Groundbreakin
The Groundbreakin is a cutting-edge podcast that explores the journeys of top designers, creative entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in the design industry. Hosted by Dipaq aka Q, a Creative Director and Founder of Syqi , this podcast is your go-to source for insider insights and actionable advice from the world's top design experts. With a focus on fresh topics and engaging discussions, each episode is designed to help you stay ahead of the curve and build a successful career in the ever-evolving design landscape. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, The Groundbreakin is your essential resource for all things design. Join us on a journey to the forefront of creativity and innovation. We are on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all the podcast listening platforms.
Groundbreakin
#65 - The Design Job Nobody's Hiring For Yet : Aparna Vinod
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
What happens when most design advice assumes an English-speaking, phone-fluent, low-stakes user and your actual users are none of those things?
In this episode of The Groundbreakin, we sit down with Aparna Vinod, a transformation strategy and organizational design practitioner currently pursuing a PhD on the changing nature of leadership. Aparna has spent her career unlearning the idea that design means designing for people like yourself working instead across factory floors, classrooms, and boardrooms where the “user” looks nothing like a typical UX persona.
From why she refuses to use the word “empathy,” to the story of her beautician who built an entire identity and income on TikTok, to why she believes one person should hold strategy, culture, and design instead of three separate roles this is a conversation about taking design out of the artifact and putting it back into people, process, and power.
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
How Aparna became a “very accidental designer” working across strategy, learning, and culture (0:47)
The real unlearning: why designing for people unlike you can just be preference in disguise (5:19)
Aparna’s Venn diagram framework for design need, strategy, and aesthetic (8:09)
Why she refuses to use the word “empathy” in her practice (13:50)
The TikTok beautician story that reframes who design is really for (19:37)
How redesigning classroom seating became an act of design (24:40)
Why one person should hold strategy, culture, and UX instead of three separate roles (27:25)
The ROI question: when should a fast-moving startup actually invest in culture (36:39)
Why Anthropic’s “People Scientist” job listing signals where design careers are headed (55:06)
THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF:
You’re a designer or product leader designing for users unlike yourself
You want to understand what “design beyond the artifact” actually looks like in practice
You’re curious how culture, learning, and UX are converging into one discipline
CONNECT:
Check out our Substack: dipaq.substack.com
Supported by Syqi: https://syqi.design/
Email us at [q@groundbreak.in]