Paths, Puddles, Products

On Service design as mediation, on the borders of organizational development, with guest Morten Pedersten.

In this guest episode, Juli, Morten, and guest dog Max hiked around the Hålandsvatnet lake near Stavanger and talked about Scandinavian design and business culture.

The path we took:
  • A brief intro to Morten, and the step to leave a management role to build something new;
  • How a background in psychology and organizational development can merge with service design;
  • A dream Scandinavian company: transparency, open salaries, sharing burdens and ownership at Canoe;
  • The Scandinavian design world, with a history of collaboration, flat hierarchies, and government support for design;
  • Designers who help and serve vs designers who want to impress;
  • Changing definitions and expectations around design work;
  • And a brief glimpse into AI, as a mediator between people, not a shortcut to cheaper work.
Further reading:
Grab your headphones, and head to the nearest lake to walk with us!
Ps. If you want to chime in, DM us or leave a comment on our Instagram, or find us on Threads - we're @paths.puddles.products and would love your feedback!
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Creators & Guests

Host
Juli Mata
I work in product, and I come from (product-service-system) design. I focus on help linking product to business strategy these days.
Guest
Morten Pedersten
As an organisational designer, I'm a researcher, facilitator and doer. Working with how we organise ourselves and how we learn and develop.

What is Paths, Puddles, Products?

Trails to innovation: Wandering in design, development & business on foot

Welcome to the Paths, puddles, products podcast, where we explore the paths and puddles of innovation. We are a duo of international product designers with over a decade of experience working in diverse industries, and we're here to share our insights, stories, and takeaways with you.

Join us as we walk and talk about the realities of product design, debunking myths and shedding light on the good, the bad, and the ugly. We'll go beyond the buzzwords to give you a true picture of what it's really like to work in design, development, and business.

And don't forget, just like hiking, it's not just about the destination - it's about the journey. So grab your headphones and come walk with us.