Dumebi Iwuchukwu, Head of Design at Stears, has built a career at the intersection of craft, taste, and business impact—shaping design for global brands, startups, and media companies across Africa. In this conversation, he unpacks how taste works as aesthetic judgment, why care and attention to detail are his biggest hiring green flags, and the role of critique in raising your own creative bar. We also explore how to work better with engineers, avoid over-reliance on AI, and stay energized on long-term products. Along the way, Dumebi shares his unconventional path from radiography to design leadership, the non-technical skills that elevate creative careers, and why joy is a quiet superpower in collaborative work.