About Me

Hey, Brian here! 👋🏼

I do & teach UX design, meditation, and breathwork to help people & businesses come into their greatness.

Have a Look at My Book
📖 The Creative Empathy Field Guide

Here’s a brief interview I did at UX Alive 2019 in Istanbul.

Brian Pagán

We’re in our greatness when our hearts open and we can be our whole selves at work, home, or anywhere else. Walking this path myself, I’m inspired to share what I’ve learned with other creative professionals, artists, and human beings.

So I practice & teach UX Design, meditation, and breathwork to help people & businesses come into their greatness.

Over the last 22 years, I’ve helped over 75 companies & startups turn innovation strategy into award-winning products & services. I’ve also coached over 20 creators and given keynotes and workshops in 14 countries.

I hold a Doctorate in Human-System Interaction and a Master’s in Industrial Psychology. And my publications include academic papers, the MindFolk podcast, and my first book: The Creative Empathy Field Guide.

My Philosophy
💚 More love, less fear
🏝 More nature, less screen time
🧘🏽‍♀️ More attention, less distraction
🤝 More compassion, less division

For me, 2023 was a year of intense healing and transformation. I spent it learning how to sail, volunteering in the Amazon jungle, backpacking around Latin America, and working with different ancestral medicines.

Now, I’m staying at a permaculture and retreat space on Corfu, Greece. You can usually find me on a bike, beach, boat, trail or (ecstatic) dance floor.

🙏🏼 Slow down and stay grateful, dear one!

Brian

👋🏼 Get in Touch

Topics

Human Experience Design

Creative Empathy

Privacy

Ethical Design

Initiatives

Founded: The Greatness Studio (consultancy, 2016)

Co-Founded: Ionian Eco Adventures (sailing business, 2022); Computer Drama (theater company, 2018)

Publications

Book: The Creative Empathy Field Guide (2020)

Podcast: MindFolk (2020-present)

Living into My Values

Lean Startup MVP: How To Make Meaningful Products

Creative Empathy for Product Design

Privacy: A Quick Overview for App Designers

Interface Design for Mobile and Tablets: Landscape vs. Portrait

Online Courses

Skillshare (2018) Design for Love: Using Storytelling to Design Love-Worthy Products & Services

Udemy (2017) How to Make Stuff People Love

Articles

Bootcamp (2022) Creative Empathy for Product Design

Toptal Blog (2022) Digging Deeper: A Practical Guide to Creative Empathy for Product Design

Toptal Blog (2019) The Future of UX Is Our Humanity

UX Collective (2018) So long, User Experience… hello, Human Experience

UX Collective (2018) Public Speaking: Four Habits for Anyone

Prototypr.io (2016) The Basics of Effective Journey Mapping

UX Magazine (2016) Four Things Great Designers Care About

Maastricht University Blog (2016) Lean Startup MVP: How To Make Meaningful Products

UX Collective (2014) Emotional Objects and Why We Love Them

Mashable (2013) 4 Myths About User Experience — And How to Bust Them

UX Magazine (2013) Four Myths About UX and How to Bust Them

UX Magazine (2012) New Design Practices for Touch-free Interactions

Academic Papers

Drouet, L., Sleeswijk Visser, F., Pagán, B., and Lallemand, C. (2024) Towards a mapping of empathic design methods, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA.

Rijnen, Wil & Pagán, Brian & Ying, Li & Zhang, Zhihui & Gredina, Natalia. (2009). Future Workspace: Supporting Mobile Workers.

Pagán, Brian & de Voogt, Alex. (2008). Gyroplane Accidents 1985–2005: Epidemiological Analysis and Pilot Factors in 223 Events. Aviation, space, and environmental medicine. 79. 983-5. 10.3357/ASEM.2239.2008.

Pagán, Brian & de Voogt, Alex & Doorn, Robert. (2006). Ultralight aviation accident factors and latent failures: A 66-case study. Aviation, space, and environmental medicine. 77. 950-2.

Pagán, Brian. (2006). Positive Contributions of Constructivism to Educational Design. Europe’s Journal of Psychology. 2. 10.5964/ejop.v2i1.318.

Mentions

Song, Lauren (2022) Own Your Health: The State of Connected Medical Devices. Toptal Design Blog

Toptal (2022) Bringing an entrepreneurial mindset to business builders everywhere. Toptal Case Studies

Stillman, Daniel (2022) The Conversation Factory Book Club: The Creative Empathy Field Guide with Brian Pagán. The Conversation Factory

Link, Jeff (2022) Are Push Notifications Driving Your Users Away?. Built In

Marin, Dana (2018) Bringing out the Spectacle in IT: Anton and Brian from Computer Drama. Amsterdamian

Marin, Dana (2018) Peeking Behind the Curtains: a Theatre Rehearsal with Computer Drama. Amsterdamian

Kryuchkova, Julia (2018) Interview with Brian Pagán. ProfsoUX

Belam, Martin (2011) iPads, kids and design lessons for adults – Wouter Sluis-Thiescheffer & Brian Pagán at EuroIA 2011. currybet.net

Wise, Jeff (2010) Are Gyroplanes Deathtraps or Fun Flying Machines?. Popular Mechanics

Let’s Talk