Denver is a great place to connect with other designers. There are many different ways to connect with designers in Denver, including:
- Attending design events and meetups. There are many different design events and meetups that take place in Denver throughout the year. These events are a great way to meet other designers, learn new things, and network.
- Joining design organizations. There are several design organizations in Denver, such as the Denver AIGA and the Denver Design Week. These organizations offer a variety of resources and opportunities for designers to connect with each other.
- Using social media. There are many different social media platforms that designers use to connect with each other, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Using social media is a great way to stay up-to-date on what other designers are doing and to connect with them directly.
- Attending design conferences. There are several design conferences that take place in Denver each year. These conferences are a great way to learn from some of the best designers in the world and to network with other designers.
Meetups
- Denver UX. This one is full of new folks and people wanting to network. Every once in awhile, there’s a special event. If not, it’s an opportunity to gather and exchange business cards.
- UX Book Club. My favorite. People take turns to talk, everyone’s there to learn, and it’s organized by people with years of experience in the field. Insightful if you want to learn tips and tricks, and how to troubleshoot things that might be happening at your work.
- UX Over. A professional group for Interaction Design, with forays into User Experience Design and related fields. Serving Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, and other northern parts of the Colorado Front Range.
Slack channels
- Denver UX. A collective of designers coming together to forge a community of design professionals to learn, grow, and share knowledge.
- Colorado Product. Targeted for a smaller niche. Conversations can be insightful, especially when it comes to books and events recommendations.
Job listings
- The Creative Group job board. One of the biggest recruiting companies in Denver will always have something for you. A good option if you’re open to doing some freelance.
- Denver Egotist. There’s a lot of small and mid-size companies posting their openings here. A great place if you’re trying to break free from corporate.
- Built in Colorado. The number one place for tech startups to be.
Events
- Creative Mornings. Breakfast and a short talk one Friday morning a month. Every event is free of charge and open to anyone.
- Develop Denver (annual). Two days of hands-on workshops and talks on design and coding, at which attendees network and learn from professionals within the community.
- Denver Startup Week (annual). Talks all over town from founders, developers, product managers, designers, marketers, sales teams, and makers.
- Denver Design Week. A seven-day celebration and showcase of the region’s best architecture, interiors, art, brands, and technology.
Schools
- Galvanize. Denver-based, I have friends who took the 6-month course for front end coding and got a job right after. In my opinion, Galvanize has a really good reputation for being thorough and efficient.
- Turing School of Software & Design. Another option downtown, Turing is a non-profit organization that operates almost entirely on student tuition. They also host great events!
Recruiting agencies
- The Creative Group. To make the move from startup to corporate, this is the way to go. They follow up on you and make sure you’re the best fit for the task. I was part of TCG and really enjoyed my time there.
- TEK Systems. The people working here are fantastic. Personable, friendly, and they take the time to understand your needs.
- Horizontal. Several times they called me from here, but the timing wasn’t right. I follow some of their recruiters on LinkedIn and they’re constantly posting new positions.
No matter how you choose to connect with other designers in Denver, you’re sure to find a community of talented and supportive people who can help you grow in your career.