Privacy Policy
Why Design ("we", "us", "the podcast") takes your data privacy seriously. This policy describes how we collect, use and disclose personal information you give us through this website, the Why Design community application form, our newsletter, and any direct correspondence by email or social media.
Why Design is produced by Kodu, a UK-registered company. References to "we" in this policy mean Kodu acting as the data controller for information you submit to Why Design.
Who this policy applies to
Listeners, newsletter subscribers, prospective and approved community members, podcast guests and prospective guests, and anyone who contacts us through the website or our social channels.
What we collect, when, and why
Newsletter
When you subscribe to the Why Design newsletter we collect your email address. We use it solely to send you new episode announcements and occasional Why Design updates. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email.
Community membership applications
When you apply to join the Why Design community we collect: your full name, job title, company, email address, LinkedIn URL, optional phone number, country, and a short note describing your connection to physical product development. We use this information to:
- review your application against the community's focus on physical product development;
- compose a short profile to help us and existing members get to know you, drawing on publicly-available information about you and your company;
- contact you with the outcome of your application; and
- if you are approved, send you an invitation to the Why Design WhatsApp community and add you to our member list.
Applications are reviewed by humans (Chris Whyte and the Kodu team). We are not making automated decisions about you.
Direct contact
If you email us, message us on social media, or contact us about appearing on the podcast, we'll hold the information you give us for as long as necessary to respond to your enquiry and, where relevant, follow up.
Where your data is stored
Application data is stored in:
- Airtable — our application record and moderation status (pending, approved, declined).
- Mailchimp— newsletter subscriptions and member email lists. Mailchimp's privacy policy is at mailchimp.com/legal/privacy.
- Slack — when you submit a community application, an internal Slack message is sent to our review team containing the information you provided so we can decide on your application.
We do not sell or share your data with any third parties beyond these processors and the lawful exceptions below.
How long we keep your data
Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe.
Approved community members: for as long as you remain a member, plus a reasonable period after you leave for record-keeping.
Declined applicants: we retain a minimal record of the decision for up to 12 months so we don't ask you the same questions again if you re-apply. You can ask us to delete this earlier at any time.
Lawful basis
We rely on your consent when you submit a form on our website. We rely on legitimate interests when we contact you about a related service or follow-up where you have previously engaged with us.
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to:
- be informed about how your data is used (this policy);
- access the data we hold about you;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have your data erased (where there is no overriding legal basis to keep it);
- restrict or object to processing;
- data portability.
To exercise any of these rights, email chris@teamkodu.com. We aim to respond within 30 days.
Cookies
The Why Design website uses minimal session storage to remember which episodes you've already loaded so the page is faster on your next visit. We don't use third-party advertising or tracking cookies. You can clear your browser storage at any time.
Data breaches
If personal data we hold about you is subject to a breach we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours where required, and notify affected individuals where there is a meaningful risk to your rights.
Complaints
If you have a complaint about how we've handled your data, email chris@teamkodu.comfirst so we can put it right. If you're not satisfied with our response you can escalate to the ICO at ico.org.uk.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be highlighted on the page and the "Last updated" date above will change.
Contact
Kodu (operator of the Why Design podcast)
27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX, United Kingdom
chris@teamkodu.com