tomorrow's designers (Fergus Inns)

EP15 // Felix Lee, Co-Founder & CEO of ADPList

We discuss the incredible journey and leadership of Felix, and hear his opinions on the future of mentorship for designers and why it's so critical. We also uncover some of Felix's incredible leadership approaches to work and life, and how he has built such a fast-growing company as a designer.

EP09 // We welcome Dr. Rebecca Price, a world leading design researcher, Professor of Transition Design at TU Delft and co-founder of Resilient Designers.

We discuss the physiological impact that designing has on us as humans, and how we can reframe vulnerability as a superpower. We also get Rebecca's expert guidance on how we can build resilience into our daily work as designers.

Link to 'Resilient Designers' Handbook:

https://resilientdesigners.com/

EP 18 // Meredith Black, ex-Head of DesignOps at Pinterest, Figma + The New York Times.

We go deep into why having a career in design is anything but linear, the role of risk, and why trusting your gut is so under-rated in the world of careers.

Meredith also shares her incredible advice to young designers who are on the hunt for their first roles, for how to thrive in chaos and uncertainty and stay true to your mission as a designer.

Link to Meredith's own podcast:

Reconsidering Podcast

EP 14 // Joanne Jørgensen, Ex-Materials Director @Nike + Founder of TeamGlue

We uncover Joanne's approach to leading some of the most creative design teams on the planet, the cool stories and innovations to come out the design studio at Nike, and why focussing on team culture is so critical for design teams to be successful.

EP 19 // Don Norman, Godfather of UX: PART 1

This is an open, honest conversation about the state of design in 2025 from the perspective of a young designer.

We unpack the thoughts, concerns, ambitions and visions of the young generation of designers entering the industry, and uncover Don's wisdom for how we can all move design forward.

Part 2 going live soon.

EP12 // Paul Edwards , Head of Advanced Design, Airbus

We uncover the differences, similarities and functions of in-house design teams compared with agencies and consultancies. We also discuss the top key skills for junior designers when entering into these teams.

Show Notes:

Fergus Inns LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/in/fergus-inns

Link to Russell Beard's blog, 'Four Beards':

https://www.fourbeards.co.uk/all-articles/

Link to Product Powwow Podcast:

https://productpowwow.transistor.fm/

EP17 // Grace Hawthorne, Stanford Professor of 17 years and author of 'Make Possibilities Happen'.

We dive into how designers can develop creative confidence, why agency is the most crucial trait for the designers of tomorrow, and how creativity can be trained like a muscle.

Grace also shares groundbreaking Stanford research, the importance of balancing human creativity with AI, and why having a bias for action is non-negotiable for designers of tomorrow.

EP13 // Damian Mycroft, Senior Design Director, Coca-Cola

We get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the workings of the global design team at Coca-Cola. We uncover how they design so successfully for such a global market, how their design language and principles are changing, and what role the next generation of designers can play in leading Coca-Cola's design team into the future!

Fergus Inns LinkedIn

Damian Mycroft LinkedIn

tomorrow's designers website

Welcome to tomorrow's designers. Here's a short introduction to the podcast and mission.

03// Lena Kul, former Lead Design Recruiter and now UX Researcher at Miro.

We deep-dive into how to build a network. If you're keen to understand how to build a vibrant, useful network, how to stop getting ghosted and how to craft the perfect 'ask' to unlock new opportunities, this episode is going to be essential.

EP06 // Rod Mountain, world leader in healthcare design and innovation and 30-year consultant surgeon.

We discuss how we as young designers can really learn from the medical profession, as well as how we can truly up-skill in the art of empathy. We also uncover the designers true superpower that is ignorance.

EPISODE 07: Rufus Deuchler, Director of Worldwide Creative Cloud Evangelism @ Adobe.

We discuss how we as young designers can evangelise our own design work leveraging the power of storytelling and social media. We also chat about the emerging design tools of the future and how we need to balance automation + efficiency with the need for deep, human creativity.

EP02 // Talin Wadsworth, the principal designer for Adobe XD, one of the most widely used UX/UI tools in the world. Over the nearly 14 years he’s spent at Adobe, he has also led many other 1.0 initiatives, including the launch of Adobe Creative Cloud as well as Adobe Sketch for iPad.

Talin shares his journey from student to leader at Adobe, and the importance of a 'design manifesto' for young designers, as well as how we can write our own. We also explore the future of design tools, and how we can best prepare for the future of design. Lastly, we explore the key advice and guidance for how we as young designers can land a design role at Adobe.

EP16 // Melissa Sherman, global design executive and former VP of Design @ Logitech. We uncover the award-winning approach to crafting exceptional product experiences.

EP08 // Gray Dawdy, YouTuber + freelance Industrial Designer.

We chat about navigating inspiration overload, finding originality as the next generation of designers as well as the importance of authenticity in both personal and professional life. We also attempt Vogue 73 (design trend) Questions with Gray.

Link to Gray's YouTube Channel

Link to tomorrow's designers website

EP11 // Brendan Hutchieson, Founder of Play&Co.

We chat about the honest, un-filtered truth of starting a design agency, and how we as young designers can think about embarking on our own design entrepreneurship journey. We also uncover what small agencies look for when hiring junior designers.

EP10 // Wayne Euston-Moore, Founder of Black Dot, a world-leading design recruitment specialist.

We discuss the no-BS truth behind the junior design job market right now, and why so many junior designers are struggling to secure jobs right now.

EPISODE 05 (Part 2): Lena Kul, ex-Lead Design Recruiter and now UX Researcher at Miro.

In this Part 2, we chat about landing your first design role as well as how to craft the perfect job search strategy. If you're keen to understand how to stand out to hiring teams, stop getting rejected from cold applications and gain some insight into where design hiring might be heading, this episode will be perfect.

EP01 // Sean Carney, a globally recognised design leader and former Chief Design Officer at Philips. With over 25 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary design teams at major brands like Philips, HP, and Electrolux.

Sean shares his journey from design student to industry leader. We also explore the importance of business understanding and context when learning and practicing design, the essential skills young designers need to become leaders, and also take a look into the future of design leadership. Lastly, Sean gives us young designer some tips on how to stand out when applying to large in-house design teams.

EPISODE 04: Ozlem Tuskan, founder of The Resilient and a global brand, strategy and foresight expert of over 20 years.

We try and unpack how we as designers can thrive and find opportunity in uncertainty, rather than fear it. We also discuss how to design your own luck and uncover and act on serendipitous moments as they come by.