![]() My first set of students had no background in User Experience (UX) design. When I first started mentoring for the Jam, I was nervous. ![]() This is when mentorship really started to become a major component of this Creative Jam. My colleague Corey Dangel, executive producer and Amazon Design community leader, wanted to make sure we emphasized the various paths that one can take to design and show what design looks like in a company like Amazon. We didn't want to limit this to just design students or design schools because there are so many ways to get into the work we do. When we were planning this event with the Adobe Creative Jam and education teams, we knew it was important to open up the design challenge and learning experience to students from various different majors. One of our goals at Amazon is to bring attention to design as a career. As COVID-19 set in, it became clear that we needed to bring something extra to the table. Even then, we were throwing around ideas of what we could do and what this event could be. The Amazon Design team started working with the Adobe education team for the College + Amazon Design Creative Jam before the pandemic. At Amazon, we sought new ways to bring these same opportunities to new designers outside of our organization, too.Īmazon Design Creative Jam: Open to more than just design students I’ve seen how this helps junior and mid-level designers, myself included, to hone their skills and become more confident. Sometimes, you have to force yourself to reevaluate a decision and bring it into more common and approachable terms, which is a very Amazon thing to do. This actually turns senior level designers into better problem solvers explaining something succinctly to somebody is evidence that you understand the concept thoroughly. This can make it tricky for junior designers and new hires to find the right people that can help them develop career skills. ![]() There are many disciplines of designers, and they're all working on different things inside of a very large company. You have visual designers, motion designers, full-stack UX designers, researchers, UX writers, and on and on and on. The Amazon Design team has put together internal mentorship programs designed to help junior designers find other designers with the knowledge needed to advance.Īt Amazon, there are many designers in every corner of the company. This is no different than here at Amazon Design. When you have to explain how something works to somebody else, it causes you to reevaluate how you got to the solution yourself, and it helps crystallize your thinking. ![]() Mentorship is an incredibly powerful tool, not just for mentees who get guidance (how to survive and thrive working in design), but for mentors, as well. Mentorship is a keystone in the design community Here's how we're approaching mentorship, and why it matters so much right now. They are the antidote to much of the anxiety many young designers feel as they attempt to break into the industry at this tricky time.įortunately, at Amazon, we've been able to help - partnering with other companies, such as Adobe, to put programs into place like with the College + Amazon Design Creative Jam. Mentorship and guidance have never been more important than they are at this moment. COVID-19 has brought with it many changes and challenges, and the design world is far from immune - the effect for some designers just entering the field has been a great deal of confusion and despair, especially among graduating students who are preparing to enter the industry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |