1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,800 What is design design? We know has a design problem, a 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,100 lot of folks. Don't know what design is. 3 00:00:06,500 --> 00:00:09,000 They don't know who is succeeding. 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,000 That looks like them. They don't know the salary 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,400 levels, right? And they also don't know where 6 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,000 to start, right? So what I would love for Mom and 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,100 Dad, I want to be a designer to do is to address all of those 8 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:24,400 meaning. Here's what design is. 9 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,000 Here's how design shows up in your life. 10 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,400 The Netflix app Etc. Dora. 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,900 Here are POC that look like you and have come from a similar 12 00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:37,900 background as you. The reader that are thriving in 13 00:00:37,900 --> 00:00:43,800 the industry. Hello, and welcome to design, 14 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:48,000 adjacent the podcast that talks about the Nexus of design both 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,300 today. And tomorrow, I'm your host, Ben 16 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:54,900 EF Johnson. We all know that the price of 17 00:00:54,900 --> 00:00:59,600 education is expensive but yet the true cost of education is 18 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:04,900 about It's often our entry point to our profession, to a better 19 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:08,500 life to a way of fulfilling our dreams, providing for our 20 00:01:08,500 --> 00:01:12,700 family, and our self in creating identity, education is 21 00:01:12,700 --> 00:01:17,100 increasingly valuable. But there's a challenge I'm 22 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:21,400 excited to share with you. Our guest today is Rakesh Gupta. 23 00:01:21,900 --> 00:01:24,700 He is the founder of the useful School. 24 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:29,800 The world's first pay, what you can online design school? 25 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:35,500 Principally for people of color. Yes, a pay which you can Online 26 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:38,500 School of Design. Ra T specializes in product 27 00:01:38,500 --> 00:01:41,700 design and product development, branding typography and growth 28 00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:45,400 analytics and he's collaborated and worked with many leading 29 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,300 agencies and companies over his career. 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,600 And his work about useful school has been featured in adweek, our 31 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,700 very own aiga, I own design wallpaper prank brand-new and 32 00:01:56,700 --> 00:01:59,000 several other loop industry magazines. 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,400 He's been a volunteer for where the black designers and he 34 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,400 served in senior director of product Venture roles at various 35 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,800 companies. So today, I'd like to Welcome to 36 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,400 our podcast none other than 40 script. 37 00:02:11,900 --> 00:02:13,400 Thank you for joining me. Kisser. 38 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:15,900 Thanks for having me. I'm stoked to be here. 39 00:02:16,300 --> 00:02:19,000 It's incredible. And maybe first connect it. 40 00:02:19,100 --> 00:02:21,400 When you were sharing, I have this idea and I have this 41 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:26,600 concept with the useful school and its really hit a positive 42 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,300 note, like it's a really hard even describe the way, the 43 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,600 Outpouring has been for this note of, how do we create a 44 00:02:33,608 --> 00:02:37,400 space that re-envisioned design, education? 45 00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:40,700 And, you know, in thinking about this and you tackle so many 46 00:02:40,700 --> 00:02:45,000 things with it, the content what's being taught the mode in 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,900 which the way it's being taught and the price barrier, what 48 00:02:48,900 --> 00:02:53,700 really brought you to this idea. So when I was researching, this 49 00:02:53,700 --> 00:02:57,800 idea, just broad Strokes, all right. 50 00:02:58,100 --> 00:03:02,900 I came across Ross, the aiga Google census data, that was 51 00:03:02,900 --> 00:03:07,900 published a few years ago. And at the time, the website 52 00:03:08,100 --> 00:03:12,600 allowed me to download the Excel file and actually look through 53 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:19,100 the research myself and what I noticed after looking at the 54 00:03:19,100 --> 00:03:23,400 data and creating my own reports based on that using pivot 55 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,100 tables, and all these vlookups and all these, like random 56 00:03:26,100 --> 00:03:28,200 things that I learned being an economics, major. 57 00:03:29,100 --> 00:03:33,100 I found that there was really interesting data around the 58 00:03:33,100 --> 00:03:36,400 struggles that POC are having right. 59 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:40,600 I noticed that there was a sharp, distinct lack of POC that 60 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,500 were entering the industry. And I also noticed that there is 61 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:50,100 a high degree of POC compared to non POC leaving the industry, 62 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:52,300 once they actually get into it. Mmm. 63 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:58,200 And with that data I presented it I presented it at the brand 64 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:03,300 new conference It's in Las Vegas in 2019, which was part of me 65 00:04:03,300 --> 00:04:08,600 presenting a Rebrand that I worked on and I was nervous. 66 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:12,600 I was nervous about sharing that data because typically at 67 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,300 conferences, you hear all the good things, here's Anna. 68 00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:20,500 Great thing that I worked on and let's talk about how I got to 69 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:23,500 it. But typically, you don't hear 70 00:04:23,500 --> 00:04:28,600 about issues challenges and ways to solve these types. 71 00:04:28,700 --> 00:04:31,400 Oops of deep-seated problems at conferences. 72 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,200 So I was very nervous to present it. 73 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:40,200 When I presented the work, I felt a huge weight off my 74 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,800 shoulder and I felt good about it. 75 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:45,500 I felt good about sharing this data. 76 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:50,300 I felt good about supporting folks that needed to be 77 00:04:50,308 --> 00:04:53,400 supported and it was really validated right afterwards. 78 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,200 A person by the name of forced Young, Who at the time, was the 79 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:01,400 chief creative officer of wool. Is he came up to me after the 80 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,600 speech and said, you know what, I loved what you said, but I'm 81 00:05:05,608 --> 00:05:07,200 going to make. I have a challenge for you. 82 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,000 Do something about it. I would love for you to figure 83 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,900 out a way to address some of the issues that you mentioned. 84 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,200 And I said, you know what Forest, you got it look out for 85 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:23,000 an email from me in the next month or two with a full 86 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,700 business plan. And in addition to that 87 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,600 validation, I also so felt my own struggles kind of come out. 88 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,600 I felt the truth of the fact that my parents didn't allow me 89 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,800 to do a design major. I felt also other people after 90 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,400 my speech they came up to me both POC and non POC came out to 91 00:05:44,408 --> 00:05:45,900 music. Thank you so much for sharing 92 00:05:45,900 --> 00:05:48,800 this info, what's on your mind? Like, how can I help? 93 00:05:49,100 --> 00:05:52,500 And so all of these factors both my personal experiences as well 94 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:56,700 as validation from others, on all different, kind of levels 95 00:05:56,700 --> 00:05:58,600 within the industry. Both beginners. 96 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,300 And super, super Advanced experts like Forest they really 97 00:06:02,300 --> 00:06:04,100 encouraged me to pursue something like this. 98 00:06:04,700 --> 00:06:09,000 What was the moment that she realized that useful school 99 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,000 would be that answer you doing something about it. 100 00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:15,800 You know to go to go from the presentation to go first seeing 101 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,700 the data right? And we have that mode of inside 102 00:06:17,700 --> 00:06:21,600 and then presenting it and then moving from this challenge for 103 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:25,700 Is he's a good friend of AIG are former board member and good 104 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:27,200 friend. See Chris, the challenge out 105 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:28,600 there, which I can hear it in his voice. 106 00:06:28,700 --> 00:06:31,200 What to do about it, when do you turn that corner? 107 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,100 And you realize that useful school is the answer. 108 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:38,500 So, there's two moments where I realized that this thing is 109 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:42,200 real. I put together a business model, 110 00:06:42,500 --> 00:06:44,500 I used a template, very well-known template, the 111 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:48,100 business model canvas, which forced me to think about 112 00:06:48,300 --> 00:06:50,000 Revenue. Forced me to think about the 113 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,500 population forced me to think about the various activities. 114 00:06:53,500 --> 00:06:57,700 I needed to take to actually make this thing a real thing 115 00:06:58,100 --> 00:06:59,900 when I started. Floating that around to various 116 00:06:59,900 --> 00:07:02,100 folks. I was very encouraged by, by the 117 00:07:02,100 --> 00:07:05,100 feedback, right? The second moment. 118 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:07,400 And this was probably the one that really, really started 119 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,200 feeling really real is when I actually announced on LinkedIn. 120 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:13,800 So I now stand LinkedIn in early December. 121 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:16,900 Honestly not having everything figured out, right? 122 00:07:16,900 --> 00:07:21,000 I didn't necessarily have all my ducks in a row, but I said I put 123 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,000 it on myself to say, you know what, early December or bust. 124 00:07:24,100 --> 00:07:26,900 Just like, put something out there and let's figure it out. 125 00:07:26,900 --> 00:07:33,200 So what I did was Over the many months preceding that I built 126 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:34,200 out. The landing page. 127 00:07:34,300 --> 00:07:35,800 I started thinking about The Branding. 128 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,400 I started being like, Oh, how cool would it be to use only 129 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,100 fonts from POC? Then I dug for hundreds of 130 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:44,700 hours, finding POC type designers, okay. 131 00:07:44,700 --> 00:07:49,800 And I started learning about how I can bring the stories of the 132 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,400 various type designers and their background into the brand. 133 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:55,000 I started thinking about what the brain should be just in 134 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:56,800 general. I started thinking about who the 135 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,800 partners I should bring a board. And all of that. 136 00:08:00,100 --> 00:08:01,900 And that's when it felt really real. 137 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,800 When I announced it on LinkedIn, I put myself out there. 138 00:08:05,300 --> 00:08:07,800 I put the idea out in the world. I threw that energy on the 139 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,100 world. And within the first 24 hours, 140 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:13,100 we essentially filled our first cohort. 141 00:08:13,300 --> 00:08:16,600 Now, we kept the application open right through early January 142 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,900 for this first cohort. But that's when it felt really 143 00:08:18,900 --> 00:08:22,500 real, when I saw an outpouring of support on the comments likes 144 00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:26,100 and shares when kind of viral on LinkedIn and then also got a 145 00:08:26,100 --> 00:08:28,500 really amazing set of soon-to-be. 146 00:08:28,700 --> 00:08:32,200 And current designers as part of the first class, that's when it 147 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,000 felt really, really beautiful. I saw the outpouring within the 148 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:38,100 spreadsheet application of they're filling out the 149 00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:40,000 spreadsheet that I was looking at on the backend. 150 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,400 How other institutions have failed them, why useful school 151 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,900 is perfect for them. The fact that a lack of a price 152 00:08:46,900 --> 00:08:51,100 barrier is now allowing them to pursue design in an exciting 153 00:08:51,100 --> 00:08:52,700 way. All of these types of things 154 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:54,700 made. It feel really real, what was 155 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,100 the most surprising thing for you? 156 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:58,500 You launch right? Step out. 157 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,200 And decide you're going to launch the program. 158 00:09:01,500 --> 00:09:04,700 When you looked at the response of those coming in, especially 159 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:08,400 new entrance. What surprised you in terms of 160 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,400 their receptivity to the program? 161 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000 There's a good number of things, that surprised me. 162 00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:22,100 I would say, number one, is how powerful sharing ideas is 163 00:09:22,100 --> 00:09:24,000 without having everything figured out. 164 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:30,000 I found that a lot of POC, have a Occult time putting themselves 165 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,800 out there, even if their work isn't completely finished or 166 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,900 isn't quote-unquote, perfect. Whatever that term means, and I 167 00:09:37,900 --> 00:09:41,000 was very surprised by the outpouring of support from the 168 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,800 students even though not everything was completely 169 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,100 visible. Meaning we did not publicly 170 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:52,200 share who the secret guest would be like we did not have a full 171 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,900 on landing page that outlined in very, very detail. 172 00:09:55,900 --> 00:09:57,600 Like, what they could look forward to. 173 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,800 We had like, very cute Deliverables, that they would be 174 00:09:59,808 --> 00:10:02,000 getting. We had very key lessons that 175 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,200 they would learn. But besides that we had we kept 176 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:08,500 a lot of, a lot of it, kind of shrouded in mystery on purpose, 177 00:10:08,700 --> 00:10:10,900 okay. And the second thing that 178 00:10:10,900 --> 00:10:17,300 surprised me was that a lot of would be designers and current 179 00:10:17,300 --> 00:10:20,300 designers who want to get promoted are hyper aware. 180 00:10:20,900 --> 00:10:25,300 I knew that that was the case but to see it actually in like 181 00:10:25,300 --> 00:10:28,200 words in the in their applications was something that 182 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:29,500 I would do. Not expect. 183 00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:31,700 Okay? So for example, what we're 184 00:10:31,700 --> 00:10:38,000 asking applicants to submit is not only their work and and 185 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,400 answering a bunch of questions. But one question specifically is 186 00:10:42,700 --> 00:10:47,800 okay, out of the curriculum that you've seen on our website? 187 00:10:47,900 --> 00:10:50,400 What are additional things that you want to learn? 188 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:56,600 And so literally, I'm using the product design and user process 189 00:10:56,900 --> 00:10:59,900 user research process to actually Prove the product 190 00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:05,100 itself and typically students don't have that relationship 191 00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:08,800 with an online education platform, much less a university 192 00:11:09,300 --> 00:11:13,500 where they actually actively feel part of the actual building 193 00:11:14,100 --> 00:11:16,900 of the thing rather than just being handed a syllabus. 194 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,000 And that's what you're going to learn like Vera, an active 195 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,600 participant, their actual things that they're learning and that 196 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,100 was a really surprising thing to me to actually put myself out 197 00:11:27,100 --> 00:11:29,500 there and say you know what? We don't have everything figured 198 00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:32,400 out, help us figure it. Out was a super empowering thing 199 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:36,100 for both the students, as well as the speakers as well as 200 00:11:36,100 --> 00:11:39,200 myself. So, as you work through, I think 201 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,000 you're about eight or so weeks through on this. 202 00:11:42,300 --> 00:11:45,500 This first cohort they should come through, are you seeing any 203 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:49,700 similarities between the new entrant cohort and the advanced 204 00:11:49,700 --> 00:11:52,600 cohort who seeing any similarities in the stories and 205 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:54,600 experience? Yes, and no. 206 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,500 Okay, so the beginner students are looking to get their first 207 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:03,100 Product design or product design adjacent roll, right? 208 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,100 The advanced students are all mid-level to senior level 209 00:12:07,100 --> 00:12:09,600 product designers looking to get promoted. 210 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,000 Okay, looking to get a raise. So the fact that all the 211 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,900 students are POC allows for a lot of similar conversations to 212 00:12:16,900 --> 00:12:21,000 happen, just being a POC, whether you're the only pure C 213 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:23,800 or one of only a few at organizations. 214 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:27,500 Those conversations are similar. But the experience is 215 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:29,800 specifically that Dinner students are having versus 216 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:32,800 Advanced students are having often times are pretty 217 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,400 dissimilar. So, for example, a student last 218 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:41,000 week actually wanted to spend some time during the class to 219 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,800 talk about an issue that they were having with a white 220 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,500 engineer, who had more power in terms of corporate hierarchy 221 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:54,200 than them. And they wanted to talk through 222 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:57,400 how they handle the situation, what the situation was and 223 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,900 gather feedback. From the rest of the crew within 224 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:04,600 the class as well as me and the guest speakers to figure out 225 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,300 what are additional things they could have done to address the 226 00:13:08,300 --> 00:13:11,200 problem. These types of experiences are 227 00:13:11,500 --> 00:13:15,600 really important to talk about especially for advanced 228 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:19,600 designers because number one, it's very helpful. 229 00:13:19,700 --> 00:13:24,500 But number two, is it takes what Harvard Business School and all 230 00:13:24,500 --> 00:13:26,800 these other places do where they do like a quote-unquote case 231 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:29,000 study. But instead of just Talking 232 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,200 about a case study as just like this ephemeral thing that 233 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:34,800 doesn't necessarily apply to your real life. 234 00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:37,400 We're talking about real life issues that POC are having 235 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:39,800 Contrary. We're talking about beginner 236 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:44,200 students, they are looking to really refine their craft and 237 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,200 learn figma and like learn how to present their portfolios in a 238 00:13:48,208 --> 00:13:52,000 very confident way. And yes, confidence lack of 239 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,800 confidence or wanting to build. Confidence is a string that I 240 00:13:54,808 --> 00:13:57,900 see that's similar across both beginner students at Advanced 241 00:13:57,900 --> 00:14:00,200 students. But it shows up and the types of 242 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,600 conversations that we have our handles very differently, right? 243 00:14:04,300 --> 00:14:08,600 So, are you seeing in terms of organizational maturity? 244 00:14:09,100 --> 00:14:12,400 Are you seeing that your that folks are new to the 245 00:14:12,408 --> 00:14:15,100 professional space or just new to the practice of design? 246 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,800 Yes, and yes. Okay, so they are new in both of 247 00:14:19,808 --> 00:14:22,800 those ways. There are some folks who have 248 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:28,400 been business designers wear or have or studying graphic design 249 00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:33,300 or have never really thought about themselves as product 250 00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:36,000 designers just generally and they want to, they want to 251 00:14:36,008 --> 00:14:39,400 explore a product design path. And then there's a good number 252 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:43,900 of them who have explored a product design pass, but they 253 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,800 reached or hit some sort of wall and this wall could be related 254 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:51,900 to lack of mentorship, right? This wall could be lack of, not 255 00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:55,800 necessarily knowing what is the right thing to do and how to no 256 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:57,400 one what it's right, what's right? 257 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,000 And what's wrong Also, and this is like why this is very 258 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,600 important for me to do live classes or at least start with 259 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,300 live classes. Is a lot of folks, really need a 260 00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:11,100 live experience often times, especially curricula that is 261 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:14,000 self-paced. Often times those appeal to 262 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,200 folks that are already pretty motivated and are not 263 00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:23,500 neurodivergent or experience a lack of confidence. 264 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:27,500 These are folks that are typically from based on various 265 00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:31,400 research Self-paced classes, where you could like, watch a 266 00:15:31,408 --> 00:15:35,600 set of videos or watch a set, a read a set of material is 267 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:41,800 typically more helpful to folks within that kind of population 268 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,000 and the live context is really important. 269 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,200 So not only are we kind of embracing and being able to talk 270 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,500 about issues that we're having, but they also get a really 271 00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:56,400 strong sense and Vibe. Right of being able to work 272 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,400 together, provide life feedback to each other. 273 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,800 Do literally things that they're going to have to do on a 274 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,800 day-to-day basis. Provide feedback here feedback 275 00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:07,900 provide helpful resources, other people, etc, etc. 276 00:16:08,300 --> 00:16:10,700 It's really interesting and I wanted us to spend some time it 277 00:16:10,700 --> 00:16:14,000 kind of thinking of how you've layered this program and 278 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,400 approach and you have these parallel paths that are really 279 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:21,500 taking people from the spaces reinforcing professional craf, 280 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,600 why you're designing in what way you are building your ability to 281 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:29,100 present, your ideas, defend your ideas and share and Space. 282 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,000 And it's really powerful. And of the first moment, I'm 283 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,500 going to summons a little bit of our friend forest and ask you 284 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:38,200 for your next challenge. So now that you've built this 285 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,800 base, the foundation for the useful school. 286 00:16:41,700 --> 00:16:44,200 What next? I know this speaks to some of 287 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:46,400 the data you understood but what's next? 288 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:52,100 So, I do want to say radical changes require radical changes, 289 00:16:52,500 --> 00:16:56,700 right? And within what the future 290 00:16:56,700 --> 00:17:00,000 holds, I would like to think Have listeners think about that. 291 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,700 Statement, radical change require requires radical 292 00:17:02,700 --> 00:17:04,900 changes. There are a few things that I'm 293 00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:07,300 looking to do. That are particular. 294 00:17:07,300 --> 00:17:12,400 Exciting number one is, I am looking to build an online 295 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,099 resource. That is Catered towards high 296 00:17:16,099 --> 00:17:20,599 schoolers or those of a high school age as well as their 297 00:17:20,599 --> 00:17:23,700 financial supporters who typically are parents and I'm 298 00:17:23,700 --> 00:17:26,400 looking to create an online resource called Mom and Dad, I 299 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:31,900 want to be a designer, okay? And what this online tool is is 300 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:34,800 it's essentially a brochure for the design industry. 301 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:40,100 It helps both students like would be designers as well as 302 00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:45,200 their parents understand number one, what is design? 303 00:17:45,300 --> 00:17:47,600 Design? We know has a design problem, a 304 00:17:47,608 --> 00:17:49,900 lot of folks, don't know what design is. 305 00:17:50,300 --> 00:17:52,900 They don't know who is succeeding. 306 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,800 That looks like them. They don't know the salary 307 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,300 levels, right? And they also don't know where 308 00:17:58,500 --> 00:18:01,900 Start right. So what I would love for Mom and 309 00:18:01,900 --> 00:18:06,300 Dad, I want to be a designer to do is to address all of those 310 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:08,400 meaning. Here's what design is. 311 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:11,000 Here's how design shows up in your life. 312 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,100 The Netflix app, etc. Etc. 313 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:18,800 Here are POC that look like you and have come from a similar 314 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,800 background as you. The reader that are thriving in 315 00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,600 the industry. Number three is looking at here 316 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,300 are the different types of design. 317 00:18:28,900 --> 00:18:33,000 And based on your personality background etc, etc, where you 318 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,200 might fit in best. And then also looking at 319 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:40,100 salaries, let's talk about the fact that designers can within a 320 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:43,100 few years actually make a six figure income, right? 321 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:44,600 And let's, let's put that on the table. 322 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,300 Let's make that more transparent. 323 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,600 And then the, lastly is where do I start? 324 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,400 All right. Well, you can learn useful 325 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,900 school, you can learn at etc, etc. 326 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:58,300 So, I'm really excited to launch this website resource. 327 00:18:58,500 --> 00:19:00,200 End of the year. I think this is going to be 328 00:19:00,208 --> 00:19:04,400 something that's going to be incredibly helpful useful to use 329 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,800 the brand language, right? Right. 330 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:10,900 Yes, we incredibly useful to helping really shift our 331 00:19:10,900 --> 00:19:15,100 paradigms and how we think about the work, how we think about 332 00:19:15,100 --> 00:19:16,800 working with populations that need it. 333 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,900 And oftentimes those are populations who know nothing 334 00:19:19,900 --> 00:19:22,100 about design, or who have never considered design. 335 00:19:22,900 --> 00:19:25,300 There are other things that I'm looking to do that. 336 00:19:25,300 --> 00:19:28,300 I'm incredibly excited about. I've heard a lot of folks. 337 00:19:28,700 --> 00:19:31,700 Want to be part of useful school, they're totally 338 00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:34,300 qualified it makes so much sense for them. 339 00:19:34,500 --> 00:19:39,100 But due to the live model that we've created, they're looking 340 00:19:39,100 --> 00:19:45,300 to actually embrace some of the footage and have that on their 341 00:19:45,300 --> 00:19:48,000 own time. So what I'm looking to do is 342 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,400 create some sort of pay, what you can Master Class Style, 343 00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:55,800 video series for folks, who are not able to take the class live, 344 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,800 but have time, where they Actually, after watching the 345 00:19:59,808 --> 00:20:03,100 material congregate, with other students who are doing something 346 00:20:03,100 --> 00:20:05,500 similar to keep everyone held accountable. 347 00:20:05,700 --> 00:20:10,100 So this is kind of a blend between self-paced and the live 348 00:20:10,100 --> 00:20:14,200 curriculum that I'm incredibly excited about and this is going 349 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,400 to help, not only grow the, the user base, and the students and 350 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,000 grow sponsorships and everything across, really the world's 351 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,800 because right now, we're really only super serving the United 352 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,300 States, but this will allowed grow a global footprint and also 353 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,400 start to think about what other classes I want to offer. 354 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,400 So given these models in this Monumental shift that we're 355 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,500 seeing with, in online education, I am really excited 356 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:43,300 about exploring other classes. So I'm happy to announce that we 357 00:20:43,300 --> 00:20:45,800 are going to be launching branding classes. 358 00:20:46,100 --> 00:20:48,900 We also have hundreds applicants to take a financial Wellness 359 00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:50,900 class, okay? And I'm also particularly 360 00:20:50,900 --> 00:20:54,500 interested in doing other lifestyle classes, like pay when 361 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:57,000 you can cooking class where, based on your income level are 362 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,900 based on, like the money that you have in your Hawk in your 363 00:20:58,900 --> 00:21:01,500 bank account. What recipes are good for you? 364 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:03,700 Based on your time based on all these things? 365 00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:06,300 Like I'm really excited about like starting to think about all 366 00:21:06,300 --> 00:21:10,900 these other ways to utilize the model that's being proven to 367 00:21:10,900 --> 00:21:12,900 work. And I'm really excited to also 368 00:21:12,900 --> 00:21:15,100 announce that the class isn't even done. 369 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,000 Just like you said, we already have one student Victor, who got 370 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:23,100 a 17 percent salary increase. We also have Tameka Henry who 371 00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:25,700 just landed their First Progress. 372 00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:30,100 I enroll full-time at Spotify. We have students who are already 373 00:21:30,100 --> 00:21:34,200 thriving and they are taking some of the curriculum and 374 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,300 utilizing. It being empowered to use 375 00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:39,400 utilize in their own, in their own means, and they're 376 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:41,900 absolutely killing it. So, I'm really excited to just 377 00:21:41,900 --> 00:21:47,100 continue to help support the students in ways that are that 378 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:50,400 are meant for them. That means continue to do 379 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,000 product design classes. But really exploring everything 380 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,700 else that I just mentioned. It's really refreshing and 381 00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:59,100 really exciting. I'm going to go I could be to 382 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:01,900 one of the first things you talked about suggest offer our 383 00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:05,500 support in there. The idea of exposing the 384 00:22:05,500 --> 00:22:08,400 opportunity of design as a profession, to students and to 385 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,000 the parents and space in, there is something that's near and 386 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,700 dear to me but also to us at aiga. 387 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:17,400 So would love to be able to partner with you on that with 388 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,600 our new extended research that we're doing our design POV. 389 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,400 We're actually been asking some of those questions and pulling 390 00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:25,600 data in there on what the salary looks like. 391 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,200 What is career arcs where there are some of the spaces and 392 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:29,900 highwomen? Highlighting people of color in 393 00:22:29,900 --> 00:22:32,500 this space is to be a nice support of what you're, what 394 00:22:32,500 --> 00:22:33,800 you're doing and thinking about there. 395 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,800 So, I wanted to make sure that you knew you have my support 396 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,600 there as well. Really interesting to think 397 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,400 about, you know, as you've built this out, any kind of filling in 398 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,800 the knee, it has been kind of centered to kind of East Coast 399 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:51,000 time zone us, but seeing that the need becomes broader and a 400 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,900 we see about 15 to 20 percent of our virtual programming, our 401 00:22:54,900 --> 00:22:57,700 students from all across the globe, we're coming in, who may 402 00:22:57,700 --> 00:23:00,600 not be isolated. It in one space they may be out 403 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,100 of the US, the week. Number one inside the u.s. week, 404 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:04,600 number three, and back and forth. 405 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,400 We're seeing a lot of, a lot of movement, do you see 406 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:11,800 opportunities for multiple cohorts? 407 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,500 If you will to give you some of that same as I know that, you 408 00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:18,800 know, one of the heart of this has been the live experience, 409 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:20,600 kind of building a community connection. 410 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,500 Could you see there being an East Coast cohort a central Time 411 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:28,500 cohort, West Coast and so forth. So people can they don't have To 412 00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:31,300 take the choice, they can still get that experience if the mass 413 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:34,700 is there, you know, if you have enough 100%? 414 00:23:34,700 --> 00:23:38,800 So I do want to give a shout-out to one school, which is part of 415 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:42,800 the one club for creativity led by Oriole Davis Lions which 416 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,700 helps bring black creators into the advertising industry. 417 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,000 And what they've done is, they've created multiple cohorts 418 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,700 across, multiple locations a West Coast as well as East Coast 419 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:54,700 etc, etc. I'm looking to definitely 420 00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:59,900 explore that and I also want to Incheon and underlying something 421 00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:04,800 that you said earlier about the pay structure and how the 422 00:24:04,808 --> 00:24:08,600 business model of useful School works because it kind of is 423 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,800 related to to some of the stuff we just talked about, right? 424 00:24:13,100 --> 00:24:16,600 Number one is that it's truly pay what you can. 425 00:24:17,100 --> 00:24:22,300 That means no loans. That means no income share 426 00:24:22,300 --> 00:24:24,900 agreements where you pay zero dollars up front and then you 427 00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:26,600 owe a percentage of your income in the future. 428 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,800 None of that. And the way that has worked for 429 00:24:31,900 --> 00:24:32,600 useless. Cool. 430 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:36,700 So far is that we are supported by incredible sponsors and 431 00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:39,600 partners. And we also have a good number 432 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:43,400 of individual monetary like patreon style contributors. 433 00:24:44,100 --> 00:24:47,100 And then, of course, the last way useless coal, generates 434 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,900 monetary capital is from the students themselves. 435 00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:55,500 So what we're having here is not just relying on any given 436 00:24:55,900 --> 00:25:00,400 stakeholder to provide capital We're relying and dissipating, 437 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,000 the resourcing across multiple populations again the companies 438 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:06,700 individuals who are not able to take the class for whatever 439 00:25:06,700 --> 00:25:10,000 reason and want to contribute as well as the students themselves. 440 00:25:10,300 --> 00:25:13,600 Now, what's interesting about the companies and the 441 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,400 contributors is a lot of them don't necessarily expect 442 00:25:17,500 --> 00:25:20,900 anything in return. The idea that they love the 443 00:25:20,900 --> 00:25:24,800 model and they want to provide more exposure to POC, right? 444 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:28,100 Is oftentimes more than enough but of course we have other 445 00:25:28,100 --> 00:25:30,700 benefits. Benefits including giving the 446 00:25:30,900 --> 00:25:36,500 sponsors and partners kind of all the portfolios and there's 447 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:38,900 marketing that we do together. There's curriculum. 448 00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:40,100 Curriculum. That we create together. 449 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:43,000 There's all these amazing, beautiful things but what I've 450 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,400 heard is one of the top reasons to support is because it's the 451 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,900 right thing to do. And so that's the kind of 452 00:25:50,100 --> 00:25:54,400 rational and emotional Equity within that is something that I 453 00:25:54,408 --> 00:25:56,900 would love to see more educational institutions 454 00:25:56,900 --> 00:26:02,100 embrace. What that I've seen do, because 455 00:26:02,100 --> 00:26:05,500 I see in the applications, is it allows students who are not able 456 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:08,800 to pay, right? 20 grand 140 granted to, for 457 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:12,800 University, etcetera, etcetera, to actually think or rethink 458 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,800 about entering design. And so we have a lot of folks 459 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,700 who otherwise would not have gotten into design, right? 460 00:26:18,700 --> 00:26:21,700 To actually take the program and say, you know what, I'm either 461 00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:26,300 not able to pay it all or here is some money based on my salary 462 00:26:26,300 --> 00:26:28,200 that I'm able to afford and have it being empowered. 463 00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:31,600 Power to give and choose the price is something that's 464 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,500 really, really interesting. And I would love for more 465 00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:38,200 solutions to to learn from that and take a learning and take 466 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,900 away from from that if you're listening to consider doing that 467 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:44,000 whether it's your own organization or another 468 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,500 organization that you think is inequitable monetarily, you 469 00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:51,500 know, you're talking or sitting here trying to pull up, what the 470 00:26:51,500 --> 00:26:54,600 average fee is for an undergraduate education in the 471 00:26:54,608 --> 00:26:57,200 design degree, you know, and there's lots of different ways 472 00:26:57,200 --> 00:26:59,000 to look at that. If it's a pure, Design school 473 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,600 versus a liberal arts college in the spacers that go into it. 474 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,000 When you think about this and kind of a barrier to entry, are 475 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,300 you noticing that those who are coming to usual School? 476 00:27:08,300 --> 00:27:12,000 Are they first or latter generation college students? 477 00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:15,500 I asked that question because, you know, when we talk, I 478 00:27:15,508 --> 00:27:19,200 remember as an undergrad as well, and being a student of 479 00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:21,400 color and wanted to go into architecture and immediately 480 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:25,100 noticing everyone who is in the class with me was third 481 00:27:25,100 --> 00:27:27,500 generation, not only college, but third generation 482 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:29,700 architecture. ER, and there was kind of a 483 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,100 generational Gap that was there long with, you know, there 484 00:27:33,100 --> 00:27:36,100 weren't architects who I knew to the left or right of me and my 485 00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:38,300 community, and my background of my family knew. 486 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:41,400 But you were in a class with students who were kind of been 487 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,100 this abundance of Representative examples. 488 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,700 I'm just wondering if we think about this as the school, the 489 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:49,700 considerations in your first generation of going into a 490 00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:52,500 college program or discipline. There are some differences in 491 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:56,100 being a second or third generation, still challenges but 492 00:27:56,100 --> 00:27:57,900 I'm just wondering the composition. 493 00:27:58,300 --> 00:28:02,500 Totally. It is a good mix but a lot of 494 00:28:02,500 --> 00:28:05,600 what we're seeing and a lot of the folks that we took on for 495 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:10,200 our first cohort are first generation, I citizens or and or 496 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:15,300 first generation college graduates and we are not talking 497 00:28:15,300 --> 00:28:19,600 here about graduates who have gone to Harvard or RISD or some 498 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,000 like that even though there are a couple of students that are 499 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,300 that are within that, the vast majority of them have gone to if 500 00:28:26,300 --> 00:28:29,300 they have gone to college are Going to some of the more 501 00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:35,100 lesser-known schools and I am excited by the fact that as we 502 00:28:35,100 --> 00:28:39,200 continue to grow that, we are going to be able to work with 503 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:42,800 populations, that are current college students, as well as 504 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,600 would be college students, as well as folks that are actually 505 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,200 much older. Meaning, I would like more 506 00:28:50,700 --> 00:28:57,600 population to continue applying that our mothers are and they 507 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,900 have to They have to balance and they feel like a four-year. 508 00:29:00,900 --> 00:29:03,500 University is difficult to balance everything that comes 509 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:07,300 along with being a mother. I'm excited by the fact that our 510 00:29:07,300 --> 00:29:11,000 model can appeal and work around folks to schedule. 511 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,700 And I think the kind of on demand plus meeting, is going to 512 00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:18,200 be a perfect way to kind of address some of the inequities 513 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,700 that we're seeing within the design education, particularly 514 00:29:20,900 --> 00:29:24,900 around being a mother or someone who's a lot older or has some 515 00:29:24,900 --> 00:29:28,400 other instance where that's preventing them from from Doing 516 00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,800 it, a design, education in a serious way and, you know, we 517 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,200 often in our conversations will refer to design as being a 518 00:29:35,208 --> 00:29:37,600 passion, right? And something that we're excited 519 00:29:37,600 --> 00:29:41,000 about I'm seeing and to share with you what we're seeing in 520 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,500 the marketplace, over the last two years of the pandemic are 521 00:29:44,500 --> 00:29:47,700 people taking another stock of their professional career. 522 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,100 The professional identity and we're seeing older students. 523 00:29:51,500 --> 00:29:54,800 Come into design because it's what they always wanted to do. 524 00:29:55,100 --> 00:29:57,900 It was the passion that they had, but the passion didn't meet 525 00:29:57,900 --> 00:30:00,600 with the Magnetism of their moment and kind of finding the 526 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,900 way we're useful, school is really helpful in that in this 527 00:30:02,900 --> 00:30:06,400 idea, that here's a pragmatic solution that allows you to 528 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:10,500 apply to your passion 100%. We've already gotten a few 529 00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:13,800 hundred applicants for our craft design classes and branding 530 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,800 classes, as well as our future products on classes, and the 531 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:23,000 curriculum is not going to be about creating a piece of work 532 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:27,700 that has zero implications business-wise. 533 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:33,600 We're Not looking to really teach art. 534 00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:40,100 We are more right now focused on design, that makes a real impact 535 00:30:40,100 --> 00:30:42,700 in terms of however, you define that. 536 00:30:43,100 --> 00:30:47,800 And I like to say in a lot of POC cultures is that design is 537 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,100 considered a hobby. People don't know that you can 538 00:30:50,100 --> 00:30:51,800 make money in it. People don't know that they can 539 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,600 make impact. And the idea that designers you 540 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:58,100 start having these industries start to populate with in 541 00:30:58,300 --> 00:31:01,200 Designed, there's even growth, product design, meaning you're 542 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:06,200 actually working with a team to actually prove that the changes 543 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,400 that you made through a be testing in these various. 544 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,500 Things are increasing the conversion rate, which means 545 00:31:12,500 --> 00:31:14,000 more revenue for the company, Etc. 546 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,600 Like, that's what I did at plate. 547 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:20,000 Where we just simply changed, copy on one button. 548 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,900 And that improved our sales by three hundred twenty seven 549 00:31:22,900 --> 00:31:25,800 percent, right? And so for a designer to be able 550 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:28,900 to say, not only am I creating something that looks Awesome. 551 00:31:29,300 --> 00:31:33,200 But I'm also be able to provide for my family being able to 552 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,100 justify a raise because you're part of that increase in sales, 553 00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:39,000 etc. Etc, is something. 554 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 I'm really excited to see more folks, consider doing so, not 555 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,400 just considering our, but considering the business of 556 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:47,900 design and how much impact designers can make. 557 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,300 Now, I spent a lot of time defining impact as monetary 558 00:31:51,300 --> 00:31:53,500 impact, but there's also a lot of impact that you can make in 559 00:31:53,500 --> 00:31:56,800 terms of social well-being, Capital etc, etc. 560 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,100 But that's just one example, I wanted to share. 561 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,700 So in the recent years you've had this capacity to really be 562 00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:07,900 out in front in conversations about industry and education and 563 00:32:07,908 --> 00:32:10,500 how we move forward. I ask this one question because 564 00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:12,300 I know people will come to you for advice. 565 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,400 So I asked you to look back to the college, junior, version of 566 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,900 yourself. And what advice would you give 567 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,900 to someone today? Who is making their way and 568 00:32:23,900 --> 00:32:27,800 looking at career opportunities? What advice would you give I 569 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,100 could go? Go on and on about this. 570 00:32:30,100 --> 00:32:33,100 So, tell me when to shut up. No, to drop them out with my 571 00:32:33,100 --> 00:32:35,600 friend, drop the knife. There are a couple of things 572 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:39,300 that I would recommend baby route each did right. 573 00:32:39,300 --> 00:32:43,800 Number one, is find a coach. I'm not talking about finding a 574 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,100 mentor that you are just pastors by. 575 00:32:47,700 --> 00:32:51,900 I'm talking about a coach, somebody who will put together a 576 00:32:51,900 --> 00:32:57,100 curriculum for you that will say, Okay, based on the fact 577 00:32:57,100 --> 00:33:00,200 that you want to find a job, In two years and you've just 578 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:02,500 started your junior year and you have about a year and a half or 579 00:33:02,500 --> 00:33:04,600 two years to go before your full-timer. 580 00:33:04,900 --> 00:33:07,800 We're going to work backwards to get and I'm going to give you 581 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:09,800 homework. I'm going to give you Milestones 582 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:13,300 to hit in your design education that most likely, let's be 583 00:33:13,300 --> 00:33:15,700 honest. The College University that that 584 00:33:15,700 --> 00:33:17,700 you're going to is probably not going to teach. 585 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,700 So find a coach and know that there's a difference between 586 00:33:21,700 --> 00:33:24,200 coaching and mentorship coaching. 587 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:28,100 Actually people who are going to be working with you putting 588 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:30,700 Together a curriculum that you can that you can actually 589 00:33:30,700 --> 00:33:35,400 Leverage is really important and I also find a coach who is 590 00:33:35,408 --> 00:33:37,200 eventually going to be a sponsor for you? 591 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:42,800 Find a coach who works, or has worked at a company that you 592 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,200 really love. And once you do what the coach 593 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:50,700 recommends that you do, you can bet that that person is going to 594 00:33:50,700 --> 00:33:53,800 sponsor you and advocate for you to get hired there because they 595 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,900 seen you work with, they've seen that you've worked with them for 596 00:33:56,900 --> 00:33:59,400 two years. I know what you're capable of. 597 00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:01,900 So you have to find not just a mentor. 598 00:34:01,900 --> 00:34:04,000 You need to find a coach. You need to find a sponsor 599 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,400 number two, in order to figure out what companies or 600 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:09,000 organizations. You want to be part of after you 601 00:34:09,007 --> 00:34:13,199 graduate, you really have to figure out your own personal 602 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:15,699 design ethics, you need to figure out your personal story. 603 00:34:15,699 --> 00:34:18,800 You need to work through in your head and be able to articulate 604 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:21,699 the couple of things that matter to you. 605 00:34:22,199 --> 00:34:26,000 Because when you're presented with multiple job offers, you 606 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,300 want to be able to look back on those principles and Say you 607 00:34:28,300 --> 00:34:33,199 know what, my principles, for example, for a me are related to 608 00:34:33,300 --> 00:34:36,800 social impact and their related to creative opportunity. 609 00:34:37,300 --> 00:34:41,400 And so if there is not a social impact or creative opportunity 610 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:46,300 Within These two job offers, then I will decline one or 611 00:34:46,300 --> 00:34:48,100 multiple of them. So it's really important to 612 00:34:48,100 --> 00:34:51,300 figure out what kind of work you want to be generating and 613 00:34:51,300 --> 00:34:53,800 creating and working backwards with your coach to figure out 614 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:55,600 what job opportunities that are out there. 615 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:59,200 The third thing I would recommend is, It's your favorite 616 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:02,200 app and redesign it from scratch and figma. 617 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:07,500 I know that sounds scary but you need to as a designer, you need 618 00:35:07,500 --> 00:35:09,200 to start just getting into the weeds. 619 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,100 Getting your hands dirty. You need to like, pick a nap, 620 00:35:12,100 --> 00:35:15,800 let's say it's Spotify. Netflix, Duolingo whatever it 621 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:20,200 might be and straight up. Look at the home feed, take some 622 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:24,200 screenshots on your phone, put those into figma and literally 623 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:27,800 trace it. Like try to match the typography 624 00:35:28,100 --> 00:35:33,200 The letting the kerning the tracking, on each element, that 625 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,200 will help you start to understand is this a career path 626 00:35:36,200 --> 00:35:38,000 that I really love. Is this something that I really 627 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,400 love doing now, of course, you have to separate you struggling 628 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:43,400 a little bit because, of course, there's going to be a struggle. 629 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,100 But I love redesigning apps especially when I was younger. 630 00:35:47,100 --> 00:35:50,800 Like I for example, redesigned and built the NPR app as part of 631 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:52,400 my portfolio. And that's when I really 632 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,000 realized that I love product design. 633 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:58,000 And then not only do you want to redesign the the app, like 634 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,500 Example, again, Spotify home feed as an example, you then 635 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:03,200 want to make a small tweak to it. 636 00:36:03,300 --> 00:36:07,700 Meaning you want to like, put a little accoutrement, you're on 637 00:36:07,700 --> 00:36:10,900 to that news feed. So, for example, if there's a 638 00:36:10,900 --> 00:36:14,000 feature that you've always wanted Spotify to have, you 639 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:17,400 should think about, can you build that on figma? 640 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:20,600 And guess what, once you make that small tweak, that basically 641 00:36:20,600 --> 00:36:22,400 is the architecture for your case study. 642 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,200 That's basing an architecture for something that you're going 643 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,600 to show employers. Anyways, so you're actually 644 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:30,000 feeding Two birds with one stone there, you know what I mean? 645 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:34,800 And then the last thing of course is if be self-aware like 646 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,200 find an educational curriculum. That works for you sponsorship 647 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:40,900 and coaching might not necessarily work for you. 648 00:36:40,900 --> 00:36:42,200 Sometimes you might need something. 649 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,700 Super, super structured. So find those outlets. 650 00:36:45,700 --> 00:36:48,200 And if you need help finding an outlet, whether it's useful 651 00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:50,400 skill related or not just hit me up a tricky, shit, useful 652 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:53,400 school. I am more than happy to help you 653 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,700 figure out your personal story and help you and coach you 654 00:36:56,700 --> 00:36:58,000 through exactly what I'm talking. 655 00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,900 Not. So I'll say this being of 656 00:37:00,900 --> 00:37:06,800 service serving some purpose, advantageous helpful or being a 657 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,000 good effect. That's the dictionary definition 658 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:11,800 of useful. Your teeth. 659 00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:17,100 Thank you for joining us today and sharing your Insight, your 660 00:37:17,100 --> 00:37:20,900 passion, the pragmatic way that you've accepted the challenge to 661 00:37:20,900 --> 00:37:25,300 make education better for us. All I appreciate having you here 662 00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:29,100 my brother and appreciate watching and watching you build 663 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:33,100 and consider us as partners and friends to help you keep moving. 664 00:37:33,100 --> 00:37:35,700 This forward, the work that you're doing is we've talked 665 00:37:35,700 --> 00:37:41,300 about this is in always useful. So thank you for joining me for 666 00:37:41,300 --> 00:37:45,800 this episode of design, adjacent our podcast, where we look at 667 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:49,800 the Nexus of design both today and tomorrow, thank you for 668 00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,000 joining us. Your teach, thank you for being 669 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,700 my guest today. Thank you so much for having me 670 00:37:55,100 --> 00:37:58,000 if you have any questions comments, please email. 671 00:37:58,100 --> 00:38:01,400 Me at Rakesh at useful school.com. 672 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:04,500 If you'd like to apply or want to become a partner sponsor. 673 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,700 I'm here for you. Thank you show notes for this. 674 00:38:07,700 --> 00:38:10,400 Episode will be available on AIG a.org. 675 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:14,900 Please subscribe to our show on anchor Apple, podcasts Google 676 00:38:14,900 --> 00:38:18,200 play Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. 677 00:38:18,900 --> 00:38:22,200 Aiga is designed adjacent podcasts and its contents. 678 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:26,200 Are the copyright of aiga the professional association for 679 00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:30,400 design All Rights. Reserved any redistribution or 680 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:34,100 reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is 681 00:38:34,100 --> 00:38:37,200 prohibited without aig's Express written permission. 682 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,400 My name is Li Shan Wang until next time.