Hustle

Brandon Breitenbach is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pare Booking, a kick ass digital product that’s changing the way musicians and artists book shows and get paid. Recently, Brandon stopped by the studio while visiting Funsize to discuss the history of our working relationship, how we made decisions, the process and tools we used and what the ideal client and design agency relationship can look and feel like. 2:00 Introduction to the Pare Booking's product and user experience. Pare Booking modernizes the process for musicians and artists to book shows, manage contracts, and get paid. 4:00 Brandon’s share's his music and music booking industry background. 4:47 How Funsize met Pare Booking. Brandon and Anthony talk about the history of how Pare Booking and Funsize found each other and how quickly we were able to get started. 6:25 Why Pare Booking chose to work with Funsize. Brandon talks about what it feels like to hire a design and development vendors. Joel Beukelman recommended they work with Funsize and Brando

Show Notes: 0:55 Rick is back from paternity leave. His new son is awesome. 1:11 Joining us on this episode is the Senior Director of Design at Jawbone, friend of Funsize, and a hugely inspirational designer, Mr. Peter Merholz. 1:30 Anthony chronicles Peter's background with the international consulting firm, Adaptive Path, which is perhaps best known for championing "User Experience." 1:50 Fun Peter Merholz facts: Peter hired Funsize while at Groupon and was Funsize's first client. Thanks, Peter! He also coined the term 'blog'. 3:44 Fun fact about the new Up4 from Jawbone is that it can do NFC payments! 4:00 The theme for this episode was conceived following Peter's blog post "There's no such thing as UX design." 5:20 Don Norman, credited with the coining the term User Experience in the early 90s, created the User Experience Architect's office at Apple. 6:25 Initially, Adaptive Path considered themselves a user experience consultancy because no one else was talking about user experience

It’s a wonderful time to be a product designer. There's more design and prototyping tools available to us than ever before (and more and more keep popping up). It’s safe to say we’ll all be using these tools in various ways to achieve the specific results we need. Keynote is a fantastic low-barrier-of-entry tool that allows product managers, designers, and marketing professionals to achieve product success while maximizing time In this special SXSW '15 Hustle/Balance Podcast cross-over episode, Joel Beukelman and Ted Boda talk about how Keynote has allowed cross discipline teams at Google, Nest, and Netflix to work quickly and efficiently together to craft great products. Show Notes: 0:45 Drinking bourbon and opening up the show 1:30 Joel talks about his new job at Google working on Android Auto, how he and Ted started working with Keynote for prototyping at Netflix, and the inspiration of the Balance Podcast. 3:30 Ted introduces himself and his experience working on the Keynote team at Apple, Nest, and his

It's SXSW '15 and we had the awesome opportunity to hang out with Photoshop product designers before our epic high-five hour party. Anthony and Danielle set out to tackle a controversial topic. The dilemma is that there is a lot of great-looking design on the web at sites like Behance and Dribbble and also in a great many designers portfolios. Sometimes you see something that looks incredible aesthetically on the screen but then you find out that it was either unsolicited by the “client” (example: how many times have see someone redesign Instagram on Behance?) or that carries the footnote something like “rejected concept.” It might look amazing, but why didn’t it ship? Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 05:30 It’s important to play, but there’s serious constraints with a 25 year old project 07:45 It’s fun to be wrong 09:18 It discounts the hard work a product team has put in 11:05 Let’s you think big and you need that to live! 10:20 A benefit is the “What if” which pushes the design 12:00 Project Recess, a new p

Do you know your product and how to get exposure for it? Jordan Menashy VP of Marketing and Co-Founder of Bench.co talks to us about marketing a product. Rick and Danielle from Funsize ask questions from a non-expert perspective. Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 05:41 Activating a marketing engine 08:00 Determining product market fit can only be accomplished by launching 09:25 Launching: Store up some "big reveals" when rolling out to keep the momentum going for the first few months 15:10 Approach a mentor and don't waste their time, have questions ready! 19:00 Use google analytics, there is no secret tool, just hard-work and good analysis 23:29 R&D vs Engine 25:30 Good marketing is about good methodology not false promises 27:00 You need to allow for failure so you can learn how to make it work 28:00 Getting started: Get a target customer acquisition cost (CAC) and find a channel that works for you. That channel can be converted into an engine, then you want to refine that engine with R&D 35

Agencies, studios, in-house at a large companies, designer on a product team, and, now, working from home at an online retailer with a distributed team. Phil has worked in almost every type of environment a designer might find themselves in. In this episode, we get a unique view from his perspective about working with humility, discipline, and honing your craft. ###Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 01:36 Current definition of what Phil does: "Digital Designer" 06:56 Who is Phil Coffman? 11:30 Small studio, humble beginnings 13:43 Working in-house at a large oil company 18:35 Web design moonlighting 19:20 Springbox: Client services at an agency, working with large brands 24:15 Element: Starting a new design studio 26:30 Establishing a design voice for a company and building a team 31:05 Spacecraft: Merger with Element, and designing on a product team 36:00 The itch to work on just one product 38:45 PC Part Picker: Design lead with a distributed team 42:30 Setting boundaries for working at home 43:45 Wo

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Most of us are designers at Funsize but we also have project managers who help us iron out requirements, stay on schedule, and ensure the work is meeting the mark for the clients and users. We talk with 2 of our PM's and what it's like to play the part of ambassador between designers and clients. ###Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 05:01 Challenges of working with designers 10:00 Working with clients vs designers 12:10 Should product designers be product managers? 15:08 Having T-shaped skills 16:29 Designers should have knowledge of development 20:17 Everyone building a product should have an understanding and respect of others expertise Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

Kirill Zubovsky started scoutzie.com a few years ago as a destination for mobile designers to showcase their work and as a curated marketplace for design. Over the years Scoutzie changed their model, pivoted, and experimented with several unique business models. Anthony Armendariz’s relationship with Scoutzie helped grow his business to the point of being able to create a business which would become Funsize. As of 2015, the Scoutzie team decided to shut the product down. We discuss with Kirill about his experiences, and what’s next. Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 02:47 Scoutzie in the beginning 13:00 Going through Y Combinator & proving the model 16:29 Difficulties arise 18:09 Take enough money early-on, once you run out of money, no one wants to give you more 22:07 Pivot roll-out: automated project management 25:05 Investors & users reaction to announcing shut-down 26:50 Attempts at resuscitation 30:47 In retrospect 34:44 How it feels now and what's next? Links Kirill on Twitter @kirillzubovsky Sc

The list of the product designers responsibilities goes on and on. When is it too much for one position to handle with quality? Maybe there's a different way to look at it all together. With many of today's industry leading studios closing up shop for one reason or another we are left with a lot of questions. Why are they closing? What does the future hold for design agencies? Funsize sits down with Greg Storey, former partner at Happy Cog to discuss these questions. Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 04:30 Product designer responsibilities 08:20 Specializations and generalists 10:20 Design is planning 14:18 The role has changed 17:15 Elevate your thinking beyond deliverables 19:50 "Design with intent" 21:40 Can a product designer be a product manager? 26:00 Affect of design in early stages of product vs post-MVP 34:22 Design with humility and diplomacy 37:32 Values to look for when hiring a designer 40:00 The future product designer Links Adam on twitter Bench.co @mantwan @rickmesser @funsize Anthon

With many of today's industry leading studios closing up shop for one reason or another we are left with a lot of questions. Why are they closing? What does the future hold for design agencies? Funsize sits down with Greg Storey, former President and Partner at Happy Cog, to discuss. Show Notes 00:00 Introductions 02:20 News of the design agency being dead 04:00 The client is changing 15:30 The big small shop, design agency sizes today 20:40 Differentiate? Price, specialization, and great client experience 26:20 Distributive team? Play Halo 31:25 Teehan+Lax, what's an agency actually worth? 38:54 Career ceilings at agencies Links Greg on Twitter @brilliantcrank The Bureau of Digital Affairs Airbag Industries Teehan+Lax closing its doors San Francisco Design Agencies Feeling the Squeeze by Peter Merholz Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

If creating a new service and product wasn't hard enough, how hard it is once it's in the marketplace? What's the best way to organize a team for ideal team alignment to tackle holistic user experience, the iterative design of discrete features, and ongoing optimization? Clark Valberg, CEO of InVision, shares his journey and their team's approach to driving a digital product. Show Notes 00:00 Introductions and random laughs 02:52 Question 1: How and why did InVision start? 13:00 Question 2: How do you choose what features are right to build for InVision? 21:48 Question 3: Is it difficult to let the team own themes of the product? 25:52 Question 4: What consideration does InVision give to competitors? 30:00 Question 5: Can you describe a misstep InVision has made along the way? 35:00 Question 6: What's made InVision successful up to this point? 43:00 Question 7: How large is theInVision team? Any positions open? Links invisionapp.com Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funs

Material Design Elevation Animations Adaptive Color Bar in chrome Lock screen notifications Compared to iOS notifications Android Wear Google Glass Watches Interactions with other devices and wearables favorite features Conclusion Now's a good time to switch to Android if you've been thinking about making the switch to iOS. Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

Anthony and Natalie share a story about working with David Blaine and why treating people with respect and fair pay is critical to long lasting impressions. View our blog post to see some of Anthony's original notes. Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

Anthony, Natalie and Rick discuss what they've recently learned on a client trip to Finland about work–life balance. Part of the Funsize culture is Funsize Fridays. Funsize doesn't do client work on Friday. In this episode they also talk about the how, why, and what of Funsize Fridays. Show Notes Catch up: What funsize has been up to Finland trip: Sauna’s, Cabin workshops in the forest, and work–life balance tips from our clients in Finland Funsize Fridays: How, why, and what of our weekly tradition of no-client-work Fridays Links DPM Anthony and Danielle are speaking at Digital PM Summit 2014 http://dpm2014.com/speaker/anthonya/ http://dpm2014.com/speaker/daniellemoser/ http://dpm2014.com Fundamentals of iPhone App Design on sale now https://mijingo.com/products/screencasts/iphone-app-design-tutorial/ Finland Photos Phi’s Video in Finland - http://vimeo.com/104813583 Rick’s post on Exposure of the Finland Trip – https://rickmesser.exposure.co/finland Phi’s post on Exposure of the Finland Trip https://phi

Episode Outline The cost of a wrong client Don't choose a client based on money Ask the right questions early Favorite Clients' Traits Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

Updated show notes coming soon... For now... 00:00 Intro And News; iOS8 and Elle, plus Google Watch 13:05 Why Do We Track Time? 17:39 Why We Hate Time Tracking 26:39 Alternatives to Time Tracking 43:41 This Podcast Has A New Name Links: http://www.google.com/design/ http://www.pivotaltracker.com/ Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

00:00 Introduction 02:15 The Designer Developer Relationship Today 06:51 Both Sides Of The Fence 12:29 Code & Color: An Example Of The Disconnect 15:37 Build An Experience Together, Not Apart 20:17 Tool Time: Design Tools For Developement 22:07 Geography Matters 25:01 Style Guide Problems And Some Solutions 27:52 Front End Developers For Native, Is There Such A Thing? 33:00 Changes In The Baseline 35:20 More On The Dirt The Dirt Links The Dirt Twitter: @thedirtshow Tim Twitter: @csskarma Mark Twitter: @markgrambau Fresh Tilled Soil Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

0:00 Intro and News 11:31 Getting Into The flow 22.41 Design Tips and Resources 29:53 Sketch and The Missing Link 43:15 A Word On Organization Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram

This episode covers the process product designers go through from getting a product started to scoping it, designing it, and managing it. Here's the outline: 00:00 News 12:00 Overview 19:11 Product strategy and UX 28:10 Conceptual design and visual design 36:14 Design management 39:23 Product mangagement vs project management 48:52 Conclusion and what's next for this podcast Visit the Funsize website Subscribe to The Funsize Digest Check out Funsize on Instagram