As the sun set over the Potomac river, service designers from all over the DMV area gathered in the Deloitte Digital common space to share snacks, beverages, and conversations on July 27, 2017. We were pleased to see some familiar faces and many new ones as well. The event was designed to reconnect the Service Design DC community in the summer. We had a range of people from students to seasoned professionals. As people trickled in, we asked them to grab a bingo card and drop their business card (or make a post-it one) so that they could participate in a raffle – a free ticket to the first SDN U.S. National Conference!

Summer Connections marked the first event organized by Service Design DC’s newly organized Leadership Team. In order to support the growth and continued engagement of the community, co-founds Aza Damood and Lisa Mendelow asked Alissa Millenson and Grant Smith to join forces as Communications Co-Leads. John Gray Parker and Rachel Thompson round at the team as Event Co-Leads. This team is excited to build a collective of people who support Service Design as a growing discipline. 

Speaking of growth, the happy hour was timed to connect designers prior to attending the first SDN U.S. National Conference which took place on August 10th and 11th at IIT Institute of Design in Chicago. Panelists (such as Steven Babitch, a Presidential Innovation Fellow) and organizers of the conference were present to answer questions. 

Our handmade “Notice Board” and other posting areas provided people the space to engage and aside from regular conversations. We have to admit, we were impressed by the energy at our local event and even more inspired to see a large representation of our community at the Chicago conference. As summer comes to a close, we’re looking forward to continued programming about building on our ideas for the community.