Andy Polaine
Talking Design Leadership on The Wicked Podcast
A conversation on Marcus Kirsch''s Wicked Podcast about the journey from designer to leader, thinking out loud as part of writing the design leadership book.
Writing & Thinking
A mix of essays and commentary about design, innovation, technology, society, coaching, personal and leadership development. Since 1996.
The Demise of Wise
A painful experience with Wise arbitrarily suspending an account is a useful case study in how product thinking eventually ruins a service.
Navigating the Leadership Dip Book
Planning a new book on the psychological experience of moving into creative leadership, written in public. Calling for stories and thoughts from people who''ve been there.
Fear & Anxiety in Stakeholderland
Senior stakeholders often seem hostile to design, but starting from the assumption that they''re full of fear and anxiety is an empathetic, practical reframe.
A New Look
The site has a new design: smoother transitions, better typography, dark mode, and search is back. Built on Hugo, written in Obsidian, deployed via Git.
The Press Release Wizards of the Coast Should Have Written
Wizards of the Coast''s botched Open Gaming Licence response was a masterclass in corporate arrogance. A draft of the apology they should have issued instead.
Meta and the Paradox of VR
Meta''s metaverse is boring, and that matters: immersion in VR is a content problem, not a technology one, and boring meetings in headsets solve nothing.
The Greed for Speed
The relentless pressure to go faster is usually greed dressed up as urgency. On the real costs of organisational velocity and why reflection is not wasted time.
Shut Up and Do Something
Telling women to be more visible in a room dominated by men is code for be louder. One option: men could try being quieter instead.
Your product is probably a service and why that matters
Uber, Netflix, Airbnb: none of these are products. The language of product in digital hides a lie, and that slippage of meaning has real consequences for design.
Powers of Ten Updated
The BBC and Open University have made an updated version of the Eames'' Powers of Ten, narrated by Brian Cox, covering new knowledge of space and the universe.
Output is Input
Writing and making are how we think, not just what we produce. Getting the shitty first draft out is the only way the good draft eventually arrives.
Announcing my online courses
Announcing a new online course site: short, modular courses on service design, storytelling, ecosystems mapping, and business design, built to mix and match.
Smalltalk
Smalltalk gets a bad name, especially in Germany. Reframe it as conversational improv and it becomes a tool for building trust and psychological safety.
Design Leadership Masterclass
Andy Polaine is giving a masterclass at Echos Innovation Lab''s Design Leadership programme, covering the personal journey into leadership and what it demands of you.