Episodes

  • Two asks: your case study, and the last community spots

    Two asks: your case study, and the last community spots
    May 20 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    Just me this week, no guest, and two quick asks before you get on with your day.

    First, I'm collecting case studies for the book This is Human-Centred Design. I'm after real projects with real constraints, the messy middles and the bits that nearly fell over, not the polished version. You don't need to be well-known; you just need to have done the work. There's a simple form linked below.

    Second, there are a few spots left in the This is HCD community, and when they're gone, they're gone. What makes it different: all the courses are included in one place, a WhatsApp group so you get answers the same day rather than posting into a forum nobody checks, plus coaching and support from actual humans. The whole lot is €299. And if you're a student, or you're somewhere the euro is just too strong against your currency, get in touch and we'll agree a price that's fair for where you are. I don't want money to be the reason you're not in the room.

    Submit a case study: https://tihcd-casestudies.netlify.app/
    Join the community: https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community


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    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
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    12 mins
  • The UK Parliament Case Study: What Happens When You Organise Around Services with Ben Reason

    The UK Parliament Case Study: What Happens When You Organise Around Services with Ben Reason
    May 14 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    Ben Reason co-founded Livework in 2001 with the bold claim that service design was a thing worth building a company around. Twenty-five years later, he is the last original founder standing and still pushing the discipline forward. In this conversation, Ben and Gerry (yes, we know, just like the ice-cream) trace the arc from those early days of helping brands figure out the internet, through to a landmark engagement with the UK Parliament where a service operating model replaced a chaotic, project-driven backlog and delivered transformation two years ahead of schedule.

    They explore what it takes for organisations to recognise they deliver services in the first place, how journey management plugs design into operations, and why the current moment feels like punk: stripping away the noise to focus on what actually works. Ben also shares reflections on scale, why mid-sized organisations often get the most from this approach, and what it would look like if governments truly designed the services they provide to citizens.

    3 key takeaways

    1. The UK Parliament replaced a broken project-led approach with a service operating model, organising around customer journeys and cutting a five-year transformation down to three.
    2. Before you can sell journey management, an organisation needs to recognise it delivers services in the first place. Skip that step and you are wasting your time.
    3. Service design is countercultural by nature. It cuts across silos and vested interests, and right now the discipline is in its punk moment: stripping back to the grassroots of what actually delivers value.

    Links from the episode

    • Ben on LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/breasy
    • https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-disability-benefits-policy-had-been-well-designed-ben-reason-u7pwf/?trackingId=iFRycmcxR9%2B47n9uWGK%2F8A%3D%3D
    • https://liveworkstudio.com/insight/gonzo-service-design/
    • UK Parliament case study: https://liveworkstudio.com/case/a-service-operating-model-for-high-profile-customers/
    • Take a free course on Journey Management with Gerry and Marc Stickdorn: https://www.thisishcd.com/dashboard/learning/introduction-to-journey-management


    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
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    48 mins
  • Why I Built a Community Vote for Best Design Podcasts in 2026

    Why I Built a Community Vote for Best Design Podcasts in 2026
    May 7 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    Every year, I get asked which podcasts I listen to. This year, I'm flipping the question. I've built a community vote for the top 100 HCD, service design and UX podcasts - and we're making it annual. Vote by the end of May at https://2026-podcasts.thisishcd.com
    Have a great week!

    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________
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    6 mins
  • Garbage In, Garbage Out: The Data Problem Hiding Inside Your AI Strategy - with Caroline Jarrett

    Garbage In, Garbage Out: The Data Problem Hiding Inside Your AI Strategy - with Caroline Jarrett
    May 5 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    Forms expert Caroline Jarrett joins Gerry to talk about why the rush to AI is colliding with something most organisations haven't fixed - their own data. A conversation about errors, forms, and the unglamorous work that actually moves the dial.

    Three Key Takeaways

    Well, 6 in this episode, as Caroline is bloody amazing. Pick the three that land hardest for you :-)

    1. Forms are the only compulsory part of a service. Everything else in user experience is the mountain - forms are the tiny red peaks poking up above it. Get them wrong and the rest of your design doesn't matter.
    2. AI doesn't fix bad data - it propagates it faster. Before any organisation hands work over to a model, the honest question isn't "how do we use AI" but "do we even know how bad our data already is?"
    3. Most teams can't tell you their error rate. E-commerce calls it conversion. Government barely tracks it at all. If you can't see where people are dropping out - or being quietly forced into wrong answers - you can't design your way out of it.
    4. Forms don't just collect data, they shape behaviour. Every time a website rejects an apostrophe in O'Connor, or hides "other" as an option, it's forcing people to lie - and then treating that lie as truth.
    5. You don't have to be a statistician to find errors. Graph the data. Spikes, gaps and outliers will tell you where the wrong question is hiding faster than any spreadsheet ever will.
    6. The designer's job is to notice what everyone else has normalised — the broken form field, the impossible question, the dataset everyone distrusts but nobody fixes.
    • https://www.effortmark.co.uk/
    • uk.linkedin.com/in/carolinejarrett


    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________
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    48 mins
  • The Top 3 Ways to Build Credibility as a Designer in Your Organisation

    The Top 3 Ways to Build Credibility as a Designer in Your Organisation
    Apr 1 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    When you walk into an organisation that does not understand what design really does, your first instinct might be to set up a research phase or propose a design system. But that can wait. In this episode, Gerry Scullion shares three things that actually build credibility in those critical early weeks: being useful to the people around you before advancing your own agenda, adapting your language to fit their world instead of leading with jargon, and documenting every small improvement so you have real evidence when it counts. Credibility is not built on a single presentation. It is built through consistent, visible contributions that make people want to involve designers more often.

    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________
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    4 mins
  • How to Make Design Visible in a Numbers-First Organisation

    How to Make Design Visible in a Numbers-First Organisation
    Mar 31 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    The metrics-driven leader isn't your enemy — but they might be your biggest unlock. Gerry shares a practical approach to translating qualitative insights into the language of KPIs, OKRs, and cost savings, and why winning over this type of leader can amplify your impact across the whole organisation.

    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________


    Creators & Guests
    • Gerry Scullion - Host
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    4 mins
  • Avoid These 3 Mistakes When Pitching Design to Leadership

    Avoid These 3 Mistakes When Pitching Design to Leadership
    Mar 30 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    You've done the research. You have the insights. You walk in confident — and it falls flat. In this episode, Gerry unpacks three mistakes designers make when pitching to leadership, including why leading with your methods kills buy-in before you've even started, and what to do instead.

    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________
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    6 mins
  • 'AI Won't Replace Designers — But It Will Replace the Ones Who Ignore It' Behrad Mirafshar

    'AI Won't Replace Designers — But It Will Replace the Ones Who Ignore It' Behrad Mirafshar
    Feb 25 2026

    We are building an independent global network of people doing human-centred work.
    Create an account, join our newsletter, learn, listen, connect and network - for free → https://www.thisishcd.com/signup
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    AI and design — not the hype, not the doom, but the practical reality. Behrad Mirafshar is the founder of Bonanza Design and host of the UX for AI podcast. He's been deep in the weeds using AI in real client projects — from research and data sense-making through to agents, automation and building modern applications. In this conversation, Gerry and Behrad explore why the real value of AI-driven design sits in the research phase, not auto-generated wireframes. They discuss how designers can use AI as a sparring partner and agent ecosystem to move faster through the double diamond, what skills and attitudes will matter most as we head toward 2030, and the tough questions around bias, inclusion, data ownership, and the younger generation using these tools.
    • https://www.bonanza-studios.com/
    • de.linkedin.com/in/behradmirafshar


    3. Three Key Takeaways

    1. The real value of AI in design is in research, not wireframes. If you're only using AI to generate screens, you're touching the tip of the iceberg. The power sits in navigating massive datasets, creating blueprints for exploration, and making sense of complexity — but the researcher's instinct and judgement still can't be replaced.
    2. AI should make you charge more, not less. Behrad is delivering more value to clients by using AI agents and orchestration tools — and pricing accordingly. The competitive advantage isn't the tool, it's the designer who knows how to wield it with specificity and judgement.
    3. In 2030, hiring will be about attitude, not tools. The tools will keep changing every week. The designers who thrive will be the ones with relentless curiosity, a willingness to go deeper than surface-level prompting, and the ability to keep the human in the loop when AI wants to run the show.


    ________________________
    BRING THIS IS HCD INTO YOUR ORGANISATION

    → Train my organisation https://www.thisishcd.com/training
    → Video Courses https://www.thisishcd.com/courses
    → Private Community (Coaching, Courses, WhatsApp) https://www.thisishcd.com/circle-community
    → Gerry's consultancy (Service Design and Design Research) https://humana.design/

    ________________________
    BECOME A DIRECTORY MEMBER (IT'S FREE!) and get all of this

    → FREE Introduction to Journey Management course with Marc Stickdorn & Gerry Scullion
    https://www.thisishcd.com/learning/introduction-to-journey-management
    → Discover & Connect with others https://www.thisishcd.com/directory
    → Claim partner discounts https://www.thisishcd.com/partners
    → Submit an Article https://www.thisishcd.com/blog
    + Coming soon - JOB BOARD, FIND A MENTOR...and more
    ________________________


    Creators & Guests
    • Gerry Scullion - Host
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins