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Artwork for State of Play

State of Play

Tommy Geoco
Artificial Intelligence
Paper
Metalab
Flora
Devin Matthews
Bolt
Contra
Anthropic
Lovable
Perplexity
Tldraw
MCP
Node-Based Interfaces
Artificial Intelligence In Creative Tools
Magic Path
Mid Journey
Buck
Eric Simons
Figjam
Claude

Conversations with designers, founders, and builders behind some of the best work

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes20Founded5 months ago
Number of ListenersCategories
TechnologyDesignArts

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Artwork for State of Play

Latest Episodes

Diego Zaks runs design at Ramp, the most AI-installed company in the world. Not kidding, Anthropic showed up at their office because they were using Claude Code more than Anthropic was.

We talk about how Ramp got there, how design changes when every... more

Amelia Wattenberger spent eight years as a front-end developer before the title on her business card turned into "designer" — she's been at GitHub, now she's building Intent.

This conversation covers why developers are mourning their old flow state,... more

Nad Chishtie is the Head of Design at Lovable — the company at the center of the AI coding explosion. He nearly got fired before his first day for emailing his CEO a thesis on why Lovable should be a web browser.

Now he's redesigning what design tea... more

Facundo Santana and José Rago run Basement Studio - 35 people in Argentina, working with Vercel, Mr. Beast, and Kid Super. 

They poured actual wine on a surface to get a WebGL texture right. That detail tells you everything about how this shop opera... more

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Recent Guests

Amelia Wattenberger
Front-end developer turned designer and founder of Intent; builds tools for developer workflows and AI-assisted coding
Intent
Episode: Amelia Wattenberger: Designing The Next Flow State
Nad Chishtie
Head of Design at Lovable
Lovable
Episode: Nad Chishtie: Lovable's Design System For Agents
Ben Blumenrose
Designer and founder, Designer Fund
Designer Fund
Episode: Ben Blumenrose: He Sees How 50+ Design Teams Use AI. Most Are Doing It Wrong.
Josh Puckett
Designer, investor, and educator known for building design teams and launching Interface Craft; partner at Combine VC and founder of Upper Study
Combine VC; Upper Study
Episode: Josh Puckett: Design Has Never Been More in Demand. So Why Can't Juniors Get Hired?
Jenny Wen
Designer at Anthropic, formerly led FigJam design at Figma
Anthropic
Episode: Jenny Wen: She Went From FigJam to Anthropic. This Is the New Era of UX.
Steve Ruiz
Creator of TLDraw, designer/software developer with a background in fine arts
TLDraw
Episode: Steve Ruiz: He Turned Down Adobe. Then He Shelved His Own Product.
Steven Haney
Founder/CEO of Paper, a design tool that integrates with AI agents and MCP-enabled workflows
Paper
Episode: Andy Allen: Why He Takes 3 Years to Build Apps.
Stephen Haney
CEO/creator of Paper, experienced designer and tool innovator in design spaces
Paper
Episode: Stephen Haney: He Canceled Figma 4 Months Ago. Here's What He Built Instead.
Weber Wong
Founder of Flora, former VC/Investment banker turned creative technologist
Flora
Episode: Weber Wong: One Person Should Have the Creative Power of Pixar.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#164
United Kingdom/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#172
Australia/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#65
Belgium/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#149
Sweden/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#216
Spain/Technology
Apple Podcasts
#220
Israel/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Nad Chishtie: Lovable's Design System For Agents
Q: How does Lovable handle rollout and experimentation at scale within enterprises?
They use controlled, reversible rollouts via private beta channels, Discord, and an Enterprise Advisory Board. They avoid daily nature of YOLO UI changes, preferring partial rollouts with clear communications and feedback loops, while empowering internal teams to prototype, test, and share results openly.
Nad Chishtie: Lovable's Design System For Agents
Q: What is the current structure of Lovable and how are teams organized?
Lovable uses a cross-functional structure with Engineering, Products, and Design (EPD) aligned around core product areas; designers are embedded in teams and have end-to-end ownership. Teams are small and empowered, with a mix of AI-forward work, UX, and growth focus, and there is a deliberate top-down vision from founders that enables bottoms-up experimentation within controlled boundaries.
Amelia Wattenberger: Designing The Next Flow State
Q: How do you begin to research something like this and think about abstraction layers?
You start by framing the problem, then explore abstraction layers from math to agents, using progressively higher views while keeping practical workflows in mind; you test ideas across multiple tools and notes, and you stay intentional about how you balance visibility and control.
Andy Allen: Why He Takes 3 Years to Build Apps.
Q: Why is Paper moving away from relying solely on a platform like Figma and toward a connected, paper-based workflow?
Because while traditional design tools excel at individual tasks, the connected canvas approach integrates design, data, and code into a single, interactive loop. This reduces boilerplate work, preserves brand consistency, and enables real-time collaboration between humans and AI agents, ultimately producing higher quality work faster.
Andy Allen: Why He Takes 3 Years to Build Apps.
Q: How do you see the three-tool stack (agent, code review, canvas) shaping the future of design workflows?
The canvas becomes the interface to your agents, with the agent handling tasks like pulling live data, writing code, or generating UI variations. The code review tool ensures quality and governance, while the agent and canvas enable rapid exploration and iteration—together they form a cohesive workflow that preserves human craft while dramatically increasing speed.

Audience Metrics

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Frequently Asked Questions About State of Play

What is State of Play about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show centers on the intersection of design, technology, and building successful creative tools and businesses. Episodes frequently feature founders, designers, and engineers discussing design tooling, AI-assisted workflows, open-source projects, design leadership, and the realities of turning craft into scalable products. Highlights include candid conversations about product strategy, community-driven ecosystems, living with constraints, and how tools shape creative work at individual and team levels. Listeners can expect practical insights on product focus, go-to-market choices for design platforms, and the culture of creative studios pushing the boundaries of what's possible with AI and design systems. A noteworthy thread across epis... more

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Which podcasts are similar to State of Play?

These podcasts share a similar audience with State of Play:

1. Dive Club 🤿
2. DesignThinkers Podcast
3. Behind the Craft
4. How I AI
5. AI & I

How many episodes of State of Play are there?

State of Play launched 5 months ago and published 20 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on State of Play?

Recent guests on State of Play include:

1. Amelia Wattenberger
2. Nad Chishtie
3. Ben Blumenrose
4. Josh Puckett
5. Jenny Wen
6. Steve Ruiz
7. Steven Haney
8. Stephen Haney

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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