Leveraging Design Thinking Beyond Architecture with Brightspot Strategy’s Elliot Felix

What can you do with an architecture degree besides traditional practice? Is it possible to blend your design skills with other passions? 

Elliot Felix, Founder and CEO of brightspot Strategy, is an architect turned higher education strategist, shares his journey from architecture school to running his own consulting firm. 

Elliot talks about how an influential middle school teacher inspired him to study architecture, and how that led him to get his undergraduate architecture degree from UVA and a Master's from MIT. 

After practicing at a large firm for several years, Elliot realized he wanted to better understand the people that architecture serves, so he pivoted to strategy consulting focused on workplace and education. This eventually led him to found his own firm Brightspot, which was acquired by the larger firm Buro Happold. Brightspot focuses on research, vision and strategy for higher ed institutions to improve the student experience.

Elliot shares insights on making career transitions, finding meaningful work, taking risks, dealing with challenges, and building support networks. He also discusses his recent book "How to Get the Most Out of College" which contains evidence-based advice for student success.

Key Takeaways:

• Inspiring teachers can spark a career direction from a young age
• Architecture school teaches you to be a creative problem solver
• "Design thinking" skills are valuable in many fields beyond architecture 
• Making career transitions involves experimenting and testing out options
• Find opportunities to "prototype" new roles to get a feel for the day-to-day
• It's important to understand the people you're designing for
• Strategy consulting can complement architectural design 
• Look for personal role models to guide your career journey
• Concrete goals like "I want to be like X person" are most useful
• Develop a growth mindset to take risks and handle setbacks
• Build your support network before you need it

Links:

• Learn more about brightspot Strategy: https://www.brightspotstrategy.com/
• Buy Elliot’s book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Most-Out-College/dp/193634257X

Guest Bio:
Elliot founded and leads brightspot, now a Buro Happold Company. brightspot is a strategy consultancy on a mission to transform the higher education experience with smart strategy that better connects people, programs, and places – on campus and online – to increase student success, improve research support, and enable staff productivity.He is an accomplished strategist, facilitator, and sense-maker who has helped transform over 100 colleges and universities, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgia Tech, Harvard, MIT, NC State University, New York University, UCLA, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, and University of Virginia.Elliot is a prolific speaker and writer on reimagining higher education, having presented at conferences including EDUCAUSE, SXSW, SCUP, and Tradeline; having been cited in publications such as Fast Company and Forbes; and written dozens of articles in publications such as Planning for Higher Education, Library Journal, Business Officer Magazine, and Touchpoint: The Journal of Service Design.His book How to Get the Most Out of College was published in January 2022 and provides 127 evidence-based tips for success in college and beyond. It received a blue star from Kirkus Reviews, calling it "A knowledgeable, enthusiastic guide packed with strategies and encouragement."