Episode 315: Dantley Davis

Dantley Davis is the VP of design and research at Twitter.

Dantley Davis has been a mainstay in the Silicon Valley tech and design community for almost 20 years. His work at PayPal, SAP, Yahoo!, Netflix, and Facebook have all led him to his current role as VP of design and research for one of the most well-known websites in the world — Twitter. So as you can imagine, I had a lot of questions to ask him, and Dantley was gracious enough to give some insight into what he does and on his perspective of the current tech and design industries.

Our wide-ranging conversation touched on a number of topics, but first, Dantley talked a bit about the behind-the-scenes work that goes on at Twitter, including the team he leads, diversity and inclusion efforts, how decisions are made at Twitter (such as their latest redesign), and yes…even Black Twitter. Dantley also shared his story of growing up as a military brat, learning to code and landing in San Francisco during the Browser Wars, and spoke on how he stays authentic to himself after being in Silicon Valley for decades. Dantley Davis is a true design leader, and even if you haven’t heard of him before this week’s interview, chances are that you have experienced his work in some small way. He is truly a pioneer in this digital age!

Revision Path is a Glitch Media Network podcast, and is produced by Maurice Cherry and edited by Brittani Brown. 

Episode 302: Jamil Bonnick

Jamil Bonnick is a multidisciplinary designer from Atlanta, currently working as a product designer at Etsy in San Francisco.

➡ Glitch is hiring a design director! Apply today!

Jamil Bonnick isn’t just an experienced product designer with a keen eye for design, but he’s also a storyteller. While we discussed his background and career journey, and his new job at Etsy, our conversation was so much more! Our chat spanned a number of interesting and surprising topics from design all the way to Eastern philosophy and to effective business strategy. He truly is a renaissance man and his vast knowledge shines through during this conversation.

This episode is sponsored by Sappi North America’s Ideas that Matter program. Sappi, a maker of high-quality printing, packaging and release papers as well as dissolving wood pulp, is now celebrating the 20th year of this unique grant competition.

Since it began, the program has given more than $13 million in grants, and supported more than 500 projects to benefit social causes. Ideas That Matter has also worked with amazing designers, many of whom we’ve also featured on Revision Path including; De Nichols, Rich Hollant, Dori Tunstall, Silas Munro, Jacinda Walker, Maurice Woods, Bobby Martin Jr., and Antionette Carroll (who will be a judge this year).

If you are a designer who cares about social issues — whether you’re a professional designer, a student, or a design team — the 2019 deadline to apply for a grant in this program is July 19.

To learn more, visit sappi.com/ideas-that-matter.

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Revision Path is a Glitch Media Network podcast, and is produced by Deanna Testa and edited by Brittani Brown. 

Episode 299: Rich Smith

Rich Smith is a senior UI engineer at Netflix.

Netflix is a major player in the entertainment industry, and their streaming video service is available nearly worldwide on smart TVs, game consoles, mobile phones, and more. But how do they provide such a consistent visual experience to millions of customers? It’s thanks to people like Netflix’s senior UI engineer, Rich Smith. As a member of the marketing tech team, he focuses on the web app experience.

Rich explained his process behind designing at Netflix, and talked about what drew him to work there after moving out to the Bay Area. Rich also shared a tale about his journey from design to software engineering, mentioned what first got him interested in tech, and talked about his mentoring and volunteer work with /dev/color. Rich’s story is proof that even when you’re stuck, something as simple as a change in perspective can help empower you to move forward.

Next week: episode 300!

This episode is sponsored by Sappi North America’s Ideas that Matter program — a grant competition that supports designers partnering with nonprofit organizations to bring impactful marketing campaigns to life.

Sappi, a maker of high quality papers, has offered this program to the design community worldwide for 20 years, and has funded more than 500 projects with grants totaling over $13 million.

Winning campaigns have raised awareness of social issues such as education, sustainability, nutrition and more.

If you’d like to submit a project you care about, you can do so until July 19. To learn more about the program and process, visit sappi.com/ideas-that-matter.

Revision Path is a Glitch Media Network podcast, and is produced by Deanna Testa and edited by Brittani Brown. 

Episode 293: Kim Williams

Kim Williams is senior design director at Indeed, based out of Oakland, CA.

According to Kim Williams, it takes real grit to be in the design field. She serves as the group manager for the UX core team at Indeed, where she leads a interdisciplinary team of designers, technologists, writers, and researchers working across the globe.

We talked a lot about design leadership — what it takes to not only build and lead a team, but also how to enable them to do their best work and make sure they have what they need to succeed. From there, Kim shared her journey as a designer, starting from her humble roots growing up in Jamaica to leading design efforts at Ogilvy & Mather, eBay, and now her time at Indeed. It’s important as a designer of color in this field that we own our narrative, and Kim’s definitely someone who is doing that! Get inspired from listening to her story today!

Revision Path is a Glitch Media Network podcast, and is produced by Deanna Testa and edited by Keisha “TK” Dutes. 

It’s survey time!

Take our annual audience survey at revisionpath.com/survey, and help shape the future of Revision Path! Survey ends on April 30 at midnight ET! Thanks for your feedback!

Episode 292: Melvin Hale

Design evangelist Melvin Hale is currently a product designer at Facebook.

Melvin Hale may say he’s “a regular guy who beat the odds,” but with twenty years of design experience and a decade of design leadership under his belt, he’s so much more than regular.

We started off talking about Melvin’s current work at Facebook, and quickly went on to a look back at his time growing up in Vallejo, going to college in the South, and his journey as a designer through the ad agency world before ending up in Silicon Valley. Melvin also shared tips on how he builds creative teams, spoke on some of his career influences, and even talked about whether or not his kids want to follow in his footsteps. Give this week’s episode a listen and learn more about Melvin!

Revision Path is a Glitch Media Network podcast, and is produced by Deanna Testa and edited by Keisha “TK” Dutes. 

It’s survey time!

Take our annual audience survey at revisionpath.com/survey, and help shape the future of Revision Path! Survey ends on April 30 at midnight ET! Thanks for your feedback!