The Samelogic Podcast

Get ready for a fun, insightful chat with Janisa Simmons, a leading UX expert with over 16 years in the field. In this episode, we cover everything from Janisa's journey into design to her vision for the future. Janisa shares what sparked her initial interest in UX, transitioning from Non-Profit to corporate UX, to leading design at Seeq and teaching part-time. We get the inside scoop on her process for research, ideation, prototyping, and testing. Janisa offers advice for designers starting out, along with her thoughts on emerging trends and the bold UX innovations she hopes to see someday. With humor and honesty, Janisa gives us a peek into the triumphs and challenges of being a Principal UX Designer. She explains how she balances creativity with business needs, and why she's so passionate about human-centered design. You’ll walk away from this episode with fresh inspiration, as well as practical tips you can apply in your own projects. Whether you’re a designer, developer, product manager or just love learning from UX leaders, you won’t want to miss our revealing chat with Janisa.

With over a decade of experience in the ever-evolving tech landscape, Harish brings a wealth of knowledge and insights to the forefront of this podcast. Starting his career as a consultant at IBM, he swiftly transitioned into the realm of product management, setting the stage for an impressive career trajectory. Harish spent five transformative years at Highradius, a prominent player in the B2B SaaS FinTech space, where he honed his craft in developing innovative solutions to complex financial challenges. For the past four years, he has been a driving force at Whatfix, another B2B SaaS powerhouse based in India, delivering cutting-edge solutions to a global audience. One of Harish's defining strengths is his ability to tackle business problems head-on by crafting innovative software products. Whether it's building new products from the ground up or scaling existing ones to new heights, his strategic vision and leadership have been instrumental in driving success for enterprises. But Harish's expertise doesn't stop at the boardroom. Outside of work, he's a passionate badminton player, always striving for excellence on and off the court. In his leisure time, he finds solace and creativity in strumming his guitar.

Mark Baldino, Co-founder of Fuzzy Math, is at the forefront of UX design, driving businesses to new heights through strategic design thinking. With a wealth of experience in human-centric design, he's a catalyst for optimizing products, boosting customer engagement, and enhancing profitability. Mark's recent insights shed light on the evolving UX landscape. He champions a more human-centric approach, stressing the vital role of research, strategy, and data in the design process. Today, he's dedicated to empowering internal design teams, helping them make a significant impact within organizations. His expertise covers everything from best practices to aligning design with business goals. Mark hosts the "UX Leadership by Design" podcast, a treasure trove of knowledge. Tune in to stay updated on UX trends and strategies. Connect with Mark on LinkedIn to expand your network!

Joseph Argiro, Head of Product at Enter The Void, has left an indelible mark on various industries, from college tours to cryptocurrencies. With a career spanning over a decade, he has consistently demonstrated his prowess in product experimentation and innovation. Joseph built Uber / Aribnb for college touring marketplace in 2015 until selling early to a competitor. He then worked on Wall Street until he left to join a crypto startup, ICO Alert, as their 2nd employee, helping them scale to 30+ employees and multi-millions in ARR. He joined as a data analyst and quickly became the head of product role. He then joined Hewlett Packard as a Product Manager, leading cross-functional innovation projects across emerging technologies initiatives such as big data, IoT, 5G, and blockchain. He now works as Lead Product Manager for a web3 NFT infrastructure startup.

Alexander Weingart has led product teams for 12+ years, defining the vision & user experience for amazing consumer products. Most recently, he led the Engagement & Conversion team within Shop, Shopify's consumer marketplace. Previously, he served as Director of Product & Design (overseeing a team of 9 PMs & Designers) at Red Ventures, driving product strategy for some of the biggest entertainment brands: TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot, and GameFAQs, and before that, as a product lead at CBS and Microsoft. Outside work, he loves playing tennis, board games, electronic music, and food. Most importantly, he loves coaching other PMs (current and aspiring) - if you're interested, please connect via his LinkedIn.

Afua Bruce is a leading public interest technologist whose work sits at the fascinating intersection of technology, policy, and society. Afua has an impressive history of serving her country and her community through various roles, demonstrating the powerful impact that technology can have when used for the public good. Her career started in the tech industry at IBM as a software engineer. She then took her talents to the FBI, using her engineering and management skills to serve her country. From there, she moved to the White House, where she directed federal interagency coordination through the National Science and Technology Council. Subsequently, Afua led the Public Interest Technology program at New America, she served as the Chief Program Officer at DataKind, and currently, Afua is the Founder and Principal at ANB Advisory Group, an organization supporting responsible technology development. Afua co-authors "The Tech That Comes Next” alongside Amy Sample Ward. This book outlines how companies can deploy technology to improve people's lives and solve social problems.

Max is a UX/UI Designer from Richmond, CA. On paper, his background is in creative, with a bachelor's in Film/Television and a minor in Pop Music Studies. In practice, the shaping forces behind his work are asking questions, designing for emotion, and making everything he sees even better. He's created work in graphic design, film, live visual projection, web design, and both B2C and Enterprise UX. Over the weekends, you can usually find him exploring the California coast by motorcycle, reading about business strategy, or improving his lap times around the Karting track.

Chuck shares his 15+ years of expertise in creating exceptional user experiences. Chuck's passion for innovative design solutions shines through from his work at TIBCO Software Inc. to leading the Customer Experience team at Wells Fargo. Discover the value of user-centered practices, visionary features, and collaborative approaches in shaping the future of UX. Please tune in to explore the power of product experimentation and its impact on delivering outstanding user experiences.

Johnny is an accomplished product leader with extensive experience in financial technology and software solutions and is currently the VP of Product at Chain.io. Before Chain.io, Johnny served as VP of Product Design at myClin and PHILANTHROPI, where he standardized design styles, implemented scrum practices, successfully coordinated a pilot program with American Express, developed comprehensive product strategies, and established efficient deployment processes. He also held the position of Head of Design at Arcweb Technologies, where he led a digital design department and developed sales strategies. With expertise in product management, creative strategy, team leadership, and product design, Johnny Bilotta brings valuable skills to any organization.