Tobias van Schneider
German Designer & Maker. Former Design Lead at Spotify
Discussion
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
Hi, I'm Tobias van Schneider, Designer & Maker from New York City. I'm a maker of many things and love building new products. I'm also the Co-Founder of the portfolio platform Semplice, previously Design Lead & Art Director at Spotify as well as creator of the NTMY show, writer of many things, photographer of some sorts. Looking forward to talk to you!
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Marc
@marceglon · Hackerpreneur Mag & Letterlist.com
Hey Tobias. Thanks for dropping by and sharing your wisdom.
Q: Imagine you wake up tomorrow and this has all been a dream.
You have zero reputation, no work history, no contacts, no audience.
But you DO have $1000 and everything you know.
What do you do tomorrow?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@marceglon Hey Marc!
Haha, I like your questions. I'd probably play a round of Counterstrike and World of Warcraft first.
Then, I would probably do exactly the same thing as I did many years ago, with no money, no contacts
and certainly no money.
I would work hard, and work A LOT for free. (which I did, A LOT!)
I would take on shitty jobs I hate, but do them anyways.
This is a pretty good question Marc, I will think about this a little more.
Noah Buscher
@nhbschr · I take pictures.
@marceglon One of the best PH Live q's I've seen. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Max Mathys
@pakkojuoda
@vanschneider @marceglon Make an article about it in the next Desk email!
Marc
@marceglon · Hackerpreneur Mag & Letterlist.com
@pakkojuoda @vanschneider There you go - next week's newsletter sorted for you ;)
Aishwarya Naik
@aishwarya_naik · Student
What is the one thing that you do when you don't seem to find the inspiration to do awesome work?
PS: I have come across you in a difficult time. And you haven't stopped inspiring me since! Thank you:)
Aditya Shirole
@aditya_shirole · Student
@aishwarya_naik +1 Tobias is one source of inspiration :-P
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@aishwarya_naik Hey! You're the nicest (: Honestly, not being inspired or motivated happens pretty often to me personally. I usually recommend to do the so called artist date, which is a date with yourself to push you out of your comfort zone.
Essentially you just do something that you are uncomfortable with, that could be running through the park naked, or simply just booking a trip by yourself and going somewhere alone. The thing is, something will eventually happen and you will get inspired. It might sound a little stupid, but thats really how it works.
Also, little trick: I work on 10 projects at the same time. When I'm not inspired on one, I'm certainly inspired on the other. I can just jump, and procrastinate by working on one of the other projects (:
Aishwarya Naik
@aishwarya_naik · Student
@vanschneider hahaha that is awesome! Thank you :)
vitormoreira
@vitormoreira
@vanschneider @aishwarya_naik
hello tobias, do you think this is the best time to be live, or do you think 100 years from now will be better ?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@vitormoreira @aishwarya_naik The best time is always now! ALWAYS!
Sokratus
@sokratus · Product Designer @Viu.com
Huge fan of your work and beard! I just wanted to ask since you are travelling through multiple continents, do you think that cultures have a huge impact on the way you solve your design problems and your success as a designer?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@sokratus Hey Hey! <3 Oh your question is a really good one!
And yes ABSOLUTELY! Everything I go to Asia for example I learn so much more than I could ever teach there. Even though I go there maybe to mentor or help other designers, I mostly learn more than I teach. Traveling to different countries has a huge impact not only on my inspiration but also on how I work and think as a designer.
As a designer, your experiences mean a lot to how you work. Your personality, your character and your sensibilities are crafted through your experiences and the people you surround yourself with. Which means, traveling and seeing different cultures will make you think differently.
For example: When I first went to South Korea and showed people the old Spotify interface (which was completely messy and crowded) they told me that they don't like it because it's too minimalistic and too simple, it needs more features.
Learning WHY they think it needs more features rather than the other way around (like I thought) was amazing to me.
So absolutely, you have to travel as a designer, or at least, I think it will make you a better designer, simply because it will make you a better person I believe. You've seen more, you're more sensible and open to a world that you don't know.
Lachlan Campbell
@lachlanjc · Code, apps, design, high school.
Hey Tobias, I love your work! What do you wish you had done as a teenager/what advice would you give? (I'm 14)
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@proki_x @lachlanjc Hey Lachlan and Elad! Nice to see you in here. I honestly wish I would have done everything the way I did, because I think everything turned out fine.
I dropped out of high school with 15 which I thought was a big mistake, because everyone told this to me.
Then, I got turned down by dozen of companies as I was trying to find a regular job. When I found one, I didn't stay long in it and quit it again. Which was another stupid thing to do, and everyone told me I need to stay in this job or otherwise I won't find anything else.
Essentially what I'm trying to say is that I always thought I'm doing everything wrong in my teenage years. (in your age I was playing a lot of computer games for example)
But the fact that it all turned out okay just means that I did do something right. My advise to my younger self would be to trust myself, keep going and keep doing what I thought was right.
When I was 14 I always thought everything I'm doing is wrong and stupid (which maybe was true in some cases) - But I wish someone would have told me that I should just keep working towards what I'm passionate about. When I was 14, it was certainly web design that I was mostly passionate about, even though everyone told me I can't be a designer because I can't even draw. (which is true until today)
So keep doing what you do Lachlan & Elad, because it seems like you are doing pretty well. I mean, a recipes app with with 14? You are crazy! When I was 14 the best I designed was an app you could use to download Torrent files on Windows :D
Justin Kwong
@justinckwong · Increase Engagement Time = wiya.io
Which artists and/or designers have you been most inspired by during your career?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@justinckwong Hey Justin! Honestly, I've never been inspired by a particular artist or designer, but always more makers and doers.
But if I need to list some names then its definitely:
Stefan Sagmeister for the way he runs his studio and the way he takes on work. He is one of the rare designers who tackles bigger questions and does not take himself too seriously.
Also, I'm a big fan of Bill Cunningham the street style photographer. I love his relation ship with his work and especially his work ethics. He is a huge inspiration for me because he has been doing his thing for many years.
I'd say my role models or mentors are mostly coming from other industries. Arnold Schwarzenegger is definitely also one of my mentors in that regard, his work ethics and how disciplined he works is just fascinating to me. He's been at the top of three different industries in his life time so far, all because he does not like to settle.
I know, more of these people are probably not designers, but I always get more motivated by makes and people who get shit done. Sometimes these are designers, sometimes they are called Elon Musk.
Noah Buscher
@nhbschr · I take pictures.
Hey, Tobias! I am a huge fan of your work and was super inspired by your "Side Projects Should be Stupid" piece. Can you share any side projects you're working on right now with us?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@nhbschr Hey Noah! Ha! you're asking some big questions there. I also remember you from my Twitter feed, so good to see you in here. Honestly, one just launched yesterday which is called May1Reboot.com - A little side project that will hopefully turn into a little bigger movement within our little design community. I love when the community comes together and does something amazing.
On the other side, I'm working on another project which should launch in about two weeks (less of a side project, you can call it an actual project) and then working actually on a little Book that I will also announce very very soon. I also have two more side projects which I can't share with you just yet, but I will do it definitely first via my email list.
Generally, I'm always starting many and then see how things evolve. Some get shut down, and some survive and I continue working on them. For me it's important to just keep creating and see where things take you. The idea to keep them stupid just allows you to make mistakes and eventually shut them down, or put them on hold.
I wish I did not dodged your question too much, but some side projects are in their third time of being started again, so I'm always careful when sharing them too early (:
Noah Buscher
@nhbschr · I take pictures.
@vanschneider Excited to hear more about the book in the coming days! 🙌🏼 Thanks for sharing!
Charles Kunene
@charles_kunene · Co-founder & Product Designer @Obaa
1. How involved was customer feedback in how you approached design for Spotify?
2. What tools/ways did you use to collect customer feedback?
Tin Kadoić
@tinkadoic · Creative Director, Five
@charles_kunene To add on, I'd love to learn about any user testing methodologies, and how / if they informed the design process.
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@charles_kunene Hey Charles and Tin! Lets do it! Thanks so much for your questions:
To be honest, I wasn't so involved in it personally because we have had a dedicated User Research team which is amazing and doing nothing else all day than collecting this feedback.
So basically the User Research team would share their learnings with the design teams on a regular weekly basis. These learnings can either be studies the User Research team has initiated, or it can be specific feedback on designs or flows that the Design Team has given the User Research team to test on.
The same goes for customer feedback as of the actual feedback existing customers give through our community forums. It's simply collected and then shared with the team.
Honestly, there are also big differences between user research and customer feedback. Customer feedback is usually more like "I want feature XYZ" and user research is often with people who have never used Spotify, or have a more neutral view on the product. (for example we would just absorb people through hidden cameras in a lab using the product, record their interactions, ask them questions etc.)
But for this, I'd probably recommend to get in touch with someone from the User Research team at Spotify because I'm definitely not the right person to answer this question. Hit me up on Twitter later, maybe I can connect you.
Aditya Shirole
@aditya_shirole · Student
I subscribed to your private mailing list a few months ago and I love it. You've recently launched vanschneider.com . I prefer your mails. They make my Mondays awesome and it feels much more personal than other blogs. I know webview gives you more freedom of expression, but I love the emails. What's your take on the Mail based article vs a full fledged web view blog?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@aditya_shirole Hey Aditya! So nice to hear you are on the email list, YAY! Absolutely, you know, I will always keep sending these emails and there will nothing that will change it.
The web view right now is just an extension for those who like to add it to reading apps or like to share it. So you will always be able to read it within the email view, but you can also use the web view. I'd also never publish it at the same time. So no one except email readers have the link to the web view.
So I'm totally with you here, I prefer email and will keep doing email. The web view is just a little feature, but will not change anything.
Taras Kasich
@taraskasich · Brander Studio
Hi Tobias! I know that you really enjoyed working in Spotify. What was the main reason why you left the team? Was it difficult to make a decision?
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Tobias van Schneider
@vanschneider · Designers & Maker
@taraskasich Hey Taras! It was a really hard decision because it was like a dream company to work with.
I think I wrote a little piece on that as well which you can read here:
https://medium.com/desk-of-van-s...
Essentially it's simple: I wasn't growing anymore personally so I had to make a decision. Sometimes you have this feeling of getting itchy, you just want to do something new, something where the risk to fail is much higher than before. That was the feeling I had.
I just wanted to do something new where I don't know exactly whats going to happen. Spotify at the time evolved into a huge company and while there are also a lot of challenges and problems to solve, it wasn't the kind of challenges I was looking into. I wanted to grow my craft, become better at solving specific design problems and become better and building things out of nothing.