Growing an Idea
The Story of Design x Us: Part I
Design x Us is a project that seeks to discover and share the stories behind the humans that power the design industry. We interview inspirational designers and publish key highlights from the interview in hopes to inspire designers to be proud of their unique perspectives, diversity and purpose.
The Beginning
In early 2019, I made a career pivot. I was hungry to learn and build my new craft in product design and I wanted to start by learning from others in the industry. But my network was slim. I really didn’t know that many people in the product design industry at a personal level. Even though I was living in SF, the tech hub of the world, I’d spent most of my time here in the architecture industry. How could I fill this gap? I started researching people I considered thought leaders in the product design industry and began cold emailing them. My hope was that I could have a conversation with these individuals to discover valuable learnings that I could apply to my own career.
The Revelation
There are a couple of things that I realized about networking. First, people will either gladly welcome your message and connection request or they wont respond at all. I used to be so intimidated and anxious about sending cold emails or asking for 1:1 conversations with people I barely knew. I was afraid people would shut me down or reply with a message like “Hell no. Why would I want to talk to you?” But once I realized that wasn’t the case, networking became a win win process for me. I was building confidence, learning to craft better emails and strengthening my connections. The second realization I had was that after I had conversations with these individuals, I left feeling so energized and enlightened. So much so that I felt that others could benefit from the insights that I was gaining. Through this networking process, I was becoming more and more socially confident. How could I use my development to help build others? Maybe I could record my conversations and publish them on a public platform for others to experience? Let’s try that.
It Takes a Team
After strategizing various ways to expose this project to others. I quickly realized that I needed a partner to help make this idea become a reality. I had too many ideas and “what if” questions in my head. I needed to find someone that was aligned with the mission but had different strengths and views. Someone who wasn’t afraid to question my decisions and bring new ideas to the table.
Enter Jennifer Kumura, a high school friend from Hawaii. Jenn and I would meet up once a week at a nearby Starbucks to chat in the morning before we headed off to work. I always respected Jenn’s hard work, caring personality and the thoughtfulness she brought to every one of our conversations. When I’d discuss a challenge at work she had a way of asking the right questions rather than trying to provide a solution. When I talked about the (to be) Design x Us project with her, she helped me think about the bigger picture first. What was the goal of this project? Why did I want to do this in the first place? What topics do you want to talk about? These were all questions that might seem obvious to know but I had gotten lost in the rabbit hole of the idea. I was trying to solve all of these little issues and I found myself lost without a clear vision.
Jenn agreed to become a co-founder with me on this project and together we began to build on the idea that would soon become to be Design x Us. And as the project grew, so did the team. Read Part II to continue the story of Design x Us.
Meet the people that power creative industries. Discover their stories, and draw inspiration from their unique perspectives here.
Do you think you or someone you know should be interviewed by Design x Us? Let us know at hello@designxus.org.
