Bridge

The Bridge Spring 2013 session runs approximately three months between April and July. We’re also planning a Fall Session from September to November.

The mission of the Designer Fund is to invest in designers creating businesses with positive social impact. One way to do this is by helping designers create new businesses. Another way is to help designers succeed through existing startups. Bridge furthers our mission by helping designer founders and startups that truly value design build their design teams. Another reason we’re creating Bridge is because there’s simply not enough great designers and we think current design schools can only go so far in preparing designers with the skills needed by startups. We hope to create something like the future startup design postdoc.Thanks to our partner startups, designers are paid to learn by doing, instead of paying expensive tuitions and loans, to keep the program sustainable.

Bridge is an educational service by Designer Fund. Members from our community will participate in Bridge through weekly talks and workshops.

Designers from visual/UI, interaction/UX and front end engineering backgrounds with mid- to senior-level experience are encouraged to apply. Bridge is for designers who are able to make an immediate impact in a unique three-month experience with a top startup in San Francisco.

We’re looking for designers who are intrinsically generous. They’re the kind of people who ‘pay it forward’ and help their peers without asking for something in return, and they are often the first to lend a hand.

We’re looking for designers who are leaders. If you can’t inspire others, navigate ambiguity, or collaborate with teams, Bridge probably isn’t for you. But if you can be self-guided, can get things done without being micro-managed, and can figure things out without always asking for permission, you may be the perfect fit.

Finally, we’re looking for designers who are deeply curious and friendly people to be around: someone who can be inspired by everything around them and can share insights with others to make their designs better. Also, someone you’d want to hang out with on the weekend…

Designers-in-Residence (“DIRs”) work “in house” with a company for a short period of time while being exposed to a breadth of opportunities. Over the past few years, designers have worked in-residence with venture capital firms (“VCs”) to provide design-related advice to their portfolio of startups, (see more about DIRs on Quora.) The role, Designer-in-Residence, has been used with VCs who have a tradition of Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (see more about EIRs on Quora.) Examples of Designers-in-Residence at venture capital firms include Jason Putorti, Enrique Allen, Irene Au, and Garry Tan. Bridge differs from the Designer-in-Residence model with VCs. Instead of light-touch interactions with many companies, Bridge Designers-in-Residence have in-depth engagements for multiple months with a top startup to help ship product while also learning about a breadth of opportunities with a community of awesome designers.

Bridge is a designer-in-residence program that connects experienced designers with top startups in San Francisco. We’d love for designers from visual/UI, interaction/UX and engineering backgrounds with mid- to senior- level experience to apply. Selected designers can choose to be matched with our partner startups including Path, AirBnB, Dropbox, Pinterest, Asana, Omada Health, Stripe and Mindsnacks. Once matched, Bridge designers will be reimbursed up to $10,000 for their relocation costs in addition to receiving equipment, a competitive salary, and health benefits (or a reasonable reimbursement for health insurance coverage) by their startup.

During Bridge, designers work “in residence” with their startup and are paired with designers to help provide creative support throughout the program. Once a week, all of the Bridge designers come together to teach each other skills and learn from inspirational guest speakers. Our goal is for everyone to improve their skills in a core area including visual/UI, interaction/UX, and front-end engineering, as well as gain insight into what it takes to run a successful startup.

After Bridge, startups may invite designers to join their startup long-term, and we’re confident that designers that participate in Bridge are going to leave with more great opportunities than they had before but long-term employment after Bridge is not guaranteed.

Note: The specific terms, including, but not limited to, salary and benefits, may vary and are agreed upon between each Designer-in-Residence and their matched startup.

We’re intentionally starting small with a goal of eight Designers-in-Residence for the Spring 2013 session.

Designers are free to join any company they want that makes them an offer.

• Applications for the Spring 2013 Bridge program will begin in February
• Matchmaking will be finalized by March
• Bridge will kickoff by April
• Bridge will end by July
• New applications for Fall 2013 Bridge will begin in July
• Matchmaking will be finalized by August
• Bridge Fall 2013 will kickoff by September
• Bridge Fall 2013 will end by December

Apply as early as possible before March 10th, so we have more time to understand your visa situation etc. Many of our partner startups are open to working with international designers and we know some of the best designers in the world are not in San Francisco.

Yes, Bridge startups and the Designer Fund are located in San Francisco. Startups will provide Bridge Designers-in-Residence up to $10,000 in relocation expenses. Actual reimbursement limits and terms are subject to each startup’s policy. In the future, we’ll consider expanding to other cities

Yes, but it is not guaranteed. After Bridge, startups may invite designers to join their startup for the long run, and we’re confident that designers that participate in Bridge are going to leave with more opportunities than they had before. However, partner startups are not required to extend a long-term offer.

While applying, designers can indicate the startups they’re interested in working with. Similarly, partner startups can indicate designers they’d like to work with. We’ll help facilitate online and in-person opportunities for designers and startups to make sure there’s a right fit. We recommend both a call and an in-person meeting if possible before designers and companies commit to working with each other. In some cases, a design challenge will be asked of the designer. Designers and companies must both choose to work together, but ultimately it’s up to the designer to decide. Partner startups are not required to choose a Bridge resident if they don’t find one that meets their bar.

Once a week, all the Bridge designers come together to teach each other skills and learn from inspirational guest speakers. Our goal is for everyone to improve their skills in a core area including visual/UI, interaction/UX, and front-end engineering. At the end of their three-month residence, designers are expected to write one blog post and make a short presentation about their Bridge experience.

Designers are paid to participate in Bridge thanks to our partner startups. Designers are responsible for covering their food, lodging, and personal expenses outside of the program

We’ll host private lunches and dinners with Designers-in- Residence with special guests. We’ll also organize informal gatherings like creative movie screenings, hiking, bar and art crawls, sports games, tours, shows and other activities that are fun and build a strong community

Not really because you’ll probably have a full plate, and Designers-in-Residence are expected to dedicate their time during Bridge to their startups, but exceptions can be made. Note that Designers-in-Residence will likely be required to sign an intellectual property agreement with their startup, and if designers wish to exclude any specific project, they should discuss this request in advance with their startup.

Our curriculum will be self-organizing and driven by the needs and goals of the Designers-in-Residence. Our belief is that you’ll learn the most by doing and making with the your individual startup. Designers-in-Residence are welcome to teach classes to each other. If there are specific topics Designers-in-Residence want to learn about, we can partner with education providers and tutors

Once a week, all the Bridge designers will come together to teach each other skills and learn from inspirational guest speakers. Our goal is for everyone to improve their skills in a core area including visual/UI, interaction/UX, and front-end engineering. Mentors from the Designer Fund and special guest speakers will also host office hours throughout the program.

• Featured startup design team and designer profile pages
• Branding and exposure with designers including top design schools, publications and events
• Access to Designer-in-Residence applicants for each Bridge program
• Studio space in San Francisco
• Participation in educational and social events with our community of designers

We’re looking for startups that:

• Truly value design through the founding team and culture
• Have a great design, engineering, and product team that the Designer-in-Residence can work with
• Create positive social impact in the world through their product
• Have a constrained project or multiple projects that the Designer-in-Residence can work on in 3 months
• Are at a unique stage growth stage and well funded
• If you know a startup who may be a fit for future Bridge programs, please contact us, bridge (at) designerfund (dot) com