Community is power
By: Victoria Whang
Tags: Community, Slack, Networking, Design

Community is power

Photo by Verne Ho on Unsplash

I identify as an ISTP, with emphasis on the I. I imagine there are many introverts in the design and tech industry, considering our craft (at least the technical skills that encapsulate it) does not require a lot of face-to-face interactions. Technology has also made it possible to communicate through screens and represent ourselves however we wish to be perceived but no matter how where we stand in our level of social comfort, we all value true human connection.

An unfortunate shift from physical connections to virtual

We used to be empirical learners, using all five senses to grasp the world around us. Experiences were tactile. We did homework by scouring stacks of books, quickly browsing encyclopedias, and flipping through pages in the thesaurus, hunting for bigger words to make page number quotas for reports for class; not scrolling through travel pictures of strangers in our Instagram feed.

We were also social beings by way of face-to-face interactions. My friends and I used to fake permission slips from our parents to sneak out for lunch at the McDonald’s down the street. We collaborated on yearbook committees, carpooled to soccer meets, spent recess running around the school yard with a tennis ball and a brick wall…hell, we talked on the phone. If we couldn’t physically be with our friends, our ears were glued to the landlines at home, much to the chagrin of our parents who would have also appreciated an open phone line in the evenings, I’m sure. There was such a strong sense of camaraderie from spending every waking minute together.

Now, students only spend an average of 3 hours a week partying and socializing. They spend less time interacting with their peers face-to-face than any previous generation. Is it due to some Darwinian evolution of generations becoming more career focused and driven? Maybe. If that’s true, is that for the better? Not necessarily, at least not for a budding career as a creative.

Social skills and navigating relationships

We can Google design languages we don’t know and Coursera technical skills we want to harness but it won’t make us any friends. It won’t help us find mentors or go on coffee chats with future co-workers at our dream jobs. That takes reaching out to people, putting yourself out there, representing yourself authentically, and communicating your personality to others.

There’s a 55–38–7 rule to communication: 55% is conveyed in the visuals (body language and other non-verbal cues), 38% is conveyed by the vocals (the way you say things and your tone of voice), and only 7% is in the words you speak. Developing communication skills is so crucial because we need them to find our tribe. It’s natural for our peers to support the people who share similar values and companies hire who they like. To be introduced to beneficial opportunities, the soft skills of engaging with others, networking, and negotiating the value of ourselves and our designs are such key skills to have.

The industry is starting to focus less on culture fit and more on culture add but even so, we need to express ourselves successfully in order to find the right environment to grow as designers. Technology, our bread and butter, is in constant flux: always evolving and shapeshifting. As we enter an age where AR, VR, and AI are household terms, we need all the help we can get to innovate and adapt in our disciplines.

Being a part of online communities provides exposure to IRL events. Meetups happen all the time and they aren’t just pints of local brew and a bunch of strangers hovering around a room and making awkward conversation. There are panel discussions, workshops, portfolio reviews, and such, where we’re presented with a plethora of chances to talk to each other, in person, over quality-driven subjects.

Shine theory no matter your gender

We have an opportunity to build each other up. Thanks to all these Slack groups, we have so much access to our peers. Why not become better designers together? There’s room at the top for everyone. Staying hungry is important but staying humble and pulling for each other is damn near inspirational.

I don’t shine if you don’t shine — Ann Friedman

Look at LeBron James. I’m not a basketball fan but he’s well-known for his loyalty to his day ones. He’s brought his childhood friends into his business ventures and these friends help build up his brand and career as well.

I learned that people who help me, who invest in me become my partners and that my success is their success, relationships are symbiotic. I learned responsibility based on others faith in me. I hope to be able to pay some dividends to those investors. — Katie (Abandon, 2002)

It’s nice to be able to say I am/have a mentor. It’s almost a validation piece, like having a certificate to prove you were legitimately educated in an official institution, that you have an expert or a leader in your corner. But there are so many people looking for mentors and sometimes there just isn’t enough in the market that you have to be okay to pivot and look horizontally. We have peers right next to us and no one designer is the same. There’s definitely something you can learn from your neighbour and something they can learn from you.

As long as we’re making a mutual investment in each other, we’re practicing shine theory. We’re building ourselves a stronger community and the time and energy we spend doing so will never be a detractor in our journey.

I’m a work in progress…and these communities help me progress

As a self-declared introvert, I find it challenging to say hi and meet new people at meetup events. Raising my hand in a crowded room can be really scary and it’s no different in a Slack channel. TheDesignerShip has over 11K people in their Slack community. (Pardon me while I sit in my little corner and sweat.) Sure, I’m a member of several Slack communities, but as they grow bigger with members numbering in the thousands, it’s more intimidating to pipe in with questions on design best practices or provide answers of my own because I would risk being wrong and being told so by those more knowledgeable.

As terrifying as it was, I wanted to put in effort and push past my halfway to Beyonce in order to thrive in this industry. So I decided to volunteer. As a volunteer, I had real reason to be in these Slack groups and to have a voice. Yes, all community members have the same, but I (emotionally) needed this extra purpose: a role that legitimized my asking questions and replying to the questions of others in threads. My roles as content lead for DesignX and a mentorship steering committee member for HexagonUX also provided an opportunity for me to think about content strategy, event execution, and big picture ideation. I’m motivated to pay careful attention to all of the channels and conversations, to make sure we’re maintaining an inclusive and nurturing environment, and to constantly think of ways to drive engagement with meaningful content for designers who choose to be here.

I’ve also made some real friendships along the way. We exchange ideas, share feedback, and provide helpful resources to strengthen each other in our individual crafts. We also hang out IRL for food and quality time, every now and then.