Shows
This is HCD – Human-Centered Design, UX & Service Design Thinking PodcastThe Realities of Design Leadership with Marzia AricòIf you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Leave a review (+ help us grow): https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdIn this episode of This is HCD, Gerry Scullion sits down with Marzia Aricò to explore the raw, unfiltered realities of design leadership. From navigating failed ventures and the lessons they bring, to the evolving role of design in organisations, Marzia shares insights from her groundbreaking book, Design Leadership Chronicles. They discuss trust in leadership, why design leaders m...
2025-03-0643 min
Power of Ten with Andy PolaineMarzia Aricò - Design Leadership MaverickPower of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Marzia Aricò, an independent consultant for organisations seeking to integrate design strategically, and works as a design leadership coach for individuals aiming to advance in their design careers.
We talked about her journey to where she is now, service design and organisational change, the importance of diversity within organisations and how her guests on Design Voices Elevated have n...
2024-11-2746 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Jeanette ClementWe’re at the end of Season 2 of Design Voiced Elevated, and to close, we’re returning to the topic of design within large organisations—a subject that those who’ve been following me for a while will know is my forte. For the final episode, I chose to interview Jeanette Clement, and after reviewing our conversation, I’m so glad I did! This interview covers many crucial topics, such as how to articulate the value of strategic design and how to recognise where an organisation's energy lies—in Jeanette’s words, “how to recognise a wave.”Jeanette is the He...
2024-11-0552 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Roberta TassiWhat does it take to finally decide to quit your job and start your own venture? How do you digitise an entire government offering to its citizens, starting almost from scratch and surrounded by scepticism? How do you deploy AI to truly improve service design outcomes?These are some of the topics I discussed with Roberta Tassi, a design leader and inspiring practitioner who has used service design in a variety of contexts to improve the way NGOs, private and public organisations organise work and deliver services.If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to DesignMavericks...
2024-10-2229 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Aleksandra MelnikovaThere are very few design founders out there, even fewer women design founders. So, in Season 2 of Design Voices Elevated, I made an effort to scout for women founders in design with great stories to tell. One of these women is Aleksandra Melnikova, the proud co-founder of Cosmic Velocity.Our conversation has been, as usual, honest and straight to the point, showcasing the human behind the leader, including hopes, fears, and a great deal of self-reflection. Aleksandra and I talked about the shift from being an employee to becoming a co-founder, having her child and her comeback...
2024-10-0837 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Dr. Vivienne HeyhoeFormer medical doctor, service designer, design leader, founder, entrepreneur, angel investor—Dr Vivienne Heyhoe is all of these things. Over the span of her impressive career, she has combined diverse experiences and skills to place herself at the forefront of a mission to revolutionise healthcare—one startup at a time, one business at a time.Together, we discussed her transition into entrepreneurship and investing, what she looks for in a startup when deciding to invest, and how her design background is shaping her approach to entrepreneurship.I admire her determination, candour, and vision. This is an e...
2024-09-2445 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Sara BelliniSara Bellini is a design leader and co-founder of Alto Robotics. I was particularly interested in interviewing her, not only because of my quest to speak with more design founders but also due to her involvement in the robotics sector, where both designers and women are underrepresented.We discussed the transition from working with the intangible as a design consultant to handling tangible hardware as the co-founder of her new venture. She shared her learnings candidly and openly, including the moment when she had to completely reinvent her leadership style.If you enjoyed this episode...
2024-09-1039 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Niharika HariharanFor episode four of Design Voices Elevated Season Two, I continue my journey of connecting with design founders by travelling to London to meet Niharika Hariharan, co-founder of Design3.Niharika has an impressive track record, having spent her entire career in design consulting and in-house roles at companies like Nokia, Barclays, EY Seren, and McKinsey. A few years ago, she decided to leave her comfortable corporate job to start her own ventures. The latest is Design3, a global ed-tech platform that helps product teams, designers, and innovators enhance their skills to build the products, services, and businesses...
2024-08-2734 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Fabiola NardecchiaWelcome to the third episode of Season Two of Design Voices Elevated! In this episode, I interview Fabiola Nardecchia, UX Director at Media Monks. Fabiola is currently co-authoring a book on Ethics and AI, and in this interview, she shares emerging reflections from this journey.Fabiola discusses how AI has become more accessible to consumers through interfaces like ChatGPT, raising questions about its purpose, its intended users, and the necessity of pausing to evaluate its impact. She calls on designers to consider the perception and level of trust between users and AI, whether AI should be human-like or remain...
2024-08-1354 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Lex FefeghaWelcome to the second episode of Season Two of Design Voices Elevated! I'm your host, Marzia Aricò, and today we're delving into the world of creative intersections with a very special guest: Lex Fefegha. Lex is a UK-based artist, creative coder, and game designer, currently making waves as an artist-in-residence at Google's Art and Culture Lab. His focus is on creating interesting experiments at the intersection of AI, creativity, and design, with a particular interest in play as a vehicle for mental challenge, emotional response, and making information accessible.In this episode, Lex shares his passion for s...
2024-07-3048 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Sarah GoldThe first episode of Design Voices Elevated Season 2 features Sarah Gold, a design founder and CEO of Projects by IF, a design and strategy firm based in London. Projects by IF focuses on building trustworthy products and services that make people feel safe, empowered, and respected. Sarah and her team are on a mission to create a safer digital environment by addressing the complexities of technology and data usage. This discussion provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in designing for trust in the digital age. It also offers a reflection on the reality of being...
2024-07-1645 min
Service Design ShowThe Secrets to Effective Design Leadership / Marzia Arico / Ep. #203What does it take to become a great design leader...
Regardless of whether or not it's in your official job title, you're already leading to some degree.
You are leading because your work is to deliver change.
Change because we want to break free from outdated mental models that can't solve today's challenges.
But what kind of leadership is needed to transform our organizations from the dehumanizing machines they are today into adaptable living beings?
Returning guest Marzia Arico has some valuable perspectives on this.
With a...
2024-06-0656 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Birgit GeibergerWelcome to the final episode of Design Voices Elevated for Season 1. For this final episode, I went to Amsterdam to meet Birgit Geiberger, Global Head of Product UX Design - Domain Ventures & Services at IKEA. Birgit and I met at her home, where she showed me her art and experiments with her garden.We talked about her career choices, pivotal moments and learnings. We explored what it takes to be a good leader and how to maintain a sense of purpose within corporate life. Birgit holds a robust set of values that have guided her choices and...
2024-05-0736 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Alessandra CanellaThis is episode 9 of season 1 of Design Voices Elevated. For this episode, I travelled to London to meet Alessandra Canella, Head of UX at Cazoo. Alessandra tells us about her journey into design and leadership, the times she struggled and when she changed her mind about wanting to be a manager. We talked about the difference between a manager and a leader and explored the current status of the design market.Follow my work by subscribing to DesignMavericks.Substack.com Get full access to Design Mavericks at designmavericks.substack.com/subscribe
2024-04-3030 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Hanne ÖsterbergHanne is the Development Director at the Design Innovation Group, a design studio specialised in tackling social challenges. In this interview, we talk about Hanne's shift towards designing for purpose that brought her to work on tackling big hairy challenges such as creating more inclusive cities or ways to lower access to care. We talk about design as a way to create something that didn’t exist before, as well as the role of the leader to create the right conditions to get there.To follow my work subscribe to DesignMavericks.Substack.com
2024-04-2325 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Alberta SoranzoA Design Leader like no other! Alberta is a powerhouse of imagination and determination. In this interview, we explored how Alberta made a case for design in a large Telco, the business case she wrote and the numbers she pulled to make her case. We also discussed some of the pivotal moments in her career and the learnings she treasures from those experiences. Join the Design Mavericks community on Substack to learn about growing organisational change by design. Get full access to Design Mavericks at designmavericks.substack.com/subscribe
2024-04-1633 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Emma SandbergIn this week’s episode of Design Voices Elevated, I interviewed Emma Sandberg, Design Director at Philips. Emma heads the CMF Standards & Brand Licensing design team that guides stakeholders and partners to deliver product, digital, and packaging experiences for the Philips Brand. She has almost 20 years of experience leading Design Teams between Europe and Asia and a wealth of knowledge in making design effective in organisations. We talked about how to become a leader by building on your individual unique values, making a case for design, and the importance of translating what design has to bring to the table in...
2024-04-0922 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Sabari MajumdarI’m very glad to share a new episode of Design Voices Elevated featuring Sabari Majumdar. Sabari is originally from India and has been living in London for over a decade. She is a design leader with mixed experience in consulting and in-house, today at Booking.Together we discussed how to deal with difficult stakeholders, how to make change happen in an organisation while adhering to your own personal values and passions, and most importantly how to be a good leader independently from your job title or seniority.Subscribe to DesignMavericks.Substack.com...
2024-04-0226 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Remya RameshWelcome to a new episode of Design Voices Elevated, the series that brings you the perspectives of women leading design in organisations. Today, my guest is Remya Ramesh, whom I met at her apartment in West London. We discussed the beginning of her career, moving from India to Australia, with limited language proficiency and an engineering degree. We discussed her early development, her move into design, and how she managed to leverage every opportunity she got to learn, grow, and shine. Her story is one of determination, I think. She is humble and reflective, and I absolutely loved talking...
2024-03-2622 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Öznur ÖzkurtIn this episode of Design Voices Elevated, Öznur and I discuss pivotal moments in her career and approach to leadership. We particularly uncover her transition from Google to Genomics England. In these two very different organisational environments, Öznur has maintained a focus on healthcare, but while at Google, she dealt with specific healthcare products; at Genomics England, she oversees the design of an entire service portfolio. Her approach and her leadership had to follow that shift, and we explored how.If you haven’t yet done so, please subscribe to: designmavericks@substack.com Get full...
2024-03-1920 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Bethany JarroussiéThe second episode features Bethany Jarroussié, a design leader with over 25 years of experience in the field. Two things truly resonated with me from our conversation. Firstly, Bethany’s ability to create her own opportunities, going after those fearlessly, eventually being recognised as an expert in that field. It’s something that a lot of us could use in our careers. Secondly, Bethany is an advocate for social mobility, having herself had an unusual upbringing; she is really for opening opportunities to folks independently from their credentials, education, or background. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode.
2024-03-1238 min
Design Voices ElevatedThe Story of Venessa BennettThe first episode features Venessa Bennett, Global Director of UX at Dye & Durham Corporation. Venessa and I talked about how she articulates the value that her team and design bring to the organisation, how she has been intentional in crafting her design career, how to deal with bad managers, and how to decide to be one. Get full access to Design Mavericks at designmavericks.substack.com/subscribe
2024-03-0533 min
Bringing Design Closer with Gerry ScullionMarzia Aricò 'Service Measurement; Connecting (and measuring) the dots between zoom levels'In this episode I chat with Marzia Aricò, Design Director at Livework in London, and based in the stunning city of Rotterdam. We chat about service measurement - and some of the new work that Marzia and her colleagues at Livework have been working on to help move the dial forward for organisations in this space.It’s a fantastic conversation and totally enjoyed connecting with Marzia - let’s jump in!
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2022-12-0729 min
Bringing Design CloserMarzia Aricò 'Service Measurement; Connecting (and measuring) the dots between zoom levels'In this episode I chat with Marzia Aricò, Design Director at Livework in London, and based in the stunning city of Rotterdam. We chat about service measurement - and some of the new work that Marzia and her colleagues at Livework have been working on to help move the dial forward for organisations in this space.It’s a fantastic conversation and totally enjoyed connecting with Marzia - let’s jump in!
Become a Patron of This is HCD / https://www.thisishcd.com/become-a-patron
Buy Gerry a Coffee / https://thisishcd.ck.page/products/buy-me-a-coffee
Sign up to Th...
2022-12-0729 min
This is HCD – Human-Centered Design, UX & Service Design Thinking PodcastMarzia Aricò 'Service Measurement; Connecting (and measuring) the dots between zoom levels'If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.Leave a review (+ help us grow): https://ratethispodcast.com/hcdIn this episode I chat with Marzia Aricò, Design Director at Livework in London, and based in the stunning city of Rotterdam. We chat about service measurement - and some of the new work that Marzia and her colleagues at Livework have been working on to help move the dial forward for organisations in this space.It’s a fantastic con...
2022-11-1830 min
Service Design ShowHow to manage the organisational dark matter / Marzia Arico / Episode #129I'm sure you've experienced it... You put your heart and soul into your work, you try to create value through design, you have an optimistic mindset.
But whatever you do, you always feel like there's a mysterious organisational force pushing against you.
It's the "organisational dark matter" that makes your life as a service designer so much harder.
But there's hope.
As the design director at Livework tasked with bringing service design to many different organisations, Marzia Arico has experienced her fair share of this dark matter.
Her conclusion is that if you want to create impact, you can't just...
2021-07-1555 min