Intro to Design Workshop @ Citrus Hack 2022 — A Recap
Citrus Hack — one of Southern California’s largest 24-hour hackathons—was held at UC Riverside back in early April. I was fortunate to be one of the instructors as I gave a workshop on Intro to UI/UX Design.
Early on, after talking to one of the Citrus Hack coordinators, we decided that more than a lecture, what would be more engaging for attendees would be a mix of lessons and a hands-on design session of sorts… all while keeping it within the one hour mark. This is what I landed on:
- Quick lessons on design principles (consistency on color, typography, layout; need for whitespace)
- Figma tactics (components; auto-layouts)
- Hands-on project: create a command palette for Spotify
While I wish we had more time (two hours would have been more fitting), I think overall it was a success. In a 1–10 scale, when the attendees were asked, How likely would you recommend this workshop to a friend, the average rating was a 9.38!
A small sample of responses from the attendees—
Good introduction to design. Introduced concepts that will benefit potential devs in the long run (within the time constraints).
I like how it was hands on and gives everyone a chance to use industry level tech to make a website.
I really like how straightforward you were and clear on what to do. I could really tell how passionate you were for this and it’s not something I could feel in a lot of workshops I have attended in the past.
Very grounded presenter who understood audience very well. made the material interesting and instead of just teaching, encouraged interaction and hands-on learning.
Really liked the hands on element, liked how slides had only key ideas on them and not destroyed with words.
I loved how interactive and hands on this workshop was! You were able to explain everything very clearly and the tips were great.
I really liked Abe’s positive energy and clear, concise explanations. I don’t think anything could’ve been better. It was spectacular.
Finally, I asked the attendees what would interest them in the future — below is the aggregate of their responses. Hoping to reconnect with them in the future!
