Finding Common Ground: Connect, Educate, Inspire
Read Time: 3 minutes
On behalf of myself and the SEGD Board of Directors and staff, our thoughts are with you, your loved ones, and our community around the world.
During these demanding times, we are doing everything we can to support our extraordinary community. As always, we will showcase the outstanding work by our members and share knowledge that can help our community move ahead professionally. As always, we will be a place to find relief in shared experiences and perhaps a moment of escape. As always, we will provide inspiration and encouragement to see the path forward.
Like you, at SEGD we are adapting and improvising to meet our community’s needs in this ever-changing reality. When educators and students went home, we turned all 370+ of our online educational videos into free content. On Tuesday, March 31, we’re hosting a Facebook Watch Party including the best of past Branded Environments presentations—you should come!
We are committed to doing everything we can to support the design community and have lots of ideas on what would be of value. But, tell us: What would be of value to you? To the community? To the world?
Over my 20 years with SEGD, I’ve always been impressed by how sharing and collegial our tribe is, recognizing common ground that grows the entire field and community. Every day, you let me know that we will get through this together.
Ann Makowski
Interim CEO, SEGD
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CONNECT
Find and forge connection points and methods of communication with your teams and community, engage in conversations and virtual events, use a video filter, fix your wifi.
→ SEGD Facebook Watch Party 03/31/20—Branded Environments talks ALL DAY!
→ Speaking of parties: We’ve heard good things about Houseparty and Netflix Party
→ AIGA Designer’s Guide to Self-Isolation—a crowd-sourced list of links to add to
→ Need up-to-date info for the self-employed? Check out Freelancer’s Union
→ Sit in on an IXDA Panel Discussion: The Shape of Remote Design Work
→ Networking is still important—here’s how to do it while you’re stuck inside
Need help adjusting to WFH life?
→ WFH Essentials YouTube Playlist—get your home office sorted out
→ Hear it from a friend: Gallagher Design—Working From Home, the New Normal
→ Using Google Hangouts for meetings—from presentations to auto captioning
→ Concerned about how it looks? Tips and Tricks (AKA Filters) for video conferencing
EDUCATE
Find free learning tools and resources, answers to burning design and business questions, useful professional responses to topical issues and leadership advice and strategies.
→ SEGD Talks videos are FREE: Watch Creating A Signage System Test or IP 101
→ Public Speaking for Non-TED Talkers—hack your presenting skills
→ Learn from real life and McKinsey: Lessons From China
→ Overcome Creative Obstacles and find creative career advice at Adobe 99U
→ Free lesson: Principles of Visual Design in EGD—Information Design
→ 4 Mindfulness Practices We Need Right Now: yes, breathe into the chaos
Firm leadership or business owner?
→ 15 Answers to Questions About Remote Work and 7 Tips for Managing Remote Teams
→ COVID-19 Firm Update: Take steps to Protect Your Company and Prevent Layoffs
→ Automatic SBA Loan Deferrals—Financial Assistance Tracker for Businesses
→ Survive and Thrive in a Crisis—strategizing, securing revenue, making adjustments
INSPIRE
Find helpful starters and solutions, deep thoughts and provocative opinions to ponder, idea-sparking videos, cool tunes and visual candy to stoke your creative blaze.
→ Swiss Miss distills our feelings in blog form and gives the kids 14 fun things to do
→ Play: Web-Based Design Games and don’t miss Unusually FREE activities
→ Listen: Creativity Boost and The Lovely Little Playlist seem like a good start
→ Explore: Google Arts & Culture, The Inspiration Grid & Invision’s Design Megalist
→ Watch: Lucy Holmes—So Far, So Good and Jim Gilmore—Why Experience Counts
→ Binge-watch with TED, it’s OK: Designing for Disability and Future in Cities
Crave something else?
→ First, get REALLY bored: Being Bored Out of Your Mind Makes You More Creative
→ The Blah / A Little Taste of Life Design—something to propel you out of a rut
→ Everyone’s entitled to one—Opinion: Pushing Hustle Culture During the Quarantine
→ And now, some Good News—FINALLY!
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