Infosession #1

8/28

Agenda

• Introductions
• About BI
• Applying to BI
• Application Workshop
• Q&A Session

introductions

meet the officers!

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Exec

Sarah Suen

president

Josh Le

ivp

Jenny Chung

evp

Core

Core

PMs

Karen Pham

Nicholas Kim

Grace Yang

Jolla Rae

Yash Saswade

Vivian Lau

Piper Yu

Rahul Sathyanarayanan

about!

learn about what we do :)

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est. 2003�(Cal’s first design organization!!)

what does this mean?

Human-centered design

consultancy

“It’s a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs.”

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Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO

innovation!

What is Design?

Visual Design

Urban Design

UX Research

Spatial Design

Interaction Design

Content Strategy

Product Design

Industrial Design

… and so much more!

What else does BI do?

• Work on semester long projects
• Meet industry professionals
• Professional development
• Foster community and collaboration
• Have fun + learn about human-centered design!

Humans First

Embracing Uncertainty

Continuous Learning & Collaboration

Our Values

As a design consultancy that puts empathy and humans at the forefront of our design thinking process, we understand the value of diverse perspectives. We are committed to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the design community at UC Berkeley. We strive to amplify representation in design and technology by prioritizing design education accessibility and continually improving our club’s inclusivity and diversity.

client projects

what are they? time to explain!

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Project Structure

mentor

consultants

client

user research

synthesis

ideation

prototyping + user testing

1

3

4

2

Project Structure

Our past projects range from…

UI/UX Design

Urban Design

Product Strategy

Physical and VR Design

UX Research

We’ve worked with big companies…

Nonprofits and startups…

And even design firms + studios!

This gives us the opportunity to learn from the best!

Team GoPro, Sp’22

Team 1951 Coffee, Sp’23

Team Tempo, Sp’22

If you want to check out some of our work..

Go to our behance!

behance.net/berkeleyinnovation

other stuff!

besides projects… what else does BI do?

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Speaker Events

Office visits

External partnerships

HAVE A LOT OF FUN 😈

BIMAX 🧎🏽‍♂🍊

applying to BI

Going in depth into the process and timeline.

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What we are looking for

🙌 enthusiasm for design and the broader community�Tell us about your unique experiences, goals, and interests in design—no experience needed!

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🌱 commitment to your growth & helping others grow�It’s a team effort, always! Let’s learn together and build each other up.

🕺 commitment to being a team player (8+ hours/week)�7-9pm Tuesday mandatory meetings, client project, events, etc.

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🧠 ability to show understanding of the human-centered design process�No previous experience necessary! We will be offering an HCD workshop and have resources on our website (for the second round design challenge)

1. Written Application Overview

• Short answer questions (please do not surpass the word limit; this will be counted against you)
• Tell us about who you are: your interests, your experiences, perspectives, goals, hobbies, and motivations surrounding design
• There are no right or wrong answers!
• Additional logistical questions as well (to gauge availability for GM, workshops, etc)

2. Design Challenge

• 1 week to complete
• Maximum of 10 slides submitted as a PDF (more specific rules will be stated in education workshops)
• Opportunity to showcase your thought process, creativity, problem solving, and HCD skills
• Solution doesn’t have to be perfect! Focus on insights and tie your solutions back to your research by fully communicating your thought process!
• Identify what you would have done if you had more time
• There are no right or wrong answers!
• Advise against mobile app solutions, unless you have good justification.
• Office hours and application workshops during the week to support you!!

2. Design Challenge (cont)

• You now have the option to choose between 2 concentrations to complete the design challenge.
• Both concentrations will tackle the same prompt but with different emphases.
• Research
• Focus more on the first two steps of the human-centered design process (research and synthesis)
• Prototyping
• Focus more on the last two steps of the human-centered design process (ideation and prototyping)
• If you would like to know more about our new design challenge format, talk to our edu directors!

3. Interview

• Behavioral interview style with a mini design challenge (explained in more depth in education workshops)
• Additional logistical questions as well (to gauge availability for GM, workshops, etc)

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Written apps due

9/5

@ 5:00PM PST

Fill out the online application, which consists of four free response questions to help us get to know you, your design background, and unique perspectives.

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Design Challenge

9/7 - 9/12

@ 5:00PM PST

You will showcase your understanding of design thinking with a short design challenge. There is no wrong answer to this challenge — we just want to see your thought process! Information will be sent via email if you are invited to participate in this round.

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Education workshops and office hours will be offered so everyone, regardless of experience, can make a great design challenge!

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*by invitation

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Interviews

9/13

45 mins

A 45-minute interview for us to learn more about you!

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*by invitation

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Social Noon

9/14

2 hours

Meet us and play some fun mini-games involving teamwork so we can get to know each other in a more casual setting! :)

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Final decisions will be emailed by evening.

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*by invitation

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Welcome!!! + Pitch Night

9/16

6-9PM

This is when we welcome the new cohort of consultants to BI and reveal the projects we’ll be working on for the semester.

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We’re so excited to meet all of you!

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Unfortunately, we cannot accept every applicant…

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While we really wish we could, BI doesn’t have the resources to accept every interested applicant. However...

Follow-Up and Feedback

BI Officer Coffee Chats

External Events

Designathons

We have a wide range of resources open to the public!

Human-Centered Design DeCal ^{Since 2009}

Project-based course

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First class on Feb 3rd

2-units P/NP

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Mandatory Attendance

Mondays, 7-9 PM @ Jacobs 310

Apps due 1/30 • Apply at hcd-decal.org/app

Start your design journey!

hcd-decal.org

Designed for all skillsets!

Nevin

applicant workshop!

Before we begin…

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We want to make sure that anyone who wants to learn about design feels comfortable applying.

As a design consultancy that puts empathy and humans at the forefront of our design thinking process, we understand the value of diverse and unique perspectives. We are committed to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the design community at UC Berkeley. We strive to amplify representation in design and technology by prioritizing design education accessibility and continually improving our club's inclusivity and diversity.

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Confidence to write a killer application

Leveraging YOUR perspective

An understanding of the value of YOUR diversity to design

Leave this workshop with…

what is a URM?

& do I count as one?

URM is an Umbrella Term

Different organizations have their own definitions of what it means to be a URM. Generally the term refers to individuals who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latine, Native American, Indigenous, (UCSF included marginalized Asian groups such as Filipino, Hmong, and Vietnamese). In the tech and design industry, URMs are broadened to include folk who are underrepresented in those specific spaces, such as Queer, first-generation, and low-income people.

misconception

diversity for the sake of diversity

Diverse perspectives → Diverse solutions

“When you’ve got a diverse team, and you’re actually being very inclusive, you’re engaging them in the solution, and you get a broader pool of knowledge, a broader pool of skills and experiences,” says Cheryl Stokes, CEO of CNEXT.

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“Those multiple viewpoints give you a more comprehensive analysis than you would get if you’re all from the same background. You enhance your decision-making processes and have better outcomes when you’ve got diverse insights and viewpoints.”

Diverse perspectives → Innovation

“Those different perspectives lead to more creative ideas and may challenge the prevailing notions of teams that have been together too long. Bringing in different people can challenge the status quo and get you out-of-the-box thinking.”

Design Challenge (invite only)

Interviews (invite only)

Written Application

Our Application Process

Design Challenge (invite only)

Interviews (invite only)

Written Application

Our Application Process

Why do we have a written application?

• We want to ease your entry into design!
• The written application gives you an opportunity to reflect over your motivations for applying to BI. Perhaps writing the application makes you realize that maybe HCD isn’t something you’re interested in – hopefully it does the opposite :)
• We really want to learn more about you and see why you are interested in design.
• Besides the cool projects and resources, why does HCD interest you?

General Tips

• Stress our values!! Embed all of them throughout your responses in some way.
• Think about what this club could offer you and what you can offer back!
• BI is community-driven. We don't want consultants that only stay for a semester or two — we want members who resonate with our values and can see themselves giving back to the club!

Humans First

Embracing Uncertainty

Continuous Learning & Collaboration

Our Values

Portfolio Tips

Be thoughtful of your portfolio submission.

We encourage you to submit pieces of work that showcase design thinking, problem solving, or your creative process.

Feel free to submit what you feel showcases you! It can only help, not hurt your application!

If you do not have a portfolio or choose to not submit, that is okay too! Lack of a portfolio will never hurt your application.

examples!

Optional Questions (Ethnicity & Identity)

• Be honest about your identities (don't stretch or *lie* about yourself)
• We look at applications holistically and want to uplift underrepresented folk, so if you are a URM let us know!!
• This doesn't mean that being a URM grants you automatic acceptance.
• A strong application will show how your unique background brings a new perspective in your approach to problem-solving, teamwork, daily life, and design 🙂

Find a way to incorporate your diverse, unique perspectives throughout your answers!

(Don't throw your identity in your answers, for the sake of doing it)

Reframe from Vagueness

• [Bad Example] “My perspective as a first-gen low income will bring a diverse perspective into the club”
• Sure it will, but can't you say that about literally anything?
• WHY is your diverse perspective important and HOW will your diverse perspective shape your design thinking and/or your involvement in the club.

“How is my unique perspective helpful?”

• Growing up as a first gen low-income, my family had very set beliefs and ways of doing things due to a stricter upbringing where they had to rely on what worked. If I ever tried to present something contradictory or new, they would quickly become very upset with me.
• The only way I could present a different way of doing things was in considering their past experiences, upholding their non-negotiables, and tailoring my message to them.
• Growing up this way made discovering hidden needs, understanding experience through observation, and quickly adapting to that information natural to me.
• In design, my experience made me someone with an deeply ingrained ability to empathize and adapt with users.

It’s all about connecting your unique past lived experiences to your interest in design!

Application Question

• How do your perspectives shape how you approach and solve problems? Tell us about a time you solved a problem related to something you’re passionate about. How did you get to your final solution, and what did you learn from it? (200 words)

Tips for this Question

• You can go about this many different ways: interdisciplinary background, proficiency of a niche skill, empathy, or with your identity
• For identity, think about how your perspective allowed you to:
• empathize differently because of your background
• enhance collaboration (did you bring a new perspective / way of looking at the problem that your team would not have had?)
• be innovative!

Final Tips!

Choose a project or experience that showcases how your diverse perspective added value.

A common mistake applicants make is to talk about an “impressive” experience, without tying it back to their unique perspective.

What unique perspective do YOU have, and how did your previous lived experiences guide how you solved a problem?

Don’t try and correlate an experience with a false perspective, because we can tell if its genuine or not!

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questions?

Thanks for listening, and good luck!

https://tinyurl.com/bi-fa25-app

Our Application!

https://tinyurl.com/bi-fa25-resources

Applicant Resources

presentation over!

Feel free to stick around and chat with our members, or check out our project showcase posters!