Whether you’re a freelance designer or working full-time, you give a lot of valuable time to the companies that you work with. So before embarking on a new design job or career, it’s important to be as certain as possible that you’ll enjoy the work environment. And that means going beyond the salary and benefits of a gig.
You want to know that you’d get along with the people there. You want to evolve as a designer. You want to be able to do the kind of design work you love. This is what design culture is about.
In this video, we give you a set of tools that help you determine whether a company’s culture and particularly design culture is right for you. The goal is to help you be more confident about the jobs or opportunities that you embark upon.
Show-notes
Timestamps
- What is company culture [00:45]
- What is design culture [01:35]
- Learning about a company’s design culture [01:49]
- Defining your ideal work environment [3:30]
- Your design philosophy [4:20]
- Self-reflection exercise and tips [5:54]
- Questions you can ask to learn about a company’s design culture [6:38]
Shout-outs
Thank you Julia Jong for the fantastic question!
This video was inspired by a question by Julia Jong, a UX designer based in NYC. She asks:
As a new designer entering the job search, I am hoping to find a role in a company with strong design culture and mentorship. What kinds of questions do you think are helpful to ask to learn about a company’s design culture?
You can find Julia on Instagram at @here.for.the.journey and check out her work at juliajong.com/work.
Self-reflection exercise
You can get the free self-reflection exercise here: How to know if a company’s culture is right for you
Share this with a fellow designer. The goal is to help designers connect with their ideal companies!
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Best of luck!