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Maxime Frere is Partner and Principal Designer at Source Paris and leads a design team at Bpifrance. He has changed companies seven times, run a team of 25 as Head of Design at BPCE, worked at frog and Capgemini, and gone back to craft on purpose.In this episode he says the things most hiring managers only say in private:→ Why "taste" is the wrong word, and the 80/20 rule he uses instead→ Why he forced his whole team to go full AI, and what he now refuses to let them use it for→ Why designers who don't understand code are "trapped inside the tool"→ The one thing he looks at before hiring anyone (it's not the portfolio)→ Why "a lot of designers are lazy", and what he means by it→ The Capgemini feedback culture that made him ("it's not a line")→ The advice he'd give his younger self: take the risk, follow the manager, not the company nameWhat you'll steal: the 80/20 rule for every design decision, the "know when to stop AI" workflow, the schema habit that gets executives to say "I see what you mean", and the reason to build something this month even if the only user is your grandmother.Chapters00:00 Trailer01:10 Seven companies, one rule03:30 Kindness is not enough. Discipline.05:30 From IC to Head of Design: what actually gets you picked10:30 The schema trick: make people see, not imagine15:30 Follow the manager, not the company18:00 "We forced everyone to go full AI"19:00 Taste is the wrong word. The 80/20 rule.22:30 Prototypes between two user tests. And the slop risk.26:30 Trapped in the tool: why designers must understand code30:00 "A lot of designers are lazy"32:00 "It's not a line": the feedback that made him33:30 Don't design to make everyone happy35:00 Read the job description (Guidione's 80%)37:30 How they judge your AI use when hiring39:30 Know how to stop AI. Grab a pen.41:30 Advice to his younger self: take the risk48:30 "The chance is not for the shy"Guest: Maxime Frère — Partner & Principal Designer, Source Paris. Design lead, Bpifrance.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximefrere/Host: Guidione Machava, founder of World Class Design.world-class.design

AI as Designer? Regine Gilbert on Inclusive Design, Bias, and Ethical UX in a Faster Workflow In the first episode of the World Class Design podcast, host Guidione Machava interviews NYU professor and author Regine Gilbert about how generative AI is changing design work, why speed-focused workflows can sacrifice user experience, and how AI outputs embed bias and accessibility gaps. Gilbert explains that designers shouldn’t assume AI is correct, citing ChatGPT generating a white image for Black inventor Garrett Morgan, and urges designers to do research, write clearer prompts, and check work with others. They discuss deceptive patterns, the tension between ethical design and business pressure, and practical tactics like quick pre-mortems to identify risks early. Gilbert reframes accessibility and inclusivity as reducing friction, highlights the financial and regulatory stakes, and argues designers’ lived experience, empathy, and judgment cannot be replaced by AI. 00:00 WCD Podcast with Regine 01:23 Introduction 01:57 Meet Regine Gilbert 05:29 Design Ethics & AI Decision-Making 08:38 Bias in AI & Inclusive Design 33:18 The Designer’s Role in an AI World 38:27 Hot Take & Takeaways More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zORa7kG8Ls

Marty Cagan explores a broader role for product designers in empowered teams. The session examines the difference between delivering requested features and helping discover solutions to customer and business problems. In this session: • Feature teams and empowered product teams • Giving teams problems to solve • Design’s role in product discovery • Experimentation and cross-functional collaboration Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. This recording also includes the event closing remarks. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUUP46wAd78

Randy J. Hunt reflects on expanding his design practice from individual touchpoints to whole businesses and complex marketplaces. Drawing on experiences including Supermarket, Etsy and Grab, the keynote explores design at different scales. In this session: • Designing a complete customer experience • Working across cultures and types of customers • Creating the conditions for a design team to succeed • Balancing a coherent vision with participation from others Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. This recording includes the event introduction before the keynote. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuVu3OrVZ_I

Udhaya Kumar Padmanabhan explores the changing shape of design roles and the skills designers can develop. The session moves from specialist and broader skill profiles to reflection on career direction and design’s wider impact. In this session: • Building depth and breadth in design skills • Understanding overlap between design disciplines • Reflecting on when to specialize or change direction • Considering social impact and future opportunities Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UWDZ8FbsY

Jamie-Lee Easton challenges designers to look beyond copying established products and processes. The talk explores how to understand real user needs, use familiar patterns thoughtfully and adapt the design process to the situation. In this session: • Using competitors as inputs instead of ready-made solutions • Balancing familiar patterns with distinctive value • Ideating and validating around real problems • Treating the design process itself as something to improve Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDXNrxoCWrM

Christian San Jose reflects on a design career that moved through illustration, freelance work, agencies and business ownership. The session explores experimentation, relationships and the freedom to change direction. In this session: • Why design careers rarely follow a straight line • Learning through different kinds of creative work • Building trust through client relationships • Changing direction and helping other designers grow Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmkE20geU74

Darshan Gajara shares how Product Disrupt began as a side project and created unexpected career opportunities. The talk explores starting with a useful problem, sharing what you make and learning through the process. In this session: • The difference between a side project and a side business • Finding ideas in your own and other people’s problems • Building connections through useful work • Capturing interest and learning from a launch Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLjCHR3nZ7Q

Jack Moffett reflects on moving from an individual contributor role into UX management. The talk explores learning to support other designers, letting go of hands-on work and finding satisfaction in a team’s growth. In this session: • Learning with and without a design manager • Giving colleagues room to develop their skills • Approaching management as a design problem • Staying connected through critique, mentoring and making Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lIk38c59nk

Sanmitra Chitte explores how design management connects creative work with business strategy. The session focuses on explaining design’s value through the language of business and identifying direct and indirect impact. In this session: • Design management as facilitation • Developing business understanding • Identifying productivity, cost and experience improvements • Using benchmarks to discuss return on investment Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZWV4ltSBi8

Lola Oyelayo Pearson challenges narrow ideas of UX and asks how designers can remain useful as business and technology change. The talk connects user-centered practice with commercial understanding and opportunities beyond familiar interfaces. In this session: • Understanding business constraints and prioritization • Keeping research in the design toolkit • Service design and interactions beyond screens • Bringing a design perspective into product management Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPIPUUQY2yk

Katja Forbes examines how design decisions can earn or undermine trust, especially when technology makes decisions people cannot see. The session offers ways to think about trustworthiness in products and services. In this session: • Individual and institutional trust • Making invisible decisions understandable • The role and limits of transparency • Avoiding manipulative trust signals Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtWGqguUfaM

Alipta Ballav explores how products can support pleasure, meaning and a sense of accomplishment. The session introduces positive-design ideas and the PERMA model as ways to think beyond basic functionality. In this session: • Balancing practical, pleasurable and meaningful product qualities • Positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement • Distinguishing momentary happiness from life satisfaction • Considering what happiness means for the people using a product Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shV32CA6Pvg

Jane Vita explores how design can help organizations move through uncertainty and build a shared direction. The talk connects dialogue, collaboration and service planning with the practical work of testing assumptions. In this session: • Recognizing the limits of individual perspectives • Creating space for productive dialogue • Connecting service blueprints and roadmaps • Identifying and testing important unknowns Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfui-Ovpbek

Visible design work is only part of the value a designer creates. Lily Konings explores the decisions, trade-offs and understanding behind effective products, and why beautiful output needs a clear purpose. In this session: • Distinguishing visible output from meaningful outcomes • Understanding the wider business and user context • Navigating trade-offs beyond the interface • Explaining the reasoning behind design work Recorded at World Class Design Conference 2021. Roles, examples and references reflect the time of recording. More from World Class Design: https://world-class.design Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coK9XbD7NeY