Why The Name Change From The E-Design Experience to The Design Influence?
In spring 2018, The E-Design Experience was launched as a passion of mine because as an e-designer I noticed very early on that there was a huge void in the industry when it came to dealing with e-design.
E-DESIGN WAS (IS) LIKE THIS SUPER AWESOME THING THAT FASCINATES EVERYONE, BUT NO ONE ACTUALLY UNDERSTANDS; SO THE CONVERSATIONS WERE MINIMAL, THE INFORMATION WAS INACCURATE, AND THE SUPPORT WAS NONEXISTENT.
If I am completely honest, I envisioned creating the conference — that was clear — being annual (and in person) and then year round, there’d be healthy, ongoing conversations via social media & email, to foster more learning & connections. Never did I ever imagine it evolving to what it has become — not that I’m complaining — but it definitely wasn’t the plan to be where we are now with an upcoming podcast, in person events, and one on one accountability.
THIS, IN PART, IS WHY THE MEMBERSHIP HAD TO COME TO A PAUSE — TO GET CLEAR & INTENTIONAL ON WHAT WAS NEXT...
What’s the mission here?
Where are we taking this?
How do we move forward with purpose?
While the name made perfect sense for the conference, as the mission continued to evolve, we quickly realized that "e-design" wasn't just about designing online. Yes, it will always, first & foremost, be about the online designer, but the bigger picture has always been about being better online — as a designer, as an influencer, as a brand.
THE INAUGURAL CONFERENCE ITINERARY INCLUDED SESSIONS ON:
— How To Lean in & Define Your Niche as an Online Designer
— Leveraging Trade Relationships for Profitable Margins
— Creating a Brand Strategy Beyond Social Media
— Incorporating Affiliate Marketing in Your Business Model & Content Strategy
— Decoding the E-Design Business Model
— The Makings of Becoming a Design Influencer
That’s just naming a few.
Point being that very early on, the mission was always about being a better designpreneur in the online space.
Changing the name allowed us to get back to this objective of decoding this new landscape so that it made more sense for you, whether that specifically meant e-design, or if it meant figuring out how to build your email list. The conversations weren’t being limited to just e-design so the name needed to start reflecting that.
Choosing to launch a podcast made that painfully obvious because naming the show The E-Design Experience just wouldn’t have made sense if I wanted the show to be searchable — I promise you, no one’s searching e-design on podcasts — but also once the show episodes were outlined for the first season, noticing that the topics were as inclusive as the conference, was like a lightbulb moment.
THE NAME WORKS FOR ONE WEEKEND A YEAR BUT NOT FOR ONGOING CONVERSATIONS.
With the show name still up in the air, I had a long heart to heart with our show sponsor and they totally agreed with our “e-design” reservations — great for website SEO & Instagram hashtags, but not for podcast reach.
THUS THE DESIGN INFLUENCE WAS ADOPTED!
It began as simply the podcast name, but after a super inspired podcast interview — one I know you’ll completely love when it airs, by the way — it became the entire brand name.
The E-Design Experience isn’t going anywhere though. It will continue to represent a pillar of what The Design Influence is...and it’ll continue to be the name of the conference so yay!
SO WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE DESIGN INFLUENCE?
The podcast, which officially launches Tuesday, January 8th, will be the first big change/addition. Every week, I want you to join me for candid & caffeinated conversations about design & entrepreneurship in this new digital landscape.
The E-Design Experience Facebook group was archived because, to be honest, it’s what made the most sense — I’ve always believed in being a resource, not adding to the noise, and keeping the group open would only serve to make me a hypocrite.
Instead, the conversations from the podcast will continue on Instagram, where we have nearly a thousand amazing followers, on our Facebook page — yes, Facebook pages are a real thing that more people should be using — which’ll essentially replace the group, and in your inbox, because it would be foolish of me to solely rely on Mark Zuckerberg to keep us connected.
The conference will be returning in the summer, with a simpler, less anxiety inducing format, and I will be back at High Point Market in the Spring hosting another Mentor & Mingle, alongside a few other amazing things in the works!
