Characteristics

Corporate. After my experience this summer working with Sima in Pittsburgh, and studying in London in the spring, I've been exposed to an entire spectrum of possible design opportunities. Both experiences had one thing in common : freedom. After semesters of deadlines and meetings with professors I was finally given the chance to create my own schedule. I realized though, that while the freedom was great, I felt it had one very misleading message: Designers can and should execute an entire project by themselves.

Before this year, I felt that the success of a design was completely reliant on my competence, research, creativity, and execution. Now I can really appreciate the benefits from working with other people; creative ideas must be bounced off of and shared with everyone. I'm looking for a company with a strong direction, history, and clear path for the future. I want to be a part of a larger team and contribute meaningfully in my areas of strength. I love working in a cross-disciplinary setting because I can learn and teach things simultaneously, just like at CMU. Also, I see corporate settings as tending to be slightly more dependable and have lots of resources at their fingertips. I'm trying to avoid somewhere that doesn't appreciate that good design comes from sharing with others and talking concepts out. In the mean time, I would also like to learn more about working under a "Rockstar" designer because they seem to be the ones who can create the entire show by themselves-I am interested in seeing how they make their decisions. -Margaret G