Filling The UX Need: Finding The Talent (And The Opportunities) In The User Experience Industry

The user experience industry continues to explode in importance, yet finding the right talent – and opportunities – is still a challenge.

This month, we’ve invited a panel of industry professionals who will explore ideas on how to attract new talent as well as how those interested in User Experience can find opportunities in this fast-evolving field. We’ll dig into topics like: ever-shifting UX job titles & responsibilities, managing expectations from employers (and applicants) during interviews, and more!  

Space is limited for this in-person event so don’t forget to grab your ticket!

Richmond Design Group connects, inspires, celebrates, and amplifies the designers of today and tomorrow in the Richmond area.

Mock Interviews For Job Seeking UX Professionals

An evening of fast-paced fun and practice for job seekers and those who want to polish their interviewing skills.

Are you a job seeker looking to improve your interviewing skills? Or perhaps you want to polish your skills and prepare for your next job opportunity? Join us for an evening of fast-paced fun and practice to help you ace your next interview at Shift Retail Labs on VCU campus!

Our event will feature a series of mock interviews, where you’ll have a chance to practice answering common interview questions and receive feedback on your performance. You’ll have the opportunity to walk your interviewer through work in your portfolio or on your resume. The evening’s activities are designed to help you think on your feet, showcase your strengths, and overcome any interview jitters.

Led by your fearless industry professionals from the Richmond Design Group, this event is the perfect opportunity to get hands-on practice in a supportive and engaging environment. You’ll leave with a better understanding of your strengths and opportunities as an interviewee, and actionable tips to help you improve your performance in future interviews.

Whether you’re a recent graduate, a seasoned professional, or somewhere in between, this event is open to anyone who wants to build their confidence and ace their next job interview. Don’t miss this chance to have fun, learn, and connect with other job seekers in a dynamic and supportive environment! 

Space in this hands-on, interactive workshop is extremely limited. Reserve your spot today before there are no spots left!

02.25.23: In-person workshop – Practicing Service Design at the Science Museum of Virginia

Richmond Design Group connects, inspires, celebrates, and amplifies the designers of today and tomorrow in the Richmond area.

In-person Workshop

Get out your lab coats and dust off your clipboards! This month, we’re inviting you along with us to conduct a heuristic analysis of the service experience at the Science Museum of Virginia.

Heuristics offer fast, practical ways to solve problems or make decisions. As UX professionals, we use heuristic evaluations to systematically determine a design’s or a product’s usability. But how might your digital skills play out in the real world? And what does this have to do with the Science Museum of Virginia? Meet up with us at the museum and find out!

We’ll start at 1pm, talking about heuristic analysis and how to map it to a brick and mortar experience. Then we’ll set you loose in the museum with some thought starters – you can work on your own or with a group to discover what’s working well and where some experience gaps might exist. After our review, we’ll come back together to discuss our findings and recommendations. Finally, we’ll cap off the afternoon with a social meet & greet down the street at River City Roll.

Note: Reserving a space in the workshop is free, but gaining entry to the Science Museum is not.

Space in this hands-on, interactive workshop is extremely limited. Don’t forget to reserve your spot (free on Eventbrite) and purchase your Science Museum ticket for entry ($16 per person, with discounts for educators, or free for museum members)

RSVP so we know you’ll be there, then purchase admission to the Science Museum for Feb 25, 2023

10.28.22: Panel Discussion – Can Teamwork Really Make the Dream Work?

Richmond Design Group connects, inspires, celebrates, and amplifies the designers of today and tomorrow in the Richmond area.

Panel Discussion

This month, we’ve invited a panel of teammates from Simple Thread to share their knowledge as they discover, define, design, and develop digital experiences for their clients. Learn all the secrets of how this close-knit team works together from Research to Deployment on a variety of B2B and B2C projects. We’ll dig into things like: managing client expectations, keeping your assets organized, handoff from team to team and agency to client, and more!

Space is limited so don’t forget to grab your ticket!

Panelists

Stacey Warthen, Principal UX Designer, Simple Thread

Bio: Stacey has been crafting effective and intuitive experiences as a UX designer for 10+ years, working with a variety of clients and business verticals, from startups to enterprise businesses. She is particularly passionate about user research and creating inclusive, collaborative environments in the design and tech world.

Derek Heilmann, Senior UI/UX Designer, Simple Thread

Bio: Derek is a VCU grad with over 10 years of design experience at a variety of agencies and companies. He’s been working at Simple Thread for the last 4 years as the senior UI/UX designer managing design systems, interfaces and the overall user experience on a wide range of both B2B and B2C products.

Austin Carr, Senior Software Engineer, Simple Thread

Bio: 50% Designer, 50% Developer, 100% Hunk. Austin has worked professionally for 9 years making everything from library marketing websites to cyber security web apps. He loves harnessing the web to create delightful experiences that make people’s lives easier.

Coming 10.11.22: Social Hour at Ardent Craft Ales

Hey you! Richmond Design Group is officially back in session! Our first in-person meetup of the year takes place October 11 at Ardent Craft Ales from 5-7pm. Reconnect with old friends and make some new ones as we get together for this informal meet & greet social.

Get to know our Board for 2022-23, and join us as we kick off a season of programs to connect, inspire, celebrate, and amplify the designers of today and tomorrow in the Richmond area. Don’t forget to grab a ticket!

World IA Day Recap

Thank you all who came out to join us for World IA at VCU Brandcenter. The topic of the day was “Design for Difference” and we definitely got some difference in perspective and experiences that were shared. It was an amazing day full of thought-provoking speakers and panelists. As usual, we also had some lively discussion and got lot’s of divergent views and opinions on the table.

Kim Rees blew our minds from the outset talking about the influence of Data, Machine Learning and AI on design.

Our panel discussion, moderated by Erin White brought up some great points about the potential implications of not considering a diverse audience when you are designing.

Thanks again to Lisa Dance, Laura Turner Reid, and Scott Nixon for such a great discussion.

After lunch, we resumed with a really insightful look into designing a clinical research trial in Africa by Meghna Murali. Learning how to iterate a study around cultural norms very different than yours.

Then Samantha Willis introduced us to  #UnmaskingRVA and how we need to continue to unmask the pervasive prejudices that color our perspectives.

Then Zach Bryant helped us to consider both sides of a perspective when making our design decisions.

Finally, our closing keynote speaker Heather Winkle inspired us with her journey of achieving a deeper level of personal and professional fulfillment by “zooming out” to help take stock of where she was and where she wanted to be.

World IA Day in RVA!

It’s official! Richmond VA is going to be a host city for World IA Day in 2019.

• What is World IA Day? It is a one-day, global festival of all things IA (Information Architecture), UX, Interaction Design, Design Strategy, User Research and related disciplines. Host cities around the world all have events on the same day.
• When is it? Saturday, February 23 from 9-4:30 PM
• Where will it be? It will be hosted at the VCU Brandcenter
  103 S Jefferson St, Richmond, VA 23284
• Who should come?: Anyone interested in learning how design can change the world.
• Is there a theme?: Design for Difference.

From their website:

“As designers, we are responsible for creating worlds of experiences, environments, services, and systems that impact millions of people – with lasting impacts. While we don’t have a Hippocratic Oath, it’s important for us to follow a similar goal to “do good” and “do not harm.” It is our responsibility as IA’s to consider the consequences and impact our design decisions have on humanity and society as a whole.

Research is a foundational step in the design process. It ensures that we understand and account for diverse user needs within communities, both in our own domains and globally.”

Learn more here: (https://www.worldiaday.org/2019)

Speakers and Panelists:

Kim Rees – Head of Data Experience Design, Capital One
Samantha Willis – Freelance Journalist
Zach Bryant – Creative Director, Journey Group
Meghna Murali – Clinical Research Coordinator, Children’s National Health System
Andrew Levasseur – Experience Design Chair, VCU Brandcenter
Lisa Dance – UX Analyst, Genworth
Laura Turner Reid – User Research Director, ICF Olson
Scott Nixon –  Manager of AI Systems Design, Capital One
Erin White – Head of Digital Engagement, VCU Libraries
Heather Winkle – VP of Card Design, Capital One

Tickets:

Go to our event page to register and save your spot!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-ia-day-design-for-difference-tickets-54659873152

Partners:

Our Sponsors:

January Lightning Talks!

Thanks to everyone who came out to ICF Next last week for our January Lightning Talks with Ladies That UX and RVA Content Strategy. We saw some incredible speakers with great topics that challenged the way we approach our design solutions now and in the future.

Also a special thanks to our Sponsor Vitamin T for providing food and to ICF Next for hosting in their new office in downtown RVA.

We’ll see you all next month for World IA Day at VCU Brandcenter.