S3•E6 Arianne Miller + Sean Baker

Throughout season 3 of this series, I’ve been speaking with leaders in the practice of civic design; designers who have dedicated their careers to improving the everyday experience we, as citizens, have when we interact with our government.

My guests for this episode are two of the most respected leaders in the global civic design community: Arianne Miller and Sean Baker. For more than a decade, Arianne and Sean worked side by side as leaders of The Lab at OPM, a pioneering human-centered design team embedded within the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Arianne served as Managing Director, and Sean as Director of Design Strategy and Operations.

The Lab at OPM was dissolved in early 2025 as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to U.S. federal government staffing. Since then, Arianne and Sean founded Civic Design Collaborative, with a mission to help government and civic-minded organizations create services that are easier to use, more equitable, and more effective.

In our conversation, I was struck by how their approach to driving sustainable change in government is actually transferable to other complex, scaled organizations, especially in the private sector. We touched on themes that come up again and again on this podcast: the importance of building trust and nurturing relationships with key stakeholders, and approaching complex problems with deep curiosity and humility.


Doug Powell is an award-winning designer and executive design leader with more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of design disciplines. Learn more about Doug's practice as a consultant, educator, and coach at his website dougpowell.design.