Reclaiming the Heart in Design

“There’s so much heart in some of these things that you’re putting in heart in that space and I find it very hard to detach some of those.”

Summary

In this episode, we explore the creative journey of Fionn, a partner at the design futures studio Andthen . We trace his evolution from the tactile world of furniture making to leading large-scale design teams within the corporate banking sector . Fionn reflects on the emotional friction of maintaining personal values in transactional environments and the toll of multiple burnouts. We discuss his shift toward "slow decisions" and how design can be used to influence long-term policy and societal change . This conversation is a deep dive into reclaiming professional purpose and the human heart within a technical industry .

Guest

Fionn Tynan O'Mahony

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionntynan/

Website – https://www.studioandthen.com/

Host

Danny Hearn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/dannyhearn/

Website – www.dannyhearn.me

Podcast – www.deeplyhumandesign.com

Chapters

00:00 Reconnecting and the Purpose of Human Conversations

02:08 Designing the Intangible: Introducing Andthen

05:05 From DIY to Craft College: Early Practical Creativity

06:50 The Modernist Influence and the Limits of the Ego

08:32 Refocusing Life and the Discovery of Curiosity

11:49 Design as Intervention: Breaking the Routine

14:58 Reality Hits: Transitioning into Corporate Banking

16:54 The Shift from Questions to Answers

19:18 Techno-Optimism and the Moonshot Era

21:57 The Cost of Delivery Culture and Shrinking Experimentation

24:42 Navigating Burnout and Value Misalignment

29:50 The Struggle of Scaling Teams in Risk-Averse Systems

34:41 The Gift of Voluntary Redundancy

38:44 Returning to Exploration and Strategic Influencing

43:49 Pace Layering: Designing for Long-Term Impact

50:40 Redefining Success Beyond the Bottom Line