, Vitali and Antonija go through responses Vitali got from designers on a meetup. The question was, "what are your biggest frustrations in your role as a designer". We think responses are pretty relatable, and we decided to take a few and share our thoughts.

Hi, your host Antonija here. I met Riley through Good News and we had a little discussion about the new breed of designes. Who are they? What do we mean? Well, hit play and find out.

Helena and Antonija are discussing ways to show your work while having all of those NDAs hovering around you

Antonija and Vitali are chatting about getting rejected from job applications. We are sharing tips on how to apply, how to handle rejects, and sharing some salty personal stories.

Antonija, Helena and Vitali are discussing about services and apps they don't like because of a bad UX

Vitali and Antonija are watching Apple event and sharing their thoughts.

Antonija invited a guest co-host Stefan to talk about startups and being the only designer.

Contact for design help
@heystefan_
@antonijapek

In this episode, Antonija and Vitali talk about handling stress and avoiding burnout. We all know recovery is important, but what are the signs we should look out for and how can we manage being overworked? how does the parasympathetic nervous system help us feel balanced? We reflect on our experiences and offer techniques to help tackle these important challenges.

Helena and Antonija share tips on how not to embarrass yourself when you are naming your product that will ship globally. We share a little anecdote from rebranding our podcast and examples of big brands. 

In this episode Helena and Antonija are commenting the dramatic Adobe and Figma divorce. As this is the last episode of the year we are taking some time to chit-chat about 2023.

In this episode, Helena and Antonija discuss what organization and self-organization are. How do we keep up with our daily private and work tasks, and what helps us stay afloat. One of us obsesses about the organization and the other about efficiency! We also share our preferred tools and our workflows.

The newest of the news is our social handles and a website! Join us at http://designpartypodcast.com and on Twitter @designpartyfm

Tools mentioned:

• TickTick
• Things
• Notion
• Flow
• Cron

In this episode of a very attractive title, Helena is joining me in discussing the UX tools survey for 2021. We talk about the state of the tools, give our opinions on whether we agree or if there is something surprising, and as announced - we passively aggressively bash on (almost) everything. Not to be lazy, we also give out a list of tools we would like to see grow, use more or just enjoy using. Find everything notable we mentioned below!

• Whimsical
• Miro
• Figma (and Figjam)
• Adobe XD
• Sketch
• Framer
• Affinity
• Protopie
• Principle
• Zeplin
• Abstract
• Zeroheight
• Storybook
• Notion <3
• Maze
• User testing
• Lookback
• Dovetail
• Optimal workshop
• Spline
• Sprig

Recordings

Today’s episode discusses user research: what it is, what types of research are there, how it can help your work, and where to begin.

Resources mentioned:

Don’t make me think by Steve Krug https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515

Just enough research by Erika Hall https://www.amazon.com/Just-Enough-Research-Erika-Hall/dp/1937557103

Article on how to do remote user research https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-do-user-centered-design-during-the-remote-work-period-9ed223673451

CareerFoundry UX research playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGZGDnTY454&list=PL4GEkVtNYGlIcHp9lPMD9KHMlfc-Jbyjp

Norman Nielsen Group - Why you only need to test with 5 Users https://www.nngroup.com/articles/why-you-only-need-to-test-with-5-users

Startup Graveyard https://startupgraveyard.io

Growth.design https://growth.design

Baymard Institute https://baymard.com/blog

Don’t make me think by Steve Krug https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515

Just enough research by Erika Hall https://www.amazon.com/Just-Enough-Research-Erika-Hall/dp/1937557103

Article on how to do remote user research https://uxdesign.cc/how-to-do-user-centered-design-during-the-remote-work-period-9ed223673451

Amazing designer Vitali Gusatinsky is joining me in this episode to talk about 2022 and what it means for product design. We speculate what will be trendy this year and where designers' focus will shift in order to craft better experiences.

After a long 6-month break, Helena and I decided to catch up and talk a bit about what had happened.

In this episode, we deep dive into what happened in Figma Config 2021. Helena didn't watch so I am going through features and how I see them as a product designer.

Antonija and Helena discuss tips and tricks for junior designers! As with all tips and tricks, this is just a list what we wish someone told us while we were starting our careers. The tips are divided in three categories - general tips, skill tips and personal development! And as always, we steer away from the topic, but in a good way.

If you have any ideas or just want to say hi, leave us a message https://anchor.fm/designparty/message

What are hard skills

• knowing your tools (adaptability)
  for designing
  prototyping
  communication
  coding?

Design theory

• typography
• colors
• rules of visual perception
• common UI patterns
• HIG, Material Design

Management - deep dive next time

Other valuable skills

• Strategic thinking
• networking
• negotiation
• teamwork
• independence
• marketing knowledge
• business knowledge

Tools mentioned

Productivity tools

Notion

Toggl/Clockify

A timecube!

Linear

Jira

Todoist

Trello

Communication

Slack

Teams

Around

Zoom

Meet

Skype

Design tools

Sketch 🧡

Figma 💜

Principle

ProtoPie

Blush

Spline

Adobe

iPad

Procreate

GoodNotes

In today's episode, Antonija and Helena discuss iOS vs. Android. Weirdy, we both use Android as our daily driver. Antonija is thinking about switching to iOS, but Helena stays loyal to Android, and why is that? Listen and find out.

Join hosts Antonija and Vitali in this episode of Design Party as we delve into the dynamics of the design world. We explore the challenges in the tech industry with a focus on Nokia's strategic missteps, share valuable tips for navigating the complex job market, and discuss the impact of Figma's latest developments on modern design practices.

Helena and Antonija are discussing non-digital and digital products and ask themselves are they designed for everybody or is accessibility an afterthought?

What are soft skills and why do we need them as a designer and a human being? In this episode Helena and I are talking about — soft skills. Remember to leave us a voice message on Anchor!

In this episode, I had a guest from Belarus living in Finland and a master of languages Maryna! We chat about the struggle to learn Finnish and what do we like about Finland.

Many of us want to run our own design business but that's no easy task. In this video episode of the Design Party podcast, I have a guest joining to illuminate the topic and share some tips. Philip Wallage is a designer from the Netherlands and as a business owner, he will share incredible information on how to start and maintain your own business.