(1) Meeting Recap
(2) DI Reminders & Upcoming
(3) Additional Support & Resources
(4) Design Opportunities & Events
Meeting Recap
Figma Crash Course!💡
Thanks to everyone who joined us for the Figma Crash Course! Figma, a powerful, cloud-based design tool, makes collaboration easy with real-time editing—just like Google Docs for design. In this crash course we learned why designers love Figma and how it compares to other design tools. We started creating our own simple mobile app, where we explored the basic toolbar tools, navigating frames, using auto layout and components, and got an introduction to prototyping. By the end, everyone had designed a to-do list app with a fully designed mobile UI and some knowledge of how to add clickable buttons, leaving room for creativity and further improvements!
Some key takeaways:
Figma is a powerful, cloud-based UI/UX design tool
The essentials of Figma’s interface and tools
Frames, layers, assets, components, and auto layout
Components and Auto Layout streamline design
Prototyping brings designs to life
We hope you enjoyed today’s crash course! ☺️
Reminders & Upcoming
Next Week’s Event - Around the World of Design & Tech 🌏🎨:
Join us as we explore unique and lesser-known areas of technology and design, from fashion innovations in Europe to AI and archaeology in Asia. Technology and design shape industries like cartography, entertainment, music, and more across the globe. Get ready to broaden your perspective, even in places you might not expect. This event will take place in 4191F Helen C. White Hall at 6 PM on Monday, March 10th! We hope to see you there! 😊
Trek Bicycle Site Visit! 🚲
Join us for an exclusive site visit to Trek Bicycle, a leading innovator in cycling technology and design, on Friday March 7th from 11am-4:30pm! This visit offers a unique opportunity to explore Trek’s headquarters, learn about their design process, and connect with their UI/UX team. The visit will include a guided tour, a project overview, a career panel, and a Q&A session! During the career panel, Trek’s designers will share their journeys into UI/UX, lessons learned, and insights into the industry. If the weather allows, we may also have the chance to ride bikes around the Trek campus! The tour is limited to 13 attendees on a first-come, first-served basis, so RSVP as soon as possible to secure your spot.
Let’s Chat!
DI is committed to offering not only general, but also personalized support. If you would like to chat about navigating design UW-Madison, possible opportunities, or have questions in general — we would love to chat with you! Scheduling a 30-minute meeting is easy—just click the Calendly link to check a member’s availability:
Madi Meyer is the President of DI, and is a senior in the Information Science major. She has taken courses such as Interaction Design Studio (LIS 470), Human-Computer Interaction (CS 570), Design Thinking (DS 341), & more! Set up a time to chat through Madi’s Calendly!
McKenzie Kujava is a Cohort Manager for DI, and is a junior studying Computer Science. She is interested in Interaction Design and Project Management. Set up a time to chat through Mckenzie’s Calendly!
Quyen Tonnu is a graduate student in the M.S. in Design + Innovation program with industry experience as a marketing agency designer. She is interested in realms of product design, design strategy, human-centered design, and civic tech! Set up a time to chat through Quyen’s Calendly!
Alya Herusasongko is a graduate student in the M.S. in Design + Innovation program with 4 years of experience as a digital product designer. She’s passionate to talk about UX & Product Design, Design Strategy, and 0 to 1 Product Development. Set up a time to connect through Alya’s Calendly!
Additional Support & Resources
Looking to start your first Figma project after our crash course? Check out these tutorials!
Build it in Figma: Designing a book app for designers
Join Rogie as he designs an app to help designers discover must-read books for leveling up their skills. In this first part of a three-part series, he dives into ideation and wireframing, walking through the early design process and turning ideas into a functional layout. Whether you're new to Figma or looking for inspiration, this session is packed with insights to kickstart your own projects.
Figma Design Basics for beginners
In this workshop, Figma experts cover the basics of working with Figma for design, covering topics like creating graphics, working with typography, and making a simple prototype. This workshop is intended to help you get more familiar and confident with Figma, whether you are just beginning your design journey, or applying your existing knowledge from another tool.
“Design as we know it is doomed, but that’s a good thing for designers.”
In her article, Sarah Housley argues that design, as we know it, must evolve in response to the climate crisis. She highlights the importance of shifting from a take-make-waste mentality to a circular economy, where designers focus on redesigning, reusing, and extending product life. Emphasizing smart subtraction, maintenance, and adaptation, Housley shows how designers can lead the charge in creating sustainable, long-lasting systems that prioritize repair and reuse over consumption.
Upcoming Design Opportunities & Events!
Drop-in Headshot Events @ SuccessWorks!
A great headshot can make all the difference in how you're perceived online, especially on platforms like LinkedIn and in the About section of your portfolio! SuccessWorks is offering FREE professional headshots on March 5th from 2:30-4pm! Here's how it works:
Bring your student ID and stop by SuccessWorks on the 3rd floor of the University Book Store during the event time.
Get your photo taken by a professional photographer.
Enjoy a free coffee, hot chocolate, or grab some SuccessWorks swag as you head out.
Your headshot will be sent to your Wisc email via a Google Drive link.
Design Field Notes: Reto Togni
Design Field Notes is UC Berkeley’s speaker series that brings together designers, artists, and academics to share their insights and creative practices. On March 5th, from 12-1pm, Reto Togni, a designer and researcher whose work explores how everyday objects shape identity, action, and perception, will be featured. With a background in Industrial Design from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London and a PhD in Movement Science from ETH Zürich, Togni blends scientific rigor with creative exploration to design for inclusivity and well-being. The series is free and open to all students and the public via Zoom.
Tech Careers without Coding: Exploring Careers in Technology and Information Science
In an event hosted by the Information Science Major (although any student who likes technology from the human perspective is encouraged to join) explore career outcomes that require minimal technical skills! This event will take place tomorrow, March 4th, from 5:30 - 6:30pm in Helen C. White 4207. “Technology Careers are in desperate need of students who understand Tech & Data, but specialize in design, communication, relationship management and many other “soft skill” areas.” This is a fantastic chance to define your career goals and take actionable steps toward achieving them!
Play Make Learn Conference
Proposals are currently being accepted to be presented at the 2025 Play Make Learn Conference (PML). PML is an inspirational space for educators, designers, developers, innovators, librarians, museum professionals, makers, and researchers of all kinds, to share and collaborate on work! The deadline for submissions is March 7th at 11:59pm, and the event will be held from August 21-22nd at Memorial Union.
International Womxn's Day Keynote Address
As part of International Womxn’s Week, Womxn in Design, a student-run organization at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, invites you to a thought-provoking dialogue between Princess Adedoyin Talabi Faniyi, Orisha high priestess and guardian of the Osun Sacred Grove in Osogbo, Nigeria, and Tarna Klitzner, landscape architect and founder of TKLA in Cape Town, South Africa. This conversation will take place on Thursday March 6th, from 6:30-8pm and will be live streamed to the public. Through this conversation you will explore the intersections of gender, power, and design within African landscapes.
Check-out our website!
If you missed joining our Slack, want to learn more about DI and our exec team, or to view or table of curated resources, then check out our Design Interactive website.
That’s all for now! 🗓️👋
We hope you enjoyed this week’s crash course, and we hope to see you next Monday, March 10th from 6-7pm in 4191F for the start of our Around the World of Design & Tech Event! 🌏🎨