S2E3 - Elijah Woolery, Explained

In this episode, Jeff and Mike interview Elijah Woolery, Senior Director of Design Education at InVision. InVision is “the online whiteboard and productivity platform powering the future of work.” We talk about Eli’s work on the Design Better Podcast, his mission to elevate design, and how you should always Assume Good Intent.


[1:30] We discuss what led to Eli’s post-college adventures as a scientific research diver in Bermuda and surveying everything from corals to fish.
[5:00] Iterating designs quickly in the machine shop and knowing what you’re strengths are.
[8:00] We talk about Eli’s work as a lecturer at Stanford teaching 216B and 216C (Product Design) and the transition from focusing on hardware to software. (it’s still eating the world…)
[10:30] The beauty of being fresh out college & designing with optimism. We hear about some of the recent projects from his class, like Tangible. https://www.tangible.team/ based on the idea of how can we connect people over distance?
[12:30] Sequel - https://www.trysequel.com; started by two female athletes that realized there was a need for more protective and more absorbent tampon for athletes.
[13:00] Some key design principles that everyone should know are summarized in a book that Eli wrote: https://www.designbetter.co/design-thinking. Some other key traits include curiosity, writing, and empathy.
[18:00] What InVision is, Eli’s journey and work at InVision to elevate design. We also hear about the last 5 to 6 years of screen design tools and how this shaped out.
[23:00] How it’s more and more important for design-adjacent roles (i.e. Product Managers) to understand and be exposed to Design.
[27:00] Eli’s work on The Design Better Podcast https://www.designbetter.co/podcast
[33:00] We discuss the fallout from recent tech layoffs and how we need to make sure we continue to be empathetic and kind to our coworkers.
[37:00] Rapid Fire Questions: Worst Product (Dog barking!) Best Product (Leica Camera!). Eli’s Billboard: Assume Good Intent.
[39:00] You can check out the Design Better podcast at design better dot co and find Eli on social media: @ewoolery