Kodu

Q3 in the bag. If you’d like to find out how we can help you find and hire physical design and engineering talent in 6 weeks or less, get in touch!

From a Backpack Vacuum Cleaner to Leading Innovation at Dyson and Beyond! In this episode of The Design Journeys Podcast, I had a brilliant conversation with Mark Joynson-Bickerstaffe, founder of Mark & May, who’s spent years shaping design and innovation at Dyson and Kohler Co.. Mark’s journey started with a backpack vacuum cleaner concept at Dyson (yes, really!), and he’s gone on to lead teams and develop products that have made a real impact. Here’s what we dive into in Episode 14: 📝 Mark’s career path—from early challenges to global leadership 💡 How to create and nurture a culture of innovation in businesses, big or small 🌍 What sustainable design actually means and why it matters 🤝 The role of intuition and communication in building high-performing design teams 📈 Leadership tips for aligning company culture with long-term growth If you’re passionate about product design, leading teams, or simply curious about innovation, this episode is packed with practical insights from someone who’s been at the forefront of it all. 🎧 Catch Episode 14 of The Design Journeys Podcast now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts!

I'm thinking about starting a regular online meet up for folks in the physical design space. It'd be an evolution of sorts from the Zoom huddles I ran during the dark days of covid. My plan is to run these for 30 minutes once a month, with each one themed around a specific topic. The original huddles kind of ran out of steam thanks to Zoom-fatigue but if there's enough interest, I'll definitely be up for a re-invention. Would you be interested? Let me know in the comments :)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬... Last week, a hardware start-up founder asked me, “𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠?” I replied, “𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.” While I typically deliver a shortlist in 2-3 days, the real question is: "𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?" Because a shortlist is only part of the equation. Ever wonder why candidates ghost you or reject your offer? It’s rarely about money or benefits. It usually comes down to: ➕ Engagement levels ➕ Communication ➕ Values/mission alignment ➕ Employer brand Here’s what you need to do: ➕ Streamline your interview process ➕ Ensure stakeholders are available to interview ➕ Clearly communicate your mission and values to candidates Once you do that, I can have a vetted, mission-aligned shortlist in your hands within 2-3 days. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮? P.S. – I’m booking discovery calls for January hires. Interested in a no-obligation chat? Drop me a DM.

If you would like to learn more about me and my design perspective, please check out this podcast: https://lnkd.in/gHrfQAGB

For the first time in human history, urban life has become the norm. ‘Our increasingly urbanised environment has placed health and wellbeing at the bottom of the priority list, often beneath cost considerations and aesthetics. As urbanisation continues, we live longer, and pandemics become more frequent, this must change.’ At Untap Health we are directly tackling this issue. To read more by me, Luke Graham at Pi Labs and others, download the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eeXeQvN7

Want to give recruitment a go? Our founder Chris Whyte wrote an article for the latest issue of DEVELOP3D on how you can get the most out of your recruitment campaign. Check it out in the link below.

Just seen that the comment piece I wrote for DEVELOP3D has been published. I know I post a lot on here but it's quite humbling to have something I've written published by someone else. Thank you to Stephen Holmes for getting me involved. It's on the website and in the September print issue if you're interested.

Delighted to chat with Chris Whyte of Kodu for a future "The Design Journeys Podcast" to be available on Spotify soon. Watch out for it for discussions on life lessons from a career in design engineering from Dyson to Kohler Co. to founding strategic product management company Mark & May, the modern designers imperative and tips on practical design leadership. https://lnkd.in/eG_v5sJb Prefer to talk direct? Do like and follow and contact us directly at Mark & May.

How a marketing career led to founding and selling SmallHD and launching a breakthrough product like Ohsnap!  Today’s guest on The Design Journeys Podcast is Dale Backus, founder and CEO of Ohsnap. Dale’s journey is incredible — from starting in marketing to launching a successful video production agency, building SmallHD into a leading brand, and creating the Ohsnap phone grip that doesn’t suck. Here’s what you can expect from Episode 13: 🛠 Dale’s career pivot from marketing to product design   💡 Lessons learned from selling Small HD   📦 The challenges (and rewards) of retail expansion   🔍 Why curiosity and competence are must-haves in every employee   ⚙️ The importance of product, marketing, and operations working in sync If you’re an entrepreneur, product designer, or looking to build your brand in a competitive market, this episode is packed with practical insights. Go and check out Episode 13 of The Design Journeys Podcast on wherever you get your podcasts, now! PS – have you ever had a career pivot? How did it go?