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
"Facilitation is the grease between the wheels of difficult organizational challenges."
Alexandra SchmidtEnterprise UX Playbook
December 1, 2022
"We set a goal to fill 25% of our early career roles with underrepresented demographics and landed 37%."
Jen Crim Jess Quittner Saritha Kattekola Alex Karr Gurbani PahwaCulture, DIBS & Recruiting
June 11, 2021
"Product managers are responsible for value – making sure something valuable is being created that meets real needs."
Christian CrumlishAMA with Christian Crumlish, author of Product Management for UX People
March 24, 2022
"We turned design thinking on ourselves to tackle our own hiring challenges—applying tools meant for customers to our own processes."
Libby MaurerTreating Diversity & Inclusion in Hiring as a Design Problem
December 5, 2019
"When we engage people in the planning process, they take ownership of their city."
Ali Jeffery Sheri ChudowHow DesignOps Helped Enable Wall Street to Work Remotely
October 22, 2020
"No role exists in isolation, said Fred Rogers, emphasizing interconnectedness beyond the individual."
Daniel GloydDesigning From the Inside Out: How Method Acting Can Inspire Design Research
February 12, 2026
"Teachers need actionable insights, not just raw data."
Kristin SkinnerFive Years of DesignOps
September 29, 2021
"Research was completely evaluative and tactical, positioned as serving design by validating wireframes and high fidelity prototypes."
Johanna KollmannInsights-Driven Product Strategy: Get your Research to Count
December 6, 2022
"User intent exists in a probabilistic superposition of multiple possible actions until a choice is made."
David SternbergUncovering the hidden forces shaping user behavior
July 17, 2025
