Overview
Colearnla was a casual peer-to-peer collaborative learning group where UX practitioners could discuss different design topics and learn from each other.
2020–2021
My role
Organiser @Colearnla
Background
As a UX designer working as a “team of one”, I often missed having regular conversations with other designers about the challenges we face in our work.
When I encountered new topics or problems that weren’t covered in training or at work, I wanted a space where designers could learn together through discussion and experience sharing.
I started searching for UX co-learning groups based in Hong Kong. However, most of the groups I found focused on programming and were more technical than what I was looking for.
So I wondered:
What if I created a co-learning group for UXers to collaborate and learn together?
After a few weekends of brainstorming and planning, the first virtual Colearnla meetup was ready. I shared the idea with several local UX designers and invited them to join the first session.
Early Challenges
The first meetup didn’t go as planned.
Although the topic was interesting and not widely discussed locally, attendance was lower than expected. At the end of the session, we held a feedback discussion.
One participant suggested that the next meetup should focus on peer-to-peer practical experience sharing, where designers could talk about real challenges from their work.
I took this suggestion and organized the next session around practical experience sharing. The format worked much better, and participants enjoyed having deeper discussions with other local UXers.
Topics We Explored
Over the course of a year, we explored a variety of topics together:
🤓 Personas – Practical Experience Sharing
🤓 Let’s Talk About App/Web Accessibility with Hong Kong Blind Union
🤓 Whiteboard Challenge Practice Group
🤓 The Mysterious Design Challenge 2021
🤓 UXer & Developer Skill Exchange Forum
🤓 Self-awarding Ceremony 2021
🤓 Lean Coffee Retrospective
🤓 UX Debate
🤓 Hong Kong UX Designer Survival Guide
🤓 Career Check-up Workshop
