UX Hustle Summit Recap

Lindsay Eryn
Sep 9, 2018 · 3 min read

As I panned my phone to capture the chatter and energy in the room, I was surprised to notice tears in my eyes. This was the first time I’d been to an event to further my own career, to follow my own passions. I was here, I was learning, and it was real.


It was Twitter that got me to the UX Hustle Summit yesterday. I’m glad I heard about it at all, and I’m thankful I have a professional development benefit and that I got to attend for free. I thought these things would be enough, but my expectations were far surpassed!

The conference had a calm and confident vibe throughout. The light streaming into the Honeywell space, the wonderful food from Sunflower Care, and the stickers we used to decorate our name tags felt like thoughtful details and helped me feel at ease. (My name tag had a Cactus for “Looking for friends.”)

The talks were high quality but easy to digest and apply. The afternoon’s workshops got us practicing what we were learning and sharpening each others’ ideas. The content felt like it was crafted for newbies like me, but when I talked with seasoned UXers at the after party, they said it felt like the content was crafted for them, too!

Here are some of my favorites from what we learned:

  • Be the 8-bit version of your future desired self TODAY. Work those little pebble building blocks. — Sophia Prater
  • On personal organization: Give yourself a to-not-do list. Don’t keep putting an item on your to-do list if it’s not important.— Havana Nguyen
  • Design is a verb. It’s the process, not the product.— J Cornelius
  • UX Design is all so new, we all need to be leaders, because we’re all figuring this out. — Sophia Prater
  • Everyone’s career transition will look different, and there’s always room to reframe your career. Fear not. Meet people. Try stuff. — Andrew Hinton

One of the bigger takeaways was Jessica Ivinsentire talk. She started with her story of coming from an insecure facilitator to being a world-traveling speaker. I strongly resonate with her core hook, something her boss told her early on: everyone has something valuable to share. She then took us through an activity where we honed in on topics we could and should be presenting on and challenged us to take the next step to making those talks happen. (Find the deck here.)

For me, the conference was empowering. There were many new-to-UX folks in the audience, and we were all welcomed and engaged as peers. Everyone collaborated together, took notes together, and encouraged each other in their careers. I felt like I belonged, like being a UX Designer was tangible and not far off.

In reflection, I should have expected the tears I noticed at the beginning of the conference. Being on the operations side of tech these last few years has been fun, but I’m thrilled to be moving closer to the center, and I’m thankful that the local community is eager to pull up a chair for me.

Lindsay Eryn

Written by

Sharing my journey toward UX | Blogger and editor in Atlanta | 4w3

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade