Getting your career started is hard.
This series will make it easier.
If you're currently enrolled in school or just beginning your design career, we invite you to join our second annual Designer Launch Series. We'll help you connect what you know with what you need and make sure you're set up for success.
“Designer Launch Series helped me to expand my perception of what is possible and attainable in a career in the creative industry.” –Series 1 Attendee
November 12, 2020
4:00pm - 6:00pm (PST)
Virtual via Zoom
What's the difference between a UI and UX designer, a product designer, and a graphic designer? Are you a design generalist or should you specialize? Does product or marketing best suit your interests and skills? In this session, you'll learn about the crafts commonly found in the design industry: Product Design, Design Research, Content Design, Design Technology, and Design Operations. After a general overview, you'll break out into small groups with professionals from each craft to learn about their career path, their day-to-day, and examples of the work they do. Bring your curiosity and questions!
February 25, 2021
4:00pm - 6:00pm (PST)
Virtual via Zoom
Why is the design thinking problem-solving framework so important? How does it drive innovation? How can you apply it to your creative method? In this deep dive, you'll explore how design thinking relates to the design process and witness first-hand how designers can use it to produce stronger design results. You'll focus on connecting the dots between theory and practice, then extending design thinking into other applications outside of design.
April 22, 2021
4:00pm - 6:00pm (PST)
Virtual via Zoom
What is the designer's relationship with the customer? How do designers collect customer feedback? How are customer insights translated to create new designs? Deep understanding of your customers is integral to delivering powerful, relevant work. Through this Design for Delight (D4D) workshop, you'll live and breathe customer empathy in a dynamic, hands-on, small group activity to understand rapid prototyping centered around a customer need.
June 10, 2021
4:00pm - 6:00pm (PST)
Virtual via Zoom
How can you fill that considerable void between studying at design school and working in the design business? How can you make the leap from a non-traditional background to working in the design industry? You'll hear from a panel of designers who were in your shoes and bridged these and similar gaps. They'll share how they figured out the best path forward, what they wish they'd done differently, and the virtues of learning from failing fast and how to emerge better for it. Those who do the hiring will also share what they look for in applicants.