Dorsa Giyahi

Tell us a bit more about your educational background. What were you doing before studying UX?

Growing up I was really into the arts and theater, specifically, but then I studied something completely different; I got my Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition at Ryerson University and that program consisted of a lot of marketing courses, along with qualitative and quantitative research classes.

Why did you decide to study UX Design?

Overall, I've always been a really tech-savvy person and I wanted to study UX design because I realized I really enjoyed gathering product feedback from different people and learning what they enjoy or what they might find challenging.

Why did you choose BrainStation?

I mainly chose BrainStation because of the community that they've built. Knowing about the community and all the different talented people really gave me a sense of security and confidence knowing that I'd had the opportunity to connect and learn from all of them.

What did you think about the experience at BrainStation?

BrainStation was an unforgettable experience for me. It wasn't something I experienced in university – I really bonded with our cohort and I'm still in touch with several Designers that are excelling in different design career paths.

What was the highlight of the program?

I would say the group projects were a highlight for me.

I kind of had an idea that I was going to be working on my own solo project, but those group design challenges and projects that we did in class were really valuable to me.

What impact has that had on your career?

BrainStation made all the impact on my career; It was a huge springboard for me!

While there were a lot of late nights of hard work and a lot of work outside of class hours, BrainStation really opened the door and got my career started.

BrainStation was an unforgettable experience for me. It wasn't something I experienced in university – I really bonded with our cohort and I'm still in touch with several Designers that are excelling in different design career paths.

What is Designers and Coffee?

I started Designers and Coffee about a year and a half ago.

It’s a Toronto design community that consists of industry professionals, beginner designers, as well as individuals that are considering a career switch in UX. Our events have varied from group design challenges, design feedback sessions, seminars, and smaller sized workshops, as well as social networking events.

Where did the idea come about?

I got the idea for Designers and Coffee while I was working at a medium-sized startup as the sole Designer on the team. I was in the earlier stages of my career so I found myself in a state of confusion and not really knowing where I can really connect with other Designers beyond large Slack groups.

I was attending a lot of events in Toronto but I found myself wanting more of a deeper connection with other Designers. So, one day I decided to host a meet-up on a topic I was currently working on at work, which was user testing, and just went from there.

Our first meeting had about 15 people – a few of them were Developers actually – and today there are almost a thousand members on Meetup, which is super exciting.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I definitely still see myself working on Designers and Coffee, hopefully with a team. I also hope to keep sharpening my product design skills to become a Design Director.

What advice would you give to professionals looking to make a career change?

I would advise that if you're thinking about making a career switch, that's enough reason to do it. There's gonna be a lot of hard days filled with ups and downs, however, if it's something that excites you and interests you, you can do it.