Events List
Past Events
Events List Navigation
Keep an eye on this page, follow us on social media or sign-up to our email at the bottom of the website for all the upcoming events and workshops near you.
- February Queer Design Assembly
- March DA Conversations speaker or panel events
- May DA Women in Design
- June DA Pub Quiz
- July DA Portfolio Speed Dating Review
- August DA Women in Design
- September DA Conversations speaker or panel events
Throughout 2020, Design Assembly will running a series of ONLINE events in response to the national plan for events and workshops during Covid-19 alert levels. We will aim to hold in-person events and workshops as we can.
August 2019
UX Gym Workshop Auckland – Introduction to Design Thinking
Introduction to Design Thinking 2 days | 9:30am - 4:30pm each day Auckland Thursday 22 August - Friday 23 August | Thinkspace - 3 Glenside Crescent, Auckland Sign Up for Auckland Get hands-on experience of a design thinking approach from start to finish in this intensive two day workshop. Overview Build on a foundation of human-centred design, following a real-world design challenge. You’ll work intensively through the phases of a design thinking approach, understanding the theory then applying the practice.…
Find out more »DA Women In Design August 2019 – Wellington
Join us for an informal evening of drinks and food as we come together for relationships to be made, nurtured and supported. Spaces are limited to 30 people. Everyone is welcome. With thanks to our DA Friends - who help to keep DA going and growing, DA Friends attend this event for free. A small cover charge for non-DA Friends helps to cover the admin costs of running these events for the community. $25+gst per person (First drink and nibbles included)…
Find out more »DA Women In Design August 2019 – Christchurch
Join us for an informal evening of drinks and food as we come together for relationships to be made, nurtured and supported. Spaces are limited to 25 people. Everyone is welcome. With thanks to our DA Friends – who help to keep DA going and growing, DA Friends attend this event for free. A small cover charge for non-DA Friends helps to cover the admin costs of running these events for the community. $25+gst per person (First drink and nibbles…
Find out more »DA Women In Design August 2019 – Auckland
Join us for an informal evening of drinks and food as we come together for relationships to be made, nurtured and supported. Spaces are limited to 30 people. Everyone is welcome. With thanks to our DA Friends - who help to keep DA going and growing, DA Friends attend this event for free. A small cover charge for non-DA Friends helps to cover the admin costs of running these events for the community. $25+gst per person (Nibbles included) DA Friends FREE…
Find out more »Auckland DA Workshop: Keeping the pipeline filled – sales for designers
Saturday 31 August 2019 9am - 12.30pm Studio One Toi Tū 1 Ponsonby Road Auckland City $300 +GST Professional / $200 +GST Design Assembly Friend / $50 +GST DA Student Friends (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here). Recommended for studio owners, self-employed creatives and agency account managers If the thought of keeping your sales pipeline filled makes your skin crawl, you are not alone. Few people ‘enjoy’ the sales process, and even fewer feel…
Find out more »September 2019
DA Speed Dating Portfolio Evening, September 4th, Auckland
One evening, 40 final year visual design students and 20 professionals… It's speed dating for visual designers! A fast-paced evening of networking, portfolio reviews and feedback. As final year students, you will have the opportunity to meet and show your work to several seasoned industry professionals. In a round robin series of quick fire conversations, you'll pull out your portfolio and give it your all. In return, you'll be served with some short and sweet truths to help get that…
Find out more »DA Workshop Hamilton – Designing a Culturally Authentic Aotearoa
This popular workshop is back in Hamilton! Wednesday 11 September, 2019 9.30am - 3.30pm Wintec Marae Tristram Street Hamilton Prices: $400+gst Professional | $300+gst Design Assembly Friend | $100+gst Student Light lunch provided. Workshop needs 10 people minimum to run (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here). Tēnā koutou, nau mai, haere mai! Design has a major influence in how culture, society and perceptions are shaped and defined. Globally, there is a hunger for authentic brands, experiences and connection with…
Find out more »Wellington: DA Conversations — Spring 2019
Save the Date for our DA Conversations Spring series in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington: Details to be confirmed.
Find out more »Auckland – DA Spring Conversations 2019
Design Assembly is delighted to present our DA Spring Conversations 2019 series taking place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in September. Planet centric design - What is the role and responsibility of the designer? Have you ever wondered how your job as a designer impacts our planet? Do you want to reduce your carbon footprint and create something that isn’t just designed beautifully but is beautiful by design? How can we design to consider the lifecycle of our work and integrate it into…
Find out more »October 2019
DA Women In Design Evenings – Hamilton
Join us for an informal evening of drinks and food as we come together for relationships to be made, nurtured and supported. Spaces are very limited. Everyone is welcome. Thursday 17 October 2019 6pm - 8pm Mr Pickles 298 Victoria Street, Hamilton If you would like to hold DA Women In Design events in your local region please contact louise@designassembly.org.nz Design Assembly – connecting all New Zealand visual designers since 2008…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Christchurch – UX Crash Course: A hands on introduction to user experience design
Get hands-on experience of a digital UX design project from start to finish in this intensive one day workshop. This course is designed to give you an understanding of the principles behind a modern user centered design process and practical experience of some of the most common activities you will encounter in a typical user experience project. The day is designed so you can apply what you learn immediately to your current projects and also use what you learn as…
Find out more »November 2019
AUT Workshop: Working together: How to start a collaborative project
A workshop for more successful collaboration. https://www.initiate-collaborate.com/ A new collaborative project can feel like stepping into the unknown—new people, new perspectives, and not everyone on the same page. For collaborative projects to be most successful, you need alignment on the really important questions- right at the start of a project. Save time, money and unnecessary conflict by building effective collaborations. The initiate.collaborate toolkit empowers teams to develop their shared project manifesto in a single session. Its a self-facilitated workshop, based…
Find out more »Wellington: DA’s End of Year Wrap Party 2019
Save the date for DA’s End of Year Wrap Party in Wellington: Details to be confirmed.
Find out more »Auckland: DA’s End of Year Wrap Party 2019
2019 is almost a wrap! Join your fellow designers and creatives and celebrate the end of the year and the start of summer with us. The Quick Draw Sketch Gang will be drawing portraits for free on the night! DA’s End of Year Wrap Party, Auckland Thursday 28th November, from 6pm - 8pm Ponsonby Social Club 152 Ponsonby Road ponsonby.social With thanks to our DA Friends – who help to keep DA going and growing, DA Friends attend this event…
Find out more »February 2020
A Queer Design Assembly – 2020 Auckland Pride Festival
Join us during the 2020 Auckland Pride Festival for an informal evening of drinks, nibbles and chats exploring what it means to be queer in the design industry. Thursday 13th February 6pm - 8pm Strange Haven 281 Karangahape Road Register for your ticket now A Queer Design Assembly is a welcoming event open to everyone, with a focus on creating space for LGBTQ+ creatives to celebrate queer contributions to the creative industries and visual culture, share work, and connect with…
Find out more »Auckland DA Event: Out of Office – Conversations on working inhouse
Join your fellow in-house designers and creatives as we hear from two leaders in the field, sharing their stories on how they balance the challenges and rewards of working in-house. Relight your creative spark and gain insights into the working with the demands of in-house design. Breakfast, coffee and tea will be provided. Get Tickets Speakers: Roxy Huntington - Former Head of Design, Trade Me Feeling at home In-house Over the last 20 years I've had the chance to work…
Find out more »March 2020
Auckland DA Workshop: Writing and Presenting for Designers
Who is the workshop for? Anybody who wants to learn more about how to get the most out of a client — and deliver the most when presenting back. You’ll likely take the most away from this course if you’re new to, or interested in, learning more about client service. What will you learn? Getting the right information out of a client isn’t always easy — and neither is presenting it back with confidence. So how do people make it…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Auckland – Crash Course: A hands on introduction to user experience design
Get hands-on experience of a digital UX design project from start to finish in this intensive one day workshop. This course is designed to give you an understanding of the principles behind a modern user centered design process and practical experience of some of the most common activities you will encounter in a typical user experience project. The day is designed so you can apply what you learn immediately to your current projects and also use what you learn as…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Wellington – Crash Course: A hands on introduction to user experience design
Get hands-on experience of a digital UX design project from start to finish in this intensive one day workshop. This course is designed to give you an understanding of the principles behind a modern user centered design process and practical experience of some of the most common activities you will encounter in a typical user experience project. The day is designed so you can apply what you learn immediately to your current projects and also use what you learn as…
Find out more »April 2020
Postponed: Auckland DA Workshop: Wayfinding for Designers
We have postponed this workshop due to COVID-19 it until further notice. Email louise@designassembly.org.nz with your interest in attending this workshop at a future date. Prices: $300+gst Professional | $200+gst Design Assembly Friend | $50+gst Student Morning tea provided. (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here). Get Tickets Good wayfinding enables confidence in where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going. Wayfinding is often the first touch point of a product or…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Christchurch – Crash Course: A hands on introduction to user experience design
Get hands-on experience of a digital UX design project from start to finish in this intensive one day workshop. This course is designed to give you an understanding of the principles behind a modern user centered design process and practical experience of some of the most common activities you will encounter in a typical user experience project. The day is designed so you can apply what you learn immediately to your current projects and also use what you learn as…
Find out more »Designing Effective Interview Questions
Time for some lockdown UX education! Matt from UX Gym is going to be sharing some methods and design principles from their UX Gym courses for free in a series of short online seminars and Q&A sessions, starting with how to design an effective interview question for design research, where he shares a practical method for creating interview questions designed to minimise bias and create deeper, more insightful conversations. Join us on Friday 17 April at 2pm at uxgym.com
Find out more »May 2020
Postponed: Wellington DA Workshop: Running a successful project: on time, on budget, and on brief
We have postponed this workshop due to COVID-19 until further notice. Prices: $300+gst Professional | $200+gst Design Assembly Friend | $50+gst Student Morning tea provided. (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here) Get Tickets Recommended for Account Managers, Project Managers, Creatives, Team Leaders, Studio Owners Have you ever tried to run a creative project that got out of hand? Are the projects that you run particularly complex or long-term? Do you need to wrangle multiple suppliers or…
Find out more »UX Gym Webinar: 4 decision making behaviours designers should know
Free 15 min UX design seminar, Friday 1 May 2pm Visit uxgym.com on Friday 1 May 2pm for our 2nd free web seminar on 4 useful principles about how people make decisions, and what these mean when designing products and services. We have found that not being able to hold our usual training courses while the country is under lockdown both frustrating and boring, so while we’re waiting to get up and going again we’ve decided to share some of…
Find out more »Postponed: Auckland DA Workshop: Running a Design Studio – Balancing the Duality of Creative and Business Work
We have postponed this workshop due to COVID-19 until further notice. Prices: $300+gst Professional | $200+gst Design Assembly Friend | $50+gst Student Morning tea provided. (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here) Get Tickets As creative business owners it can be challenging to balance business with creativity, but by structuring your business in a way that allows you to do meaningful work based on your values, it's easier to navigate that duality and build…
Find out more »Postponed: Auckland DA Event: Women in Design
We have postponed this workshop due to COVID-19 until further notice. Join us for an intimate evening with a panel conversation on: Living a life in design - success and support strategies We'll share drinks, food and conversation as we come together for relationships to be made, nurtured and supported. Featuring: Mirella Marie, Founder and Director of Womentor as convenor Laura Cibilich, Director, Run Jodine Bell, Creative Director, Principals Annie Dow, Managing Director, Dow Goodfolk Prices: $30+gst Professional | Free…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Wellington – 2 Day Introduction to User Experience Design
Like our 1 day UX Crash Course this course gives you hands-on experience of a digital UX design project from start to finish, but it goes into more depth in each area. This course is designed to give you a more thorough understanding of the principles behind a modern user centered design process and more practical experience of some of the most common activities you will encounter in a typical user experience project. The day is designed so you can…
Find out more »UX Gym Webinar: Great ways to ruin a usability test
Free 15 min UX design seminar, Friday 15 May 2pm Visit uxgym.com on Friday 15 May 2pm for our 3rd and final free web seminar on common mistakes that invalidate usability tests. We have found that not being able to hold our usual training courses while the country is under lockdown both frustrating and boring, so while we’re waiting to get up and going again we’ve decided to share some of our favourite principles and methods that we teach…
Find out more »June 2020
DA Online Event – Under The Hood, Three Designers & Three Projects with Adobe
Thanks to our event partners Adobe, you are invited to join us online as three designers walk us through how a design project worked. Thursday 4 June 12.30pm - 1.30pm Online Zoom Webinar Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop - This is too hard! It's not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! - and out to the other side to client love and project success. All…
Find out more »But First Coffee… Auckland & Christchurch
Join us before work on Thursday 25th of June between 8am and 9am. Coffee, tea and pastries are on us! We are excited to be at level 1 in New Zealand and want to say thanks to you our DA Friends for supporting Design Assembly to do the work we do, especially over the last few months... Auckland: In partnership with Objectspace, we'd love to invite you to have a coffee and a pastry with us and have a look…
Find out more »July 2020
But First Coffee… Wellington
Join us before work on Thursday 2nd of July between 8am and 9am. Coffee, tea and pastries are on us! We are excited to be at level 1 in New Zealand and want to say thanks to you our DA Friends for supporting Design Assembly to do the work we do, especially over the last few months... In partnership with Out of Office, we'd love to invite you to have a coffee and a pastry with us. Level 3/11…
Find out more »DA Online Event – Under The Hood, Three Designers & Three Projects with Adobe
Thanks to our event partners Adobe, you are invited to join us online as three designers walk us through how a design project worked. Thursday 2 July 12.30pm – 1.30pm Online Zoom Webinar Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project success. All…
Find out more »August 2020
DA Online Event – Under The Hood August, Three Designers & Three Projects with Adobe
Thanks to our event partners Adobe, you are invited to join us online as three designers walk us through how a design project worked. Thursday 6 August 12.30pm – 1.30pm Online Zoom Webinar Get Tickets Each designer will share the brief, how they approached it, talk us through that internal feedback loop – This is too hard! It’s not working! Why did I decide to be a designer?! – and out to the other side to client love and project…
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Auckland – User Research
Probably no other area of design has more impact on how successful your initial design decisions are going to be than user research. Most of us aren’t designing for ourselves, and a good understanding of who our users are and what their needs are is vital for successful design. This course teaches you how to identify the best type of research for a project, how to execute your research so you get the most useful results given the time and…
Find out more »September 2020
SOLD OUT AUCKLAND: The Value of Strategy with Raul Sarrot – 2nd September
Wednesday 2nd September 2020 9am – 12.30pm GridAKL / John Lysaght 101 Pakenham Street West, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand $300 +GST Professional / $200 +GST Design Assembly Friend / $50 +GST DA Student Friends (Not a DA Friend? Details on how to sign up can be found here). A practical workshop on how to translate a business vision into a game-changing, value-driven brand strategy. What is brand strategy and how does it differ from business strategy? Why strategy is critical…
Find out more »AUCKLAND: The Value of Strategy with Raul Sarrot – 9th September
In this 3-hour course, we will do a deep dive in the world of business and brand strategy, exploring how we can translate core purpose into a meaningful value-driven strategy. While we work on hands-on activities to co-create a meaningful strategic framework and an activation plan, we will answer the specific questions or challenges you might have around your business/brand.
Find out more »Free Lunchtime Webinar – The Blutui Hump Day Late Lunch
Thanks to our partner Blutui, you are invited to join us online as the Blutui team talks about why they prefer tailwinds to bootstrap and why you shouldn’t use JQuery at all or put simply how to deliver great web experiences from anywhere.
Find out more »UX Gym Workshop Wellington: Introduction to User Research
Probably no other area of design has more impact on how successful your initial design decisions are going to be than user research. Most of us aren’t designing for ourselves, and a good understanding of who our users are and what their needs are is vital for successful design. This course teaches you how to identify the best type of research for a project, how to execute your research so you get the most useful results given the time and…
Find out more »DA Online Event – IN FLUX: Aotearoa Design
We will gather as a national community in an online forum to discuss Aotearoa Design amidst Covid-19.
We’ll speak candidly about how we are doing right now, explore the opportunities for change this reset presents; from the way that we work day-to-day, as a profession, how we collaborate with our clients and peers. Through the macro visions of what we hope for our future, and how Aotearoa NZ designers can play a positive role in the world at large.
Find out more »