Summary
Lou Rose from Rosenfeld Media opens the second Civic Design Conference by framing it as an ongoing community conversation rather than a typical conference. She highlights the diverse, international nature of Civic Design practitioners, spanning government levels and community organizations. Lou encourages attendees to actively engage and participate through Slack channels and cohorts rather than passively consume content. Bria Alexander, Adobe’s senior design program manager and conference emcee, shares the agenda focused on themes like the decade cycle, shifting power structures in design, and physical environment interactions beyond screens. She also explains conference logistics such as timezone settings, sponsor sessions which are free and non-sales promotional, and break schedules. Accessibility and engagement are supported via Slack for direct interaction with speakers, peers, and customer support. MJ Broadband, a seasoned user experience consultant, contributes sketch notes for every session to enrich participant understanding and retention. The conference code of conduct ensures a respectful, safe virtual environment for all attendees. Together, Lou and Bria set an inviting, well-organized tone to maximize learning and community connection.
Key Insights
-
•
Civic design is an emerging international community spanning federal to tribal local governments and community organizations.
-
•
The conference encourages active participation over passive consumption, fostering ongoing engagement via Slack beyond the event days.
-
•
Sponsor sessions are free, non-sales focused, and scheduled not to overlap with the main program, broadening accessible content.
-
•
There is a deliberate focus on inclusivity with cohorts and Slack channels to help attendees find appropriate community groups.
-
•
Session resources including notes, sketches, videos, and decks are made available promptly, reducing the need for attendees to take notes.
-
•
MJ Broadband’s live sketch notes combine user experience expertise with graphic facilitation, enhancing content clarity and engagement.
-
•
Multiple Slack channels are dedicated to different purposes: general discussion, customer support, sponsor engagement, and cohort interaction.
-
•
Conference planners intentionally included ample breaks between sessions to avoid participant fatigue and encourage reflection.
-
•
The conference uses a carefully structured open hashtag strategy (#CD2022) for social media, creating broader visibility and interaction.
-
•
A strong code of conduct and proactive support mechanisms are emphasized to maintain a respectful and safe virtual community environment.
Notable Quotes
"I didn’t say conference because this is really a highly polished snapshot of a conversation this community is having."
"Go out the next three days as being part of this conversation rather than simply sitting back and being a consumer of information."
"Civic design is relatively new and spans all kinds of government agencies from federal and national down to tribal and local."
"Sponsor sessions are free, not sales pitches, and do not overlap with the main program so anyone can attend."
"You will come away from this conference with so many artifacts from these talks you won’t miss anything."
"Join our Slack channels—it’s really where the party is with gifts, jokes, and amazing conversations."
"MJ Broadband’s sketch notes will make your conference experience 10 times easier."
"There’s no need to take notes because session notes, videos, and decks will be shared promptly on the conference site."
"We are still a community even though we are virtual and are obliged to treat each other with kindness and respect."
"If you ever feel unsafe in our virtual community, we want to know about it so we can provide support."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A tea party of one can really be very lonely, so we decided to seek out some friends to make our tea party more fun."
Carla Casariego Sarah SpencerDesignOps in Wonderland
October 24, 2019
"We want regular monthly meetings to keep conversations alive while being doable for everyone’s schedules."
Ariel KennanCivic Design in 2022
January 13, 2022
"A frame is extremely hard to dislodge from our brains once triggered, so we have to build inclusive frames deliberately."
Kaitlin TaskerFast and Fearless Inclusive Research
March 27, 2023
"The word obsessed is provocative and meant to push us to continually ask what can we do more."
Sara Asche Anderson Jamie KaspszakNot Your Ordinary Re-Brand: Design's Path to Driving Customer Obsession at Best Buy
January 8, 2024
"There’s no need to take notes; we’ve got session notes, sketch notes, and a resource list all provided."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
September 29, 2021
"Philosophy is hardass; it's rigid, robust, and demanding, not fluffy or subjective."
Cennydd BowlesExit Interview #2: Rediscovering the ethical heart of design
November 6, 2025
"We couldn’t find just one word to describe our third value so we made one up: humbladent—humble and confident together."
Jilanna WilsonDistributed Design Operations Management
October 23, 2019
"You can’t begin a design process already with the end solution in your head—let the process inspire new insights."
Steve ChaparroBringing Into Alignment Brand, Culture and Space
August 13, 2020
"Build a program management community of practice so you can formalize partnerships and solve process delivery issues together."
Alnie FigueroaTeamwork: Strategies for Effective Collaboration with Other Program Management Teams
September 8, 2022
