Introduction:
UXtomorrow is a design community initiative that originated from a series of meetups I co-organized with Marie Hedigan in Dublin. It aimed to create a platform for designers to connect and contribute to the local design community. This case study traces UXtomorrow evolution from a modest meetup group to a community organizing workshops, speaker events, and learning activities, showcasing its impact on empowering designers and my leadership and mentorship skills.

  • Establishment of UXtomorrow
  • Workshop event
  • Speaker events
  • Learning clubs
  • Learnings and conclusion

Establishment of UXtomorrow:
Under the Interaction Design Foundation, Marie and I initiated meetups to provide a platform for Dublin designers to share ideas. Conducting a survey helped us understand community needs. We grew scope of events by introducing mini workshop, public speaking events and book reviews. In June 2017, we established UXtomorrow as an independent group. This new initiative focused on exploring the future of UX and interaction design. I took on the responsibility of designing the logo and branding, creating a distinctive visual identity for UXtomorrow.

Workshop event:
To further engage the community, an introduction to UX workshop was conducted in April 2017. The workshop introduced participants to essential UX tools and practices. Around 20 individuals attended the workshop, forming teams that collaborated on activities such as discovery, SWOT analysis, empathy mapping, ideation, and dot voting. We provided attendees with practical skills and hands-on experience to enhance their design work.

Speaker events:
One of the key initiatives of UXtomorrow was the organization of speaker events. Marie and I curated events featuring industry experts and thought leaders. The first event took place at the Bank of Ireland, where Kevin Devine and Niamh McCabe shared their stories on UX insights. The event received positive attention, contributing to the community’s visibility.

Subsequent events were hosted at Storyful and Workday, featuring speakers who shared their knowledge and experiences. Om Tandon, Flavien Plouzennec covered the topic UX process & Measuring success shared their knowledge and experiences. Pavitra Tandon and Robert Coyle shared their experience on Building your UX Career along with six short presentation with Workday UX team.

These events attracted growing participation and established UXtomorrow as a platform for learning and networking. Tech News wrote an article about the community events.

Learning clubs:
Building on the success of the speaker events, we organized additional learning activities, including book reviews and discussions. These learning clubs provided valuable opportunities for the community to expand their knowledge and engage in meaningful conversations. We organised for the reviews to have guest authors, one with Tom Greever about his publication ‘Articulating Design Decisions’. These events were insightful learning experiences.

Learnings and conclusion:
While UXtomorrow may no longer be active, its lasting impact on the design community is undeniable. The platform effectively connected designers, fostered collaboration, and served as a source of inspiration. Personally, organizing and hosting UXtomorrow events taught me valuable lessons not only in event planning and delegation, but also in areas such as publicity, marketing, public speaking, engagement, and facilitation. These experiences have enriched my skill set and deepened my understanding of community-building within the design industry.