Featured Talks
DESIGN DRIVEN nyc, no. 4
February 11th, 2015
Design Driven NYC at WeWork, SoHo. Thanks to FirstMark for the video footage.
Design Driven NYC, a series of monthly design / tech talks hosted by FirstMark, brings together a community that lives at the intersection of design, user experience, and technology. My talk centers around “the basics” — from feature level decision-making to core product goals. I discussed Paperless Posts’ photo product as a case study and how we transitioned from a focus on engagement to a focus on experience. I was honored to represent Paperless alongside Alex Blumberg, Co-Founder of Gimlet (previously producer of This American Life, and Co-Founder of Planet Money), David Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Squarespace, and Kelly Sutton, Founder of LayerVault.
design driven: a conversation with product designers
Sept 23rd, 2014
Panelists: Katarina Batina, Artsy, Tim Hoover, Canary, Wynne Chan, Paperless Post
Design driven companies are the new standard for success and their product designers are changing the way we experience the digital world—both on the screen and in the objects we use every day. During this panel we talked with product designers from a range of technology companies: Katarina Batina, Artsy, Tim Hoover, Canary, and Wynne Chan, Paperless Post. These designers are making the world’s art accessible, venturing into the unknown territory of the Internet of Things with smart home security, and elevating the art of communication. We discussed their paths to product design, the challenges and rewards of being a designer in tech, and design as a vehicle for building beautiful and meaningful products.
“A designer’s job is to break down what you’re building and focus on what common experiences can tell you.”
AIGA/NY @Parsons Lecture Series
May 16th, 2013
Panelists: Peter Buchanan Smith, Best Made Company, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Dan Provost, Studio Neat, Keenan Cummings, Airbnb
Today’s designers realize that they have all of the skills necessary to create successful businesses and build careers without clients. This panel featured candid conversations with Peter Buchanan Smith, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Dan Provost and Keenan Cummings — who have founded startups, channeled personal passions into self-made careers, and taken risks to do what they love. We discussed whether the client-service model is a thing of the past and discovered how these pioneers push the definition of design. Watch the full video below.
“There’s such an allure to starting something. Everyone wants to change the world on some level.”
Many thanks to AIGA/NY and Hello World Communications for the video footage.
WMCFest 4 — Quit Jobs. Start Projects.
August 17th, 2013
There’s a lot of talk about pursuing your passion and not a lot of talk about how to do it. Tim and I haven’t perfected all of the steps toward “doing what you love,” but we’ve found a path—one that starts with side projects. We discovered that a subtle shift in our framework (and mindset) effects the way we make decisions and surprises us with opportunities we wouldn’t expect. In our talk for the Weapons of Mass Creation Fest we talked about the ripple effect of Kern and Burn—our thesis project turned “full-time side-project”—and how it changed our lives, our outlook, and our opportunities.
“Hierarchy was king and loyalty was celebrated above innovation. Risk and entrepreneurship were reserved for the privileged few.”
Thanks to Weapons of Mass Creation Fest for the video footage, check out the rest of the amazing speakers here.
Calendar
Upcoming TALKS
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Past TALKS
Our Time – Grace Hopper Celebration 2018
Pre-recorded interview for an interactive gallery piece featuring women in tech. “Our Time” provides an opportunity for attendees to envision their place among those spotlighted and a space to interact with the community of women who make up and attend GHC.
Houston, TX ∙ September 26-28, 2018
WWU – Design Your Career
A talk about the journey to discovering your content, refining your craft, and building your community.
Bellingham, WA ∙ June 15, 2018
CMYK Designathon – Come Make Your marK
Berkeley, CA ∙ November 4, 2017
Design Gurus Summit
San Francisco, CA ∙ September 19, 2017
GrowthHackers, AMA
San Francisco, CA ∙ June 6, 2017
Lunch and Learn at Moving Brands
San Francisco, CA ∙ May 24, 2017
AIGA/NY — The Business of Design: The good, the bad, and the bottom-line.
Presented by the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) and sponsored by Google. Panelists: Brandon Velestuk, Creative Director of Product at Slack, Nick Hasty, Director of Engineering at Giphy, and Mark Silver, Executive Director of Design, Customer Experience at The New York Times.
New York, NY ∙ May 12, 2016
Brown and RISD: Better World by Design 2015
I led a workshop on how to present and communicate new ideas with a focus on delivery and clarity of concept.
Providence, RI ∙ September 25-27, 2015
StackUp
What is design at Paperless Post? I shared our collaborative team structure, current challenges and what we’re most excited about. Presentation here. Hosted by Brooklyn Bridge Ventures and Spotify.
New York, NY ∙ June 16, 2015
Flex Design Studio
Two-part workshop with MICA undergrad design students.
Baltimore, MD ∙ April 14 / 21, 2015
SVA IxD Entrepreneurial Design
I advised students on their initial ideas to launch a project that helps them foster a network for themselves.
New York, NY ∙ February 21, 2015
Design Driven NYC , No. 4
I represented Paperless Post at Design Driven NYC, a community that lives at the intersection of design, user experience, and technology.
New York, NY ∙ February 11, 2015
Makeshift Society — Start with Side Projects
Brooklyn, NY ∙ November 20, 2014
Eileen Fisher Technology Panel
Eileen Fisher hosted an internal panel to explore the idea of reimagining the role of technology from an organizational standpoint. I was a panelist along with Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Chau Banks, Shawna Hausman, and Veronika Sonsev.
New York, NY ∙ October, 2014
Digital Product Design: Building Your World
Two-part weekend workshop with MICA GD MFA thesis candidates.
Baltimore, MD ∙ October, 2014
Design Driven: A Conversation with Product Designers
Panelists: Katarina Batina, Artsy, Tim Hoover, Canary, and Wynne Chan, Paperless Post
New York, NY ∙ September 2014
Product Design Principles: Getting Started in the World of Startups (MICA)
Baltimore, MD ∙ September 2014
AIGA Central PA
Lancaster, PA ∙ March 2014
New Disruptors Live Recording
Brooklyn, NY ∙ November, 2013
The Feast
Challenge Facilitator
New York, NY ∙ October 2013
SVA Design for Social Innovation
New York, NY ∙ October 2013
Head, Heart and Hand: AIGA National Conference
Panelists: Matt Stevens, Jen Bilik, Knock Knock, and Jake Nickell, Threadless
Minneapolis, MN ∙ October 2013
Shopify
Ottawa, ON, Canada ∙ August 2013
AIGA Hampton Roads
Norfolk, VA ∙ August 2013
WMCFest
Quit Jobs. Start Projects.
Cleveland, OH ∙ August 2013
Designer Founders Meetup
New York, NY ∙ August 2013
General Assembly Business Hacking Bootcamp
New York, NY ∙ July 2013
AIGA NY @Parsons Lecture Series
Panelists: Peter Buchanan Smith, Best Made Company, Kate Bingaman-Burt, Dan Provost Studio Neat, Keenan Cummings, Airbnb
New York, NY ∙ May 2013
Creative South
Columbus, GA ∙ April 2013