First-Ever UC San Diego Design Conference sponsored by Design Lab Unites Students with Leading Design and Business Professionals

First-Ever UC San Diego Design Conference sponsored by Design Lab Unites Students with Leading Design and Business Professionals

First-Ever UC San Diego Design Conference sponsored by Design Lab Unites Students with Leading Design and Business Professionals

By Kaila Lee, Design at UCSD

In late May, over 150 students and leading industry professionals representing top design-centric companies such as Workday, IDEO, and Intuit attended UC San Diego’s first design conference. Among those in attendance were Scott Robinson of Freshform and Alex Waters of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The all-day event was hosted by Design at UCSD, a pre-professional design organization on campus, in partnership with Delta Sigma Pi, UC San Diego’s premier business fraternity, and drew attendees from a variety of disciplines including cognitive science, computer science, economics, international business, and more. The conference was aimed at teaching attendees the interdisciplinary nature of design and why it is essential to business.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address presented by lecturer Michael Meyer of the UC San Diego Design Lab and the Rady School of Management. During his address, Meyer dispelled the myth of the “genius designer” and conveyed that the true vision and creativity driving human-centered design emerges through acknowledging that we are designing for people who have diverse human needs.

Meyer empowered attendees through stressing the importance of embodying the qualities characterized by a balance of professional competence and a genuine, insatiable thirst for knowledge. Moreover, he illustrated that successful designs are achieved as a result of combined expertise across a wide range of skill sets. He inspired attendees to strive to integrate various disciplines across the spectrum of design and business into their professional endeavors.

The opening address was followed by a panel discussion featuring Neema Mahdavi (Workday), Nastasha Tan (IDEO), Sharon Carmichael (Intuit), Oz Chen (UXBeginner.com), and Erwin Hines (BASIC Agency). The panelists shared their unique insight into the roles they play as designers in their respective organizations and how they envision design and business intersecting to optimize success in the workplace and beyond. Panelists emphasized the importance of showcasing tangible, real experiences to support skills learned in the classroom.

In addition, the speakers collectively echoed the value of candidates who exude the depth of technical expertise in addition to a breadth of knowledge paired with strong communication and problem solving skills. Panelists further engaged with the audience to address questions and provide advice pertaining to professional development and differentiating oneself as an aspiring designer and business professional.

Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in interactive hour-long breakout sessions facilitated by experienced design and business professionals. Breakout sessions highlighted topics such as navigating the design process, delving into UX Research, and creating an effective design portfolio. Following the breakout sessions, the conference concluded with a networking session in the forum of Price Center Theater where attendees were encouraged to speak to industry professionals. Conference participants left the event feeling motivated and excited to continue exploring the rapidly evolving fields of design and business, equipped with a plethora of new tools and key takeaways to apply to their own professional journey.

By Kaila Lee, Design at UCSD

In late May, over 150 students and leading industry professionals representing top design-centric companies such as Workday, IDEO, and Intuit attended UC San Diego’s first design conference. Among those in attendance were Scott Robinson of Freshform and Alex Waters of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The all-day event was hosted by Design at UCSD, a pre-professional design organization on campus, in partnership with Delta Sigma Pi, UC San Diego’s premier business fraternity, and drew attendees from a variety of disciplines including cognitive science, computer science, economics, international business, and more. The conference was aimed at teaching attendees the interdisciplinary nature of design and why it is essential to business.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address presented by lecturer Michael Meyer of the UC San Diego Design Lab and the Rady School of Management. During his address, Meyer dispelled the myth of the “genius designer” and conveyed that the true vision and creativity driving human-centered design emerges through acknowledging that we are designing for people who have diverse human needs.

Meyer empowered attendees through stressing the importance of embodying the qualities characterized by a balance of professional competence and a genuine, insatiable thirst for knowledge. Moreover, he illustrated that successful designs are achieved as a result of combined expertise across a wide range of skill sets. He inspired attendees to strive to integrate various disciplines across the spectrum of design and business into their professional endeavors.

The opening address was followed by a panel discussion featuring Neema Mahdavi (Workday), Nastasha Tan (IDEO), Sharon Carmichael (Intuit), Oz Chen (UXBeginner.com), and Erwin Hines (BASIC Agency). The panelists shared their unique insight into the roles they play as designers in their respective organizations and how they envision design and business intersecting to optimize success in the workplace and beyond. Panelists emphasized the importance of showcasing tangible, real experiences to support skills learned in the classroom.

In addition, the speakers collectively echoed the value of candidates who exude the depth of technical expertise in addition to a breadth of knowledge paired with strong communication and problem solving skills. Panelists further engaged with the audience to address questions and provide advice pertaining to professional development and differentiating oneself as an aspiring designer and business professional.

Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in interactive hour-long breakout sessions facilitated by experienced design and business professionals. Breakout sessions highlighted topics such as navigating the design process, delving into UX Research, and creating an effective design portfolio. Following the breakout sessions, the conference concluded with a networking session in the forum of Price Center Theater where attendees were encouraged to speak to industry professionals. Conference participants left the event feeling motivated and excited to continue exploring the rapidly evolving fields of design and business, equipped with a plethora of new tools and key takeaways to apply to their own professional journey.

By Kaila Lee, Design at UCSD

In late May, over 150 students and leading industry professionals representing top design-centric companies such as Workday, IDEO, and Intuit attended UC San Diego’s first design conference. Among those in attendance were Scott Robinson of Freshform and Alex Waters of the Downtown San Diego Partnership. The all-day event was hosted by Design at UCSD, a pre-professional design organization on campus, in partnership with Delta Sigma Pi, UC San Diego’s premier business fraternity, and drew attendees from a variety of disciplines including cognitive science, computer science, economics, international business, and more. The conference was aimed at teaching attendees the interdisciplinary nature of design and why it is essential to business.

The conference kicked off with a keynote address presented by lecturer Michael Meyer of the UC San Diego Design Lab and the Rady School of Management. During his address, Meyer dispelled the myth of the “genius designer” and conveyed that the true vision and creativity driving human-centered design emerges through acknowledging that we are designing for people who have diverse human needs.

Meyer empowered attendees through stressing the importance of embodying the qualities characterized by a balance of professional competence and a genuine, insatiable thirst for knowledge. Moreover, he illustrated that successful designs are achieved as a result of combined expertise across a wide range of skill sets. He inspired attendees to strive to integrate various disciplines across the spectrum of design and business into their professional endeavors.

The opening address was followed by a panel discussion featuring Neema Mahdavi (Workday), Nastasha Tan (IDEO), Sharon Carmichael (Intuit), Oz Chen (UXBeginner.com), and Erwin Hines (BASIC Agency). The panelists shared their unique insight into the roles they play as designers in their respective organizations and how they envision design and business intersecting to optimize success in the workplace and beyond. Panelists emphasized the importance of showcasing tangible, real experiences to support skills learned in the classroom.

In addition, the speakers collectively echoed the value of candidates who exude the depth of technical expertise in addition to a breadth of knowledge paired with strong communication and problem solving skills. Panelists further engaged with the audience to address questions and provide advice pertaining to professional development and differentiating oneself as an aspiring designer and business professional.

Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in interactive hour-long breakout sessions facilitated by experienced design and business professionals. Breakout sessions highlighted topics such as navigating the design process, delving into UX Research, and creating an effective design portfolio. Following the breakout sessions, the conference concluded with a networking session in the forum of Price Center Theater where attendees were encouraged to speak to industry professionals. Conference participants left the event feeling motivated and excited to continue exploring the rapidly evolving fields of design and business, equipped with a plethora of new tools and key takeaways to apply to their own professional journey.

Read Next

Ailie Fraser UCSD Design Lab

Ailie Fraser Aims to Support People Doing Creative Tasks with Software

“There’s so much helpful content available now, but how can it be understood and consumed by a novice?” asks Ailie Fraser, a PhD graduate, “That’s what I’m interested in answering.” She is a part of a generation of upcoming design innovators, working collaboratively with The Design Lab. Her recently published dissertation aims to support people doing creative tasks with software specifically by leveraging resources generated by experts and bringing them into the context of people's workflows; in order to make them simpler to navigate and understand.

Fraser received her PhD from UCSD in Computer Science this past spring, and is now working full-time as a Research Engineer at Adobe Research. During her PhD, she completed three internships with Adobe Research. During her first internship, she focused on the domain of photo editing in Photoshop and addressed the problems novices experience when they begin to use the application. Due to the plethora of features and tools offered by the service, it can often be overwhelming to those unfamiliar with Photoshop.

Design Forward Panel Discussion: Focusing on 2017

UC San Diego’s Design Lab recently teamed up with Axure Software Solutions, Inc. to cosponsor…

UC San Diego Receives Community-Engaged Research Grant

UC San Diego Receives Community-Engaged Research Grant

Design Lab Member Lilly Irani has been awarded the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Community-Engaged Research Grant. This funding will assist the United Taxi Workers San Diego team in their community-engaged research on community-accountable, employee-driven technology entrepreneurship in San Diego.

“We’re excited to support community engagement in the research process through this grant portfolio. These six projects aim to build equitable, collaborative, solution-driven initiatives between communities and researchers with the potential to advance inclusive prosperity through entrepreneurship.” — Chhaya Kolavalli, Senior Program Officer, Knowledge Creation & Research, Entrepreneurship

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation based in Kansas City, Mo., that seeks to build inclusive prosperity through a prepared workforce and entrepreneur-focused economic development. The Foundation uses its $3 billion in assets to change conditions, address root causes, and breakdown systemic barriers so that all people–regardless of race, gender, or geography–have the opportunity to achieve economic stability, mobility, and prosperity. For more information, visitwww.kauffman.org and connect with us at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.
Benjamin Bratton Ucsd Design Lab

Benjamin Bratton: Social Theories for Planetary-Scale Computation

How is technology ahead of our concepts and models of ourselves? Listen to Benjamin Bratton, Design Lab member and UC San Diego Visual Arts professor, speak on social theories for planetary-scale computation on The Rhys Show podcast
UCSD Giving Day

Giving Day Begins Now. Support the Design Lab Today

Through the integration of education, research and community development, The Design Lab is committed to advancing the best practices needed to solve the world's complex problems through the lens of human-centered design.  One way we do this is through our thriving Design@Large speaker series.  Via conversations with distinguished academic, industry, and community design leaders, Design@Large showcases the ever-evolving, interdisciplinary nature of design as applied in real world contexts.  Today we are asking for your specific help to continue to build and grow this popular series which is open to all.
Ucsd Design Lab Platforms

How pizza could save the world

On a recent Hawaiian vacation, Don stayed at a truly luxurious resort. It wasn’t his style. He couldn’t help but notice the contrast with the poorer sections of the island where locals lived and tourists rarely ventured. Is this the planet’s future? Two distinct cultures, one of isolated wealth and excess, the other of poverty? When we discussed this question, Don couldn’t help but mention he’d also found amazing pizza on the island.
Back To Top