In today’s episode, we dive into the insightful journey of Ray Tiong, Senior Design Researcher at Xero. We&#39;ll explore his career transition from graphic design to UX research, and share his valuable advice for professionals embarking on similar paths. Ray opens up about his beginnings in the design world, his strategic shift to UX research, and how his art history background has enriched his approach to research. Plus, we&#39;ll discuss the evolving landscape of UX in light of AI advancements and what skills are essential in staying ahead.Highlights:<ul><li>Ray’s transition from graphic design to UX research</li><li>The critical role of communication and creative thinking in UX</li><li>How to start in UX research without formal training</li><li>Embracing AI in UX research for future-proofing careers</li><li>Ray’s advice on cultivating long-term skills that withstand industry shifts</li></ul> Ray&#39;s Recommended ResourcesRay shared these gems for anyone keen on UX research:<ul><li>Book: &#34;Just Enough Research&#34; by Erika Hall. A must-read to grasp UX research basics.</li><li>Courses: Courses from the Interaction Design Foundation, great for deepening UX knowledge.</li></ul> As Ray bids farewell to Xero and embarks on a new chapter in the UK, we reflect on the insights and stories he&#39;s shared. Join us for an episode that’s as much about embracing change as it is about staying grounded in the fundamental principles of design and research.

<description>&lt;p&gt;In today’s episode, we dive into the insightful journey of Ray Tiong, Senior Design Researcher at Xero. We&amp;#39;ll explore his career transition from graphic design to UX research, and share his valuable advice for professionals embarking on similar paths. Ray opens up about his beginnings in the design world, his strategic shift to UX research, and how his art history background has enriched his approach to research. Plus, we&amp;#39;ll discuss the evolving landscape of UX in light of AI advancements and what skills are essential in staying ahead.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ray’s transition from graphic design to UX research&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;The critical role of communication and creative thinking in UX&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;How to start in UX research without formal training&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Embracing AI in UX research for future-proofing careers&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Ray’s advice on cultivating long-term skills that withstand industry shifts&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ray&amp;#39;s Recommended Resources&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ray shared these gems for anyone keen on UX research:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Book:&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;#34;Just Enough Research&amp;#34; by Erika Hall. A must-read to grasp UX research basics.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Courses:&lt;/strong&gt; Courses from the Interaction Design Foundation, great for deepening UX knowledge.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As Ray bids farewell to Xero and embarks on a new chapter in the UK, we reflect on the insights and stories he&amp;#39;s shared. Join us for an episode that’s as much about embracing change as it is about staying grounded in the fundamental principles of design and research.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Explores Ray Tiong's shift from graphic design to UX research, highlighting his unique approach to blending creativity with analytical insights for a dynamic UX landscape.

#50 From Pixels to Insights: Ray Tiong's UX Research Journey

A full episode of 3 topics: Adobe acquires Figma, Tips for getting a Design job, Digital hygiene. 1. A few thoughts on Adobe acquiring Figma - some of them might be unpopular from other designers’ opinions. 2. I mentored 10+ juniors and helped them transition from different industries to land a design job offer, including working at multinational companies. Here&#39;re a few things I noticed that all job-landing designers have. 3. While you are working, you will need to eliminate (or at least reduce) the interruption from your phone, as it’s the most distracting device in your workspace. But How? Here are a few simple tips that you can do to immediately increase your productivity.

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;A full episode of 3 topics: Adobe acquires Figma, Tips for getting a Design job, Digital hygiene.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;1. A few thoughts on Adobe acquiring Figma - some of them might be unpopular from other designers’ opinions.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;2. I mentored 10+ juniors and helped them transition from different industries to land a design job offer, including working at multinational companies. Here&amp;#39;re a few things I noticed that all job-landing designers have.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;3. While you are working, you will need to eliminate (or at least reduce) the interruption from your phone, as it’s the most distracting device in your workspace. But How? Here are a few simple tips that you can do to immediately increase your productivity.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

A full episode of 3 topics: Adobe acquires Figma, Tips for getting a Design job, Digital hygiene.

#49 Adobe acquires Figma, Tips for getting a Design job, Digital hygiene

Armando Torrealba is an Experience Design Manager at Atlassian, and I worked with him while he worked at Xero as a Product Design Director. He came from Chile (as a non-native speaker) and thrives as a design leader in New Zealand, which was one of the reasons I invited him to join my podcast. While I worked with Armando at Xero, I noticed he is really great at communication, design intention and mindfulness. I’ve learned a lot from him and I believe you will get some takeaways from this podcast as well.Highlights💡 Design is an intention 💡 Think of what the value you can bring to the company helps you get confidence for design interviews 💡 Tips for non-native speakers at work 💡 Don&#39;t only consider companies with great design to work and why 💡 Mindful design and a mindful lifeWho is Armando TorrealbaArmando Torrealba is an Experience Design Manager at Atlassian, and he has a passion for many things including(but not limited to) medication, mountain bikes, photography and hot sauce. Check his website for more details.Website: <a href="https://armandotorrealba.com//" rel="nofollow">https://armandotorrealba.com//</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/armandotorrealba//" rel="nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/in/armandotorrealba//</a>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Armando Torrealba is an Experience Design Manager at Atlassian, and I worked with him while he worked at Xero as a Product Design Director. He came from Chile (as a non-native speaker) and thrives as a design leader in New Zealand, which was one of the reasons I invited him to join my podcast. While I worked with Armando at Xero, I noticed he is really great at communication, design intention and mindfulness. I’ve learned a lot from him and I believe you will get some takeaways from this podcast as well.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Design is an intention &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Think of what the value you can bring to the company helps you get confidence for design interviews &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Tips for non-native speakers at work &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Don&amp;#39;t only consider companies with great design to work and why &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Mindful design and a mindful life&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who is Armando Torrealba&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Armando Torrealba is an Experience Design Manager at Atlassian, and he has a passion for many things including(but not limited to) medication, mountain bikes, photography and hot sauce. Check his website for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Website: &lt;a href="https://armandotorrealba.com//" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://armandotorrealba.com//&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;LinkedIn: &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/armandotorrealba//" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/armandotorrealba//&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Armando Torrealba: design is intention, find what’s your unique way to add value to your work, mindful design and tips for non-native speakers

#48 Armando Torrealba: design is intention

Life Coach Ciao Chen shared her ways of working as a digital nomad travelling in China(currently) and running an international coaching business. It all started because of COVID :)Highlights💡 Being a coach is as being a possibility enabler for others, and a coach needs to enable him/herself first.💡 Coaching is a blessed job - I can talk to many smart people and get inspired on solving my problems, and I get paid for that!💡 Listening is critical and the 3 levels of listening - <a href="https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/deep-listening-create-sacred-transformative-space-for-clients-sarah-evans-mcc/" rel="nofollow">Deep listening</a>Who is Ciao ChenICF registered Life Coach with 600+ coaching hours A CMW (Creating Meaningful Work) catalyst A digital nomad that lives in New Zealand and China A Vipassana meditation practitioner A cancer survivor A wisdom seeker A music, yoga and food loverWebsite: <a href="https://lifepotentialnz.com/" rel="nofollow">https://lifepotentialnz.com/</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/qiaochen" rel="nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/in/qiaochen</a>Links<ul><li><a href="https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/deep-listening-create-sacred-transformative-space-for-clients-sarah-evans-mcc/" rel="nofollow">Deep listening</a> - The Coaching Tools Company</li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40383078-the-tibetan-book-of-living-and-dying" rel="nofollow">The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying（西藏生死书）</a></li><li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16054217-the-book-of-life" rel="nofollow">The Book of Life (生命之书)</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Life Coach Ciao Chen shared her ways of working as a digital nomad travelling in China(currently) and running an international coaching business. It all started because of COVID :)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Being a coach is as being a possibility enabler for others, and a coach needs to enable him/herself first.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Coaching is a blessed job - I can talk to many smart people and get inspired on solving my problems, and I get paid for that!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Listening is critical and the 3 levels of listening - &lt;a href="https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/deep-listening-create-sacred-transformative-space-for-clients-sarah-evans-mcc/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Deep listening&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who is Ciao Chen&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;ICF registered Life Coach with 600+ coaching hours A CMW (Creating Meaningful Work) catalyst A digital nomad that lives in New Zealand and China A Vipassana meditation practitioner A cancer survivor A wisdom seeker A music, yoga and food lover&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Website: &lt;a href="https://lifepotentialnz.com/" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://lifepotentialnz.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;LinkedIn: &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/qiaochen" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/qiaochen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Links&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/deep-listening-create-sacred-transformative-space-for-clients-sarah-evans-mcc/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Deep listening&lt;/a&gt; - The Coaching Tools Company&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40383078-the-tibetan-book-of-living-and-dying" rel="nofollow"&gt;The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying（西藏生死书）&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16054217-the-book-of-life" rel="nofollow"&gt;The Book of Life (生命之书)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Life Coach Ciao Chen shared her ways of working as a digital nomad travelling in China(currently) and running an international coaching business. It all started because of COVID :)

#47 Ciao Chen: A Life Coach’s unexpected digital nomad life

Brendan Jarvis shared what he learned from 2 years of podcasting experience on finding and interviewing top UX influencers.Highlights💡 A better experience for guests and audience: look at the camera and active listening💡 Be authentic or professional?💡 How to find guests for a UX podcast?💡 How to get the workflow organised?💡 How to deal with “I don’t want to do it today”💡 Tips for releasing a high-quality podcast every week?Who is Brendan JarvisBrendan Jarvis is the Managing Founder and Principal Researcher of The Space InBetween - New Zealand’s only specialist evaluative UX research practice and world-class UX lab: enabling brave teams across the globe to de-risk product design, and equally brave leaders to shape and scale design culture.Website: <a href="https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/" rel="nofollow">https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/" rel="nofollow">https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/</a>Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis</a>Timestamp[12:39] A great tip for online communication: look at the camera, listen carefully[17:33] Tip for managing podcasting: batch the invites[18:25] Tip for managing a podcast: templates for show notes, LinkedIn posts, tweets etc.[19:23] Spend at least 1 day preparing for each episode[21:20] Practice writing questions like speaking, so that don’t need to check the notes often, just go naturally during the conversation[26:21] The difference of being authentic or being professional?[33:08] How to find guests for his podcast[40:45] How to save time? Hire a professional editor![46:20] Challenge for making a podcast: finding his voice on the podcastPeople or things we mentioned<a href="https://braveux.podbean.com/" rel="nofollow">Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Spool" rel="nofollow">Jared Spool</a><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Users-Uncover-Compelling-Insights/dp/193382011X" rel="nofollow">Interviewing Users by Steve Portigal</a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34536488-principles" rel="nofollow">Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio</a><a href="https://seths.blog/" rel="nofollow">Seth Godin</a><a href="https://www.fiverr.com/" rel="nofollow">Fiverr</a> for finding a podcast editor<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing" rel="nofollow">On Writing by Stephen King</a><a href="https://tim.blog/" rel="nofollow">Tim Ferriss</a> on podcasting and blog

<description>&lt;p&gt;Brendan Jarvis shared what he learned from 2 years of podcasting experience on finding and interviewing top UX influencers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Highlights&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 A better experience for guests and audience: look at the camera and active listening&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Be authentic or professional?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 How to find guests for a UX podcast?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 How to get the workflow organised?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 How to deal with “I don’t want to do it today”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;💡 Tips for releasing a high-quality podcast every week?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Who is Brendan Jarvis&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Brendan Jarvis is the Managing Founder and Principal Researcher of The Space InBetween - New Zealand’s only specialist evaluative UX research practice and world-class UX lab: enabling brave teams across the globe to de-risk product design, and equally brave leaders to shape and scale design culture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Website: &lt;a href="https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://thespaceinbetween.co.nz/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;LinkedIn: &lt;a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanjarvis/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Twitter: &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis" rel="nofollow"&gt;https://twitter.com/brendanjarvis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Timestamp&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[12:39] A great tip for online communication: look at the camera, listen carefully&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[17:33] Tip for managing podcasting: batch the invites&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[18:25] Tip for managing a podcast: templates for show notes, LinkedIn posts, tweets etc.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[19:23] Spend at least 1 day preparing for each episode&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[21:20] Practice writing questions like speaking, so that don’t need to check the notes often, just go naturally during the conversation&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[26:21] The difference of being authentic or being professional?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[33:08] How to find guests for his podcast&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[40:45] How to save time? Hire a professional editor!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;[46:20] Challenge for making a podcast: finding his voice on the podcast&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;People or things we mentioned&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://braveux.podbean.com/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Spool" rel="nofollow"&gt;Jared Spool&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Users-Uncover-Compelling-Insights/dp/193382011X" rel="nofollow"&gt;Interviewing Users by Steve Portigal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34536488-principles" rel="nofollow"&gt;Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://seths.blog/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Seth Godin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.fiverr.com/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Fiverr&lt;/a&gt; for finding a podcast editor&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10569.On_Writing" rel="nofollow"&gt;On Writing by Stephen King&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://tim.blog/" rel="nofollow"&gt;Tim Ferriss&lt;/a&gt; on podcasting and blog&lt;/p&gt;</description>

#46 Brendan Jarvis: What I learned from podcasting

Welcome to Bear Academy podcast. Here, we talk things about design, productivity and technology with professionals who work in tech and design industries. Hosted by Bear Liu, a UX designer who lives in Auckland, New Zealand.

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