Sounding Board

Sounding Board
Join the waitlist
• Your name stays hidden by default. Relevant peers opt in.

Bring a real design question. Hear from someone who has been there.

Share a tricky situation or ask how other product designers approach the work. Relevant peers put their hands up, and you choose whom to speak with for 15 to 30 minutes.

For experienced Australian product designers

Join the waitlist See how it works
Exchange
Practical
Format
15 to 30 minutes
Access
Invite only
Cost
Free
Help others, get help back
⚖️

Learn how other designers handle it

Exchange practical experience from the messy work behind polished case studies.

💬

Bring enough context

A structured ask helps someone understand what you are exploring and offer a useful response.

🎯

Talk candidly

For sensitive situations, an experienced peer outside your organisation brings perspective without internal politics.

How it works

Start with the situation, not a search for the right person.

1. Share your ask

Describe the situation

We review it for clarity, then share it with members. Your name is hidden from the community by default.

2. Peers opt in

Relevant experience comes forward

Members decide where their first-hand experience is useful and put their own hands up to help.

3. You choose

Choose who you want to meet

Accept up to three offers and arrange a focused 15 to 30 minute conversation with each person you choose.

There are no subscriptions or fees. When another ask matches your experience, put your hand up and help someone else move forward.

Who this is for

Experienced Australian product designers who want candid, practical input and are willing to contribute their own experience.

You'll fit right in if:

  • • You work in product design and have experience other members can learn from
  • • You have a real situation or practical question to explore
  • • You're open to sharing context and receiving honest feedback
  • • You're ready to help others in return
  • • You value first-hand experience over generic advice

This isn't for you if:

  • • You're here to pitch, recruit, or sell
  • • You want ongoing mentorship or formal coaching
  • • You prefer to lurk rather than engage
  • • You only want to consume without contributing

Why it works

  • • Members exchange first-hand experience from comparable roles and situations.
  • • It is not mentorship or coaching. Both people arrive with experience worth sharing.
  • • The ask stays focused, so a short conversation can be genuinely useful.

An invite-only peer community

Candid exchange needs clear boundaries

Membership is invite-only and reviewed manually. No pitching, recruiting, or publishing someone else's experience.

Small and relevant

Australian product design roles often span research, interaction, systems, and stakeholder work. Shared context and compatible time zones make conversations easier.

Sensitive asks

By default, members see the ask without your name. Accepted helpers see your identity, and each person chooses whether to share contact details.

Permission matters

Nothing from an exchange is used publicly without the member's permission.

FAQ

Quick answers about how the community works.

You share a work situation or practical question. We review it for clarity, then share it with members without your name by default. Relevant members can put their hands up, and you choose up to three people for 15 to 30 minute conversations.

No. When you post an ask, relevant members can put their hand up, and you choose who to talk to. It works the other way too: putting your hand up for someone else's ask is often how you meet a sharp product designer you wouldn't otherwise cross paths with, so helping grows your network as much as it helps them.

Yes. Sounding Board runs on a give-and-get model. You help others when you can, and others help you in return. No subscriptions, no fees.

Sometimes you need external perspective with no internal baggage. A peer outside your organisation has no stake in your decision, which means they can be candid in a way colleagues often cannot.

LinkedIn is public, while a large Slack community still means broadcasting your situation and hoping the right person notices. Sounding Board is small and invite-only. Members choose the asks where their first-hand experience is relevant.

Membership is invite-only and reviewed manually. We keep the community small and relevant so members can decide where their experience is useful. No random adds, no mass approvals.

Not unless you choose to show it. By default, members see “A product designer.” Even if your boss, colleague, or friend is already a member, they will not see your name. Your name is shown only to people you accept for a conversation. Each participant chooses whether to share separate contact details. The administrator still knows who submitted the ask, and your wording may identify you or your company.

Yes. Members arrange a focused remote conversation using whatever works for both people.

Most conversations take 15 to 30 minutes. The asker and helper arrange a time that works for both of them.

A focused conversation with a relevant peer. The goal is a useful exchange, not another recurring meeting.

Example questions, practical experience

What product designers could ask about

Bring a decision, a difficult situation, or something you want to compare with people doing similar work.

Design practice

“How are other design teams using AI without lowering the quality of their thinking?”

Stakeholders

“A stakeholder wants to skip research. How have other designers changed that conversation?”

Design decisions

“Our design system is slowing the team down. Has anyone worked through a similar trade-off?”

Waitlist open · Australian product designers · No pitching · No recruiting

Invite-only peer community

Bring one genuine design question. Help one peer.

Join the waitlist for a small peer community of experienced Australian product designers.

No pitching. No recruiting. No subscriptions.

Join the waitlist

We review the waitlist as the design community takes shape. If it is a fit, we will contact you about an invite.