Launched Designers Club as the first design club on Clubhouse, in order to provide an audio-based forum for designers. As a solo organizer, I scaled it to 90,000+ members in 6 months, then to 100,000+ members.

Launched Designers Club as the first design club on Clubhouse, in order to provide an audio-based forum for designers. Scaled to 90,000+ followers in 6 months as its only dedicated organizer and host.

Designers Club on Clubhouse addresses top of mind design topics, and provides support and career advice from fellow designers and design leaders. It has become a welcoming and supportive virtual speakeasy for designers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when many feel isolated from the real world and don't have their usual access to career support and social circles. So, how did it all start?

Origin

In September 2020, my friend Damian Madray invited me to join Clubhouse. (Thanks, Damian!) I quickly noticed that Clubhouse had plenty of music, marketing, and tech clubs, but no design clubs. Where were the designers hanging out, so that we could all help each other out and talk about things that mattered to us specifically?

Leveraging past experience

Since I had some previous success in launching and scaling Designers Guild as a Facebook Group with 20,000 members who are designers, I decided to see what I could do on the new Clubhouse platform.

Designers Club on Clubhouse addresses top of mind design topics, and provides support and career advice from fellow designers and design leaders. It has become a welcoming and supportive virtual speakeasy for designers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when many feel isolated from the real world and don't have their usual access to career support and social circles. So, how did it all start?

Origin

In September 2020, my friend Damian Madray invited me to join Clubhouse. (Thanks, Damian!) I quickly noticed that Clubhouse had plenty of music, marketing, and tech clubs, but no design clubs. Where were the designers hanging out, so that we could all help each other out and talk about things that mattered to us specifically?

Leveraging past experience

Since I had some previous success in launching and scaling Designers Guild as a Facebook Group with 20,000 members who are designers, I decided to see what I could do on the new Clubhouse platform.

The custom designed, yet simple Designers Club "D" logo

The custom designed, yet simple Designers Club "D" logo

I designed a simple logo from scratch, and emailed the Clubhouse team to get set up. A day later, they gave me the green light and I was ready to prepare to launch Designers Club.

Ground rules

I knew that I wanted to create some ground rules so I could host a respectful space that designers felt good about, so I set Designers Club's initial rules as the following:

1. Designers should allow enough space for others to speak, so people shouldn't take up too much time and space on stage. Try not to cut others off, and don't self-promote your own clubs, design work, job listings, etc. unless invited to.
2. Members can suggest topic ideas or volunteer to co-host a future event by simply messaging me @malouie on Twitter. Designers Club itself should continually morph to what its designer members think is the most useful.
3. Only designers are allowed to come up to the stage and speak. This keeps the conversation focused on designers, and prevents non-designers from trying to extract value from designers (which is too common in general spaces). Many designers have cited that this rule has ensured that Designers Guild remains a safe space for them. This is perhaps the most important rule, since it's not obvious to many general Clubhouse users.

I designed a simple logo from scratch, and emailed the Clubhouse team to get set up. A day later, they gave me the green light and I was ready to prepare to launch Designers Club.

Ground rules

I knew that I wanted to create some ground rules so I could host a respectful space that designers felt good about, so I set Designers Club's initial rules as the following:

1. Designers should allow enough space for others to speak, so people shouldn't take up too much time and space on stage. Try not to cut others off, and don't self-promote your own clubs, design work, job listings, etc. unless invited to.
2. Members can suggest topic ideas or volunteer to co-host a future event by simply messaging me @malouie on Twitter. Designers Club itself should continually morph to what its designer members think is the most useful.
3. Only designers are allowed to come up to the stage and speak. This keeps the conversation focused on designers, and prevents non-designers from trying to extract value from designers (which is too common in general spaces). Many designers have cited that this rule has ensured that Designers Guild remains a safe space for them. This is perhaps the most important rule, since it's not obvious to many general Clubhouse users.

Clubhouse users can view Designers Club's rules on our club page

Clubhouse users can view Designers Club's rules on our club page

The experience

I regularly invite notable designers and design leaders to guest co-host events with me, which also lends credibility to the stage. I hold more casual "Designers and Drinks" events on Friday afternoons, and will sometimes start a room when there's a big topic on my mind that I'd like to discuss with fellow designers.

The experience

I regularly invite notable designers and design leaders to guest co-host events with me, which also lends credibility to the stage. I hold more casual "Designers and Drinks" events on Friday afternoons, and will sometimes start a room when there's a big topic on my mind that I'd like to discuss with fellow designers.

Designers Club page

Designers Club page

A past event with 1200+ attendees

A past event with 1200+ attendees

My profile

My profile

"In the few clubs I’ve been able to see that @malouie has hosted, she’s done an amazing job of making equitable engaging spaces with a wide variety of voices. Impressive." - Aris Blevins

"In the few clubs I’ve been able to see that @malouie has hosted, she’s done an amazing job of making equitable engaging spaces with a wide variety of voices. Impressive." - Aris Blevins

Inclusion and Diversity is top of mind for many designers and design leaders, and Designers Club has had several events on different aspects of this topic. One noteworthy event is "#StopAsianHate: Design Leaders Unite," which I organized with Rich Tu, VP of Design for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo at ViacomCBS. We pulled together a panel of speakers to provide different perspectives on hate crimes against Asians:

Inclusion and Diversity is top of mind for many designers and design leaders, and Designers Club has had several events on different aspects of this topic. One noteworthy event is "#StopAsianHate: Design Leaders Unite," which I organized with Rich Tu, VP of Design for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo at ViacomCBS. We pulled together a panel of speakers to provide different perspectives on hate crimes against Asians:

#StopAsianHate: Design Leaders Unite event

#StopAsianHate: Design Leaders Unite event

Noteworthy speakers

Guest co-hosts and speakers have regularly included rising stars and established design thought leaders such as:

Noteworthy speakers

Guest co-hosts and speakers have regularly included rising stars and established design thought leaders such as:

Aastha Gaur, Aladrian Goods, Alexis Collado, Alvin Lee, Amakeda Ponds, Andrea Drugay, Andy Montgomery, Andy Welfle, Angel Steger, Aniruddha Kadam, Brittany Schlenk, Chris Vallejos, Christian San Jose, Curtiss Pope, Damian Madray, Dantley Davis, David Martinez, Dominique Ward, Felisia McDonald, Felix Lee, Gio Nakpil, Grace Mase, Harrison Wheeler, Janet Lee, Jay Demetillo, Jodi Kogan, Jon Bell, Jonathan D. Chang, Jose Benavides, Kelsey Ruger, Kristina Halvorson, Lon Smart, Lukasz Lysakowski, Marc Hemeon, Mario Trimarchi, Matthew Encina, Maxim Leyzerovich, Megan Ezeadi, Michelle Morrison, Mig Reyes, Mike Walkusky, Nannearl Brown, Nicole Michaelis, Pablo Stanley, Paola Mariselli, Patrick Stafford, Pek Pongpaet, Peter Merholz, Reena Merchant, Remy Merriex, Rich Tu, Richard Titus, Ryan Rumsey, Sarah Vella-Labrador, Sergio Claudio, Sonja Rasula, Stephen Silver, Steve Ahn, Tanner Christensen, Veronica Cámara, Walt Geer, and Zipeng Zhu.

Aastha Gaur, Aladrian Goods, Alexis Collado, Alvin Lee, Amakeda Ponds, Andrea Drugay, Andy Montgomery, Andy Welfle, Angel Steger, Aniruddha Kadam, Brittany Schlenk, Chris Vallejos, Christian San Jose, Curtiss Pope, Damian Madray, Dantley Davis, David Martinez, Dominique Ward, Felisia McDonald, Felix Lee, Gio Nakpil, Grace Mase, Harrison Wheeler, Janet Lee, Jay Demetillo, Jodi Kogan, Jon Bell, Jonathan D. Chang, Jose Benavides, Kelsey Ruger, Kristina Halvorson, Lon Smart, Lukasz Lysakowski, Marc Hemeon, Mario Trimarchi, Matthew Encina, Maxim Leyzerovich, Megan Ezeadi, Michelle Morrison, Mig Reyes, Mike Walkusky, Nannearl Brown, Nicole Michaelis, Pablo Stanley, Paola Mariselli, Patrick Stafford, Pek Pongpaet, Peter Merholz, Reena Merchant, Remy Merriex, Rich Tu, Richard Titus, Ryan Rumsey, Sarah Vella-Labrador, Sergio Claudio, Sonja Rasula, Stephen Silver, Steve Ahn, Tanner Christensen, Veronica Cámara, Walt Geer, and Zipeng Zhu.

Engagement on Twitter

Outside of Clubhouse, our most avid members and fans engage with @DesignersClubCH on Twitter, where I share out summaries of some of our talks, and where members can also engage with me about anything on their minds. Our presence on Twitter allows for asynchronous, direct engagement between myself and Designers Club supporters.

Explosive growth

Designers Club's follower base has been growing by thousands every week on a consistent basis, since early 2021. It spreads by word of mouth, members tend to invite their designer friends, Clubhouse users see its rooms in the main hallway, and it is recommended by Clubhouse as a top club in the Design, Product, and Startup club categories. Each event is attended by an average of 1000+ Clubhouse users.

Attendees of our live events frequently cite Designers Club as being a safe place for designers to spend time with each other, learn, and grow together, as well as hear from top design leaders and discuss important design topics – in an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful environment that they feel at home in.

Impact

Designers Club has become the top place for designers, and design enthusiasts, to hear about the design topics that are top of mind today.

Currently ranked as the 55th overall most popular club on Clubhouse, Designers Club is also the #1 most popular design club, the #3 most popular product club, and the #8 most popular startup club on Clubhouse.

Engagement on Twitter

Outside of Clubhouse, our most avid members and fans engage with @DesignersClubCH on Twitter, where I share out summaries of some of our talks, and where members can also engage with me about anything on their minds. Our presence on Twitter allows for asynchronous, direct engagement between myself and Designers Club supporters.

Explosive growth

Designers Club's follower base has been growing by thousands every week on a consistent basis, since early 2021. Attendees frequently cite Designers Club as being a safe place for designers to spend time with each other, learn, and grow together, as well as hear from top design leaders and discuss important design topics – in an inclusive, welcoming, and respectful environment that they feel at home in.

Impact

Designers Club has become the top place for designers, and design enthusiasts, to hear about the design topics that are top of mind today.

Each event is attended by an average of 1000+ Clubhouse users.

Currently ranked as the 55th overall most popular club on Clubhouse, Designers Club is also the #1 most popular design club, the #3 most popular product club, and the #8 most popular startup club on Clubhouse.

Top Product Club

Top Product Club