Let's talk gatekeeping in design

I started out in 2008 with no prior design background, and no access to design resources or mentoring. I grew up in a particularly patriarchal state, and worked in a male-dominated industry. It was a slow start.

Design conferences and events were expensive and elitist. They were intimidating to no-name designers like me.

It took me 10 years to find a place for myself. I'm 34, I'm an IC. I stuck around only because I knew no other skill to make a living. I know designers who fell off.

Plenty of successful designers played into this narrative, because they directly benefited from being the only go-to people in the industry.

I once asked a rockstar designer for design feedback, and was rebuffed: “You’re too pretty to design”.

I’m not new to the industry anymore, and I know my privilege.

It's on us to build a design community that's welcoming to new designers. It’s on us to make design resources open and learning events affordable.

(And I’m really grateful that #ConfigEurope is one of these events.)