Hi Reader

It’s Hannah, and I know it’s been a while since I’ve taken over the newsletter. The good news is you will be hearing from me once a month now.

Back in 2008

But first, let’s go back to 2008. I just graduated from college with a degree in sculpture, practical, I know. After university, my friends and I were missing a community of artists that we grew to lean for support and advice.

We wanted to talk with people who spoke our language and understood our unique struggles, I mean—is this the right epoxy or not???

Fast Forward to 2017

After many pivots from sculpture, museum education to website & brand design, I finally jumped into freelance work. There were a lot of firsts for me: The first time writing an invoice, setting my own rates, and the first-time task of managing the project myself.

One of the biggest hurdles was finding support in this new, unfamiliar area. It felt like 2008 all over again.

That’s when I started reaching out to people in the same situation as me. We could bitch about work, get advice and point each other in the right direction when we were struggling.

Many of them were more senior, and I could learn from their mistakes, and their support gave me the confidence to stand up to my stakeholders when I knew I was leading the project in the right direction. I was fortunate to find a community.

The 5 Key Benefits of a Design Community

Through my own experience and talking with the Fountain Institute community, I have come up with five key benefits of a design community:

1. Shared language - One of the most significant aspects of a community is coming together around a common interest. We use so many acronyms and shorthand in the design world that it can take time to get someone up to speed before you can get into the meat of an issue.
2. Seeing different design processes - When you only see your own or your company’s design process, you can be unsure how it holds up. Maybe there are things that you are doing great, but maybe there’s a different way. That’s why understanding how other people are working can be an excellent level setter.
3. Feedback - Good feedback is hard to come by, especially if you are a design team of one. It’s invaluable to get input from someone familiar with the industry and, even better, the project.
4. Providing help - Sometimes, it can be hard to feel confident; what can help get over imposter syndrome is providing support for someone else. Realizing you already have a wealth of knowledge right now.
5. Sharing war stories - Having a place to let out some steam about work frustrations can be therapeutic. When you find out someone else is struggling with the same issues, you feel not alone.

But let’s be honest about design communities; a lot out there says they will provide all of this for you, but you often join this “amazing” slack group of 6000 people. You don’t find your tribe, and you feel even more lost.

I’m not saying we have the best solution at the Fountain Institute, but we have been diving into the problem space of communities and are experimenting with lots of things.

The Guild of Working Designers

In addition to our Alumni community, we are building a broader community for working designers. We want to provide a place where designers can activate, commiserate, and support one another.

Your next chance to receive an invite to the Guild of Working Designers is on Nov 17 at our next meetup, Building Research Rapport.​

Until next week!

Hannah Baker
​Designer & Co-Founder of the Fountain Institute

P.S. we just announced a 2-day workshop in November called ​Testing Product Ideas so check it out!