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Design for Belonging

Learn from the best of design leaders and ICs we’ve hosted at our DesignX events and conferences.

Lara Mendonça

Product Design Lead, Bumble

The biggest influence on a product is the team building it. Right now, tech has a big problem with its voice. Having diverse voices with different stories to tell in our teams can be transformative, and I want to tell attendees about a few stories from my career on how to make diversity your superpower. Tech is shaping the future of our planet. We can see the consequences of choices made in rooms in Silicon Valley reflected in small towns all around the world. It's changing how we have fun, how we vote, how we shop, how we communicate to others. So what's the responsibility of designers in the future of humanity? And how can we start building products that help people, that listen to their real problems and don't leave the most vulnerable out? We need diverse voices in the room, with stories to tell and the opportunity to shape the future we're designing right now. And we need to listen to the users, especially those who product teams usually call ""edge cases"". Why me? Because I'm an immigrant from a poor family, and I've seen the impact of having someone with a different story to tell in the team. And I've shaped my team, now as a leader, around celebrating and promoting diverse voices. It's a superpower. I want to share stories from my career, and propose solutions for everyone trying to make products that embrace humanity without excluding the most vulnerable.

Lara leads the product design team at Bumble. Her focus is on building a collaborative and diverse design team, and empowering Bumble in their mission to help people build healthy, safe and equal relationships. Before that, she worked in product design and branding for a range of companies, including TransferWise, HSBC, Mitsubishi and Sky. She also volunteered at Pride in London, leading the redesign of their website. When she's not working, you can find her reading fiction novels in public spaces, watching Scorsese films at home or travelling with her sister. Born and raised in Brazil, she currently lives in London with her family and her dog Miley.

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Learn from the best of design leaders and ICs we’ve hosted at our DesignX events and conferences.