Top UI/UX Communities & Resources in Philadelphia
The City of Brotherly Love boasts a thriving & diverse tech scene, with startups, yearly STEM events, universities graduating some of the best talent on the East Coast. If you are looking to start to grow your UX career, Philadelphia has a growing community of designer organizations, events, and resources, and it’s very quickly becoming one best cities for UX designers.
News & Events
Creative Mornings chapters
Technical.ly Philadelphia- Original reporting on Philadelphia tech companies, receive tactical advice from peers in the region and find out what events to attend this week.
Philly Tech Week - Philly Tech Week is a week-long celebration that showcases technology and innovation happening throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. Join us and get connected with some of the region’s most fascinating and edge-defining entrepreneurs, technologists, futurists, and change agents.
Creative Mornings- CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for the creative community in the City of Brotherly Love. All events are free of charge and include a 20-minute talk, plus coffee! #cmphl
B. PHL Innovation Fest- An annual three-day innovation celebration started in 2019 to highlight Philadelphia as a fantastic place to live and work; to create meaningful connections locally and globally between people and organizations doing innovative work; and ignite new ideas and inspire changemakers of the future.
Communities
Philly CHI - PhillyCHI connects the local UX community by organizing monthly educational and networking events. We welcome anyone interested in UX to attend an event, share their knowledge, and engage with other professionals, students, and enthusiasts.
Philadelphia UI/UX Design Meetup- The Philadelphia UI UX Meetup is a professional group that facilitates, learning, collaboration, innovation, and networking for individuals who are currently UX professionals, or those who seek to become UX professionals.
Research Rewind- Research Rewind is all about reflecting on our experiences as UX and user-centered design researchers so we can refine our craft, iterate on our process, and ultimately create delightful, evidence-based designs that put people first. This is a space for like-minded researchers and designers to share, contribute, and learn from our failed experiments and mind-altering discoveries. We're out here building a community of Philly-based researchers so we can swap stories, share tips and tricks, and grow our research skillsets.
Code for Philly- Organization that uses tech, data, and design as a mode of civic engagement. They’re making Philadelphia into the city they know it can be by bringing together a community of people dedicated to using their talents to improve their home, and themselves.
Philly Startup Leaders- A tech hub with a mission to increase the number of entrepreneurs in Philadelphia, grow the number of startups positively impacted by the community, and help create a positive perception of Philadelphia’s startup ecosystem
Women Who Code Philadelphia- Women Who Code is the largest and most active community of engineers dedicated to inspiring diverse women to excel in technology careers. We envision a world where women are representative as technical executives, founders, VCs, board members, and software engineers. Our programs are designed to get you there.
Design Brew - “We believe in the power of beautiful design and the impact is has on the end user. It takes heart and hustle to make good shit again and again. With pride. With love. With obsession. We drool over fresh ideas and intuitive solutions. We inspire each other to continuously churn out stunning designs. Impressive designs. F*cking gorgeous, smart designs.”
UX Nights - UX nights is a safe place where we talk about user experience and how it affects your life and the work you do. Are you a professional, student, or just interested in design? Are you considering switching careers or looking for your next gig? Are you passionate about learning new things and become better at what you do? Do you just want to hang out and talk about design? Come join us!
AIGA Philadelphia - AIGA Philadelphia’s mission is to activate, support, empower, and amplify designers and to advance the discipline of design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force within the Philadelphia area.
IDSA Philadelphia - One of the chapter's main activities is the mentorship program for students and professional designers in the region. They also hold events throughout the year, and consistently have a showing at the Design Philadelphia showcase in mid-October
Ladies Wine & Design Philadelphia - A conversation series co-founded by Kelly Clawson & Dylan Garner with the community manager Jackie Randall. A unique salon-styled event to foster and empower creatives. We’ll wine, dine and have casual conversations on a wide variety of topics relating to creativity, art, business and life. Our salon nights are held monthly and limited to a small group.
Philly New Technology Meetup- Philly New Technology Meetup supports the vibrant and growing Philadelphia tech community. Our goal is to help build a sustainable technology industry that drives innovation, economic growth, and creates positive change for our local communities and the world.
Resources
Full list of international / national communities & online resources curated by Ideate Labs
Pennovation Works- The Pennovation Works is a distinctive blend of offices, labs, and production space developed by The University of Pennsylvania to link the intellectual and entrepreneurial initiatives necessary for advancing knowledge and generating economic development. The master plan articulates a phased approach, with initial activity focused on site improvements and renovating existing buildings, beginning with the 2016 completion of the Pennovation Center.
Career Tips & Resources for Aspiring UI/UX Designers by The Think Company (a premier design agency based out of Philly!)