So many boards, here’s why you should choose ours.

Applications open until Sunday, January 19th at 11:59PM

1st

We're cool people.

Like you, we’re aspiring designers. We’re the ones who plan GBMs, Stride, Build Up, Design Frontiers, and all that other cool stuff. At the end of the day we’re tired and our necks are sore from pushing pixels, but we’re students, we’re happy, and we're a family.

2nd

You'll get to create impact.

You’ll get the chance to take part in the planning of 35+ events each school year. From a career fair to design sprints, to general workshops and talks, you’ll have the chance to get your hands dirty and do some cool stuff for your design community.

3rd

You'll grow (figuratively).

You’ll get exposed to so many unique opportunities and challenges. Our board is constantly exploring new things, sharing ideas, and experimenting. We fail together and grow together, so come along with us for the journey!

Open Roles

Community Team – Community Engagement Coordinator

Community Team – Community Engagement Coordinator

You are sociable and motivated. You are excited to help Design Co grow as a pre-professional organization and better support student designers. At Design Co, we believe that fostering an inclusive design community means collaborating with others and growing with everyone.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Facilitating community engagement programs for students, such as Pixels & Cursors
  2. Working with our team to plan and execute large scale events
  3. Ideating, planning, and coordinating social events that engage the design community
  4. Facilitating large scale board social events/activities such as board retreat

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Prior experience with event planning
  2. Organization skills and the ability to stay on top of deadlines
  3. Awesome and innovative ice breaker and social ideas
  4. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Proficient knowledge in managing large scale Discord servers
  2. Prior experience with large scale event planning (100+ attendees)
  3. Prior experience creating mentorship programs
  4. Prior experience working with multiple partners, departments, and student organizations across UC San Diego and the greater San Diego community
  5. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  6. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  7. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Creative Team – Visual + Brand Designer

Creative Team – Visual + Brand Designer

You are talented. You are inquisitive. You are a creative individual passionate about creating unique visual experiences. As a design organization, we strongly believe in delivering the highest caliber of visual and brand collateral to market and represent our community.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working in collaboration with the Creative team to produce visual collateral across multiple mediums
  2. Working within an established and maturing brand and visual identity
  3. Working with the Creative team to strengthen our brand and establish clear guidelines
  4. Designing and evolving new and existing sub-brands (e.g. Design Frontiers, Stride, Pixels & Cursors etc)
  5. Creating website mockups and collaborate with web developers to design and execute new websites

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Knowledge of basic graphic design principles
  2. Prior experience with either Illustrator, InDesign, and/or Figma
  3. Good team player and communicator
  4. Highly organized and self-driven individual who is able to balance multiple projects at once
  5. Ability to adapt and work under our brand guidelines as well as other company guidelines
  6. Ability to take feedback and make multiple iterations
  7. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior experience with design systems and/or branding
  2. Experience creating motion graphics
  3. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  4. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  5. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Creative Team – Web Developer

Creative Team – Web Developer

You are fascinated with pushing pixels to code. You are always up for a challenge. You aspire to push the boundaries of your own skills to build amazing digital experiences for our design community.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Building and maintaining all Design Co websites (e.g. ucsddesign.co, Design Frontiers, Build Up, Stride, VDA, etc)
  2. Work closely with our visual designers to bring their visions to life (aka implementing Figma mockups and cool interactions)

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Fluent in basic front-end web development technologies such as HTML/CSS/JavaScript
  2. Prior experience with responsive web design
  3. Ability to take mockups and turn them into beautiful web pages
  4. Ability to stay on top of deadlines and work quickly when needed
  5. Portfolio or Github showing relevant web design projects

Extra Credit For

  1. Experience with front-end frameworks + tools (e.g. React, Sass, etc.)
  2. Interest in a UX Engineering or Design Technologist Role
  3. Experience with back-end development and APIs
  4. Prior web development experience in a professional setting
  5. Knowledge of visual design and UX best practices
  6. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process
  7. Interest in data and analytics
  8. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Industry Relations Team – Industry Relations Coordinator

Industry Relations Team – Industry Relations Coordinator

You are bold and personable. You are an individual deeply interested in helping Design Co curate strong industry partnerships and events. At Design Co, we believe that creating opportunities for students to interface with industry is key in preparing our community for life in the industry.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working in collaboration with the industry relations team to develop and maintain partnerships with a wide range of different companies
  2. Conversing with and pitching to new and partner companies over video calls to ensure that the needs of both the companies’ and our community are met as soon as possible
  3. Helping to continuously discover, build, and improve event and sponsorship offerings for industry partners
  4. Pitching event ideas and sponsorship packages to companies and delivering attractive events for students and companies weeks in advance the event date
  5. Working with our team to plan and execute large scale events such as Stride Design Career Fair, Company Tours, and Design Frontiers
  6. Writing many, many new and follow-up emails to company representatives for our outreach or partnership efforts
  7. Learning how to work with and adjust to a company’s fast-paced timeline

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Excellent professional communication skills (via email, phone, etc.)
  2. Highly organized, attentive, collaborative, and humble team player
  3. Excitement for ideating, discovering, and iterating on opportunities to help expose students to the skills sought in industry
  4. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior experience securing and maintaining industry partnerships
  2. Prior experience in creating marketing professional pitches
  3. Prior experience working in a role where you interface with multiple partners, departments, and student organizations across UC San Diego and the greater San Diego community
  4. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  5. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  6. Attention-grabbing, avant-garde ideas for future industry events!
  7. Knowledge of the process behind gaining non-profit status and any experience securing sponsorships with companies through this model

Operations Team – Operations Coordinator

Operations Team – Operations Coordinator

You are detail oriented and motivated. You are excited to help Design Co grow as a pre-professional organization and better support student designers. You see yourself as a huge backbone to Design Co’s operations and will play an important part in shaping the way Design Co runs.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working closely with all teams in Design Co to help kickstart initiatives that may require advanced logistics
    1. Executing logistics including TAP forms, tabling, room reservations, booking flights (for retreats, Bay Area trip, etc), merchandise details, inventory
      1. Coordinating with Finance Coordinators to ensure logistics and costs are well aligned
        1. Assisting with general event planning (securing rooms/booking spaces, catering, etc)

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBM per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
    1. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, and large scale events (~7 to 10 hours per week)
    2. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Attention to detail and a love for Google Sheets
  2. Prior experience with event planning
  3. Organization skills and the ability to stay on top of deadlines
  4. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior exposure to student org operations (completing TAP forms, reserving spaces through OneStop & applying for AS funding)
  2. Prior experience with large scale event planning (100+ attendees)
  3. Prior experience working with multiple partners, departments, and student organizations across UC San Diego and the greater San Diego community
  4. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
    1. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
    2. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Operations Team – Finance Coordinator

Operations Team – Finance Coordinator

You are detail oriented and motivated. You are excited to help Design Co grow as a pre-professional organization and better support student designers. You see yourself as a huge backbone to Design Co’s operations. At Design Co, we believe that fostering an inclusive design community means collaborating with others and growing with everyone.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working closely with all teams in Design Co to help kickstart initiatives that may require advanced logistics
  2. Allocating and managing budgets for Design Co initiatives and documenting transactions
  3. Coordinating with Operations Coordinators to ensure logistics and costs are well aligned

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, and large scale events (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Attention to detail and a love for Google Sheets
  2. Ability to calculate towards the future, calculate towards our current capacity, determine what’s a good decision to make
  3. Organization skills and the ability to stay on top of deadlines
  4. Prior experience with event planning
  5. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior exposure to managing finances within a student org/program
  2. Prior experience with large scale event planning (100+ attendees)
  3. Prior experience working with multiple partners, departments, and student organizations across UC San Diego and the greater San Diego community
  4. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  5. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  6. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Marketing Team – Social Media Coordinator

Marketing Team – Social Media Coordinator

You love social media. You want to create an online presence for Design Co. You are the master of all influencers.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working in collaboration with the entire marketing team, curate, and execute marketing campaigns
  2. Helping the marketing team determine quarterly and year-long marketing strategies that increase reach, engagement, and impressions
  3. Managing our social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat) and ensuring a consistent flow of media posts
  4. Using social media marketing strategies to boost attendance at our events
  5. Creating marketing plans for small to large scale events

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Experience managing social media platforms
  2. Experience using different methods and strategies to increase engagement on social media channels
  3. Experience scheduling posts on social media platforms
  4. Understanding of best practices for strong social media presence

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior experience developing a marketing plan for small to large scaled events
  2. Prior experience managing social media for student organization or company
  3. Prior experience launching Facebook or LinkedIn advertisements
  4. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  5. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  6. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Marketing Team – Content Writer

Marketing Team – Content Writer

You are creative and insightful. You understand tone and voice. You want to write content that captivates an audience. You are grammar.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working in collaboration with the entire marketing team to curate and execute marketing campaigns that increase reach, engagement, and impressions
  2. Writing captions and event descriptions for our social media platforms that perfectly capture Design Co’s voice and tone
  3. Planning, writing, and executing articles for our publications
  4. Writing copy for new initiatives and any relevant collaterals (e.g. branding, website) to ensure they align with our visual language
  5. Creating, establishing, and iterating our content and writing guidelines

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events**, and other Marketing Team functions (5-6 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Knowledge of what tone and voice is and the confidence to help Design Co establish our own
  2. Knowledge of writing and creating content to target specific audiences
  3. Ability to demonstrate writing ability with examples of past work
  4. Knowledge of the Medium.com platform
  5. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior experience with writing copy and creating content for an organization or publication
  2. Prior experience developing content, tone of voice, and writing guidelines
  3. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  4. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  5. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

Marketing Team – Media Coordinator

Marketing Team – Media Coordinator

You have an eye for candid moments. You like to use pictures and videos to speak a thousand words. You’re excited to bring video concepts into Design Co’s marketing strategy.

Apply

You Will Be

  1. Working in collaboration with the entire marketing team, curate, and execute marketing campaigns
  2. Helping the marketing team determine quarterly and year-long marketing strategies that increase reach, engagement, and impressions
  3. Taking photographs and videos for all events
  4. Working closely with our Creative Team to ensure that our video and photo editing aligns with our visual language
  5. Curating marketing videos for our social media channels (e.g. Design Frontiers Video, Intro to Design Co, etc.)
  6. Editing and sharing photos and videos after events
  7. Creating and editing short-form videos

Other General Responsibilites

  1. Take the initiative to prepare and lead one or more GBMs per quarter, either on your own, or in collaboration with another board member or others in the design community
  2. Attend weekly GBMs, board meetings, large scale events, and other Industry Relations Team functions (~7 to 10 hours per week)
  3. Serve as a student leader within the design community at UC San Diego

What You Can Offer

  1. Knowledge with DSLR cameras is required. You’re not required to have your own DSLR but you need to have access to one for all our events (GBMs, Design Frontiers, Stride)
  2. Prior experience with videography, photography and creating content for an organization or publication
  3. Ability to demonstrate video/photography ability with examples of past work
  4. Knowledge of the editing software (e.g Adobe Premiere, Adobe Lightroom, Final Cut Pro)
  5. Knowledge of design thinking and the human-centered design process

Extra Credit For

  1. Prior experience with producing videos for an organization, company, or group
  2. Prior experience with motion design to make cool animations for videos
  3. You have your own DSLR camera
  4. Relevant design experience in a professional setting
  5. Knowledge of the design recruiting and job search process
  6. Knowing funny jokes, can teach sick dance moves, and have great food or music recommendations

In case you're wondering (FAQs)

What is Design Co Board?

Design Co Board is a team of student leaders who ideate, plan, and execute events and professional growth opportunities for the UCSD design community.

How long is the role period?

If selected, you will be serving in your role, on the Design Co Board for the entirety of the Spring 2025 quarter and the 2025-26 school year (4 quarters total).

When is the application due?

Applications are due Sunday, January 19th at 11:59PM.

I’m interested in multiple roles, what should I do?

While our board is made up of people who wear multiple hats, we believe that you should be committed and passionate about the role(s) you are applying to. Because of that you may apply to 3 roles maximum.

What is the application & interview process like?

Our board will review all applications thoroughly and holistically. All applicants will be updated on the status of their application by Monday 1/27 (Week 3) latest. If you’re a good fit for one or some of the roles, our team will reach out to you via email to set up an interview. Interviews will take place between Monday 2/3 - Friday 2/7 (Week 5) over Zoom, and some roles will require a design challenge. Offers will be sent out shortly after.

If I become a board member, what will my responsibilities look like?

Full details on your responsibilities are outlined in the role descriptions above. At a minimum, all board members are expected to attend 1 weekly board meeting (~1.5 hours) and weekly GBMs (~2 hours). Your role responsibilities should give you an additional 2-3 hours (this varies) of work per week, including team meetings (1 hour).

How do board members collaborate together?

We’re split into five highly cross-functional and collaborative teams. Now that’s a lot of corporate jargon, what does that mean? It’s easier for us to explain through the lens of planning an event.

Let’s say Design Co wants to set up a huge recruiting session with multiple industry partners.

  1. Our industry relations team will be tasked with finding the industry partners and managing communications. They then communicate everything industry partners want/need to the community team, creative team, and marketing.
  2. Our community team works with the community to figure out what students actually want. What they want to learn, what they want to hear, see, do. This may involve surveying our community on Discord, crafting the actual day-of experience etc.
  3. Our operations team is involved with the logistics of the recruiting session, which includes budgeting for the event, booking event spaces etc. They will be in contact with all the teams to ensure our event caters towards our growing community and runs smoothly.
  4. The designers on the creative team create all the visual and brand collateral for the event. From digital to print, they do all of the pixel pushing.
  5. The developers on the creative team will build a website for the event, and update it when needed.
  6. Finally the marketing team uses social media, emailing, ads, posters and a ton of other tactics to ensure that you and all your friends know about the event and want to come out. This is how we collaborate at a high level, but it changes from day to day.

If you want us to get into more specifics, we meet weekly to chat, we use Google Drive to organize things, and Slack message each other. And yes, we have a ton of cool custom reactions, and we’ll make one for you too if you join ;)

While you’ll be serving in your role, all our board members wear multiple hats, and get the opportunities to try new things and learn. We hope that this allows you to grow as designers, professionals, and humans.

I’m not getting paid, so what’s in it for me?

We’re going to keep it real. You’re signing up for extra work, and extra stress, and you’re not going to be paid. So why should you do this? To start, not a single member of our board regrets ever joining our board. People have grown and learned so much, beyond design, during their time on our board. We’re all a family and push each other to become better versions of ourselves every day. So if you’re passionate about helping the design community at UCSD grow, submit an application, we’d love to have you aboard (no pun intended).