Jon-Anthony Montaz 4/9/18
COMD 3503
MID TERM: Networking Event Paper
For my Networking Event Paper, the event that I decided to go was called Design in Government Meet & Greet in NYC hosted by The Lab at OPM. Coming to this event was the greatest decision I made. What made me choose this event was the fact that the name Design in Government Meet & Greet in NYC itself caught my attention. I automatically thought to myself that if it had to do with the government, then this event must be very important and big as in world wide. Not only that it has the word government in it which caught my attention but it also had key words like meet and greet. What came to mind when I saw the word meet and greet is interactions with people and networking. Meeting new people and discussing about designs catches my attention because this really helps me grow out of my confront zone. This also gives me an opportunity to increase my skills in design and to also learn from other designers. This is the main reason why I choose this event.
In addition, attending to this event was also worth it because I’ve learned so much. I’ve learned that based at the U.S. Office of personnel management, The Lab at OPM is a practice and a space that builds a human- centered design capacity for innovation across the Federal workforce. Another thing I learned from my experience in this event was that this company started from workshops, to conversations and learning to serving other business agencies. This company is their own longest design project. This company also started by recruiting people from building programs and gathering a whole team of designers from different backgrounds. Communication played a huge part in building the company I was visiting.
Furthermore, when enjoying this event experience, I’ve met two great designers. One was name Franco Maria Castillo and the other person’s name was Heather Johnson. Franco is a freelancer who usually mentors people in improving or giving critiques on their designs.
I found this guy very helpful and generous because he was the one who approached to me and offering assistance in my work if I ever needed any. On the other hand, Heather Johnson seemed very humble and humbleness catches my attention as well. She is a vice president marketing who shared her experience in how she reached to where she’s at today and that also really motivated me to continue pursuing my goals.
Now when it came to the space of where I was at, it was amazing. The location of this event was at One World Trade Center 285 Fulton Street. So, when having the meeting at the building on the 55th floor, looking at the view outside was breath taking. Not only the view was great, but the space we had was good as well. It didn’t feel like I was in a classroom but I felt like I was in a very high class business meeting. I felt very comfortable even though I felt like I was the only young one there besides the person that came along. Everyone there seemed so professional and spoke so well and I on the other hand wasn’t use to that environment but I loved it because I felt like I was learning to adapt to it. Other then how they presented themselves and how they spoke, they were really interested in knowing about myself and the others who visited the event. This proved to me that these people were all about face to face teachings, open to making connections and making a lot of invitations to open discussions about designs. They have summer design school, studio time and they also train, coach and mentor partners through the design process. When having a group discussion with the designers, I’ve learned something very important that I can use to help me in my future career and that is if I were able to grow, that’s an example of success as well. Not only when my work impacts.
In conclusion, everything that I’ve learned from my experience at the Design in Government Meet & Greet in NYC hosted by The Lab at OPM was worth it. Overall I’ve learned that communication is key to becoming a successful designer and that design is not a style and it’s not about giving shape, it’s a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.
EVENT PHOTOS
