Introduction
I recently had the privilege of being part of Design With ODC 2.0, a premier design and creation event hosted by Orange Digital Center Rabat . The journey unfolded with an invitation from Mohamed BIKARRANE, inviting me to join this exciting event focused on climate tech and renewable energy under name of (Design With ODC Event for UI/UX Design Team; and Product Team)
Initial Interaction leading to Orange Morocco
Firstly I got an invitation from Mohamed on LinkedIn to attend the event as speaker/Session Leader upon expressing my interest, Mohamed and I had a detailed conversation discussing logistics. However, considering my current location in Egypt, we decided to conduct the event online to avoid unnecessary costs, but to be honest they offered me a accommodation and other benefits attendance from Morocco will have but who knows maybe next year I will be there.
Warm Welcome from Design With ODC Organizers
Following this, I received a warm welcome email from Helfa Aymane, a UX/UI Designer at Orange and Friends of Figma Leader. The email extended an invitation to mentor participants and facilitate a workshop during the event, in a very professional and friendly way actually I liked how the team handling the communications starting from first touch at LinkedIn where they picked my profile as one of the Top User Experience (UX) Voice in LinkedIn till they shared with me the feedback after the session.
It wasn’t expected!
I was delighted when I randomly browsed their Instagram account in search of a post, and there it was – a shared story!
Being mentioned and featured on their official account was truly a fantastic way to kick off 2024, as I aim for increased online presence and a broader community impact.
Preparation and Workshop Details
To proceed, I set up a Calendly link for coordination. The workshop, scheduled between 14:00 and 16:00 GMT+1, was a fantastic opportunity to share insights and engage with participants. The anticipation and excitement grew as the event date approached, and it unfolded as follows:
Firstly, they selected a slot from my availability and scheduled it. I prepared a presentation about my experience, including a warmly funny welcome from Egypt to Morocco. It was a simplified version of my usability testing session presentation introduction slide. When I joined the session on time, I found that all the Orange Design and Product team had gathered in their shared office workspace, as represented in the video. I was the parachuted one displayed on one of the office walls using a projector.
I began by introducing myself and then delved into getting to know more about the team. There were more than 26 attendees, and the interesting part was that not all Arabic accents were understandable. Moroccan Arabic is a mix of Arabic and French, and it differs from the Egyptian Arabic accent, which is familiar due to Egyptian movies being widely watched in the MENA region. We shifted between Moroccan Arabic and English during the session.
The Session Rec.
They started by asking some questions (listed below with their answers), followed by an open discussion about topics related to UX Design and Product Management. After that, there was a very warm closing with many appreciations and thanks from the team. I received great feedback from the Orange design team regarding Design With ODC on LinkedIn. Following the session, I found a story summarizing the session and everything related. It was a surprise for me to be officially posted in the Orange official Instagram account stories.
Engaging Mentorship Session
The mentorship session was a highlight of the event. With 26 enthusiastic participants, the session covered various topics. Key questions included the differences between Product Designers and UI/UX Designers, transitioning from product design to product management, and effective collaboration between product managers and designers.
Pics from the Session
Here are some pics of our session shared with me by organizers, attendees and others taken from orange instagram:
Positive Feedback
After the session, Mohamed shared kind words, expressing gratitude for accepting the invitation. The participants loved the presentation, and the interaction was vibrant. Orange Morocco’s official Instagram account featured stories from the session, capturing the essence of the engaging discussion.
One Response
The honor is ours, the mentoring session was full of great ideas and experiences 🤩