This is HCD – Human-Centered Design, UX & Service Design Thinking Podcast

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It's 2026! We are BACK and so bloody excited to kick off this year with one of my favourite conversations from the end of last year. Quite simply, this conversation and connection has changed my life.About this episode
Dr. Rami Kaminski, psychiatrist and author of "The Gift of Not Belonging," explores why some people are wired as "otherverts" - individuals who cannot be shaped by group identity. This conversation reveals how otherness isn't a flaw but a genuine gift, offering insights into emotional freedom, empathy, and what happens when we stop trying to fit into systems never built for us.
Links
https://www.othernessinstitute.com/the-gift-of-not-belonging/
Take the Test
3 Key Takeaways
We're all born as non-belongers - Babies have no sense of nationality, religion, or group identity; cultural conditioning teaches us what to belong to, not just that we should belong.
True empathy requires eliminating yourself. Real empathy isn't putting yourself in someone's shoes, but temporarily ceasing to exist with your preconceived notions to truly see through another's eyes.
The dark side of belonging is tribalism - While community has benefits, the need for group identity enables tribalism, silent majorities, and historical atrocities when people outsource their morals to the group.

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Support the Ukrainian publishing of This is Service Design Doing (To make service design knowledge accessible in Ukrainian)

Sponsor links
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Creators & Guests

Gerry Scullion - Host

Dr Rami Kaminski - Guest

Serdar Mele - Editor

Stef Murphy - Producer

If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.
Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.

In this episode of This is HCD, Gerry Scullion is joined (again!) by service design pioneer Marc Stickdorn – recorded right after they both spoke at SD in Gov in Edinburgh.

We walk (literally) through the current state of service design, why so many teams feel stuck, and how journey management can help organisations move beyond one-off projects to achieve truly systemic change.

We talk about:
How to scale service design beyond a single team and embed it organisation-wide
Journey management, service architecture and “journey ops” – and why naming really matters
Building scaffolding for long-term impact (using the Dublin City Council work as an example)
How to speak the language of leadership and show measurable ROI
Why stealth projects can be your best way to build credibility
The role of AI and tooling – where it helps, and where it’s genuinely dangerous
Why leaders can’t outsource understanding to an algorithm
If you’re trying to move service design from nice decks to real organisational change – in public services or the private sector – this episode is for you.

🔗 Links mentioned
– Marc’s upcoming book & community: https://www.thisisjourneymanagement.com
– Smaply blog & resources: https://www.smaply.com

Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcd
Support the Ukrainian publishing of This is Service Design Doing (To make service design knowledge accessible in Ukrainian)

Sponsor links
10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'
Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-up
Check out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.
Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10
Click here to watch a video of this episode.

Creators & Guests

Gerry Scullion - Host

Marc Stickdorn - Guest

If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.
Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.

[00:00] How AI is changing search behaviours - users still defaulting to Google
[02:15] The return of the UX generalist - broad skills becoming more valuable
[03:45] New tools spotlight: Affinity Suite now free, Ordinary site builder
[05:30] Designer exposure and effectiveness connection
[06:45] Systems thinking and leadership responsibilities
[07:30] Interface patterns: Hamburger menu recognition study
[08:15] Disability tech innovations driving broader design solutionsKey Resources:
• AI Search Behaviour Research - Nielsen Norman Group study on changing user patterns
• Return of the Generalist - NNGroup video on AI's impact on UX careers  
• Affinity Suite - Free creative tools via Canva acquisition (from Dense Discovery)
• Ordinary - One-page site builder for quick concepts
• Hamburger Menu Study - Updated NNGroup research on icon recognition
• Disability Tech Innovations - Mashable roundup of breakthrough startups
Sources:
• Nielsen Norman Group Newsletter
• Dense Discovery #365
• Sidebar.io Daily Links
• Mashable
Links:
• How AI Is Changing Search Behaviors: https://link.nngroup.com/ai-changing-search-behaviors
• Return of the Generalist: https://link.nngroup.com/return-of-the-generalist  
• Hamburger Menu Recognition: https://link.nngroup.com/hamburger-menu-icon-recognizability
• Ordinary Site Builder: https://ordinary.website
• Affinity Suite: Referenced in Dense Discovery
• Exposure as a Designer: hvpandya.com
• Systems Leadership: hazelweakly.me
• Disability Tech Startups: mashable.com

Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcd
Support the Ukrainian publishing of This is Service Design Doing (To make service design knowledge accessible in Ukrainian)

Sponsor links
10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'
Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-up
Check out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.
Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.
Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.
We’re on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh for a walking conversation with Lucy Kimbell — engineer-turned-artist-turned-academic, and one of the sharpest observers of how design actually lands in government.

Lucy has spent over 20 years moving between design, art, academia, and public administration. She’s worked with the UK Government’s Policy Lab, contributed to the recent Public Design Evidence Review, and now teaches and researches at the intersection of design, policy, and futures. We caught up whilst both of us were speaking at SD in Gov Conference in Edinburgh, in September 2025!

In this episode, we get real about three big themes:

1️⃣ Public design – what it actually is
Lucy untangles the messy overlap between policy design, service design, content design, digital, UX and more — and explains why public design centres' legitimacy and accountability to citizens, not just delivery metrics.

2️⃣ Conditions for good service design in tough times
We talk about inclusion, accessibility and co-creation, but also the hard stuff most conferences skip: politics, ideology, austerity, AI “silver bullets” and what scaffolding leaders need so design doesn’t get crushed by budget cuts or tech solutionism.

3️⃣ Careers with impact in uncertain worlds
From appropriate technology and feminist theatre to business schools, labs and policy work, Lucy shares the three habits that have shaped her path: curiosity, experimentalism and critical reflection — and how they help designers work further upstream with policy and senior leadership.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear:
How “public design” emerged as a term and why legitimacy matters
Why institutions are struggling — and what that means for designers
The uncomfortable role of politics in design for the public sector
How AI, venture capital and big tech are reshaping government expectations
Practical advice for designers who want more impact in government and civic spaces
A preview of Lucy’s upcoming book on futures for design
🏰 We recorded this while walking the Royal Mile up to Edinburgh Castle — if you’re listening on audio, jump over to YouTube to get the full sense of place and atmosphere (yes, including a bit of rain!).
Links
Cabinet Office (2025). Public Design Evidence Review
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-design-evidence-review
 
Service Innovation Handbook (2014) by Lucy Kimbell
https://www.bispublishers.com/the-service-innovation-handbook.html
 
Substack for upcoming book Futures for Design: Scenarios for Uncertain Worlds
https://substack.com/@lucykimbell
 
Academic publications (open access) - https://researchers.arts.ac.uk/1178-lucy-kimbell/

Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcd
Support the Ukrainian publishing of This is Service Design Doing (To make service design knowledge accessible in Ukrainian)

Sponsor links
10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'
Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-up
Check out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.
Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

Click here to view the episode transcript.

Creators & Guests

Gerry Scullion - Host

Lucy Kimbell - Guest

Stef Murphy - Producer

Serdar Mele - Editor

If you like our content, be sure to sign up to our weekly The Design Compass Newsletter. Design Smarter. Lead Better.
Interested in training for your organisation with This is HCD? Let's speak by booking a 15-minute call.

When Chelsea Mauldin began bringing design thinking into the U.S. government, she was met with scepticism — design was still seen as “throw pillows and pretty fonts.”

In this deep and fascinating episode, Chelsea — Executive Director of the Public Policy Lab in New York — joins Gerry Scullion to share her journey from urban planning to pioneering human-centered design in federal and municipal agencies.

They discuss:
✅ How design entered the public sector during the Obama era.
✅ Why half the real work happens after the design phase.
✅ Building trust, ethics, and change in complex systems.
✅ The People Say project — a groundbreaking, public repository for civic research.
✅ What AI means (and doesn’t mean) for the future of public services.

🎧 A must-listen for anyone working in service design, policy, or civic innovation.

Like what we do? Make a Tip. Or Leave a review: https://ratethispodcast.com/hcd
Support the Ukrainian publishing of This is Service Design Doing (To make service design knowledge accessible in Ukrainian)

Sponsor links
10x your service design offering with Smaply. Take 20% off your order with ''ThisisHCD20off'
Sign up https://auth.smaply.app/sign-up
Check out 'This is HCD x Sutsu' range. Gerry wears and endorses Sutsu ethical clothing. Use HCD10 to get 10% off this range.
Get 10% off ScenarioCards.org when you used our link https://scenariocards.org/HCD10
Creators & Guests

Gerry Scullion - Host

Chelsea Mauldin - Guest

Stef Murphy - Producer

Serdar Mele - Editor

Click here to view the episode transcript.