Wal Gedeon: Product Design Lead at VMWare Tanzu Labs
Digitally Diverse
Wal Gedeon joins us for this episode of Digitally Diverse. Wal shares his career journey from teaching himself design skills to becoming a delivery lead at VMware Tanzu Labs. He started with a background in product design and worked at companies like Woolies X and Goodlife Health Clubs. Wal then expanded into UI and UX design by taking courses at General Assembly. He also completed some product management training to become more well-rounded. Now at Tanzu Labs, Wal manages projects and coaches enterprise clients on building software. He discusses how Tanzu Labs helps solve modernization...
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Sarah Mote: Lead Product Designer at Instant Scripts and Bendigo Bank
Digitally Diverse
Join us as we follow Sarah's journey from industrial design student to senior product designer at a bank. We'll hear how she leveraged work experience to land her first packaging design role and then made a big move to the UK. After struggling to find work abroad, Sarah returned to Australia, pivoted to commercial flooring, and discovered user experience design. She then honed her skills at a cloud platform startup before deciding to learn about banking. Through roles at various companies, Sarah gained broad experience and became a senior product designer at Bendigo Bank. She also worked...
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Kathryn Sadler: Conversation Designer
Digitally Diverse
Kathryn Sadler joins us to discuss her winding career path through linguistics, UX design, and conversation design. After studying languages at university, Kathryn worked in business consultancy and tech startups in Australia. She then transitioned into voice user interface design and UX before returning to her passion for conversation design. Kathryn gives us the inside scoop on her day-to-day work crafting conversational experiences. She also shares how her background in languages informs her approach to crafting natural dialogues. Tune in to hear Kathryn's insightful perspective on...
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Lara Summers: Manager, Service Experience at the University of Newcastle
Digitally Diverse
Lara Summers joins us to discuss her multifaceted career journey, from finance and government to education, and her current role as manager of the Service Experience team at the University of Newcastle. We explore the university environment, Lara's collaborative team culture, and how she balances work, family, and personal interests. Lara opens up about how taking time off to care for her children impacted her path, as well as her motivations for continuing education and development. Tune in as Lara shares what inspires her, from design leaders like Bruce Mau to her curiosity about history and...
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Jane Hamilton: Head of Design and UX at Superhero
Digitally Diverse
Join us as we follow Jane's journey from a small town in Australia to leading design at a fintech startup. Growing up near Port Macquarie, Jane found her passion for design while studying graphic design in Newcastle. After some globe-trotting adventures and a career change, she discovered user experience design and honed her skills in Sydney. Jane built her experience at agencies before realizing fintech was her true calling. Though a stint at a corporation proved too restrictive, Jane finally found her fit as Head of Design and Experience at Superhero. Now, she leads a growing team focused on...
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Fran Mether: Co-founder and Strategic Business Designer at Arteri
Digitally Diverse
In this episode, Ellen interviews designer Fran Mether about her career journey and founding the service design consultancy Arteri. Fran discusses growing up in a creative household in Canberra and studying industrial design. After working for major retailers in Melbourne, Fran became inspired by human-centered design approaches that create impact. She relocated to Canberra to work on strategic projects for clients like the ATO. Fran then co-founded Arteri with her business partner to pursue her passion for service design. She shares how her background in industrial design informs Arteri's...
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Joseph Hallahan: Head of Design at StarRez
Digitally Diverse
On this episode of Digitally Diverse, Ellen talks to Joseph Hallahan, Head of Design at StarRez. Joseph recounts his 15 year career journey from agency work to becoming a part owner and eventually launching his own startups. He shares insights from his current role as Head of Design at Starres, a global student housing platform, and the differences between agency and in-house work. Joseph discusses how he helps maximize value for Starres' university customers, and is motivated by continuous learning and new challenges like implementing customer research practices. With his background in...
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Paul Kelly: Head of Experience Design at Mudbath
Digitally Diverse
Join us as we speak with Paul Kelly, Head of Experience Design at Mudbath, about his journey from studying visual arts to leading design at a digital agency. Paul discusses pivoting to study design in university and getting his start at Bicycling Australia magazine. He then did freelance work before moving to Glasgow and learning coding. After returning to Sydney, Paul spent 8 years at a digital agency before joining the growing team at Mudbath. He talks about Mudbath's expansion from 4 to 17 designers after merging with Endava and the variety of industries they work in. Paul reflects on the...
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Nusa de Melo: Product Designer at Atticus
Digitally Diverse
This episode of Digitally Diverse features Nusa de Melo, a Product Designer at Atticus. Nusa opens up about her journey from studying math at UC Berkeley to becoming a product designer at a legal tech startup in Australia. She talks about pivoting from sales to design, taking online courses, and landing her first product design role. Nusa discusses life as the only designer at Atticus, working on software that verifies legal documents, and why she finds the small startup environment more rewarding than big companies. She also shares how Atticus's remote work policy allows her to live outside...
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James Kwong: Chief Product Officer at Unleash Live
Digitally Diverse
This week's episode of Digitally Diverse features James Kwong, Chief Product Officer at Unleash Live. James discusses his career journey in the Australian design industry, from studying industrial design in university to starting his own agency to working in strategic design consulting. He then transitioned into product management roles before joining Unleash Live, a video analytics startup using computer vision and AI. James opens up about challenges he's faced, including ageism as a young leader and his design degree not being initially respected. James reflects on coming full circle to lead...
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