I speak and publish regularly about design, fintech, leadership, and navigating your career as a woman.
Interested in having me speak at your conference or inspire your team? Say hello!
Upcoming
Austin Product Conference
I’m chatting with students at the University of Texas about innovations in fintech, trends in the industry, and the future of work.
Always Available
Good Design Makes Users Happy
May 2022 - At the root of most big decisions is emotion, not logic. Why is that important? Designers are constantly building decision making moments. It means that when we need to make sure that when our emotions and instincts take over, the experiences through which we’re making big decisions keep us safe. Written in collaboration for BuiltIn’s Expert Contributor Network.
How to Turn a Band of Weirdos Into a Stellar Design Team
December 2021 - Good design doesn’t just happen. Neither is it the product of a single genius or even a few very talented people working independently. Truly great design requires a stellar team working cooperatively, supported and led by a design leader with the authority and independence to drive business impact. Building teams like that isn’t easy, but it can be done. This is how I create my own stellar teams.
From ‘Critique’ to ‘Workshop’
October 2021 - We’ve all been in the art school crit and felt its terror, but what if things could be different? What if instead of pointing out everything that was wrong with someone’s hard work and creativity, we found ways to ‘plus’ it, to add to it, to make it better? That’s the workshop culture I’m talking about, the one I build teams around. If that’s the culture you’re looking for, here are some tips and tricks to start making the shift.
Why Design Is Your Sharpest Competitive Edge
August 2021 - In a commoditized industry, and even in those that aren’t, design exists to drive winning differentiation through experience. It’s not just about what you deliver, it’s about how what you deliver makes your users feel. Design is your secret weapon to making users feel awesome when they interact with your product or service, and this is the value and edge your design team brings to your company.
Celebrating Female Designers
March 2021 - At Chime, we’ve been celebrating Women’s History all month long. We brunched together on International Women’s Day, we had conversations with industry leaders like Emmanuelle Verhagen and Jill von Berg, and we spotlighted our own female colleagues in fireside chats. As a design team, we’re excited to shine a light on the women who inspired us to get into the field and who continue to inspire us everyday.
ChimeHers ERG: A Year in Review
January 2021 - “I’ve faced so many situations throughout my career where I wondered, ‘Oh, that was weird — was it me?’” says Sam Berg, Chime’s Head of Design and ChimeHers co-lead. ChimeHers is a Chimer Resource Group (CRG) dedicated to inspiring, educating, mentoring, and connecting women and non-binary folks at Chime and in the community so that they can achieve their highest potential.
It’s a Chimed Life: Meet Sam Berg, our Head of Design
September 2020 - “I picked up a corkscrew in the gift shop at the MOMA — one of those that was shaped like a woman flapping her arms — and loved that it was beautiful and functional at the same time,” Samantha Berg explains. “I was seven years old, and that’s when I decided I wanted to be a designer.” And that’s exactly what Sam did — after studying architecture, engineering, human-computer interaction, and design in high school and college, her career has spanned designing mobile operating systems, consulting, and leading design and creative teams for tech companies.
Wearables: Trying Them On For Size
September 2015 - Perhaps the biggest hardware trend of late has been the wearable device. Samsung and Qualcomm showed off new smart watches, Pebble was a huge Kickstarter success, and many wrists are sporting a Nike Fuelband, Jawbone Up, or Fitbit Flex. Always on the body, wearables have created an unprecedented intimacy between people and information and they’re changing the face of the device ecosystem altogether.
Past Engagements
