Who do we really mean when we say “the user”? And who gets left out?

In this episode, Therese Fessenden chats with cultural anthropologists Mike Youngblood and Ben Chesluk, who are challenging overly narrow definitions of users in UX. They explore how systems thinking and anthropology can deepen our understanding of complex user ecosystems — and why rethinking “the user” is more important than ever.

About the speakers:

• Mike Youngblood (LinkedIn)
• Ben Chesluk (LinkedIn)

About Rethinking Users, including some helpful resources and a link to purchase the book:

https://www.rethinkingusers.com

Article about User Ecosystem Thinking:

https://www.epicpeople.org/toward-ethnography-of-friction-and-ease-in-complex-systems

Mike & Ben’s other books:

• The Routledge Companion to Practicing Anthropology and Design, which includes Mike & Ben’s chapter on systems thinking in design anthropology, as well as many other chapters/contributors exploring the role of anthropology in design:
• Ben’s book Money Jungle is an anthropological study of the redevelopment of New York City’s Times Square.
• Mike’s book Cultivating Community is an ethnographic study of a massive, grassroots social movement in rural India.

Related NN/g Articles & Videos:

• Personas vs. Archetypes (article)
• Why Personas Fail (article)
• Ethnography in UX (3-min video)
• Contextual Inquiry: Inspire Design by Observing and Interviewing Users in Their Context (article)

What does it mean to design experiences in a world where pixels are no longer the focus? In this episode, service design thought-leader and author Erika Flowers shares her thoughts on how designers must evolve as AI transforms the tools, processes, and expectations of our work. Erika shares lessons from her journey—spanning early web design, pioneering service blueprinting at Intuit, and orchestrating experiences at NASA—and offers a forward-looking take on why skills like facilitation, systems thinking, and storytelling will define the future of design.

About Erika Flowers: helloerikaflowers.com | LinkedIn

Related NN/g Courses

Service Blueprinting

Accelerating Research with AI

AI for Design Workflows

Related Free NN/g Articles:

• How Service Design Will Evolve with AI Agents
• The Future-Proof Designer
• Why I’m Not Worried About My UX Job in the Era of AI
• More Free Articles on AI

AI can do more than it’s ever done… but there’s a lot of unfounded hype, especially when it comes to user research. When should you delegate tasks to AI? And when should you insist on keeping the human in the loop? In this episode, Therese Fessenden sits down with Alexander Knoll, co-founder of Condens, to discuss the strengths and limitations of AI tools for research, and the evolving role of the user researcher.

About Alexander & Condens: LinkedIn | Condens.io

Research Repository Guide: https://condens.io/guides/research-repository-guide/

On-Demand Recording of Condens Event: Making an Impact with User Research: How to Drive Change and Get Noticed

Alex’s Article with NN/g: Common-Sense AI Integration: Lessons from the Cofounder of Condens

Other Related NN/g Articles & Courses:

• Free Articles about AI & UX
• Course: UX Basic Training
• Course: Accelerating Research with AI
• Course: AI for Design Workflows
• Course: Designing AI Experiences