To see this and other fascinating stories, check out the Winter 2015 issue of YorkU Magazine.

In just over 10 years, Facebook has gone from a simple idea thought up in a Harvard dorm room to the world’s most popular social brand, connecting more than 1.3 billion users around the world. It’s no wonder then that the minds that created Facebook would know exactly what it takes to keep this success going – and they found it right here at York University.

Launched in 1999, the York/Sheridan Joint Program in Design (YSDN) is the first and largest bachelor of design degree program in Ontario, combining York’s Department of Design in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Sheridan College’s Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design. The comprehensive program focuses on professional education in visual communication, information design and interactive design.

“Students spend their first two years developing a foundation in form-making, typography and interactivity,” explains Professor David Gelb, director of York University’s graduate program in design. “In the upper years, they integrate their knowledge and skills into contemporary applications, such as mobile interfaces, interactive environments and digital publications.”

As a result, it was York’s design students, armed with these skill-packed resumes and strong portfolios, who stood out from the pack when Facebook set out looking for interns. One such student was Sarah Hum, who secured a coveted internship with the social media giant during her third year at York.

“I had heard that York’s design program equipped students with the necessary skills to be successful future designers – and it took no time at all to see that this was definitely the case,” says Hum. “Facebook reached out to me after finding some of my work from York online, saying how impressed they were with my skills. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was on my way down to Silicon Valley.”

As a Facebook intern, Hum says she was expected to perform as a full-time designer and was provided with the resources, knowledge and independence to make a tangible impact. “These kinds of opportunities are very important for York students. This internship exposed me to the latest design tools and processes, and gave me the chance to learn practical skills outside the classroom that could then be applied to real-life scenarios. Not only was it good for my resume, but working at Facebook has empowered me to discover the many professional options that lie ahead of me.”

Ross Zurowski, another York student who interned with Facebook, also feels that these kinds of opportunities are important for budding designers. “Nothing beats the kind of frontline exposure that you get from an internship with a reputable company like Facebook. On top of job skills I developed working as a part of a design team in a professional workplace, the practical design experience was truly invaluable to my future in the industry.”

Impressed with the talent of York’s design students, some Facebook designers made the trek to the Keele campus for a visit last January. Not only was this a valuable opportunity for the company to sniff out more talented design interns, but it also signalled the start of what would become an important relationship between Facebook and the University.

“After seeing first-hand some of the incredible things our design students were capable of, Facebook kept asking, ‘What’s in the water up there at York?’ ” says Gelb. “Our department has a strong emphasis on interactive design and Facebook was very interested in the innovative thinking generated throughout our curriculum and how our students move through the design process. We ask our students to continually reflect on their intentions as designers and be critical of their own work.”

During their visit, the Facebook designers participated in class critiques, conducted presentations and

interviewed YSDN students for potential intern and new grad hires. They also gave a talk, titled Designing Facebook, to a packed audience of current students and faculty members, sharing insights about the company’s work and design culture.

Eager to work more closely with York in nurturing young designers, Facebook also used this visit as a chance to partner with the University on a course that would tap into York’s strong interactivity curriculum and regularly bring them up close and personal with student design talent. And so was born a new approach for the Interactive System Design course.

Beginning September 2014, this fourth-year course is now structured around a single, semester-long project: the conceptualization and design of a new mobile app. Along for the ride are three members of Facebook’s product design team, Andy Chung, Vivian Wang and Brandon Walkin, who have been serving as design mentors and providing real-world expertise and advice to students as they bring their ideas to fruition.

No one seems more excited about the possibilities that the course presents than the students themselves. “Thanks to this partnership between York and Facebook, we’re able to partake in an array of learning opportunities,” says Chloe Silver, one of last semester’s Interactive System Design students. “We’ve been given exclusive access to some very smart and creative members of Facebook’s design team – picking their brains and learning firsthand what it’s like to be a professional product designer.”

Silver adds the Facebook designers offer a perspective that is up to date and beneficial to the students’ projects, especially since, in such a rapidly changing industry, new technology is released every day. “The more input we can get, the more informed our design choices will be.”

“The greatest thing about Facebook’s involvement with this class is that it helps to change our perspective as designers,” says Fiona Yeung, another fourth-year student who took the course last semester. “When we know that the Facebook designers are interested in our ideas, it makes us work harder and look at our projects as if we’re creating real products, not just pretending. The course also helps bridge the gap between school and the professional world. We get a better glimpse of what actual designers do and it helps us to charter our own paths.”

For Gelb, the value of working with Facebook is obvious – and the future possibilities for York’s students seem endless. “With YSDN grads traversing a range of professional careers, it’s the skills and knowledge that they acquire through these kinds of internships and courses that will help them meet 21st century challenges and define what it means to be tomorrow’s designers.”