I never had the opportunity to meet Frank Gehry. I wish I did.

His LA office was a 5 minute walk from my first apartment in LA. Sometimes I’d walk past around 5pm hoping I’d bump into the legend himself, but it never panned out… but I didn’t have to shake his hand or say hello to feel his impact.

Rural roots, big city dreams

Gehry grew up in Timmins, a small mining town in Northern Ontario… best known as the home of Shania Twain, just a few hours from where I was raised in Sudbury. In Northern Ontario terms, that basically makes us neighbors.

As I learned more about his life and work, a few lessons stayed with me and quietly shaped how I approach creativity, career, and community.

Even if you’re not in a major urban centre, the world is so interconnected today that you can still reach millions, make a positive impact, and work on a global scale no matter where you’re from.

You can come from nowhere and still change everything

You don’t need to grow up in a cultural capital to make global impact. Even from rural towns in Canada, the world is accessible and hungry for new perspectives. For anyone who grew up far from the “center,” Gehry is a reminder that your origin doesn’t limit your trajectory.

Be confident in yourself and defend your work

Creativity rarely moves in straight lines. Gehry’s career is filled with moments where he pushed back, held his ground, and clarified his principles. Knowing what you stand for and what you’re willing to flex on — makes decisions easier and criticism less destabilizing.

“I work from the inside out.” —Frank Gehry

Your process doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s

In a world obsessed with perfect systems and rigid frameworks, Gehry stayed loose. His early sketches were famously improvisational. Alive with motion, possibility, and ambiguity. They weren’t “on-brand.” They were his. Ownable. Personal. He was THAT GUY.

You don’t have to please everyone

Some loved his work. Some didn’t. All of it moved the conversation forward. That’s the job.

Break it. Rebuild it. Break it again.

From his raw, deconstructed Santa Monica home to the sweeping glass “sails” of Fondation Louis Vuitton, Gehry consistently refused to get precious. He showed that iteration is not just a design practice… it’s a worldview. Keep trying things. Keep surprising yourself.

Design can shift economies, ecosystems, and communities

As your career evolves, the link between creativity and real-world impact becomes clearer.

• In Bilbao, the Guggenheim became an engine for economic transformation — the “Bilbao Effect.”
• In Scotland, Gehry joined 17 architects to design Maggie’s Centres: warm, thoughtful spaces offering free emotional and social support to people with cancer and their loved ones.

If you’re fortunate enough to make a living through creativity, leave room for giving back.

“I’m not going to retire. I’ll just keep going.” —Frank Gehry

Work and life can support each other — not compete

Gehry could have retired decades earlier, but he chose to keep building. For him, work wasn’t a burden; it was aliveness. Finding that harmony. Where your work feeds your life instead of depleting it feels like the dream.

It’s never too late to learn something new

Rather than rely on past success, Gehry kept evolving. His early work on Facebook’s MPK20 taught him about the needs of a new generation of workers — knowledge he carried into MPK21 years later. Curiosity kept him relevant.

Your career is the sum of everything you’ve ever made

Every project, whether massive or modest, contributes to your voice. Every day is another chance to stretch, soften, refine, and rediscover what you can do.

From one Frank to another: Thank you, Frank. Your buildings, your bravery, and your restless imagination changed the world and changed so many of us in the process. Your legacy lives on in every person you inspired to dream bigger, take risks, and make something only they could make.

Sources:
Encyclopedia Brittanica, Frank Gehry
Fortune, Architect Frank Gehry: How I Got Started
Fast Company, 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Frank Gehry
The Guardian, The Bilbao effect: how Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim started a global craze
Encyclopedia of World Biography, Frank Gehry Biography
Surface, Frank Gehry is Still Building His Legacy
The Guardian, Frank Gehry: ‘There’s a Backlash Against Me’
The Star, Frank Gehry and the Weird Cup of Hockey
ArchDaily, The Story of Maggie’s Centres: How 17 Architects Came to Tackle Cancer Care

—

Frank Bach is a Canadian Product Designer based in Los Angeles, born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario.

You can follow him on X, Instagram and Linkedin.

When my wife and I moved to California from Canada 5 years ago, we couldn’t believe the price of homes here. In our hometown, prices are much more affordable and people with regular jobs are able to own with very little down. Such is not the reality in a place like LA. However, there are some things you can do to help your real estate goals come to life.

Define your motive

Do you want a small home just for you? Is there a baby on the way? Buying with friends? Will you need to support your parents in the near-future? Figuring this out now helps figure out your path forward.

Our motive: buy a home we can afford, to live in, and raise a family in.

Start saving for your Down Payment. Like now.

Even if it’s just $50. Go ahead and start making regular deposits into a high-interest Savings account and watch it grow.

Keep that momentum going and any time you get a lump sum (work bonus, birthday gift, tax return, yard sale, etc.) keep adding to your Down Payment over time. This is a long-game and you’ll be glad you started now. At our savings rate of $10K per year, we thought it’d be a decade before we could buy, but we ended up saving a 10% down payment in 4 years.

Most people I know in major cities either were part of a company that IPO’d, inherited a bunch of money, or got some family support for their Down Payments.

We bought our first home in the U.S. with our own money, saved after years of working, and I’m incredibly proud of that accomplishment. But hey, if Mom and Dad could have chipped in I’d have gladly accepted. 😂

I got a lot of inspiration on the Financial Independence Reddit. There are many tips and motivational stories of people saving money and working towards a goal.

Find a Lender and get pre-approved

We used Better.com and they pre-approved us within an hour. This tool will help you figure out what you can afford. Rates are at a historic low right now, so if you’re in a position to buy, now’s a good time.

We tried another Lender at first, but had issues with their customer service. Better’s easy-to-use dashboard made the process super smooth and pretty much painless. Less phone calls, emails, and one focused online portal to keep track of all your tasks.

At the time, Better offered free inspections and a $2,500 credit for AMEX card members. This was super appreciated when we had to buy out of our lease before moving in, so definitely look around for deals like these!

You can usually negotiate a more favorable rate by sharing a lower rate with another lender. They expect you to do this.

Beware the gatekeepers

People will try to tell you this is impossible and that you shouldn’t even try. Something you may hear is that Down Payments need to be 20% or more and this isn’t always the case!

We only put 10% down but there are other ways to do this, including FHA loans, first-time homeowner loans, jumbo financing, etc. for other financial situations. Learn more here.

Do some pre-work

Some things you can do to get an early start before you have your Down Payment together is:

• Check your credit 1–2 years in advance and work on it if necessary
• Save homes you like on Redfin and Zillow to get a gauge on past sale prices, the general market, and home values over time.
• Walk through neighborhoods you like
• Attend open-houses (even homes out of your budget range)
• Observe neighborhood trends on sites like NeighborhoodScout
• Look into municipal plans for transit, new business, economic growth
• Up your real estate knowledge by reading up on Real Estate Reddit (also helpful for asking questions anonymously)
• Map out your potential commute in Google Maps
• Be mindful of gentrification and understand your role in it

Nearly every home in the U.S. has historical data online, so you can curiously get a peek into any neighborhood. All of this will help you get a pulse on the market and be prepared when you’re ready to make a move.

Create an action board

Visualizing your goals can be a big motivator for when you’re feeling discouraged. I kept this page inside my wardrobe as a daily reminder of my goal and of the type of space I wanted in my future.

Draft your must-haves and nice-to-haves

Aligning on what the ideal home looks like for you is especially helpful if you’re buying with a partner.

Find a real estate agent

Friends of ours recommended Dominique Madden from ACME Real Estate (Black-owned). They were easy and fun to work with and I’d hire her again in a second. Real estate transactions are substantial, and where you spend your hard-earned money is important. Make sure it goes to someone you truly want to support.

A few words of wisdom:

• I wish we’d negotiated on the commission. 6% of the home’s price is typical but you can get it lower. This could mean a more attractive offer for the Seller, or additional savings for you.
• Don’t rely too much on your agent to find properties. They’ll send you automated emails, but you’re probably better off searching yourself. You know what you want, and besides, that’s part of the fun!
• Real estate agents really come through in the Offer negotiation and Closing stages
• Empower yourself as a buyer, and if it’s not working with an agent, find a new one. Don’t be afraid to apply pressure—you’re the one who drives this project forward.
• You might get your heart broken a few times but don’t give up. So much can go wrong, from being outbid, to a bad inspection, to not being able to surprisingly high Closing Costs. Real estate is emotional and difficult — that’s why I only recommend you celebrate once you have keys-in-hand.

The process

Once you find a home you love, the process looks like this:

1. 📄 Get pre-approved (we used Better)
2. 🤞 Make an offer (or multiple offers)
3. ⬆️ Bidding war (if you’re lucky, your first offer is accepted)
4. 🥂 Offer accepted (have a mini-celebration, but know the road ahead is long)
5. 💰 Send Earnest Money Transfer (showing your commitment)
6. 🧰 Get a home inspection (uncover anything wrong with the home)
7. 📐 Get a home appraisal (verify the home is worth at least what you’re paying)
8. 🤝 Renegotiate the offer (with inspection details, if needed)
9. 🏦 Lock in your interest rate (with Lender)
10. 💰 Wire transfer your Down Payment + Closing Costs (to Escrow)
11. ✅ Remove all contingencies* (Title search, proof of funds, employment verification, etc.) * This is the actual approval and takes the longest.
12. 💰 Fund the loan (Lender wires Seller remainder of $)
13. 🚶🏻‍♀ ️Final walkthrough (day before close)
14. 🔑 Get the keys (Closing day)
15. 🎉 Now, celebrate!

THIS 👏 WAS 👏 EXTREMELY 👏 STRESSFUL 👏😅 BUT 👏 VERY 👏 PRIVILEGED 👏 TO 👏 BE 👏 IN 👏 THIS 👏 POSITION

Closing usually takes between 30–45 days and it feels like a small miracle when you actually get the keys for your new home. In a perfect world it’s linear, but in most cases there’s a lot of back-and-forth. We’ve been told 30 days is fast, so don’t be concerned if it takes longer.

We did this all during COVID-19 and there was definitely a sense of unease in all aspects. Was the economy about to crash? Should we wait a while? Is it safe to move in to a new home?

Keep an open mind throughout, but know what your non-negotiables are. Try to be flexible. If you want a 3-bedroom but fall in love with a home that’s only 2 bedrooms and a garage, maybe that space can be converted into an office or guest room? A lot can be done after the sale so try not to get hung up on paint color and small details.

Other advice

• Read up on terminology. Sometimes it can feel like Real Estate agents are speaking a different language.
• Lenders make money on the loan, and agents make their money on the commission. It’s in their best interests to guide you towards a more expensive purchase. The good agents are ethical and not pushy, but you should decide on what an acceptable ballpark range of what you can afford is. We didn’t go anywhere near the maximum approved loan amount.
• Watch out for big-ticket expenses like a new roof, electrical, plumbing, or old windows. Those are pretty major renovations and should be factored into your Offer price.
• The appraisal is one of the most important steps in the process. If your offer is for $X00K and the home comes in appraised at $X90K, you’ll be stuck footing the $10K difference.
• Don’t skip the inspection. It’s your last chance to negotiate based on things that are uncovered.
• Prepare for Closing Costs (typically 1–2% of the cost of the home), usually not due until Closing.
• PMI insurance is usually needed if you’re buying with less than 20% down. In our case, it was worth it because of high appreciation value and the fact the place we were in was not rent-controlled.
• Most lenders use your FICO/Transunion score, which is different from what you see on apps like CreditKarma.
• Our credit rating was decent, not perfect, and we were able to get a better rate by buying points. Better lends to people with credit scores of 620+.
• You’ll need Homeowners Insurance. We used Lemonade. They were the best-priced we could find.

Enjoy the space

And there you have it. You did it.

Rejoice in your new home, say hi to your neighbors, shop at your local businesses, and enjoy. There will be plenty of upgrades, fixes, and unexpected costs, but it’s all part of it. 🏡

Sensory deprivation is something I’d only heard about in movies, and when moving to LA heard some friends talk about it. I’ve been curious about human consciousness, psychology, and exploring inner and outer worlds since reading The Doors of Perception in high school. I meditate, do yoga, all of that good stuff—so this felt like a natural next step.

What are sensory deprivation tanks all about? They’re pitch-black, soundproof environments heated to the same temperature as the skin. The tank is filled with ~10 inches of water and enough dissolved salt to allow you to float. Reported health benefits to floating are:

• Pain relief
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Happiness and euphoria, and more

On the mental side, short-term sessions can be relaxing and conducive to meditation; though some people report that extended deprivation can result in anxiety, hallucinations, bizarre thoughts, temporary senselessness, and sometimes depression.

Others have reported spiritual experiences, deep inner peace, sudden insight, and feeling as if they were born anew. I think I landed somewhere in between.

My first experience was at Float Lab in LA about a year ago. Here it is…

Stepping into the tank

The tank is intimidating. Thankfully I read some Yelp reviews to set expectations—though nothing could prepare me for what the first-time experience.

After stepping in and locking the door, I had to laugh at how ridiculous this all felt, and tried to talk myself into it. Thinking, “I’m floating in saltwater in a basement in Westwood. How weird is this? What is there to be so afraid of? Wait, am I afraid? ……”

Then the darkness settled in. And I started to freak out about spending 2 hours in this meat locker void of any sight or sensation.

Keep scrolling…

After a slight panic attack, I fell into a meditation, which led to losing sensation of my limbs, and for the first time ever, felt like I was truly separate from my body. Just thoughts. Happiness. Joy. Anxiety. Fear. All fabrications of the mind.

Then I began to really struggle. How much time has gone by? It was difficult to just sit there with no concept of time. The mind starts to play tricks on you. Seeing colors, light beams, dots, hearing sounds, having conversations with myself, and more. My mind started to slowly detach from reality and focus on things that weren’t really there.

At this point, I’m just trying to maintain composure. With nothing to distract me, my mind went into loops. Then I started to wonder — what is it that’s really bothering me right now? Is it the tank, or is there something deeper unresolved that I’m afraid to face?

While many people consider sensory experience as the main source of happiness, really it is peace of mind. — Dalai Lama

After some breaths, my heart rate slowed down to a pace I’ve never felt while awake. I imagined that this is what the euphoria some people describe in near-death-experiences might feel like.

The inevitability of death

I started to think of death, and by not feeling my body, felt I had a better understanding that I am living in vessel, and that this isn’t a permanent state—life is ever-changing—and that I could exist without my body. Some of Atisha’s teachings came to mind. This isn’t a bad thing. I think it’s the start of a healthy awareness of my body, and will likely affect the way I treat it, whether that be with diet, exercise, rest, maintenance, etc. My body is aging while my mind feels the same, and at some point my mind will start to fade too.

After so much darkness, I forced myself to think of a few things that were more constructive:

• My relationship with myself
• My relationship with others
• Creative projects I’d like to pursue
• My daily work
• How all of these things come together in a meaningful and purposeful way

I started to feel at peace with the tank, almost thankful for where it pushed me, and began to feel that sense of euphoria some people talked about.

And more darkness…

Knock knock knock.

Just as I was coming to terms with the tank and what I’d faced, my time was up. The staff at Float Lab were there to let me know my 2 hour session was over.

I stepped out, cleaned up, got dressed and walked out into the alleyway. There I was, rising from the tank to a bright and well-lit Westwood street, walking amongst the rest of the humans, pretending I didn’t just venture into the darkest depths of my mind.

What I learned:

• Mental strength is something you need to constantly practice.
• It’s healthy to face yourself and your fears. Meditation is wonderful, but I typically get to a “happy place” with it. I could be less fearful of going to the dark side of my mind, and thus become more resilient.
• I should be more appreciative of the small things. Nothing really sounds like nothing. In the tank, I would’ve really appreciate the sounds of nature, the buzzing of a coffee machine, even the sound of a car alarm going off.
• I have lots of self-discovery work to do.
• It can be painful to be so present.

A day later, my brain felt like it was tenderized. I felt like I’d hit a hard reset on my emotions. It took a couple days to settle back in.

All things considered, it was a profound experience. I’m looking forward to the next time, whenever that may be.

Last week, I attended the 5th annual Heart Series at ROW in Downtown LA. THS is a 3-day conference for conscious companies, centred around business innovation, and more broadly: bettering the world.

Some of the people speaking were from companies like Toms, Feed, Movember, Known Supply, Generous Coffee, Oh Joy! Participant Media and the After-School All-Stars to name a few.

I knew nothing of the Heart Series conference and had never heard of it, but my wife Terrie, who is transitioning into designing for social good discovered it through The Good Trade newsletter. They were offering a big discount and combined with my Headspace employee learning and development budget, I was able to join. I had always been interested in how business and social good work together.

I attended the conference with the goals of:

• Expanding my understanding of how business and social issues work together
• Learning from professionals working in the social good space about their successes and struggles
• Shape an opinion and perspective on how I, as a designer, can better contribute to the world
• Report some findings back to my team and inspire them with what can/has been achieved elsewhere

Brands and transparency

Adam Garone, co-founder of Movember made a point during his panel discussion that more than ever, brands have two-way conversations with their consumers. This is both a gift and a curse, since we’re able to speak with and learn so much from our fans. At the same time, we’ve got to be able to receive criticism. Today’s consumer is more conscious and intuitive than they have been in the past. One bad move, and you’re trending on Twitter for the wrong reasons.

This hits close to home for me, since Headspace is so well-trusted by our members. They tune in to our app regularly when they’re dealing with stress, anxiety, and so much more. Our members see us as a friendly companion who guides them through life, and hold us to a high standard.

Storytelling is crucial in driving social impact

holly gordon, the Chief Impact Officer of Participant Media educated us on the importance of storytelling when driving social impact. It seemed obvious enough to me, that yes, we need to craft smart campaigns around these initiatives for them to be as successful as possible — but in fact she was talking about real full-length storytelling in films like Roma, RBG and An Inconvenient Truth.

Stories, especially films, can accelerate causes by 10–20 years. For example, by reimagining his childhood in Roma, director Alfonso Cuarón, helped inspire domestic workers stand up for their rights.

In highlighting Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and how her early legal battles changed the world for women, RBG has helped shift the perception of what a lawyer looks like, inspiring young women to become lawyers, and further retain women in the field of law.

But what next?
The most successful social initiatives empower individuals, not just spread awareness. They have a call-to-action — something to do next so that the message and purpose can spread beyond the campaign.

Design and tech can impact real change

Chief Giving Officer at Toms, Amy Smith, noted that Toms were already known for their pioneering one-for-one program, and in an effort to evolve their giving model, launched a campaign to end gun violence and donated $5 million dollars to the cause.

This led to 58,000 postcards sent to representatives within 12 hours, and eventually the HR8 Bipartisan Background Checks Act was passed on February 13th. A seamless brand, user experience and capable technology were all major factors in building momentum and getting stacks of postcards on reps’ desks.

How do you pick a cause?

In Toms case, they stand for “the idea that we can create a better tomorrow,” so this background check cause fell in line with their broader company mission. Amy stated that during their research phase, they found that a majority of Americans, regardless of political stance, support background checks for guns, and that to spark social change and business impact, they should start with something that was not a divisive issue.

This raises a question for me: who determines which causes are “good” and worth supporting? Is this a CEO decision? A company-wide vote? What happens when supporting social causes affects your bottom line negatively? I wrote about something similar in 8px Magazine.

For Toms, it was also important to tap into communities and conversations, to get a pulse of what was going on, what the true needs were, and create some inroads with stakeholders before taking this on themselves.

For Ben Higgins of Generous Coffee, his advice was to “Find what pisses you off most and attack it.” Made me laugh… great advice.

Generous makes and sells coffee, but also creates jobs for parents, feeds children, helping to improve education, and helps create a world we all want to live in. More on their story here.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the former The Bachelor reality TV star, but Higgins’ message around using his influence to do good was on-point. With his 1m+ Instagram followers, he felt his experience on reality TV was a waste if it was only to inflate himself, and felt a desire to do good in the world. He doesn’t take a pay check from his work with Generous.

Partnerships are key for both sides
One of the broad themes of the event was that rather than going-it-alone, brands were partnering up with organizations that knew the social causes intimately, then and making themselves available with donations, resources, and support in exchange for tying themselves to the issues.

Lisa Baxter of After-School All-Stars made it clear that on the organizations’ side, there is a desire to find brands who are truly willing to walk the walk and not only reap the profits of being tied to social issues. The people doing the ground work have high expectations of their partners, since this partnership may positively impact their business.

“Don’t wait, collaborate.” — Kohl Crecelius

Collaboration over competition

For me, the most inspired talk of the event was by Kohl Crecelius, founder of Known Supply. How cute is their logo? 👇

He spoke about the work they do, helping to connect consumers with the makers of their clothing, by making us more aware of the implications our purchases have on communities who actually make the items. You can read more about their story here.

Since the social good space is getting more and more competitive, Kohl emphasized the spirit of collaboration over competition.

Ben Higgins of Generous Coffee had a similar message about competition: “Competition in this space is weird.”

joy cho / oh joy! spoke about her new tableware collection with Target, which was elemental in reaching the masses and contributing to good all the while. For every collection purchased, a meal is given to Feeding America to help end hunger throughout the U.S.

It seems we’re entering a new phase of social enterprise, where collaboration is necessary big or small, so that we don’t create a future where we’re all trying to outdo each other in our efforts and in the end make little impact, both socially and financially. Pick one cause to focus on, and really own it, and if others enter the space, work together and double down toward a common goal.

Key takeaways

• Do good things. Try to be a good person.
• Think globally, act locally.
• Give yourself room to try things and iterate. If you fail, try again. Be honest with your shortcomings and hopefully your audience will understand.
• Social good is on-trend. Before you buy, do your own research. Just because a company presents itself as socially good, doesn’t mean they truly are.
• There’s a massive opportunity for brand/product design to contribute positively in the social impact space, especially at the strategic level.

I enjoyed the conference overall, and want to give kudos to the organizers and presenters. Providing lunch and snacks was a nice touch. I especially loved the Beyond Burgers on Day 2.

Soon after the Heart Series was over, my wife introduced me to a quote by Maslow from Book of Life which seems fitting to wrap this up:

Towards the end of his life, Maslow expressed a hope that businesses could in time learn to make more of their profits from addressing not only our basic needs but also — and as importantly — our higher spiritual and psychological ones as well. That would be truly enlightened capitalism.

The mix of social good + business is still in its infancy. With some exceptions, companies in this space feel like they have a social impact team that operates separately from the business, not yet fully integrated.

I’d love to see a future where we go beyond this, where social good is a through line, and enlightened capitalism is the expected way to do business. Where questions like “How are you giving back?” and “Is this actually good for people?” are just as important as “What’s your revenue model?”

—

Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Originally posted on Linkedin

Nike was ok with this. They took a stance on a social issue and it faired well for them. Why? They’ve build up trust, being consistent over the years, always fighting for the underdog.

The ad was a touchdown: timing, brand messaging, iconic design, creating a cultural moment, positioning for the future, and of course, this sent their stock soaring to an all-time-high. 📈

Morality is big business.

Seeking: Chief Morality Officer

Taking some time to let this all simmer, I wondered—who makes these decisions on what a brand stands for? Brands define their values, narrative, tone, imagery, etc. but to what effect should they define their moral and ethical stances? And who’s in charge of it? Are we about to see the rise of the Chief Morality Officer?

Patagonia recently responded to Donald Trump for reducing the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Kudos to them for following through: they created an online platform to connect customers with environmental groups and have stood up for the environment in their history.

What happens when 📉?

What if a brand’s stance doesn’t align with the market and they take a loss? What happens when things don’t go over so well? Should you backtrack and do a PR campaign apologizing for it? Or do only massive brands have the luxury of being political?

If you’re starting to enter this space as a company, take a step back and really ask yourselves: What are our core beliefs as individuals and as a company? What would I donate a portion of my paycheck for? Do we believe in this enough to commit long-term? Only then will you know if you’re doing this for the right reasons or just following a trend.

Morality can be good for your brand, but only if you genuinely mean it.

Today, businesses are not only measured by how much value they provide to shareholders, but for their social impact as well. In the case of Nike and Patagonia, I truly feel that they mean what they say and applaud them for it.

The world is divided at the moment, and brands are in a position to use their platforms to influence positive change while ensuring their viability with future audiences. More than half of consumers worldwide consider themselves to be belief-driven buyers and social responsibility is a high priority for younger generations.

If corporations are people, we should expect them to have opinions and thoughts. And we should hold them accountable beyond how many likes, shares, and retweets they get. After all, when we decide to purchase their products we’re inviting them into our lives, building a personal relationship with them.

When brands get woke, make sure you do too. 👀

—
Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Kap and Elon: Morality is Big Business was originally published in 8px Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Let’s get this out of the way: the goal of this post is to help you mitigate churn (account cancellations) by implementing user-centric yet business-driven design.

Churn is something all subscription, advertising, transactional, or commission-based businesses deal with. By truly understanding how to work with churn, you can display how design can play a pivotal role in a business’ success.

A considered exit ramp could help reduce churn by up to 10% and save an at-scale company millions annually.

To be clear, the ultimate way to reduce churn is to consistently add value to your product whether that be with new features, personalization, delight, or any other addition to your experience that makes your users feel like paying for a subscription is worthwhile.

Great examples of this are Spotify’s Time Capsule, Wealthsimple’s Socially Responsible Investing, or Airbnb’s Experiences. Regardless of industry, these companies have done an excellent job showing their users the value of the product, and continuing to deliver on that.

Consistently adding value keeps competition at bay. They’ll never catch up. The goal is to have users accept your product as part of their daily life, where they can’t imagine life without it.

Why do people unsubscribe?

Many reasons. It’s possible you’re not delivering anything useful anymore, maybe users are unsatisfied, or find the product too expensive. But it’s not always a goodbye forever, and that’s why a well-designed cancellation flow is so important. A considered exit ramp could help reduce churn by up to 10% and save an at-scale company millions annually. 💸

Here are a few simple steps you can take to achieve this:

Get to know churn intimately

Think about why you’ve unsubscribed from products. Talk to your friends, family, and teammates about why they’ve opted out of paid services and try to really understand the motivations and early signs of potential cancellation.

Talk to users who have churned

Don’t be shy — say hello! Coordinate interviews with a small segment of users who have unsubscribed and ask them questions. Find out why they cancelled, where they believed it was lacking, etc. This will help guide you toward what to surface as part of your cancellation flow.

Involve your Customer Support team

Customer Support teams often feel left out of product decisions and this is a great opportunity to get them involved. They can be your best resource at discovering why users are churning. Customer Support is the front-lines of the product, know your users best, and can provide some amazing insights.

Ask your Founders and Product Managers — what keeps them up at night?

This will open up some weak points in the business and could inspire solutions you could include in your cancellation flow design.

Design and craft the flow with care

Scope out the competition

Many successful companies are doing this well. Go ahead and attempt to cancel some services of your own and see what happens. Some are easy, some are more difficult. You’ll be surprised with what you uncover, what seems annoying or frivolous, or even irrelevant.

Map it out

Sketch out a wireframe of how users cancel accounts currently. This will help you identify where your current flow is lacking and what parts of it you can keep.

This is a particularly sensitive moment for your users, and designing it with empathy is important. Really put yourself in their shoes here and make cancellation easy to discover, and as painless as possible.

Some people believe that anything more than a big red cancel button is a dark pattern. I disagree — not everyone’s intention is to cancel. You convinced someone to pay for your service and they opened their wallets. They may want to cancel, but maybe they just want to talk to a human, or are frustrated and want to learn how to use your product properly. It’s your job to provide to them relevant information.

Make sure the exit ramp is clear

Always allow for an easy exit and don’t confuse people. If your cancellation flow is spread across multiple steps, you should always allow for a well-positioned cancel option on every page.

Remind users what they’ll be missing out on

Reiterate what they’ll be missing out on by unsubscribing. There’s a chance they’re not even sure what they’re paying for. This is definitely optional and not a must-have. Facebook takes it up a notch and uses some serious FOMO in their cancellation flow.

This is a bit aggressive, but it’s still good practice to remind the user what is it they’ll be missing. You can surface the number of friends they have, saved items, their ratings, savings, etc. If you’re dealing with confidential data, give them an option to download it or let them know that the data will be deleted by a certain date.

Leave a lasting impression

Once users have cancelled, leave them with a good feeling. With considered design and copy, this is easily achievable. If your service is compelling, many users will return.

One great example of this is Spotify — they keeps users loving the service even at the point of cancellation by sharing a fun Farewell playlist starting with I Want You Back by The Jackson 5.

Insurance startup Lemonade use an AI chatbot as part of a conversational cancellation flow. I’d be curious to see how adding this personal touch would test against a more traditional flow.

Use this as an opportunity to retain customers

You can use this stage in the flow to surface alternate deals or products. If you’re a subscription-based service, you could even offer the option to pause your subscription.

How awesome is Mailchimp’s surfacing of their alternative, simplified service tinyletter upon cancellation? 🔥🔥🔥

Amazon does a fantastic job at surfacing downgrade options while cancelling their Prime service. It also worked — I found that I was mostly using Prime Video but not really using their two-day shipping.

Rather than cancelling your subscription altogether, some companies offer the option to pause your subscription and push the renewal to the next month, or skip-a-month. You can use this pause data to reignite these customers.

How can Customer Support improve this experience?

While designing the entire flow, consider how your customer support team can help in this instance. Having customer support intervene in such a delicate situation can make frustrated users feel taken care of, and can have a massive impact on the number of people following through with cancellation.

Apps like Intercom or Messenger for Business can be integrated into your product site where appropriate, or you might consider linking to your global FAQ page, surfacing often asked questions.

Collect data with a survey

An optional survey is your last chance at collecting meaningful data. Survey forms can collect data and guide business decisions in the future, as well as help answer some key questions: Are you priced too high? Are users not finding value? Are there any competitors doing it better?

Even when a user has decided to disable their accounts or cancel their membership, they may consider you in the future. Many users bounce back and forth between apps before making a decision on which are important to them.

Account cancellation doesn’t always mean goodbye

It’s a great policy to keep the door open and make sure users know they’re always welcome back, no questions asked. Basecamp does this especially well, balancing casual and legal writing.

Sending a personalized confirmation email to remind users of cancellation and to re-iterate terms of cancellation will save your legal and support team a lot of time and resources. It’s also a great opportunity to say thank you one final time, and send one last email to the user. Hulu’s confirmation email highlights their top-watched shows while giving users a one-click opportunity to sign up again. Never give up on a customer.

Once you’ve implemented your cancellation flow, keep monitoring customer support and adjust it to cater to user needs moving forward.

Now you can focus on funneling new users in, maximizing the new user experience, and continuing to add value. 🚀

Want more? Here’s some additional reading…
How to Reduce Churn with a Customer-Focused Cancellation Flow
Good End of Customer Life Experiences with Mailchimp
Learning from Hulu’s Cancellation Flow
Making Sense of Customers Who Cancel
The NY Times Unsubscribe Dark Pattern
Two Ways to Reduce SaaS Cancellations
Audible’s Cancellation Flow
UX Best Practices for Cancellation Flows (Quora)

—
Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

So, your product’s got a leaky bucket problem… was originally published in Headspace Design on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Concerning the Downtown vs. Kingsway arena/events centre site selection and the future of our great city.

Dear City Council and Mayor Brian Bigger,

First, I want to thank you for your hard work and dedication to our city and community. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I served on the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation in the past, did a considerable amount of work for our main attractions (Science North, The Big Nickel, Dynamic Earth) and was part of the team who redesigned and repositioned the Downtown Sudbury BIA. I love Sudbury and Northern Ontario.

Although I spent most of my life in Sudbury, I moved to Los Angeles 2 years ago for better work opportunities in my industry and to live in a city that was more aligned with my values. However, I still have family, friends, and some small investments in the city. As a former resident of Ward 12, I still care deeply about the future of Sudbury. I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about the arena/events centre site selection.

We need to design a city around our youth first

Where are the young people going?

As you know, Greater Sudbury has a leaky bucket problem. We are losing people quicker than we are attracting them and not doing a great job at retaining them. Between 2001 and 2015, we’ve seen an almost 21% decrease in our youth population. This problem isn’t going away unless we do something about it.

Many of my friends have chosen to move to Toronto, Vancouver, and abroad to larger urban centers to live in cities where 750 sq ft condos are $1m+ and commutes are 1hr long. But these cities are so attractive and offer so much potential for a better future, that even cost of living and long commutes are only minor detractors. That’s what we’re up against — so it should be easy for us to reposition Sudbury as a city where young people can thrive. Some may disagree, but I believe we should design a city that caters to what the creative-class want. And that’s a city that is:

• Walkable
• Beautiful
• Cultural
• Artisanal/curated
• Local
• Friendly
• Efficient
• Innovative
• Healthy
• Green
• Economically viable

I could go on… but the common thread here is that all of this can be achieved by focusing on building a strong city core. My friend Oryst Sawchuk agrees, as do 34 leading architects (not to mention the students at Laurentian Architecture and the consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers). By focusing on downtown and not building outward, we solve for almost all of these. By creating a place that is more walkable, you design for a healthier environment (which makes happier people!) allowing for more face-to-face interactions (stronger sense of community), and more money being spent in our small businesses and not the big box stores, building a stronger local economy.

Cities that design for beauty succeed

Bruce Mau (one of our own) says that as a city, we’re competing with beauty. We have an opportunity to design a beautiful city and contribute to culture and wealth in our downtown. This same opportunity does not exist on the Kingsway.

Even though I appreciate that some longtime Sudburians think we should design around what taxpayers want, we need to design a city around our youth first, then sort out how we’ll better serve our aging population. Otherwise we’ll end up like Elliot Lake and cater to retirees and seniors. That’s not growth—that’s called fading away, and we’ll get swallowed whole by Southern cities like Barrie or Newmarket. The young people of Sudbury feel disenfranchised, and most I speak to are planning their exit strategy. We have a golden opportunity to do something about it now. Growth is the only way forward.

Beware of those who claim to have all the answers

If there’s something I’ve learned during my time in the U.S., it’s that you should be very skeptical of people in power who claim to have all the answers. I’ve met Dario Zulich on a few occasions, and I believe that he has good intentions. However, I do worry that he’s found an opportunity to build a monopoly and capitalize on a city that is both confused and in flux. Buying the Wolves, a basketball team, the water tower, should’ve been a warning sign. From an entrepreneurial standpoint, it’s fantastic for him and his businesses (both real estate and industrial)—but not so much for us. Although I admire Zulich for having a vision, I don’t think it’s the best move for Sudbury long-term.

While Zulich’s people have released a PR campaign, the community has spoken and come together on their own dime to push for a downtown arena and events centre. That says a lot.

But what about parking?

Parking is easy. It can be solved with parking structures above and below ground if the need is truly there. When there’s money to be made, the market will sort it out. Plus, I don’t think we should be placing such big bets on vehicles in the future. Uber is looking to move into town soon and other small cities are taking the lead by partnering with Uber as an add-on to public transit, we may not be driving around as much in the near future as ride-sharing becomes more prominent. It’s happened already all over the world, and it will happen in the North.

Look to the rust belt and you’ll see that retail has been contracting for years. Malls and shopping centers have been left abandoned due to the rise in online shopping across North America. Sears has filed for creditor protection (and they’ll be closing the New Sudbury Sears Home store). Earlier this year, Warren Buffett confirmed the death of retail as we know it. Amazon just purchased Whole Foods and has mastered same-day or next-day delivery. The world is always changing and this is the future we’re all going to be living very soon whether we like it or not. Designing around big box stores and parking convenience is the wrong approach.

Not to mention—centralizing things incentivizes transit and healthier options like cycling or walking. The recent trend of many young people snatching up homes in the Donovan or West End is obvious (they’re the only homes we can afford), and both of these neighbourhoods are walking distance from downtown and would benefit them greatly. Thanks to some local businesses, those corners of the city are thriving. Kathleen St. was called the hippest corner in the city just last week. Let’s use that momentum and keep the ball rolling.

Say NO to urban sprawl

Sudbury has been blessed with a massive land area, but that doesn’t mean we should continue building outward. Hundreds of amazing cities around the world deal with small square footage and have been highly successful. You don’t need to look far to see examples of this: Montréal and New York City (specifically Manhattan) are on islands, and San Francisco is on a peninsula. All three are densely populated economic and cultural powerhouses. Cities expand and retract. In fact, most of Europe’s cities are shrinking.

We have no immediate plans to grow our population (the data shows it is and will continue to shrink), so designing for this type of growth is not a great idea at the moment.

Our next move will put us on the map (or not)

It may be difficult to see from within, but as an outsider I can tell that Sudbury is at the cusp of something big. There’s immense potential to redefine and truly become the City of Greater Sudbury, and I hope that the city and council make the best decision for the city’s future. Let’s stick to a vision we can all get behind, not just Zulich and his business partners’.

Please, Mayor Bigger, City Councillors: As members of the community, we entrust you with making these big decisions. That’s why we voted for you in the first place. Don’t let us down.

A strong downtown, arena and event centre in the city core is the best choice for 2017 and beyond. We need to build a city worth sticking around for — not for corporate interests or parking space. A downtown arena means we all win.

—
Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace. He was previously at Edenspiekermann and co-founded Bureau.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

We all have a process we follow to get us from concept to execution. Sometimes we’ll have access to a great brief, data, insights, and an inspirational mood board but still, we get stuck: we procrastinate, get hung up, or struggle with artist’s block. Sound familiar? Read on…

I’ve outlined some easy-to-implement mindfulness techniques that you can start building into your process today. It’s about creating your best work in a meaningful and intentional way, and having fun while you’re at it.

“Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.”

— Jon Kabat-Zinn

Before you begin

Just listen
This one is so easy: just listen and pay attention. Put your phone away, close your laptop, and open your ears.

Whether you’re meeting with clients, stakeholders, or having a 1-on-1 with a colleague, practice the art of listening. Ask more questions. Talk it through. Projects get much more interesting when you feel like you have skin in the game and actually care about the outcome. Here’s a short TED Talk by Julian Treasure on "5 ways to listen better.”

Pro tip: Using simple body language techniques can be an invaluable tool in your life and career. I know it sounds lame, but it actually works—and others will feel more comfortable around you. Mitch Joel discusses some winning body language tips on his podcast—check it out.

Set realistic timelines and expectations
Ensure you have enough time to get the task completed.

Rushing the process leads to uninspired work, so make sure you ask for enough time (or budget) to be successful. Even if you can’t get it, it’s always worth asking for what you truly believe the project requires.

Many designers accept deadlines without asking why and burn out. You’ll leave a more positive impression on your peers when you set expectations early.

Design with intent
Is there something about this project that excites you? Is this your specialization, or are you up for a new challenge?

Try asking yourself, is this a step in the right direction to improve my design skills? Will this help with my ideal career path? Your career is the sum of all of your work, and knowing you’re growing in the right direction can be motivating.

Do your research

Get context and re-frame the project
Before you start, do some research. Without context, you won’t be able to do your best work. Even seemingly boring projects can be exciting if you re-frame them. Check out what the best-in-class are doing—there’s a lot you can learn from their successes and slip-ups.

Paul Woods wrote a great article on turning an uninspiring brief into an awesome portfolio piece that may be helpful for you.

Time spent researching is never time wasted. Research will help guide you toward the next step of the process with some key insights. Plus, with solid research, it’s easier to sell your ideas internally or to clients.

Visualize with a mood board
Use InVision Boards or Pinterest and share early on with your team. Mood boards can act as visualizations of the success you want the project to achieve. They can also help align others on the project and help, or serve as a reflection when your creative juices are running low.

Get the tools for the task
Look into what tools and licenses you’ll need and set yourself up with the proper stack of tools and software.

• Stickies/markers
• Whiteboard
• Paper (flows, wireframes)
• Sketch (app/web design)
• Zeplin (spec’ing)
• InVision (lofi prototyping)
• Framer (hifi prototyping)
• Skitch (QA annotation)

Set yourself up for success

The biggest hurdle in any creative process is beginning. If you’re having trouble getting started, sit quietly and take few deep breaths. If that isn’t helping, go for a walk, stretch, meditate, make yourself coffee, put on an album you enjoy—whatever you need to clear your mind.

“Begin anywhere.”

— John Cage

Check your posture
I’m no scientist, but I know that posture makes a big difference in my focus and concentration. Settle in, feel the weight of your body and ensure you’re comfortable, not slouching. Standing desks are also a great option that allow you to stretch your legs and feel weight on your toes, giving you extra mobility.

Keep your focus
Try Focus (app) to block websites you find yourself visiting often—or fully disconnect from WiFi. Set your phone on Airplane mode and put it in another room.

Stop multitasking
Successful people know that being fully present and committed to one task is indispensable.

Unlocking creativity

Sketch. Iterate. Simplify.
Great designers know that your best ideas are often your last. When sketching, try not to dwell on a concept or idea for too long. Sketch out the idea or allow the thought to float away. Consider different scenarios in which people might observe this design in, whether on a mobile phone or piece of branding. Embrace and consider each thought or sensation without judging it as good or bad. Ideas will come in abundance… If your mind wanders elsewhere, notice where it has gone and gently redirect it to the present.

Reduce, simplify, observe, and you’ll eventually get to an iteration you can move forward with confidently.

Want more? Try some breathing exercises…

If you’re looking for more of a creative boost, you might want to consider the breathing exercises found in Mazdaznan Health & Breath Culture, a book exploring the relationship between Mazdaznan, Johannes Itten and the Vorkurs (Preliminary or Foundation Course) at the Bauhaus.

Remember that design is for people
No matter what, design is for an end-user or consumer and we should do our best to understand their needs and desires—whether that’s a subscriber, a client, or a client’s client. Be respectful and considerate of everything they’re going through when engaging with your design.

Communication matters

Share often and communicate clearly
Keep your team in the loop often and set expectations early. Meet your deadlines, and if you’re about to miss a deadline, give your manager or client a heads up and let them know how you’ll avoid this in the future.

Communicating with your team
When it comes to communicating with your team, be aware of communication styles. Some people appreciate a note on Slack before you swing by their desk. Others prefer to meet in private. Everyone’s different and increasing your self-awareness will improve the way others react to your feedback.

Take notes

You can never take too many notes
It’s better to take too many notes than not enough. If it helps, you can even record meetings on your phone to listen to later when you’re working on the project. This way you can be totally sure you’re checking all the boxes your manager or client shared. Helen Tran of Shopify wrote about her bullet-journal system and how a system like this is a habit that changed her career.

Before completing a project, take time to jot down what went well and what didn’t so you can learn from any successes or shortcomings and be better prepared in the future. If you’re not being mindful of the process and how you felt under certain pressures, you’re bound to keep repeating the same mistakes. Journaling is handy as a general life practice and helps you track the progress you’re making in your life.

Don’t take revisions or feedback personally
Even if you think you’ve found the best solution it’s not a solution if it doesn’t work for your user or clients. Reach a good balance between your knowledge, expertise, and your client’s.

While criticism isn’t personal, you should always stand up for your decisions if you think it’ll help the end-user. You should be proud of your work, but design is, in the end, for users and customers. Sometimes people give ego-driven feedback because they feel like they have to prove their own worth (even you!), and being aware of this is helpful. Practicing deep breathing or a short meditation before meetings can help keep the ego in check.

Julie Zhuo wrote a post on taking feedback impersonally that I highly recommend.

Pro tip: People fear feedback because it’s usually negative. If you’re able to, try and mix it up and give more positive feedback too.

Other thoughts

Remember why you design
Are you designing to build up your portfolio? To empower users? To put a roof over your head? Try keeping a memento around that reminds you why you’re doing this—whether that’s a photo on your desk or a note in your wallet. Something small that will motivate you when you’re losing steam.

Get some rest
Don’t forget to take a break once in a while. We often celebrate the tireless designers who hustle 24/7, and I’m not saying you shouldn’t — that’s up to you — but if you’re burning the midnight oil often, you might consider using apps like f.lux to help with your sleep. (makes your computer screen look like the room you’re in based on time of day).

Be humble. Give credit where it’s due.
It takes teamwork to make the dream work. Give credit to your teammates and share that big launch or award with others—even Buzz Aldrin had hundreds of people behind him when he first stepped onto the surface of the moon.

Keep your desk clean
NASA astronauts clean up their stations after every use; more designers should do this, especially when it comes to meeting rooms and communal spaces. Keep your desk clean, keep your mind clean (and ready for those bursts of creativity).

Be thankful
We’re lucky to do what we do for a living. Design is still in its infancy, and there’s so much exciting work to do. Happy designing! 🌞

Thanks to Alex Pompliano for editing. 🙏

—
Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

A Mindful Design Process was originally published in Headspace Design on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A couple days ago, I stumbled on this article about up-and-coming band Casper Skulls. I was pretty stoked since I’ve known a couple of them for years, watching them grow into the musicians they are today. I was disappointed to see that the writer chose to paint a negative picture of Sudbury, one that his former roommate planted into his mind about Sudbury being the armpit of Ontario.

I don’t mean for this to be a tear-down of the article or an attack on the writer. That’s not my style. My intention is to show off the beautiful city I grew up in to the rest of the world—the wonderful people who live there, our multi-faceted arts community, and our musical roots hidden beneath the lunar soil.

More than Stompin’ Tom

At its core, Sudbury is a mining town. It’s small, far from major cities, and has no shortage of tailgate parties. Lots of hunting, fishing, and good old outdoor fun. It’s also worked hard to evolve beyond that identity.

When you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that Sudbury is also an artistic community, and that it’s well-positioned for creating music: beautiful nature, long winters, and a little boredom. The frustration of being in a remote community shapes you. Thanks to Sudbury, myself and many others have harnessed this and used it to create culture within and outside of the city.

Sudbury’s contributed to the Canadian musical landscape with hardcore/punk bands like Strange Attractor, Mick Futures, Statues, Vicious Cycle, Ultra Violence Ray; indie and folk acts like Lightmares, Meadowlark Five, Pistol George Warren, Ox, and many more. There’s also noise rockers Varge! and black metal act Wolven Ancestry who both left their marks in their own respective genres.

There’s even a book called Songs from Nowhere that focuses on the all-ages punk scene in Sudbury between the years of 2003–2010 written by my friend Nico Taus.

Although the all ages music scene isn’t as active as it used to be, many of us spent our formative years in venues like The Jubilee Centre and Millard’s Garage. How sweet is it that you can see bands like Fucked Up, La Dispute, and Sharks in a tiny 40-capacity garage?

Sudbury is home to one of Canada’s staple live music venues—The Townehouse Tavern. It’s there that I was first exposed to bands like The Unicorns, the Constantines, and Julie Doiron. Legend has it that Nickelback signed their first big deal at the bar, but we aren’t usually trying to draw attention to that…

There’s also an independent record shop, Cosmic Dave’s that stocks all the best records, old and new, and once in a while opens its doors to host a show in their basement.

And there’s more… tourism, education, dining, etc.

We’re just a short drive from Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world. If you’re ever driving through, you should definitely check out our side of Lake Huron and some of the awesome trails out there.

Sudbury’s also home to Canada’s newest School of Architecture, and many other post-secondary institutions. Not to mention many art galleries, restaurants, cafés, theatre, symphonies, and great tourist attractions—far from the desolate and desperate city described in the Noisey article.

Sure, we’ve produced a lot of hockey players and even more nickel, and yes, we do have a Stompin’ Tom statue. But there’s a lot more to Sudbury once you explore and get to know the community.

Let’s go back to Sudbury’s roots…

Back in the 70s, prog rock band CANO were formed in Sudbury. They were the most popular and internationally successful musical group in Franco-Ontarian history.

CANO also had a National Film Board documentary created about them. They were involved in the creation of two music festivals in Sudbury, the Northern Lights Festival Boréal (longest running outdoor fest in Canada) and La Nuit sur l’étang. Both festivals continue to operate today and are have been very successful, and have inspired other celebrations of art and music.

The New Festivals

In recent years, festivals like River and Sky and Up Here have cropped up and begun a new arts movement in the city. These festivals have hosted acts like Tanya Tagaq, A Tribe Called Red, Black Mountain, Holy Fuck, and many more thanks to countless people who put their sweat and tears into building the arts community (in both official languages!).

Thousands of people turn up for these celebrations of art, music, and culture. Maybe that momentum is why international cultural organization Musagetes chose Sudbury as one of a handful of cities to explore back in 2011.

To see Sudbury embrace its history and culture, and come together as one in recent years is a special thing to experience, and you should definitely witness it yourself.

So please, dear Noisey writer, I recommend you come visit in the summertime. The community would love to show you around our little armpit. #weliveuphere 💪

This is by no means a comprehensive list, just my experience of the city when I lived there.

—
Frank is a former Sudburian now living in LA. His old band broke up and now they’re all graphic designers.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Recently, I joined the team at Headspace in Santa Monica 😎️. Some of my design and engineering friends have asked me what a typical day at our office is like, so I put this together.

Good morning!

Most people arrive between 9 and 10 and hang around the kitchen making coffee, eating breakfast and catching up. Some get straight to work, checking email and to-dos. Product (my team) and Engineering have a stand-up once everyone’s arrived, talking through yesterday’s work and what we plan to achieve today. Pretty standard stuff when you’re building apps.

After this, it’s back to work. The office has an air about it unlike any other office I’ve been in — it’s open, quiet, and comfortable. You won’t hear people having loud sales calls (we have phone booths for that) so it’s easy to get into an undistracted work rhythm. This is when my day begins—cranking away at tasks, listening to music or catching up on podcasts. As a UX Designer, I’m generally thinking through an aspect of the app experience, designing new features, or testing prototypes.

Some people work at their desks, some sit in the café tables in The Lookout. There are a few options from public to more private spaces for you to work from. There are no rules around where and how you work — as long as you get your stuff done, you’re free to work in whatever way you’re most comfortable and productive in.

We’re split into cross-functional teams. Product Designers work with Illustrators, Engineers work with UX Designers, Copy Writers with Product Managers, etc.

We try to solve problems together and not work in silos. We’re all driven to build the best product possible, regardless of roles or titles. People are friendly and transparent, and I truthfully enjoy working with everybody I’ve met so far.

What’s for lunch?

At around noon, people head out for lunch or order food in. Eating at your desk is discouraged, but of course it happens from time to time. Some eat at local spots like Bondi, Mrs Winstons, or the food trucks nearby. There are some office bikes you can take out which are great for when you want to get to a lunch spot that’s further than walking distance. There’s also some nice parks you can picnic at or stretch your legs.

We’re lucky to have catered lunches every day. Food here is veg/vegan-friendly so there are options for everyone. As a startup in the tech space, it’s pretty standard to have perks like these, but I remind myself often that we’re fortunate to have them.

In the afternoon

Throughout the day, I’m in control of my process and environment. We work in an agile/scrum way, but it’s not super strict. People are typically working on 1 or 2 projects at any given time, which gives you the ability to stay focused and not be overwhelmed.

When it comes to meetings, things are quite laid back. We don’t have any stuffy board rooms and generally keep things casual.

I’m big on working without distractions. If I’m working on a specific task, I’m able to be heads down and focus.

We rely on people to be self-motivated and driven, meaning your manager won’t check in on you every day to see where you’re at. They will however expect that you keep them in the loop with what you’re working on. We have weekly reviews and retrospects which keeps everybody accountable. It’s a nice feeling to have independence, and be trusted that I’ll get my work done. Of course, if you need help with something or are feeling overwhelmed it’s not hard to find someone to help you out.

Meditating on the job

The classic question… yes, some of us do meditate at work. We have two 10 minute meditations daily (optional). The first at 10AM and the second at 3PM. Tom, our Culture Manager, does a great job reminding us to take a moment for ourselves throughout the day. Aside from the people, this is my favorite aspect of working here.

If group meditation isn’t for you, or if you’d prefer a moment alone, you can always take 10 in one of our pods, or recharge in our Silent Room (no technology, no talking). There’s also a Parents Room which is private and secure. More on the office here (GQ) and here (FastCo).

What kind of people work at Headspace?

Another question we get asked a lot is, “is everyone all zenned out? do you work with a bunch of hippies?” Though we do work in health and happiness, everyone is encouraged to be themselves. We have all types of culture stuff in the office from book clubs, movie nights, to pick-up basketball. Toward the end of the day, some grab a beer from the fridge, others reach for a kombucha tea.

Whether you’re vegan or carnivore, hip hop or metalhead, athlete or academic, all that matters here is that you’re self-aware, thoughtful, and kind. We truly value diversity in the workplace and try to keep a well-balanced team to gather diverse opinions. Folks at Headspace come from all walks of life.

Something I value is how accessible our Co-Founders are, in and out of the office. We have regular all-hands where the leadership team walks everyone through where we’re at and where we’re headed, and many opportunities to talk with Andy, our resident meditation guru about our personal practice and any questions we might have about mindfulness.

All in a day’s work

People usually leave between 5-6pm. The office is locked during evenings and weekends. Seriously. You can’t get in. 🔒

The team values work/life balance—it’s what keeps us refreshed and able to continue delivering on our mission tomorrow. Working crazy hours won’t get you a pat on the back here. Working smart and efficiently will lead to you being a happier, more balanced, and positive person.

That’s it! Some people commute, some people ride their bikes. Most days I drive home smiling, feeling satisfied. By the time Monday rolls around, I’m excited to get back to the office, which is something I’ve never felt before. It’s nice to be a part of something so impactful and meaningful.

If a job at Headspace sounds like something you might enjoy, we’re always hiring. You can find our job postings here. Feel free to reach out on Twitter as well to say hello! 😁

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Frank is a Product Designer at Headspace. He was previously at Edenspiekermann and co-founded Bureau.

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You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

A day in the life at Headspace was originally published in Headspace Design on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.