​Designing Your Design Career

​​​About This Talk

​There is no single career path in service design. Elnaz Aliasl’s career is one example of a non-linear journey from architecture and design practice into service design and leadership.

In this talk, Elnaz shares lessons from her experience navigating an evolving design career, including understanding your strengths, developing your professional reputation, making intentional career decisions, and growing from practitioner to leader.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for thinking about their career development, identifying opportunities to grow, and aligning their work with their strengths and goals.

​​​You'll Learn

• ​How to identify the strengths that set you apart in a field with

• ​How to build a professional reputation and make your strengths visible

• ​A practical framework for making intentional career development decisions

• ​What it can look like to grow from practitioner to leader in service design

​​​Who It's For

​Service designers and UX practitioners at a mid-level or above who want to get intentional about shaping their own career, rather than waiting for the next opportunity to find them.

​🎤 Speaker: Elnaz Aliasl

​Elnaz Aliasl is Senior Manager of Service Design and Customer Experience at the City of Vancouver, where she leads teams working across service design, customer experience, and service transformation. She brings experience in service design, design research, strategic practice building, and organizational change across the public sector.

Elnaz is passionate about helping designers navigate their career paths. Her work combines human-centred design, systems thinking, and collaborative leadership, and she also teaches design and innovation to emerging professionals.

​LinkedIn: /elnaz-aliasl

​🏠 Hosted by: Designed Forward — a coaching community for designers, researchers, and entrepreneurs

​⚠️ Doors open 5:00 PM. Someone will be downstairs to let you in until 5:45 PM. Event starts at 6:00 PM and wraps by 8:00 PM.

​📅 Monday, October 19 | 6:00 PM PST (Zoom will start at 5:45pm)

​🖥️ This event is available both in person and live on Zoom. Select your attendance preference when registering — Zoom link will be emailed to remote attendees before the event.

​​Time for a Profile Refresh?

​Vancouver photographer Tom Jones will be offering quick, polished headshot sessions during the event. Perfect for LinkedIn, portfolios, and your professional profile.

​Please note: This is an optional, paid service provided directly by Tom Jones. It is separate from Northeastern University and is not offered or run by Northeastern.

• ​$50 = quick session + 1 edited headshot

• ​+$25 for each additional edited image

• ​Or $90 for 3 edited images

​How to pay Tom: Tap to pay by credit card on his Square POS app at the event, or e-transfer to tom@tomlajones.com at the event or ahead of time.

​See Tom’s work: tomlajones.com | Instagram @tomlajones

​People who made this event possible:

​Designed Forward is a coaching community for designers and career-driven professionals — built on real accountability, honest feedback, and the belief that growth happens faster with people around you who actually push you forward.

​Join FREE here!

​Northeastern University – Vancouver Campus is generously hosting this event as our venue partner. Located in downtown Vancouver, Northeastern has led experience-based education for over 125 years, combining industry-focused instruction with real-world learning, small class sizes, and close faculty mentorship. As part of a global research university with 13 campuses across the U.S., U.K., and Canada and 320,000+ alumni, their Vancouver campus gives students direct access to one of Canada's most dynamic innovation centres.

​Tom Jones is a Vancouver photographer offering professional headshots at this event. Visit tomlajones.com or follow @tomlajones on Instagram.

Disclaimer

​By attending, participants agree to follow Northeastern University facility rules, assume any risks related to the event, and release Northeastern University, the event organiser, and their representatives from claims or liability arising from their attendance or use of the event room.

​To check in at the building, your name and email will be shared with Northeastern University – Vancouver, our host venue. They won't use it for marketing.

​Headshots are an optional paid service by independent photographer Tom Jones and are not provided by Northeastern University.