Don't...Do Panic — a conversation with Jessica Outlaw — E31

Summary
Jessica and Matthew explore the intersection of outdoor survival skills and UX design, discussing how lessons from nature can inform better design, emotional management, and community building. Discover practical insights on resource trade-offs, the importance of embracing fear, and the value of diverse approaches in design and life.

Bio
Jessica Outlaw is a behavioral researcher and founder of The Extended Mind agency. Her work focuses on how people think, feel, and behave in immersive technologies with particular emphasis on safety, privacy, and inclusive design in VR/AR/XR spaces. https://www.extendedmind.io/


Chapters
00:00 Cold (Get on with it!) Open
10:46 Emotional Management: Accepting Panic and Fear
15:36 Self-Care and Resource Management: Balancing Perfectionism
28:07 Cultural Observations and Ethnography
34:54 Experience Design Challenges
38:21 One is None
41:44 Designing for Human Experience
45:10 Seven Plus or Minus Two Questions
47:31 Who did you help recently and how did it make you feel?
49:14 What's your least favorite thing about your profession?
51:44 What's the most beautiful thing you've seen this week that had nothing to do with a screen?
54:28 Business Over Users
54:56 Who should I talk with next?
57:24 What do you hope to not be carrying anymore?

Resources
Trackers Portland Outdoor Education - https://trackerspdx.org/
Breitenbush Hot Springs - https://breitenbush.com/
Caitlin Krause - Digital Wellbeing - https://caitlinkrause.com/
Mark Lepper - Seven Plus or Minus Two - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lepper

Keywords
UX design, outdoor survival, emotional management, community building, resource trade-offs, ethnography, experience design, Portland community, resilience