Investing in the future of design through scholarship and mentorship

Design Circle is an Adobe initiative to drive transformation in the design industry by creating increased visibility for design as a career path and to promoting greater diversity within the field. Through scholarship and mentorship, our goal is to provide aspiring designers with opportunities and support to access educational resources, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, or economic or cultural background.

Scholarship

Adobe will award ten annual college scholarships, up to $25,000 USD per year, for each recipient (up to $100,000 USD total over four years). The focus of the Adobe Design Circle scholarship is interaction design. Our applicants and recipients are focused on pursuing UX, UI, or product design as careers, citing the power of design to solve problems and provide solutions for people and communities. Their goals are to pursue and cultivate their design skills in order to be able to create meaningful change in their communities and to design products and services for the broadest range of people possible. Adobe Design is committed to fostering their talent.

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Mentorship

Leaders from across the design industry serve as Design Circle mentors, offering one-on-one career and personal development guidance, portfolio reviews, and networking opportunities to the Design Circle scholars. We believe that mentorship strengthens the impact of the scholarship, while providing real-world experience to the students during their education.

Mentors include:

Timothy Bardlavens

Director of Product Equity, Adobe Design

Andy Budd

Design Leader, Advisor, Investor, Coach

Daniel Burka

Director of Product & Design, Resolve to Save Lives

Antionette Carroll

Founder, President, CEO, Creative Reaction Lab / Institute of Equitable Design and Justice

Liz Danzico

VP Design, Microsoft, and Founding Chair, MFA Interaction Design, SVA

Katie Dill

Head of Design, Stripe

Gus Granger

Principal Consultant, Gus Granger Design

Fura Johannesdottir

Global Chief Creative Officer, Huge

Billy Seabrook

VP, Global Chief Design Officer, IBM iX

Albert Shum

CVP of Design, Experiences & Devices Group, Microsoft

Fabricio Teixeira

Partner, Design, Work & Co

Richard Ting

VP of Design, Twitter

Khoi Vinh

Senior Director of Design, Adobe Design

Andy Vitale

EVP of Design, Rocket Companies

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Be part of Design Circle.

Whether you're a prospective design student interested in becoming a Design Circle Scholar, or a leader seeking to impact the next generation of designers through mentorship, we'd love to hear from you.

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