New to the Bay Area Design Research Scene?
Start here.
The SF Design Research scene is vast — and sometimes overwhelming — place when you’re new to the area or the field.
I get it. It’s tough to connect with likeminded folks when you’re new, and find community in the cracks.
I want to make it easier for you.
Welcome to my corner of the amazing design research world of the Bay Area.
PS: If these links leave you craving more — I curate a w̵e̵e̵k̵l̵y̵ occasional newsletter on my favorite events, links, and thoughts from the field.
(Last updated 9/4/2018 — if you find a link doesn’t work or a series isn’t ongoing anymore, let me know!)
Learning
Creative Mornings: Pre-workday talks (and breakfast) by designers that span beyond tech. There are separate chapters for SF and Oakland. They also have my legitimate favorite clickworthy links newsletter on everything creativity and design related.
Designers and Geeks: Staple of the design meetup scene. Large (100–150 person) events.
CascadeSF: Another big design group with monthly events. Speaker quality is mixed, but the good ones are worth showing up for.
Speculative Futures Meetup: Eclectic group of folks interested in Futures Design. Small, intimate events that frequently allow for workshops and one on one conversations.
BayCHI: Peninsula group that is always hosting lust worthy events and an impressive lineup of speakers. If only they were able to host the occasional event in SF!
Ladies that UX: Monthly UX talks, for folks of all genders.
AIGA: Host frequent events that appeal to design researchers interested in the fuzzy intersections with other design disciplines.
Berkeley Institute for Design This graduate seminar in Berkeley hosts near weekly conversations around HCI and design, hosting guests as prolific as Alan Cooper. Small, intimate classroom setting for learning and engaging.
Jacobs’s Institute for Design Innovation Frequently hosts Friday lunches with speakers from around the country, bridging the gap between academia and industry.
Answerlab Salon Sessions They host an interesting set of researcher-specific breakfasts and talks I’ve been itching to attend.
Meeting
Ethnobreakfast: monthly applied ethnographer potluck, alternating between SF and South Bay locations. They’re a bit of an underground crew that coordinate through Google Groups. Email to get on the list and get connected.
SF User Research Networking: Bustling, well attended meetup of user researchers in the city. Organizers are particularly friendly and great at connecting you with interesting folks.
Berkeley UX Research: Your UX research connection for East Bay. They often host networking events the same night as the SF version, for those who can attend this one more easily.
Out Of Office Hours: Way to connect newcomers with more experienced folks in tech, with an eye toward raising the voices of folks from diverse backgrounds.
Doing
Fair Money: Brings together a rad crew designing and implementing applied research on Bay Area income inequality.
Utopia Cities: Organization dedicated to implementing design solutions to develop slums into more sustainable urban spaces.
Intersectional.design: A colleague and I are thrilled to be starting a group for mid-senior level design ethnographers to unpack power and ethical entanglements embarking on industry research projects. Email to learn more.
Conferences
Primer Conference: Run by the same folks who put on the Speculative Futures meetups, this conference is hands down one of the most interesting that I’ve ever been to (and coolest keynote ever on Neurospeculative Afrofeminism).
IXDA Redux: Usually happens within a few months of the big Interaction Design conference, Bay Area speakers come together to share their conference presentations with those who couldn’t make it. Amazing networking.
Lesbians who Tech: One of the largest gatherings of queer women and enby folks in tech, I always end up meeting some amazing UX designers and researchers.
SF Design Week: Too many amazing events, too little time. It’s designed like an a la carte conference, where you pick (and pay) for only the pieces that look best.
UX Week: An impressive, lust-worthy conference — with the requisite large entrance fee to boot.
Event Newsletters and More
[es]sf: My former weekly events newsletter that’s turned into an occasionally events newsletter. If there’s an event I love, or something I’m hosting, I’ll post it here first (along with perhaps a Bay Area love letter and links).
CivicMakers: Tech events and job listings with an emphasis on social impact.
Startup Digest: Weekly digest of startup-specific events.
Lady List SF: Interesting tech events in the Bay Area, many related to design.
Rushtix: This was the secret to how I began to find my footing in the Bay. It’s a subscription service that, for a set fee, you can attend a number of events. Their selection is getting better, and you can score some amazing tickets to sold out or otherwise unaffordable options (in the past year, I was able to get tickets to multiple events through brunchworks, Designers and Geeks, and a ticket to Primer conference). It’s worth a peek.
Slack and Google groups
Often some interesting UX and design research events come out of the “SF” channel or Bay Area specific posts, making our community feel a little smaller.
Special thanks to Alison Marlin and Amy Turner for feedback and suggestions.
Know of anything to add? Leave a comment ❤
