Exploring What’s Next in Design ✮
Updates for the week!
(1) Event Recap
(2) Design Showcase ☆
(3) Reminders ⧖
(4) Design Beyond DI
Thanks to everyone who joined us for our final Tuesday meeting of the semester! Nick Higbee and Benjamin Brooks shared thoughtful insights on the future of UX and how designers can stay adaptable as the field evolves. It was a great way to wrap up the semester and look ahead to what’s next in design.
Design Showcase ☆
Tuesday, December 9 | 6-8 PM @ Room 2532, Morgridge Hall
Be part of our biggest event of the year and hear from a panel of UW–Madison professionals about how design creates real impact across Wisconsin. Explore the semester-long client projects created by our DI cohort teams and gain insight into their problem-solving process. All students, faculty, and design enthusiasts are welcome!
Reminders ⧖
Exec Board Applications
Applications for the Spring 2026 DI Exec Team are now closed
Timeline:
Wednesday-Friday, December 3-5: 15 minute interviews for select positions
Friday, December 12: Exec Board members notified
Questions about Exec Board? Email Kenzie at mkujava@wisc.edu
Design Beyond DI ⬇︎
Bucky’s Data Viz Challenge
Entries due Wednesday, January 7 | Virtual submission
Are you a designer who has found creative ways to share data? Show off your data storytelling skills in Bucky’s Data Viz Challenge, a campuswide competition for students, faculty, and staff. This is a great opportunity to share creative visualizations, communicate insights in new ways, and gain recognition for your work during Love Data Week. Whether you design for fun, for research, or for class projects, this challenge is a chance to highlight your creativity and insight.
Driving Brand Consistency with Adobe Express
Friday, December 12 | 1–2 PM | Virtual
Explore how the Wisconsin School of Business uses Adobe Express to build cohesive, on-brand design across teams. Creative Director Katie Schauer will share how templates and simple design workflows help students, staff, and faculty create professional visuals that stay true to the UW brand. A great session if you’re interested in branding, visual design, or design systems.
Winter Design Festival
Friday, December 12 | 5:30-7 PM @ Nancy Nicholas Hall
Hosted by UW–Madison’s Master of Science in Design + Innovation program, this festival celebrates creativity and innovation through an interdisciplinary showcase of student projects, installations, and interactive experiences. Connect with peers across design disciplines and get inspired by what’s next in the world of design!
Civic Design: Systems Thinking in Service Design
New Spring 2026 Course
Interested in design, public service, or systems thinking? A new Civic Design course is being offered this spring, taught by Professor Esther Kang. Students will partner with a local government agency and work with real research on student voter engagement to design service-based strategies that support the campus community. This course offers hands-on project work, community collaboration, and an introduction to service design and systems thinking. If you’re eligible to vote in Wisconsin, Professor Kang is also inviting students to take a short anonymous survey on voting patterns.
✧ See you Tuesday, December 9th for our Design Showcase! ✧