SoCal UX Designers

Name: Design the Future: UX in the Age of AI
Start: 2025-06-19T01:00:00.000Z
End: 2025-06-19T05:00:00.000Z
Location: Irvine Ranch Water District - Community Meeting Room

Irvine, CA, US

1,293 members · Public group

Organized by Ruping Ma and 2 others

What we’re about

Hi there! Welcome to a group for UI/UX designers, product designers, and anyone else interested in design! The group started in May 2022 to meet other designers and build a community here in SoCal, with Ruping Ma, a product designer working remotely at a startup. By the second meeting, group organizers Melissa Murphy and Benji Tobi joined in forming the vision, and since 2023 have led the group to Share, Learn, and Grow together.

We host social hangouts as well as more educational speaker talks from designers in the area on a wide variety of topics.

The goals of our group are to bring you:

A place where you can meet other designers and develop relationships with each other
A place where you can share your thoughts and experience about being a designer and exchange ideas with others
Provide opportunities for working on projects together with other designers

Feel free to join our group Discord (click HERE) if you'd like to connect with other designers, have any trouble finding the meetup location, or if you have good ideas for future meetup events.

Featured event

Wed, Jun 18, 2025, 6:00 PM PDTDesign the Future: UX in the Age of AI

Irvine Ranch Water District - Community Meeting Room, Irvine, CA

Design the Future: UX in the Age of AI cover photo

Join SoCal UX Designers and Orange County AI for an insightful evening exploring how AI is shaping the future of UX/UI design and research!

Whether you're a UX designer, researcher, product manager, developer, or just curious about the intersection of artificial intelligence and design, this event is your chance to learn, ask questions, and get hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI tools like Replit and Lovable.

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✅ What to Expect:

Designer Panel Discussion (moderated by AI expert Kai Cheng and UX researcher Melissa Murphy)
Hear directly from experienced designers and/or researchers, Yinyin Wen, Rinki Mukherjee, Alex Rodriguez, and Sean Maguire as they share their insights and real-world experiences integrating AI into their workflows. We'll cover industry impact, workflow transformations, tools, and future opportunities. See bios below!

Audience Q&A
Ask your burning questions about how AI is redefining roles, processes, and skills in UX and UI.

Interactive AI-Design Workshop
Join us for a demo and short interactive workshop using cutting-edge prompt to prototype tools, led by Rinki Mukherjee. Remember to bring a laptop to participate!

Networking & Mingling
Ample time to connect, network, and exchange ideas with fellow designers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts from the local OC community.

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🗓️ Schedule (subject to minor changes):

6:00 PM – Doors Open / Mingling & Check-in

6:30 PM – Welcome & Intros (official panel starts at 6:45)

6:45 – 7:30 PM – Panel Discussion (moderated by Kai and Melissa)

7:30 – 7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

7:45 – 8:15 PM – Interactive AI Design Tool Workshop/Demo

8:15 – 10:00 PM – Informal Networking & Mingling

🕙 Venue closes promptly at 10:00 PM

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❓ Have an idea for the AI design workshop?
When you RSVP, let us know what you'd love to see built live using AI design tools!

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📍 Location Notes:

IRWD Community Meeting Room
15500 Sand Canyon Ave, Irvine, CA 92618
Free parking available onsite.

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✨Featuring:

Rinki Mukherjee
Sr. UX Designer | Self-Taught Vibe Coder
Rinki began her career as a graphic designer and has more than 7+ years of UX/Product Design experience across fintech, healthcare, energy, and consumer electronics industries. Her expertise spans systems thinking, AI-driven experiences, and data-informed design strategy. As a UX Design Manager, she's currently helping a non-profit build their design team, scale their design systems, and launch their product. Outside of work, she enjoys museum visits, hikes, and hosting vibe coding sessions.

Sean Maguire
UX Designer | Game Developer | Sour Beer Enjoyer
A strategic Product Designer with expertise in UX/UI design, transforming complex business requirements into intuitive, user-centered digital experiences that drive measurable business outcomes. Background spans game design, SaaS platforms, e-commerce solutions, and enterprise B2B products, bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to every design challenge.

Yinyin Wen
UX Researcher at McGraw Hill
Yinyin is a mission-driven UX researcher who is passionate about partnering with teams to create thoughtful, usable solutions. She has 3+ years of experience leading end-to-end research efforts, generating actionable insights to influence product roadmaps. Previously, she has worked in a variety of organizational contexts, including a seed-stage tech startup, a non-profit, and a global education company.

Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez is a multidisciplinary designer working at the intersection of human-computer interaction, user experience, the outdoors, and art.

Moderated by:
Kai Cheng – Data Strategist
Kai Cheng is a digital transformation and AI specialist with emphases and experiences in Data Analytics and Visual Designs. With 10+ years bridging data-driven insights and user-centered design, from leading ML-powered analytics to crafting omnichannel UX.

Melissa Murphy – UX Researcher at Capsule
With roots in psychology, music, and full-stack web development, Melissa transitioned into UX research and now leads research efforts solo for a music tech company. She works across time zones and teams to support musicians and tour managers with better tools.

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ℹ️ Venue Disclaimer (IRWD):

This event is not sponsored by or affiliated with the Irvine Ranch Water District. The IRWD neither endorses nor supports the viewpoints or materials presented during this event.