UX Design, Coffee Culture, and Living Life in Vietnam Jon is currently Head of FPT Design at FPT Software in Vietnam. In this beer-fueled conversation, we talk about design, but as often happens with beer, the topics veer more towards life, freedom versus safety, and living abroad. This episode is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/xQpp43z2_Ag Jon's Links: https://jonderagon.com/ https://cafescene.com/ Thomas's Links: My indie games: https://okipoo.com/ The best bag for the Nintendo Switch: https://sefu.jp/switch-bag Listen to the podcast: https://dxsaigon.com/podcast/ Table of Contents: 0:00:00 - Teaser 0:00:25 - Intro 0:01:51 - Jon's History in Vietnam 0:10:36 - Saigon's Dynamism 0:21:05 - Saigon's Evolution in Term of Design 0:26:43 - Concept of Countries and Borders in The Future 0:37:29 - Things as They Are in Local People's Perspective 0:42:46 - Effects of Vietnam on Jon's Skin and Ears 0:48:59 - The Dark Side of Globalization 0:53:45 - Consciousness vs Business 1:01:05 - Safety vs Freedom 1:13:55 - Safety vs "Being Alive" 1:20:25 - Summary 1:22:08 - Outro

Hypnotherapy, Super Heroes, and Productivity Myths Julien Noyer is a former VJ and motion graphics designer and currently a practicing hypnotherapist in France. Thomas caught up with Julien in Vietnam, before the pandemic started, to learn about hypnotherapy and to vent his neuroticism on camera ;) Julien's Links: https://julien-noyer.com/ https://www.facebook.com/julien.noyer.hypnotherapy/videos This episode is also available as a video: https://youtu.be/dEFhhwFD2XA Table of Contents: 0:01:02 - How Thomas met Julien 0:03:01 - Learning to become a hypnotherapist 0:10:36 - What is (and what is not) hypnotherapy 0:16:20 - Hypnotherapy session 0:25:20 - Hypnotherapy won't make you another person 0:28:41 - TIps for creative people 0:36:01 - About the feeling of not doing 0:44:11 - Ethics is relative 0:49:24 - Action movies and the Disneyfication of drama 0:56:59 - Leisure times 0:59:24 - Zen meditation and falling out of enlightenment 1:04:00 - Dealing with assholes: Curb Your Enthusiasm and driving in Vietnam 1:07:37 - Being too critical; Thomas's identity as a designer, growing beyond personality types 1:11:46 - Driving in Vietnam, communicating anger through actions 1:17:31 - Women and jealousy 1:23:53 - Constant change 1:26:07 - Outro

Running a Bouldering Gym in Japan Hachi-san is the founder of Travis Bouldering Studio, located in Hirakata City, Osaka, Japan. This episode is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/gQ6NL3sfccU Hachi's Links: http://travisbouldering.com/ https://www.instagram.com/travis_bouldering_studio/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGgEH-9thyCDPFy2ADfuITg/videos Table of Contents: 0:00:00 - Start 0:00:29 - Intro 0:01:36 - The State of Japan During Corona Virus 0:06:46 - Opening a Climbing Gym After 1 Year of Practice 0:11:51 - Difficulties to Open a Climbing Gym 0:18:17 - Travis Bouldering Studio's Location 0:25:59 - Comparison with Other Climbing Gyms 0:30:31 - Lead Climbing 0:34:40 - Designing Climbing Walls 0:43:31 - Designing Climbing Routes 0:51:37 - Why Does Hachi Speak English? 1:01:19 - PayPay and Cash in Japan and Pricing at Travis Studio 1:08:41 - Customers' Habits 1:12:46 - Marketing Travis Bouldering Studio 1:14:12 - Outro Tags: bouldering, rock climbing, climbing gym, bouldering gym, Kansai, Japan, Osaka, Hirakatashi, entrepreneurship, design, podcast, design exchange, Hiroshi Hachi, Thomas Grové

The Business of Sci-Fi Motorbike Design Daryl Villanueva is the owner of Bandit9, a motorbike design company based in Vietnam. His designs are unlike any other bikes out there. In this episode of the Design Exchange Podcast, we talk about his approach to design and business and get a sneak peek at some of his latest designs. Daryl's Links: https://bandit9.com/ https://www.instagram.com/bandit9_/ Special thanks to Royal Enfield Vietnam for allowing us to film there! https://royalenfieldvietnam.vn/ This episode is also available as a video: https://youtu.be/NIPM7SdzdgE Table of Contents: 00:00 - Teaser 00:33 - Intro 04:07 - Building Motorbikes 10:58 - Inspiration for Sci-Fi Bikes 16:22 - Advertising Motorcycles 20:03 - American Chopper and Taking Your First Steps as an Entrepreneur 25:22 - From China to Vietnam 28:07 - Next Projects for Bandit9 30:56 - Advice for Designers - from Sketch to Prototype 35:36 - Electric Vehicles, Motorbikes, DIY, and Cyber Truck 42:29 - Dealing with Haters, Criticism in Design, and Designing for a Niche 46:16 - The Reason for Producing 9 Bikes per Design 48:34 - Luxury vs Mass Production as a Business Strategy 54:08 - Managing Clients and Mitigating Risk 59:40 - Different Kinds of Financial Concerns for Startups 1:08:14 - Managing Work-Life Balance 1:19:18 - Book Project 1:24:08 - Outro

Videogames, VJing, and Growing A Motion Graphics Studio Tung Khi is the founder and creative director of Box, a motion graphics design studio based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. special note: Tung has a thick accent, so we highly recommend watching the video version of this episode: There are subtitles you can read-along with and examples of Box's motions graphics are projected on the wall behind us throughout the interview. You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/yBFEHgc0Vs0 Tung's Links: https://www.theboxcollective.tv/ https://www.instagram.com/theboxcollectivevietnam/ https://www.crazymonkey.vn/ https://www.instagram.com/tungcrazymonkey/ Software Tung Uses: https://www.notch.one/ https://smode.fr/ Podcast Links: http://dxsaigon.com/podcast/dxp-024 https://youtu.be/yBFEHgc0Vs0 https://sefu.jp/switch-bag/ Table of Contents: 00:00 - Teaser 01:09 - What is the Box Collective 03:22 - Tung's Early Career 07:24 - From Employee to Company Owner - Using Your Connections 09:10 - Team Growth, New Offices, and New Branding 11:56 - Where to Find Box on The Internet 14:13 - Typical Box Work and Box Clients 18:18 - Tung'Style 23:13 - Chuck Csuri 24:09 - Projecting on Murals 25:12 - Differences between Hanoi and Saigon 28:20 - Personal Work vs Corporate Work 30:50 - Scaling a Creative Company 32:38 - Typical Staff Background 33:46 - Good Clients vs Bad Clients 36:12 - Video Games: Arcades and Emulators 38:07 - The Story of The Switch Bag 38:59 - Consequences of Aging 44:02 - The Joe Rogan Experience and Elon Musk 45:05 - Tesla vs Vinfast 49:54 - Why Starbucks and McDonalds struggle in Vietnam 53:27 - The Nintendo Switch: Reigniting Videogame Love 57:06 - Design of The Switch Lite 58:04 - Crossplay - Fortnite and Fantasy Strike 1:00:09 - Unity vs Unreal 1:03:17 - Software Used for Motion Graphics and VJing 1:04:33 - Outro

Designing Affordable, Modular, Prosthetic Limbs and Building Humans Rafael Masters is the CEO of Vulcan Augmetics, a Vietnam-based startup that develops affordable, adaptable, and upgradable robotic arms. Links: https://www.wearevulcan.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rafael-masters-81276678/ Table of Contents: 00:00 - Intro 01:51 - Affordable Prosthetics 11:44 - Design Concerns to Make Prosthetics More Affordable 19:07 - Customer's Journey 29:39 - Amputee's Mental Acceptance 36:06 - Company's Journey 46:14 - Elon Musk / Tessla's Cyber Truck Design 52:21 - First 2 Years of Operations and Investment 59:57 - Design for Maintainance, Practicality, and Dignity 1:07:35 - Outro Episode Hashtags: #Augmetics, #Prosthetics, #Robotics, #3dprinting, #Entrepreneurship, #Startup, #Vietnam, #Affordable, #Design, #DXP This podcast is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/MLRoTsqeBRw

Designing and Marketing Delicious Tea Aaron Shinn is a former #IDEO design lead and the cofounder of August Uncommon Tea who has been a dear friend for many years. We caught up on the streets of Osaka to discuss #futurism, Japan, and the nuts and bolts of designing and selling #tea. Links: https://www.aaronshinn.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ashinn/ https://august.la/ https://www.instagram.com/augustuncommon/ https://www.facebook.com/AugustUncommon/ Table of Contents: 00:00 - Start 00:50 - Intro to Aaron Shinn 01:40 - Dontonbori is the Fisherman's Wharf of Osaka 01:52 - Japan Neon, the 80's Future, and a Newer Future in Other Places 03:47 - Aaron Shinn is one of Thomas Grové's Design Mentors 04:40 - KPT Bryce and 90's Art Tools 06:21 - Realtime Rendering, VJing, Cloaking, Crazy Monkey 08:21 - August Uncommon Tea 09:15 - Availability in Japan 10:16 - The Economics of Running and Scaling A Tea Business 16:01 - Acquiring Customers through Advertising: Retargeting vs Prospecting 19:46 - Why Did Aaron and Gina Get into the Tea Business? And Where August Fits Amongst the Different Types of Tea Markets. 28:36 - The Process of Developing a Tea Flavor and the Link between Taste and Smell 34:06 - How Are People Preparing and Drinking August Tea? 39:35 - Random People Join the Fun pt 1 41:38 - Aaron Shinn's Role at August 46:27 - This is a Record of This Conversation 47:20 - Neil Stephenson - Cryptonomicon - Tea and Why Oversteaping Tea Makes It Bitter 53:20 - Can You Cold Brew Flavored Teas? 55:27 - The Development Process - What Percentage of New Blends are Failures? 1:00:26 - Customer Service and Dealing with Negative Feedback 1:10:05 - Random People Interaction Pt 3 1:10:54 - Tools for Ecommerce Pt 2 1:12:05 - Aaron Shinn Says Japan is a Different World. And Hiking the Kumonokodo Pilgrimage Trail. 1:14:03 - Outro This episode is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/6XuDLZQvO9Y

Acting, Directing, and Running a Theatre Company Dan Cooney is a professional actor, a director, and the founder of The Encore, a musical theatre company in Dexter, Michigan. Episode Links: https://www.theencoretheatre.org https://www.facebook.com/Encore.Musical.Theatre Table of Contents: 00:00 - Teaser 00:15 - Intro to Dan Cooney 00:50 - Dan's Acting Path 05:37 - A Pro Actor at Acting School 07:50 - "Schmackting" 11:47 - Difference between Acting on Stage and on Camera 13:30 - Advice for Aspiring Actors 20:38 - Learning acting and singing 25:34 - Advice for Young Actors - Meditation, Observation, Learn Yourself 30:06 - About Method Actors 34:18 - Directing 42:29 - Show Preparation 50:31 - From Acting to Directing 54:48 - Why Encore is Moving to a Bigger Space 58:12 - The Economic Effects of a Theater in a Community 1:02:18 - Outro This episode is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/GSw1FSvzz08 The Design Exchange Podcast is produced by dxSaigon.

Boutique Fashion Design in Vietnam Leo Huynh is the founder and designer of the Sinhtolina fashion brand. She makes the clothes that she wants to wear, characterized by comfortable open-back dresses suitable for warm weather. Leo's Links: https://www.instagram.com/sinhtolina/ https://www.facebook.com/Sinhtolina Table of Contents: 0:00:27 - Intro - Vietnamese and Spanish Names 0:03:55 - The Genesis of a Fashion Brand 0:06:40 - Challenges with Sizing 0:12:14 - Femininity in Fashion across Different Cultures and Ages 0:19:20 - Thomas Thinks Confidence is Sexy 0:22:52 - Leo's Design and Business Background 0:30:23 - Influencer Marketing 0:33:36 - Comparing Interior Design and Fashion Design 0:40:53 - Shrinking Issues 0:44:37 - Thomas's Frustration with Mass Production 0:53:42 - Brand Positioning 0:56:46 - Finding Inspiration, Human Observations, Corporate Creative Life 1:00:59 - Where Can You Find Sinhtolina? 1:03:05 - Origin of the Sinhtolina Name 1:05:34 - Outro This episode of the Design Exchange Podcast is also available to watch as a video on Youtube: https://youtu.be/lhecO_8DxwQ Tags: Fashion, Design, Dress Design, Saigon, Vietnam, Sinhtolina, Leo Huynh, Design Exchange, Podcast, DXP, Business, Entrepreneurship,

Running a Design Agency in Vietnam Vi Ton is co-founder and CEO of Studio BCA (Bo Cong Anh / Dandylion) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Vi's Links: https://studioboconganh.com/ https://www.facebook.com/StudioBCA https://www.linkedin.com/in/vi-ton-b07b9626/ Table of Contents: 00:33 - Intro 01:04 - Vi's Journey 10:33 - Business partnership 14:41 - Voice User Interface Design 22:54 - Artificial Assistants for Design 31:28 - Personal Implication in Entrepreneurship 37:05 - Human Resource Management 41:23 - Business and Identity Design 46:42 - Outro This episode is also available to watch as a video: https://youtu.be/-GRqScEw6WQCheck out our podcasting host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free, no credit card required, forever. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-4b5077 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Design Exchange with Thomas Grové.