RVA Content Strategy

Aug 05 2023

Coffee and Conversation with Shannon Leahy

Join us on Saturday, August 5^th, at 10 AM for Coffee and Conversation with Shannon Leahy. Shannon will be discussing growing in your design career without losing your soul or sacrificing your values.

Grow your design career: Wrangling influence, ambiguity, and autonomy...without losing yourself!

“Leadership.” “Leveling up.” It’s not always clear what these terms mean, or how they might manifest in your career. Or, it might feel like you have to change who you are or what you value to fit into some stereotypical mold of a “design leader.”

To help you chart your path, we’ll explore three key skill areas to grow in: establishing influence, navigating ambiguity, and working autonomously. And, we'll talk how to build these skills while honoring what makes you, you!

Also expect some real talk about the roles privilege, power dynamics, sponsors, and how luck plays into your career journey, too.

Enjoy delicious coffee or a mimosa, light breakfast foods, and design-centered discussion.

May 11 2023

[Virtual event] A conversation on UX content jobs

Shannon Leahy, Senior Content Design Manager at Adobe and co-founder of RVA Content Strategy, will join Patrick Stafford of UX Content Collective for a live podcast recording to discuss the current job market and tips for content designers navigating the search.

This is a LinkedIn Live (audio only) event.

Apr 27 2023

[Virtual Event] Ice Cream and Screaming

I scream

You scream

We all scream

* cue screaming into the void *

We’re back! After your excitement and glowing feedback for our pizza and affirmations hangout, we’ve decided to bring content folks together again for a lil’ community building. We’re all screaming into the void, but what if we pretend the void has a sundae bar?

This time, join hosts Shannon Leahy and Jane Ruffino for a virtual ice cream party! We’ll dish out the compliments, alongside a healthy side of hot takes, real talk, sweet ideas, and a dash of arm waving and screaming. Bring your favorite treat to enjoy, don an ice-cream-themed outfit or Zoom background, whatever feels right and authentic for you.

See you soon! Yours in solidarity,

Shannon and Jane

Event time:

1 pm ET (Richmond, Virginia, US)

10 am PT (San Francisco, California, US)

12 pm CT (Chicago, Illinois, US)

6 pm BST (London, UK)

7 pm CET (Stockholm, Sweden)

3 am Friday AEST (Sydney, Australia)

Feb 28 2023

[Virtual Event] Pizza and Affirmations

2023 has been a year, and it’s only February! For many folx, things are heavy professionally, personally, or both.

We see you. We feel you. And we offer a humble night of community for a little respite from all the chaos.

So, let’s eat our feelings together. Personally, our feelings taste like pizza right now, but you can bring whatever food best represents *waves arms around* and we'll just hang out and be each other’s biggest fans.

Join hosts Shannon Leahy and Jane Ruffino for a virtual pizza party to laugh, vent, commiserate, and nerd out about pizza and each other. We invite you to share a fun fact about pizza (or, a weird story involving pizza). Pizza-themed outfits and accessories are also encouraged.

We hope to see you soon!

Event time is:

11:00 am PT (San Francisco, CA, USA)

1:00 pm CT (Chicago, IL, USA)

2:00 pm ET (Richmond, VA, USA)

7:00 pm GMT (London)

8:00 pm CET (Stockholm)

6:00 am AEDT (Sydney)

Jun 17 2022

[Virtual Event] What the Heck Is UX Strategy?!

Join us for some real-talk about strategy work. We'll address topics like what’s involved in UX strategy, where it overlaps with other disciplines like research or content design, and how to lean into the strategy superpowers you already have (you just didn’t know it yet!).

Laura Smith will moderate the discussion. Panelists include Terry Peters, John Runberg, and Lindsay Spencer from Veracity Consulting...plus a special mystery guest.

May 20 2022

[Virtual Event] Lightning talks: Tools of the trade

Join Richmond Design Group, Ladies that UX Richmond, and RVA Content Strategy for our next round of lightning talks for 2022. ⚡

In May, our theme is tools of the trade. We'll explore different design tools you can add to your toolbox and use in your projects starting today.

Don’t fear the spreadsheet: A guide to content audits for product teams

Emily Wachowiak, Senior Content Designer, Mozilla

Product content audits may seem overwhelming, but there are practical strategies for planning, performing, and summarizing your audit so that your findings become real product improvements—not just lines on a spreadsheet.

Don't rule it out: The power of ordinary tools for extraordinary results

Shannon Leahy, Senior Content Design Manager, Capital One

What do Word docs, Google slides, and spreadsheets have in common? They're some of the most powerful design tools around. Learn how using everyday software yields better collaboration and makes design work more accessible to partner teams like product management, tech, and legal. Simple things like spreadsheets can help you map user journeys and maybe even nab a promotion (yes, really).

Using Jira as a tool for product and design collaboration

Rachel Rique, Senior Product Manager, Capital One

Jira is a widely used tool throughout the tech industry and, when used collaboratively, it can really help teams stay in touch and get work done together. I'll be going through a few ways we used Jira at Capital One to make sure team members have the information they need, when they need it to deliver quickly and efficiently.

Apr 29 2022

[Virtual Event] Portfolio AMA

Join Richmond Design Group for a discussion about portfolios and ask us anything!

Wondering what you show? What format to use? How to differentiate yourself when it comes to senior or leadership roles? How do you create a portfolio if you're a career switcher and want to transition to design from a different field? No question is too big or too small.

This event is free and virtual for all.

Nov 12 2021

[Virtual Event] In Your Shoes: Job Seeker Stories

In Your Shoes: Job Seeker Stories

Join Richmond UX, Ladies That UX Richmond, and RVA Content Strategy for our final Navigating Design Careers event of 2021. This time, we'll dig into the perspective of people just like you--people who are looking for a new opportunity in the UX or product design fields. Our panel of job seekers will talk about things like: what motivated them to make a change; how to highlight transferrable skills from past experiences; what it's like looking for a new gig in a pandemic; how they address imposter syndrome or not getting a job offer; and more.

Panelists

Phoebe Atkins, Senior User Experience Designer, Adobe

Pollie Barden, Senior User Experience Strategist, Veracity Consulting Group

James "Sully" Sullivan, Senior Product Designer, WillowTree

Ameerah Jones, Senior UX Writer, Etsy

Tyrone L. Frye, UX/Product Designer

Motti H., Product Designer, Listener Experience, Sirius XM & Pandora

Oct 15 2021

[Virtual Event] What Makes a (Job) Winning Portfolio?

Join Richmond UX, Ladies That UX Richmond, and RVA Content Strategy for our second Navigating Design Careers event of 2021. Designers representing UX/UI design, research, strategy, and content design will talk about how to put together a portfolio that showcases your skills and stands out from other candidates. We'll also have the opportunity for 1-2 attendees to share their portfolio and get some feedback live.

Panelists

Kristin Cooke, Senior Interaction Designer, Google

Dane Robertson, Product Design Manager, Facebook

Melanie Seibert, Senior Content Designer, Indeed.com

Sep 17 2021

Finding & Applying for a Design Job: Hiring Manager & Recruiter Tell-All [Virtual Event]

Navigating Design Careers

The design industry has quickly become attractive, yet it's still a nebulous field to navigate.

Richmond Design Group is committed to increasing the accessibility of design and technology to the Richmond community.

With that in mind, we're excited to bring back Navigating Design Careers for 2021. This 3-part event series aims to demystify what it's like to start and grow in a career as a designer—particularly if you're new to the field. Navigating Design Careers is geared toward career changers who want to transition to design; early- and mid-career designers seeking insight into how to grow and advance; and students who want to break into the design field.

This event series is a collaboration between Richmond UX, Ladies That UX Richmond, and RVA Content Strategy—also known as Richmond Design Group.

Finding and Applying for a Design Job: Hiring Manager and Recruiter Tell-All

Join us for our first Navigating Design Careers event. In a Q&A-style panel, hiring managers and recruiters will share some real talk about what to expect when you're job hunting. We'll dig into things like: how to highlight transferrable skills from different industries; the one mistake people don't know they're making; what sets applicants apart; how to get ready to interview; and more.

Panelists

Jessie Buncy, Talent Acquisition Manager, Veracity Consulting Group

Phil Hertzler, Senior Manager, Experience Design, Capital One

John McCarron, Director of Product Management, CoStar

Sarah-Tyler Moore, Market Manager, Vitamin T