About
I thrive on turning big ideas into reality with collaborative teamwork. As a leader, I…
Articles by George
-
My Readme
My Readme
aka How to George What is this? Inspired by other leaders in design and engineering, I revisit my very own readme every…
2 Comments -
Introducing Dark Mode to LinkedIn — a Night and Day Difference
Introducing Dark Mode to LinkedIn — a Night and Day Difference
Introduction Building on our design refresh, which aimed to bring to life our diverse, warm and welcoming community…
79 Comments -
My Read Me 2021
My Read Me 2021
What is this? Inspired by other leaders I've been fortunate enough to meet in my life, I started my own read me…
7 Comments
Activity
4K followers
-
George Penston shared thisI’m sharing some difficult news. My daughter Izzy passed away on March 25th from heart failure, a symptom of Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), the progressive neurological condition she’d lived with for most of her life. Despite everything the doctors tried, it was beyond repair. We made sure she wasn’t in pain, and she honored her values to the end, donating her organs to advance FA research. We’re heartbroken in ways that are hard to put into words, but holding onto the fact that she’s finally at peace. Izzy was funny, creative, curious, and deeply loved. Twenty-five years was not enough. I’m stepping back from work for now and may be slow to respond or unreachable for a while. Thank you for your understanding and support. We’ve created a space to celebrate and honor Izzy, to try to capture how truly wonderful they were. Visit https://izzypenston.com/ to learn more about them, leave a memory, or donate to the causes she cared about. #CureFA
-
George Penston reposted thisGeorge Penston reposted thisTissue donation is a meaningful and personal choice, and for Jean Walsh, it came from the heart. In a column she wrote last year, she shared what led her to pre-register with the University of Maryland’s Brain and Tissue Bank to donate end-of-life tissues. Read her story and help spread awareness at https://ow.ly/5nn350Y8UMB Everyone, whether you have FA or not, is eligible to donate. Learn more about the tissue donation process at https://ow.ly/gqjL50Y8UNC
-
George Penston shared thisJoey is a great designer and human. You should definitely apply if this seems like you’re thing.George Penston shared thisWe're hiring designers on the growth team at Anthropic! Honestly, I was hesitant to work in the AI space before joining here 8 months ago. But I can say with honesty it's the best job I've ever had, and one that's felt most aligned with my values. I've worked on the most interesting projects and created the largest impact of my career. At Pinterest and Headspace, growth often felt like small wins from micro-experiments. Here it's completely different: we work to keep the company growing on the exponential—finding new value, building 0-1 products (like the Chrome Extension and Artifacts), unblocking existing demand, and constantly reprioritizing as model capabilities shift. All while upholding safety our top priority. If you've wanted to work on AI but felt weird about the space, or you've been at places where growth felt disconnected from user needs—I promise this team and company is completely different. DM me or comment folks you think would be a good fit. Trying to cast a wide net! Job link in comments
-
George Penston posted thisI read this post over the weekend from Julie Zhuo and I just keep thinking about it. It's so vulnerable and bare about what many of our lives were like growing up and how it shaped us. It also a great reminder that your early years do not have to control and define who you are today. https://lnkd.in/dwXhV-uE
-
George Penston shared thisIt's showtime! … I myself am strange and unusual. Happy Halloween, folks. #FramerHalloweenParty
-
George Penston reposted thisGeorge Penston reposted thisIn a press release today, July 7, 2025, Lexeo Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to LX2006 based on clinical evidence generated on both cardiac and neurologic measures of Friedreich ataxia (FA). The FDA developed Breakthrough Therapy designation to expedite the development and review of drugs that are intended to treat a serious condition when preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over available therapy on a clinically significant endpoint(s). Read the full press release at https://ow.ly/LCiZ50WlPaA
-
George Penston shared thisThis looks like a super fun opportunity. Don’t sleep on it.George Penston shared thisWe're looking for Senior Product Designers to join the team at Iverson. If you care about craft, want to ship things quickly, and have that dog in you, we'd love to hear from you. Link to apply in comments.
-
George Penston shared thisBoth of my kids have a rare neurological disease called Friedreich’s ataxia (FA). When I share this part of my life with others, I struggle to describe their experiences. This video from Biogen portrays it well. Unfortunately, there is no cure for FA yet, but we remain hopeful. After all, without hope, what do we have? #CureFA https://lnkd.in/dVnnR7hj
-
George Penston reacted on thisGeorge Penston reacted on thisWhere'd the time go, Mark Ligameri, Lindsey Mosby, Michael Vizzina, Kevin Gallagher? We were pups just getting the studio up and running. I'm sure we were there with Todd Holcomb, John Cobbs, Brian Landers, Gregg Heard, and Page Ikeda, but I didn't take enough photos in those days. :-)
-
George Penston liked thisGeorge Penston liked thisI hope to see you at one of the upcoming rideATAXIA Hometown events in California! San Luis Obispo - https://lnkd.in/ecx8Hc5F Chico - https://lnkd.in/eyAavBEt Danville - https:give.curefa.org/danville If you’d like to donate to my page: https://lnkd.in/edMQZiyv
-
George Penston liked thisGeorge Penston liked thisIn the age of AI, what actually matters for designers? Link to the podcast with Caden in comments 🔗
-
George Penston reacted on thisGeorge Penston reacted on thisLinkedIn Community, I'm asking for your help! My teammate Lucy and I submitted a talk for Grace Hopper and this year they are asking the community to vote. Our talk is about how we've built accessibility into our new SDUI platform from the beginning. We aren't perfect by any means, so we know what went really well and where we could've done better. We'll cover how we made decisions about the architecture, how we're pushing beyond WCAG to bring more delight to people with disabilities, and how we're using AI (isn't everyone?) to bring our testing to the next level. We hope that we're able to present (Lucy spoke last year!) and leave attendees with a reusable framework and practical patterns they can apply to make any fast-moving UI stack more inclusive from day one. Please take a couple minutes and give us a vote. You do need to sign up and I did test and vote using a screen reader to make sure it was accessible. 😁 Voting ends March 19, so please hop over there now! #GHC #GHC26 #A11y #Accessibility https://lnkd.in/gCVypgNQ
-
George Penston liked thisAnother reason why working at Lyft has been an inspiring ride, leaders that value positive social impact. 💖George Penston liked thisThere are many reasons to choose Lyft over the other guys. Our rider service is better, drivers strongly prefer us, and we're often a little less expensive. But the best companies know that customers and shareholders also value social impact. So it's great to see Lyft is the only rideshare company on Forbes’ Best Brands for Social Impact, based on values, community support, and customer service. I'm proud but not surprised. We're a purpose-driven company. And our LyftUp program helps people access jobs, food, and other essential programs. We've even got a Round Up and Donate program so riders can support orgs that do great work in their communities. Grateful to the Lyft team, riders and drivers, and our partners who believe in what we do 🤝 https://lnkd.in/g8rWxkvELyft Named to Forbes 2026 Best Brands for Social Impact ListLyft Named to Forbes 2026 Best Brands for Social Impact List
-
George Penston liked thisGeorge Penston liked thisI built a 6-figure public speaking business as an introvert. Not by becoming more extroverted. Not by faking confidence. Not by forcing myself into rooms that drained me. Here are 5 strategies that actually worked: 💙 I stopped chasing every opportunity. Early on, I said “yes” to everything because I felt unsure about when the next one would come along. Over time, I learned to be more intentional. Fewer of the right engagements = bigger impact. That shift changed how people saw my work. 💙 I leaned into preparation, not improvisation. Extroverts can wing it. I prefer not to. Preparation is my secret weapon. I rehearse. I know my material so well that I can be present on stage. 💙 I built systems that sell for me. Cold outreach? Exhausting. Instead, I focus on content that attracts the right people: LinkedIn posts, articles, and my book. My content does the networking for me. 💙 I protected my energy like it was revenue. Speaking takes a lot out of me. So I built in recovery time. No back-to-back in-person events. No more than two podcasts in a day. Boundaries aren't selfish; they're sustainable. 💙 I stopped apologizing for being quiet. I used to feel like I had to match the energy of louder speakers. Now I know: calm is compelling. Thoughtful is memorable. You don't have to be loud to have a presence. If you're an introvert who wants to speak or build a business around your expertise, you don't need to change who you are. You just need strategies that work with your wiring, not against it. PS. What's one challenge you face as an introverted leader? 👇🏻
Experience
-
-
-
-
-
Education
Licenses & Certifications
Publications
-
The Creative Director Role (As We Know It) Will Not Exist in 10 Years
AdvertisingAge
See publicationToday, most ad agencies are still stuck five to ten years in the past when it comes to the creative director role. Creative directors continue to do things the way they've always done them: mapping the brand's identity, putting together Photoshop comps that demonstrate a couple of different variations on an ad, and then dusting off their hands.
-
Adobe Creative Suite 2 How-Tos: 100 Essential Techniques
Adobe Press
See publicationThe fully updated Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium software (which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, and Acrobat) is a unified design environment. The Creative Suite 2 enables you to realize your ideas anywhere–in print, on the Web, or on mobile devices, and this info-packed guide lets users get right down to doing just that by focusing on the Creative Suite 2 features they're most likely to use and showcasing each in a stand-alone tip--complete with a relevant hint or two and a…
The fully updated Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium software (which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, GoLive, and Acrobat) is a unified design environment. The Creative Suite 2 enables you to realize your ideas anywhere–in print, on the Web, or on mobile devices, and this info-packed guide lets users get right down to doing just that by focusing on the Creative Suite 2 features they're most likely to use and showcasing each in a stand-alone tip--complete with a relevant hint or two and a graphic example. In this fashion, readers learn just what they need to know, exploring the programs in a way that makes sense to them.
Patents
-
Method and system to provide composite view of data from disparate data sources
Filed US US20150310064A1
See patentSystems and methods for defining a composite view and using the definition of the composite view to obtain, aggregate, analyze, and present data from a variety of data sources to a user. These systems and methods may allow for the definition of a visual framework to aggregate and display related data. This visual framework, or composite view, may in turn be composed of a master view and a set of subviews, each of which may display data collected from a particular data source according to a…
Systems and methods for defining a composite view and using the definition of the composite view to obtain, aggregate, analyze, and present data from a variety of data sources to a user. These systems and methods may allow for the definition of a visual framework to aggregate and display related data. This visual framework, or composite view, may in turn be composed of a master view and a set of subviews, each of which may display data collected from a particular data source according to a particular format. By interacting with the master view data from a variety of data sources can be displayed.
Projects
-
AI recommendations
-
Get recommendations in Messenger and Profile where and when it counts.
-
LinkedIn Games
-
Why games on LinkedIn?
Games on LinkedIn? Yep. Every year, we study the world’s best workplaces, and one thing is clear—having fun together strengthens relationships. So we set out to bring games to LinkedIn to help people connect in a more natural, engaging way.Other creators -
Languages
-
Japanese
Elementary proficiency
Recommendations received
4 people have recommended George
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
Explore more posts
-
Jennifer Darmour
If your personas describe users in isolation, you’re limiting impact. Real work is collaborative, constrained, and increasingly shaped by automated systems. Our design artifacts need to reflect that reality. This piece explores what it means to expand personas beyond the single user, and why relationships between actors matter just as much as the actors themselves. https://lnkd.in/g4dxrrHx #designexcellence #designleadership #userpersona #AIintegration
1 Comment -
Samuel Lombardo
Some of the hardest product work I’ve done hasn’t been about adding features; it’s been about removing confusion. At UserCore, I had the opportunity to step into a rapidly scaling platform that was powerful but increasingly complex. Multiple workflows, fragmented experiences, and growing pressure to scale were starting to create real friction for users. The challenge wasn’t creativity. It was clarity. My role was to help simplify the experience end-to-end, aligning product, design, and engineering around a more intuitive direction while protecting momentum. We focused on reducing ambiguity, tightening interaction patterns, and creating a clearer foundation for scale. The result was measurable improvements in both adoption and retention, along with a stronger platform trajectory. I’ve shared a deeper breakdown of the work for anyone interested in product simplification and scaling complex systems: https://lnkd.in/eujjnh6i Always curious how others approach complexity at scale, simplify aggressively, or layer structure over time? #ProductDesign #UXDesign #UserExperience #UXLeadership #DesignLeadership #ProductStrategy #ProductDesignLeadership #EnterpriseUX #B2BDesign #SaaSDesign #UXStrategy #ProductThinking #DesignThinking #DigitalProductDesign #UXResearch #HumanCenteredDesign #DesignOps #ProductLeadership #UXCommunity #TechLeadership #DesignCommunity #UXCaseStudy #PortfolioLaunch #NowHiring #OpenToWork
-
WHY DESIGN?
What happens when a design leader has lived every side of the product world? Engineering, strategy, brand, music, and even mechanics? You get someone who understands creativity at human level. You get someone who sees patterns others miss. You get Rich Thrush. In this upcoming episode of WHY DESIGN?, Rich takes us from: 🔹 diagnosing cars as a young mechanic 🔹 to shaping global brands at Motorola, Hasbro & Helen of Troy 🔹 to leading private brands at Guitar Center And the thread that runs through it all? “I’ve always been drawn to that space between the product and the person.” The full conversation drops tomorrow. This is one to sit with, not skim.
3 Comments -
Anna Barba Vila
A lot of conversations I have with design teams start the same way: “We’re moving fast… but we keep circling back.” It’s rarely a skill issue. It’s a timing issue. Most misalignment doesn’t come from bad design. It comes from discovering truth too late—after engineering starts, after a sprint closes, or after launch. And the cost of that delay is enormous. A late fix can be 100× more expensive than catching the issue early. But the teams that validate upfront—concepts, prototypes, even simple assumptions—consistently move faster, not slower. I’ve seen: • 25% fewer iteration cycles • Clearer rationale behind decisions • Less friction between design, product, and engineering Early insight isn’t a tax on velocity. It’s the engine of velocity. When we test earlier, we spend less time reworking and more time progressing. And our teams feel it—not just in timelines, but in confidence and morale. These themes are showing up across the teams featured in our newest Leadership Signal. It’s a great pulse check on how leaders are tightening alignment earlier in the process. https://bit.ly/4ixuGp2
3 Comments -
Nicole Landry
This hit close to home. This quarter we've been actively rethinking our design process. Removing rituals, pulling back on some discovery activities, and prioritizing speed and learning over craft and critique. It can be uncomfortable but it's the right direction. This episode puts a lot of it into words.
6 Comments -
Daniel L.
Most designers say they want impact. What they really want is proof. At scale, I had to formalize proof. I once built a quarterly UX strategy using Jared Spool's Persuasive Metrics to connect design decisions to revenue. A 2% reduction in onboarding friction translated into six figures in retained revenue. That was the language the room spoke. Dashboards. Quarterly reviews. Attribution models. Impact had to be quantified before it was believed. Now I’m at a tiny startup. Last week, a customer Slacked: “Magemetrics saves me days on campaign reports.” Following the rebrand, a prospect opened the site and said: “Okay. This feels serious.” These calls felt different: less explaining, fewer objections, more trust. No attribution model. No presentation. Just behavior changing in real time. Here’s what’s different: In enterprise, proof arrives as numbers. In startups, proof shows up as decisions. Enterprise feedback arrives filtered and quarterly; startup impact is immediate. Doubt slows deals. Confidence speeds them up. Immediacy forces clarity. You take fewer performative bets. You stop optimizing for presentations. You design to remove doubt. Because you’re not defending slides — you’re shaping what happens next.
12 Comments -
Kutung Design Labs - UX Design Agency
UX Tips: Validate Early, Iterate Fast Unlock faster innovation by validating ideas early in UX design—test prototypes to confirm concepts before heavy investment. Skip pixel-perfect visuals; focus on user flows to spot friction points quickly. Compare A/B variations in low-fidelity mocks to learn what resonates and pivot smarter. Prototype Early: Build clickable wireframes to simulate real user journeys and gather feedback on core functionality. Test Flows First: Validate navigation and task completion, not aesthetics—ensures intuitive experiences from day one. A/B Variations: Run quick tests on different flows to identify winners, accelerating learning cycles. Iterate Relentlessly: Use insights to refine, reducing redesign costs and boosting product-market fit. Apply these in your next sprint for agile UX wins! What's your go-to validation tool? Share below. #UXDesign #PrototypeTesting #IdeaValidation #UserTesting #AABBTesting #DesignThinking #ProductDesign #UXTips #EarlyValidation #IterateFast
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content