Why Design is Hard (And How Collaboration Changes Everything) with Bryan Zug

Episode Summary

What makes design hard? It’s not just pixels, software, or tools — it’s people. (Yep, you. And me. And all of us.) In this episode, I sit down with my friend Bryan Zug, co-author (along with Scott Berkun), of the book, Why Design is Hard, to talk about why good design is more than just good ideas — it’s about relationships, collaboration, and the messy, sometimes painful reality of working on creative teams.

Bryan was there in the early days of the web, hacking together sites before CSS was even a thing. He’s built products, led UX teams, and helped companies like Amazon and Zillow figure out how to make design work at scale. But more than that, he’s a community builder, the kind of guy who started hosting backyard firepits during COVID just to keep people connected.

I’ll be honest — this conversation was brutal to edit because Bryan has so much insight to share. If you’ve ever struggled with design bottlenecks, team dynamics, or just getting your ideas off the ground, this one’s for you.

What We Cover in This Episode

💡 Why great design is really about great relationships
 🎨 How designers can avoid getting stuck in “artifact culture” 
 💻 What designers actually do in the real world 
 📖 How storytelling can make or break your influence as a designer
 🤝 The secret sauce to making cross-functional teams actually function
 🦄 Why the lone “unicorn designer” era is over — and what comes next 

*Factually accuracy check at playback: Bryan informed me he misspoke at 7:11 when he said he was at Amazon when the pandemic hit — I was actually Zillow. NBD. Audio not edited. 

⏳ Timestamps

⏲️ [00:00] Intro – A Conversation Years in the Making

⏲️ [02:15] The Big Idea: Why Design is Hard

⏲️ [08:40] The Myth of the “Design Hero”

⏲️ [14:25] Why Design Decisions Happen in Budget Meetings

⏲️ [19:30] The Red Flags of a Company That Doesn’t Truly Value Design

⏲️ [25:10] The #1 Skill Designers Need (Hint: It’s Not Figma)

⏲️ [30:50] What Ignite Seattle Taught Bryan About Telling Better Stories

⏲️ [35:15] Outro – Why You Need to Read Why Design is Hard

Links & Resources

📖 Grab a copy of Why Design is Hard

Learn more about the co-author, Scott Berkun: https://scottberkun.com/
🔗 Connect with Bryan Zug: @bryanzug.bsky.social
🎶 The Podcast Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie Martin: https://ronniemartin.org/

🎵 Music interstitials by Zach Malm: https://muzach.bandcamp.com/

🎛️ Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions: https://www.lemonproductions.ca/ 

"Retro Race" https://pixabay.com/music/video-games-retrorace-108750/

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