The Future of UX Design: Tom McClean on Penji's Fully Managed podcast

05.16.2025

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In a recent episode of Penji’s Fully Managed podcast, DOOR3’s UX Lead Tom McClean sat down with Shannon, Penji’s Partnership Coordinator, to explore the evolving landscape of design in an era shaped by artificial intelligence, remote work, and globally distributed teams.

From screenless interfaces and systematized workflows to the human dimension of remote creativity, the conversation offered a timely look at how design leaders are navigating rapid change—while staying grounded in collaboration, craft, and user empathy.

In this post, we recap the key takeaways from the episode and share how DOOR3 is helping clients embrace these shifts through our UX practice and product development services.

Designing for the Future: AI, Interfaces, and Mixed Realities

The first topic Tom tackles is the rapidly changing role of interface design in a world increasingly influenced by AI, automation, and screenless technologies. He notes that while traditional screens still dominate most experiences, the horizon is expanding quickly—with voice interfaces, ambient computing, and mixed reality making design more complex, more contextual, and more invisible.

This evolution reflects a broader shift toward intelligent interfaces—tools that proactively adapt to user behavior, automate repetitive tasks, and interpret intent. At DOOR3, this trend has already influenced our work providing AI-enablement for emerging platforms. Our approach blends tokenized design systems with context-aware interface strategies, ensuring digital products are scalable, future-ready, and grounded in real user needs.

Global Teams, Local Empathy: Navigating Remote Collaboration

A central thread in the episode is how distributed design teams can collaborate effectively while staying creative. For Tom, the rise of remote work has required new rhythms and rituals.

Working across multiple time zones has its logistical challenges, but it also opens up diverse perspectives that lead to richer ideation and more inclusive product solutions. As Tom notes, when designers come from different regions and backgrounds, they bring different assumptions and patterns to the table, helping teams spot edge cases earlier and build more robust designs.

At DOOR3, we’ve embraced this model wholeheartedly. With a global team of UX designers, engineers, and strategists, our projects regularly span multiple continents. We address the challenges of asynchronous collaboration by setting clear overlap windows for co-creation, using shared visual tools like Figma and Miro for real-time ideation, and encouraging cross-cultural input during early discovery phases. The result: stronger empathy, broader testing, and product experiences that resonate with diverse users from day one.

Creativity in Remote Teams: Culture, Workshops, and Play

Tom also shares strategies for fostering creativity in remote settings, a concern for many teams facing Zoom fatigue and siloed workflows. His answer? Make time for informal connection, unstructured exploration, and fun.

“Being comfortable… is the most important thing in a work environment for creativity to flourish”

That’s why Tom advocates for regular creative workshops, idea jams, and spontaneous design challenges that let team members engage without the pressure of deliverables. He also stresses the importance of psychological safety—creating a culture where designers can float half-formed thoughts, asking “what if?” questions, and challenge assumptions without fear of being wrong.

Watch the Full Interview

Tom McClean’s conversation with Shannon on Penji’s Fully Managed podcast is a must-watch for design leaders, product managers, and curious creatives alike.

Watch the full episode

Work with DOOR3

Ready to apply the principles discussed in this episode to your own product challenges?

Whether you’re launching a new platform, updating a legacy system, or expanding your design team’s capabilities, DOOR3 is your partner in creating thoughtful, future-ready user experiences.