Listen, learn, offer feedback, and leave inspired! Women Talk Design Lightning Talks provides speakers an opportunity to practice short talks in front of a supportive audience (that's you) and get feedback. Hear 3 speakers share their perspectives on how designers can think about their craft, user behavior, and public spaces in a new light. We hope you'll leave inspired to adopt a new process or mindset in your work – and perhaps leave inspired to start sharing your ideas publicly too!

Mirandy Kim, Design Resilience: Thriving Amidst Economic Challenges

Economic downturns can serve as catalysts for some of the most innovative ideas and ventures. The primary focus of this talk is to empower designers to chart a path forward within the constraints of a tight economic environment, and leverage their design discovery phase when building new products or features. Whether or not you are a designer, you will leave this talk equipped to harness the potential challenges that lie ahead going into 2024.

Melody Ethley, The urgent need to invest in everyday spaces (like libraries)

Affordances are not only used as tools in design, they can also be indicators of psychological safety. In this talk, Melody will share how affordances–or lack thereof–can perpetuate a disconnect of what everyday spaces like libraries can do or be for our society. Learn how you as a designer can help create a higher sense of belonging in these important spaces.

Elise Entzenberger Dayton, Create meaningful designs with a holistic perspective of human emotionality. Human emotionality is deeply misunderstood, despite the dynamic force emotion has on human behavior and decision-making. In this talk, Elise will explore how we can better understand our own behavior–and our user's behavior–by by taking a more holistic, somatic perspective of human emotionality. Use this perspective to create designs that are more meaningful, ethical, and resonant.