In May 2024, Tripadvisor had the exciting opportunity to collaborate with an external organization to host Career Day, an event designed to give 20 enthusiastic 5th-grade students a brief taste of the world of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).
The goal was to inspire these young minds by offering them a glimpse into the daily lives of professionals in the tech industry and to spark their interest in potential future careers.
Planning the Event
Three product designers, including myself, were invited to join the organizing team and create engaging design workshops for the students during the breakout sessions. After some brainstorming and discussion, we decided on an activity that would challenge the students’ creativity and problem-solving skills: redesigning the layout of a restaurant review page.
To prepare for this workshop, we broke down the latest design of the restaurant review page into recognizable components. We aimed to make the components granular enough to be challenging yet not overly complicated, ensuring that the students could grasp the task quickly. We printed these components on paper and cut them into 10 sets, ready for the big day.
The Big Day: Career Day at Tripadvisor
The day finally arrived, and the students were welcomed to Tripadvisor’s headquarters with a quick introduction speech by our CTO, followed by a brief tour of the main areas of the office. The excitement was palpable as the 20-ish students were divided into four different workshops, and the sessions began.
In the design breakout room, we started with a brief self-introduction before diving into the activity. The students were given sets of paper cut-outs that included photos, page headers, about info, review summaries, individual review cards, delivery modules, hours, menus, and recommendations. Their task was to arrange these components on the table to create a restaurant review page layout that would be helpful for visitors in making a decision to visit the restaurant.
Observations and Insights
As the students worked on their designs, it became evident that their personalities shone through in their approaches. Some students were naturally outgoing and took on leadership roles, while others were initially quiet and reserved. Interestingly, a few students who seemed shy and low-energy at first turned out to be natural leaders once they started engaging with the components and collaborating with their peers.
Outcome of the Design Activity
- In general, different groups of students made similar design decisions for similar reasons.
- However, each group also had very different designs in certain portions of the page, driven by diverse perspectives and unique ideas.
- When the students encountered obstacles, a simple hint often spurred them to come up with creative solutions quickly.
Key Takeaways
Career Day reinforced an important lesson: different people may solve the same problem in various ways, and that’s perfectly okay. It’s crucial to embrace diversity in thought and approach rather than striving for a single “best” solution that everyone loves. In fact, designing something that pleases everyone is virtually impossible.
Participating in Career Day was a rewarding experience, not only for the students but also for us as mentors. Watching young minds tackle design challenges with enthusiasm and creativity was inspiring. Events like these remind us of the importance of nurturing the next generation of STEAM innovators, fostering their curiosity, and encouraging them to explore the endless possibilities that lie ahead.