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Design Notes, Episode 2

Talking design systems and user-first experiences with the winners of the 2017 Material Design Awards

Design Notes is a show about creative work and what it teaches us, hosted by Google’s Liam Spradlin. The second episode features the winners of the 2017 Material Design awards, who sat down to talk with Liam while being honored at SPAN Pittsburgh. Listen as the creative teams from NPR One, Eventbrite Organizer, momondo, and Blinkist detail how they each built experiences with a distinct personality, and as they discuss elevating content, the emotive qualities of white space, and how to use the Material Design system as a springboard for unique expression.

Listen to Design Notes, Episode 2 Google Play, iTunes, Pocket Casts, Deezer, RSS

A guide to the voices you’ll hear in the episode: NPR One: Tejas Mistry, Senior Product Manager; Michael Seifollahi, Lead Mobile Developer Eventbrite Organizer: Lumen Bigott, Experience Designer; Dan Shallcross, Principal UX Architect momondo: Emmet Fërdle, Lead Android Designer; Manu Somonte, Product Owner Blinkist: Temi Adeniyi, Head of Design; Natalia Piana, Product Designer

Highlights:

NPR One on adapting to new form factors "We wanted to make [the app] as simple as turning on the radio—which people have been doing for over 50 years. But as folks stop tuning in or don’t have radios anymore, how do we carry that paradigm over to new platforms?" — Tejas Mistry, Senior Product Manager

Eventbrite Organizer on designing every interaction “We didn't want to approach [empty states] like a negative. This is the first phase of the entire onboarding—how can we make it delightful?” — Lumen Bigott, Experience Designer

momondo on innovative navigation “It would've been very easy to stick on a bottom nav or a hamburger, but we wanted to try something a little bit out there, so we took the elevation principle and stretched it.” — Emmet Fërdle, Lead Android Designer

Blinkist on brand expression “Design on some level should be emotive. It's about creating a more emotional connection, and not just delivering information." — Temi Adeniyi, Head of Design

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Coming soon: On the next episode of Design Notes, we’ll hear from Lizzy and Darlene Okpo, the designers and sisters behind New York-based fashion label William Okpo. Tune in to learn what gives the William Okpo line its identity, where the siblings find inspiration, and how to make the ordinary look unordinary. Want to say up-to-date with Google Design? Sign up for our newsletter and get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.