When we talk about products, we’re really talking about people—their needs, their habits, and the experiences that become part of their everyday lives. In this SoDA Series LIVE session with Adobe, Luke Des Cotes, CEO of Metalab, will unpack what it takes to build digital products that not only work—but resonate. From shaping intuitive interfaces for category-defining brands to helping startups find product–market fit through design, Luke will share lessons from nearly two decades of building products that billions of people use every day.

Speeaker BIO

Luke Des Cotes is the CEO of Metalab. Since 2006, Metalab has helped some of the world’s coolest companies build products and services that are attractive, thoughtful, and enjoyable to use. To name a few: Slack, Coinbase, TED, Apple, Disney, and Google.

LINKS

Luke Des Cotes LinkedIN

METLAB WEBSITE

Slack Project - https://archive.metalab.com/projects/slack

"Referenced making the grid to break the grid" https://medium.com/subform/are-grid-systems-still-relevant-in-digital-407beb4128c1

"Referenced this code assist tool" https://www.anthropic.com/

Karin Fyhrie

HOST

Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
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Edited with Adobe Audition and Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

When thinking about your own brand, or when you are at the beginning of a journey with a client, you must first understand what the definition of "brand" actually is. In our next SoDA Series LIVE session with Adobe, our special guest, Liz Stone, Co-Founder of OK Cool, will be discussing the many facets of brands and why being persuasive, patient, and having perseverance is critical to success. Among other relevant topics, we'll also cover important factors to consider when building and navigating client relationships and how brands should seize the opportunity to humanize their messaging to fit within the lives of their audience.

Speaker BIO

Liz Stone is the Co-Founder & CEO of OK COOL, strategic and creative partners to the world’s leading brands. Headquartered in London, New York, Melbourne and Toronto.

LINKS

Liz Stone LinkedIN

Co-founder, Jolyon Varley, also mentioned in the session: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolyonvarley/

OK COOL - Website

OK COOL Trend Report

The article mentioned in interview - https://www.vogue.com/article/gen-z-broke-the-marketing-funnel

HOST

Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
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Edited with Adobe Audition and Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

The power of telling a meaningful story that resonates with the user is what keeps Olga Uzhykova excited and engaged with the work she does at her digital agency, Noomo. As the Co-Founder and Design Director, she understands the importance of having a well-defined company purpose, the value in aligning a brand's story with their marketing efforts, and how to navigate the challenges that can erupt along your agency's journey. In our next SoDA Series Live session with Adobe, Olga will dive deep into these areas and will also discuss how craft and unique design solutions are becoming even more essential as AI continues to grow and influence the creative process.

Speaker BIO

Olga Uzhykova is an Award-winning Design Director and UI/UX design expert with 10 years of experience in design and management which enables her to put a strong business and management background to use while designing products, consulting clients, and managing design teams. Her passion is about helping her clients ranging from successful startups to well-known businesses as the Space Needle from Seattle develop and grow their businesses by creating and implementing professional design solutions. Her works are consistently featured by the best international and national design awards like Webby, Reddot, San Francisco Design Week, Awwwards, ADCE, CSS Design Award, ADCUA, Ukrainian Design the very best of.

LINKS

Olga Uzhykova LinkedIN

Noomo Agency

Article on Digital Storytelling - https://noomoagency.com/insights/the-power-of-digital-storytelling

HOST

Talin Wadsworth - LinkedIN

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
__
Edited with Adobe Audition and Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

Designing for physical spaces and human interaction is at the forefront of the work Brett Bagenstose and his team at NeoPangea do on a daily basis. A large focus of the museum installations they produce centers around creating immersive experiences that are not only educational but also engage our senses, so the encounter is memorable. In this next installment of SoDA Series Live with Adobe, Brett will discuss his journey in storytelling using physical spaces but will also explore the ethical considerations he faces with regard to AI utilization. He will also weigh in on how young designers should embrace AI to enhance their talents, not shy away from it.

SPEAKER BIO

Brett is the Founder of NeoPangea and loves to create story-driven immersive & interactive experiences for real spaces & digital worlds. As a leader of a talented group of creative eclectics and technologists, he is driven to develop great leaders, push his team to conceive the inconceivable, and yes, give them a hug or a high five when they need it. NeoPangea’s clients include Disney, National Geographic, Paramount, MCAAD, McCormick & Company, NBCU, Smithsonian, Hershey’s, Unique Snacks, Imagine Exhibitions, Ally Bank, and many more fine folks. Their work has been a finalist for four Emmys and we’ve bagged gongs from the American Alliance of Museums, SXSW, Themed Entertainment Association, Communication Arts, CableFax, HOW, Ad Age, Promax, and The Webby Awards.

LINKS

Brett Bagenstose - LINKED INNeoPangea

Podcast Mention:

Nefrina Living Hologram

Full Recording on Linked In

HOST -

Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
__
Edited with Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information, please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

John Roescher, Founder and CEO of Raw Materials, joins Adobe for a lively conversation on why design needs a reset: one that’s rooted in creativity, not just process. Drawing on his journey from building an award-winning design agency, Handsome, to evolving it into Raw Materials, John shares why the shift wasn’t just a rebrand, but a reinvention of what a design company can be. We’ll also explore the power design can have in driving innovation in high-impact industries and why aligning with the right partners and challenges is essential.

LINKS

John Roescher - LINKED IN

Raw Materials Company Site

HOST

Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
__
Edited with Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

PJ Pereira, Creative Chairman & Co-Founder at Pereira O’Dell, joins Adobe for a lively discussion on AI’s impact on the creative community, the risks of homogenization in design, and the importance of preserving authenticity and imagination in a rapidly changing technological landscape. We’ll explore the balance between human originality and machine-generated content, and share strategies for staying ahead by recognizing patterns, embracing research, and keeping a unique voice.

SPEAKER BIO

PJ Pereira is an industry veteran of over 20 years, known for co-founding independent award-winning creative agency, Pereira O’Dell. In 2023, PJ was also named Chief Creative Officer of independent agency network Serviceplan Americas. He’s been named to Adweek's Creative 100, Ad Age's Creativity 50, 4A's 100 People Who Make Advertising Great, and most recently Adweek’s AI Champion of the Year in 2023. His interest in AI led him to co-found AI incubation and innovation lab, Silverside AI, as a company within Pereira O’Dell.

In 2023, PJ released a novel called The Girl From Wudang, a novel about artificial intelligence, martial arts, and immortality. Pereira is a pioneer in the marketing world, sitting at the intersection of tech, entertainment and advertising. His credentials have made him one of the industry's most influential and respected creatives. As a board member for the Ad Council, PJ has led award-winning initiatives including the “It’s Up To You” Vaccination campaign. Outside of his work in advertising, PJ is a novelist of 12 years, and a martial artist with multiple black belts.

LINKS

PJ Pereira LINKEDIN

Pereira Website

Mentions:Three Body Problem, part of a trilogy of books and a show on NetflixGirl from Wudang, PJ's bookThe Beauty Inside campaign

HOST

Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
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Edited with Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠

Mirek Nisenbaum, Partner & Digital Director at Base Design, joins Adobe for a lively discussion exploring the concept of Digital Magnetism—how beauty, authenticity, and energy can transform a website from functional to truly captivating. Beyond aesthetics, we’ll explore how branding creates depth and meaning, keeping users engaged in an era of fleeting attention. We’ll also discuss the challenges of maintaining authenticity in design, keeping creative teams inspired, and navigating how AI is reshaping the creative process—and what it means for the future of originality.

Base Design is an international network of creative studios located in Brussels, New York, Geneva, and Melbourne. From strategy to execution, we design brands that are memorable—and crafted for good business. Base Group is B Corp certified.

Speaker BIO

As a partner at Base Mirek is working as an overall lead for strategy and experience design on digital engagements as well as building the best-in-class team for brand communications of the future.

He has a BA in Fine Arts and more than 20 years of experience working in various digital media. Together with his partners and super talented team, they take projects from discovery and concepting, to UX ideation, to design and production, with special attention to strategy and wholistic digital ecosystem driven approach, constantly striving for perfection in every project, for every client.

Our main challenge in every engagement is finding a flexible balance of the form and function. We are constantly looking for ways to express brands online, to create comprehensive brand experiences and interactions at every touchpoint through the digital ecosystem - web, mobile, social, content and search.

LINKS

Mirek Nisenbaum - LinkedIn

Base Design Website

Host - Talin Wadsworth

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About Adobe: Adobe offers groundbreaking technology that empowers everyone, everywhere to imagine, create, and bring any digital experience to life. ⁠www.adobe.com⁠
About SoDA: SoDA is a global network of innovative digital agencies. ⁠www.sodaspeaks.com⁠
__
Edited with Adobe Audition and Adobe Podcast: ⁠podcast.adobe.com⁠.

For more information please contact ⁠sodaserieslive@adobe.com⁠