A visit from a UX giant: Jared Spool at UX&I’s Flipper Friday

“Who would you like to invite to give a talk? Think big,” was the call to the UX&I team. The choice quickly fell on Jared Spool. The founder of the UX consulting firm and school “Centre Centre*UIE” has set a goal to eliminate bad design from the world over the next 100 years. In the 43 years he’s been working in the tech industry, he’s collaborated with hundreds of companies, written two books, published countless articles and podcasts, and traveled the world as a speaker.

On August 5, 2022, the moment had finally arrived: Spool kicked off his keynote presentation at UX&I. His focus was on the distinction between “Hands” and “Brains” in the field of UX services. Spool’s thesis: A UX agency or consultancy can be only one of two things: Hands or Brains, meaning either execution-oriented/tactical or strategically oriented. This approach sparked a lively discussion, which the team had hoped would be a key element of the event from the outset. Using vivid anecdotes from his professional life, Spool addressed the questions and repeatedly explored interesting tangents, such as the relationship between business models and UX. The talk is also summarized in a blog post.

In attendance were not only the UX&I team but also employees from companies such as Sartorius, One Data, and codecentric. “We invited clients and partners who face similar challenges in their day-to-day work,” said Christian Ringleb, Senior UX consultant at UX&I. Flipper Friday is an integral part of the team and professional development culture at UX&I; exciting topics are on the agenda for the coming weeks as well, such as fishbowl sessions on “What exactly is servant leadership?” or the areas of responsibility for semi-autonomous teams.