Beyond UX Design cover art

Beyond UX Design

Beyond UX Design

By: Jeremy Miller
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Beyond UX Design’s mission is to give you the tools you need to be a truly effective UX designer by diving into the soft skills they won’t be teaching you in school or a boot camp. These soft skills are critical for your success as a UX professional.Jeremy Miller Art
Episodes
  • Build a Career That Outlasts Your Next Layoff with Frank Bach

    Build a Career That Outlasts Your Next Layoff with Frank Bach
    Jun 15 2026
    Your nine-to-five pays the bills, but it doesn’t define your career, and if you think it does, that might be the thing holding you back. This week, I sit down with a lead product designer, community builder, and all-around multi-hyphenate to talk about owning your career before someone else does.What happens to your sense of identity when the job goes away? Have you built anything outside of it that would survive?My guest this week is Frank Bach, a lead product designer who’s worked at places like Instagram, DoorDash, and Headspace. But honestly, the resume might be the least interesting thing about Frank. He also runs the LA Design and Dev community, teaches courses, fronts a hardcore band called Monk, and runs his own e-commerce shop, Sunshine Shop. Frank is someone who has clearly figured out that a career worth having doesn’t fit neatly inside one little box.We get into a lot in this conversation, like the danger of tying your self-worth to a company name, why “personal brand” feels so gross to so many designers, and what it actually looks like to cultivate what you’re known for without becoming a full-time content creator. Frank has a really practical way of thinking about all of this: treat your full-time job more like a freelance engagement, stay in “maintenance mode” when life demands it, and remember that your manager is thinking about their own promotion, not yours.We also talk about the other side of having a lot going on: how to decide when something’s run its course versus when you just need a breather, how to balance side projects without letting them eat your life, and why starting something messy is always better than waiting for the perfect moment. If you’ve ever felt like your career is just happening to you, this one’s worth a listen.Topics:• 03:20 - How Frank got into design and the multi-hyphenate mindset• 04:20 - The danger of tying your self-worth to a company name• 05:05 - Treating your full-time job like a freelance contract• 06:25 - The upside of big brand names on your resume• 07:05 - What happens to colleagues who lean too hard on “ex-Google, ex-Meta”• 08:17 - Why personal brand feels gross to so many designers• 09:35 - Personal brand isn’t just posting on LinkedIn• 11:10 - Being memorable: your look, your setup, your presence• 13:40 - The Instagram hiring story: 15 years of showing up paid off• 14:45 - Internal brand: the designers who are legends without being online• 15:37 - Maintenance mode: you don’t have to be 100% all the time• 19:38 - Does your day job have to fill your creative cup?• 21:05 - How side projects made Frank more valuable at work• 24:45 - How to have the side project conversation with your manager• 28:40 - How Frank stays consistent with so many things going on• 29:15 - The minimum viable version: where to start if you have nothing• 30:19 - Knowing when to cut something loose• 33:57 - Hiatus vs. done: how to tell the difference• 42:31 - Closing advice: you’re in the driver’s seatHelpful Links:• Connect with Frank on LinkedIn• Listen to Monk• Sunshine Shop—Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠
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    57 mins
  • Illusory Correlation: The Bias That Turns Coincidence Into Conviction

    Illusory Correlation: The Bias That Turns Coincidence Into Conviction
    Jun 9 2026

    Your brain is wired to find patterns. That's mostly a good thing... until it's not. This episode breaks down illusory correlation: why your team sees connections that aren't there, and what you can do to stop making decisions based on a handful of vivid moments dressed up as a trend.

    Have you ever watched your team make a confident product decision based on a pattern that, when you actually look at the data, barely exists?

    Illusory correlation is the bias that turns coincidence into conviction. When two things happen close together -- even just once or twice -- our brains quietly file them as connected. The concept was first identified by psychologist Loren J. Chapman in 1967, who noticed that trained clinical professionals were reporting patient behavior patterns that statistically didn't exist. The problem isn't laziness or bad intent. It's just how human memory works. Rare or distinctive events get stored differently, and when two unusual things co-occur, the brain treats that pairing as meaningful -- even when it's pure chance.

    In product and design work, this plays out constantly and in ways that feel completely legitimate. A feature ships and traffic ticks up the next day, so the launch gets the credit -- even though a competitor was down and marketing ran a campaign. Six user interviews produce two mentions of a feature, and suddenly that feature defines the whole persona. A few support tickets from one customer segment, and that segment becomes "a tough audience." The misses get forgotten. The hits stack up. And the team ends up navigating by a pattern that was never really there. This episode breaks down how illusory correlation sneaks into your metrics, your research, and your team dynamics -- and gives you a few concrete habits to start catching it before it shapes your roadmap. Give it a listen.

    Topics:
    • 02:20 – Personal story: the engineering lead I had all wrong
    • 04:29 – What is illusory correlation?
    • 04:46 – The origin: Chapman’s 1967 research
    • 06:19 – Hamilton & Gifford: how the bias distorts how we see groups
    • 07:10 – Kahneman & Tversky: why illusory correlations stick
    • 07:50 – How it shows up in your product metrics
    • 08:23 – The A/B testing problem
    • 09:00 – How it distorts how teams think about people and segments
    • 09:26 – How it corrupts user research
    • 09:50 – Engineering superstitions and team dynamics
    • 10:27 – Why more data isn’t always the fix
    • 11:00 – Five habits to fight illusory correlation

    —

    Thanks for listening!

    We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.

    If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠
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    16 mins
  • You're Not the Center of the Corporate Universe with Andy Vitale

    You're Not the Center of the Corporate Universe with Andy Vitale
    May 28 2026
    There's a gap between how designers see themselves and how everyone else sees them, and that gap has consequences. In this episode, a seasoned design executive shares what it really means to be a good corporate citizen, why design isn't the center of the universe, and how to show up differently.What if the biggest thing holding your career back isn't your design skills? What if it's the way you think about your role inside the organization?My guest today has spent years leading design within large, complex organizations—places like Truist, 3M, and Rocket—where designers are easily outnumbered by scientists, engineers, marketers, and businesspeople. He's navigated financial realities most ICs never consider, managed situations that don't appear in any design curriculum, and had to advocate for design without assuming it's automatically the most important thing in the room. The conversation we had is one I've been wanting to have for a long time.We got into what it actually means to be a "good corporate citizen," not in a corporate buzzword kind of way, but in a real, practical sense. We talked about the perception gap between how designers see themselves and how the rest of the team experiences working with them, why designers are sometimes seen as a speed bump instead of an accelerant, and what it looks like when someone on your team finally gets it. We also got into design systems as a business asset, the realities of design leadership that ICs rarely see, and a concept I've been thinking about for years: followership.If you've ever walked out of a meeting frustrated, dissented in the Slack channel instead of raising your hand in the room, or wondered why your work isn't getting the traction it deserves, this episode is for you. Hit play.Topics:• 03:58 - Andy's origin story: raising his hand at 3M• 05:30 - "Design wasn't the center of the corporate universe, it was a contributor to success."• 09:32 - Defining corporate citizenship• 11:15 - Why design education sets us up on the wrong foot• 13:25 - The two disconnects: hallway dissent and the speed bump perception• 17:22 - What it actually feels like to work with a designer who doesn't get it• 19:00 - Stop playing defense on ROI: start pointing to the metrics the org is already tracking• 21:10 - What a mature designer looks like: signals Andy watches for• 24:10 - Pair prompting with PMs and building relationships through AI tools• 26:00 - "You can't build great software without great relationships"• 29:19 - Design systems as a moat for the organization• 37:05 - Treating your design system like a portfolio piece vs. a business asset• 40:52 - What ICs fundamentally misunderstand about leadership• 44:00 - Context switching and the emotional weight of being a design exec• 47:55 - The case for async feedback: never wait for the one-on-one• 51:05 - Followership: having a point of view and showing up with swagger• 53:45 - The Sully Sullenberger story: "my cockpit"• 55:00 - "Own your shit."Helpful Links:• Connect with Andy on LinkedIn—Thanks for listening! We hope you dug today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you really enjoyed today’s episode, why don’t you leave a five-star review? Or tell some friends! It will help us out a ton.If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Get a FREE audiobook AND support the show⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out show transcripts⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our website⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on Stitcher⁠
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    1 hr and 6 mins
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