Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Peter Merholz. We talked about the state of the design nation, the burst bubble of the Cambrian explosion of design from the last 10-15 years, product, business and the issue of mediocrity.
Peter has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organisations.
He was a co-founder of Adaptive Path, acquired by Capital One in 2014 and he co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams. He co-hosts the Finding Our Way podcast exploring design leadership along with another Adaptive Path co-founder, Jesse James Garrett.
He also coined the word “blog.”
Show Links
Peter
Peter’s website: petermerholz.com
Org Design for Design Orgs: petermerholz.com/writing/#orgdesign
Finding Our Way podcast: https://findingourway.design/
Peter on Mastodon: https://sfba.social/@peterme
Peter on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/petermerholz
Andy
Website: polaine.com
Newsletter: pln.me/nws
Podcast: pln.me/p10
Courses: courses.polaine.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine
Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine
YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaine
Power of Ten is a show about design operating at all levels of zoom, from thoughtful detail to changes in organisation, society and the world, hosted by design leadership coach, Andy Polaine.
My guest in this episode is Peter Merholz. We talked about the state of the design nation, the burst bubble of the Cambrian explosion of design from the last 10-15 years, product, business and the issue of mediocrity.
Peter has worked at the intersection of design, technology, and humans for over 25 years. Currently, he’s an independent consultant focused on improving the effectiveness of design organisations.
He was a co-founder of Adaptive Path, acquired by Capital One in 2014 and he co-wrote Org Design for Design Orgs, still the premier book on building in-house design teams. He co-hosts the Finding Our Way podcast exploring design leadership along with another Adaptive Path co-founder, Jesse James Garrett.
He also coined the word “blog.”
Show Links
Peter
Peter’s website: petermerholz.com
Org Design for Design Orgs: petermerholz.com/writing/#orgdesign
Finding Our Way podcast: https://findingourway.design/
Peter on Mastodon: https://sfba.social/@peterme
Peter on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/petermerholz
Andy
Website: polaine.com
Newsletter: pln.me/nws
Podcast: pln.me/p10
Courses: courses.polaine.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/apolaine
Mastodon: https://pkm.social/@apolaine
YouTube: youtube.com/@apolaine
