Opening Remarks
Summary
Bria Alexander, an Adobe program manager, opens the 2021 Design at Scale conference by thanking attendees, speakers, and facilitators for their contributions. She details the three-day agenda, highlighting day one’s focus on craft led by Uday Gahender, day two on enterprise design tools, and day three on maintaining human-centered design in growing enterprises. Bria emphasizes the availability of high-quality sponsor sessions from companies like Verizon, JPMorgan, and Adobe itself, which run alongside the main program and are free for all. She introduces digital swag bags and multiple Slack channels designed to facilitate discussion, technical support, and cohort collaboration among 130 participants in 11 groups. Attendees are encouraged to engage actively in Slack’s DAS general and help channels, ask questions, and participate in cohort discussions after sessions. The Rosenfeld media team supports attendees with interactive notes and prompt access to session recordings. Bria concludes by emphasizing the community’s code of conduct and the commitment to maintaining a respectful and inclusive virtual environment throughout the conference.
Key Insights
-
•
The conference is structured into three focused days: craft at scale, enterprise design tools, and human-centered design in large organizations.
-
•
Sponsor sessions are high-quality, not sales pitches, and run parallel to the main sessions without overlap.
-
•
Slack is the primary platform for discussion, technical help, and cohort interaction, creating a vibrant community space.
-
•
There are 11 cohorts with about 130 participants designed to encourage deeper peer learning and networking.
-
•
Recording and session notes are made available within hours to relieve attendees from taking notes and enhance learning.
-
•
The conference's official time zone is Pacific Standard Time, but the website allows switching to other time zones for user convenience.
-
•
Digital swag bags provide accessible, sponsor-driven value-adds without physical handouts in a virtual setting.
-
•
Dedicated Slack channels separate general discussions, help requests, and cohort conversations for better support and engagement.
-
•
Community guidelines and a code of conduct are reinforced virtually to foster a safe, respectful environment.
-
•
Multiple communication channels (Slack, social media hashtags) are leveraged to maximize attendee engagement and support.
Notable Quotes
"It is my honor and pleasure to welcome each of you to the 2021 Design at Scale Conference."
"Without your research, feedback, and engagement, we would never have pulled together such a diverse slate of speakers."
"Day one is all about ensuring craft on a massive scale, led by Uday Gahender."
"Sponsor sessions are truly a treat, with no overlaps to the main program and absolutely no sales pitch."
"You don’t need to take notes; Rosenfeld media has sketch note makers creating creative and interactive notes for each talk."
"If you have trouble logging in or streaming, please go to hashtag DAS help in Slack for support."
"We have 11 cohorts and 130 people participating in this week’s conference for small group discussions."
"Please read our code of conduct; we want to ensure everyone feels safe and respected in this community."
"The official conference time zone is Pacific Standard Time, but you can change it to your own time zone at designatskill.com."
"Our digital swag bag is free to all registered attendees and packed with awesome sponsor offers."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"On mobile, the screen reader intercepts all touches so users can explore without accidentally activating anything."
Sam ProulxEverything You Ever Wanted to Know About Screen Readers
June 11, 2021
"Our dedicated scribe Shivangi is making sure all the notes are captured so you don't have to worry about it."
Bria AlexanderOpening Remarks
November 17, 2022
"Negotiating severance is absolutely possible; consider legal advice or coaching when doing so."
Corey Nelson Amy SanteeLayoffs
November 15, 2022
"Shared language lets different roles venture out of their comfort zones and collaborate on changing the enterprise system."
Milan GuentherA Shared Language for Co-Creating Ambitious Endeavours
June 6, 2023
"People will talk to customers whether you want them to or not. The question is how to make it a better experience."
Erin May Roberta Dombrowski Laura Oxenfeld Brooke HintonDistributed, Democratized, Decentralized: Finding a Research Model to Support Your Org
March 10, 2022
"No one uses the screen reader with out-of-the-box settings; users customize it to fit their needs."
Sam ProulxUnderstanding Screen Readers on Mobile: How And Why to Learn from Native Users
June 6, 2023
"In this context, sometimes slower is actually faster because it allows going deeper and unlocking more meaningful insights."
Mujtaba HameedThe new horizon of ethnography: using AI to unlock the full potential of in-person research
March 11, 2026
"The internet as the self-regulating market is a failed experiment."
Ilana LipsettAnticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
December 10, 2021
"Shifting left means thinking about accessibility before you start writing code."
Samuel ProulxFrom Standards to Innovation: Why Inclusive Design Wins
September 10, 2025
