I began my professional career working in advertising for a retail behemoth, moved to a merchandising position at a century-old specialty department store that closed/went out of business forever, and freelanced as a fashion stylist assistant while trying to plan an exit from an industry I no longer wanted to be a part of. I became interested in digital media, returned to school and interned for a design firm to immerse myself in a rigorous design environment — hustling to find work and starting to call myself a “designer”. At one point, I found myself in Cupertino with an incredible opportunity working for one of the most beloved companies in the world. In my career I’ve survived the Y2K scare, lived through three tech booms/busts, Web 1.0–3.0…and I am still here, finding joy in it where I can.
I grew up in the central valley of California, most specifically the town of Fresno. People like to make fun of Fresno. Or they say “I drove past Fresno on my way to…[somewhere else].” Fortunately, I had a great childhood in the “bread basket” of California. My father was a produce buyer for Del Monte foods and my mother was an elementary school teacher. I rode our bikes with my younger brother and played soccer and took the requisite mandatory piano lessons. Typical suburban family stuff.
I wish I still had these shoes
In high school, I was: a competitive soccer jock, a bookish honors student, and a marching band geek. So, I was never an obvious fit with any clique. When I got accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, I couldn’t leave Fresno fast enough. CAL was the college experience of my dreams — though my parents’ hopes of their daughter becoming an engineer were dashed when I promptly failed calculus my Freshman year. I did not take another math class after that.
I ended up in the Mass Communications program, convinced I wanted to work in the exciting world of advertising. Also, the major included many courses where I got to consume television shows and classic films then go write about it. In hindsight, this really didn’t prepare me at all for the world of advertising, but it did nurture my growing passion for pop culture.
My first real job after college was working at the Gap corporate headquarters in San Francisco. I was an advertising production assistant, helping coordinate talent and wardrobe for fashion photo shoots. The company was in its heyday, riding the wave of the popular Individuals of Style ad campaign, featuring celebrities wearing Gap basics (white shirt, grey tee, denim) mixed in with their own clothing.
I helped cast for this campaign!
The campaign was shot by in-demand portrait photographers like Annie Leibovitz and Herb Ritts, who (to a broke recent college grad) inhabited an intriguingly glamorous and creative world. I had a ridiculous amount of responsibility for someone in their early 20s, but also struggled in the intense, high-pressure environment. I was introduced to office politics right out of the gate, and learned that sometimes the workplace can be a difficult place to be figuring yourself out. I remember crying a lot, usually in the bathroom. Just like high school!
I eventually moved on to a job at I. Magnin — a historic specialty department store and a great company that was just transitioning their creative department to digital processes. Although my primary role was still on the production side of things, I lucked out and got formal training in Adobe / Macromedia software along with the rest of the art department. This spurred my interest in design and I bought my very first personal computer that year.
A computer for graphic design. Color and everything!
The beautiful I. Magnin building on Union Square in San Francisco
And...six months later, the company closed forever.
I took a trip to Spain that summer with a college friend. Upon return, the allure of packing and hauling gear, babysitting models and fetching coffee for photographers had faded and I realized I didn’t want to continue in that line of work. I used my severance money to go back to school and learn something new. I completed a 2-year digital design program at San Francisco State University, freelancing as a stylist assistant during the day and attending class in the evenings — hoping there was something to this whole internet thing.
As part of my schooling, I held an internship at MetaDesign, where I assisted designers and got a high-level crash course in graphic and identity design. The founder, Erik Speikermann is also a typeface designer who espoused swiss modern design at the agency. The time I spent there definitely influenced and informed my personal design aesthetic. I am one of those people who sees everything in grids and is triggered by poor kerning.
Required reading. I still have my copy!
One of the most meaningful experiences of my life was working at Apple. It was both a challenging and exhilarating place to work, and definitely one of the most rewarding. It was the first place I ever worked where I truly believed in the company vision and the way it was changing everything in the modern industries of design, technology, and consumer retail . The Apple fanatics call the corporate headquarters “The Mothership” — to me, as a budding designer, it really felt like the holy grail.