“What would it take for design to have its vinyl moment — and reclaim its power beyond JIRA tickets and design systems?”
Summary
In this episode, Danny sits down with James Box, designer, author, and co-founder of Berst - to talk about the changing shape of design careers, the realities of agency vs. product team life, and why so many designers feel trapped in “mechanistic” delivery work. James reflects on his years at ClearLeft, the culture of autonomy and learning that shaped his practice, and the role of communication and uncertainty in good design. They explore Berst’s work with startups and scale-ups, including experiments with equity-based engagements, and discuss how innovation can get dampened as companies grow. The conversation turns to AI: how it’s collapsing the gap between insight and delivery, what “AI-native” products feel like, and why designers need to hold both optimism and skepticism at once. James closes with a hopeful challenge, for designers to embrace entrepreneurship, use new tools to tackle bigger problems, and help design rediscover what it’s uniquely good at.
Guest
James Box
Berst - https://ber.st/
LinkedIN – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesbox/
Website - https://jamesbox.me/
Host
Danny Hearn
LinkedIN – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyhearn/
Website – www.dannyhearn.me
Podcast – www.deeplyhumandesign.com
Chapters
00:00 Design careers, JIRA tickets, and the fear of “factory design”
01:21 James Box’s journey: agency roots, entrepreneurship, and writing a UX book
03:52 T-shaped designers and the overlooked skill of defining the real problem
06:36 What consulting forces you to learn: adaptability + communication
08:14 Divergence vs. convergence in modern product teams
09:18 Why the agency path is disappearing — and what that means for new designers
10:18 What made ClearLeft distinctive: UX, community, events, and products
13:18 Pace, autonomy, and the “jet engine” feel of agency work
14:38 Intimidation, improvisation, and learning culture in early ClearLeft days
16:14 Anxiety and uncertainty as part of the designer’s job
21:46 A remembered moment: finding rhythm, flow, and ownership in delivery
23:59 The “black hat” approach: leaning into fears to surface truths and mitigate risk
26:57 Scale-ups and the loss of innovation energy as teams operationalise
30:07 Why “the job isn’t done” after product-market fit
32:14 Equity work with startups: incentives, “skin in the game,” and the reality check
35:58 Why the VC-style equity model doesn’t easily work for studios long-term
38:31 Keeping work close to founders and C-suite to protect impact
39:41 Optimism as a designer’s grounding belief — and how it differs from naïveté
44:09 AI as unprecedented tech: holding risks and benefits at once
47:09 Danny’s dual view: macro anxiety, micro empowerment, and moving fast with agents
51:38 “AI-native” experiences and the stages from tool → assistant → peer
56:39 Copilot Studio, enterprise adoption, and the coming wave of internal agents
1:00:50 Why problem framing still matters most, even as delivery speed collapses
1:02:39 James’s concern: shrinking design impact — and the “vinyl moment” hope
1:06:03 Designing for entrepreneurship, invention, and meaningful progress
1:07:02 Closing: Merry Christmas and the future of design