I had the privilege of attending the ULEVUS creative evening, a design meetup attended by entrepreneurs, freelancers, and in-house designers. Held at Womba Furniture Mile 17 Buea, on April 6th, 2024, the event organized by ULEVUS was an incredible knowledge-filled interactive design meet-up that promised networking opportunities, and inspiration. As I reflect on my experience, I am compelled to share some of the key takeaways from this enriching event.
The host, Arnold Sigala, the Creative Director of ULEVUS started the event with an opening remark on design and introduced the audience to the two main speakers of the night: Mr Aboubakar Sidiki, Business Operations Designer, Sales Operations Senior Manager at MTN Cameroon, and Mme Ngumih Fien, User Experience Designer.
They introduced the audience to their interpretation of design, the various design principles, the skills required to succeed as a professional designer, the Mindset of a good designer, human-centered design, and the possible career paths/opportunities for existing and future design enthusiasts.Â
They were able to inspire the community by sharing their experiences and every point raised was in one way linked to their professional journeys.Â
Here are some highlights of the event:
What makes a good design/designer
- Human-Centered Design: When providing a design solution focus on human needs
- Iterative mindset: Your design will never be perfect. Design should always be open to improvements,
- Use creative problem-solving techniques to solve problems.
- Collaboration: A designer is always ready to collaborate. Collaboration
Design is not about perfection but about improvements
The Right Skillset for Designers
- A good designer should have the right skillset
- Creativity. You don’t have to be a born creative, creativity can be learned.
- Visual communication
- Problem-solving
- Collaboration
- Master digital tools
Factors Influencing a Good Designer (mainly drawn from User Experience Design)
- Proper FeedbackÂ
- Affordances
- Prioritize Usability
- Mental Models
- Constraints Â
- Mapping. Mapping action and consequences such that the user’s expected outcome should be what they get.
What do designers do? (possible career paths)
- Graphic Designer
- UX Designer
- Service Design
- Business Design
- Game Design
- Architectural Design
- Interior Design
- Fashion DesignerÂ
ResourcesÂ
Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beard
Creative Confidence by Tom & David Kelley
Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon
Podcast
Ulevus Creatives Evening was a truly enriching experience. The insights gained, connections made, and experiences shared have enriched my perspective and inspired me to strive for excellence in my endeavors. Thanks to the Ulevus team, for organizing such a transformative event. I look forward to future Design Community hangouts.
