In this week's episode, we talk to Dee Nalam—a seasoned adventurer, cultural enthusiast, and founder of Guided Seeker, a bespoke travel company that offers a personal, compassionate approach to travel. You can follow Dee and Guided Seeker on Instagram here and here and learn more about Guided Seeker and upcoming trips here. Places mentioned in this…

In this week's episode, we talk to Jenn Rice—a travel and culinary journalist from North Carolina who is particularly interested in jamon (Spanish ham), cheese dates and discovering new places in the cities she calls home (and the ones where she spends extended periods of time). Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including Eater, …

In this week's episode, we talk to Marti Buckley—a San Sebastian-based chef and travel writer who has published cookbooks, travel guides and articles everywhere from Travel + Leisure to Food & Wine, SUITCASE and other publications. You can follow Marti on Instagram here and her blog here. Her Basque Cheesecake recipe (which I’m obsessed with) can b…

In this week's episode, we talk to Harriet Baskas—an accomplished Seattle-based author, journalist, and broadcaster who has been covering the world of travel, culture, and the arts for over three decades—about weird museums, local coffee shops, her favorite airports, Pacific Northwest road trips and more. Give it a listen and let us know what you t…

In this week's episode, we talk to Vanessa Rodriguez—the Manager of International Marketing for Visit California—about all the hidden gems California has to offer and how much she misses the food in Texas. Give it a listen and let us know what you think! Some destinations mentioned in this episode: Los Angeles; Cayucos; San Luis Obispo; San Francis…

In this week's episode, we talk to Wilford Lamastus Jr.—an award-winning Panama-based coffee producer—about work travels, where to find the best cocktail bars and coffee shops, and how he balances business while touring new cities. This conversation really made me want to book a ticket straight to Panama City and then spend a week or so exploring t…

In this week's episode, we talk to Aitch Alberto—an LA-based filmmaker—who wrote the screenplay for and directed the film adaptation of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (produced by Lin Manuel Miranda). The film debuted at TIFF last year and recently made its US debut at the Palm Springs Film Festival. Aitch is also a Sundan…

In this week's episode, we talk to Viviane d’Adesky Aviles—an Atlanta-based travel publicist and interior designer—about balancing her professions, what curating travel itineraries has in common with curating interiors, going above and beyond for VIP guests, taste testing zero proof cocktails and non-alcoholic wines, and making it all work while pr…

In this week's episode, we talk to Esther Tseng—a Los Angeles-based food, drinks and culture writer. She is a judge for the James Beard Foundation and Academy Chair for the USA West region of The World’s 50 Best Bars and has contributed to a variety of publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Eater…

In this week's episode, we talk to TWO guests for the first time. Jaime Tapias and Kimberly Shannon are a lovely couple who met and fell in love while living in Hong Kong. They’ve got a lot up their sleeves including a children’s book that was published during the pandemic, teaching, flamenco classes, design projects and more—and they just recently…

In this week's episode, we talk to Catherine Burke, a Colorado-based pilgrim, yoga instructor, kombucha hype girl AND maker of crystal malas. Catherine shared how she got into pilgrimages, what inspired her to walk Spain’s Camino de Santiago and how it changed her life. Such a beautiful story. You can follow Catherine on Instagram here and learn mo…

In this week's episode, we talk to Natasha Londoño, a Miami local who’s worked in the hospitality industry for years now and is currently a senior loyalty manager for a large hotel group. Tash is a great friend of mine and brings a really fun and informed voice to luxury travel, all-inclusive vacations, travel clubs and visiting the Caribbean and M…

In this week's episode, we talk to Kristin Allred Gurley, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur, mom of two boys and savvy traveler. She’s been all around the world for work and for fun, but especially loves going to Asia, Hawaii (she had her wedding here) and Greece. You can follow Kristin’s personal adventures here and her CBD tea business here. Eat Drin…

In this week's episode, we talk to Cynthia Adarkwa, a Ghanaian-American television writer who strives to tell honest stories about Black women finding their place in the world. Cynthia recently spent a month in Europe experiencing, what she calls, her own “eat, pray, love” adventure. She briefed us on what it was like traveling from Lisbon to Paris…

In this week's episode, we talk to Christopher Johnson, an Atlanta native, managing partner of Peach Firm, and the founder of Pan African Motorsports, a nonprofit which aims to support African American drivers and eventually bring a Grand Prix to Africa. Chris fills us in on his travels to the Middle East, Spain, Texas and more to see F1 driver Lew…

In this week's episode, Allison and Omar chat about an overlooked travel destination. If you're into US history, arts districts, historic hotels and cowboy culture, you'll want to listen to this short episode about Oklahoma City. Eat Drink Sleep Repeat is a listener-supported podcast. Thanks for hanging out with us and following along! Please rate,…

In this week's episode, we talk to Andrew Tyree—the founder of Coast to Costa, a company that curates immersive travel to places like Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Peru and Spain. Each Coast to Costa trip delivers unique, highly localized experiences with an emphasis on the culture of the region. Andrew sat down to talk to us in-person over some Angeleno…

In this week's episode, we talk to Chelsea Frank—an LA-based travel writer and comic with her own podcast called Globethotting. Chelsea bares it all with stories about getting sick on vacation, what it’s like to be a travel writer and how she keeps the peace, whether with romantic partners or friends, during her trips. You can follow Chelsea on Ins…

Welcome to EDSR!! Every week, we’ll talk through where we’ve been lately, what we did/didn’t like about these places, and where we’re going next. In this week's episode, Allison and Omar introduce themselves and talk about what you can expect from the pod and who we'll be chatting with. Make sure your seatbelts are tightly fastened because we’re tr…

Mirren Fischer is someone who finds herself at the confluence of some really big challenges: creating a sustainable future and leveraging the new methods which have caused such an acceleration in the role of digital experiences. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about applying that approach to problems and places which have deep, physical ro…

Poetry and place...listening and lockdowns...Dan Phillips, who led the Royal College of Art's (RCA) work on 'Our Future Towns' talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how the research led to a different understanding of connectivity, mobility and transportation in our communities.It is a conversation with draws on Dan's breadth of design and res…

Mark Baldino’s path to co-founding a Chicago-based design agency wends its way from a degree in theology and working at non-profits in Washington DC to reading an early edition of ‘Information Architecture for the World Wide Web’ and a job as a late 90s web designer he claims he was totally unqualified for. What shines through today is a continuing…

Paul Campbell, a former chief designer at Ford, is now re-imagining the wheelchair at Centaur Robotics. In this conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, he shares the life experiences and human-centred insights which have shaped Centaur's new approach to personal, connected mobility. The discussion also explores Paul's deep experience of car …

Jared Ficklin’s approach of ‘think by making’ has led him to produce remarkable digital design work, often at the forefront of exploring new computing metaphors, from smartphones to spatial interfaces. In his conversation with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski, Jared gets to one of the big truths of the digital age: the major expansions in computing occu…

The conversation between Robert Fabricant and Marek Pawlowski spans a wide arc, from Robert's childhood design influences growing up in New York City to the multi-year journey of co-authoring (with Cliff Kuang) the acclaimed book 'User Friendly - How the Hidden Rules of Design are Changing the way we Live, Work & Play'. Along the way they explore R…

Jennifer Sukis returns to the podcast to discuss changes in her own role at the intersection of artificial intelligence and design, as well as IBM's growing focus on this area for its big enterprise clients. The chat with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski ranges from approaches to user research when designing AI-powered systems, how AI may influence futu…

Samar Héchaimé joins MEX founder Marek Pawlowski for a special discussion - recorded with a live web audience - exploring how we might transform our post-pandemic systems and organisations by putting people at the heart of future strategy. Drawing on deep cross-cultural experience – from the Middle East to the United States – and disciplines from a…

John Fagan is building technology to enhance the user experience of public transport through a better understanding of human behaviour. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about how smartphone sensor data can be combined with real-time transport infrastructure feeds to deliver more contextually relevant digital services. John draws on his deep …

Ashton Snook, Head of Design for Digital & Physical Products at Hive, joins MEX founder Marek Pawlowski to share how Hive is approaching the complex, multi-touchpoint challenge of delivering good customer experience for its smart home products. Ashton talks about the user research and product design aspects, as well as the organisational journey he…

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Ben Scott-Robinson is designing the next generation of robot relations. Small Robot Company, the start-up he co-founded, must solve both the technical challenge of deploying rugged, autonomous robots on farms and the nuanced complexities of serving multiple users - from individual farmers to the animals the machines may encounter in the field. Ben …

Mark Rolston is working on the future, from mixed reality delivered via digital eyewear for the likes of Magic Leap, to experimental projects exploring how projected interfaces might materialise in the physical world. Mark talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about his long career at frog design, where he led global creative after a 20 year tenure,…

Tom Wood, co-founder of Foolproof, joins Marek Pawlowski to talk about what it takes to build a user-centred design agency, from the initial inspiration 17 years ago during his time as Head of Advertising at Virgin Money, to setting a course for the future through an acquisition. The conversation ranges from the nuances of structuring design teams …

Jason DaPonte has been at the cutting edge of digital experience design since the late 90s and shares some of the insights gained along the way with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski. They talk about Jason's current strategy role at design agency ustwo, as well as revisiting the evolution of multi-touchpoint experience design. The conversation expands to…

Gavin Edwards directs product design and research for Skyscanner, a travel search platform serving 90 million users a month. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about applying research insights at scale, the cultural nuances of users' travel behaviours and his own journey through design agency work to leading in-house teams. Along the way, the …

Anna Bäck has seen user-centred design from all angles: spending time as managing director of a small specialist agency, playing a leadership role at a larger agency as it became part of McKinsey and most recently as CEO of an expanding digital platform where she is nurturing a strong design culture throughout the organisation. She talks to MEX fou…

In-depth user research has been a touchstone throughout Lada Gorlenko's fascinating career. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about her current role leading experience research for work management platform Smartsheet, as well as everything from her background in cognitive science, working in prisons and her time working on Microsoft's mobile…

From debuting concept cars in computer games to re-imagining autonomous vehicles as luxurious overnight sleeping cabins, Sam Livingstone has been advising the automotive industry on customer-led design strategy for over 20 years. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the opportunities for vehicle manufacturers to embrace digital experience …

Fiona Myles runs her own agency, Kin Branding, working at the intersection of brand strategy and design thinking. In addition, she works all over the world delivering workshops and education programmes to foster a design-led, creative economy with organisations like Nesta and the British Council. She shares the story of her career with MEX founder …

Tedde van Gelderen, founder of design agency Akendi and author of the book Experience Thinking, shares the story of his career journey with MEX founder Marek Pawlowski. From client-side roles with Philips and Nortel, to founding and selling an earlier agency business, Tedde talks about the career experiences which informed his book. The conversatio…

Jo Barnard is founder of the London-based design agency Morrama. She talks to Marek Pawlowski about the journey she's been on since founding the business four years ago. The conversation turns to the development of Morrama's beautifully considered smartphone concepts, part of a hybrid client and internal project which focuses on changing users' rel…

Lidia Oshlyansky has led numerous user experience teams in media and tech companies, including for Google's emerging markets research and now for growth opportunities at Spotify. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the nuances of successful field trips, her move from agency- to client-side and the challenges of building communities of pr…

Laura Forlano's diverse work as a writer, teacher and consultant bridges social sciences, design and emerging technology. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the wide range of projects she's involved with, from a book imagining what the Bauhaus might look like if it was practicing today through to the impact of autonomous vehicles on urb…

Omar Bakhshi sits down to share the story of his career, from tinkering with electronics as a child to the strategic projects he now leads at Smart Design for some of the world's largest companies. Marek and Omar reflect on how the challenges faced in designing digital experiences have changed since 12 years ago, when Omar first spoke at MEX, and t…

Before becoming a prolific angel investor and partner at the thesis-driven VC firm BlueYard, Hampus Jakobsson helped co-found TAT, one of the most influential companies in mobile user experience. He talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the motivations and challenges of building user interfaces for some of the world's largest device manufactur…

Rachel Liu traces her path as a service designer to an early interest in making and a degree in computer science. She talks to MEX founder Marek Pawlowski about the evolution of her career, including the nuances of conducting complex user research in countries like China. The conversation touches on the way education in China has changed since Rach…

Scott Weiss' career in user experience has its origins in the late 1980s, when he served an internship at Apple in the days of System 6 and 7. He went on to write one of the reference books on mobile user experience, 'Handheld Usability'. Today he leads product design for the language learning app Babel. He's seen the evolution of experience-led de…

Amy Daroukakis has spent her career helping others to see the deeper reality behind users’ lives. Through travel, observation and research she is constantly on the look out for emerging trends. Her work has included time in-house at one of the world’s largest retailers and in a variety of agency roles working with clients from fashion to financial …

As machines of all kinds become active participants in the economy, how will user experience strategy evolve to shape this new class of digital interactions? Kerstin Eichmann, managing director at Innogy Innovation, is working at the cutting edge of this challenge, helping one of Germany's oldest and largest energy companies imagine the future role…

How does a journey that begins with a degree in philosophy - and a chance conversation with a librarian - lead to a surprise move from Manchester to New York, one of the advertising industry's foremost fellowship programmes and a career-long interest in understanding customer behaviour? Onika Simon shares her story, including awards, working with C…