Summary
Lou Rosenfeld welcomed attendees to the eighth Design Ops Summit, highlighting the years of preparation by curators Bria Alexander, John Kuda, and Francis (Ilana) Solana. He invited participants to reflect on their personal goals for the conference, encouraging active engagement and ongoing connection beyond the event, including through Slack channels. Bria Alexander, the longtime MC and a senior design program manager at Adobe, introduced the event's structure: day one focused on resilience, day two on impact curated by Ilana and Francis, and the final day on innovation curated by John Kuda. She detailed logistical information, noted the availability of high-quality sponsor sessions free for all, and stressed community conduct and inclusion. Bria also highlighted resources such as sketch notes by Manuel Herrera, emphasized breaks, noted the virtual swag bag, and promoted social networking activities. Both Lou and Bria reinforced the summit’s mission to move the practice of design operations forward through thoughtful programming and peer collaboration.
Key Insights
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The Design Ops Summit is carefully curated by a team including Bria Alexander, John Kuda, and Ilana Solana, who invest months to elevate the practice.
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Lou Rosenfeld urges attendees to set clear personal goals for what they want to achieve during the summit.
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Community and sustained connection through Slack are central pillars of the conference experience.
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Bria Alexander manages the summit while actively supporting generative AI and ML design programs at Adobe.
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The summit programming is divided into thematic days: resilience, impact, and innovation, each curated by different leaders.
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Sponsor-led sessions match main programming quality and are freely accessible to non-ticket holders, expanding reach.
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Virtual swag bags deliver curated sponsor deals, maintaining engagement and reciprocity in a digital format.
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Breaks and a well-structured schedule balance intensity and reflection, facilitating learning and networking.
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Sketch notes by Manuel Herrera visually enrich session content, providing an alternative to traditional note-taking.
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A clearly communicated code of conduct fosters an inclusive, respectful virtual environment.
Notable Quotes
"Why are you here? What is your mission for this design Ops summit?"
"This is a gift to yourself. Three days you get to really dig in with other design ops peers."
"Bria Alexander is a senior design program manager for diversity, equity, and inclusion, supporting generative AI at Adobe."
"Sponsor sessions are equal in quality and quantity as our main programming and completely free."
"Please put your specific questions in the thread associated with your talk to avoid them getting lost."
"There’s no need to take notes. Sketch notes, resource lists, session notes, and videos will all be shared ASAP."
"Manuel Herrera has been featured at events across the globe and builds workshops that ignite creativity."
"Our code of conduct applies even in a virtual setting; we want everyone to feel included and respected."
"Tomorrow we’re going to have a game/networking event hosted by Cozy Juicy Reel for some fun and face-to-face time."
"The conversation doesn’t end today. Let’s keep helping each other for weeks, months, maybe even years to come."
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