What is Wrong with UX artwork

What is Wrong with UX

135 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 82 ratings

Kate and Laura drink and fight about what is wrong with user experience design.

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Episodes

podcast_final_v3_FINAL

March 22, 2022 16:00 - 26 minutes - 18.2 MB

Kate and Laura finally agree on something. Unfortunately, it's to end the podcast. They reminisce about the good parts and talk a bit about what comes next.  Drink pairing (Kate): Long Island Ice Tea Drink pairing (Laura): Champagne

Why Would You Use That Product

December 28, 2021 17:00 - 34 minutes - 23.9 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura complain about a lot of stuff they use every day and then wonder why they do that.  Drink pairing: Prosecco 

Consistency

December 07, 2021 17:00 - 35 minutes - 24.2 MB

The two least consistent people in the world argue about why consistency matters. And why it doesn't. It's pretty much what you'd expect.  Drink Pairing: Mulled Wine

Looks Old Works Great

August 17, 2021 16:00 - 22 minutes - 15.6 MB

In an episode that should have been called "a cry for help," Kate and Laura shriek about how old things can actually work just fine and please stop changing everything. The subtext is strong with this one.  Drink Pairing: Old Fashioned Support the damn podcast on Patreon, you cheap bastards! 

High Level UX Jobs

August 03, 2021 16:00 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura really go off the rails talking about the similarities, differences, and issues with various different higher level UX jobs, many of which they haven't actually held in well over a decade, if at all.  Drink Pairing: Daquiri Support the podcast on Patreon! 

Some Things Are Harder than Others

June 08, 2021 16:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura whine about how hard it is to actually make things and Laura makes fun of The Future, again.  Drink Pairing: Hard Cider

Journeys

May 25, 2021 16:00 - 22 minutes - 18.1 MB

This episode is like being on a long car ride with two loud friends (Kate and Laura) who won't shut up about the journey. They yell a bit about how designers make everything into a much bigger deal than users really want or care about.  Drink pairing: Anything out of a hip flask

Collaboration vs Design by Committee

April 13, 2021 16:00 - 27 minutes - 18.6 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura argue about semantics. Again. This time they try to decide why collaboration is good and committees are bad.  Drink Pairing: Sazerac

Predicting Disaster

March 09, 2021 18:54 - 31 minutes - 24.9 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura argue about how to best predict disasters when deciding what to build. Obviously they never applied this framework before they started making a podcast.  Drink Pairing: Hurricane

Designing in Triples

February 02, 2021 17:00 - 31 minutes - 24.9 MB

Kate explains why she likes to make everything three times as hard as it needs to be. If you're playing the What is Wrong with UX drinking game and drinking every time they mention Task Flows, then maybe don't make any plans for after the podcast.  Drink Pairing: Triple Sec

Your Design Voices

January 19, 2021 17:00 - 30 minutes - 24.5 MB

In this episode, Laura and Kate talk about the many voices that talk to them while they're designing things and frankly, we think maybe 2020 was a little bit much for them and they finally snapped.  Drink Pairing: Whiskey and Sarsaparilla 

Design for Lazy Irrational People

January 05, 2021 17:00 - 29 minutes - 23.5 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura discuss designing for lazy, irrational people. Or, you know, people.  Drink Pairing: Veuve Clicquot Rose

Designing for Complex Products

December 22, 2020 17:00 - 31 minutes - 24.9 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura contradict pretty much everything they've ever told you so that Laura can brag about her new electric car that she doesn't drive anywhere because she never leaves the house.  But seriously, sometimes you're designing something you can't really measure! And that's hard! Drink Pairing: It's nog season, baby!

Why Do You Believe That?

November 24, 2020 17:00 - 34 minutes - 27.8 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura ask a fundamental question - why on earth do you believe that completely unbelievable thing? Or anything really? What are you basing your product assumptions on and how can you stop doing it so badly?  Drink Pairing: Make Believe  

Design with Real Content

November 10, 2020 17:00 - 33 minutes - 26.8 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura argue about what it means to design with real content and actual user data, which is a weird thing to argue about, since it's pretty straightforward. Anyway, knock it off with the Lorem Ipsum!  Drink Pairing: Sour Dorothy Parker Support the podcast on Patreon! 

Consequences and Second Order Effects

October 27, 2020 16:00 - 33 minutes - 26.9 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura get a little more serious than usual when yelling about how you never think of the consequences of your actions.  Drink Pairing: Smoked Old Fashioned

Decoding Design Briefs

September 29, 2020 16:00 - 25 minutes - 20.8 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura not so briefly discuss design briefs and how you should approach them. Laura almost achieves enlightenment when she asks "What is Chair?" but then quickly ruins it, as you might imagine.  Drink pairing: Armagnac  Like the podcast? Support us on Patreon! 

Get Paid

September 01, 2020 16:00 - 33 minutes - 26.9 MB

Kate and Laura lecture you on when you should demand cash and when you shouldn't, and the answer isn't "demand cash all the damn time" like you'd think it ought to be.  Sponsor: Springboard  Drink Pairing: Money Maker

The Intrinsic Value of a Product

August 18, 2020 16:00 - 30 minutes - 24.7 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura quibble about why on earth people would use anything that they designed. Apparently some people get value out of it? Who knew?  Drink Pairing: Sparkling Persimmon Margarita

Make Your Own UX Podcast

August 04, 2020 16:00 - 31 minutes - 25.2 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura reveal all the secrets (ed note: there are no secrets and they're probably wrong) to creating a successful (ed note: HA!) UX podcast.  Some tools they use: Libsyn Zencastr Patreon Audacity Drink Pairing: Shots of Patron

Design Principles

July 21, 2020 16:00 - 32 minutes - 25.7 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura take a decidedly unprincipled look at design principles. Kate proves that drinking does, in fact, affect your memory, when she completely forgets Laura's entire work history.  Drink Pairing: Absinthe

UX Debt

July 01, 2020 16:00 - 34 minutes - 27.5 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura complain about how UX Debt is like a terrible gift from Past You that you now have to clean up. Kate tries to put a good spin on it, and Laura crushes all her dreams immediately. As per usual.  Drink Pairing: Boulivardier

User States

June 09, 2020 16:00 - 35 minutes - 28.1 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura blather on about how you’re probably not doing nearly enough work to build UIs for every single possible state a user or product could be in. Because you aren’t. And they love making other people work. Drink Pairing: Blue Hawaii

User States

June 09, 2020 16:00 - 35 minutes - 28.1 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura blather on about how you’re probably not doing nearly enough work to build UIs for every single possible state a user or product could be in. Because you aren’t. And they love making other people work. Drink Pairing: Blue Hawaii

Timeboxing

May 19, 2020 16:00 - 18 minutes - 15.2 MB

Kate and Laura take a break from getting almost nothing done to tell you how to get more done with timeboxing. Laura, of course, doesn't use it because she prefers simply doing nothing.  Drink Pairing: Tequila Shots

The Three Phases of a Career

April 21, 2020 16:00 - 27 minutes - 21.8 MB

Kate and Laura really start to crack under the pressure as they offer advice about the three phases of your career: smartass, kickass, and badass. Mostly it's an excuse to say "ass" a lot. Like they need an excuse.  Drink Pairing: Grappa 

Remote User Research

April 07, 2020 16:00 - 27 minutes - 22 MB

Kate and Laura continue to panic this week as they talk a bit about how remote user research is different from in person (besides being, you know, not in person) and also how everything is different now anyway, so just use your best judgement.  Drink pairing: Quarantinis

Remote Design

March 24, 2020 16:00 - 31 minutes - 25.6 MB

In this week's episode, Kate and Laura yell about how to pretend you're still getting work done while you're actually searching online for toilet paper during a pandemic. Also, some tips about actually getting some design done from home, which is a lot like getting design done at work, but it's easier to panic unobtrusively.  Drink Pairing: Whatever you still have left in the bunker (But not the Purell. That will kill you. Seriously. Stop drinking it. Kate.)

People Doing Interesting Things

March 10, 2020 16:00 - 32 minutes - 26 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura talk about a few interesting people who are doing interesting things and how we can apply some of their lessons to design.  Drink Pairing: Chianti

Technical Literacy

February 25, 2020 17:00 - 30 minutes - 24.5 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura insist that, while designers don't need to know how to code, they do need to learn every single other aspect of technology. So, you know. Good luck with that. Kate actually shares a very useful resource: https://illustrated.dev. Check it out.  Drink Pairing: Pink Gin

Story Telling for Designers

February 11, 2020 17:00 - 31 minutes - 24.9 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura tell long winded stories about telling stories, bringing the drunken blathering to a whole new level. And no, it's nothing like the previous podcast Story Telling for Entrepreneurs which is totally different despite having almost exactly the same name and being done by Laura and Kate who only have three stories to tell between them? Why would you even think that?  Drink Pairing: Hard Cider

The ROI of Design

January 28, 2020 17:00 - 29 minutes - 23.3 MB

In the interests of clarity, this episode should be called "The ROI of shouting about design and also contradicting each other" but that wasn't as catchy. Kate and Laura shout about whether the value of design can or should be measured. TL;DR; Often and It Depends. Drink Pairing: Rob Roy

Problems with Agile UX

January 14, 2020 16:32 - 32 minutes - 26.2 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura yell even more than usual about how hard it is to design things in environments that say they're agile (but probably aren't).  Drink pairing: Shots! Preferably flu shots, followed by the shot of your choice

Advocating for UX

December 10, 2019 17:00 - 27 minutes - 22.3 MB

In this episode, Laura and Kate blather on about how Words Have Meanings and debate what on earth people mean when they say that they "advocate for UX within their organization."  Drink Pairing: Hot Toddy

Unpacking Visual Design

November 26, 2019 17:00 - 31 minutes - 25.2 MB

Once again, Kate and Laura decide to talk endlessly about a visual medium. In this episode, they talk about what we mean when we talk about visual design, which is very slightly more interesting than it sounds.  Drink Pairing: Wild Turkey (tis the season)

Tips for New UX Designers

November 12, 2019 17:00 - 33 minutes - 27 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura attempt to give advice to new UXers (something neither of them has been since dinosaurs roamed the earth). Laura advocates violence, surprising nobody who has ever met her.  Drink Pairing: 20 year old scotch

What We Learned

October 15, 2019 16:00 - 31 minutes - 25.3 MB

It's a totally arbitrary milestone! On this, their 99th episode, Kate and Laura pretend that they're capable of learning and argue about what's changed and what's stayed the same over the years since they started yelling at each other.  Drink Pairing: Candy Corn Martini (it's a martini made with candy corn infused vodka which is apparently a thing that exists because everything is terrible)

UX Education

October 01, 2019 19:14 - 28 minutes - 23 MB

In this episode, Laura's off yelling at clouds, and the notable Jess Ivins steps in to talk about learning, education and how to keep growing as a UX person. Jess says smart and helpful things while Kate rambles on but does get in some good references to articles she did not write. A highlight is how to talk to your boss to get the company to invest in your learning. Drink pairing: The dark, inky joy of a good Malbec.

Requirements

September 24, 2019 16:00 - 28 minutes - 23.1 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura yell about PRDs, MRDs, and FRDs which are things that nobody under 40 has ever heard of or cared about. They also talk about how PMs and UXers can never agree on who is responsible for what kinds of requirements, probably because they're all too busy redefining their job descriptions.  Drink pairing: Pumpkin Spice Vodka (Look, it's autumn, so I assume this abomination exists somewhere)

Troubleshooting

September 10, 2019 16:00 - 25 minutes - 20.7 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura talk about absolutely nothing design related whatsoever. It's pretty much all just Laura whining about reinstalling Python and Kate asking if you've turned it off and on and again. There's probably a minute or two of useful info on how to troubleshoot a system.  Drink Pairing: Body Shots!

Tradeoffs

August 27, 2019 16:00 - 26 minutes - 21.4 MB

In this episode, Laura rants for several minutes about virtual keyboards, since apparently it's still 2008. Then they talk about car crashes and how to maybe not contribute to them with your stupid design tradeoffs.  Drink Pairing: Irish Coffee (made with Fair Trade coffee, obvs)

Welcome Robot Overlords

August 13, 2019 16:00 - 31 minutes - 25.5 MB

In this episode, Laura whines that she doesn't have a robot army yet, and Kate gets distracted thinking about robot bartenders. Do robots podcast yet? Asking for a social media intern who has to write these blurbs.    Drink Pairing: Old Fashioned

Who Is a Designer?

July 23, 2019 16:00 - 32 minutes - 25.8 MB

For some horrible reason, Kate and Laura are beating the dead horse that is Everybody is a Designer...wait...NOBODY is a Designer...I mean...oh who the hell cares? Just tell me what we're drinking for this one.  Drink Pairing: Just decide already. I mean I GUESS EVERYBODY IS A BARTENDER NOW TOO. 

Design Doing

July 09, 2019 16:00 - 29 minutes - 23.7 MB

What's that? Kate and Laura are talking about doing things again? Well, beats the hell out of actually doing anything, I suppose.  Drink Pairing: Dewars and soda 

Everything Ops is New Again

June 25, 2019 16:00 - 27 minutes - 22.4 MB

In this episode, Laura blathers on again about DevOps while Kate desperately tries to explain how any of this is relevant to designers. (Ed. note: It isn't!) They finally agree to yell at people about naming their layers while admitting that they never have and never will. Laura accidentally coins the phrase: Enforce, Evolve, and Enhance, which sounds like something directly out of 1984.  Drink Pairing: Fuzzy Navel

How Long Will This Take?

June 04, 2019 16:00 - 31 minutes - 25.2 MB

An unintentionally long episode about time estimates that proves that time estimates are bullshit. Also, Kate talks about her favorite drink recipe.  Drink Pairing: Old Fashioned

One Weird Trick to Piss Off Your Users

May 07, 2019 16:00 - 29 minutes - 23.6 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura discuss the only thing they're really experts on: pissing people off.    Drink Pairing: Light Beer

Don't Read the Comments

April 23, 2019 16:00 - 32 minutes - 26.1 MB

In this episode, Kate tries to talk Laura into caring about the podcast listeners. Hey, that's you! If you enjoy hearing people cackle about borderline abusive neglect, this is the episode you've been waiting for.  Drink Pairing: Highball (this was a listener request, so don't say we never listen to our listeners, despite the fact that we explicitly say we don't in this episode)

Should Designers Lead

April 02, 2019 14:34 - 25 minutes - 20.4 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura discuss something (semi) topical. They argue about whether designers should lead and then of course somehow veer into what design even is anyway and it's pretty much a typical mess.  Drink Pairing: Mojitos (or anything muddled)

Craft

March 19, 2019 16:00 - 30 minutes - 24.2 MB

In this episode, Kate and Laura argue about The Craft, which relates to neither witchcraft nor macrame owls, so honestly why do they even bother? Seriously though, tune in for 30 minutes of blathering about what words mean.  Drink pairing: Craft beer