The User Brings the Confetti: Rob Giampietro on Scaling a Human-Centered Brand

The User Brings the Confetti: Rob Giampietro on Scaling a Human-Centered Brand

Author: Liam Spradlin August 5, 2025 Duration: 43:13

Rob Giampietro, Head of Creative at Notion and former Design Director at MoMA, returns to the show to unpack the story behind Notion Faces, the popular tool that allows users to create their own illustrated avatar.

Rob details the project's journey from a beloved internal tradition to a major public launch, including the pivotal decision to scale with human illustrators instead of AI to maintain the brand's unique, handcrafted quality.

The conversation explores how the team shifted its focus from "likeness" to "expression," the power of modularity in design systems, and the research process that made the project a success.

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Liam Spradlin hosts Design Notes, a podcast that digs into the realities of creative work from a distinct perspective. As a Senior UX Designer at Google who thinks deeply about interface philosophy, Liam brings a particular curiosity to each conversation. He doesn't just interview designers in the traditional sense; instead, he seeks out voices from a wide array of unique creative fields, from illustrators and architects to ceramicists and type designers. The core of each episode lies in uncovering the shared threads-the inspirations, challenges, and fundamental principles-that connect these diverse practices. Listening feels like sitting in on a thoughtful dialogue between practitioners, where the lessons learned in one discipline often shed surprising light on another. You'll hear how problem-solving in UX resonates with the constraints of a physical craft, or how narrative thinking in writing informs a visual project. This isn't about technical tutorials or portfolio reviews. It's about the human experience behind the work and the broader understanding we gain from it. Through these genuine exchanges, the Design Notes podcast builds a compelling case for how creative thinking bridges disciplines and cultures, offering listeners a richer sense of their own creative journey, whatever form it may take.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 65

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