UX Pioneers Interviews

Carol Barnum

Carol Barnum has an amazing view--she's seen the rise of usability from inside academia and in corporate America at the same time. And while her career is occasionally a circus, no, she's not related.

John Carroll

John reminded me that "everything you do changes the rest of your life." And in his case, it can also help build a whole new field.

Alan Cooper

Only Alan can explain Alan: "I programmed like a crazed weasel. I loved it. I took to it. It was my natural thing."

Seth Godin

Seth Godin got a toy when he was a little kid--a radio that transformed into a cool spy rifle. Ever since, he's been talking about what happens when you shoot messages out to regular people.

Mark Hurst

Should we talk about a super-cool history in user experience, or...Shall we play a game?

Mike Kuniavsky

Before he co-founded Adaptive Path, Mike sold hot sauce online and built giant dancing robots. Today he thinks about things like boxes of chocolates that deliver joy and surprise long after the candy is gone.

Brenda Laurel

Want to see what passionate thinking looks like? Peek inside a brain filled with theatre, invention, games for girls, and design-as-activism.

Arnie Lund

Arnie is really great at connecting with a huge assortment of people and recognizing the opportunities these people bring with them. He's an 'eyes wide open' kind of guy...oh, and he's hilarious.

Peter Merholz

From deciding he hated math to becoming the president of Adaptive Path, Peter describes a career driven by experience design.

Peter Morville

Peter has written some of the most popular and exciting books in our industry. But, before the Polar Bear and the Lemur, he started out just as unsure of what to do with his life as any of us.

Cliff Nass

Cliff Nass revels in being weird, thinking "wildly," and taking "big fliers." But he's also fascinated by what makes everything the same. If we were all as open to oddness as he is, the world would be a much more interesting place.

Jakob Nielsen

Today Jakob Nielsen is an inspiration and, through his books and seminars, a teacher to many. But what inspired him to get where he is today?

Whitney Quesenbery

A solo usability consultant who focuses on user research and strategy, Whitney thinks and writes about the role of storytelling in user experience design.

Judy Ramey

Did ye know that studying Medieval troubadours can actually help ye understand the communication challenges we face in our 'High Church of Technology?'

Ginny Redish

Ginny Redish has been in love with language since she was twelve. And today? It's only logical - she creates conversations between people and computers.

Carol Righi

Carol Righi has always been " very stubborn about being happy." Maybe that’s why her delight in her work shines through the story of her career.

Ben Shneiderman

The famous Dr. Shneiderman muses on mulidisciplinarianism and reminds us that no computer is smarter than a wooden pencil.

Phil Terry

Phil Terry is more interested in real people than anyone I know. This uber-connector shares his adventures, which trace his path from rebels in Nigeria to tech executives stuck in old habits.

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