Description

Design Leaders is a community with over 1200 expert designers from all over the world. It's invite-only, and members interact in a Slack online group.

To join, you need to first fill a form and submit it to be reviewed by the team. The team hand-vet every application. To be accepted you must be a design leader:

  • Head, Manager, Director, or above of any organization (no matter the size); or...
  • An individual contributor and Lead or above, of any organization (no matter the size); or...
  • Freelancer with 10+ years of experience.

If you met those requirements, you will be able to join. The requirements and the application process ensure every person you interact with inside the group is a design leader with years of experience. Indeed, this maintains the quality of the community and makes it valuable for its members.

Furthermore, one of Design Leaders' core values is inclusivity. They accept people from diverse industries and backgrounds, developing a community of diverse people who can enrich each other with their unique experiences.

On the other hand, the community hosts virtual events several times per month. Some events include designer workshops, guest expert speakers, deep-dive sessions on certain topics, etc.

Additionally, they host the Intimate Conversations Series. These virtual events are roundtables to discuss relevant topics for the community. The last meetings' topics were Hiring, Job Roles, and Leading Through Uncertainty. You can learn about these series and all the other events in the "announcements" channel, inside the Slack group.

Details
  • Year Founded: 2018
  • Online Group: Yes
  • Job board: No
  • Language: English
  • Method: Virtual
Platform
Benefits

Connect with over 1200 hand-vetted design leaders:
The community is invite-only, which means that only selected people can join. This ensures a constructive space where you are guaranteed that every designer you interact with is a leader with years of experience. The community is based on inclusivity and respects diversity, making it a space where everyone can learn from each other.

Enjoy enriching learning events:
Several times per month, the community hosts virtual events. You can be notified of every event by joining the #announcements channel in the community's Slack group. Events include designer workshops, deep-dive on certain processes, guest expert speakers, and more.

Categories
Requirements

To join as a member you need to complete and submit a simple form. The team will hand-vet your application and decide whether you are a good fit for the community or not.

To join, you must be a design leader, meaning:

  • Head, Manager, Director, or above of any organization (no matter the size); or...
  • An individual contributor and Lead or above, of any organization (no matter the size); or...
  • Freelancer with 10+ years of experience.
Place
Meetings

Prior to COVID, Design Leaders' community members gathered monthly, in-person. These meetings usually consisted of lunch in downtown Denver, United States. They were casual meetings where you could network, but also learning events to collaborate and learn together.

During the pandemic, these meetings continued but virtually, and not strictly once a month. Nowadays, events are diverse and include design workshops, process deep-dives, success stories, guest expert speakers, and roundtables.

Learning Events

One or two times a month, the community hosts its Intimate Conversations Series. These are virtual events where members discuss relevant topics for design leaders. You can keep up-to-date with these events by joining the #announcements channel in the community's Slack group.

The last topics of the Intimate Conversations Series were Job Roles, Hiring, and Leading Through Uncertainty. The events are useful roundtables where everyone is free to share perspectives and learn from each other experiences.

There are also other learning events that don't follow a specific schedule. Again, you can be notified of every event by joining the #announcements channel in the Slack group.

Networking Events

The Design Leaders community has an online Slack group. Inside, members interact with each other, sharing knowledge, feedback, and advice to become better design leaders. 

To join the online group, you have to meet certain requirements and get invited after the team processes your application form.

Inside, you will be able to develop your professional network while making new friends in the process. It's a supportive, inclusive community with over 1,200 diverse design leaders.

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