Earlier this month, we sent 10 lucky UX Academy students and alumni to Dribbble’s Hang Time event in New York City, joining nearly 600 other attendees!
Dribbble is an industry-shaping platform where designers can network, showcase their work, and get hired. Hang Time NYC took place in the amazing Hammerstein Ballroom on June 6th, and featured a stellar lineup of design leaders, including keynotes by Matt D. Smith and Joshua Davis, talks by Cat Noone and Kelli Anderson, and a closing session by the legendary design pioneer David Carson.
Designlab students took part on some of Dribbble’s “deep-dive” workshops, including Jon Contino’s session about starting a creative business, Danielle Evans’ workshop on creating expressive typography, and Matt D. Smith on breaking down the design process.
Jay Wang, UX Academy graduate from the Eaves cohort, was pleased to see designing for inclusion on the agenda:
I’m glad to see designers discuss designing for accessibility. It’s a big topic that my company is working to address, so it’s great to learn some tips and see how other companies are tackling the challenge.
Dennis Guevara, UX Academy student in the Doves cohort, shared his takeaways from the event:
The message that all the designers conveyed was the importance of maintaining human emotion, and not being afraid to embrace imperfections within design ideas. Not just copying ideas, but trying to find new ways of borrowing from established norms. Trying new ideas that break away from established design parameters.
Another great point was including all design ideas when pitching to a customer, from the most radical concept to the most simple. Not being afraid of failing, and taking the small wins when a customer thinks your idea is too radical. Making sure a small part of your idea is still present.
Continue working hard and eventually you will achieve your goals. There is no straight path to a perfect job. It’s on the winding road and via detours that you will achieve true success.
Check out more photos from the event below. Big thanks to our friends at Dribbble for the invite!
Photos from Hang Time NYC, courtesy of Designlab grad Melissa Nguyen. Main header image credit: Dribbble.
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