Thank you to those who registered and attending our Ink & Pixels panel discussion for 2021! Our panelists from Stevenson University, JP Morgan Chase, Planit, Jones Knowles Ritchie, and Quicken/Rocket Companies had a fantastic discussion about the most important industry shifts designers need to know as they prepare to get hired in a post-COVID world. Watch the recording below to get all kinds of great insights on preparing your portfolio, being interactive on social media, and learning about all of the great tools and resources out there.
Connect with the panelists:
Lori Rubeling, Professor at Stevenson University
Raksa Yin, VP, Visual Designer at JP Morgan Chase
Nikki Bracy, PR & Social Media Account Director at Planit
Taylor Woods, Senior Designer at Jones Knowles Ritchie
Benjamin Guarino, Team Leader, UX Design at Quicken/Rocket Companies (panel moderator)
Quotes from the Chat:
Designers definitely need to be involved early on in the decision-making process for new products—makes a world of difference! Too many teams assume and don’t do the work to gather research from the end-user.
—Valerie Anderson, President, AIGA Baltimore
Keeping social media post simple and effective can be the toughest battle between you and the client. They want to advertise every CTA in one post. This has been a great reminder to not back down from what you know works and use evidence to show why it works.
—Aja McDaniels, Graphic Designer, Aja Mac Designs
Keep a student/learner mindset always, no matter your age or skill level!
—Kim Loper, Education Director, AIGA Baltimore
Watch the Recording!
Great Website Resources/Groups
- The Daily Carnage: https://carney.co/daily-carnage/ & https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheDailyCarnage
- Adweek https://www.adweek.com/
- Ad Age https://adage.com/
- Social Media Examiner https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
- Free Social Media Resources from HubSpot https://www.hubspot.com/resources/social-media
- Where are the Black Designers? https://wherearetheblackdesigners.com/
- Baltimore Graphic Designers https://www.facebook.com/groups/702663053518030
- Elevate & Cultivate https://www.facebook.com/groups/elevate.cultivate
Tools to Use:
- Collaborative workspaces: https://miro.com/marketplace/adobe-xd/
- Website building tool: https://readymag.com/
- Invision https://www.invisionapp.com/
Podcasts:
- Design Better Podcast https://www.designbetter.co/podcast
- Myth and Legend Podcast https://www.mythpodcast.com/
Free Ebooks & Short Reads:
- AIGA Report on Emerging Design Trends: https://educators.aiga.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/DESIGNER-2025-SUMMARY.pdf
- Principles of Product Design by Aarron Walter https://www.designbetter.co/principles-of-product-design
- Design Leadership Handbook by Aarron Walter and Eli Woolery https://www.designbetter.co/design-leadership-handbook
- Design Ops Handbook by Dave Malouf, Meredith Black, Collin Whitehead, Kate Battles, and Gregg Bernstein (editor) https://www.designbetter.co/designops-handbook
- Design Thinking Handbook by Eli Woolery https://www.designbetter.co/design-thinking
- Animation Handbook by Ryan McLeod https://www.designbetter.co/animation-handbook
Books & Longer Reads:
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Kim-Scott/dp/B01KTIEFEE
- A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History by Manuel De Landa https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Years-Nonlinear-History/dp/0942299329
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/1930824130
- Designing in Dark Times An Arendtian Lexicon by Virginia Tassinari & Eduardo Staszowski https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Dark-Times-Virginia-Tassinari/dp/1350070254
- Digital Design Theory: Readings from the Field (Design Briefs) by Helen Armstrong https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Design-Theory-Readings-Briefs/dp/1616893087/
- Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field by Helen Armstrong https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-Theory-Readings-Field/dp/1568987722/
- Design is Storytelling by Ellen Lupton https://www.amazon.com/Design-Storytelling-Ellen-Lupton/dp/194230319X/ (anything by Ellen Lupton is great)