Siste episoder av Dive Club 🤿 podcast

1. Escha Vera - Designing Perplexity’s Comet and Using AI Like an Artist26.09.2025 (00:57:46)

   Imagine it’s your first day as a designer at Perplexity... and the VP of Design hands you the keys for their all-new AI browser, [Comet](https://www.perplexity.ai/comet).That’s the story for [Escha Vera](https://x.com/eschadiol).So this week’s episode is a deep dive into her design process and what it looks like to use AI like an artist.- How she designed Comet onboarding experience- Creating generative invite codes using multiple AI tools- How she created the Perplexity design system from scratch- How she productized AI without leading with chat interfaces or prompts- What are her principles for designing AI experiences that prioritize usability- + a lot more- [Soleio](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/soleio-2) sent the intro to [Henry Modisett](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/henry-modisett)- She worked at [Descript](https://x.com/descriptapp) before joining [Perplexity](https://x.com/perplexity_ai)- Previously worked on [Daylight Computer](https://x.com/daylightco) and Motif- Collaborating with [Phi Hong](https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/phi-hoang) on branding at Perplexity- Uses [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) for music generation and remixing

2. Carl Rivera - Shopify’s big bet on design and craft as the differentiator19.09.2025 (00:51:23)

   What does the perfect e-commerce platform look like in an AI era?That’s the question Shopify’s Chief Design Officer Carl Rivera has set out to answer so this week’s episode is all about Shopify’s big bet on design and craft as the ultimate differentiator.We go deep into:- What happens when AI makes everyone a 7/10 designer- What most design teams get wrong when casting vision- How design can lead the creation of truly native AI experiences- Why every designer at Shopify is learning to ship to production- Carl’s thesis for why designers are severely undervalued in the market- Why Shopify acquired Molly Studio and what it means for how the org works- + a lot morehttps://www.molly.studio/ - design studio acquired by Shopify

3. Catt Small - How staff designers build influence and lead as ICs12.09.2025 (00:57:06)

   Only a select few have multiple episodes on Dive Club and today Catt Small joins the ranks.She has a gift for turning messy ideas into practical next steps so it’s no wonder her Staff Designer course is one of the top-rated on Maven.In this episode we go deep into all of the ways you can make an impact by building influence on your team and effectively casting vision for your product.Some highlights:The 2 ways to measure your influenceStrategies for getting distribution for your ideasHow to select the ideal format for casting a visionStorytelling tactics used by the best staff designersHow to strategically invest in workplace relationshipsWhat Catt learned while interviewing staff designers for her new book⭐ Get $100 off Catt’s course: Staff Designer: Influence & Lead as an Individual Contributor⭐ Get 15% off pre-orders for her new book: The Staff Designer

4. Sara Vienna - Taste, Meaning, and How to Stand Out in an AI world06.09.2025 (01:02:41)

   What does it take to make people feel something with design...?This week's guest is kind of an expert on the question. Sara Vienna (https://x.com/sravienna?lang=en) , the Chief Design Officer at Metalab, talks about the responsibility that designers have to shape this AI world that we're entering without losing the heartbeat of a brand.We don't hold back on the current state of the industry and what it feels like to be a designer today.Some highlights:- How to not get swept up in current design trends- How Metalab has adopted AI workflows internally- Strategies for leveraging AI to understand research data- What it takes to put meaning at the heart of a brand/product- How Metalab invests in the collective taste of the design org- Where Sara derives signals and how she filters out the noise- Being late on a trend is bad taste even more so than ugly design- + a lot more- Windsurf https://windsurf.com/) and [Suno](https://suno.com/home?wpsrc=Google%20AdWords&wpcid=22042553892&wpscid=173890219393&wpcrid=726251362516&wpkwid=kwd-2827037661&wpkwn=suno&wpkmatch=e&wpsnetn=g&gad_campaignid=22042553892&gbraid=0AAAAA9pWpduFan7icL90FczgyQploCsYi) rebrands- Jony Ive’s Stripe Sessions talk (https://stripe.com/sessions/2025/a-conversation-with-sir-jony-ive)- Erica Hall’s book “Just Enough Research” (https://www.mulebooks.com/just-enough-research)- Anthropic’s Machines of Loving Grace paper (https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/machines-of-loving-grace)- Blok for focus (https://blok.so/)

5. Gabe Valdivia - How to Thrive as an Independent Designer29.08.2025 (00:57:48)

   I think we're entering a world where the market for fractional design is about to explode…So this week's episode is with one of my favorite people in the industry, Gabe Valdivia.We're going to explore his independent journey → how he made the jump, how he's evolved the practice in year two, and all of the lessons he's learned along the way.Some highlights:Gabe’s three-phase client modelHow to sell a client on fractional designGabe’s rules of thumb for pricing himselfHow Gabe’s new apprenticeship program worksHow Gabe vibe-coded his personal Freelance OSHow he has redefined success from year 1 to year 2Gabe’s journey to figure out how to position himself as an independenta lot moreCharlie Sutton who he worked with on VR team at FacebookTeam Human book by Douglas Rushkoff

6. Behind the scenes of the Inflight startup pitch💡27.08.2025 (00:10:00)

   Too much of designing a startup happens behind closed doorsSo I want to work with the garage door open while building Inflight (https://www.inflight.co/) as much as possible.You already saw a bunch of the nitty gritty UI details (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D39Dv9MSlhs)…But when you’re going 0 to 1 on something, the storytelling piece is often the hardest part.So this episode is a sneak peek of a recent presentation we gave in SF (and some behind-the-scenes commentary to go along with it).

7. Dan Winer - How to become more strategic and advance your career22.08.2025 (00:59:33)

   What does it look like to advance your career in the age of AI? That’s what this week’s episode with Dan Winer (Director of Product Design at Kit) is all about. He shares insights from his top-rated Maven course "Strategy and Influence for Product Designers" (https://join.dive.club/dan-winer-course) So if you want to learn how to go from pixel pusher to strategic partner then this is the episode for you 💪Some highlights:- Dan’s strategies for effective storytelling- How to shine a light on the value of your work- Tactics for building alignment across key stakeholders- The 8 skills that Dan is evaluating in the hiring process- Why design systems are becoming more important than ever- Harsh truths designers don’t want to hear about their portfolio- What to do if you don’t have data to prove the impact of your work- + a lot more

8. Andy Zhang - From early Figma to design engineer at Windsurf15.08.2025 (00:49:32)

   This week's episode is with Andy Zhang who was the lead design engineer at Windsurf. So we're going to shine a light on all of the ways you can make an impact as a design engineer including:Owning more of the frontend polishThinking through design patterns and packaging featuresBridging the gap between technical features and intuitive UXSaying “no” to features to preserve the simplicity of the systemHe also shares some great stories and advice including:What it was like working as an intern at Figma with <10 peopleHow designers can start to get more comfortable with codeHow he taps into his experience as a PM at Uber while selecting the right design processa lot moreRasmus Andersson (https://x.com/rsms) - Designer/engineer at Figma, mentor to AndyKevin Hou (https://x.com/kevinhou22?lang=en) - Lead product engineering at Windsurf, Andy’s basketball teammate who helped him get the job

9. Vitaly Friedman - Beyond Chat: What's Next for AI Design Patterns08.08.2025 (00:57:12)

   I’d bet real money that you have been on Smashing Magazine at some point in the last 18 years…Good news is, this week I got to interview the founder, Vitaly Friedman, who is also one of the leading thinkers in UX right now.In this episode we go deep into how AI is changing the way we interact with digital products and how our patterns and processes are evolving as a result.Some highlights:The use case for dynamic interfaces with AIHow to design a less painful refinement journeyThe best AI design patterns to use for inspirationWhen to use quiet AI vs. visible AI in your interfacesWhy more products should be “AI-second” not “AI-first”Why we need to slow users down when designing AI productsHow designers can establish trust when users interact with AIa lot moreConsensusElicitaiuxpatterns.comEpisode with the Gamma Head of Designexa.aiPerplexityChatGPTGeminiNorman Nielsen Group

10. From Uber to Apple to new design founder 💡06.08.2025 (00:21:53)

    If I told you someone had a background as a senior designer at companies like Uber, Dropbox, Apple, and Patreon then you'd be pretty impressed, right?Same.But Adam Noffsinger walked away from all of that to start Alma (which you might remember from the Smith+Diction episode).So this episode is a deep dive into what it really looks like to go 0→1 as a design founder.Adam even walks us through his Figma file for Alma so if you’re interesting in startups or designing something from nothing, then I think you’ll really enjoy this conversation 👇

11. Pietro Schirano - AI just gave designers a promotion01.08.2025 (01:00:31)

    This week’s episode is with Pietro Schirano who is the founder of the new design tool MagicPath and one of the true forward thinkers on AI. We go deep into the future of prototyping, design workflows, and what it takes to catalyze your career with AI.Some highlights:How design workflows will evolveUsing AI as a collaborator not just a toolHow Pietro was able to build influence at AnthropicWhy interactive prototypes are becoming table stakesWhat designers need to understand to master the modelsWhy design architects will be the highest paid role in the futurea lot moreDesignerGPT (5 million users)TweakCNOrigami (Facebook’s prototyping tool)Figma.ai domain purchase

12. Why AI has changed prototyping forever25.07.2025 (00:51:13)

    This week I got an inside look at Figma Make while talking to Holly and Nikolas all about the future of prototyping…We get into real world use cases for different kinds of prototypes and how our workflow is evolving as designers.One thing is abundantly clear, things aren’t so linear anymore.Some highlights:How Figma Make fits into your workflowRethinking what “high fidelity” means for a prototypeHow code is the glue and what it means for collaborationWhat are the less obvious use cases for prototyping with AIMeta prototyping with interactive playgrounds and inspect panelsa lot moreFigma Make - AI-powered prototyping tool within FigmaVariables in FigmaAdvanced Prototyping in Figma

13. How product design works at Raycast 💡23.07.2025 (00:28:22)

    Last month we did the ultimate Raycast Deep Dive, but there's a lot in there… so this week I want to highlight just the segment from the product design team.We go deep into how they collaborate, why they’ve started shipping more code, and what it takes to build a culture obsessed with craft.Don’t forget to use code DIVE20YT to get 20% off your first purchase of any Lovable plan ❤️ Valid until August 21, 2025. Go to dive.club/lovable to start creatingFull Raycast episode - The Raycast Deep Dive

14. Gunnar Gray - Designing Perplexity, shaders, and voice interfaces18.07.2025 (00:54:08)

    This week, Gunnar Gray (Product Design Lead at Perplexity) dives into the art of designing AI-native experiences.He shares lessons from shaping Voice Mode and how prototyping with AI is changing the design process at Perplexity.Some highlights:Why Perplexity is racing to get ideas into codeWhat it’s like designing at a hyper growth startupWhat it’s like designing dynamic voice experiencesGunnar’s journey learning metal shaders with CursorHow Gunnar strategically invests in his design skillseta lot morePerplexity - AI-powered search and discovery platformCursor - AI-powered code editorParticle News app

15. Ryo Lu - Designing the future of Cursor11.07.2025 (00:57:28)

    Cursor is easily one of the most impactful companies in all of tech…And this week's episode is with their Head of Design, Ryo Lu.You might've heard of Ryo in this episode back when we talked about early Notion and systems design.So this week we're going to get an inside look at how design operates at Cursor and all of Ryo's experiments with AI 👀Some highlights:What Ryo believes about the future of HCIHow Ryo handles a barrage of user feedbackHow Ryo approaches systems thinking at CursorHow Ryo unified the core primitives of Cursor’s systemLaying the foundation for the future of Cursor’s system designInside Ryo’s design process and how he knows what to pursueWhy Ryo thinks specialization will matter less in an AI-enabled futureWhy Ryo believes the future of interfaces will match how people thinka lot more

16. Julian Lehr - How storytelling works at Linear02.07.2025 (00:51:09)

    This week's episode is with Julian Lehr who is the storytelling lead at LinearSo we're going to step out of the pixels for this conversation and focus more on how you can get people excited about what you're designing.Because in the age of AI, stories are what makes your product defensible.So we're going to go deep into Julian's creative process and how he kinda thinks of his role more as packaging.Some highlights:Julian’s sources of inspirationUnderstanding Julian’s creative processThe new analogy that Julian is working on for LinearLinear’s strategy for storytelling for their “Agents” releaseThe importance of visual design in copywriting and marketingHow Linear’s in-house creative studio collaborates on storytellingHow Linear evolved from using “opinionated” to “purpose-built” over 3 yearsa lot moreAntimetal websiteArena for inspirationJulian’s websiteLinear’s hands of god visual for Agents release

17. Emmet Connolly - Transitioning into the next era of design 27.06.2025 (01:03:33)

    You probably know Intercom… but did you know they recently incubated a new startup called Fin that has already surpassed the core business?They’ve pulled off a massive transition to an AI-native product and design org so today we’re going behind-the-scenes with their VP of Design Emmet Connolly.Some highlights:Why Emmett believes designers will own the frontendThe opportunity for design systems in an AI-first worldWhat Emmett looks for when hiring designers in the AI eraWhy liquid glass represents the wrong direction for designHow Intercom’s AI product Fin overtook their core businessWhy the start of an S-curve is the best time to be a designerHow AI is flipping the traditional product development processa lot morePlato’s cave analogyOpenAI’s forward deployed engineer roleApple’s liquid glass designFons Mans helped on the design of Fin

18. My playbook for vibe coding💡25.06.2025 (00:08:32)

    In last week’s episode, the Head of Design at The Browser Company shared a totally new way to think about your portfolio.He says one of the most valuable things you can demonstrate today is the ability to solve real problems with code (no matter how small).I’m literally doing this with a side project right now and I’ve learned a lot so I decided to share my new playbook for vibe coding 👇Teo Connor (VP of Design at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/air-bnbAlex Schleifer (former Chief Design Offer at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/alex-schleiferJanum Trivedi (prototyping specialist at Airbnb): https://www.dive.club/deep-dives/janum-trivedi

19. Dustin Senos - Designing Dia (the AI-native web browser)20.06.2025 (00:58:25)

    Dia from The Browser Company has completely taken over the internet. We’re finally seeing what an AI-native browser can be and it’s pretty exciting :)So this episode is a behind-the-scenes with their Head of Design, Dustin Senos.Some highlights:How to build a product strategy around AIHow The Browser Co approaches prototypingDustin’s perspective on MCP and agentic designHow their definition of “good” evolved from Arc to DiaTheir process for exploring patterns for interacting with AIThe #1 piece of advice Dustin would give younger designersa lot moreWe mentioned Nate Parrott’s episode who was the first design hire at The Browser Company

20. The Ultimate Raycast Deep Dive (craft, AI, hype, & more)16.06.2025 (02:03:25)

    This week’s episode is a first of its kind because we’re doing the ultimate deep dive into one of my favorite products: RaycastWe’ll here from the founders, design team, and even the hype team and go deep into all kinds of topics:The hilarious story of Raycast’s YC application3 weekly rituals that are perfect for remote teamsWhat they’ve learned about designing AI experiencesWhat we can learn from how their hype team operatesHow the design team has changed the way they collab with engineersa lot moreThis is easily the most in-depth episode I’ve ever made so I hope you enjoy it :)Thomas and Petr (Raycast founders)Roy can Rooijen (Designing AI)Jordan Amblin (Designing mobile)Alexander Antonov (Designing windows + DS)Pedro Duarte (Hype lead)Inga Hampton (Designer + Illustrator)

21. Behind the scenes of my design founder journey11.06.2025 (00:12:42)

    The last two weeks with Inflight have been the most exhilarating of my entire career…So I want to use Dive Club  to provide unprecedented levels of access to life as a design founder.I’m talking about the messy behind-the-scenes, hideous Figma concepts, and all of the winding turns that we've taken to get where we're at today.This is gonna be as raw as it gets.And hopefully by shining a light on some of the things I'm learning, it turns into a video series that you want to keep watching ✈️

22. Darrin Henein - The new bar for design excellence at Shopify06.06.2025 (01:03:28)

    This week's episode is with Darrin Henein who is the VP of Design at Shopify. We talk about how they create a culture of excellence and how AI is influencing the way they practice the design.Some highlights:What makes for a great design critique cultureDarrin’s expectation for how designers prototypeHow Shopify’s new AI mandate impacts designersTraits Darrin notices in promising younger designersWhat designers can learn from the best communicators at ShopifyWhy Darrin believes designers need to think beyond static prototypesa lot moreGKIII’s Cost of Craft articleFrenzy drop sales productAstronaut video game that Darrin releasedRed Dot Design Award won by Shopify’s POS hardware

23. Vibe designing with Subframe04.06.2025 (00:37:52)

    There’s a new design tool called Subframe that’s officially caught my eye 👀So I asked their co-founder Filip Skrzesinksi to give us a demo and talk through their vision.I found some of their AI interaction patterns fascinating (especially the way they approach prototyping and contextual edits).If you’re interested in the future of design tooling then I think you’ll like this episode and you can use the code DIVECLUB to get your first month free 👌

24. Ioana Teleanu - The right (and wrong) ways to design AI into your product30.05.2025 (01:04:27)

    There are two types of companies today:Startups birthed out of AIExisting companies figuring out how to adapt to AIThis week’s episode is all about #2 because we get to hear from Ioana Teleanu who was the first AI designer at Miro and is now a dedicated AI+Design consultant.So a big theme of this conversation is how to identify the right opportunities to design AI into a product that’s already working. Ioana shares a bunch of stories and lessons learned from her time at Miro as well as a refreshing perspective on AI and design as whole that i think will resonate with a lot of you.Some highlights:What to do if you’re already feeling AI fatigueWhy invisible AI is the future of product designHow you measure the success of integrating AIExamples of good and bad implementations of AIHow the value prop of design shifts in an AI worldWays to invest in your product skills as a designera lot moreBefore Miro Ioana designed Clipboard AI which won Times Magazine best invention of 2023

25. Jesse Kulp - Designing the Future of AI at Google23.05.2025 (00:58:00)

    This week we get to hear from Jesse Kulp who is the original designer for Google AI Studio.He shares what it was like going 0→1 as the sole designer and his ideas for where AI design is headed nextI think we're gonna look back in a couple years, the kind of silly stuff we're doing today and say it looks like child's play… Jesse Kulpsome highlights:How Jesse transformed into the ultimate generalistWhat Jesse learned about managing lots of stakeholdersExploring different interaction modalities for AI in the futureHow to handle ambiguity while working in a new problem spaceHow Jesse figured out the initial product strategy for AI Studioa lot moreGoogle AI StudioVertex AI Studio