17. Case Studies: Design Careers
Exploring student careers that stand out.
On my first trip to Europe, I distinctly remember getting off the plane in London in the morning, tired and disoriented, but excited to have arrived. A few days later in France, my soon-to-be spouse and I had a similar experience stepping out of an overnight train from Paris to Nice; we were hungry (dining-car offerings were less “gourmet” than expected); tired (two additional passengers shared our closet-sized couchette); and worried (because we did not have a place to stay). I can still see it clearly: we gathered our big suitcases and personal effects, and walked out of the station into the unknown.
My maiden voyage to Europe reminds me of what it is like to start a career. I thought reserving a first-class berth on a train to Nice would be intimate and romantic. Instead, we were required to bunk up with two strangers. Even with the best-laid plans and highest expectations, things tend not to turn out as you predict. There are other unknowns: someday you may have a significant other in your life and/or children. At many points, you may contemplate whether to stay at a job or trade your current employment for another opportunity with potentially better projects, a higher position, or a bigger salary.
The students who share their stories in this chapter also walked into the unknown, unsure of how their careers would begin, but they all found a unique path for getting there and managing the journey. Two of my current students, Jennifer Abujawdeh and Eric Vita, started their own design and print brokerage company while still at the RBSD (inksnobs.com). My former student, Jaime Mazauskas (from Chapter 7), landed his first job at Designer Greetings after several people in the company were impressed at the ManiaCrawl event he created and designed. Another former student, Connor Paglia (from Chapter 4), fulfilled a childhood dream of working for Major League Baseball. A third, Max Friedman (the only designer featured three times in this book—in Chapters 5, 12, and 17), was asked to join Droga5 in New York shortly after he won an ADC “All-Star” award. (Max asked me the morning after his “All-Star” win what he should do to find a job. Don’t worry, I told him, they will find you.) Last, but certainly not least, graphic designer and artist Suzanne Anan, who was one of my first students, has spun herself a beautiful life and now has her own business, blending her love of design, poetry, and art. All of these students, of whom I am enormously proud, have landed where they are by doing what they love.
Some days, you will be tired and disoriented (deadlines!), worried about balancing your professional and personal life (please contact me when you obtain that formula!), and may even contemplate moving on to whatever is next (trust your gut!). You may not always know where your career will end up, but if you are continually excited about where it seems to be leading, you are moving in the right direction. Just as an employer hires you and not your portfolio, your journey of meeting people, having experiences, and growing as a person is your reward. The destination is nowhere near as important. Be strong. Be confident. Be happy. Stand out!
My first design job out of college was at The Star-Ledger/NJ.com, owned by the Newhouse family. I heard they were hiring in their Newark, New Jersey, office, so I sent my resume. A month went by and I didn’t hear anything, so I called and spoke to the hiring manager. I explained that I had sent my resume weeks ago for the graphic designer position and never received a response. I took the opportunity to describe how I was more than qualified for the position. They called me in for an interview a week later. I was hired the following month.
My plan was to stay for a while and seek employment opportunities at one of the sister publications the Newhouse family owned at CondeNast. All the while, I felt I had the best job working for a newspaper/media company. I went back and forth designing editorial covers and pages for both print and digital formats. One thing I did right was to continue my education. The company had a tuition reimbursement program, so I applied for a master’s degree at New York University in its international study program in Venice, Italy. I was accepted but realized that studying abroad for two years meant giving up my beloved position at The Star Ledger, so I resigned. However, resigning meant no tuition reimbursement because I was no longer an employee. I went through with it anyway; I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. It wound up being one of the best choices I could have made. This life-changing experience broadened my perspective. The education I received helped me to think globally and to create art and design for a multi-cultural and diverse audience.
I learned that my deep passion for painting nurtures my design. I always thought I would have to choose one over the other, but I find that I am the most productive and creative when I am doing both. My fine art career has allowed me to exhibit abroad in cities like Florence, Paris, Dublin, and Tokyo. Through the years my work has evolved naturally. The experience of exhibiting art and of designing has led me to merge my disciplines to create art and branding opportunities on a large scale for interior spaces.
I keep a quote from Buddha in my studio that reads, “In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
I’ve always wanted to run my own business, and I’ve known it for as long as I can remember. My dad is a computer scientist who has worked to provide me with a comfortable life; he passed his strong work ethic along to me, and it positioned me to start my own business. Also, I’ve worked for several trade printers, which provided me with the resources to become a print broker. I used that experience to my advantage when I started InkSnobs. Those connections allowed me to offer better service to my clients.
I sacrificed a lot of my personal time for the company, and it has paid off very well. One thing I might have done differently is to learn more about managing a business in terms of accounting and the technical aspects of a web-based business.
Succeeding at anything in life requires time, energy, and passion. Without love for what you do, you’ll lack the motivation to develop any of them. The most important lesson I’ve ever learned is that being able to fulfill your own dreams is exhilarating.
As I prepare to graduate from college, my career goals have changed significantly. Although I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, it’s more clear to me than ever that I need to strive to offer something that hasn’t been provided before: meeting the needs of my consumers before they even realize they have that need.
Forward thinking is key, because where you’re going is much more important than where you’ve been.
Ever since I started to learn about design, I knew I wanted to own a design studio, and now I am the co-owner of InkSnobs. When I dreamed about owning my own business, I didn’t think it would happen until years after I graduated from college, but I am a full-time student who has two part-time jobs in addition to owning my own company. The most challenging part for me is balancing the business and my jobs with school. Time management is proving to be critically important.
I believe Jennifer and I had the right idea when we started InkSnobs—the first thing on our to-do list was to create a website and configure our product pricing. After that, we bought advertising and began to promote our company. If I could change anything, it would be to find more time to work on the business. As a full-time student, my time is limited, but I believe we are headed in the right direction.
The greatest advice I ever got was to not be afraid of mistakes. Mistakes are necessary before you can reach something successful.
As I graduate from college, I have multiple career goals. I want to continue growing InkSnobs, but I also want to work for a design agency. I believe it’s a real-world experience that will help me continue to move our company in the direction it should go. If I could speak to my younger self, I would advise him to learn more about the business world. Without any previous business experience, this sort of knowledge would have helped me immensely.
I have a memory from my design internship of sitting at my desk looking at the “MLB At Bat” app on my phone. I was as impressed with the overall design and functionality of the app as I was curious about what company designed and built it. After doing some research, I found out it was Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM). The timing was perfect: just as I was transitioning out of college, the MLB organization was transitioning into an in-house design agency and building a brand-new team to staff it. I found a job opening for a mobile product designer posted on glassdoor.com. I applied and hoped for the best.
When I was called in for an interview, I showed and told the story of my Mysterious Deep project, which demonstrated my attention to detail, my versatility with design, and the fresh ideas I could bring to the table. MLBAM hired me straight out of college, citing my solid portfolio, freelance experience, and my two internships.
In the time since I graduated, I’ve learned that the design industry will only continue to grow and that truly understanding a product and making it successful requires a full integration of more than just design. I plan to learn product management and develop the skills to own and lead a product of my own in the future.
In spring 2014, my friends and I were planning our annual trip to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans. As a New York Giants season ticket holder, I love tailgating but we knew it wouldn’t be an option (because we weren’t transporting a grill or tent from New Jersey to Louisiana), so I decided to create a poster for a bar crawl along Bourbon Street to WrestleMania at the Super Dome. Through the power of design, advertising, and social media, I was able to draw more than 200 people to the first annual “ManiaCrawl.” The following year I planned the event again, for WrestleMania 31 in San Jose, and this time around I developed an entire brand and web presence. I created a buzz for the event by networking through multiple podcasts, web series, and blogs. More than 750 people signed up for ManiaCrawl 2! This experience led to me a marketing coordinator position at Designer Greetings, where I essentially use all the tools I used to create awareness about ManiaCrawl.
The best career advice I ever got was to do what you love. I love working in design and marketing, and when I am able to combine those with things I love—like pro-wrestling—it never seems like work to me. I love the Steve Jobs quote, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who usually can.” I wasn’t trying to change the world, but I had a ridiculous idea that I would be able to gather hundreds of wrestling fans worldwide for an epic celebration of fandom before the biggest event of the year, and with hard work, dedication, passion, and a little courage, I was able to create a legitimate brand that is now recognized within the wrestling community.
My first job out of college was as a junior art director at an advertising agency in Manhattan called Droga5. The way I got the job proves that you never know what opportunities you’ll miss out on if you don’t work hard and strive for greatness. In cities around the world, the Art Directors Club hosts an annual portfolio competition for students and working professionals to showcase their work to top creative directors. I heard about the competition through my professor Robin Landa, who encouraged all of her students to register for the New York event. The individual with the best overall portfolio in each city (as determined by the head creative directors in attendance) would be deemed that city’s “All-Star” and go on to compete in a week-long event with All-Stars from around the world. In a speed-date-style, 45-minute roulette showdown, participants had to meet with three different creative directors to sell themselves and years’ worth of work in 15-minute increments. No big deal, right?
I actually won “Best Portfolio of Show.” That honor was followed by a slew of emails from companies inviting me to interview with them. From this experience, I learned that hard work pays off. About a week after the event, I received an email from the creative recruiter at the esteemed advertising agency Droga5 asking if I’d come in and meet executive creative directors Neil Heymann and Kevin Brady. They hired me, and it’s where I work today.
My plan for the future has always been to be happy. The definition of happiness, however, changes over time. I have yet to meet someone whose life has gone according to a plan that they concocted when they were young. Plans and people evolve. There’s no way to predict how one turn of events will affect the outcome of something else and so on—the next thing you know you’re on a plane to Africa to photograph wild elephants for Esquire magazine.
One thing I’ve learned in my journey thus far is to surround myself with people who are passionate about their goals. When you’re around people who are better than you, you will push yourself to trump them. I am currently attempting to surround myself with the most talented people I can find, so I can grow and learn as much as I can from them. I hope to influence them as well.
Treating my collegiate projects as if they were real-world, extensive assignments prepared me for tackling professional projects. Approaching every project, no matter its scale or importance, with the same level of integrity, challenge, and passion is key to being able to deftly and successfully handle huge undertakings when they present themselves.
If I could speak to my younger self, I would say, “Learn from those who are around you, take as many chances as it takes, and believe in yourself. You’ll change the world someday.”
