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This episode is an absolute masterclass in human-centered design, featuring Dr. John Whalen—cognitive scientist, seasoned UX expert, and author of Design for How People Think.

John introduces us to his powerful framework, The Six Minds of UX, which breaks down the complexity of user experience into six distinct cognitive lenses. Whether you’re designing a website, app, service, or physical product, these six minds offer a foolproof checklist to make sure you’re not leaving any critical piece of the human experience behind.

In this episode, we explore:

• What exactly the Six Minds are, and why they matter
• How each mind maps to how people think, feel, and behave
• Real-world stories—from Google Scholar to voice interfaces—showing how the framework drives better design
• The role of expectations, emotion, and memory in digital product success
• How AI is shifting the game for user research and what the future researcher might look like

We also dive into some exciting stuff around synthetic users and dynamic personalization.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your design work not just beautifully but intelligently, this episode is for you.

Mentioned in this episode:

• John Whalen’s book: Design for How People Think
• Board of Innovation’s work with synthetic users
• The Nielsen Norman Group
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
• Designing for Behavior Change by Stephen Wendell
• Engaged by Amy Bucher

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

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