by Annie | Jun 17, 2015 | Design, Game Design, Instructional Design, Tech
I’ve been part of the tech industry off and on since 2006, and in that time, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a lot of talented and passionate people, most of them men. This is pretty typical for the tech industry, especially in game development, in which the percentage of women is lowest amongst all other tech fields. I’ve experienced firsthand the impact that gender equality can have on team dynamics. I’ve been on teams in which I was the only female, which, I’m proud to say, taught me how to drink beer and enjoy it. I’ve also been on teams with much smaller or nonexistent gender gaps, and for me, as a woman, the difference is palpable. According to the latest data, while game development has the lowest percentage of women amongst the tech industry, elearning has the highest percentage, which means I’ve now been on both ends of the spectrum. Each team composition brings out a different side of myself, but regardless of the gender makeup, I continue to push myself to be the best I can be. So while I love my sisters in tech, I’m also a fan of the brogrammers. Check out the full breakdown of the gender diversity data from this post on Measuring Gender Diversity with Data from...
by Annie | Jun 8, 2015 | Design, Product Design
Early on in my design career, I focused diligently on the problems that were assigned to me. A specific market segment had been identified, a specific need had to be met… I was on it, immediately researching the problem and coming up with a variety of potential solutions. But design has taught me to stay young. To look at everything through the mind of a beginner, to question everything, and to forever be curious. I’m a designer by trade, but I’m also a designer at heart. Even when I’m off the clock, I examine everything, always looking for hidden opportunities to use design to improve the world. As Tony Fadell, the guy behind the iPod and the Nest thermostat, puts it, “It’s easy to solve a problem that almost everyone sees. But it’s hard to solve a problem that almost no one sees.” Indeed, the world is full of invisible problems that most people are accustomed to and thus can’t see. As a designer, I have the unique and exciting challenge of finding those hidden issues and designing a better world, one small solution at a...
![I’m [in]](https://dickersondesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/introduction-photo-1080x675.jpg)
by Annie | Jun 5, 2015 | Instructional Design
Today marks the end of my second week as a learning experience (LX) designer at LinkedIn. It’s been quite eye-opening to go from my previous experience with small companies and startups to the hypergrowth and lightning fast pace of this 8000+ global organization. Yet despite the size of the company, the startup spirit burns bright, and people are proud of the scrappiness and trailblazing that’s core to LinkedIn. There’s a sense of urgency to everything and an ongoing connection of every little detail to the greater mission of building the economic graph and changing the world. The air is abuzz with energy and passion, and I love it. I started my journey here with [in]troduction, the full day orientation that marks every employee’s first day. Along with about 30 other new hires (yes, LinkedIn has about that many new hires every week in just the Bay Area alone), I learned about LinkedIn’s culture and values, history, and vision for the future. And even though I’m only 1 of 8000+ employees, I know that my work can make a difference and play a part in impacting the world. And that’s worth getting out of bed for. The part of [in]troduction that has stuck with me most is when one of the senior leaders came in and thanked us for joining LinkedIn. At most places, you get congratulated when you start a new job. But he explained that he was thanking us because we represent the top 0.5% of talent in our respective industries, and we could have chosen anywhere to work, but we all chose LinkedIn. A truly thoughtful message and a great way...
