Design MBA

Ekaterina Solomeina – creative director, educator, TEDx speaker and founder of Future London Academy. For the past 15 years, she has worked with some of the greatest creative minds alive, including Michael Wolff (founder of Wolff Olins), Donatella Versace and companies like Coca-Cola, Sony, Mars, IBM, Microsoft, Samsung – helping to grow brands, developing design teams and create innovative products. She co-wrote a book about British Design and has built and Bauhaus 2.0 programme at Future London Academy – rethinking what education of the future should look like. Future London Academy’s radically different approach to learning attracted a lot of attention from the design industry and has been featured in It’s Nice That, Abduzeedo, Creative Boom, Inc, AIGA, Dexigner, and others.

INVEST IN YOUR DESIGN CAREER:

• Whether you are just starting your design journey or are a seasoned pro, Future London Academy has classes and programs custom-tailored to help you sharpen your skills. Check it out!
  

CONNECT WITH EKATERINA SOLOMEINA:

• Connect with Ekaterina Solomeina on LinkedIn
  

FOLLOW FUTURE LONDON ACADEMY:

• Follow Future London Academy on Instagram
• Follow Future London Academy on Twitter
• Watch the Future London Academy podcast on YouTube
  

LEVEL UP YOUR DESIGN CAREER (FREE EMAIL COURSE):

• Learn 7 proven strategies in 7 days to grow in your design career -
  https://levelup.designmba.show/

🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE:
https://www.sneakpeek.design/

If you had asked the high school version of Erik what he would be doing for a career, you would have heard something like a rock star or studio producer. In college, Erik studied music with the intention of becoming an educator and following in his parents’ footsteps. His predilection for technology won the career battle though, and he moved on to start Focus Lab. Transitioning from musician to developer, to entrepreneur, Erik has a variety of interests these days. What ties them all together, though, is a hunger to learn how and why things work. When Erik isn’t at work, he’s probably chillin’ with his kids, his wife, his church, or a combination of the three. He's also enjoying the beginnings of a hobby in woodworking. If he’s not doing those things, there’s a really good chance he’s enjoying peace and quiet somewhere.
CONNECT WITH ERIK REAGAN:

• Follow Erik Reagan on Twitter
• Connect with Erik Reagan on LinkedIn
• Update your mental models by reading Erik Reagan's blog.
  

GET COACHING FROM ERIK REAGAN:

• For agency own­ers and young entre­pre­neurs who are tired of try­ing to get to the next lev­el alone, sign up to get mentorship from Erik.
  

LEVEL UP YOUR DESIGN CAREER (FREE EMAIL COURSE):

• Learn 7 proven strategies in 7 days to grow in your design career -
  https://levelup.designmba.show/

🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE:
https://www.sneakpeek.design/

Yitong Zhang is the cofounder of Vector DAO. Before that he spent almost four years at Coinbase where he had the privilege of designing and redesigning much of the consumer app as well as establishing the design system. He also tends to a beautiful vegetable garden.
ARE YOU AN EXPERIENCED DESIGNER LOOKING TO WORK IN WEB3/CRYPTO?
Check out Vector DAO which is a collective of the top 1% of designers, brand experts, and creatives in crypto - https://vectordao.com/
CONNECT WITH YITONG ZHANG

• Twitter - https://twitter.com/zhayitong
• Website - https://www.zhayitong.com/

CONNECT WITH ME

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/jayneildalal

🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE:
https://www.sneakpeek.design/

Jessica Ko is the CEO and co-founder of Playbook.com, a visual cloud storage platform for designers. She was a designer for over 10 years at Google and Opendoor, and is now working to make it easier for freelancers and designers to share their assets with the world.
LOOKING FOR A FILE STORAGE SOLUTION MADE FOR CREATIVES?
Create a free account on Playbook and get free 100GB in hosting space - https://www.playbook.com/
CONNECT WITH JESSICA KO

• Twitter - https://twitter.com/yogooglemeup
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kojessica/

CONNECT WITH ME

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/jayneildalal

🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE:
https://www.sneakpeek.design/

GUEST BIO:
Ryan Rumsey is the CEO and founder of Second Wave Dive, where he develops boutique leadership programs for professionals in the digital product and services industries. Second Wave Dive has worked with product, design, and executive leaders from companies like Google, IBM, Lyft, Workday, ConsenSys, Autodesk, and ANZ. Ryan has a hybrid background in interaction design, front-end development, and product management. Previously he led digital product innovation and transformation at Apple, Electronic Arts, USAA, and Nestlé. His life experiences include working on a farm and acting in a Staind music video. Ryan is a dad, partner, and massive fan of the Liverpool Football Club.

TOPICS:

• 2:23: Getting hold of a conference room at a co-working space - the struggle is real!
• 3:04: Ryan shares the power of 'Yes And' improv method which he picked up during his time in Hollywood
• 5:31: Ryan's shares his secret to overcoming the lure of job titles and benefits to go do your own thing!
• 7:23: How does a designer go about doing their own thing?
• 8:37: Did Ryan have clients lined up before he started Second Wave Dive?
• 10:26: Inception of the 'Business Thinking Intensive' Course
• 11:46: Business Thinking Intensive elevator pitch
• 13:04: How has Ryan flipped the traditional classroom learning model?
• 15:01: Issues with traditional online learning courses
• 16:55: Time blocking - Ryan's magic weapon to thriving as a one man army!
• 19:30: Prioritizing family over work
• 21:19: Why everyone needs to have a Career Manifesto
• 22:07: How does one self assess their progress in career and personal aspects of life?
• 26:21: Why individuals can work faster than organizations? [Hint: gravity]
• 27:33: How did Ryan get an opportunity to write a book with InVision?
• 29:42: Why Ryan decided to offer his book for free?
• 30:37: Jayneil getting advice from Ryan on leaving AT&T to pursue his passions
• 33:15: What does Ryan stand for?
  

CONNECT WITH RYAN RUMSEY:

• Follow Ryan Rumsey on Twitter
• Connect with Ryan Rumsey on LinkedIn
• Check out Ryan Rumsey's personal website
  

MORE COOL STUFF TO CHECK OUT:

• Download the Business Thinking for Designers ebook for free!!
• Level up your design career by taking the amazing courses at Second Wave Dive!
  

LEVEL UP YOUR DESIGN CAREER (FREE EMAIL COURSE):

• Learn 7 proven strategies in 7 days to grow in your design career -
  https://levelup.designmba.show/

🫣 Sneak Peek into Figma Files of top designers for FREE:
https://www.sneakpeek.design/