Design Co Meets Bay Area Design Companies
Design Co recently went on its yearly trip to go learn about how design is handled in industry. Students had the opportunity to visit Instagram, Workday, Square, Uber ATG, IDEO, Figma. Read some of their experiences below!
The companies were kept a secret for most of the group, so with each company there was a lot of excitement. On Thursday, our first stop was Instagram!
We were greeted by Crystal, Garren, and Kian, all of whom were alumni from UCSD. They showed us around the office and broke us into smaller groups to talk about their design journeys.
Garren gave a piece of advice that particularly stuck with one of our members. He said that just because you talk having an extensive design process didn’t mean that the process would always yield a good product.
Square
We trekked along to our next destination, Square, where Gabe, Todd, and Jessica introduced us to how they designed at their company. One of their core values is the importance of designing for trust, especially since they are dealing with people’s financials. People want to be sure that their money is safe, and that’s one of the biggest challenges.
They also gave us tips and tricks on how to really land full-time positions and internships. We learned that you shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to designers established in their careers. The worst that can happen is that they say no.
Workday
At Workday, we had our friends Joseph and Marisa help host our fourth annual Bay Area design alumni meetup. This event is meant for all UCSD alumni to come and chat with other alumni from the design community. This year marked our most attendance for the event, with over forty alumni joining us for the night!
“It was a fun experience that let me reconnect with my fellow peers and helped me make new friends in the area.” — Edwin Fu, Class of 2019
“It was awesome hearing how my friends from school are doing now in their careers and refreshing to talk to the new wave of talent coming into the industry in the next couple of years! “— Melissa Ngu, Class of 2017
IDEO
On Friday, we started the day at IDEO, a design firm that students at UCSD always learn about from our design classes (shoutout to the shopping cart example we always learn about). We had Vinh give us a special look into how IDEO designs, and some of the projects they had worked on, ranging from US voting systems to a team-up with the fashion industry.
Vinh even gave us a story about a side project that popped up as a joke, showing that inspirations can literally come out of nowhere. He also dove into how you do not always have to work for a big company like Facebook or Amazon. It’s important that it fits your style, and that you really are enjoying the work that you will be doing.
Uber ATG
Our friend Nastasha showed us around the research division of Uber, where they presented some of their projects like self-driving cars. They gave us a look into how they particularly designed in Figma and how that collaboration looked across the organization.
Our big takeaway is that implementing small fun things can really impact the culture in a big way. For example, for Figma there are image previews for every file. Instead of having a bunch of designs as the preview, the Uber team decided to make fun, quirky graphics to show to the team. It brightens up the mood before they get down to business on what they will be presenting.
Figma
Our last stop of the trip was at Figma where Jenny and her team held an informal Q&A about what they do. One of the most interesting questions asked was in regards to what they do if they want something that isn’t a feature yet in Figma. The designers simply said they just had to design and make a case for it.
Since Figma is fairly young and still considers itself a startup, we learned that the designers have to often wear multiple hats on time-intensive schedules. This was a stark contrast in the environment compared to some corporations we visited, where people have more specialized roles and are more focused on a single aspect of the project.
Meet the Fellows
This year, we did something special and gave the opportunity for some general members to come with us.
There were over thirty applicants and we could only take three. Students were required to write short answers as to why they want to come on the trip. Read more about their experiences below!
We asked our fellows two questions:
- How did you get involved with Design Co and the overall design community?
- What was your biggest takeaway from the companies?
Syed Adam Emir Putra
Before coming to UCSD, I knew I wanted to get involved in some sort of design community. I remember exploring various organizations and research labs such as The Design Lab, Fi @ UCSD, and of course Design Co. Only until last quarter, had I really come out to almost every single event hosted by Design Co.
I cannot help but applaud Design Co for its efforts to advance the design community here at UCSD. The students leading the organization are caring and excellent design mentors to the design community they have built. If you have been to any of the design events they have hosted, there shouldn’t be any hesitation to return to their next event because of how informative and relevant the Design Co sessions are. I hope to be a part of Design Co’s mission and help other designers alike as it has helped me prepare for my journey as a designer.
Braeanne Oribello
I changed my major at the beginning of Spring quarter and wanted to find an org that had anything to do with design. I found the org through Facebook, and their GBMs is where I connected with my friends, Amy and Mylinh! Ever since then, I’ve taken a lot of my Design or Cog Sci classes with them.
I’ve always found the Design community here at UCSD to be very friendly, and that was really important for me since this school can get really competitive. Since then, I’ve just tried to apply to any positions on campus that have anything to do with design. Now I’m working on a project at The Design Lab and am a Design Intern for KSDT!
My biggest takeaway is that as young designers in college, it can sometimes be really intimidating to talk to professionals who are already so well established and accomplished. But at the end of the day, we are all just passionate designers who want to have a positive impact on people. The design community is very welcoming and open to talking to those who ask for help, and I hope to use this piece of advice in the future.
Tanish Jindal
Since Fall 2019 was my first quarter at UCSD as a transfer junior, I missed deadlines to join all the clubs simply because I didn’t know about the application process. I got to know about Design Co the day that the Facebook event was taking place ironically through Facebook events.
Since I am a huge believer in personal development, I just had to come and learn from other people in the design community. The Facebook event taught me so much since I was actually able to ask questions from actual designers working for such a huge company like Facebook. After that event, I knew that I had to make time each week to learn from designers at UCSD who were more knowledgeable than I was. This has helped me discover some new opportunities that I may not have had access to otherwise. Also, I met some very interesting designers through this club.
Vinh’s experience at IDEO along with him actually running a business alongside is commendable enough. There were a few tips that really struck me though. He mentioned how he treats learning new software as a game, which allows him to learn the software very quickly because we always strive to finish the game. I also loved the advice of question everything, knowing when to stop, and trusting my process. The biggest thing I have been preaching the past few months is the art of storytelling, so it was absolutely great to hear him giving that advice to us students.
See You Next Year!
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