This is HCD: Human-Centred Design, UX & Service Design

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Gerry sits down with Juan, co-founder of Unit 1, the company behind the smart helmets Gerry's whole family now wears. They cover the pandemic pivot from ski helmets to cycling, why people don't wear helmets (and how design fixes that), what MIPS actually does, teaching drivers to read turn signals on a cyclist's head, and the newly announced Bosch partnership connecting helmet and e-bike. Plus the 35-minute customer support call that convinced Gerry this is what human-centred business looks like.

The conversation digs into what "smart" really means — and why Juan is trying to retire the word. They unpack MIPS and rotational impact protection in plain language, the logic of putting turn signals and brake lights above the roofline of cars so riders speak the driver's language, and the mental-model shift required before motorists instinctively read a signal on a cyclist's head. Gerry raises the questions his friends actually asked: do we need a smart helmet? Are they tracking you? (No, they're not.) And what about speakers for music — how does a safety company decide which customer requests to act on?
Gerry also tells the story that sparked this episode: a 35-minute Zoom support call with Anna from Unit 1 after an app update, and the philosophy behind it — "we don't see this as a problem, we see it as an opportunity." Juan explains why the founders still hop on customer calls themselves, and how those conversations turn customers into the brand's best salespeople, one traffic-light conversation at a time.
  • Unit1 have kindly given you, the listener of This is HCD, a 10% discount ($100 minimum) HCDPODCAST-10
  • https://www.unit1gear.com/

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All episodes have been produced by This is Podcasting. 

Creators and Guests

Host
Gerry Scullion
Gerry Scullion is an Irish-born, globally recognised service designer, educator, podcaster, coach, and founder based in Dublin. With 22+ years in design, his career spans roles in interaction design, UX, and leadership positions—most notably as Head of Design at Myspace Australia/NZ and later serving clients like Cochlear, Microsoft, Aer Lingus, and government bodies  . He’s the Founder & CEO of The Human‑Centered Design Network and the voice behind This is HCD, a popular podcast and design community with over one million downloads . A committed educator, he has developed several online courses—spanning UX fundamentals, journey mapping, stakeholder mapping, prototyping, and service blueprints—as well as authoring “Service Design for Executives” on Pluralsight . A passionate keynote speaker at events like UX Scotland and Service Design Days, he shares his insights on resilience in design, ethical frameworks (“do no harm”), and embedding design within tech-led environments . Gerry is also Co‑founder and Director at Humana Design, a Dublin-based agency focusing on design research, consultancy, and enabling design transformation . Beyond design, he’s a coach and mentor to designers worldwide, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a former Councillor for Ireland . In his personal time, Gerry is a musician, barista-in-training, gardener, and family man living by the sea in Clontarf, Dublin

What is This is HCD: Human-Centred Design, UX & Service Design?

Practical conversations about human-centred design, service design, and UX for designers who want to do meaningful work inside real organisations.

Gerry Scullion talks with leading practitioners, design leaders, and strategists about what actually works: building design maturity, getting buy-in from leadership, running better research, improving customer experience, and growing design teams that deliver lasting impact.

With over 1 million downloads worldwide, This is HCD is the go-to podcast for UX designers, service designers, UX researchers, product managers, and anyone working to embed design thinking into how their organisation operates.

Every episode gives you methods, mindsets, and real stories you can put to work straight away. Subscribe to the Design Compass newsletter at thisishcd.com for weekly insights that go deeper.